Good opening match with a very excited crowd that was participative throughout the night. Rama was surprisingly over with the crowd and earned a good amount of babyface heat. The audience continuously chanted “Jeet” to encourage his comeback and booed heavily whenever Barthel interfered.
Both wrestlers performed well with Rama winning after hitting a Back Bottom Drop on Aichner while Devi was able to neutralize Barthel to prevent his interference. Great start to the show with the crowd reacting favorably to Rama’s victory.
– Kairi Sane defeated Taynara Conti (w/ Cezar Bononi and Adrian Jaoude)
Another good match with Sane winning after applying The Anchor (a bridging cross-legged Boston crab). Sane was really over with this crowd and Conti was able to generate a lot of heat after hitting Sane with many different cheap shots. Even though Sane did not use her elbow drop, the crowd popped when Conti tapped out before any interference could occur.
Bononi and Jaoude were upset that Conti lost and then refused to leave the ring. They cut a promo that was half in English and half in Portuguese, stating that they were the best team in NXT. The War Raiders then came out.
– War Raiders defeated Cezar Bononi & Adrian Jaoude
Solid match with the War Raiders hitting all of their big spots to a pretty good reaction. Bononi and Jaoude were able to cut them off through heel antics that built to a hot tag to a fairly big pop. When Rowe was tagged in after the hot tag, he hit some impressive strikes which led to a powerbomb, followed by a top rope splash by Hanson for the victory.
– Kassius Ohno defeated Oney Lorcan
Very good match between two babyfaces that shook hands before and after the match. Ohno hit his normal strikes that are always impressive live and Lorcan hit some big European uppercuts throughout. Both wrestlers also hit some high spots, with the best being Lorcan having a sleeper hold on Ohno on the outside that led Ohno to slamming him into the ring steps.
That led to the finish where Ohno won after hitting a strong discus elbow. The fans cheered for both when this was over.
– Otis Dozovic & Montez Ford defeated TM61
This was easily the most entertaining match of the night, and Dozovic and Ford were the most over wrestlers on the card. TM61 entered first and did a good job playing heel. Dozovic then came out and cut a funny promo about how Tucker Knight was not in Largo because he was flying back from the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. Dozovic then told the crowd that “Tucky will be fine because he has a lot of cold cuts to keep him company.”
Dozovic and Ford danced together after he introduced Ford as his partner. That got the biggest reaction of the night. The match was really good, and Dozovic and Ford worked very well together. The babyfaces won after Dozovic made a comeback and they hit Heavy Machinery’s finisher.
– EC3 defeated Christopher Dijak
Average match with both wrestlers being partially over with the crowd. EC3 was able to get some heel heat throughout even though he did acknowledge his fans but was able to do so in a way that came off as arrogant. He really knows how to play his character well and did take a good amount of bumps throughout this match.
Although Dijak controlled most of the match, EC3 was able to pull out a victory after reversing one of Dijak’s moves into a fireman’s carry cutter. This match was clunky at times — but overall, the crowd seemed to enjoy it.
– NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler defeated Steffanie Newell to retain her title
This was a good match on a card full of them. Newell performed very well, which seemed to bring Baszler’s performance up a level. Newell had a knee brace on and used it to nearly choke out Baszler when she applied a scissorhold that put the brace over her throat. Baszler did not like that and then heavily attacked Newell’s knee, which she sold very well.
Newell hit a very impressive hurricanrana from the apron that spilled onto the concrete floor, but Baszler was able to retain by submission.
– Velveteen Dream defeated Tino Sabbatelli
After Largo had some awesome main events recently, this was a disappointing headliner. It wasn’t the fault of either wrestler and the match seemed to be cut short when Sabbatelli hurt his shoulder. Throughout the match, Sabbatelli was able to get some good heel heat from the crowd even though he is known locally from his time as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Dream was over and wrestled pretty well for the situation he was put in.
Despite the apparent injury, Sabbatelli was able to finish the match even though it was improvised. Dream hit the Purple Rainmaker to quickly end it.
Jose had the crowd going with his conga line. This was a decent opener with Jose winning with his pop-up punch.
– They aired a pre-tape with Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega. She mentioned that tonight is his last chance to get his hands on Aleister Black. They ran into Velveteen Dream, who wanted Almas to wear a tank top he had just made. Vega told him there was no way.
– Candice LeRae defeated Bianca Belair
The match was okay but had great heat. LeRae hit a Lionsault to win.
– A video aired with EC3 issuing an open challenge; saying he could beat anyone from Sidney Crosby to Paul Newman (this was the arena where they filmed Slap Shot).
– EC3 defeated Kassius Ohno
This was a good match thanks to Ohno’s selling and strikes. EC3 won with the One Percenter.
– The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) defeated The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler)
These two teams had their working shoes on. Lots of great false finishes led into Montez Ford hitting a top rope splash onto Blake for the win. Great match that had the crowd going.
They still billed Cross as representing SAnitY, even though she’s staying in NXT while the rest of the group comes up to the main roster. This match was pretty good but had a botched ending. Sane hit a flying clothesline on Evans. She looked like she was going to kick out but didn’t in time, so the ref counted three and called for the bell.
Baszler didn’t do much other than a couple minutes of ground work. Cross showed Sane how to be crazy for a few moments after the match.
– Tommaso Ciampa defeated Oney Lorcan
Once again (like every night on this tour), Ciampa came out to Johnny Gargano’s theme music, calling all of the fans puppets and himself the puppet master. He said Gargano wasn’t cleared to wrestle, was banned from the arena, and challenged anyone to face him.
Another really great match built off of false finishes. The crowd didn’t seem to know Lorcan when he came out, but he won them over after kicking out of everything (including Project Ciampa and a top rope Air Raid Crash). Lorcan also had the crowd going with a single-leg Boston crab that was turned into a full Walls of Jericho before Ciampa finally made the ropes. Ciampa won with a running knee after Lorcan kicked out of the Air Raid Crash.
After the match, Ciampa continued attacking Lorcan until Gargano ran through the crowd to a monstrous pop. They had a pull-apart brawl that ended with Gargano standing victorious in the ring with his wife and The Street Profits.
Before the match, Dream again asked Almas to wear the tank top he made for him. Vega constantly said no.
Great match but a bit of a letdown considering who was involved (it also had difficulty following the previous match/segment). The crowd went wild for Ricochet’s athleticism and also when he made the hot tag to Black. Ricochet hit a Shooting Star Press on Almas before Black hit Black Mass for the pin.
After the match, there was a quick staredown and handshake between Ricochet and Black which the crowd just ate up.
The match itself was nothing special, but it was a fun opener to hype up the crowd.
– Bianca Belair defeated Candice LeRae
Belair showcasing her impressive strength was the highlight of the match.
– EC3 defeated Kassius Ohno
EC3 cut a cliche promo before this started where he dissed the city of Bethlehem. He’s very good at promos, but his in-ring work was just okay. Ohno carried the match and put EC3 over.
– The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) defeated The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler)
Both teams looked great, but Ford came off especially well. His athleticism and ability to entertain the crowd stole the match.
Sane’s elbow drop was the best part of what was a pretty forgettable bout, but Cross also brought a lot of excitement. Evans took most of the bumps and was pinned. She has a great look and character and could be a star when she gets more experienced in the ring.
– Tommaso Ciampa defeated Oney Lorcan
Ciampa came out to Johnny Gargano’s music, which pissed everyone off. He then cut an excellent heel promo.
This was the match of the night by far. Ciampa looked like he almost killed Lorcan with a ring apron spot. Gargano attacked Ciampa and got the better of him following the match.
Ohno hit a diving elbow to the back of the head to win.
– The Authors of Pain defeated NXT Tag Team Champions Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly in a non-title match
They had a good match, with the Authors working babyface. Fish and O’Reilly tried to walk out at one point, but AOP caught them, gave them a beatdown, and brought them back.
Fish and O’Reilly worked over the leg of one of the Authors, the other got a hot tag, and AOP won with the Last Chapter.
Moon pinned Evans with The Eclipse. The match was pretty standard, but it was enjoyable. Baszler and Evans worked over Sane’s arm, then Moon got the hot tag and it led to the finish.
There were several staredowns between Moon and Baszler throughout.
– Aleister Black defeated Adam Cole
Both were super over. They had a great match, getting a few “this is awesome” chants. The finish saw Cole bring a chair into the ring, but the referee grabbed it out of his hands just as he was about to hit Black.
Cole and the ref began to argue, and Cole turned around straight into the Black Mass.
Dream was the most over guy on the entire show. This followed a similar tag formula as the others on the card, but it was so awesome that it was still great and the best match on the show.
Almas and Dream worked over Gargano for a while until Strong came in. Gargano got back in and submitted Dream with the Gargano Escape.
The Big News: Johnny Gargano not only remained number one contender by submitting Velveteen Dream, he also ended the show by laying out the NXT Champion.
The Medium News: Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler are ready to tear each other limb from limb on Saturday.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Both No Way Jose and Bianca Belair returned and picked up victories.
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Earlier today, Velveteen Dream cut a promo about how everyone dreams of being NXT Champion, including Johnny Gargano. Dream said Gargano one day may be champion, but now is time for the Dream. He said that no matter how the pieces fall tonight, Gargano’s dream will be over.
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No Way Jose defeated Cezar Bononi
The go-home show for TakeOver kicked off with No Way Jose, who has not been seen much since Lars Sullivan destroyed him in 2017. Once upon a time, Bononi defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas, which was actually what led to Zelina Vega taking over the career of the future and current NXT Champion. I still don’t know why it was okay for No Way Jose to party all the time, but it was frowned upon for Almas to party at night.
The highlight of this match was one fan trying to start a CM Punk chant and literally everyone else in the arena booing him down. Not to say this match was bad, it wasn’t, it was your typical NXT opener.
Bononi, who has had little character development, was the easy heel and the fans were into Jose, who won with a pop-up punch to the face.
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They aired a video package building up the Adam Cole-Aleister Black extreme rules match on Saturday. It centered around their original match and Cole stopping Black from winning the number one contender’s fatal four-way a month ago.
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Bianca Belair defeated Latoya
This was a good showcase for Belair, who is being built up as “The EST” meaning she is the greatest, fastest, and strongest. Latoya wrestles as Luscious Latasha.
Latoya looked good here, but this wasn’t about her and it was all over for her when she came off the middle rope and got whipped with Belair’s braid. Belair then picked up the win with the falling powerbomb.
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We had a pre-taped promo where Percy Watson interviewed Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler ahead of their title match on Saturday.
Moon called Baszler out on trying to injure people as opposed to winning based on her own merit. She mentioned “the code” where they win via skill and show sportsmanship. She said Baszler will not win on Saturday.
Baszler laughed, then said Moon achieved her dreams. She started at the bottom and now here she is. Baszler said the difference is she doesn’t care if people know the struggles she went through. Baszler vowed that this Saturday she will walk out with the title. Watson asked her to share something with the NXT Universe. Baszler said she doesn’t care if people know anything about her, they just have to get used to it.
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Next up we got part two of “Who are TM61?” Just like part one and just like the other video packages they’ve done, with Finn Balor and Roderick Strong, this was really good and well worth checking out. The most surprising part is Harley Race was on for a few seconds saying they will be the best team ever.
Anyway, they will be in action next week.
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The Authors of Pain vs. Chase Brown & Damien Smith never got started
This Saturday night, AOP will attempt to become two-time NXT Tag Team Champions when they challenge Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly for the titles.
We didn’t actually have a match — instead they destroyed Brown and Smith before cutting promos about what they will do to the Undisputed Era.
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This Saturday at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia:
NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas defends against either Johnny Gargano or Velveteen Dream
Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole in an extreme rules match
NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon defends against Shayna Baszler
NXT Tag Team Champions Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly defend against The Authors of Pain
Next week (taped before TakeOver in Philadelphia):
Lacey Evans vs. Nikki Cross
TM61 returns
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Johnny Gargano defeated Velveteen Dream to retain his NXT Championship shot
Gargano won the number one contender’s tournament. However, he was only put into the tournament because Dream was injured and couldn’t compete. When Dream came back, he wanted a shot at the title and Gargano agreed to put his title shot on the line. The winner will challenge Almas this Saturday for the NXT Championship.
There were loud dueling chants of “Johnny Wrestling” and “Velveteen” as the match began. The match started with mat wrestling and Dream stayed with Gargano during it, which surprised people. Dream gloated, so Gargano slapped on the Gargano Escape, but Dream was able to get to the ropes and roll outside.
Gargano was more aggressive than usual, following Dream outside, slamming him onto the announce table, and then doing a flipping dive off the ring apron. Dream finally took over when he caught Gargano on a slingshot spear and hit a flipping neckbreaker.
Dream teased doing a top rope dive to the floor, which got the crowd’s eyebrows raised since he normally doesn’t do such moves, but instead he jumped back down to the crowd’s dismay. Gargano came back and used a jumping STO from the middle rope, but only got a two count. They traded finisher reversals until Dream hit a twisting DDT, but somehow Gargano kicked out.
Dream hit a Death Valley Driver from the middle rope for the closest of near falls, which got the entire crowd behind Johnny Wrestling. Finally, Dream went for the Purple Rainmaker, but Gargano got his knees up and then submitted him after a Gargano Escape!
Gargano retains his number one contender status and now will definitely challenge Almas at TakeOver: Philadelphia. Almas came out to the ring to confront his challenger. He tried to cheap shot Gargano, but Gargano was expecting it. However, the champ got the best of it and sent Gargano outside the ring. Johnny Wrestling dragged himself to his feet and dropped Almas with a slingshot DDT before posing with the championship belt.
Not announced on the show, but on the NXT conference call with Triple H today, it was revealed that Dream will go one-on-one with Kassius Ohno at TakeOver.
That does it for this show. Check out TakeOver on Saturday, and until next week, thank you for reading and remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Jose won in about 10 minutes with his pop-up punch. He took his time going through the crowd while he was making his entrance.
– Nikki Cross defeated Lacey Evans
Cross was favoring her left arm or wrist during the match and while leaving the ring afterwards. She won with her swinging fisherman neckbreaker.
– Lars Sullivan defeated Roderick Strong
Sullivan pinned Strong after hitting the Freak Accident. The crowd was really into Strong and he got a big babyface pop in the ring after the match.
– NXT Tag Team Champions Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly defeated Aleister Black & Kassius Ohno to retain their titles
All of these guys were over, especially Black. As the match was about to begin, Mike Rome announced that it would be for the titles and Fish and O’Reilly teased leaving.
O’Reilly pinned Ohno with a schoolboy after about 12 minutes. This was the best match of the show thus far.
– The Street Profits defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss
They aired a video from Friday night’s house show where The Street Profits talked about “winning” Sabbatelli’s Maserati. Before the match, Sabbatelli said he wanted to go double-or-nothing and offered up Moss’ minivan with spinners.
Moss pinned Montez Ford about five minutes into the match, but Ford had his hand on the rope and the referee waved off the finish. The Street Profits did double Figure Four leglocks to win by submission.
Moon was over big with the crowd. Baszler tapped out Aliyah with a rear naked choke to win the match for her team.
– Johnny Gargano defeated Velveteen Dream
Both guys were very popular with the crowd. To establish Velveteen Dream as the heel, he was wearing a New England Patriots shirt under his robe. Gargano took the shirt, wiped himself with it, and elbow dropped it like he was Ric Flair.
They had the best match of the night, with the crowd doing dueling chants for both guys and chanting “This is awesome” and “Fight forever.” Gargano won by submission with the Gargano Escape and went around ringside taking pictures with a ton of fans afterwards.
– This was a fun show overall, but Andrade “Cien” Almas, Adam Cole, Peyton Royce, and Billie Kay didn’t appear after they were all originally advertised.
There were approximately 200 people in attendance at last night’s show.
– Roderick Strong defeated Fabian Aichner
Strong won with a rollover flapjack.
– Peyton Royce & Billie Kay defeated Dakota Kai & Sarah Logan
Royce pinned Logan after a knee to the head.
– Babatunde Aiyegbusi defeated Demetrius Bronson
Bronson cut a promo in his preacher character before the match. Aiyegbusi called out Lars Sullivan after, but he didn’t show up.
– Lacey Evans defeated Mandy Rose
Evans won by submission.
– Heavy Machinery cut a promo honoring Dory Funk Jr., who usually appears when NXT is in Ocala. Funk thanked Matt Bloom and Steve Corino, then Wesley Blake came out with Steve Cutler and said that he made Funk everything that he is. That led into a tag match between Heavy Machinery and Blake & Cutler.
– Heavy Machinery defeated Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler
– No Way Jose defeated Kona Reeves
Jose hit his pop-up punch to pick up the victory. Reeves had a big bodyguard with a gold chain.
– Oney Lorcan vs. Big Boa never happened
Lars Sullivan came out during Lorcan’s entrance and gave Boa his finisher three times. The crowd actually booed this, which they usually don’t do. Sullivan then responded to Aiyegbusi calling him out, leading to a staredown between the two as Aiyegbusi chickened out. Sullivan was back to getting cheers by the end of the angle.
– Ember Moon defeated Bianca Belair
This was a great match and showcased both. Moon won by submission.
There were approximately 250 people in attendance at last night’s show.
– Nick Miller (w/ Shane Thorne) defeated Wesley Blake (w/ Steve Cutler)
This was the first time we’ve seen TM61 in months. Miller won with a Michinoku driver.
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Cezar Bononi
Jaoude hit a big slam on his fellow Brazilian to win this hoss fight.
– Mary Kate, Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose defeated Liv Morgan, Kimberly Frankele & Sarah Logan
Mary Kate put Morgan down with a Black Hole Slam to win it for her team.
– Lars Sullivan did an interview in the ring. He said he would be the man to defeat Brock Lesnar and he is the man who can retire John Cena. The crowd was giving him the “What?” treatment and booing him out of the building. Sullivan ripped off his shirt and roared.
– Babatunde Aiyegbusi defeated Sawyer Fulton
A huge backbreaker by Aiyegbusi put Fulton down.
– Oney Lorcan defeated Tino Sabbatelli
Lorcan hit a running blockbuster to pick up the win.
– The Street Prophets defeated The Ealy Brothers
Montez Ford got the pin with a frog splash off the top.
– Lacey Evans defeated Bianca Blair
Evans got the submission win with an armbar.
– Roderick Strong defeated The Velveteen Dream
Strong won it with a double knees backbreaker. He caught a shot to the face during the match and was bleeding.
The Big News: As with every post-TakeOver episode of NXT, this one was bursting full of lengthy video packages going over the special. In other words, just watch TakeOver.
The Medium News: Drew McIntyre continued his winning ways by defeating Wesley Blake in a main event that was better than expected.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Velveteen Dream debuted. Good news: He does a good elbow. Bad news: His punches really blow.
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Aleister Black defeated Curt Hawkins
We were magically still in Chicago. It’s almost as if they taped this week’s show before TakeOver or something. Curt Hawkins was here to make a star out of Black for the second time, because two weeks ago on WWE Main Event (a show watched even less than NXT Redemption) Black defeated Hawkins.
Percy Watson seemed to forget the storyline where he was accused of sneak attacking everyone on NXT Redemption (including Watson, ironically enough), but it was abandoned before it came out that Hawkins and Tyler Reks did it.
Anyway, this remembrance of a five-year-old angle almost lasted longer than the match. Black was over coming out and got more over with his skill and athleticism. Hawkins shockingly got in more offense than the average Black opponent. Black broke out a beautiful Asai moonsault and then picked up the win with Black Mass.
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We got the first of many TakeOver recap video packages, starting with Authors of Pain vs DIY. After a five-minute recap, we were told that “Doctors refuse to release the medical condition of Johnny Gargano.” Great.
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Ember Moon sat in an empty arena before TakeOver, talking about how awful it feels to be stuck sitting in the audience watching the show, since she got one of her big breaks in Chicago. She said the selfish part of her wanted Asuka to retain the title so she could take it from her.
This led to lengthy video package number two, this time on the Asuka vs. Ruby Riot vs. Nikki Cross three-way. Asuka laughed afterwards at the idea that there is anyone else left to challenge her.
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This show needs more video packages! Roderick Strong vs. Eric Young was featured next. It was the weakest match on the show, but it would still easily have been the best match on Backlash.
Kayla Braxton asked Strong what it was like to be the first person to beat Eric Young, which is a lie even if you only consider NXT (he lost to Samoa Joe last year during his surprise debut). Strong said you don’t talk about his family and this was his next step to becoming the NXT Champion.
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Velveteen Dream defeated Robert Anthony
Patrick Clark wasn’t even called Patrick Clark, however we did pretend like we hadn’t seen him half a dozen times already. Honestly, Dream’s commercial song was better than his actual theme music.
Dream needs to stop punching or throw a thousand punches at his mirror every day. Nothing in between the two, as his punches looked bad. He won with a Rick Rude neckbreaker and an elbow drop from the top rope that actually looked pretty good.
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That was enough wrestling. It was now time for another video package, but at least it was for the amazing, magnificent, fabulous, one of a kind, tremendous UK title match between Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate.
Sadly, this amazing match was recapped in 30 seconds. We did get a Dunne interview where he said he was watching Bate live a dream since January. He said before the match that he would win the title and now everything is his.
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More video packages! The oh so glorious NXT Champion, Bobby Roode and his title defense against Hideo Itami was featured next. Roode chastised Braxton for sounding surprised that he won. He then said Itami may have earned his title match, but he’s not in Roode’s league.
Roode said his next challenger is whomever he decides to face. He’s going home and taking some time off and when he decides to come back, he will.
Apparently he has decided to come back next week, because after a commercial we were informed he will have a “Glorious Celebration” next week.
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Drew McIntyre defeated Wesley Blake
Blake, a former NXT Tag Team Champion, was last seen as “Beautiful Blonde Blake,” but he has dropped whatever that was supposed to be and has a new country music theme song.
Blake backed McIntyre into the corner and gloated about his advantage, so McIntyre kicked him in the face.
It was mentioned that McIntyre won the WWE Tag Team Championship in Chicago, but, for obvious reasons, they didn’t mention his partner (Cody Rhodes). Blake took over, using the double wrist lock, but McIntyre just picked Blake up and carried him across the ring. Blake broke out a hurricanrana that turned into a cross armbreaker, though McIntyre was able to get to the ropes.
McIntyre hit the Sky High powerbomb, which got a big pop from the crowd, to the point where most forgot to do that annoying “SWEEEEEEEEEET” when Blake kicked out. Blake threw McIntyre into the post shoulder-first and locked on the crossface momentarily. McIntyre came back and hit a reverse Alabama slam (where Blake landed on his face), but that wasn’t the end.
We kept going back and forth until McIntyre threw Blake off the top rope and hit a stiff headbutt before hitting the Claymore Kick for the win.
That does it for NXT. Next week we are back at Full Sail, and until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
