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Courage/Gutsy

One of these events that I watched this week will mention those two words, and I’m pretty sure—unless you missed what happened in the pro wrestling work this week—that you’ll find out which event I’m talking about…as well as which competitor. (P.S.: The definitions for those two words are also included.)

NXT In Your House

Our first stop is the former Capital Wrestling Center at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. No, it’s not for a special episode of NXT; it’s actually for their second premium live event (even though it’s still an NXT TakeOver to me per se) known as In Your House.

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In 2020, WWE revived the name “In Your House” for the NXT brand; NXT’s first IYH event took place at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida where then future WWE and NXT wrestlers were in attendance instead of fans that were playing it safe during the COVID-19 pandemic at that time.

Six matches occurred with all of NXT’s titles on the line. Just like NXT Stand & Deliver, all six matches were pretty good, ranging from slightly above average to very good. Half of the matches, all title matches that I enjoyed, ended up getting a high score from me.

The first title match that I liked was the NXT North American Championship bout between Cameron Grimes and Carmelo Hayes. It was a pretty good back and forth match, even with Trick Williams sneaking in some interference during the title match. I was pretty sure that Grimes was going to retain the title and fulfill his promise by having Solo Sikoa fight him for the title at a later date. I was proven wrong as soon as I saw Hayes win back the championship. Even though seeing Grimes’ reign as the champion was fun while it lasted, I honestly don’t mind seeing Hayes having another title reign since he too has done very well in his career first championship reign that began in late 2021.

The second title match that I enjoyed was the NXT Tag Team Championship match between Pretty Deadly and the Creed Brothers. Brutus and Julius Creed survived competing in this match that had a stipulation of their leader Roderick Strong’s making where if the Creed Brothers lost, they would be kicked out of Diamond Mine. Both teams did very well in this match, not just the team of Kit Wilson and Elton Prince like they have during their time on NXT UK (back when they were Sam Stoker and Lewis Howley respectively), but also the Creed Brothers. I had a gut feeling that the Creed Brothers were going to win the belts during their NXT tenure, even after winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament and also the well known like “time will tell” coming into play; they were finally able to do so even after overcoming obstacles—in the storyline—created by the former NXT UK Tag Team Champions starting off with a sneak attack and then being inserted into a tag team gauntlet when the NXT Tag Team Championship belts were vacated at that time.

The third and final title match that I enjoyed was the NXT Championship rematch, from NXT’s made-for-TV event Spring Breakin’, between Bron Breakker and Joe Gacy. Like the aforementioned tag team championship match, this title match also had a stipulation; if Breakker—who tried to stay calm, cool and collective throughout the entire bout—got himself disqualified, Gacy would end up winning the championship. The storyline in this match showed Breakker being able to do so half of the time even with Gacy’s insurance policy in the form of two of his hooded followers at ringside, as well as being dared to have his second championship reign come to a screeching halt in the form of using a steel chair as a weapon. Gacy not only portrayed a pretty damn good sinister version of his peacemaker-like character, but also attempting to be a master manipulator throughout the bout even with Breakker metaphorically telling him—ala Jeff Jarrett during the Attitude Era—“Don’t piss me off.”

Here are the IYH match results from Orlando…

Match #1: Stacks, Two Dimes & Tony D’Angelo defeated Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz del Toro (w/ Elektra Lopez)

The losing team would join the winning team. Legado del Fantasma had banners that came down from the ceiling as soon as they got in the ring. Before the match started, Legado had the referee search for crowbars, and the referee found one hidden behind a set of steel stairs in a corner where D’Angelo’s team would compete; D’Angelo would then have the referee check for any weapons that Legado snuck in. Near the end, Elektra handed Escobar brass knuckles while Stacks found another crowbar that was under the ring and handed it to D’Angelo. Cruz took the crowbar from D’Angelo, and then swung it at him until Stacks jumped in and took the shot. Then, D’Angelo took the brass knuckles that Elektra threw in and hit Cruz with them; this led to Two Dimes shoving Stacks—who was staggering from the crowbar shot—onto Cruz, making him pin Cruz for the win. As a result, Legado del Fantasma has joined D’Angelo’s team. My score: 3.25/5

Match #2: Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne defeated Katana Chance & Kayden Carter to retain the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship

Katana and Kayden, who came in through the crowd, had crew people at ringside dancing while handing and throwing fans glowsticks. Gigi and Jacy ambushed the challengers before the match began until Katana and Kayden fought back. Towards the end, Jacy took down Katana at ringside, then after Kayden rolled up Gigi for two, Jacy punched Kayden from ringside before Gigi rolled up Kayden for the win. My score: 2.5/5

Match #3: Carmelo Hayes (w/ Trick Williams) defeated Cameron Grimes to become the new NXT North American Champion

Hayes had two bodyguards at the entryway wearing facemasks and “Get It Back” shirts. Grimes’ entrance had him lower down on a spaceship-shaped jetpack. During the match, Williams tied Grimes’ left arm on the ropes with a bandana. Near the end, Williams interfered again until Grimes hit him with the Cave In on the apron. Then, Hayes made a comeback before defeating Grimes with a diving guillotine leg drop. My score: 3.75/5

Match #4: Mandy Rose defeated Wendy Choo to retain the NXT Women’s Championship

Wendy’s entrance had her dreaming of winning the title before waking up and getting out of bed in a jumpsuit (that was the same colors as the In Your House logo). As Alicia Taylor finished up the introductions, Wendy took a page out of the playbooks of Dennis the Menace and Bart Simpson by shooting her sleep mask at Mandy with a slingshot. During the match, Wendy blocked one of Mandy’s attacks with her giant pillow until Mandy took the pillow and tore it to shreds. Towards the end, Wendy fought back and took down the top of her jumpsuit, showing a Toxic Attraction t-shirt with all three members of the team having their faces crossed out. She then climbed to the top rope until Mandy yanked her down by the jumpsuit and won with a pump knee. Mandy celebrated with the rest of Toxic Attraction, Gigi and Jacy, afterwards. My score: 3.25/5

Match #5: The Creed Brothers defeated Pretty Deadly to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions

The Creed Brothers entrance had a timeline from their birth to their high school and collegiate wrestling careers all the way to their time in WWE; their family was in attendance for this match. Pretty Deadly had slow motion videos, ala John Morrison (now Johnny Elite in AEW…belated good luck wishes go out to him!), during the entrance. During the match, Kit Wilson and Elton Prince hit Julius with a double spinebuster onto a set of steel stairs. Then, Wilson mocked Diamond Mine by putting Julius in Roderick Strong’s Stronghold crab. Near the end, Pretty Deadly brought in one of the championship belts and Julius looked at the title for a while before handing it back to the referee. Then, Brutus took down Wilson before Julius hit him with a shooting star press followed by a basement clothesline for the win. The Creed Brothers celebrated with their family at ringside afterwards. My score: 3.75/5

Main event: Bron Breakker defeated Joe Gacy to retain the NXT Championship

If Breakker got disqualified, Gacy would become the champion. Breakker, who kicked through a wall at the entryway, wore a singlet that looked like what his uncle Scott Steiner wore at WrestleMania 9. Gacy came into the ring wearing a cloak just like two of his followers that accompanied him. Early in the match, one of the followers handed Breakker a chair until Gacy shoved the champion into the post. Later on, one follower distracted the referee while the other handed Gacy a chair and pretended to be hit by the chair before handing it to Breakker; the referee attempted to call for the bell until another referee came and stopped him while claiming that Breakker didn’t attack Gacy with the chair. Towards the end, Breakker speared Gacy off the apron and through the announce table, then Gacy came back in and handed Breakker the chair; just like Julius Creed earlier, Breakker handed the chair to the referee until Gacy crotched him for two. Then, Breakker took the chair and—instead of hitting Gacy with it—hit one of the followers with it; Gacy went for a handspring clothesline until Breakker countered with a spear before winning with a powerslam. My score: 3.75/5

ICW Fight Club

Before we continue looking back at WWE’s weekend of premium live events, why don’t we go to the United Kingdom and to the GPWA in Glasgow, Scotland for an episode of ICW Fight Club, shall we?

Just like last week, we saw matches made for the upcoming ICW Shug’s Hoose Party 7 this week. Last week, we learned that Dylan Thorn will defend the ICW Zero-G Championship against Daz Black in a ladder match at that event. This week, one of the two matches made was what Ravie Davie announced after Barred II, and it’s Timothy Thatcher taking on Chris Bungard.

The other match made to take place will be Kez Evans defending the ICW World Heavyweight Championship against the winner of this week’s four-way elimination match; that match—which was this week’s main event—consisted of Andy Wild, Krieger, Jack Jester and Jason Reed. The winner of this match—unless you want to skip the rest of this paragraph and jump to the rest of the recap followed by the match results—was Jester, and I got a gut feeling that after learning more about Jester being both famous and infamous in the storylines when it comes to matches and antics, it’s going to be an insane—pun intended—championship battle come later in July.

Outside preparations for Shug’s House Party 7, the rivalry between Levi & Sweeney and Aaron Echo is ongoing. Last week, Levi headed to a sports stadium (I believe it’s for soccer/football) and spotted Echo who attacked him in the stadium’s bar. This week, Sweeney drove to the stadium after hearing about what happened to Levi, and he and Echo brawled in the stadium before the two were outside. Echo threw Sweeney from the top of a stairway and to the turf, and then threw a beer keg at him busting him open; he then attempted to attack Sweeney even more with a broken beer bottle until Levi stopped him, causing him to get rid of the bottle and walk away. I believe we’ll see Levi and/or Sweeney clash with Echo at SHP 7 since we’re finally focusing on this rivalry after being preoccupied with Barred II.

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Aside from the storylines, we had four matches including the aforementioned four-way elimination match. My favorite match of this week belongs to the opening match between two veterans, Lana Austin and Angel Hayze. In the storyline, Angel is looking to dust herself off after losing the ICW Women’s Championship to Molly Spartan—with help from Kasey—at Barred II while the rest of the women’s roster is targeting the champion including those that declared it such as Alexxis Falcon and—this week—Lana Austin. I honestly thought that Angel would be wrapping up her tenure and focus on her time on NXT UK (P.S.: I still think she needs to pick up more wins instead of just one which was by disqualification over Isla Dawn…just saying…), but on the other hand, I’m definitely fine with her staying on ICW a little longer, even if it means getting one more shot at the title. As for Lana Austin, it’s good to see her continuing her run on ICW even after seeing her return and then pick up some wins (including one that she got this week), aside from her rivalry on Progress with Raven Creed.

Here are the match results from Glasgow…

Match #1: Lana Austin defeated Angel Hayze

Lana made Angel’s comeback come to a screeching halt by forearming her from behind before rolling her up for the win. Post-match, Lana was excited backstage about picking up victories and was thinking about going after the ICW Women’s Championship; Molly Spartan appeared and dared Lana to tell Mark Dallas to make the match, and she happily does so leading to Molly seeing that her plan “backfired.” My score: 3.5/5

Match #2: Sheikh El Sham defeated Nsereko

El Sham punched away his opponent’s deadlift suplex attempt before winning with a spear. Afterwards, El Sham gestured that he was going for gold on ICW. My score: 2.5/5

Match #3: Theo Doros defeated Saqib Ali (w/ Chris Toal) by disqualification

“Jackie Polo” (DCT of course) was the special guest referee for the match. This match was made after Ali and Toal poked fun of Doros on an episode of “The Polo Lounge” at Barred II, including saying that Doros’ toga is actually “bedroom sheets” and then poking fun of his mother. “Polo” made Doros get the upper hand at times by allowing him to cheat, get fast pin counts, and so forth, and giving Ali a hard time by giving him opposite of what Doros received. Near the end, Doros dared Toal to get in the ring; Toal did so and put his hands on him while preparing to fight until “Polo” declared Doros the winner by DQ. Post-match, Toal headbutted “Polo” in the groin before Ali hit the special guest referee with a Claymore. My score: 1/5

Main event: Jack Jester defeated Jason Reed (w/ Coach Trip), Andy Wild and Krieger in a four-way elimination match

…for a shot at the ICW World Heavyweight Championship at ICW Shug’s Hoose Party 7. Wild was the first to be eliminated after Trip distracted him, leading to Reed rolling him up for three. (Wild vs. Reed at SHP7 perhaps?) Then, after Jester hit Krieger with the Dungeon (an elevated Pedigree), Reed clotheslined Jester out of the ring before pinning Krieger for the elimination. As soon as it was down to Jester and Reed, Trip came in and he and Reed double teamed on Jester at times until Jester hit Trip with a low blow before hitting Reed with an Alabama Slam onto the coach. Then, Jester would win after hitting Reed with a piledriver. Afterwards, Kez Evans appeared at the entryway and raised his title at Jester. My score: 2.75/5

wXw We Love Wrestling 30

Staying in Europe and this time heading to Germany, it’s time to look back at the 30th episode of wXw We Love Wrestling.

This episode took place on April 9, 2022 at—for the first time ever—the Alte Kesselschmiede in Papenberg, Germany. To me, the arena looks like the inside of the Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, but with windows taken from the Eden Resort & Suites hotel in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

This episode had eight matches, including two title matches; both Maggot and Baby Allison had opponents that they were familiar with…in other words, wrestlers that they already faced in the last episode of We Love Wrestling. There was also a one-on-one match that was converted into an impromptu six-man tag team match that would serve at the main event for this episode.

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Out of all eight matches that took place, my favorite match of the episode would have to go to a one-on-one match that involved two wrestlers that are also tag team partners; those two wrestlers are of course Aigle Blanc and Senza Volto. There was a great amount of high-flying action not just inside the ring, but outside it that had fans jumping out of their seats—or benches actually—in joy; it was action that was so good that even junior heavyweights or cruiserweights in or outside wXw would agree with. In the end, it was Aigle Blanc that defeated his tag team partner in this bout. It’s fairly common to see tag team partners go at it in the ring such as Edge and Christian, Matt and Jeff Hardy, Luke Jacobs and Ethan Allen, and Charlie Sterling and Nick Riley just to name a few; like those matches that I have mentioned, this tag partner vs. tag partner bout was pretty damn good.

Here are the match results from Papenberg…

Match #1: Dennis “Ca$h” Dullnig defeated Rick Salem

Salem carried a small crystal ball to the ring. Dullnig, who received a standing ovation from the fans, jokingly took a sip of a fan’s beer and didn’t care for the taste of it. Dullnig won after hitting Salem with a charging knee; he would be helped to the back by EMTs afterwards. My score: 2/5

Match #2: Michael Knight defeated Tristan Archer by disqualification due to interference by Rott und Flott

Afterwards, Bobby Gunns ran in to stop the three-on-two assault until Archer and Rott und Flott went after him. Then, Jurn Simmons ran in and chased the three out of the ring while saving Gunns and Knight from further damage; neither Gunns nor Simmons had a match made for this episode, then agreed on having a six-man tag team match for later on. My score: 1/5

Match #3: The Rotation defeated Danny Fray

Fray is a member of the wXw Wrestling Academy. The Rotation won after hitting Fray with the Victory Over Gravity (450 splash). My score: 3.25/5

Match #4: Maggot (w/ Baby Allison) defeated Norman Harras to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship

I got a feeling that Harras, who is the current Director of Sports in case you missed the last episode, is either obsessed with the title or is having a vendetta with Maggot. Anyway, towards the end, Harras took the padding off the top turnbuckle until Maggot shoved him into the exposed steel before rolling him up—with a handful of tights—for the win. My score: 2.25/5

Match #5: Aigle Blanc defeated Senza Volto

After Volto dodged Blanc’s 450 splash and hitting him with a Spanish Fly, both men traded rollups until Blanc used a folded down rollup for the win. Both men bumped fists afterwards. My score: 4/5

Match #6: Vincent Heisenberg defeated Oskar by count out

Both fought into the crowd and bounced each other’s heads off a girder until Heisenberg threw Oskar into it like a javelin before coming back in and beating the ten count. My score: 2.5/5

Match #7: Baby Allison defeated Ava Everett to retain the wXw Women’s Championship

Ava mocked the fans for booing her before the match, and blamed wXw for worrying about her defending the title outside the company. During the match, Ava took the drink from ring announcer Thomas Giesen and flicked water on Allison until Allison slapped the cup out of her hand and fought back. Allison won after making Ava submit to a front chancery. Post-match, Ava lashed out on the fans once again, saying that she hates wXw’s women’s division, Allison and her “bald friend” and “slimy boyfriend” (Vincent Heisenberg and Maggot respectively), and then said that she was heading back to Florida. My score: 1/5

Main event: Only Friends & Jurn Simmons defeated Rott und Flott & Tristan Archer

Bobby Gunns and Michael Knight, together as Only Friends, have a picture of them—at the entryway—holding hands while riding zebras. During the match, Nikita Charisma argued with the referee and got into a shoving match until Knight rolled him up for two. Towards the end, Rott und Flott attempted to leave until Dennis “Ca$h” Dullnig—fully recovered from the opening match—appeared and fought them back into the ring. Meanwhile, Archer attempted to use the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship as a weapon until Simmons hit him with a spear. With Archer down at ringside and Dullnig preventing Michael Schenkenberg from entering the ring, Knight and Gunns hit Charisma with a reverse GTS and running punt respectively before Simmons picked up the win by hitting Charisma with a piledriver. My score: 3/5

Hell In A Cell

Now, we return to the United States, as well as both the month of June 2022 and WWE’s premium live event weekend; cue “Straight To Hell” by Ozzy Osbourne because it’s time for the second half of the weekend which is in the form of Hell In A Cell! (Interesting to note, the same Ozzy Osbourne song also served as the theme song to last year’s Hell In A Cell in one of the final two months of the Thunderdome era.)

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The structure known as Hell In A Cell debuted at Badd Blood: In Your House in 1997 back when WWE was still a “Federation.” This structure has been used in WWE’s pay-per-view events (before they were called premium live events) as well as select episodes of Raw and SmackDown including one Raw dark match on September 26, 2011. In October 2009, the match involving the structure led to WWE replacing No Mercy with Hell In A Cell.

This year’s Hell In A Cell took place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois which is in the Chicago area. Storylines heading into the event included the ongoing rivalry between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins that began at WrestleMania, Becky Lynch being able to fight Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship (after losing the title at WM) with Asuka included in their match, the rivalry between Bobby Lashley and Omos with MVP managing the Nigerian giant after turning his back on Lashley, and the Judgment Day wreaking havoc. Seven matches—including two (the handicap match and the following one-on-one match) that looked like they should be on either a regular or special episode of Raw—took place in that event including two championship matches; plus, SmackDown only had one match while the rest came from Raw for some reason.

Both the Raw Women’s Championship—as mentioned—and the WWE United States Championship were on the line. Even though both title matches were very good, the better of the two would go to the triple threat match for the Raw Women’s Championship. Bianca Belair, Asuka and Becky Lynch gave their all in this three-way dance especially when fighting for the belt. In the end, it came down to Bianca and Becky 1upping on one another even when looking for a victory, and it was Bianca who got rid of Becky and pinned Asuka for the win.

The other title match that was good, and almost was a good as the Raw Women’s Championship match, was for the WWE United States Championship between Theory and—from Chicago—Mustafa Ali. It was a pretty good back and forth battle, and I wasn’t sure which result I was going to see, whether it was Theory retaining the title or Ali winning with the hometown advantage by his side. In the end, it was Theory who is continuing is reign as the youngest WWE United States Champion in the history of the company; Theory is indeed a pretty damn good competitor, and I thought so myself after first seeing him in the now defunct Evolve Wrestling. I expect his reign as the champion to be longer if he can keep up the good work, even after seeing this match take place at HIAC.

The main event that took place inside Hell In A Cell is actually my favorite match of HIAC; fighting inside the structure were Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. Two words can describe Rhodes who was heading into this match…courage and gutsy. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, courage is “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty”, and gutsy means “marked by courage, pluck, or determination.” The reason why I mention those two words to describe Rhodes is because he came into the event with a torn pectoral muscle; it had a partial tear after his brawl with Rollins on an episode of Raw prior to HIAC, and then the muscle was completely torn off the bone days before while he was training for the main event. Storyline wise, it was a great way to wrap up the Rhodes/Rollins rivalry for now.

In reality regardless of how many people have argued about whether or not it was wise of Rhodes to metaphorically say “the show must go on” while coming in with an injury, I give my praise to the veteran Rhodes for coming in even if he wasn’t 100% heading into HIAC; not only do I say “Get well soon”, but also both “Bravo” and “Thank you, Cody.” Even though I only rate matches in my newsletter, Rhodes’ performance regardless of injury—in my point of view—gets a 5 out of 5.

Here are the match results from Chicago…

Match #1: Bianca Belair defeated Becky Lynch and Asuka in a triple threat match to retain the Raw Women’s Championship

Near the end, Becky threw Bianca out of the ring before hitting Asuka with the Manhandle Slam; then, Bianca came back in quickly, threw Becky out of the ring, and pinned Asuka for the win. My score: 4.25/5

Match #2: “The All Mighty” Bobby Lashley defeated MVP & Omos in a handicap match

Cedric Alexander asked MVP and Omos backstage before the match until MVP shooed him away, telling him that “The Hurt Business” is over. During the match, MVP fought Lashley out of the ring before Omos splashed their opponent through the barricade. Towards the end, Alexander jumped into the ring until he was caught by Omos and thrown out of the ring, leading to Lashley hitting the Nigerian giant with a spear; then, Lashley put MVP in the Hurt Lock and made him submit. My score: 1.5/5

Match #3: Kevin Owens defeated Ezekiel

As soon as the bell rang, Ezekiel hit him with a jumping knee for two, and then a top rope elbow drop for another two. During the match, Ezekiel got busted open after being sent into a post at ringside. Owens won after hitting Ezekiel with a cannonball, followed by a stunner. My score: 1.75/5

Match #4: The Judgment Day defeated Liv Morgan, Finn Bálor & AJ Styles

SmackDown referee Jessika Carr took care of the match. Towards the end, Liv, Bálor and Styles took down Rhea Ripley, Edge and Damian Priest by diving onto the three; Styles was busted open after the dive. Later, Bálor attempted to hit Edge with the Coup de Grace until Rhea stood in his way; Liv fought Rhea out of the ring, and Bálor was unable to hit Edge with the finisher, leading to Edge winning with the spear. My score: 3.75/5

(NOTE: One night later on Raw, Finn Bálor joined the Judgment Day before he, Priest and Rhea attacked Edge out of the group.)

Match #5: Madcap Moss defeated Happy Corbin in a no holds barred match

Corey Graves’ chair (from the commentary table), steel chairs, and steel steps were used in this match. Corbin worked on Moss’ neck during the match, including wrapping his head around it with a chair. Near the end, Corbin grabbed a bottom portion of the steps and propped them in the corner, then attempted to send Moss into them until Moss came back with a fallaway slam into the steps and then hit him with the Punchline neckbreaker; Moss then added an exclamation point to it by wrapping the chair around Corbin’s neck and closing it with the steps before pinning him for the win. My score: 3.75/5

Match #6: Theory defeated Mustafa Ali to retain the WWE United States Championship

Ali missed Theory on a 450 attempt, leading to Theory working on his leg before winning with the A-Town Down (f.k.a. the ATL). My score: 4/5

Main event: Cody Rhodes defeated Seth Rollins inside Hell In A Cell

Rollins came into the ring wearing a polka dot outfit ala the late Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes took off his jacket to reveal bruises on his right pec and upper arm. A kendo stick, steel steps, a polka dot weight belt reading “Visionary”, tables, a bull rope with a cowbell in the middle, and a sledgehammer came into play. During the match, Rollins attempted to hit Rhodes with a frog splash through the table, but missed and crashed through it. Later on, Rollins came back and hit Rhodes with a buckle bomb through another table. Near the end, Rollins went for a Pedigree until Rhodes countered with his own Pedigree for two, then Rollins hit him with the Cross Rhodes until Rhodes rolled through and hit him with his own Cross Rhodes. Rhodes would then hit Rollins with the Cross Rhodes two more times, then took the sledgehammer and hit Rollins with it for the win. Rhodes received a standing ovation afterwards. My score: 4.5/5

(NOTE: Rhodes would get surgery later this week, reattaching the muscle to the bone; he will be out of action for nine months.)

NXT

We now head back to Orlando, but this time, it’s for an episode of NXT.

The aftermath from In Your House began this week, as well as the countdown to a special NXT episode that’s nowadays traditional to this brand; that special episode, taking place on July 5 on USA Network, is “NXT: The Great American Bash.”

The last time we had a wrestler jump from the main roster to back to NXT was in late 2019 when NXT began its USA Network run full time; that wrestler that jumped back to the then black-and-gold brand was Finn Bálor who would go on to win the NXT Championship one year later. This year, another wrestler did the same thing, and this time it is Apollo Crews who—after meeting Bron Breakker who was asking for who will be next to challenge him for the NXT Championship—confirmed that he’ll be competing on this brand for a while. I honestly don’t mind seeing Crews returning to the brand after having a good amount of success on both Raw and SmackDown including winning both the WWE Intercontinental and United States Championships during his run on both of those brands; sadly, we never got a chance to see him win any of NXT’s championships, but I’m hoping that this time, Crews does so in his second NXT run. Besides, he is a pretty impressive competitor and has proven it to us not just in the WWE but in other companies such as Dragon Gate, back when he competed as Uhaa Nation.

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Just like NXT In Your House, this episode of NXT also had six matches; the best match of the night had to go to the bout that made the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament end on a high note. Both Tiffany Stratton—subbing for the injured Nikkita Lyons—and Roxanne Perez gave their all in the final round of the tournament, even with both wrestlers getting pretty good pushes as of late. In the end, Roxanne won the tournament. As a result, Roxanne made history by winning back to back inaugural tournaments; not only did she win WWE’s inaugural NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament, but also—back when she was Rok-C—Ring of Honor’s inaugural Women’s World Championship tournament months prior to her WWE tenure.

Here are the results from this week’s episode of NXT in Orlando…

Match #1: Josh Briggs (w/ Brooks Jensen and Fallon Henley) defeated Von Wagner (w/ Sofia Cromwell and Mr. Stone) in three minutes

Near the end, Wagner slammed Jensen’s injured arm onto the apron before focusing on Briggs. Then, while Fallon distracted the referee, Jensen took off his cast and slid it to Briggs who then hit Wagner with it before winning with a charging clothesline. My score: 0.5/5

Match #2: Nathan Frazer defeated Santos Escobar (w/ Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro, Tony D’Angelo, Stacks and Two Dimes)

D’Angelo’s team, now consisting of Legado del Fantasma besides Stacks and Two Dimes, is now known as “The D’Angelo Family.” Also, D’Angelo joined Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett on commentary. Towards the end, Two Dimes gave Escobar a crowbar until Escobar got rid of it before Frazer kicked him down and won with a corkscrew moonsault. Post-match, Wilde, Cruz, Stacks and Two Dimes surrounded Escobar who was read the riot act by D’Angelo. My score: 3.75/5

Match #3: Roxanne Perez defeated Tiffany Stratton in the final round of the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament

Roxanne rolled away from Tiffany’s triple jump moonsault (even though Tiffany’s head landed on her per se) before winning with the Pop Rox. After the match, Cora Jade celebrated with Roxanne until Toxic Attraction came in and poked fun of Roxanne, saying that she’ll fall like Cora did. Toxic Attraction fought Roxanne and Cora until Indi Hartwell ran in and helped the two fight Mandy Rose, Cora Jade and Jacy Jayne out of the ring. My score: 4.25/5

Match #4: Pretty Deadly defeated Andre Chase in a handicap match in three minutes

The match was scheduled to be Pretty Deadly taking on Chase and Bodhi Hayward after the now former NXT Tag Team Champions poked fun of Chase U during their photo op; Hayward was attacked backstage by Kit Wilson and Elton Prince prior to the match, leading to Chase flying solo. During the match, Hayward was crawling to the ringside area while Thea Hail—the new addition to Chase U—was not only supporting Chase but also preventing Hayward from competing. The team of Wilson and Prince won with Spilled Milk. No score.

Match #5: Alba Fyre defeated Tatum Paxley in two minutes with a Swanton Bomb.

My score: 1/5

Main event: Apollo Crews & Solo Sikoa defeated Grayson Waller & Carmelo Hayes (w/ Trick Williams)

This match was made after Sikoa approached Hayes and demanded a shot at the NXT North American Championship. The team of Crews and Sikoa won after Crews countered Waller’s through-the-ropes cutter with a blue thunder bomb. My score: 3.25/5

NXT UK

We now return to the United Kingdom, but this time, we head to the BT Sports Studios in London, England for an episode of NXT UK.

Not many storylines came into play this week unless you count highlights from after Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter winning the NXT UK Tag Team Championship, including a nice heartwarming moment where Smith presented his daughter his title as well as Trent Seven planning to have something to say—on next week’s episode—after saying “It’s over” to Tyler Bate minutes after losing the belts.

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Out of the four matches that were shown this week, my favorite out of the four would have to go to the main event that I was looking forward to seeing; that match was of course the NXT UK Women’s Championship match between Meiko Satomura and—from NXT—Ivy Nile. It was a pretty good back and forth title match between both the veteran Meiko and the rising up-and-comer Ivy. Besides Meiko coming into the match as the defending champion, Ivy came into the match undefeated. In the end after a pretty good battle between the two, it was Meiko retaining the title that she has been holding for over a year after defeating Kay Lee Ray (now Alba Fyre) for it months before fans came to the venue; not only did we see Meiko retain the title, but also see Ivy’s undefeated streak come to an end (even though her NXT undefeated streak is still going on per se). Both Meiko and Ivy did great in their matchup, especially Ivy who still held her head high as she looks to overshadow her currently lone blemish which is in the form of the pinfall loss.

Here are the match results from London…

Match #1: Mark Andrews defeated Kenny Williams

As soon as the match began, Williams looked around for the masked man that has been eyeing on him. Near the end, Tiger Turan appeared on the apron, and Williams shooed him off before Andrews rolled him up for the win. My score: 2/5

Match #2: Tyson T-Bone & Primate (w/ Eddie Dennis) defeated Oli Blake & Tate Mayfairs

T-Bone hit Mayfairs with a bodyslam before Primate hit him with a top rope headbutt. Post-match, T-Bone and Primate broke up Symbiosis by attacking Dennis, before hitting him with a bodyslam/top rope headbutt combo. My score: 2/5

Match #3: Eliza Alexander (w/ Xia Brookside) defeated Amale

After Amale hit Eliza with a running boot in a corner, Xia got on the apron until Amale booted her off; this led to Eliza coming back, and then winning with a charging knee. My score: 1/5

Main event: Meiko Satomura defeated Ivy Nile to retain the NXT UK Women’s Championship

Ivy put Meiko in a standing dragon sleeper until Meiko slowly turned it into a bridging pin for the win. Both women shook hands afterwards. My score: 4/5

NXT: LVL UP

Finally, we return to Orlando (three times in Orlando, is that a record?) for an episode of NXT: LVL UP.

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Out of the three matches that took place, my favorite would have to go to the main event match between Dante Chen and Ikemen Jiro. You can tell that Chen refuses to quit when it comes to trying to pick up more wins. Not only that, but you can also tell that Jiro is refocusing after dealing with both the split up of Jacket Time (due to Kushida’s release from the WWE) and going face-to-face with Von Wagner even before being thrown into the audience by him. In the end, it was Jiro winning in his comeback trail.

Before I continue, I noticed that the first and third matches of the episode were taped prior to In Your House, while the second match was taped before this week’s episode of NXT; the dead giveaway that I noticed was a fan in the audience was holding “WENDY WINS WE RIOT”, and was also seen on In Your House besides the tapings of the first and third matches.

Sleuthing aside, let’s take a look at the NXT: LVL UP match results from Orlando, shall we?

Match #1: Valentina Feroz (w/ Yulisa Leon) defeated Arianna Grace

After Valentina hit Arianna with a spear, Arianna worked on one of her arms until Valentina backslid her for the win. My score: 2/5

Match #2: Sloane Jacobs defeated Sierra St. Pierre

This was Sierra’s WWE debut. Sloane won with a spinning flapjack. My score: 1/5

Main event: Ikemen Jiro defeated Dante Chen with the Ikemen Slash

My score: 3/5

Next time…

Just my usual four shows which are ICW Fight Club, NXT, NXT UK, and NXT: LVL UP. That is all.

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Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment! I’ll see you next time!

(Photos shown in the newsletter are from WWE, ICW and wXw.)