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In case you’re wondering, it has nothing to do with the TV show of the same name my mother watched back when I was a little kid. I wanted to come up with a title that had “thirty” in it since this is my 30th issue of Pro-Darin. I’m so glad to be continuing writing this newsletter not just on my home computer, but also on Wrestling With Johners’ website and Facebook group page. (P.S.: Thank you once again John Scott for having my articles on your website besides the group page!)
Let’s go for more issues of Pro-Darin, shall we?
ROH Death Before Dishonor
Oh, I forgot to mention…I threw in a bonus recap!
This Ring of Honor pay-per-view event took place on July 23, 2022 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts; the pre-show was shown on YouTube with four matches, and the pay-per-view event was shown on Bleachers Report. It was the first ROH event under the full ownership of Tony Khan, the president of All Elite Wrestling. I’m not going to lie to you, but DBD did not disappointment me one bit; both the pre-show and the main show were amazing.
Storylines heading into this pay-per-view event included:
Jay Lethal turning heel at Supercard of Honor and demanding to become the #1 contender for the ROH World Championship until—after Sonjay Dutt sided with Lethal—his former mentor Samoa Joe put a stop to it. Then, after Joe defeated Minoru Suzuki for the ROH World Television Championship on an episode of AEW Dynamite, Lethal and Dutt—along with Satnam Singh—targeted Joe for the title until the World TV title match was made for DBD.
FTR claimed that they weren’t seen as the best tag team in the world after defeating the Briscoe Brothers for the ROH World Tag Team Championship at Supercard of Honor; Jay and Mark Briscoe talked about FTR on Twitter, and then decided to fight the champions again for the belts, but this time in a two-out-of-three falls match.
Serena Deeb turned on Mercedes Martinez after the two worked together in matches, and began eyeing on the ROH Women’s World Championship.
On an episode of AEW Rampage, Jonathan Gresham teamed up with Tully Blanchard Enterprises (renamed the Embassy after Prince Nana purchased the stable), and then claimed to be the best wrestler in the world until Claudio Castagnoli—of the Blackpool Combat Club led by William Regal—challenged him for the ROH World Championship.
Four matches—as noted—took place on the pre-show (known as “Death Before Dishonor Zero Hour”), and seven took place on the main show. Out of the four Zero Hour matches that took place, my favorite would have to go to the six-man tag team match between Brian Cage & the Gates of Agony and the trio of Tony Deppen, Alex Zayne & Blake Christian. All six competitors had a great showing in this battle, and in the end we saw the three members of Prince Nana’s Embassy—Cage, Jasper Kaun and Toa Liona—emerge victorious.
As for the main show, I loved three championship matches that took place; one was the ROH World Championship match between Jonathan Gresham and Claudio Castagnoli (both the champion and challenger did a great job in this match, Gresham looking to keep his reign going and Castagnoli looking to win ROH gold), one was for the ROH World Women’s Championship match between Mercedes Martinez and Serena Deeb (both women kicking ass just like they have when I first saw them compete elsewhere, Mercedes in indie shows such as WSU—Women Superstars Uncensored—and Serena when she joined CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society before seeing her in other shows even before we ever heard of AEW), and—my top favorite title match actually—the ROH World Tag Team Championship match between FTR and the Briscoe Brothers (I’m so glad to see FTR overshadowing their time on WWE’s main roster Raw/SmackDown with how much they have accomplished in other companies including ROH and AEW, and the Briscoe Brothers still being a great tag team ever since I first saw them in…where else?…ROH!).
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Not only was the tag team bout my favorite match of Death Before Dishonor, but so was one match that took place and wasn’t a championship match whatsoever; it was a one-on-one match involving the brothers Rush and Dragon Lee. It was a great back-and-forth match from start to finish, and not only was it the best of both companies AEW and ROH respectively, but also what both brothers had in store for their match at this ROH event. In the end, Rush was the winner.
Here are the match results from Lowell…
Pre-show match #1: Colt Cabana defeated Anthony Henry (w/ JD Drake).
Henry worked on Cabana’s neck during the match. Near the end, Cabana put Henry in Billy Goat’s Curse until Drake distracted him; as soon as Drake was fended off by Cabana, Cabana would win with a moonsault. My score: 3.5/5
Pre-show match #2: The Trust Busters defeated the Shinobi Shadow Squad.
The Trust Busters are Ari Daivari (f.k.a. Ariya Daivari) and—whom I first remember on NWA Wild Side (now Anarchy Wrestling)—Slim J. The Shinobi Shadow Squad are Cheeseburger and Eli Isom. The Trust Busters won after Daivari hit Isom with a frog splash. My score: 2.5/5
Pre-show match #3: Brian Cage & the Gates of Agony (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Tony Deppen, Alex Zayne & Blake Christian.
Deppen went after all three members of the Embassy near the end until the three came right back before Cage pinned Deppen for the win. My score: 4.5/5
Pre-show match #4: Willow Nightingale defeated Allysin Kay with a gut wrench powerbomb.
My score: 3.5/5
Match #1: Claudio Castagnoli defeated Jonathan Gresham (w/ Prince Nana) to become the new ROH World Champion.
William Regal, who accompanied Castagnoli to the ring, joined Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman (whom I also first remember from NWA Wild Side besides Slim J) on commentary. Gresham worked on one of Castagnoli’s knees during the match, and Castagnoli was unable to spin Gresham with the UFO (the same maneuver he used on Seth Rollins at last year’s WrestleMania) as a result. Castagnoli won with a sit out powerbomb (known as the Ricola Bomb), then he and Gresham shook hands afterwards. My score: 4.5/5
Match #2: Dalton Castle & the Boys defeated The Righteous (w/ Vita VonStarr) to become the new ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions.
The Boys are brothers Brandon and Brent Tate. The Righteous are Vincent, Bateman and Dutch. Vita interfered during the match even though she accidentally hit Vincent and Bateman with an Asai moonsault while Dutch hit the Boys with a tope suicida. In the end, it was Castle hitting Bateman with a spinning Alabama Slam (known as the Bangarang) for the win. My score: 3.5/5
Match #3: Wheeler Yuta defeated Daniel Garcia in a Pure Wrestling Rules match to retain the ROH Pure Championship.
Again, William Regal was on commentary. Each wrestler got three rope breaks in this bout. Ace Steel, John Walters and Josh Woods were the judges for this match. Garcia was able to get out of Yuta’s submission maneuvers including biting one of his opponents ears at one point. Garcia used his first rope break after Yuta had him in a Boston crab. Towards the end, Garcia went after one Yuta’s wrists until Yuta came back with an arm-trapped rollup for the win. My score: 4/5
Match #4: Rush (w/ José the Assistant) defeated Dragon Lee.
After Rush hit Dragon Lee with a running basement dropkick in the corner (known as the Bull’s Horns) for two and Lee hit him with the Incinerator (or Last Shot as Adam Cole calls it), Rush pretended that he was worn out before winning with the second Bull’s Horns. My score: 4.75/5
Match #5: Mercedes Martinez defeated Serena Deeb to retain the ROH World Women’s Championship.
Near the end, Serena had Mercedes in the Serenity Lock (a modified Calf Crusher) until Mercedes grabbed the ropes until Serena worked on one of her knees. Mercedes came back with the OG Drop (crucifix slam), and then made her submit to the Brass City Sleeper (surfboard into a dragon sleeper) for the win. My score: 4.5/5
Match #6: Samoa Joe defeated Jay Lethal to retain the ROH World Television Championship.
Both men brawled at the entryway before the match started. During the brawl, Lethal attempted to hit Joe with the championship belt, but thought better of it and then hit him with three tope suicidas instead. Joe fought back until Satnam Singh came and blindsided the champion; Lethal and Singh then attacked Joe’s arm with a chair until the referee called for the bell to both start the match and eject Singh from ringside. Lethal worked on Joe’s arm during the match until Joe came back; Joe was unable to hit Lethal with the Muscle Buster due to the arm injury, leading to Lethal hitting him with the Lethal Injection for a near fall. Then, near the end, Sonjay Dutt came for a distraction, leading to Lethal hitting Joe with the belt for another two. Joe kicked Lethal down, and then put him in the Coquina Clutch which led to him winning by submission. My score: 3.75/5
Main event: FTR defeated the Briscoe Brothers in a two-out-of-three falls match to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship.
Jay and Mark Briscoe took the 1-0 lead after hitting Dax Harwood with the Doomsday Device (ala the Road Warriors). Later on during the battle for the second fall, both teams fought out of the ring until—behind the referee’s back—Jay hit Cash Wheeler with the ring bell before Mark pinned Wheeler for two. FTR came back, and then tied it up 1-1 after Wheeler and Harwood hit Jay with the Big Rig (3-D with a Codebreaker at the end). In a battle for the third and final fall, the referee was knocked out by Harwood who attempted to clothesline Jay, and both the Briscoe Brothers and FTR were unable to get three counts—until the referee recovered—after hitting each other with the Jay Driller and the Big Rig respectively.
Near the end, Jay hit Harwood with a Jay Driller for two, then went for another Jay Driller until Harwood blocked the attempt and then placed him on the top rope before—after being fended off by Jay for a few seconds—hitting him with a top rope piledriver for the win. Afterwards, Harwood told the fans to give the Briscoe Brothers the appreciation they deserve, then said that he loved the fans and pro wrestling. Then, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta—both accompanied by William Regal—appeared and raised their belts in the air while looking at FTR who did the same. My score: 4.75/5
wXw True Colors
And now, a belated recap.
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wXw True Colors took place on May 28, 2022 at the Dresden Stromwerk in Dresden, Germany; it was the same venue where—on Halloween of last year—Dresden’s own Axel Tischer defeated Marius al-Ani to not only break his ongoing winning streak but also win the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship. (That, and it was also a True Colors event.) Fast forward to May 28, 2022, we see Tristan Archer as the champion with Dresden’s hometown hero fighting him for the belt at this event.
Archer vs. Tischer wasn’t the only championship match that took place in Dresden; there were three more title matches that occurred as well as three one-on-one matches including one that Robert Dreissker created at the last minute due to a mishap with the boom microphone. My favorite non-title match would have to go to tag team partners Senza Volto and Aigle Blanc. Aigle Blanc came into this match 1-0 over his tag team partner Volto, and both wrestlers were fantastic in what may become a series of matches—between the two—in the making.
My favorite championship match is the wXw Shotgun Championship bout between Maggot and Peter Tihanyi;. Originally, I was pretty sure that Norman Harras was going to be the challenger after having us kiss the Shotgun lottery goodbye on an episode of wXw We Love Wrestling, but I was proven wrong when Tihanyi came out as the challenger. Tihanyi is still showing us that he has what it takes to take on top competitors, including rising mid-card competitors that do or don’t have gold, by giving Maggot a run for his money. In the end, it was the “Son of Nothing”—who also had a great run in this match—that defeated the rising star to retain the belt.
Here are the match results from Dresden…
Match #1: “The French Sensation” Senza Volto defeated “The Royal Hunter” Aigle Blanc.
Volto’s Eiffel Tower was countered by a rollup from Aigle Blanc until the two exchanged rollups; the rollup trade would conclude with Volto pinning Aigle Blanc for the win. Both men shook hands afterwards. My score: 4.25/5
Match #2: “Ehrenmann” Bobby Gunns defeated “Der Prinz Der Sterne” Levaniel.
Before the match started, Levaniel apologized for costing Jurn Simmons the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship, and then vowed to show Gunns love the violent way. Gunns won after hitting Levaniel with a headbutt followed by a charging clothesline. My score: 3.5/5
Match #3: Baby Allison defeated Iva Kolasky to retain the wXw Women’s Championship.
Allison was rolling out of the way to dodge Iva’s moonsault, and ended up getting bits and pieces of that moonsault, before winning with a spear. My score: 1.5/5
Match #4: Rott und Flott defeated Arrows of Hungary and Fast Time Moodo in a three-way tornado tag team match to become the new wXw Tag Team Champions.
Moodo flew solo because Stephanie Maze was not cleared to compete; instead of finding a replacement, he made the fans in Dresden his “tag team partner.” During the match, the Arrows of Hungary and Rott und Flott were blocking each other’s suplex attempts until Moodo decided to help out Icarus and Dover by suplexing Michael Schenkenberg and Nikita Charisma.
Schenkenberg and Charisma came back after disrupting the Arrows’ Crossfire (double running knee) finisher, and then hit Moodo with an assisted DDT to score the win and the belts.
Post-match, Dan Mallman interviewed Rott und Flott who said that it was a day of joy and not shame, and that they proved to be tag team champions and the best tag team in Europe. My score: 4/5
Match #5: Robert Dreissker defeated Orsi.
This match was made after Orsi accidentally came close to hitting Dreissker with the boom microphone while he was cutting a promo backstage. During the match, Orsi surprised Dreissker by hitting him with a back body drop. Dreissker came back and hit her with a big splash, but teased pinning her for three in order to add salt to the wound. The Arrows of Hungary came to ringside and were livid with Dreissker’s actions; Dreissker taunted them while fighting Orsi before winning with the Dreissker Bomb. Afterwards, Icarus and Dover chased Dreissker out of the ring and checked on Orsi while the corrupt coach celebrated as if he won the Mega Millions lottery. My score: 1.5/5
Match #6: Maggot defeated Peter Tihanyi to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship.
As soon as the match began, Tihanyi offered Maggot a handshake, but Maggot—something unusual even though he, along with Baby Allison, appear to be nearly cementing their babyface statuses per se—politely declined it. Towards the end, Tihanyi hit Maggot with a tope con giro at ringside, then as soon as they came back in the ring, Tihanyi went for a springboard maneuver until Maggot countered with a cutter for the win. After the match, Maggot offered Tihanyi a handshake, but Tihanyi gave him a high five and a pat on the shoulder instead. My score: 4.5/5
Main event: Tristan Archer defeated Axel “Axeman” Tischer to retain the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship.
In an interview on YouTube, Tischer suggested that the match should have two referees, and Norman Harras—wXw’s Director of Sports—added a ringside referee for that bout. Near the end, Rott und Flott appeared and was backed away by the ringside referee. Tischer appeared to have won the championship until Nikita Charisma put Archer’s foot on the bottom rope; the three count was made until the ringside referee had the match resumed after seeing the foot on the rope. As the ringside referee dealt with Archer and Rott und Flott, Tischer surprised the three with a tope con giro. While both referees were ejecting Rott und Flott to the back, Archer hit Tischer with a low blow, then hit him with the Décapité clothesline followed by the Coup d’Êtat for two. Tischer came back until Archer picked up the win with a second Coup d’Êtat. Post-match, Archer mocked Tischer by making him look like he was crying. My score: 3.75/5
ICW Fight Club
Now that I got both the bonus and belated recaps out of the way, let’s go to the GPWA in Glasgow, Scotland in the United Kingdom for ICW Fight Club, shall we?
Another match was added to ICW Shug’s Hoose Party 7, and this time, it involves another member of the Manifesto. This week, Eddie Castle was challenged to a match against Che Monet who was injured by the Manifesto weeks ago; Monet—in a promo—said that the four tried to put him on the shelf, but instead they ended up pissing him off, leading to Monet challenging Castle to the match for night #1 of that event. This looks like a good match to keep an eye on, especially when it comes to rising mid-card competitors such as Castle and Monet. Not only have I seen the Manifesto wreak havoc as a dominant stable on ICW, but I have also seen Monet on a roll as of late even when going toe-to-toe with members of that team.
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Three matches took place this week on Fight Club, with both the opener and closer being fairly better than the second match. My favorite of the three would have to go to the non-title opener between Zero-G champion Dylan Thorn and—making his ICW debut and hailing from Montreal, Quebec, Canada—the Green Phantom. The Green Phantom had a good debut in his match against Thorn, and Thorn had a good showing as well while heading into the ladder match—for the belt—against Daz Black at SHP7. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes…the Green Phantom does remind me of Sami Zayn’s former alter ego El Generico (even without “¡Olé!” by the Bouncing Souls as the theme song).
Here are the match results from Glasgow…
Match #1: Dylan Thorn (w/ ADM, Grant McIvor and Eddie Castle) defeated the Green Phantom in a non-title match.
As mentioned before, this was the Green Phantom’s ICW debut. Thorn won after hitting the Green Phantom with the Crown of Thorns followed by a shooting star press. Afterwards, the Manifesto sat in the middle of the ring as if they were at a campfire, and ADM praised Thorn for being the best cruiserweight in the world and loving him more than the “fickle” fans do, then told him to prove who the best Zero-G champion is at SHP7. My score: 2.5/5
Match #2: Moxie Malone defeated Ellie Armstrong in three minutes.
Moxie’s original opponent was going to be Angel Hayze, but was furious after learning that Angel was absent; this led to Moxie calling out anyone on the roster, leading to Ellie answering the challenge. Seconds before the bell rang, Moxie blindsided Ellie who was posing on the apron, leading to the two fighting at ringside before Moxie brought a chair into the ring. Moxie threw the chair at Ellie, and then incapacitated her with a sleeper/bodyscissors combo; afterwards, Moxie—while outside the GPWA—said that she was coming for Angel who is now “under threat.” (Perhaps Angel is working on her NXT UK tenure?) My score: 1/5
Main event: The Young Team, Lou King Sharp & Krieger defeated K.O.E. & Kings of the North in an eight-man tag team match.
Sharp came to the ring equipped with a chain and a kendo stick, even though the chain wasn’t used as a weapon per se. Near the end, Sharp and Krieger launched Jimmy Pierce and Logan Smith into their opponents before the Young Team fought Adam and Marcus King to the back. Then with Sharp & Krieger and the Kings of the North left in the ring, Corvin hit Krieger with a cutter, then was setting up for another attack until Sharp—who was the legal man unbeknownst to Corvin—rolled him up for the win. Afterwards, Sharp and Krieger posed with the ICW Tag Team Championship belts before the referee handed them back to Corvin and Bonesaw. My score: 2.25/5
NXT
We now head to Orlando, Florida in the United States for an episode of NXT.
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In the middle of August, NXT will have another special episode, and it is entitled “Heatwave.” Two championship matches have been made for the special event. One match will be for the NXT Women’s Championship between Mandy Rose and Zoey Stark. Last week, we saw Zoey return from injury and win in a 20-woman battle royal that determined the #1 contender for the title much to the chagrin of Cora Jade, who this week blamed her—as well as Roxanne Perez—for stealing her spotlight, moments before Toxic Attraction appeared and had a say about Zoey going for Mandy’s belt. This led to Zoey fighting Toxic Attraction member Gigi Dolin this week and then Cora attacking the contender with a kendo stick before Roxanne returned and chased Cora out of the ring. I have no idea if Cora is going to be a factor come Heatwave unless Cora will have a match against Roxanne at that same event, but I’m still looking forward to seeing Zoey go for gold once again come in the middle of August.
The other championship match made for Heatwave will be for the NXT Championship; Bron Breakker will defend the title against former NXT UK wrestler JD McDonagh. McDonagh—who appeared in the audience and taunted a fan for eating popcorn before busting the guts of a timekeeper, ring announcer Alicia Taylor and commentators Wade Barrett and Vic Joseph—called out the champion who then came into the ring and vowed to acclimate the challenger; this led to McDonagh headbutting Breakker until Breakker struck back, busting the lip of the Irish Ace. McDonagh has been eyeing on gold as of late ever since losing the now defunct NXT Cruiserweight Championship last year as well as attempting to defeat Ilja Dragunov for the NXT United Kingdom Championship, and I’m curious to see what the Irish Ace has in store for Heatwave when going after Breakker who currently has a dominant second championship reign.
Speaking of championships, the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship are vacant until next week’s episode. Alundra Blayze—who regretted throwing the WWE Women’s Championship in a trashcan and getting a 20-year ban from the company back in the mid-1990s—appeared with the same trashcan that we saw last week, and Roxanne Perez did the honors by pulling the tag team championship belt out of it besides relinquishing the titles due to Cora Jade’s actions (including throwing the title in the trash last week) as of late. This led to the WWE Hall of Famer announcing that there will be four teams fighting for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship; the teams that will fight for the belts are Valentina Feroz & Yulisa Leon, Ivy Nile & Tatum Paxley, Katana Chance & Kayden Carter and Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne. I’m predicting that Ivy & Tatum will be winning the titles next week, although I won’t be surprised if Toxic Attraction’s Gigi & Jacy have aces up in their sleeves come next week.
Six matches took place this week, with the last match being an eight-man tag team match; the rest were one-on-one matches. My favorite match of the episode would go to the one-on-one bout between Andre Chase and Giovanni Vinci; it was originally going to be Bodhi Hayward taking on Vinci until Chase decided to take on the former Fabian Aichner after Hayward told him that Vinci got grouchy when he and the rest of the Chase U students met him in the parking lot. It was a great match highlighting two mid-card competitors, especially Chase (and Chase U of course) being on the roll as is Vinci ever since the repackaging and name change.
Here are the NXT results from Orlando…
Match #1: Grayson Waller defeated Wes Lee.
Near the end, Lee hit Waller with a tope suicida, and then climbed to the top rope until Waller shoved him off and to the floor. Then when the referee wasn’t looking, Trick Williams—in a hoodie and boxing gloves—slugged Lee from the audience; Lee staggered back in the ring where Waller defeated him with a through-the-ropes cutter. My score: 4/5
Match #2: Apollo Crews defeated Xyon Quinn with a backcracker followed by a pop-up uranage.
My score: 2.5/5
Match #3: Zoey Stark defeated Gigi Dolin (w/ Mandy Rose and Jacy Jayne) in almost three minutes with a flipping facebuster.
Afterwards, Jacy ran in until Zoey hit her with a super kick before chasing Mandy out of the ring. Then, Cora Jade came from the crowd with a kendo stick and attacked Zoey until Roxanne Perez ran in and chased Cora out. My score: 0.5/5
Match #4: Giovanni Vinci defeated Andre Chase (w/ Bodhi Hayward and Thea Hail).
Nathan Frazer was with the Chase U students in the audience as a flagbearer like Hayward. During the match, Vinci took Hayward’s flag and broke it until Chase threw him shoulder first into a post; Hayward ended up waving Frazer’s flag afterwards. Vinci ended up winning with a powerbomb. After the match, Vinci attacked Chase some more until Frazer came from the crowd and chased him out of the ring. My score: 4.5/5
Match #5: Indi Hartwell defeated Arianna Grace in four minutes.
This match was made after Arianna was angry at Indi for embarrassing her in the 20-woman battle royal last week. Near the end, the referee caught Arianna using the ropes for leverage while pinning Indi until Indi picked up the win with a big boot. My score: 0.5/5
Main event: Tony D’Angelo, Stacks, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz del Toro defeated Roderick Strong, Damon Kemp & the Creed Brothers.
Elektra Lopez and Ivy Nile were barred from ringside. Noteworthy, Wilde and Cruz are wearing the same colors as D’Angelo and Stacks instead of Legado del Fantasma colors. Kemp’s left knee was worked on during the match. Near the end, Strong accidentally hit Julius with a charging knee, leading to D’Angelo hitting Julius with the Fuhgettaboutit neckbreaker. My score: 2.75/5
NXT UK
We return to the United Kingdom, but this time, we head to the BT Sports Studios in London, England for an episode of NXT UK.
Meiko Satomura vs. Sarray—for the NXT UK Women’s Championship—has been confirmed for next week. Both women were in a press conference that was hosted by Sid Scala, assistant to NXT UK general manager Johnny Saint, this week; Sarray vowed to make Meiko the “sunset” while she was declaring herself the “sunrise”, and Meiko vowed to retain the title in order to remain the strongest until someone beats her for that belt. This will indeed be a good match to watch, especially when it comes to seeing two joshi puroresu competitors clashing for gold in the United Kingdom; I have seen Sarray’s comeback ever since returning to action in NXT prior to making NXT UK appearances, as well as Meiko continuing her reign as the women’s champion on NXT UK.
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Three matches took place this week on NXT UK, and my favorite out of the three would have to go to the tag team opener for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship; Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen came in with the belts, taking on the new team of Wild Boar & Mark Andrews. Wild Boar and Andrews actually had a strong showing as a new team, from fighting to tag team chemistry; I’m pretty sure that they have more in store for the tag team division after clashing with NXT’s Briggs & Jensen for the championship. As for Briggs and Jensen, they are doing very well in their reign as NXT UK’s tag team champions, and are proving it not just in the United States but in the United Kingdom as well. Here are the match results from London…
Match #1: Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen defeated Wild Boar & Mark Andrews to retain the NXT UK Tag Team Championship.
Jensen’s left leg was worked on during the match. Near the end, Briggs went for a delayed suplex until Andrews countered it with the Stundog Millionaire before dropkicking Jensen off the apron; Andrews then went for the Fall To Pieces, but missed, leading to Briggs and Jensen winning with a chop block/clothesline combo. Both teams showed respect to each other afterwards. My score: 4/5
Match #2: Blair Davenport defeated Amale in five minutes.
During the match, Blair went for a top rope double stomp, but missed and almost reinjured her leg. However, towards the end, Blair blocked Amale’s Hope Breaker attempt and then won with a Michinoku driver (despite Andy Shepherd and Nigel McGuinness confusing it with a falcon arrow on commentary). My score: 1/5
Main event: Ilja Dragunov defeated Wolfgang to retain the NXT United Kingdom Championship.
During the match, Dragunov was lifting Wolfgang until his back gave out; his lower back would get worked on afterwards. Also, Dragunov hit Wolfgang with a running knee in the corner until his stunned opponent landed on his ankle. Near the end, Wolfgang went for a spear, but Dragunov countered it with a jumping knee and was able to slam his opponent before winning with the Torpedo. After the match, Dragunov helped up Wolfgang until the two shook hands. My score: 3.75/5
NXT: LVL UP
Finally, we return to Orlando, Florida for an episode of NXT: LVL UP.
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Out of the three matches that took place, the tag team main event was my favorite. Edris Enofé & Malik Blade have been on a roll in the tag team division even after getting their first shot at the NXT Tag Team Championship; they proved it once again against the team of two fun loving competitors, veteran Ikemen Jiro and up-and-comer Quincy Elliott. Not only was it a good competitive match, but was also—pun intended—a fun bout.
Here are the NXT: LVL UP results from Orlando…
Match #1: Javier Bernal defeated Myles Borne in four minutes.
Both men shook hands in the beginning. Borne went for a suplex until Bernal rolled him up, grabbed the middle rope, and pinned him for the win. My score: 1/5
Match #2: Fallon Henley (w/ Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen) defeated Sol Ruca.
Sol came to the ring performing a walking handstand. Fallon won after hitting Sol with a faceplant followed by a running knee. My score: 2/5
Match #3: Edris Enofé & Malik Blade defeated Quincy Elliott & Ikemen Jiro.
Elliott cleaned house near the end until Enofé kneed him in the face before he and Blade surprised him with a Samoan drop/jumping neckbreaker combo (or “G9” as Cryme Tyme—JTG and the late Shad Gaspard—called it) for the win. My score: 2.5/5
Next time…
Not only do I have my usual four shows, but also Summer Slam! Oh, and another belated wXw recap will be there as well.
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Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment! I’ll see you next time!
(Photos shown in the newsletter are from Ring of Honor, WWE, wXw and ICW.)