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Use Sparingly

I may think about using introductions on occasion in later issues. The reason why I say that is because I couldn’t think of a good introduction to begin this issue. I hope it’s okay for you readers to see me put aside intros and focus on the recaps, and then use the intros for special occasions such as holidays, anniversaries of events, and such.

Before I recap the shows I watched, I sure hope John Scott of Wrestling With Johners had a good birthday this week!

wXw We Love Wrestling 32

First, a belated recap for the 32nd episode of wXw We Love Wrestling.

This episode took place on June 3, 2022 at the Markthalle in Hamburg, Germany; it has been over two and a half years since wXw came to the city of Hamburg.

Jonathan Gresham was scheduled to fight Tristan Archer for the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship on this episode, but was unable to make it due to personal reasons. Instead, Archer would defend the title against Axel Tischer once again; this time, it was in the form of a 60-minute Iron Man match. Other storylines that occurred on this episode was Dreissker being a corrupt coach in the wXw Wrestling Academy, Norman Harras looking to rain on somebody’s parade even while working as the Director of Sports in the company, and the conclusion of the best-of-three series that tag team partners Aigle Blanc and Senza Volto had.

Six matches took place on this episode of wXw We Love Wrestling; the first three matches gave this episode a lukewarm start, but the second three matches that followed took the show up to fourth gear (or fifth gear if you’re in a NextGen stock car in the NASCAR Cup Series). There were two matches that I enjoyed in the second half of the event; one was the one-on-one match between Aigle Blanc and Senza Volto, and the other was the aforementioned Iron Man match between Tristan Archer and Axel Tischer.

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Just like the first and second one-on-one matches that tag team partners Aigle Blanc and Volto had, this one was pretty damn good as well. Not only was it a friendly way of saying the line made famous in the Broadway musical “Annie Get Your Gun” which is “anything you can do I can do better”, but also showcasing what both competitors had including high flying action in and outside the ring as well as other tactics to surprise one another. Their trifecta of matches was indeed fun to watch from start to finish.

The other match that I enjoyed was the Iron Man match, for the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship, between Tristan Archer and Axel Tischer. Besides Archer having more than one ace up in his sleeve while finding ways to retain the title, Tischer had good comebacks in this bout. The action was indeed amazing for sixty minutes, even with moments that spilled out of the ring and into the crowd as soon as the second half of the match began. Yes, it was a quite enjoyable bout that’s worth the 60 minutes of my time.

Here are the match results from Hamburg…

Match #1: Rott und Flott defeated Jurn Simmons & Levaniel in a non-title match.

Before the match started, Levaniel—the Hamburg native—apologized to Simmons for costing him the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship back then until Simmons told him not to be sorry but to be better. Nikita Charisma and Michael Schenkenberg blindsided their opponents seconds before the bell rang until Levaniel fought back. Near the end, Simmons attempted to hit Schenkenberg with a powerbomb until Levaniel wanted to tag in; Simmons and Levaniel attempted to finish off Rott und Flott until the tag team champions fought back and threw Simmons out of the ring before hitting Levaniel with an assisted DDT for the win. My score: 2/5

Match #2: Robert Dreissker defeated the Rotation (w/ Elijah Blum).

The Rotation returned from competing in the United States with two injured toes in his left foot. As soon as the match began, Dreissker worked on the foot even after taking the shoe, shinpad and sock off. During the match, Dreissker fought the Rotation out of the ring, and then hit him with a shinbreaker down the stairs; while the referee checked on the Rotation, the coach fought Blum into the ring, and Blum fought back until Dreissker got rid of him. After the Rotation hit Dreissker with the Victory Over Gravity for a near fall, Dreissker knocked him off the top rope before making him submit to an ankle lock for the win. My score: 1.5/5

Match #3: Only Friends defeated Sebastian Suave & Norman Harras.

Noted by Harras during the episode, Gunns—who competed with a taped left shoulder—never lost in Hamburg. Harras competed in his dress pants and belt—that he used as a weapon at one point—along with singlets, that were revealed after he took off his jacket and shirt, and boots. During the match, Gunns and Michael Knight gave Suave and Harras airplane spins in stereo, then—with the Director of Sports staggering—placed Suave onto Harras and hit the legs to make Harras powerbomb his tag team partner. After Knight hit Suave with a modified GTS and a leg sweep, Gunns hit Suave with a running punt before Knight pinned him for the win. After the match, Dan Mallman interviewed Suave and Harras, and Harras berated him for saying that his outfit was unprofessional—claiming that the outfit was “business casual”—before suspending the interviewer without pay. My score: 2.5/5

Match #4: Aigle Blanc defeated Senza Volto.

After Aigle Blanc hit Volto with a piledriver for two, he went for a shooting star press before seeing his opponent move to a corner, leading to Aigle Blanc hitting him with a coast-to-coast dropkick (ala Shane McMahon). A minute or so later, Aigle Blanc won with a second piledriver. Afterwards, Aigle Blanc offered a handshake, but Volto kicked it away before hugging him instead. Then, Dan Mallman—despite being suspended by Harras—interviewed the two, and after the two praised each other, they vowed to go after Rott und Flott for the wXw Tag Team Championship. My score: 4.25/5

Match #5: Vincent Heisenberg defeated Psycho Mike by count out.

During the match, Mike hit Heisenberg with multiple shoulder blocks before getting himself exhausted. Later on, Mike was able to hit his opponent with a bodyslam after—as the saying goes especially in pro wrestling—“going to the well one too many times.” Near the end, Mike attempted to slam his opponent from the apron to the floor, but Heisenberg blocked the attempt before Mike kneed him off the apron; Mike then went for a crossbody until Heisenberg caught him and send him into a ring post before beating him down and coming back in to win by count out. Afterwards, Heisenberg fought Mike back into the ring until Levaniel came to the rescue. Heisenberg then went after Levaniel until Jurn Simmons ran in and fought him out of the ring and into a stairway. Referees, Aigle Blanc, Senza Volto, Sebastian Suave and Norman Harras separated the two before Harras put Heisenberg and Simmons in a Last Man Standing match for Broken Rules. My score: 3.5/5

Main event: Tristan Archer defeated Axel Tischer in a 60-minute Iron Man match to retain the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship.

Tischer got the 1-0 lead after Archer hit him with the title, then—after a twenty second rest break—Archer tied it up 1-1. A minute or so later, Archer took the 2-1 lead after hitting Tischer with the La Terreur followed by an implant DDT. Later on, he increased the lead to 3-1 after hitting Tischer with a pop up cutter. Then, Archer hit Tischer with a low blow—unbeknownst to the referee—until Tischer surprised him with a rollup to make the score 3-2. As soon as the second half of the Iron Man match began, Tischer tied it up 3-3 after hitting Archer with a suplex converted into a uranage. After brawling out of the ring for several minutes right after the 3-3 tie, Archer took the 4-3 with a little bit over a minute remaining after hitting Tischer with the Coup d’Êtat. Then, Tischer attempted to tie it up 4-4 with a few seconds remaining by rolling him up, but Archer kicked out; as soon as the clock hit zero, the match ended with Archer winning 4-3. My score: 4.25/5

Summer Slam

Now, it’s time to cue “Shakedown” by Kid Rock featuring Robert James as well as “Crazy Town” by Jason Aldean because we’re heading to the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee for Summer Slam!

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For the second straight year, Summer Slam took place on a Saturday night. Five championships were on the line that night, and there were also two one-on-one matches as well as a no disqualification tag team match that occurred. It was also the first WWE premium live event with Stephanie McMahon as the chairwoman of the company, as well as co-CEO with president Nick Khan, after her father Vince McMahon announced his retirement from the company one month after he stepped down as chairman and CEO.

Like WrestleMania this year, Logan Paul and Pat McAfee were in action. This time, Paul—now a babyface—took on the Miz who betrayed him after they won in a tag team match against Rey and Dominik Mysterio at WM, and McAfee’s next opponent—after fighting Theory and then Vince McMahon at WM—was his former Indianapolis Colts teammate Happy Corbin. Paul’s second match as a WWE superstar was as good as his first match that took place months ago, with the exception that it was—as noted—a singles match instead of a tag team bout. The same would go for McAfee’s third match on the main roster—and fifth overall in the WWE counting two matches he had on NXT back in 2020—being as good as his first main roster match against Theory at WM.

Out of all Last Man Standing matches that I have watched, this was probably the most insane match I’ve ever seen; even though I expected Roman Reigns to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, it was great seeing him and Brock Lesnar clash in and outside the ring as well as going to great lengths on trying to incapacitate each other—with and/or without extra help from managers to, as you’ll see shortly, a tractor!—before the count of ten is made.

With the exception of two championship matches that were short lived, the rest of the matches were amazing. My favorite non-championship match for Summer Slam would have to go to the aforementioned one-on-one match between Logan Paul and the Miz. Besides his match at WrestleMania, this match at Summer Slam definitely shows that Paul has what it takes to be a pro wrestler besides being a boxer and YouTube celebrity. I may not be big on YouTube celebrities even in today’s world, but—love him or hate him—seeing Paul in action has definitely grown on me.

My favorite championship match of the event would also become my favorite match of this year’s Summer Slam. The opening contest between Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch, for the Raw Women’s Championship, was great from start to finish; this match was like their match for the belt at WrestleMania, and it was a match that Bianca won—like at WrestleMania—to overshadow their first encounter at last year’s Summer Slam where Becky defeated her for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in 26 seconds. What would happen next would surprise not only those of us that watched Summer Slam, but also Bianca and Becky; it was in the form of three returning wrestlers, including two former members of NXT’s women’s roster that originally had black-and-gold in their veins.

Here are the match results from Nashville…

Match #1: Bianca Belair defeated Becky Lynch to retain the Raw Women’s Championship.

Becky worked on Bianca’s left arm during the match in order to put her in the Dis-Arm-Her later on. During the match, Bianca went for the K.O.D. on the floor until Becky landed in the timekeeper’s area and yanked her to the barricade, then hit her draped opponent with a leg drop from the top of the barricade. Later on, Bianca went for the K.O.D. again, but Becky countered with the Dis-Arm-Her; both rolled out of the ring until Bianca got out of the hold by hitting Becky with the K.O.D. on the floor. Near the end after Becky hit Bianca with the Manhandle Slam for a near fall, she went for another Manhandle Slam from the middle rope until Bianca countered with a Spanish fly before winning with the K.O.D.

After the match, both women shook hands. Then, Bayley returned and stared at Bianca until all of the sudden, Dakota Kai (returning to the WWE after being released months ago) and Io Shirai (nowadays known as Iyo Sky) teamed with Bayley and got in the ring to go after Bianca until Becky stood by the champion, leading to the three leaving the ring and not fighting the two. My score: 4.25/5

(NOTE: Becky Lynch is currently out of action due to a shoulder injury she suffered in this match.)

Match #2: Logan Paul defeated the Miz (w/ Maryse and Ciampa).

Mocking Paul who wore a Pokémon card around his neck at WrestleMania, the Miz wore a Polaroid of him hitting Paul with the Skull Crushing Finale at the same event around his neck. During the match, Paul hit the Miz with It Kicks (the Miz’s pun on Bryan Danielson’s Yes Kicks/No Kicks) and then put him in a Figure Four until the Miz grabbed the ropes.

Maryse and Ciampa interfered during the match, and Ciampa attempted to hit Paul until the referee caught him and ejected him; Ciampa refused to leave until AJ Styles’ music played in the arena, and Styles attacked Ciampa from the crowd. This led to Paul hitting the Miz with the Phenomenal Forearm for two, and then setting him up on the announce table before hitting him with a frog splash through the table. Towards the end, Maryse distracted the referee while Paul pinned the Miz, and the Miz attempted to hit him with the Polaroid but missed and almost hit his wife; this led to Paul defeating the Miz with the Skull Crushing Finale. My score: 3.25/5

Match #3: Bobby Lashley defeated Theory to retain the WWE United States Championship in almost five minutes.

Theory attacked Lashley with his Money In the Bank briefcase before the match. Near the end, Lashley went for the spear, but missed and crashed into a corner; Theory went for a through-the-ropes dropkick (used earlier to score a two) until Lashley caught him and made him submit to the Hurt Lock. My score: 1.5/5

Match #4: Dominik & Rey Mysterio defeated Finn Bálor & Damian Priest (w/ Rhea Ripley) in a no disqualification tag team match.

Rey wore an outside that was sponsored by Victoria beer. A chair was used by both teams during the match. Towards the end, Rey and Dominik attempted to hit the Judgment Day members with a double 619 until Rhea tripped the two at ringside as well as drop Dominik face first on the apron. All of the sudden, the Brood’s theme song played, and Edge emerged from a fiery podium with a stairway and attacked Bálor and Priest before hitting them with spears. This led to the Mysterios hitting Bálor with a double 619 followed by a springboard splash by Rey for the win. My score: 3/5

Match #5: Pat McAfee defeated Happy Corbin.

McAfee had a male choir singing “Bum Ass Corbin” before singing his theme song; he also wore a shirt that read “#BumAssCorbin” on the back. As soon as the match began, Corbin shoved McAfee until McAfee fired back with a super kick.

During the match, Corbin attacked McAfee at the announce table, then took a headset and asked if his opponent’s parents were watching while fighting him at the table. Later on, McAfee fought back and hit Corbin with a Swanton Bomb (or “Swantone Bambidi”, I hope I spelled that right, as he called it) at ringside. Near the end, Corbin went for the End of Days, but McAfee punched him away and into the referee; then, McAfee hit Corbin with a low blow—just like Corbin did on SmackDown one night prior to Summer Slam—before winning with a Canadian destroyer. Afterwards, McAfee told Corey Graves—who sat with Michael Cole at the announce table—to “suck it” while celebrating with the fans. My score: 2.75/5

Match #6: The Usos defeated the Street Profits to retain the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.

This was a rematch from Money In the Bank where Montez Ford’s shoulder was up unbeknownst to the referee while the Usos picked up the win to retain the belts; this led to Adam Pearce making WWE Hall of Famer, and Nashville native, Jeff Jarrett the special guest referee for this bout. The Street Profits had the Tennessee Titans cheerleaders as part of their entrance. Early in the match, Jarrett got physical by pulling away Jimmy Uso and Angelo Dawkins while they were fighting in a corner after the five count was made.

Towards the end, Jey almost hit Jarrett with a super kick, leading to Dawkins hitting him with a sit down powerbomb followed by Ford hitting him with the From the Heavens splash for a near fall; the pin count would frustrate Ford afterwards. Then, Ford attempted to hit the Usos with a tope suicida until Jimmy and Jey caught him and attacked him into the crowd before coming back in and hitting Dawkins with super kicks and the 1-D for the win. My score: 2.75/5

Match #7: Liv Morgan defeated Ronda Rousey to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship in four minutes.

Liv came to the ring with a blue tongue, flashing back to during her time in the Riott Squad with Ruby Riott (now Ruby Soho in AEW) and Sarah Logan. Ronda worked on Liv’s left arm including putting her in an armbar a handful of times; Liv continued to work with the injured arm even after telling referee Dan Engler and a medic that she was okay. The match ended with Ronda putting Liv in an armbar until Liv turned it into a pin attempt for the win; unbeknownst to Engler, Liv tapped out while he was performing the three count. Afterwards, Ronda attacked Liv and put her in an armbar, then put Engler in the armbar until Jamie Noble and Shawn Daivari ran in and stopped her. My score: 0.5/5

Main event: Roman Reigns (w/ Paul Heyman and the Usos) defeated Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Reigns used his “Acknowledge me” catchphrase before Lesnar arrived in a tractor with a front-end loader; Lesnar then did his own introduction by calling himself a “big ass country boy”, and then dove onto Reigns from the top of the loader as soon as the intros were concluding. Both fought at a platform and steel truss that was set up in the audience, and then fought at ringside where they were put through two tables and thrown through both sets of steel steps; Lesnar ended up with cuts on his back after getting put through one of the two tables at ringside. Then, Lesnar put Reigns in the front loader and got in the tractor to dump Reigns out of it and into the ring; Reigns got up at six afterwards. Lesnar and Reigns would then go back and forth from suplexes and an F5 to exchanging guillotines, with Lesnar putting him in one until Reigns got up at nine; suddenly, as soon as Reigns got up, Lesnar used the tractor to not only move the ring but also lift it up to dump him out of the ring!

The Usos appeared and attacked Lesnar until Lesnar fought back, and then targeted Heyman who was reading him the riot act before putting him through the announce table with an F5. Then, after Reigns hit Lesnar with a spear for nine, Theory came out with the Money In the Bank briefcase and attacked Reigns with it until Lesnar hit him with the F5 before the Usos and Reigns beat him down. Then, after Reigns took the briefcase and attacked Theory and Lesnar with it as well as striking Lesnar with both the WWE Championship belt and the WWE Universal Championship belt, he and the Usos buried Lesnar with chairs from the announce table, a portion of steel steps, an equipment case and parts of the announce table before winning after Lesnar was unable to get up at ten. My score: 3.25/5

ICW Fight Club

We now go to the GPWA in Glasgow, Scotland in the United Kingdom for an episode of ICW Fight Club.

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Storylines heading into ICW Shug’s Hoose Party 7—that took place this weekend, and I believe will be aired in a couple weeks on Peacock (or WWE Network if you live outside the United States)—came into play this week. This includes what happened on an episode of “Vibes” with Luke Kyro with Aaron Echo as the special guest. Echo said that his beef with Levi began at Square Go!, blaming his SHP7 opponent for stealing the win; he then said that what he did to Sweeney, including knocking him unconscious with a beer keg elsewhere outside the GPWA, was just the beginning before calling out Levi who ended up emerging from the crowd. Levi went after Echo until Echo fight back before eyeing on Kyro; Levi hit Echo with a low blow before he and Kyro double teamed on Echo before getting out of dodge and leaving a livid Echo in the ring.

Two matches (three if you count an ICW rewind match between Polo Promotions—Mark Coffey and Jaxn, the real Jackie Polo of course—and War Machine from Barramania 3 in 2017) took place on the episode of Fight Club. The first match was between Theo Doros and Saqib Ali, and despite how much of the match involved Chris Toal’s antics, it was still a good back-and-forth bout between Doros and Ali. Not only did we see what Toal had up in his sleeve (besides his megaphone), but also Ali showing both his fun and serious sides when it comes to competing and Doros being a hypocritical rule-making heel—besides a self-proclaimed “wrestling god”—in this opener.

The other match that took place, and I liked more, was between Mark Haskins and Andy Wild. Heading into SHP7, this match gave Haskins a boost of confidence—even with his insurance policy in the form of his wife Vicky, now known simply as Vic, in tow—because of the result he received. On the other hand, Wild had a strong showing regardless of which result he ended up with while heading into the event with the match created by Coach Trip who has been drunk with power ever since seeing Wild and Jason Reed get along as of late. (Speaking of Mark and Vic, happy anniversary to the two!)

Here are the match results from Glasgow…

Match #1: Saqib Ali (w/ Chris Toal) defeated Theo Doros.

Ali played with a fan’s hairbrush-shaped fan before the match. As soon as the match began, Doros berated Toal, and—later on—would use him as a shield when Ali went for a slingshot maneuver. Near the end, Ali hit Doros with a stunner followed by his opponent’s Elbow From Mount Olympus (top rope elbow drop) for a near fall; Doros came back and brought in a chair, then went for a piledriver onto the chair until Ali countered with a rollup for the win. Afterwards, Ali eyed on “Jackie Polo” who—along with Simon Cassidy—filled in for Billy Kirkwood and James R. Kennedy on commentary this week. (Speaking of Kirkwood, he flew solo on commentary on last week’s episode.) My score: 3.25/5

Main event: Mark Haskins (w/ Vic Haskins) defeated Andy Wild.

Wild’s left leg was worked on during the match. Towards the end, Wild went for the Dad Bomb until Vic pulled her husband out of the ring. Then, while Mark had the referee distracted, Vic hit Wild with a low blow; this led to Mark hitting Wild with a Claymore-like knee, then making him submit to a Sharpshooter. My score: 3.5/5

NXT

Our next stop is Orlando, Florida in the United States for an episode of NXT.

The countdown to Heatwave is on. This week, there was a summit—hosted by Wade Barrett—that involved the NXT Champion Bron Breakker and his opponent for the special NXT episode JD McDonagh. McDonagh said that despite studying Breakker while watching NXT, he never fought anyone like the NXT champion and said that he saw the fire in his opponent’s fire that he can “stomp out” as well as a road map for pain he can conflict. Breakker responded back by saying that McDonagh is smart enough to challenge his mind instead of his speed and strength, and that he endures pain which is what his Heatwave opponent welcomes. Then, after a war of words between the two, McDonagh wanted Breakker to sign the contract first; as soon as Breakker signed, McDonagh signed it by putting “JD” on the contract in his own blood. It looks like we’re seeing the bizarre side of the Irish Ace, and I actually like bizarre sides of heel characters when it comes to pro wrestling. I’m sure that something like this as well as vowing to give his opponents pain will come into play when he fights Breakker for the belt at Heatwave.

Aside from the countdown to Heatwave, we had eight matches that were on the card this week. Three of the matches—first, fifth and main event—were my favorites. The first match saw new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions crowned, and I’m definitely slapping myself on the wrists after not predicting Kayden Carter & Katana Chance winning the gold (I predicted either Tatum Paxley & Ivy Nile or Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne in the last issue in case you don’t remember); I was pretty sure that there was going to be a cemented heel turn if Kayden and Katana lost, but on the other hand, Kayden and Katana proved everyone—including their rivals Tatum and Ivy—wrong in this fatal four-way match that also included Yulisa Leon & Valentina Feroz. Plus, I forgot that—weeks prior to this bout being made—I wanted to see Kayden & Katana win gold especially on NXT, and sure enough they did this week.

I’m definitely happy to see the two win the belts as well, even after seeing all four teams clash in the kickoff to this week’s episode.

The main event was exciting as well, in the form of a Falls Count Anywhere match between Solo Sikoa and Von Wagner. The match could have gone either way after seeing the two heavy hitters collide both inside and outside the ring. In the end, it was Sikoa winning the same way he defeated Boa—in a similar match I believe—months ago which was a top rope splash through the announce table. Both Sikoa and Wagner prove to be tough-as-nails competitors, and they showed it to us in the form of that match.

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My favorite match of the episode would have to go to the NXT Tag Team Championship match between the Creed Brothers and Tony D’Angelo & Stacks. D’Angelo & Stacks showed good tag team chemistry even without the recently released Two Dimes, as well as having ¾ of Legado del Fantasma in tow. The Creed Brothers had a strong showing as well even without worrying about what Roderick Strong was up to, mainly because Strong was absent this week. Not only did we see a great amount of action between the two teams, but also a surprise ending. Here are the NXT results from Orlando…

Match #1: Kayden Carter & Katana Chance defeated Yulisa Leon & Valentina Feroz, Tatum Paxley & Ivy Nile and Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match to become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Yulisa & Valentina were eliminated by Tatum & Ivy, then Gigi & Jacy picked up the scraps and eliminated Tatum & Ivy after Katana—who was blind tagged out by Jacy—took down Tatum. Finally, Kayden & Katana won after hitting Jacy with a 450/neckbreaker combo. Kayden & Katana celebrated in the crowd with confetti falling from the ceiling afterwards. My score: 3.25/5

Match #2: Carmelo Hayes (w/ Trick Williams) defeated Nathan Frazer to retain the NXT North American Championship.

Hayes issued a challenge for the belt before the match started, and it appears that Giovanni Vinci was answering the challenge until Frazer blew by him and got in the ring; Vinci ended up joining Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett on commentary afterwards. Towards the end, Frazer hit Hayes with a tope suicida, causing Hayes to crash into Vinci. Then, while Williams distracted the referee, Vinci knocked Frazer off the top rope, leading to Hayes winning with the Nothing But Net. After the match, Vinci smiles at the camera while posing over Frazer. My score: 1/5

Match #3: Mandy Rose defeated Sarray in a non-title match with a pump knee.

After the match, Mandy brought in a chair and attacked Sarray with it until Zoey Stark ran in and fought the champion out of the ring. 8My score: 1.5/5*

Match #4: Axiom defeated Duke Hudson in two minutes.

The match began after Hudson disrupted Axiom’s interview, by McKenzie Mitchell, by telling him that NXT isn’t daycare; Axiom said that he’s not afraid of Hudson until Hudson called him a nerd before they brawled to the ring. Towards the end, Hudson went for a crucifix powerbomb, but Axiom countered with a hurricanrana into a corner before winning with a tilt-a-whirl rollup. 8No score.*

Match #5: The Creed Brothers (w/ Damon Kemp) defeated Tony D’Angelo & Stacks (w/ Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro & Elektra Lopez) to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship.

Brutus’ left hand was worked on during the match. Near the end, after Brutus went after Stacks, Wilde and Cruz distracted the referee; D’Angelo attempted to grab his crowbar until he noticed the returning Santos Escobar holding onto the weapon and slugging him. This led to Julius hitting D’Angelo with a basement clothesline for the win. All four members of Legado del Fantasma laughed at D’Angelo and Stacks from ringside afterwards. My score: 3.5/5

Match #6: Joe Gacy (w/ the Dyad) defeated Brooks Jensen (w/ Fallon Henley and Josh Briggs) in three minutes.

The Dyad, no longer wearing cloaks and hoods, are identified as Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler (f.k.a. James Drake and Zack Gibson respectively). Reid and Fowler approached Fallon until Briggs stopped them; while the referee intervened, Pretty Deadly ran in and Jensen threw them out of the ring until Gacy hit him with a handspring clothesline for the win. **My score: 1/5*8

Match #7: Alba Fyre defeated Lash Legend.

Lash attempted to hit Alba with her own baseball bat until Alba hit her with a super kick, followed by the Fyre Bomb and a Swanton bomb for the win. My score: 2/5

Main event: Solo Sikoa defeated Von Wagner (w/ Mr. Stone) in a Falls Count Anywhere match.

Sofia Cromwell is no longer together with Mr. Stone and Wagner because she’s on SmackDown going by the name Maxxine Dupri, the storyline sister of Max Dupri (f.k.a. L.A. Knight). Steel steps, steel chairs, tables (that were elsewhere in the arena) and a fire extinguisher were among the weapons used in this match. During the match, both Sikoa and Wagner fought out of the arena, and Sikoa threw Carmelo Hayes out of the way and into a car (while Hayes and Trick Williams were helping out women by starting their car); Wagner threw Sikoa into a dumpster, and was happy about it with Mr. Stone until Sikoa emerged from the dumpster and went after him.

Then, both men fought back inside the arena—and took down Cameron Grimes who was close to one of the doorways for some reason—and to the ringside area. Sikoa hit Wagner with a uranage onto a bottom portion of steel stairs in the ring, then Mr. Stone stopped him on the top rope until Sikoa knocked him off the apron. Wagner fought back until Sikoa took him down, placed him onto the announce table, and hit him with a top rope splash through the table for the win. My score: 3.25/5

NXT UK

We return to the United Kingdom as we head to the BT Sports Studios in London, England for NXT UK.

You may have noticed in the last few issues that I kept myself quiet about Ilja Dragunov. I often stay away from spoiler alerts from shows, especially episodes that I haven’t seen yet, that include NXT UK and NXT: LVL UP; weeks ago, there was breaking news—that also counted as a spoiler alert—that Dragunov was injured. This week, Dragunov came into the ring with crutches and a boot on his left leg. He said that he suffered an ankle injury in his match with Wolfgang on last week’s episode, and that medical won’t clear him; this led to Dragunov relinquishing the NXT United Kingdom Championship, and then said that he vowed to come back as a better man and strong enough to get the belt back. Get well wishes go out to Dragunov, and we hope to see him again real soon!

Focusing on the NXT United Kingdom Championship, there will be an eight-man tournament that’s scheduled to begin next week; in the tournament are Trent Seven, Wolfgang, Charlie Dempsey, Oliver Carter, Mark Andrews, Joe Coffey, Kenny Williams and Tyler Bate. Seven vs. Wolfgang and Dempsey vs. Carter takes place next week, and Andrews vs. Coffey and Williams vs. Bate will take place one week later.

Three matches took place, and even though they ranged from below to above fair, I was still able to pick one match that I liked for this week’s episode. Originally, we were scheduled to see Meiko Satomura defend the NXT UK Women’s Championship against Sarray; unfortunately, that match got cancelled due to “something quite unexpected” in the form of Blair Davenport.

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It appears that Blair may have something to do with Meiko and Sarray even though there was no footage of what she did to the two per se, and she—along with Amale, Eliza Alexander and Isla Dawn—argued about getting a shot at the title until Sid Scala decided to make a one-on-one match between Blair and Isla; the winner of this match would become the #1 contender for the title. The match itself wasn’t too bad, and it was good to have two heel competitors—one that’s vicious and self-centered, and the other that’s (pun intended) dark and disturbing—clash in the ring. Even though the result was not what neither Blair nor Isla wanted, it was still good enough for me to like this bout.

Here are the match results from London…

Match #1: Oliver Carter defeated Rohan Raja (w/ Teoman and Charlie Dempsey).

Near the end, Raja threw Carter out of the ring and unknowingly into Teoman and Dempsey. Carter made a comeback and then won with a running heel kick in a corner. Afterwards, Die Familie attacked Carter, and Dempsey had him in a half crab until referees ran in and separated them. My score: 2/5

Match #2: Sha Samuels defeated Bodhi Hayward (w/ Andre Chase and Thea Hail) in four minutes.

Samuels came into the ring carrying a knapsack on his stick (as if he were a hobo), wearing duct tape on one of his boots, and wearing an undershirt with his wrestling gear. (Samuels sold most of his clothes and lost his house after giving away all of his money to those that bet on Mark Coffey to defeat Noam Dar for the NXT UK Heritage Cup not too long ago.) Hayward was not happy about Samuels as he close in on him due to his B.O., leading to fans chanting “take a shower.” Samuels ended up winning with a spinebuster. My score: 1.5/5

Main event: Blair Davenport vs. Isla Dawn ended in a no contest.

Before the match started, Blair—who ignored Sid Scala’s orders to leave—complained about Meiko Satomura ignoring her and vowed to cause chaos before getting a shot at the NXT UK Women’s Championship. Then, Amale appeared and told Blair that everyone is willing to work for the title shot. Eliza Alexander appeared and said that Blair has a point because “the louder you are, the more people pay attention.” Then, Isla appeared behind Blair and said that Blair never beat her. The arguments led to Sid Scala making Blair vs. Isla which then began after he, Amale and Eliza left. The match ended in a no contest after Eliza tripped Isla at ringside while Amale ran in and booted Blair. All four women would brawl afterwards with referees and trainers trying to separate them. My score: 2.5/5

NXT: LVL UP

Finally, we return to Orlando, Florida for an episode of NXT: LVL UP.

Even though the matches ranged from poor to fair, I was still able to pick a favorite out of the three.

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My favorite match of the episode would have to go to Xyon Quinn’s match against Quincy Elliott. Quinn was originally scheduled to face Invictus Khash until Quinn shooed him out of the ring and demanded better competition. Sure enough, Elliott came into the ring and had a good battle for five minutes that saw him emerge victorious. Elliott has been getting a good push as of late especially on NXT: LVL UP besides being a fan favorite; I look forward to seeing what else he has in store whether it’s on this show or levelling up, pun intended, to NXT.

Here are the NXT: LVL UP results from Orlando…

Match #1: Guru Raaj & Dante Chen defeated Damaris Griffin & Bryson Montana.

After Griffin missed with a middle rope splash, Chen picked up the win with a double chop to the chest. My score: 1/5

Match #2: Arianna Grace defeated Thea Hail (w/ Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward).

Arianna won with a rollup while grabbing the middle rope for leverage. My score: 1.5/5

Main event: Quincy Elliott defeated Xyon Quinn.

Before the match started, Quinn coerced Invictus Khash—his original opponent—to leave because he wanted someone that would “man up” to him; Elliott answered the challenge, riding a moped—NXT: LVL UP vanity plate and all—to the ring. Quinn surprised Elliott during the match by hitting him with a Death Valley Driver for a near fall. After fighting out of two Cobra Clutch attempts, Elliott fought back and won with what looked like a seesaw splash from a corner. My score: 2/5

Next time…

I have another belated wXw recap in me, in the form of wXw Broken Rules XX. That, as well as my usual four shows.

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For just my newsletters along on the WWJ website, it is wrestlingwithjohners.com/authors/pro-darin/

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

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