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Progress Chapter 143: The Deadly Viper Tour – Codename: Sidewinder

We’re kicking things off with a belated Progress recap. Plus, even though a sidewinder is a type of snake, I—for some reason—think of “Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012” (a comedic parody of the “Twisted Metal” franchise) where one of the vehicles is named Sidewinder.

Videogame nostalgia aside, the 143rd chapter of Progress took place on October 9, 2022 at the O2 Arena in Manchester, England in the United Kingdom; it also served as the fourth part of the Deadly Viper Tour. Nine matches were on the card including two quarterfinal round matches that were part of the Natural Progression Series tournament, a match that featured a returning Progress wrestler that competed in NXT UK in the past, and a brand-new match—known as Super Mob Smash 12—that looked like a cross between a fatal four-way tag match and a trios match mainly because all four teams consisted of three wrestlers each.

The aforementioned Super Mob Smash 12 was indeed a fun bout to watch, even with high flying and “blink and you’ll miss it” moments coming from all twelve competitors that were in this match along with some comedic moments. Yes, it was hard to keep an eye on who was going after whom at times, but it still fun while it lasted.

Not only did I enjoy this match, but there were also two others after ranking them from fair to very good; one was the opening match between Millie McKenzie—whom we saw return one chapter ago—and Alexxis Falcon. Millie, even though I’m two chapters in, appears to be on the roll as of late ever since returning to Progress; Alexxis—a fan favorite as well as my favorite—on the other hand still gives her opponents a run for their money, even in matches where there is no gold on the line.

The other match that I enjoyed became my favorite of this chapter, and it served as part of the quarterfinal round of the Natural Progression Series tournament; in this match were two wrestlers that are not related despite having the same last name, and they were Liam and Leon Slater. Both wrestlers—or Slaters if you will—fought tooth and nail while being aware that advancing to the next round was on the line, and in the end, it was Leon who picked up his career first Progress win. Leon has shown us that he has more in store in his pro wrestling career even in Progress; he definitely has a bright future in that sport for sure.

Here are the match results from Manchester…

Match #1: Millie McKenzie defeated Alexxis Falcon.

Beating poor Olie Spring to the punch, I do remember Millie and Alexxis competing in their last one-on-one match; the last time they did so was in 2021 in the Theatre Peckham in London, England. After Millie blocked the Falcon’s Fury, she hit Alexxis with an uppercut and a cutter for two before Alexxis came back with a Twist of Fate for two, a snapmare neckbreaker for two, and the Falcon’s Fury for a near fall. Then, Millie hit her with a basement dropkick followed by a spear for the win. Both wrestlers shook hands afterwards before Alexxis raised Millie’s arm. My score: 4/5

Match #2: Elijah defeated Tom Dawkins.

This was Dawkins’ first match without his Cara Noir alter ego; he felt reluctant coming into the ring and competing as a plain vanilla wrestler. Spike Trivet, with Bullit, appeared at the entryway and told Dawkins to take off his Cara Noir t-shirt; he would then stop Dawkins from attempting any of his Cara Noir maneuvers such as the Swan Woo.

After Elijah hit Dawkins with the Graveyard Smash for a near fall, Dawkins hit him with a powerbomb for two and went for a package driver until Trivet stopped him again; Dawkins instead put Elijah in a cross armbreaker and gave the “sovereign lord” the “number one salute” until Elijah fought out of the hold and won with the Danger Buster. Afterwards, Trivet coerced Dawkins to leave while Elijah stood in the ring and saw the lights go out with his music video and theme song going awry, SMPTE color bars, numeric code and all; Elijah looked confused afterwards as soon as the lights went back on. My score: 2/5

Match #3: Tate Mayfairs defeated Sam Bailey in the quarterfinal round of the Natural Progression Series tournament.

This was Manchester native Bailey’s debut. Before the match started, Simon Miller was trying not to laugh while introducing Mayfairs until Mayfairs called him a “stupid idiot” and then called Manchester a “b-town”; Miller looked flustered and took off his Progress jacket before announcing Bailey’s intro. During the match, Mayfairs beat down Bailey and—after saying “Tate-ness is greatness”—performed a Spinaroonie until Bailey booted him and hit him with a blockbuster for two; Bailey then attempted to dropkick Mayfairs in the corner, but missed and ended up getting tangled on the top rope, allowing Mayfairs to hit him with a coast-to-coast double axe handle for two. Near the end, Mayfairs grabbed brass knuckles from under the ring, and Bailey went after him until almost hitting referee LK; Bailey then rolled up Mayfairs—who grabbed one of the turnbuckle covers—for two and, when LK went to fix the cover, Mayfairs hit him with the knuckles before incapacitating him with a sleeper/bodyscissors combo for the win. My score: 2.5/5

Match #4: Nina Samuels defeated Taonga.

The last time Nina was in Progress was in chapter 94 where she lost in the last round of the Revelations of Divine Love tournament to Impact wrestler Jordynne Grace in 2019. After Nina blocked the I’m Prettier, Taonga hit Nina with an armbreaker and a running knee for two, then Nina pretended to be unconscious before rolling her up for two; then, Nina blocked the I’m Prettier again and grabbed Taonga by the hair before hitting her with a roundhouse kick and winning with the Starstruck (ushigoroshi).

After the match, Nina said that Progress needed “more Nina” and poked fun of the fans for not having high standards, then had a crewman give her a “Nina Samuels Award”—a small pink trophy—and declared herself the winner of that award; Alexxis Falcon appeared and called the award a “shit little trophy”, then said that she and the rest of the women built the division while Nina was away, and then vowed to take the award and shove it up Nina’s ass. My score: 2.5/5

Match #5: Kid Lykos (w/ Kid Lykos II) defeated Luke Jacobs (w/ Ethan Allen).

Allen his healing from his injuries for the rest of the year. During the match, after KL hit Jacobs with a Casanova kick and a Swanton for a near fall, Jacobs fought back and then knocked KL2 off the apron; he then fought both members of Lykos Gym at ringside, and then hit KL2 and KL with half-and-half suplexes into the chairs in the audience. The end of the match saw Jacobs hit KL with a top rope splash for two until KL surprised him with a small package for the win. My score: 2.75/5

Match #6: Leon Slater defeated Liam Slater in the quarterfinal round of the Natural Progression Series tournament.

Both shook hands and hugged as soon as the bell rang. During the match, Leon went for a tope con giro until Liam ran back to the ring; Liam then hit Leon with a chop block and then worked on his opponent’s right knee. Leon came back and then won with a 450 splash. Both men hugged afterwards, and Liam raised Leon’s arm; then, Leon—due to his knee being worked on—was helped to the back by a crewman. My score: 4.25/5

Match #7: Maverick Mayhew, Omari & Mike Bird defeated Joe Lando, Callum Newman & Danny Black and Vaughn Vertigo, Keinen Krishna & Tu Byt and Gene Munny & the Sunshine Machine in Super Mob Smash 12.

The teams of three were selected by the fans, two wrestlers started the match and would tag anyone they want, and the winner of the match would get a championship opportunity of his choosing. Mayhew jokingly wanted to team with the rest of CPF until Mayhew was sent to the back because he wasn’t teaming with the three. Also, this was Tu Byt’s debut; he represented North West Strong. Plus, Munny did a Big E-like intro for the Sunshine Machine; as soon as Chuck Mambo and TK Cooper appeared, it was beachball mania as there were beachballs bouncing from the entryway to the rest of the venue.

Moments in this match included Mayhew wanting to fight with the rest of CPF; Munny hitting one of his opponents with the Ainsley Lariat until the rest (all ten of course!) broke up the pin; Munny and Mayhew walking on the top rope like a tightrope while clinging onto Omari and Cooper respectively—while those in the ring were fighting—and then diving onto the rest of their opponents before Omari and Vertigo had dives of their own (Cooper went for a tope suicida, but it was blocked from ringside); Krishna putting the Sunshine Machine in a double crossface while Tu Byt had one of the SM members in an ankle lock; Cooper hitting Krishna with a tope suicida and then Munny hitting him—on the chairs in the audience—with a Cactus Jack elbow drop from the apron; Bird having ¾ of CPF in holds (Lando in an Indian death lock, Black in an abdominal stretch, and Newman in an armbar) until Mayhew rained on his parade by stopping him from putting his CPF colleagues in those holds before Mayhew ended up being used as a weapon by Bird and Krishna; Omari, Mayhew and Newman hitting their opponents with shooting star presses including one at ringside; Munny hitting Black and Newman with a double James Blunt Force Trauma; and Mambo and Black with assisted dives—from Cooper and Newman respectively—to their opponents at ringside. The match ended Bird cleaning house and then hitting Vertigo with a middle rope piledriver for the win. After the match, Bird said that Mayhew and Omari deserve a shot at the Progress Tag Team Championship while he’s going after Spike Trivet for the Progress World Championship. My score: 3.75/5

Match #8: Rhio defeated Skye Smitson (w/ Lana Austin and L.A. Taylor).

Kanji was scheduled to fight in this match until it was revealed that she was absent due to illness. Before the match started, Lana said that Kanji was scared of fighting her, then performed “Lana-oke” in the ring—singing songs from “Grease” and “Frozen”—until Rhio came into the ring; Rhio said that she knew which member of the Lana Austin Experience she was going to face since Skye was the only member wearing wrestling gear. After Skye hit Rhio with the Smitson Effect for a near fall followed by a fisherman’s buster for two, Lana grabbed Rhio for Skye until Rhio dodged and made Skye knock Lana off the apron; this led to Rhio winning with a package piledriver. After the match, L.A. attacked Rhio, then Millie ran in and hit Skye with a spear until L.A. slammed her. Then, while the Lana Austin Experience was leaving, Taonga appeared and wanted to team with the three until the three had no interest in celebrating with her. My score: 2.5/5

Main event: Dan Moloney defeated Spike Trivet (w/ Bullit) in a non-title match.

Before the match started, Trivet said that Manchester was “like Sheffield but more [f-bombed] in the head”, then said that Moloney didn’t deserve this match because of how many times he lost—especially to Trivet—and that people like Moloney work for people like him. Moloney went for the Drilla early on until Trivet got to the apron where Moloney knocked him off, and Bullit caught Trivet as if he jumped out of a burning building. Then, at ringside, Moloney had Trivet seated and—after placing a fan’s sign on his chest—chopped him off; he then had a fan hold Trivet down so he could hit his opponent with a running punt. Later on, Trivet hit Moloney with the Swan Woo dropkicks followed by a Rude Awakening, then went for a package piledriver until Moloney hit him with a Last Ride (ala the Undertaker) for two. Near the end, Bullit—behind the referee’s back—hit Moloney with a low blow and tripped him on the apron, leading to Trivet hitting his opponent with a middle rope Codebreaker for two; Moloney then pretended to be tripped by Bullit, leading to the referee and ring crew sending Trivet’s bodyguard to the back. Afterwards, Moloney won after hitting Trivet with the Drilla. Post-match, Moloney—while sitting and then standing on top of Trivet—called out Bullit who then stared at him while helping Trivet to the back. My score: 3/5

Survivor Series WarGames

It’s now time to head to the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. Cue “War Games” by Black Sabbath as well as “Parasite” by Ozzy Osbourne featuring Zakk Wylde because it’s time to take a look back at Survivor Series…(in a William Regal voice)…WAR GAMES!!!

(Interesting to note, “War Games” by Black Sabbath was also the official theme song of NXT TakeOver: WarGames in 2020.)

It was the first time that WWE’s main roster—Raw and SmackDown—held WarGames matches; one was for the women, and the other was for the men. It was also the third time in Survivor Series history that there weren’t any traditional Survivor Series matches that were part of the pay-per-view/premium live event; 1998 only focused on a tournament that was for the then-vacant WWE Championship (back when WWE was still a “Federation”), and 2002 only focused on the then-brand-new Elimination Chamber.

With the exception of the SmackDown Women’s Championship match that turned out to be a cakewalk for Ronda Rousey as I figured (regardless of how much hell Shotzi gave to both her and Shayna Baszler), the rest of the matches were very good. Out of the five matches that took place that night, both WarGames matches and the one-on-one bout between Finn Bálor and AJ Styles were my favorites.

This wasn’t the first time that Finn Bálor and AJ Styles fought in a one-on-one match. Back in October of 2017 at TLC, Bálor was scheduled to face Bray Wyatt as both “The Demon” and “Sister Abigail” respectively until Wyatt was replaced with AJ Styles because Wyatt had medical issues; both Styles and “The Demon” clashed in the ring, and it ended with Bálor winning the bout. Fast forward to November of 2022 where Styles is back together with the OC and Bálor is with the Judgment Day. To me, it was as good as their first one-on-one match from five years ago; this time, the outcome was much different as Styles would be the victor in this bout.

Onto the WarGames matches, they were as good as the last WarGames matches that I’ve seen back when it was only exclusive for the NXT roster; seeing both Raw and SmackDown superstars compete in this type of match this year was definitely worth the wait. Not only did we see the wrestlers that had WarGames experience in the past (Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Kevin Owens and Butch) collaborate with those that had their first taste of being a WarGames participant, but also all twenty competitors giving their all inside two rings surrounded by one cage. I can assure you that Dusty Rhodes was smiling from the heavens as soon as he saw those WarGames bouts.

For the women, the storyline heading into this match was Damage CTRL running roughshod on Raw’s women’s roster—as well as SmackDown’s women’s roster in their select appearances—including targeting Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship after Bayley lost to her a couple times for that belt; other storylines included Mia Yim solving the OC’s “Rhea Ripley problem” as well as the return of someone Bayley attacked two days after Summer Slam. For the men, the storyline heading into this match was whether or not Sami Zayn would be trusted—in the eyes of Jey Uso—as the “honorary Uce” in the Bloodline even after seeing him encounter his best friend Kevin Owens less than 24 hours prior to this event; another storyline was the ongoing rivalry between the Bloodline and the Brawling Brutes stemming back to when the Usos and Solo Sikoa injured one of Sheamus’ arms.

In my honest opinion, both the women and men kicked ass in those matches from how they competed both with and without weapons to focusing on the storylines that came into play. Will next year’s WarGames matches be as good as those as well as the past WarGames matches that we’ve seen in the WWE? I sure hope so. Besides, seeing NXT’s WarGames matches as well as similar ones such as—most recently—ICW’s Super Smokin’ Thunderbowl at Barred II prior to seeing Raw and SmackDown’s WarGames matches have indeed paid off.

Here are the match results from Boston…

Match #1: Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, “Michin” Mia Yim & Bianca Belair defeated Rhea Ripley, Nikki Cross & Damage CTRL in WarGames.

NXT’s Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer for this match. Bianca and Dakota Kai started off the match, followed by—in order—Iyo Sky, Asuka, Nikki (with kendo sticks, trashcan lids, handcuffs, and her own jacket), Alexa, Bayley (with two ladders and a table), Mia (with three trashcans), Rhea and finally Becky. Highlights included Nikki diving from the top of the cage and onto Bianca and Asuka who were fighting Dakota and Iyo; Bianca, Mia, Alexa and Asuka moving in stereo—ala the Cars—with superplexes to Bayley, Dakota, Nikki and Iyo respectively (Asuka’s superplex was actually a German superplex); Asuka spitting blue mist in Rhea’s face; Iyo hitting Bianca and Mia with a moonsault from the top of the cage; and Nikki attempting to handcuff Alexa to the cage until Alexa cuffed herself to the “twisted sister.” The match ended with Bianca hitting Bayley with the KOD into the steel mesh while Becky hit Dakota and Iyo with a diving leg drop from the top of the cage and through the table for the win. My score: 4/5

Match #2: AJ Styles (w/ Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) defeated Finn Bálor (w/ Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest).

Bálor wore an all-black mask to the ring, and Styles wore a gas mask that’s part of the OC’s logo. Styles worked on Bálor’s left leg early in the match. During the bout, Priest distracted the referee which allowed Mysterio to trip Styles on the apron; this led to Gallows and Anderson fighting the Judgment Day members at ringside and into the crowd, with Styles throwing Mysterio into the crowd as the managers fought away from the ringside area. Both Styles and Bálor traded signature maneuvers as well as stole signature maneuvers later on; Bálor was unable to hit the Styles Clash (which was countered with a Calf Crusher attempt) but was able to hit Styles with an ushigoroshi (one of Styles’ signatures), and Styles hit him with a moonsault into a neckbreaker/elbow drop combo (one of Bálor’s signatures). After Bálor got out of the Calf Crusher by bouncing Styles’ head off the mat like a basketball, Styles came back and won with the Phenomenal Forearm. My score: 4/5

Match #3: Ronda Rousey (w/ Shayna Baszler) defeated Shotzi to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Shotzi wore KISS-inspired gear. During the match, Shotzi—after hitting Ronda with a botched tornado DDT on the apron—bounced off of her opponent and hit Shayna with Sliced Bread, then threw the two into the audience and hit them with a crossbody from the barricade, causing them to collapse into three fans seated at ringside. Ronda came back and hit Shotzi with Piper’s Pit before making her submit to an armbar. My score: 2/5

Match #4: Austin Theory defeated Bobby Lashley and Seth “Freakin’” Rollins to become the new WWE United States Champion.

Even though Theory’s theme song was still playing, his entrance video was replaced with an advertisement for Beyblade Burst QuadDrive for some reason. As soon as the bell rang, Lashley clotheslined Theory out of the ring, as did Rollins ten seconds or so later. Lashley fought Theory at the timekeeper’s area until Rollins hit him with a flying knee from the apron before Theory fought back and attacked the two with steel stairs. Later on, Rollins hit Lashley with a tope suicida, Theory with the same maneuver, and Lashley with it again before throwing Theory into the same area as Lashley and hitting the two with a tope con giro. Towards the end, Theory attempted to hit Rollins with a Pedigree (one of Rollins’ signatures), and Rollins attempted to hit Theory with the A-Town Down (Theory’s finisher) until Lashley put the two in a double Hurt Lock; Rollins fought out of the hold and took down the two, then used Theory as a springboard and stomped Lashley. Then, after Lashley was sent into a corner (and ended up with some cuts on his face afterwards), Rollins hit Theory with a superplex and went for a Falcon Arrow until Lashley hit him with a spear on the way down, leading to Theory pinning Rollins for the win. My score: 3.75/5

Main event: The Bloodline (w/ Paul Heyman) defeated Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre & the Brawling Brutes in WarGames.

Heyman had a boot on his left leg as he came with the Bloodline. Butch and Jey Uso started off the match, followed by—in order—Ridge Holland, Sami Zayn (after Roman Reigns told Jimmy Uso to wait), McIntyre, Jimmy Uso (with three tables), Owens (with steel chairs), Solo Sikoa, Sheamus and finally Roman Reigns. Highlights from this match included Butch working on Jey’s right hand; Zayn and Jey arguing (even with Jimmy intervening at one point); and Owens, McIntyre and the Brawling Brutes giving all five of their opponents more than 50 “Beats of the Bodhran.” Near the end, Zayn stopped the referee from performing the three count while Owens pinned Reigns, then Jimmy attempted to hit Owens with a superkick until Owens blocked it before Zayn—who had Reigns watch—hit him with a low blow followed by the Helluva Kick; then, Jimmy hit Owens with a top rope splash for the win. After the match, Reigns and Zayn hugged, then the hatchet was buried as Jey gave Zayn a hug before all five members of the Bloodline celebrated together. My score: 4/5

ICW Fight Club

Returning to the United Kingdom, we head to the Northumbria University Students Union in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England for an episode of ICW Fight Club.

Four matches, that were buildups to Fear & Loathing XIV, took place on this week’s episode. Out of the four matches that took place, my favorite would go to the opening bout between Leyton Buzzard and Ian Skinner. Like is tag team partner Charlie Vyce in last week’s episode, Skinner also had a strong showing as a singles competitor—and, like Vyce, he’s no stranger to fighting in singles action—this week. Plus, like Craig Anthony when he took on the aforementioned Vyce on last week’s episode, Buzzard also had a good warmup heading into F&L in his bout. Seeing both Buzzard and Anthony pick up wins was a great way to build their momentums heading into that event, and this match was indeed a good way to kick off this week’s episode besides a great back-and-forth bout.

Here are the match results from Newcastle Upon Tyne…

Match #1: Leyton Buzzard defeated Ian Skinner (w/ Charlie Vyce).

Skinner made a Lykos Gym mistake during the match as he shouted out “Brainbuster!” before Buzzard countered the brainbuster with a suplex for two. Near the end, Skinner gave Buzzard joint manipulation until Buzzard came back with a superkick and the Buzzkiller before putting him in a Scorpion Death Lock; Skinner grabbed the bottom rope for the break until Buzzard hit him with a second Buzzkiller followed by the X Marks the Spot for the win. My score: 3.75/5

Match #2: Thatcher Wright defeated Levi; if Wright won, he would be inserted into the ladder match—for a future shot at the ICW Zero-G Championship—at Fear & Loathing XIV.

Before the match started, Wright wanted the fans to thank Margaret Thatcher for what she did for their hometown; the fans booed and chanted “[F-bomb] the Tories” instead. He then blindsided his opponent seconds before the bell rang. During the match, Wright was reading from his Margaret Thatcher book while kicking and stomping Levi down until Levi—after Thatcher handed the book to the referee—fought back. Towards the end, Charlie Vyce and Ian Skinner appeared, and Skinner slid the book to Thatcher who then struck Levi with it before pinning him for the win. My score: 1.5/5

Match #3: Kasey defeated Martin MacAlistair in almost three minutes.

Kasey was originally scheduled to compete against Lizzy Evo, but she was absent; Kasey mocked her for not being in attendance, then challenged anyone—including the medic and merchandise seller—to fight her. MacAlistair—who was 0-26 heading into the match according to Simon Cassidy (thus making it feel like I’m watching AEW with the win-loss record being mentioned)—answered the challenge, and Kasey fought him; he was afraid to hit her during the match, and this gave Kasey the upper hand from start to finish as well as win with Off With Her Head. Afterwards, Kasey sent a message to Molly Spartan by taking off the She Wolves t-shirt and stomping it in the middle of the ring. No score.

Main event: Jack Jester defeated Rory Coyle in an Insane Rules match.

Coyle came with a bag of weapons as well as a video camera; inside the bag were a kendo stick, two sets of jumper cables, videotapes and a VCR. Both Coyle and Jester took turns using the camera while fighting including having a fan hold the camera for the two, and Jester taking a page out of Logan Paul’s playbook by fighting and filming at the same time. After Jester hit Coyle with the VCR and then slammed him onto the tapes, he struck Coyle with an exploding cassette—with red dust flying everywhere—for the win. After the match, BT Gunn appeared and Jester dared him to get in the ring. Gunn came in, but then got out after it looked like the two were getting ready to fight. Then, Sha Samuels came and threw Gunn back in the ring, and then he and Jester fought Gunn out of the ring before celebrating. My score: 2.5/5

NXT

Returning to the United States, we head to Orlando, Florida for an episode of NXT.

The male and female participants for the two Iron Survivor Challenge matches at NXT Deadline were made this week, courtesy of a panel consisting of WWE Hall of Famers Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, Sean Waltman, Alundra Blayze and Molly Holly; four were announced for the men’s match, and four were announced for the women’s match.

The four male wrestlers for their Iron Survivor Challenge match will be Carmelo Hayes, JD McDonagh, Grayson Waller and Joe Gacy, and the fifth competitor will be the winner of a wildcard triple threat match (taking place next week); the three attempting to qualify for this match are Von Wagner, Axiom and Andre Chase.

As for the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge match, the four female wrestlers will be Zoey Stark, Cora Jade, Roxanne Perez, Kiana James and—like the men’s match—the winner of a wildcard triple threat match (also taking place next week); the three attempting to qualify for this match are Wendy Choo, Fallon Henley and Indi Hartwell. I don’t have any predictions for either Iron Survivor Challenge match yet, but I do like the choices that were made for those two bouts. I’m glad to see Hayes, McDonagh, Waller and Gacy in this match mainly because of how much they accomplished especially during the short-lived multicolored “2.0” era—especially Hayes who won gold on NXT, ditto McDonagh during his time on NXT UK—and I believe that we’ll see Axiom qualify for this match next week.

As for the women, I agree with who was selected to be in this match, especially Kiana who appears to be getting a push as of late even before her rivalry with Fallon Henley. Speaking of Fallon, I’m torn on seeing either her or Indi qualifying for that match next week; part of me would like to see the Kiana/Fallon rivalry take part of the Iron Survivor Challenge at Deadline, but the other part of me sees Indi getting a push while focusing on her character where she’s proving the new additions to the women’s roster—the hard way—what she’s capable of.

Eight matches took place this week, and there were three matches that I enjoyed. One was the opening match between Roxanne Perez and Indi Hartwell; both women had a strong showing in this match and proving that they deserve to be making names for themselves in Deadline, even though we didn’t see Indi take part of the qualifying match yet per se.

Another match that I liked was between Javier Bernal and Axiom. Axiom has been on a roll ever since he jumped to NXT before his tenure as A-Kid came to a close, and Bernal also had a good showing not just in competition but also on building his cocky heel character.

Lastly, I also enjoyed the match between JD McDonagh and Julius Creed. It was another good bout that McDonagh competed in, even with his sinister heel character coming into play; the same goes for Julius who continues to have a good showing in singles competition and has proved it even before his ambulance match with Damon Kemp at Halloween Havoc occurred. Here are the NXT results from Orlando…

Match #1: Roxanne Perez defeated Indi Hartwell.

As soon as the match began, Roxanne offered a handshake until Indi slapped her hand away. After Indi booted Roxanne down, Roxanne kicked her away and then—after clubbing her in the back to help herself jump over her opponent—won with the Pop Rox. My score: 3.5/5

Match #2: Dijak defeated Dante Chen in almost four minutes.

Chen had a bloody mouth during the match. Dijak wore down Chen with a sleeper, then won with the Feast Your Eyes. After the match, Dijak said that what he did was “an example of hard justice”, then vowed to eviscerate anyone that gets in his way—calling out Wes Lee, Chen, Apollo Crews and Bron Breakker—and bring them to his “justice.” My score: 1/5 Match #3: Grayson Waller defeated Duke Hudson (w/ Andre Chase and Thea Hail). Earlier, both Waller and Hudson were grabbing each other by the hair until Chase told Hudson to stop cheating. Near the end, Hudson attempted to boot Waller, but missed and almost hit Thea; after Hudson calmed Thea down, he came back in the ring where Waller won with a through-the-ropes cutter. My score: 1/5

Match #4: Kiana James defeated Fallon Henley (w/ Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen).

Fallon’s left arm was worked on. After Fallon fought back, she chased Kiana until Kiana threw her purse at her before sending her shoulder first into a corner and winning with the 401k. My score: 2.5/5

Match #5: Axiom defeated Javier Bernal.

This match was made after Bernal was announcing who he wanted to fight, even with a long list of enemies that also included Elon Musk. Axiom wore a green and gold outfit that was a tribute to Jason David Frank, an actor best known as Tommy in the “Power Rangers” franchise whom we lost recently. Axiom’s right leg was worked on. After Bernal dodged the Golden Ratio and hit Axiom with a DDT for two, he climbed to the top rope until Axiom hit him with a superplex and the Golden Ratio for the win. My score: 3.5/5

Match #6: Julius Creed (w/ Brutus Creed) defeated JD McDonagh by disqualification.

Indus Sher appeared during the match. After McDonagh hit Julius with an Asai moonsault, he attempted to work on one of his legs (like he has to Axiom) until Julius powered him away; McDonagh then grabbed a steel chair and attempted to hit Julius with it until Sanga shoved Julius out of the way—giving Julius the DQ win—and took the bullet. After the match, Veer Mahaan and Sanga approached the Creed Brothers (as well as Ivy Nile who checked on Julius). My score: 3.5/5

Match #7: Von Wagner (w/ Mr. Stone) defeated Malik Blade in almost three minutes.

This match was made after Wagner refused to hang out with Blade and Edris Enofé and attacked them, and then tore what was the last sweater vest Blade’s father wore before his passing. After Blade—who brought that torn sweater vest to the ring—surprised Wagner with a bodyslam, he went for a frog splash, but it was blocked; this led to Wagner winning with a Death Valley Bomb. Afterwards, Enofé ran in to stop Wagner from continuing to attack Blade; Enofé was beaten down by Wagner until Odyssey Jones ran in and fought him out of the ring. My score: 1/5

Main event: Toxic Attraction defeated Nikkita Lyons, Kayden Carter & Katana Chance.

This was supposed to be the fifth match of the episode until Zoey Stark attacked Nikkita at the entryway; Nikkita ended up competing with a bandaged right knee afterwards. Towards the end, Nikkita hit Jacy Jayne with a leg split leg drop until Gigi Dolin broke up the pin. Then, Mandy Rose—who hit Katana with the Kiss By the Rose at ringside—distracted Nikkita from the apron, and Nikkita attempted to kick her off but collapsed due to the injured knee; this allowed Gigi and Jacy to win with a leg sweep/heel kick combo. After the match, Zoey appeared on the stage and taunted Nikkita. My score: 2/5

NXT: LVL UP

Staying in Orlando, we wrap things up with an episode of NXT: LVL UP.

Both the opener and closer were my favorite matches of this episode. The opener was Oro Mensah taking on Myles Borne, and the two gave us a great way to kick off this week’s episode; Borne is still giving his opponents a good run for their money (as well as looking for his next win), and Mensah continues to give his opponents a strong showing just like he did on NXT UK as well as his select NXT appearances when he was renamed from “Oliver Carter” to “Oro Mensah.”

The closer was Thea Hail taking on Sol Ruca, and those two wrestlers definitely gave us a good way to end this episode on a high note; Sol continues to be impressive in her fighting ability even while attempting to close in on another win, and the same goes for Thea even with her own high-octane energy coming into play.

Here are the NXT: LVL UP results from Orlando…

Match #1: Oro Mensah defeated Myles Borne.

After Borne picked up a two after a sleeper into a northern lights suplex, Mensah came back and won with a running heel kick. Both men hugged afterwards. My score: 3/5

Match #2: Stacks (w/ Tony D’Angelo) defeated Tavion Heights in four minutes.

This was Heights’ debut. Stacks won with a Curbstomp-like knee drop. My score: 1.5/5

Main event: Thea Hail (w/ Andre Chase and Duke Hudson) defeated Sol Ruca.

After Thea fought out of Sol’s surfboard and fought back including hitting her with a senton for two, Sol went for a rollup until Thea countered with a rollup of her own for the win. Post-match, Chase U showed respect to Sol. My score: 3/5

Next time…

The usual three and a belated Progress recap or two. Oh, and yes, I have a handful of wXw events to go through once I get chapters 144 and 145 out of the way…unless I’m jinxing myself for some reason…

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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, Progress and ICW.)