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Yes, this is my 50th issue of Pro-Darin. I’m so glad to have my issues on Wrestling With Johners, and I thank you readers—including “Johners” himself John Scott for having my articles on his website—for joining me from when it began as a ten-issue sampler on my Facebook page all the way to Wrestling With Johners including the podcast’s FB group page where I often post them before they end up in the articles section of his website.

Here’s to another 50 issues or more!

(P.S.: While you’re at it, you can also check out Johners’ podcasts!)

Progress Chapter 145: Wrestling Witch Face – Trick Or Treat

Let’s kick things off with a belated Progress recap that took place one weekend before Halloween.

The 145th chapter of Progress took place on October 23 at the Electric Ballroom in London, England in the United Kingdom; commentators Olie Spring and SoCal Val were disguised as—my favorite commentary duo—Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler respectively, and one of the fans in attendance was disguised as AEW wrestler Orange Cassidy.

Nine matches were on the card that night; they included two matches that served as the semifinal round of the Natural Progression Series tournament, a knockout only match, an eight-woman tag team match, and three championship matches including one where wXw gold was on the line.

Out of the championship matches that took place, my favorite would go to the Progress Atlas Championship match between Big Damo and Luke Jacobs. Each Atlas Championship bout has impressed me time and time again ever since that belt was revived early this year. This match was indeed one of them that had me grinning from ear to ear, and it was as good as the last time we saw the two wrestlers fight for the title; the story was much different however with Damo coming in as the champion instead of the challenger, and in the end, it was the “Beast of Belfast” that retained the belt.

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As for the regular matches, there were two bouts that became my favorites of this chapter. One was the beginning of the semifinal round of the NPS that kicked off the event; this match was between Ricky Knight Jr. and Leon Slater. This wasn’t the first time that they encountered each other; Knight defeated Slater eleven chapters ago, and fast forward to this chapter, it was the same song and dance but with a spot to the final round of the tournament on the line. Both Knight and Slater fought tooth and nail for that spot, and in the end, it was Knight who emerged victorious. Just like their first encounter, their second one—in the aforementioned tournament this time—was amazing from start to finish.

The other match was the tag team match between FSU and Danny Black and Callum Newman. As we saw in the last chapter, FSU worked like a well-oiled machine as if they never split up—or fought each other outside Progress such as NXT UK—in the first place. They did so again this time by facing half of CPF who also had a strong showing, high flying moments and all, in this match; in the end, FSU picked up the 1-2-3.

Here are the match results from London…

Match #1: Ricky Knight Jr. defeated Leon Slater in the semifinal round of the Natural Progression Series tournament.

As soon as the bell rang, Slater hit Knight with a shotgun dropkick, a tope con giro and a 450 for two. Near the end, Knight hit Slater with a Styles Clash for two until Slater came back with a poison rana; Slater went for another 450, but missed and it allowed Knight to hit him with a clothesline and an Ehrenmann Driver (ala Bobby Gunns) for the win. Knight helped up Slater and patted him on the back afterwards. My score: 4.25/5

Match #2: Anthony Ogogo (w/ Adebayo Akinfenwa) defeated Malik (w/ Kosta Konstantino, Roadfam, DB and 2-Step) in a Knockout Only match.

Malik and his cohorts are collectively known as the 265 OGs. Ogogo also had two gentlemen besides footballer (or “soccer player” as we Americans say) Akinfenwa, but weren’t identified for some reason. Malik blindsided Ogogo before the match after Konstantino distracted the referee. After Malik blocked the pop-up punch, Ogogo threw him out of the ring and hit him with a slingshot crossbody before the two fought in the crowd and to the bar (where Ogogo took down the rest of the 265 OGs that stepped in); the two then went to the entryway where Ogogo hit Malik with what looked like a belly-to-belly flatliner on the floor before Malik suplexed Ogogo on the stage and then, courtesy of Konstantino, hit his opponent’s right hand on the steps that were part of the entryway. The fight went back into the crowd where Ogogo hit Malik with a garbage bag and then threw the trashcan into the ring, and then suplexed him into the chairs in the audience.

As soon as the action returned to the ring, Konstantino pulled Malik out of the ring until Ogogo hit the OGs—and a couple crewman—with a Swanton at ringside; the two returned where Ogogo puled Malik in a trashcan and clotheslined him until Konstantino interfered once again and threw a fire extinguisher in the ring. Ogogo hit Malik with a low blow, and Konstantino sprayed “The Guv’nor” with the extinguisher before accidentally hitting the “Hitta” with it; this allowed Ogogo to take off one of his gloves and hit Malik with a right hook before punching him down for the win. Afterwards, one of the OGs—DB, I believe—ran in and got taken down by Ogogo and Akinfenwa; Konstantino said that he wanted a fair fight after seeing what happened until Ogogo and Akinfenwa decided to challenge him and Malik to a tag team match. My score: 2.75/5

Match #3: Nina Samuels defeated Alexxis Falcon.

Nina wore bunny ears, a bowtie and a cottontail as if she were a Playboy bunny. After Alexxis hit Nina with a running jumping neckbreaker for two and then hit her with the Sleeping Beauty, Nina pretended to have a facial injury and then—while Alexxis was pulling her back to the center of the ring—yanked off the middle turnbuckle pad; while the referee fixed the padding, Nina hit Alexxis with her award (that we saw two chapters ago) for the win. Afterwards, Nina got to the stage and welcomed the fans to “the homecoming edition of the Nina Samuels Show” and received a bouquet of flowers; Alexxis called her a moron and said that it wasn’t over yet, then wondered if Nina hasn’t seen many horror movies. Then, the lights went out, and when they came back on, Nina—in a scene straight out of “Carrie”—was covered in blood. (I’m surprised that Alexxis didn’t say “They’re all gonna laugh at you!” afterwards…lol…) My score: 1.5/5

Match #4: Tate Mayfairs defeated Nico Angelo in the semifinal round of the Natural Progression Series tournament.

Simon Miller refused to introduce Mayfairs, dropping the microphone and leaving; Mayfairs then did the intro himself, and then argued with the referee until Angelo threw him into a corner, seconds before the bell rang. Towards the end, Mayfairs hit Angelo with a double underhook DDT and a spinning piledriver for two, then snuck out brass knuckles from one of the turnbuckle pads; Angelo hit Mayfairs with a steamroller-like Death Valley Driver and a shooting star press from two, then Mayfairs kicked him into the referee before hitting him with the knuckles and pinning him for the win. After the match, Mayfairs raised his unconscious opponent’s arm and pretended to get a handshake from him. My score: 3/5

Match #5: FSU defeated Danny Black & Callum Newman.

Joe Lando was supposed to be in this match, but was out of action due to injury. During the match, Eddie Dennis got frustrated until Mark Andrews found a luchador mask and handed it to him; Dennis put on the mask and became “Eddie Mysterio”, then fought Black and Newman before unmasking himself and hitting Black with a chokeslam before pinning him in the same style as the Undertaker for two. Near the end, Andrews hit his opponents with the House Light Overdrive (double Pele) until Black hit him with a Spanish Fly and then Dennis with the Out of the Black at ringside; then Andrews hit Black with a tope suicida before Newman hit FSU with a moonsault at ringside. FSU came back and hit ½ of CPF with a Severed Bridge/apron heel kick combo before hitting Newman with a Neck Stop Drier/double stomp combo for the win. FSU showed respect to Black and Newman afterwards. My score: 4.25/5

Match #6: Maggot defeated Man Like Dereiss to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship.

Before the match started, Elijah talked about his hot streak and “The Rise of Elijah”, then called out Charles Crowley who appeared looking like a barefoot hobo and said that the numbers in a cryptic message that Elijah saw two chapters ago; Crowley said that the numbers were Elijah’s wins and losses before noting that he never lost to the same person twice; Elijah noted that Crowley was someone that he lost to in the past, challenging him to a match for the next chapter. After Elijah left, Maggot appeared wearing the same coat and hat that Crowley wore in the past, and it caused Crowley to freak out and leave. Then, Dereiss came into the ring and dedicated this championship match to his friend Owen who passed away. Maggot hit Dereiss with an F5, then Dereiss recovered and hit Maggot with a sit out powerbomb for two; Dereiss then hit Maggot with a tope suicida, then went for the Four Fiddy, but Maggot dodged it and hit him with a spear for a near fall. Dereiss then hit Maggot with a superplex for two until Maggot surprised him with a rollup for the win. After the match, Dereiss took the belt in frustration until Maggot settled him down and the two hugged it out before he got his belt back. My score: 3.75/5

Match #7: The Lana Austin Experience & Taonga defeated Rhio, Millie McKenzie, Baby Allison & Kanji.

This was the Progress debut of wXw wrestler Allison. All of the competitors, except for Lana, had a shoving match before the bell rang until the referee and ring crew separated them; as the match then began, all hell broke loose again with Lana watching from the apron as if brawls weren’t her cup of tea. The end of the match saw Taonga hitting Kanji with the I’m Prettier followed by—after Lana blind tagged in—a running punt before Lana stole the pin while L.A. Taylor held back Taonga. After the match, Taonga was livid until Lana, L.A. and Skye Smitson beat her down and left. My score: 3.25/5

Match #8: Big Damo defeated Luke Jacobs to retain the Progress Atlas Championship.

Jacobs’ right arm gave out during his chop exchange with Damo. After Jacobs punted Damo twice for a two count and then put him in a sleeper before Damo had his feet on the bottom rope, he hit him with a piledriver and the Burning Lariat for a near fall followed by a powerbomb for another two; Damo came back and hit Jacobs with a fisherman’s superplex, a Wasteland, a senton and the Belfast Blitz for two…then hit him with five more—with the first one to the spine—Belfast Blitzes for the win! Afterwards, Damo helped up Jacobs and shook his hand. My score: 4/5

Main event: Spike Trivet (w/ Bullit) defeated Dan Moloney to retain the Progress World Championship.

It looked like there were cracks in the friendship between Trivet and Bullit as Trivet coerced his bodyguard to leave; it turned out to be all a ruse as Bullit ran back in and attacked Moloney out of the ring, then busted him open after sending him face first into a post. As Bullit—who attacked three crewmen afterwards—was sent to the back, Moloney—on spaghetti legs—came back in and wanted to compete even though it gave Trivet the upper hand in the beginning per se. Trivet hit Moloney with the Madame Guillotine for a near fall until Moloney spat at him, leading to Trivet snapping his nose and hitting him with the Birthright for another near fall; then, Trivet fought Moloney in a corner before elbowing the original referee Oscar which allowed Bullit to return and hand him the championship belt.

Moloney hit Bullit with a low blow until Trivet struck him with the title and punched him down, then the two brought in two steel chairs until Man Like Dereiss ran in and went after the two including diving onto Bullit—and the crewmen—at ringside. Moloney recovered and hit Trivet with a spear and, seconds before the second referee Tom ran in, the Drilla for a near fall; Moloney then came close to taking his frustration out on Tom until Trivet hit him with a low blow before Moloney came back with a piledriver and the second Drilla. Bullit pulled referee Tom out of the ring and then hit Dereiss with a chokeslam on the apron, then Moloney fought Bullit until Trivet hit him with one of the chairs, Bullit crotched him, and Trivet hit him with a package piledriver for a near fall before nailing the second one for the win. (Trivet’s previous theme song, the one I jokingly called the “Steven Bochco Productions” theme song one time, was played after the match for some reason.)

After the match, Dereiss ran in until Bullit took him down before leaving with Trivet while Dereiss checked on his 0121 teammate; Dereiss would help up Moloney and walk him to the back afterwards. My score: 3/5

wXw Inner Circle 12

Staying in Europe, we head to the wXw Wrestling Academy in its new location Gelsenkirchen, Germany for the 12th wXw Inner Circle. (And yes, it has been a while since I have done recaps of wXw events.)

Inner Circle took place on September 30; it was the first time that this event took place at the Academy’s new home Gelsenkirchen. Described by ring announcer Thomas Giesen, Inner Circle is like “an event in a small circle” hence the name; it involves up-and-comers from in and outside Europe clashing with current members of the wXw roster.

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Eight matches took place that day, and my favorite match of the event would go to the one-on-one match between Gulyás Jr. and Akira. Gulyás Jr. has been doing very well in his wXw tenure since he debuted for the company in early 2021, and he—along with his opponent Akira who made his wXw debut—had a great showing in this bout; part of me may be surprised that his farmer gimmick—“pit stop” armpit and all—didn’t come into play, but it was good to see more of his competitive side in this match. Plus, I look forward to seeing more of Akira in the near future after seeing him clash with Gulyás Jr. whether it’s in wXw or another company.

Here are the match results from Gelsenkirchen…

Match #1: Orsi defeated Jacob Crane.

Crane hugged the referee near the end of the match and attempted to kick Orsi until Orsi blocked the kick; she then won with a spear. My score: 0.5/5

Match #2: Kevin Ku (w/ Dominic Garrini) defeated Danny Miles.

Miles put Ku in the Chase Your Dream (rear naked choke) until Ku got out of it and put him in a heel hook. Then, Miles went for a cannonball, but missed and it allowed Ku to win with a fisherman’s buster. My score: 3/5

Match #3: Gulyás Jr. defeated Akira.

As noted above, this was Akira’s wXw debut; the American deathmatch wrestler is not to be confused with the same wrestler that goes by the names “Francesco Akira” and, especially on wXw, “Akira Francesco.” Akira had an eyepatch over his left eye because it was damaged during a match that involved a razor board. Both shook hands as soon as the match began. Akira worked on Gulyás Jr.’s right arm until Gulyás Jr. came back and scored a two count after a cannonball. Akira fought back and hit Gulyás Jr. with a Shadow Star (top rope senton) for a near fall before Gulyás Jr. hit him with a Michinoku driver for two; then, Akira countered a clothesline with a cross armbreaker until Gulyás Jr. hit him with a powerbomb and held onto him for the winning pin. My score: 4/5

Match #4: The Boricua Boys defeated Elijah Blum & Danny Fray.

The Boricua Boys consist of Dante Caballero and Joe Keys. Fray cleaned house until, behind the referee’s back, Caballero wrapped a belt around his fist and punched Fray with it; Caballero and Keys then hit Fray with a Claymore/German suplex combo (known as the Drive By which may make Roman Reigns, and the rest of the Bloodline, blush) for the win. Norman Harras appeared and chatted with the Boricua Boys afterwards. My score: 2/5

Match #5: Fuminori Abe defeated Masha Slamovich.

Both wrestlers fought at ringside where Abe attempted to punch Masha until he missed and hit the wall instead, leading to Masha getting the upper hand. The end of the match saw Abe making Masha submit to an octopus. After the match, both shook hands until Masha slapped Abe and stormed off. My score: 3/5

Match #6: Shazza McKenzie & Killer Kelly defeated Ava Everett & Iva Kolasky.

Before the match started, Ava welcomed herself back to Germany, then called herself “the best wXw Women’s Champion of all time” and Iva “second best.” Almost two minutes into the match, Ava refused to tag in unless Kelly was tagged in; Ava and Kelly were tagged in afterwards, even though Ava—along with Iva—still fought Shazza a minute or so later. The match ended with Kelly hitting Iva with a rolling Death Valley Driver for the win. My score: 3/5

Match #7: Icarus defeated Dominic Garrini.

Dover was not in attendance due to injury. Icarus choked Garrini with the tag rope during the match. Garrini came back and hit Icarus with a powerbomb for two before putting him in a Boston crab; Icarus got out of the hold and fought back, then hit him with the Meltdown (Swanton) for a near fall. Near the end, Garrini hit Icarus with a pumphandle driver until Icarus got his feet on the middle rope, then put him in a rear naked choke until Icarus—while in the hold—sent his opponent headfirst into a top turnbuckle before bridging him for the win. My score: 2.5/5

Main event: Shigehiro Irie defeated Peter Tihanyi.

During the match, Tihanyi hit Irie with a springboard Meteora for two followed by a tope suicida, then went for a tornado DDT but got his leg tangled in the ropes; this allowed Irie to hit him with a Boss Man Slam before Tihanyi blocked his top rope splash attempt. Towards the end, Irie splashed Tihanyi against the ropes a handful of times (before nearly falling out of the ring), and then won with the Beast Bomber clothesline. Tihanyi raised Irie’s arm and hugged him afterwards. My score: 3.75/5

NXT Deadline

We now head to Orlando, Florida in the United States, and also jump to the month of December; cue “Puppeteer” by Rightfield featuring Emotional Xan because it’s time to look back at NXT Deadline!

It was the first time ever that NXT held an event known as “Deadline”, and it also marked the last WWE premium live event (or pay-per-view event if you’re old school like me) of 2022; it was also the last time that NXT held a premium live event at the WWE Performance Center’s arena (the former Capital Wrestling Center) in Orlando before the brand announced that their premium live events would take place outside the city starting with Vengeance Day on February 4, 2023. The long-awaited Iron Survivor Challenge matches took place that night along with two championship matches and one singles match.

Deadline was, in my opinion, a great way to wrap up WWE’s year of premium live events. Not only was I impressed with both the men’s and women’s Iron Survivor Challenge matches, but also the rest of the card including the NXT Championship match that served as the main event.

Onto the Iron Survivor Challenge matches, both the men and women didn’t disappoint me one bit in their—as well as our—first taste of this type of bout. Not only did we see the wrestlers fighting tooth and nail for title shots that were on the line as well as how many falls they needed (via pinfall, submission or disqualification), but also a great amount of action from the five women and five men. In my honest opinion, I would love to see more Iron Survivor Challenges take place in the near future, whether it’s on a special episode of any of WWE’s brands or at a premium live event.

As for the championship matches, I honestly didn’t expect the New Day to win gold on NXT, even though in the past we have seen wrestlers from other brands win gold elsewhere such as Dolph Ziggler on NXT, Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen on NXT UK, and—back in 2018—Moustache Mountain (P.S.: Good luck to Trent Seven on his run in AEW!) winning the NXT Tag Team Championship per se. On the other hand, I’m glad to see this great team (and yes, I still consider Big E as a member of the New Day) win gold on NXT besides Raw and SmackDown; besides, I like seeing teams such as the New Day, the Usos and FTR—just to name a few—to make names for themselves when it comes to how much they dominate one tag team division after another.

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Not only did I like the Iron Survivor Challenge matches, but I also like the main event which became my favorite match of the event; as I mentioned, the match was for the NXT Championship. Breakker noted in one of his meetings with Apollo Crews—outside the WWE Performance Center as we’ve seen on past episodes of NXT heading into this event—that his three in-ring abilities are power, intensity and speed; Crews, in this main event, challenged all three of those abilities—as promised in one of his meetings with Breakker—in this championship match that night even by either matching those three abilities or making his own three greater than his opponent’s.

This was indeed a great championship match where those aforementioned abilities played a role courtesy of those two competitors, and in the end, it was Breakker retaining the championship. For Crews, with performances such as this one, I still think he’ll be winning gold sooner or later even after coming close to NXT’s metaphoric brass ring—the NXT Championship—that night; to me, it’s not even close to over for Crews and his time on the white-and-gold brand. As for Breakker, his championship defenses continue to be impressive—during his second reign as NXT Champion—time and time again, and his second reign continues to be stronger by the minute as we’ve seen on NXT as well as its premium live events.

Here are the Deadline results from Orlando…

Match #1: Roxanne Perez defeated Zoey Stark, Kiana James, Cora Jade and Indi Hartwell in the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge to become the #1 contender for the NXT Women’s Championship.

Roxanne and Zoey started the match, then Kiana was the third entrant, followed by Cora and Indi in that order. Zoey picked up fall #1 after hitting Roxanne with the Z360, Cora picked up her first fall after hitting Roxanne—who attempted to hit Kiana with the Pop Rox—with a superkick before pinning Kiana, Indi picked up her first fall after a big boot to Roxanne, Roxanne picked up fall #1 after countering Zoey’s Z360 with a rollup, and Roxanne picked up fall #2 after hitting Cora with the Pop Rox. Booker T cried tears of joy on commentary after seeing Roxanne win. My score: 3.75/5

Match #2: Isla Dawn defeated Alba Fyre.

Isla exposed the middle turnbuckle during the match. After Alba hit Isla with a tope suicida and the Fyre Bomb on the floor for a near fall, Isla grabbed the referee—who was sprayed in the face with the black mist on NXT days prior—until Alba hit her with the Swanton; the referee was unable to make the pin count as he ended up hemorrhaging the black mist. The second referee came to perform the pin count and then check on the original referee, then Isla sent Alba into the exposed turnbuckle before winning with an elbow drop neckbreaker. My score: 3/5

Match #3: The New Day defeated Pretty Deadly to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions.

During the match, Kofi Kingston and Elton Prince had what the fans called a “twerk off” as both competitors danced as if “Shake Your Booty” by KC and the Sunshine Band was playing in the arena. There were Eddie Guerrero moments near the end of the match as both teams went back and forth on pretending to be hit by the tag team belts until the referee saw all four down. Then, Kit Wilson hit Xavier Woods with one of the belts behind the referee’s back for two; Pretty Deadly then went for the Spilled Milk until Kingston got Wilson out of the ring and hit him with Trouble In Paradise, then the New Day hit Prince with the Midnight Hour for the win. Woods and Kingston celebrated in the crowd afterwards. My score: 3.5/5

Match #4: Grayson Waller defeated JD McDonagh, Axiom, Carmelo Hayes and Joe Gacy in the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge to become the #1 contender for the NXT Championship.

McDonagh and Axiom started the match, then Hayes was the third entrant, followed by Waller and Gacy in that order. Hayes slammed McDonagh onto Axiom before pinning Axiom for fall #1; Waller hit Axiom and McDonagh with a double through-the-ropes cutter to score his first two falls of the match; Axiom picked up his first fall after a headscissors rollup to Waller, and then his second fall after a poison rana and the Golden Ratio to McDonagh; Gacy got fall #1 after making Axiom submit to a Rings of Saturn, and then fall #2 after hitting Hayes with the Upside Down World; Hayes got his second fall after making Waller submit to a crossface; and Waller, after Hayes hit Axiom with the Nothing But Net, punched Hayes away and pinned Axiom for his third fall before his opponents chased him as if he were Benny Hill until the clock ran out. My score: 3.75/5

Main event: Bron Breakker defeated Apollo Crews to retain the NXT Championship.

Breakker’s entrance had pictures of his championship defenses, and then he would burst through a screen—that was showing those pictures—while heading to the ring. Halfway through the match, Crews closed his eyes while his opponent was down and then opened them back up as if he powered up. After Breakker hit Crews with a Steiner bulldog for a near fall, he went for a powerslam until Crews countered it with a DDT for two; Crews’ pop-up uranage was then blocked as was—after Breakker hit him with his own pop-up uranage for two—Breakker’s powerslam before Crews hit him with his own powerslam for two. The two continued to go at it back and forth until Breakker won with a spear. After the match, Grayson Waller ran in and hit Breakker with a through-the-ropes cutter before posing with the title. My score: 4.25/5

ICW Fight Club

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

On the go-home episode of Fight Club prior to Fear & Loathing XIV, there were four matches that took place; it started off slow until the episode picked up one notch after another. My favorite match of the episode would have to go to a warmup match, but this time, it didn’t involve those fighting for the ICW World Heavyweight Champion at F&L (even though Leyton Buzzard vs. Kez Evans was still good per se); this time, it involved one of the wrestlers getting ready for a King of Insanity match at that event.

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The match I enjoyed was the main event which was a deathmatch between BT Gunn and Clint Margera. For those of you that are new to Margera, he’s not related to any of the Margeras—Bam, Jesse, etc.—that we’ve seen in “Jackass” and “Viva La Bam!” or heard in the band CKY; Clint is actually a British deathmatch specialist. Unless you’re not big on deathmatches, it was a very good battle from start to finish, and Gunn was able to boost his momentum by defeating Margera—who also had a strong showing like his opponent—in this match.

Here are the match results from Newcastle Upon Tyne…

Match #1: K.O.E. (w/ “Jackie Polo” and Denise) defeated Sha Samuels & Dirty Dango.

I wonder how Gene Munny reacted after hearing Billy Kirkwood on commentary call the former Fandango “that damn dirty Dango”…lol…anyway, Denise wore a cast on her neck after getting hit with a polo mallet (or “the hammer” as DCT calls it) by “Polo” on last week’s episode where he and K.O.E. went after Sha Samuels before Glasgow Grindhouse made the save. During the match, “Polo” got distracted after being fingertips away from tripping Samuels.

Near the end, Samuels hit Adam King with the Mug Smasher while Dango hit Marcus King with a tope con giro, then Denise distracted the referee which allowed “Polo” to sneak in and hit Samuels with “the hammer”, making Adam pin him for the win. After the match, “Polo” and K.O.E. attacked Samuels until the Glasgow Grindhouse evened the odds and fought K.O.E. out of the ring; then, Lou King Sharp, Krieger, Samuels and Dango had “Polo” surrounded, and the four fought him out of the ring. Once the smoke cleared, Sharp wanted Dango and Samuels to dance with him and Krieger, and sure enough, all four danced in the ring. My score: 2/5

Match #2: Molly Spartan defeated Gia Adams in a non-title match.

After Gia made a comeback, Molly powerbombed her off the top rope and then won with a spear. After the match, Molly helped up Gia and shook her hand, then admitted to being a “pain in the ass” but still cares about the women’s division unlike Kasey; she then said that knows that she scares Kasey like the rest of the women’s division, and that their match at Fear & Loathing XIV would go down in history. My score: 3/5

Match #3: Kez Evans defeated Leyton Buzzard in a non-title match.

Evans’ brass knuckles fell out of his gear during the match, and then purposely rearranged the turnbuckle padding in order to—when the referee fixed the pad—find the knuckles. Buzzard’s lower back was worked on during the match, and he was unable to hit Evans with the Buzzkiller at one point. After Evans rubbed the ICW World Heavyweight Championship belt in Buzzard’s face, he put him in the Blood Clot Clutch until Buzzard got out of it with a snapmare followed by a superkick; Buzzard then went for the X Marks the Spot, but missed, which allowed Evans to have time to put on the knuckles.

Buzzard dodged the knuckles and hit Evans with another superkick followed by the Buzzkiller for a near fall, then took the knuckles from him until Evans hit him with the belt for the win. After the match, Evans continued to beat down Buzzard until Craig Anthony ran in and fought him; Anthony and Buzzard argued physically and verbally while going after Evans, then Stevie James ran in and threw Evans—who attempted to sneak out—back in the ring and hit him with a superkick before posing with the title. Then, Buzzard hit James with the Buzzkiller and posed with the belt, Anthony hit Buzzard with a discus forearm and posed with the belt, and Evans blindsided Anthony before walking away with the belt. My score: 3.25/5

Main event: BT Gunn defeated Clint Margera in a deathmatch.

Light tubes, an ironing board, some beer from the bar, a table, a staple gun, steel chairs, thumbtacks and skewers came into play in this match. (There was also a guitar with tubes taped to the back, but it wasn’t used for some reason.) Moments included both wrestlers fighting to the bar where Gunn had a drink and Margera splashed him with one, Margera hitting Gunn with a side Russian leg sweep from the bottom rope and through the table at ringside, Gunn attempted to break a tube on the back of Margera’s neck until Margera broke it himself, Margera piercing the palms of Gunn’s hands with the staple gun and then Gunn—after Margera was preoccupied with pouring tacks from the bag—piercing his opponent’s groin with that same weapon, and Gunn giving Margera the Ric Flair treatment by throwing him off the top rope and into two chairs—with tubes on them—and tacks. The match ended with Gunn battering Margera with skewers and tubes, and then hitting him with the Temple Tap roundhouse kick for the win. After the match, Jack Jester appeared at the entryway and looked at his Fear & Loathing opponent Gunn. My score: 3.75/5

NXT

Returning to Orlando, it’s time for an episode of NXT!

The fallout episode of NXT after Deadline began with announcements that the Iron Survivor Challenge winners would fight for the championship belts at New Year’s Evil, which takes place on January 10, 2023 on USA Network. However, one of those championship matches was moved from next year to this past Tuesday.

Roxanne Perez attempted to talk about her win until Grayson Waller, who came to the arena in a Hummer, appeared in a crowd and bragged about his win and how he got the victory before Bron Breakker appeared and chased him. While the Waller/Breakker chase went on, Mandy Rose came elsewhere from the crowd and blindsided Perez with the NXT Women’s Championship belt; Roxanne recovered and decided to fight Mandy for the gold this week on NXT.

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Roxanne Perez vs. Mandy Rose became the main event for this week’s episode of NXT, and it was indeed a great way to wrap up the episode (and was also my favorite match of the episode). Roxanne has been on a roll as of late ever since she began her WWE tenure back in April, and she definitely deserved to win gold this week after accomplishing a whole lot month after month. As for Mandy, all I can say is that she had a great dominant run as the champion since the Halloween Havoc episode of NXT back in late October of 2021, lasting it for over a year just like Asuka and Shayna Baszler has in the past. I definitely look forward to seeing Roxanne and her reign as champion in the near future, and I’m pretty sure those that saw her win the Ring of Honor Women’s Championship over a year ago would think the same thing as well.

Here are the NXT results from Orlando…

Match #1: Wes Lee defeated Stacks (w/ Tony D’Angelo) in a non-title match.

Stacks fought Lee backstage and to the ring before the match began; he would work on Lee’s back later on. Lee would come back and win with a backflip heel kick. After the match, Dijak came into the ring and stared at Lee, which then allowed D’Angelo to attack Lee from behind. (I think we’ll see a triple threat match for the NXT North American Championship in the near future…perhaps New Year’s Evil?) My score: 2.5/5

Match #2: Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne defeated Tatum Paxley & Ivy Nile by disqualification in almost two and a half minutes.

Kayden Carter & Katana Chance joined Vic Joseph and Booker T on commentary. Jacy threw Ivy into the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions until Kayden and Katana went after her and Gigi, giving the Toxic Attraction members the DQ win. All three teams brawled afterwards until referees came and separated them; the three teams would then brawl again backstage later that night. My score: 0.5/5

Match #3: Odyssey Jones (w/ Malik Blade and Edris Enofé) defeated Von Wagner (w/ Mr. Stone) in almost three minutes.

Mr. Stone wore a tuxedo, which led to Vic Joseph calling him a “bum ass James Bond” on commentary. Near the end, Mr. Stone stole Blade’s sweater, and Enofé chased him; while the referee eyed on the chase, Blade kicked Wagner from ringside before Jones won with a running crossbody. My score: 0.5/5

Match #4: Ikemen Jiro defeated Javier Bernal in three minutes.

Bernal teased throwing Jiro into the audience, and then laughed about it until Jiro surprised him with a crossbody (that unfortunately got the “didn’t get all of it” treatment). Jiro would then go on to win with the Ikemen Slash. After the match, Scrypts ran in and attacked Jiro, then took the jacket off of him and put it on. My score: 0.5/5

Match #5: JD McDonagh defeated Brutus Creed (w/ Julius Creed) in four minutes.

Brutus’ left forearm was worked on after McDonagh slammed it on the announce table. Indus Sher appeared later on. Near the end, McDonagh punted both Creed Brothers, then grabbed a steel chair until Sanga took it away from him; instead, he hit Brutus with the Devil Inside on the floor followed by a second Devil Inside in the ring for the win. Both Veer Mahaan and Sanga nodded at the Creed Brothers in disappointment afterwards. My score: 1/5

Match #6: Lyra Valkyria defeated Amari Miller in three minutes.

Lyra is actually former NXT UK wrestler Aoife Valkyrie. She won after hitting Amari with a frog splash. My score: 1/5

Match #7: Duke Hudson (w/ Andre Chase and Thea Hail) defeated Damon Kemp in almost four minutes.

Drew Gulak, whom Hudson was with early in the episode, appeared until Chase shooed him away. The match ended after Hudson hit Kemp with a Bionic Elbow (ala the late Dusty Rhodes) followed by a running big boot for the win. My score: 1.5/5

Main event: Roxanne Perez defeated Mandy Rose to become the new NXT Women’s Champion.

During the match, Roxanne went for the Pop Rox on the floor until Mandy sent her into the steel stairs, and then worked on her right arm. Towards the end, Mandy went for the Kiss By the Rose until Roxanne countered with a rollup for two before Mandy put her in a crossface; Roxanne got out of the hold by rolling up Mandy for another two until Mandy hit her with the Kiss By the Rose for a near fall. Mandy looked to finish off Roxanne with a double underhook maneuver until Roxanne came back and hit her with the Pop Rox for the win. Booker T celebrated Roxanne’s win on commentary afterwards. My score: 3/5

NXT: LVL UP

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

Interesting to note, the second and third matches were taped prior to NXT Deadline; the dead giveaway was the Iron Survivor Challenge penalty box being seen at ringside.

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My favorite out of the three matches would be the tag team main event between Chase U members Andre Chase & Duke Hudson and the team of Javier Bernal & Xyon Quinn. Besides seeing both teams giving us a good amount of competition, their characters and storylines came into play very well; not only did we see Bernal and Quinn doing good portrayals of cocky self-centered heels, but also Chase and Hudson trying to gel as a team including Chase wanting his tag team partner to focus on fighting and not cheating. Lessons were indeed learned, and it paid off for the Chase U members as they ended up chalking up a win. Yes, Chase U has grown on me as I’ve noted in the very early issues, and seeing Hudson work as one of Chase’s classmates in the storyline—as well as cementing his babyface turn—is indeed fun to watch.

Here are the NXT: LVL UP results from Orlando…

Match #1: The Dyad (w/ Joe Gacy and Ava Raine) defeated Bronco Nima & Lucien Price.

After Rip Fowler yanked Price into the post, he and Jagger Reid hit Nima with a double Codebreaker for the win. My score: 1.5/5

Match #2: Ivy Nile defeated Lash Legend.

After Lash hit Ivy with a backbreaker, she went for a suplex until Ivy countered with the DCL; Lash tapped out, giving Ivy the win. My score: 2/5

Main event: Andre Chase & Duke Hudson (w/ Thea Hail) defeated Javier Bernal & Xyon Quinn.

Earlier, Chase told Hudson not to cheat after catching him grabbing Quinn by the hair. The team of Chase and Hudson won after hitting Bernal with the Fratliner. My score: 2.5/5

Next time…

I take a look back at ICW Fear & Loathing XIV, as well as shows that have “NXT” in their name. That, as well as a belated recap or two with “wXw” in its name.

For my newsletters as well as any articles that are on the Wrestling With Johners website, the website is wrestlingwithjohners.com/articles

For just my newsletters 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, Progress, ICW and wXw.)