This was a pretty good episode of NXT. the action was good throughout and several storylines were advanced. For example, Roxanne Perez, Wes Lee, and Bron Breakkers all have challengers for their respective championships. That leads into the highlight of the night, as Dijak defeated Tony D’Angelo to become the next challenger for the North American Championship. The lowlight of the night was the match between Charlie Dempsey and Hank Walker. The action was ok but there wasn’t much story there.
The match score lost points because most of the most matches were around three stars and none reached the category of amazing. The show structure lost points because the NXT title match felt out of place in the middle of the show even though it did have a controversial ending. The atmosphere was very good throughout but was just ok at times. The storytelling was good but wasn’t exceptional. The production level was good but they missed an opportunity to have a theme related to the title of the show.
On tonight’s episode of NXT: Dijak fights Tony D’Angelo to determine the next challenger for the North American Championship. Who will emerge victorious? Bron Breakker defends the NXT Championship against Iron Survivor, Grayson Waller. Will the Australian dethrone the champion? And a 20-woman battle royale to determine the next challenger for Roxanne Perez.
GREAT Dijak vs Tony D’Angelo:
In a contender’s match for the North American Championship, Dijak went for a couple of early pins but only got a one count on each. Then, the Don was thrown into Stacks Lorenzo but he bounced that into a spear. In order to prevent interference, Dijak handcuffed Lorenzo to the ring. Later, Tony D picked up momentum and got a two-count after a spinebuster. Amazingly, D’Angelo kicked out at two after a chokeslam. In the finish, Dijak picked up the victory after landing a superkick. Before the kick, Lorenzo attempted to get in the ring to help the Don. Tony D’Angelo told him they’re family as he pushed Lorenzo out of the ring.
Results: Dijak by Pinfall via Sitout Chokeslam
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
Toxic Attraction insisted they would be the co-winners of the battle royale later in the show.
Jinder Mahal and Sanga attacked the Creed Brothers. Mahal told the crowd that Veer and Sanga fight for respect, but he doesn’t.
RATING WORD Pretty Deadly vs Edris Enofe and Malik Blade vs Gallus in a gauntlet match:
In the first round of the gauntlet match, Pretty Deadly defeated a team of jobbers. The New Day then came in and announced Edris Enofe and Malik Blade as the actual competition that Pretty Deadly would have to beat. Early, Enofe hit Pretty Deadly with a couple of spinebusters. The highlight of the match came when Malik Blade made a sneaky tag just before Kip Wilson hit a superplex. Blade nearly made the pin. Elton Prince rolled up Blade to win that round. The New Day then announced Briggs and Jensen as the next round. However, Gallus took their spot after taking out Brooks and Jensen backstage. Gallus quickly finished off Pretty Deadly after a tandem move.
Results: Gallus by Pinfall
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Julius Creed emphatically told Ivy Nile he couldn’t let the attack from Jinder Mahal go unpunished.
Tiffany Stratton made her return and proclaimed that the entire locker room feared her.
GOOD Bron Breakker vs Grayson Waller for the NXT Champion
Waller weakened the champ with a DDT and then a sleeper hold but Breakker countered with a belly-to-belly suplex. Later, the middle rope came undone after Waller rammed Breakker into the turnbuckle. A big moment came when Grayson Waller looked for his out-of-the-ring stunner but instead kneed Breakker in between the eyes. The match had an unfortunate ending for waller as the middle rope played a role in the finish. The rope broke again, sending Waller tumbling to the floor. This allowed Breakker to win via count out.
Results: Bron Breakker via Countout
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Apollo Crews asked Axiom to team up with him to take on Trick Williams and Carmello Hayes.
ABOVE AVERAGE Charlie Dempsey vs Hank Walker:
Walker landed a shoulder breaker on Dempsey early on. Then, the two men traded submission holds. Walker nearly got the submission but Dempsey creatively got out of the hold. He finished off Walker with a cross-face submission.
Results: Charlie Dempsey by Submission via Crossface
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.25 Stars
Tyler Bate announced he will return to NXT next week.
Alba Fyre aggressively offered Sol Roca a chance to have a match next week.
GOOD Jinder Mahal vs Julius Creed:
Creed ran to the ring and immediately began pounding Jinder Mahal. Coming out of the commercial break, Creed hit Mahal with a superplex. Julius Creed wanted a corner move but Sanga distracted the ref, which allowed Mahal to recover. A kick and a khallas allowed Mahal to pick up the win.
Results: Jinder Mahal by Pinfall via Khallas
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
A video package for the arrival of Stevie Turner to NXT.
GOOD Battle royale to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Women’s Championship:
Surprisingly, Cora Jade was the first person eliminated and this happened almost immediately. Doing her best impression of Kofi Kingston, Sol Roca walked with her hands to avoid her feet touching the ground. Jade then tried to get back into the ring but was again thrown out right away. Wendy Choo almost had a great save when she landed on her pillow but Elektra Lopez pulled it out from under her. Valkyria was eliminated by Toxic Attraction after a distraction by Cora Jade. Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin were the last two left and both hit the ground at the same time. After a review, both women were proclaimed co-winners.
Results: Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne win the battle royale
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Shawn Michaels announced that Bron Breakker will defend the NXT Championship in a steel cage at vengeance Day.
Overall…
This was a pretty good episode of NXT. the action was good throughout and several storylines were advanced. For example, Roxanne Perez, Wes Lee, and Bron Breakkers all have challengers for their respective championships. That leads into the highlight of the night, as Dijak defeated Tony D’Angelo to become the next challenger for the North American Championship. The lowlight of the night was the match between Charlie Dempsey and Hank Walker. The action was ok but there wasn’t much story there.
The match score lost points because most of the most matches were around three stars and none reached the category of amazing. The show structure lost points because the NXT title match felt out of place in the middle of the show even though it did have a controversial ending. The atmosphere was very good throughout but was just ok at times. The storytelling was good but wasn’t exceptional. The production level was good but they missed an opportunity to have a theme related to the title of the show.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
