This episode of NXT was more building to Deadline. The Tag Title match was fairly short but it developed the story of the Chase U scandal in an interesting way. Both of the Iron Survivor Matches were well worked and the more interesting competitor won. Lash Legend and Trick Williams are hot new commodities that it is good to see NXT push. In the second hour, we had some filler matches with Brawling Brutes vs OTM and Gigi Dollin vs Ariana Grace. Putting two short/squash matches back-to-back did kill some of the momentum of the show but the main event got me and the crowd back into the show. Lee has such a fast paced moveset it seems like a mismatch with Corbin but the match had enough spots to keep it interesting and Lee bumped like death so Corbin looks like a credible challenger to Dragunov. Next week is looking like a much better show with a Heritage Cup matchup between super grapplers and an intense NXT Women’s Title match.
WWE NXT November 14 2023 continues the road to Deadline with a new pair of Iron Survivor Challenge Matches (Trick Williams vs Joe Coffey & Roxanne Perez vs Lash Legend). The NXT Tag Team Titles are on the line when the scandal-ridden Chase U go against the D’Angelo Family. We will get new developments on several feuds with Lyra Valkyria and Xia Li having a sit down interview and Wes Lee taking on Baron Corbin in Lee’s first match back after his return.
ABOVE AVERAGE Chase U vs The D’Angelo Family – NXT Tag Team Championship Match (WWE NXT November 14 2023 Opening Match):
When Chase U is making their entrance, you can see that Andre Chase looks disheveled and the crowd is not as into Chase U as they have been before. Chase opens with a pair of rollups but the crowd is firmly behind the challengers. There’s a couple of miscommunications but the four men recover. The match is built around the Andre Chase hot tag but the crowd is less interested and the student section is getting annoyed and eventually starts walking out. The D’Angelos hit a couple of double team moves and the crowd keeps chanting “Walk Out” as Chase U students are still leaving. Hudson gets back in and hits his Slingshot German Suplex on Stacks and then teases hitting it on D’Angelo to the outside but D’Angelo counters out. The D’Angelo Family hit the Power Plex but Hudson breaks up the pinfall. Andre Chase goes for the Chase U stomps but there is no one left in the student section and Chase is visibly shaken. The D’Angelo Family hit the Bada Bing Bada Boom for the win.
The D’Angelo Family regains the Tag Team Titles and Chase U is in shambles. It is unfortunate that Chase U didn’t have a fruitful reign but I am hopeful that the story with the breakdown of Chase U is interesting.
Results: The D’Angelo Family by Pinfall via Bada Bing Bada Boom
Austin Knight WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
GOOD SuperNova Sessions with Alpha Academy:
We get a fairly entertaining SuperNova Sessions as Alpha Academy joins Meta-Four in the ring. Noam Dar has locked up the Heritage Cup to prevent Tozawa from swiping it again. Alpha Academy come out and the crowd is loving Otis. Tozawa claims that he would be Heritage Cup Champion if Meta-Four didn’t get involved. Legend interrupts Tozawa but Otis is going wild for Legend as she shrieks for security. Both factions begin arguing and Gable “SHOOSHES” everyone. Gable says he has a challenger for Dar’s Cup for next week and he is teasing Otis heavily. Duprie then begins describing the challenger and it turns out it is Gable as Gable headbutts Dar for the end of the segment.
Otis vs Dar would be fun but Gable vs Dar will be an absolute banger if it is given the time. Both men have great movesets and can create really fun and innovative spots. I am certainly excited for that matchup and I wouldn’t complain if Gable takes the Heritage Cup to the main roster.
Austin Knight WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
ABOVE AVERAGE Lash Legend vs Roxanne Perez – Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match:
This match starts with Perez holding the speed advantage until Legend’s size is just too much for Roxie. Legend takes control after Jackson trips Perez. The ref catches her and sends all of Meta-Four to the back. Perez regains control with a cross body and sunset flip facebuster for a nearfall. Jackson comes back out and distracts the ref as Kiana James comes out and holds Perez in the corner as Legend hits a pump kick. Legend hits a pop-up chokebomb for the win.
The exclusion of Perez from the Iron Survivor Match is a bold choice in my opinion. However, it seems like her call up to the main roster is imminent. She has done everything there is to do in NXT so I think she is putting over some of the next set of stars on her way out. Legend has a chance to impress in the Iron Survivor Match with her size and her power moveset.
Results: Lash Legend by Pinfall via Pop-Up Chokebomb
Austin Knight WR Star Rating – 2.5 Stars
GREAT Joe Coffey vs Trick Williams – Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match:
As Trick Williams comes out, we see that Hayes is coming out with him. The match begins with the men grappling and Trick gets the crowd going with a pair of body slams and a high-jumping dropkick. Gallus gets involved and Coffey takes control. Trick gets a couple of hope spots with a big neckbreaker and a pair of flying clotheslines but Coffey remains in control. Gallus tries to get involved but Trick fights them off and Hayes is suspiciously unhelpful. Coffey hits a dive on Trick as Hayes had a chance to push Trick out of the way but chose not to. Coffey hits a corner forearm and a german suplex for a near fall and attempts to hit a All The Best of the Bells but Trick hits a high knee instead to win.
Trick going into the Iron Survivor Match is a no-brainer. He has gotten so over with the crowd and deserves to be pushed up to that main event picture. The storyline beats with the Trick/Melo in the match worked really well. Trick has taken the bullet for Hayes countless times but Hayes hesitates when given the chance to do the same for Trick was a creative way to feed into the narrative that Trick was mentioning last week. I could see Hayes having a chance to qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge but being unsuccessful and feeding into his jealousy of Trick.
Results: Trick Williams by Pinfall via Flying Knee
Austin Knight WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
ABOVE AVERAGE Brawling Brutes vs OTM:
The Brawling Brutes start with the early advantage after hitting a couple of the Beats of the Bodhran but OTM counter out and begin to wear down Butch with power moves. OTM remains in control after some interference from Scrypts. Holland comes in off of the hot tag and hits back body drops and a spinebuster. Price counters and hits both members of the Brutes with Sit Out Uranages on top of each other. Butch goes for a Sunset Flip Powerbomb on Nima but he can’t lift the larger man so he tags in Holland. Butch dives onto Price and Scrypts to take them out of the match. Holland hits the powerbomb and then assists Butch with a DDT for the win.
This match was fine. Not a lot happened with it and I was surprised that the Brutes got a clean win over OTM. I feel like OTM could have used a win (even if it was dirty) to get some shine onto OTM. Both of the former football players are imposing figures and can hit great power moves if they are given opponents who can bump like crazy for them.
Results: Brawling Brutes by Pinfall via Assisted DDT
Austin Knight WR Star Rating – 2.5 Stars
SQUASH Gigi Dolin vs Ariana Grace:
This match was made because Dolin was annoyed with Grace backstage and wanted to scrap. The match begins with trading pinfall combinations with neither woman getting the advantage. Grace goes for the rope-assisted backslide but the referee catches it and calls the pin off. Dolin hits the Gigi Driver off of the distraction to win. This match was fairly short and kind of pointless. Grace’s schtick is slowly getting more over as a comedy act and Gigi has severely cooled off in the past few months. Hopefully, Dolin can qualify for the Iron Survivor Match so she can get more attention and climb the card to be back where she was when she was a title contender.
Results: Gigi Dolin by Pinfall via Gigi Driver
GOOD Wes Lee vs Baron Corbin (WWE NXT November 14 2023 Main Event Match):
Earlier in the night we see Corbin talking to Domink Mysterio and they form a temporary alliance in heel-ship for the night. The match opens up with Lee trying to outpace Corbin but Corbin takes control and keeps him grounded. Lee comes back and is moving fast but Corbin cuts him off with a Deep Six on the outside. Corbin maintains control throughout the commercial break as he spins Lee around and hits him with a huge lariat. Lee gets fired up and hits a dive on Corbin and they start brawling on the outside. Lee hits a Tiger Feint Kick around the ring post and a diving crossbody for a nearfall. Corbin takes control with a Death Valley Driver and a backbreaker and gets a nearfall. Corbin goes for End of Days but Lee counters and goes to dive on Corbin but he lands on an interfering Domink Mysterio instead. Lee starts beating up Mysterio and almost gets counted out of the match. When Lee gets back in the ring, Corbin hits the End of Days to pick up the win.
After the match, Corbin is beating down Lee but Ilja Dragunov comes in to make the save. Dragunov goes for Torpedo Moscow but Corbin catches him with End of Days. Dragunov calls out to Corbin and challenges him to a NXT Championship match at Deadline. Corbin is a good early challenge for Dragunov before we get into the Iron Survivor Challenge Match. I expect Dragunov will have no trouble retaining but a solid face/heel matchup will give Dragunov something to do for the rest of the year.
Results: Baron Corbin by Pinfall via End of Days
Austin Knight WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Overall – WWE NXT November 14 2023
This episode of NXT was more building to Deadline. The Tag Title match was fairly short but it developed the story of the Chase U scandal in an interesting way. Both of the Iron Survivor Matches were well worked and the more interesting competitor won. Lash Legend and Trick Williams are hot new commodities that it is good to see NXT push. In the second hour, we had some filler matches with Brawling Brutes vs OTM and Gigi Dollin vs Ariana Grace. Putting two short/squash matches back-to-back did kill some of the momentum of the show but the main event got me and the crowd back into the show. Lee has such a fast paced moveset it seems like a mismatch with Corbin but the match had enough spots to keep it interesting and Lee bumped like death so Corbin looks like a credible challenger to Dragunov. Next week is looking like a much better show with a Heritage Cup matchup between super grapplers and an intense NXT Women’s Title match.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.5/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3.0/5 Stars
Photo Credit: (wwe.com)
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