If there was still any doubt coming into tonight which division is the deepest and best that NXT has to offer, tonight’s episode should’ve cleared it all up, as four out of the 5 matches tonight featured the NXT’s women’s division. Let’s fly through the results! As always, if you missed the show and you’re looking for a play-by-play breakdown, check out Claire’s live results here!
Catching Strays
New North American Champion Zaria kicked off tonight’s show with a pretty intense promo discussing how she’s been overlooked
and underappreciated for far too long. Her winning the title last week is not a dream come true, but simply a course correction. Predictably, NXT had the opening segment revolving door operating in full effect. Kelani Jordan was out next to Zaria know that the people serenading her with “You deserve it!” chants now will be the same ones turning their backs on her in no time. Kelani then shifted the focus to herself and mentioned that she and Kendal Grey are 1-1 now, and yet, Kendal, who folds when the lights are the brightest, is the one getting a shot at Lola Vice at the Great American Bash.
This, of course, brought Kendal Grey to the ring next. The confident #1 contender let Kelani know that if and when their paths cross again, the result is going to be the same as it was last week. After standing idly by for a while, Zaria interjected herself back into the conversation, asserting that she was going to be the one to lead the NXT women’s division into the future. That was all it took to finally summon the NXT Women’s Champion Lola Vice to join the party. After Lola quickly refuted everything the other three had to say, GM Robert Stone came out to restore order. Before he could say anything though, Lola took the words out of Stone’s mouth by booking a tag team match for the four women later tonight, Teddy Long-style.The match was slotted into the main event spot of the evening and all four women showed why.
In the early going, all four women were able to showcase their skills. Kendal and Kelani were the standouts to me as they continued to show the amazing chemistry they have with each other. My highlight of the night was Kendal reversing an F-5 attempt from Zaria into a Fujiwara armbar. I can’t remember ever seeing anyone reverse that move like that. (Seriously. Check it out in the video above, right at the 7:00 mark!)
As the pace turned frantic later in the match, all four women found themselves on the outside. This is when former NXT and North American Champion Tatum Paxley popped up behind the barricade and caught the eye of Zaria as she had Lola in a firewoman’s carry. Zaria dropped Lola and came up empty after going after Tatum, which allowed the NXT Women’s Champion to turn the tide and hit a vicious spinning backfist back in the ring for the victory.
That was just the start of the fireworks though!
After the match, Tatum dove onto Zaria on the floor and NXT’s referees were no match for the two of them as they brawled out of the Performance Center and backstage. Meanwhile, Kendal and Lola seemed to be on the same page as they celebrated their win in the ring. Neither of them noticed, though, that Kelani was still lurking. While Kendal and Lola stared each other down, Jordan came from behind and grabbed for the title belt. Kendal then tried to wrestle it back but Kelani let go. In similar fashion to the errant backfist that Kendal caught from Lola two weeks ago, Kendal’s momentum sent the NXT Women’s Championship crashing right into Lola’s dome.
Reaction: While I could’ve done without the trope of the revolving door talking segment to start the show, I really enjoyed this match and everything that came after it. Kelani has been one of my favorite parts of NXT in recent months and I’m glad that they’re keeping her around the title picture in this instigator role. Her chemistry with Kendal is amazing, and I’m still hoping that they turn their 1-1 head-to-head record into a best of 7 series. Lola and Kendal could steal the show at the Bash.
As for Zaria and Tatum, I’m pleasantly surprised that we are still able to celebrate Tatum Tuesday, at least for a little while longer. I think the endgame here is for Zaria to win a blowoff match so Paxley can presumably join Lyra on Raw, but a few more weeks on NXT isn’t going to hurt.
Evil is Coming
The two men who will go to war over the NXT Championship at Great American Bash met in the middle of a forest with a Japanese-style gazebo in the background tonight. A contract sat on top of a very tiny table as Tony D’Angelo gave the viewers a brief history lesson on Naraku’s pre-WWE career. Tony made it clear to his #1 contender that he had done his homework, and Naraku made a plea for the NXT Champ to not judge him based on his past.
Tony observed that despite having his pack of wild animals doing his bidding during his time in Japan, Naraku seems to be going it alone in the States. A man without a family. Tony then assured his challenger that Naraku alone would not be enough to take the NXT Championship off of him. Tony then demanded to sign the contract and noticed that Naraku hadn’t signed it yet. Naraku said he’d have the contract signed for D’Angelo next week. (We’d find out later that Naraku & Tony will be joined by Lola and Kendal for a double contract signing next week.) After Tony walked off, his opponent at the Bash issued an ominous warning that “Evil is coming”.
Reaction: I usually enjoy when NXT does off-campus segments like this but this one wasn’t one of their best. It had shades of some of the D’Angelo Family dinner table segments back in the day, but I felt like some of it was a little too cryptic for me. As someone who isn’t too familiar with Naraku’s history, I did like how Tony dropped some facts about his time in Japan. Giving a little backstory to help the audience understand some of the newer members of the roster is always appreciated. My excitement level for this match at the Bash is modest right now, but I’m a bit intrigued by Naraku’s warning at the end. Are some of his buddies from Japan on their way to NXT to help him win the title? That is an interesting wrinkle that could build some buzz for the first PLE on the CW Network.
NQCC Showdown Set for the Bash
The first match of the evening featured Tavion Heights taking on Jackson Drake of the Vanity Project with a North American Championship match at the Bash up for grabs. Tension had been building between Tavion and his former NQCC tag partner Myles Borne for weeks, and last week, Drake was able to parlay that friction into a #1 contender’s match.
Once the bell rang, Heights put his Greco-Roman skills on full display, throwing the former Evolve Champion all over the Performance Center. Tavion was in control for most of the match, even with Smokes, Baylor, and Lockwood trying to interject throughout. It looked like the numbers game was going to be too much for Heights to overcome until Myles Borne ran down and prevented Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor from attacking with the referee distracted. This assist allowed Tavion to recover and hit the Height of Glory to pick up the win. After the match, Myles raised Tavion’s hand while Heights made sure to let him know that he can do it by himself.
Reaction: This was one of Tavion’s best showings, and while I’m a little surprised they gave him the nod to face Myles over Jackson Drake, I’m interested to see how this plays out. Heights telling Borne that he could do it by himself….. immediately after he needed help to win the match was comical. It seems like Heights is starting to lose his grip and is being primed for a full heel turn. I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens at the Bash at the expense of Myles’ title reign.
Another Miss for Miss Parker
Low Key Legend, Nattie popped up on NXT last month, seemingly for the sole purpose of letting Jaida Parker know that she has gone soft. Jaida had been on a bit of a losing streak and seemed to hit rock bottom after losing to newcomer Kali Armstrong. In the weeks that followed, Jaida interrupted a Nattie LFG promo, beat a different Evolve callup in Layla Diggs with Nattie watching from ringside, and strolled into Nattie’s wrestling school and attacked her in the middle of a class. A personal grudge match was scheduled between the two women this week.
In a feud that became very intense very quickly, Jaida and Nattie pulled no punches in a physical back-and-forth match tonight. Jaida seemed hell-bent on showing the 20-year veteran that she has what it takes to hang with her and in that regard, Miss Parker asserted herself well. This was one of Jaida’s longer matches in recent months, and she displayed some grit, diving deep into her arsenal with some submission moves. It looked like Jaida was heading to the winner’s circle after some high-stepping led to a Hip-notic, but Nattie surprisingly kicked out. A discus clothesline turned the tide for good and allowed Miss Neidhart to lock in the Sharpshooter. Jaida tried to fight out, but was eventually forced to tap. After the match, Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic came out to celebrate Nattie’s win with her. Jaida, meanwhile, was in tears sitting in the ring.
Reaction: Man, what are they doing with Jaida Parker?! All along, this feud with Nattie seemed like it was going to lead to elevating Jaida somehow, but that definitely is not what happened tonight. This was one of the best Jaida Parker matches I can remember but to lose to Nattie as clean as a sheet like that? I don’t get it. I’m not even sure where they can go from here with her.
Women’s Speed Finals Are Set
A new Speed tournament to determine Wren Sinclair’s next challenger got underway on tonight’s show with two semifinal matches.
In the first contest, former North American Champion Izzi Dame squared off with Thea Hail. Thea’s been pretty directionless since Chase U closed for good last year and seems to be trying to find something that sticks gimmick-wise. As she made her way to the ring, Thea comedically had a hard time shotgunning an energy drink. I’m not sure what was more cringy: Vic calling the canned beverage “Thea Juice”, or Thea’s Quad City DJ’s dance as she climbed into the ring. Izzi got back in the win column after hitting a big running knee, knocking off Thea in just over 2 minutes. Nobody was happier about the result than Shawn Spears, who has been trying to get back in Izzi’s good graces after screwing up her NXT Title match last month.
In the second semifinal, former TNA Knockouts Champion Arianna Grace took on Layla Diggs. Corey Graves, who was subbing for Booker T. on commentary this week, noted that he got to see Layla compete on the Main Event taping before Raw last night and was extremely impressed by her. Much of the match was spent with both women reversing or ducking each other’s offense. With less than a minute to go, Layla went up top for her finish when Stacks hopped up on the apron. Layla then took her eye off the ball and hit a huge moonsault onto all four of the Birth Right dudes on the outside. In the ring, Arianna saw what was happening and played opossum in the ring. When Layla got back in to try to, you know, win the match, Grace rolled her up for the 3 count.
Reaction: Grace winning after Birth Right shenanigans was not a shocker, but I was really surprised Izzi went over Thea so cleanly. Like Jaida Parker, I’m just not sure what they do with the former Chase U student going forward. For Izzi Dame’s part, I figured that with the tension in The Culling seeming to escalate in recent weeks, a loss could’ve moved that story along further, but now I’d bet they’re saving that angle for the finals. Birth Right potentially holding both Speed titles makes some sense at this point, so my guess is that Arianna wins next week and moves on to face Wren.
Quick Hits
- We saw a clip of a confrontation in the GM’s office from last week. As Stone talked to Matt Matthews, Aaron Rourke, and Hank & Tank, Birth Right walked in, led by Lexis King making literal vroom-vroom noises and calling himself the fastest man in the world. Okay. After a line from Uriah Connors about a bunch of “celebrities” coming in and ruining what their dads built on their own backs, Tank threw out a challenge for a match against the nepo-babies. That tag team match will go down on next week’s show, which gives me just enough time to figure out who Matt Matthews is.
- Back to this week, as Stone paced in his office on the phone and talked up the Great American Bash tailgate and watch party, Keanu Carver walked in to see if his boss had lined up an opponent for him yet. Coincidentally, EK Prosper walked in right after that, only to learn that he would be the next one to face Carver.
- Fellow British newcomers Mason Rook, Lizzy Rain, and Tristan Angels reflected on their first few weeks in NXT backstage. Despite losing the pageant last week, Tristan noted that since Shiloh is not medically cleared and unable to fulfill his duties, by pageant rules, the runner-up shall be declared the winner. Angels declared that his pageant victory makes him deserving of a championship match. Men’s Evolve Champion Aaron Rourke walked up and, after reminding Angels that Shiloh won the pageant mainly because he was vulnerable and authentic, accepted Tristan’s challenge for a championship match. The Men’s Evolve Title will be up for grabs next week!
- We got another vignette for Tate Wilder, this time talking about why his left pinky finger is permanently disfigured. As he lamented being winless in his young NXT career, he told the NXT universe to strap it up and see where this ride takes us.
- Reflecting on their loss to Fraxiom last week, Noam Dar seemed to confirm that he found a permanent tag team partner in Romeo Moreno. Budding potential team Dorian Van Dux and
buff Orange CassidySean Legacy were inspired. While they were talking, DVD noticed The Culling walking by and he and Legacy went off to find Stone to request a match with them. That tag match will go down next Tuesday. - Prior to the main event, we got an NXT Chronicle segment with Saquon Shugars. The Shuga Man talked about his upbringing and how he had to hustle his way out of his city and hustle his way into wrestling. He went on to talk about how the other three DarkState dudes needed him when they left their own sports and joined his. He then warned James, Griffin, and Lennox that they just made a big mistake by cutting him out of the group. Really solid stuff from Shugars here as he talked up his match with Dion Lennox at the Bash. The two of them will meet face-to-face next week on the Bash go-home show.
Final Thoughts
NXT continues to set a ton of pieces in motion to see what sticks. I feel like a broken record saying this, but the women’s division was what carried the show again this week. The main event was a fun and frantic match and the fallout has me intrigued to see what happens at the Bash. That and the Saquon Shugars segment were the highlights for me. The Nattie/Jaida match was solid, but like Geno, I just don’t understand the result. All in all, the Great American Bash card is shaping up nicely and tonight’s episode was not a bad way to spend a few hours on a Tatum Tuesday.
Match Results
- Tavion Heights def. Jackson Drake
- Izzi Dame def. Thea Hail
- Nattie def. Jaida Parker
- Arianna Grace def. Layla Diggs
- Lola Vice & Kendal Grey def. Zaria & Kelani Jordan
Now it’s your turn, Cagesiders! What did you think of tonight’s episode? Where is your excitement level for the Great American Bash? Let us know in the comments below!
