T.O.N.Y.
This will be quick because it was obvious last week where the territory was going. Ricky Saints & Ethan Page want the same championship but that was news to Ricky this week. Actually, no, it wasn’t. Let’s be adults here: Ricky & Ethan want to passive aggressive each other to death to clear their respective paths to Joe Hendry. It started this week with Ricky crowing about
how great of a North American champ Ethan was. He also gave them a terrible tag name and said if they didn’t love Vanity Project, they’d go after the tag titles and run that division. That was butter for the bread, he wants to toast Ethan.
Ethan, for his part, made it clear he wants the world title. He rightly pointed out that he pinned the champ, which gives him a literal leg up. Joe, who showed up with no one mentioning his name, stirred the pot. But for my money, the best person in this segment was Tony D’Angelo. Why? Because he didn’t talk, he was all action, and he made the most impact.
Ricky & Ethan outsmarting Joe was a nice but necessary touch to show they’re not fully at odds just yet. Tony wiping out everyone though? Awesome. Gives him his juice and makes him look like the biggest threat in a fatal 4 way. Ricky and Ethan will cancel out each other means Tony can focus on one man. Now he’s in everyone’s head which gives him the mental edge too. It’s a good position for Tony. He faces Ricky in next week’s main event, so I expect more chaos and unresolved drama as we get closer to the biggest show of the year.
B-Sides
- Let’s start with Booker T. King Bookah if you’re nasty. This was his night and I found his dedication video very touching. It featured some B-roll interviews along with new footage from Trick Williams, Jacy Jayne, Jasper Troy, and Stephanie Vaquer to name a few. Awesome hearing how much Book influenced the game. Now, as for the segment itself? Well, the video was the highlight. They used it to facilitate this thing between Keanu Carver and Jasper Troy, with the latter beating up a few Reality of Wrestling cats and the former making the save. We know Keanu has his issues with Book so it made sense that he broke up the party. It just ended awkwardly with Book yelling at Mr. Stone to gain some control and how those things don’t happen in Houston. And for it to happen with all the wrestlers on stage? Yeah, just a bit off.
- Los Americanos vs. Vanity Project was a lot of fun. Los Americanos are burning the candle at multiple ends, which is saying something since that’s usually only possible from two ends. All that exposure is doing a lot for them in terms of crowd reaction and expectations. This was a weird match in terms of alignment though; both teams are heels. Los Americanos may get face reactions at times, and even in Houston, but they’re bad guys. They cheated on Raw and they cheated in this match. Vanity Project are obviously heels so it just creates an odd dynamic when looking for a rooting interest. That said, it was a very entertaining match that kept “Real” El Grande Americano’s crew rolling. And don’y you dare think of the Limp Bizkit song right now.
- Wren Sinclair won the Speed Championship in her home state. That’s great for Wren. But defeating Fallon Henley doesn’t mean much. Fatal Influence is only great for Jacy Jayne at this point as I can’t think of any advantage it’s given Fallon or Lainey Reid. Fallon didn’t elevate the title partially because even having that championship did nothing for her standing in a group where one person does most of the talking and shows most of the personality. In fact, giving the championship to Wren makes a lot more sense considering how they showcase her vs. how they showcase Fallon. This loss, once again, put more internal drama in Fatal Influence as Fallon was a tad salty her team didn’t help her retain the same way she and Lainey helped Jacy retain earlier. Next week, Fallon & Lainey take on Wren & Kendal Grey. The most interesting part of that backstage segment post match is that Jacy looked a tad…face? She seemed more grateful for retaining, more empathetic to Fallon’s loss and didn’t even demand that her stablemates take anyone out for her. Makes me wonder if this is the beginning of the NXT Women’s champ getting kicked out of the group she started.
- Speaking of Jacy, she walked away from her triple threat title defense mostly unscathed. Another fun opener that ran a bit shorter than I wanted but packed the obvious and correct ending. This was all about getting to Sol Ruca vs. Zaria at Stand & Deliver. Sol blamed Zaria for once again stopping her from getting NXT gold. It’s a triple threat match, homie, that’s kinda how it works. That gap in her logic aside, she’s right that these two need to cook the beef between them. I’m guessing next week’s face off turns violent. Call it a hunch.
- That apprehension I thought I saw on Charlie Dempsey’s face last week? Yeah, nah, I was wrong. He was gung-ho with them this week. I still don’t quite buy him willing to follow a guy like Lexis King, but let’s give that some time. Uriah Connors & Stacks defeated Hank & Tank to earn the number one contender spot for the NXT Mens’ Tag Team Championships. That’s a big boost for a very young stable but shows how much weight the territory is putting behind them. Considering Vanity Project loss to Los Americanos, I think their time as tag champs might be reaching its conclusion.
- Related note? William Regal gave Mr. Stone a co-sign and talked to Shawn Michaels about making him the permanent GM. Nice rub for Stone.
- NXT did the thing it sometimes does when the show is running low on time and they have several stories to get to: Montage! Thea Hail and Kelani Jordan got into it in the locker room as the latter decried the former for being a good girl. Jaida Parker surprisingly stepped in to have Thea’s back only for Thea to say she’s got it and challenged Kelani to a match. Jaida’s face turn continues while Kelani’s bite isn’t what it could be after taking the L from a woman with one hand. We’re getting a gauntlet to determine the number one contender for the Men’s North American Championship. Joe Hendry wants Tony D’Angelo but that’s not possible because Tony’s busy with Ricky Saints next week. Oh, and DarkState decimated OTM in the loading dock and might’ve legitimately knocked out Bronco Nima.
- I loved the main event starting with Izzi Dame rushing Tatum Paxley before the bell rang and outside of the cage. As I always say, blood feuds need this emotion. I felt the hatred. They also bought weapons into the match in the form of chairs. That added to the match because if a steel cage isn’t enough to enact one’s rage, that says a lot about how much rage one has. I like that Izzi introduced the chair and ended up losing because of it. Tatum hit her with the Cemetery Drive right on top of the chair, finishing this feud for the time being. And she did it in front of her family. But wait there’s more! As Tatum celebrated on the stage, Blake Monroe popped up like the old woman in that Snow White gif . She dragged the champ under the ramp and grabbed the championship. It’s clear the former Women’s North American champ wants her spot back. But what did she do with Tatum?! I’m guessing we’ll never find out.
NXT feels different when it’s not in Florida. This show felt bigger and moved at a nice pace right up until they crammed in all those things in the end. But that’s one of a few issues I had with a show that worked for me for the most part.
What say you, Cagesiders? What did Blake do with Tatum? Wrong answers only!
