Posted on 8/19/126 by Bob Magee
Some very exciting things on this week’s episode of NXT! La
Parka is here! And I’m sure some other neat stuff will
eventually happen.
But first, let’s take you all the way back to last week when
Zilla Fatu shocked the world and arrived to take out Grayson
Waller and Cruz Montana in the main event. He immediately
became a contender for Tony D’Angelo’s NXT title and let’s
just cut to the chase and make the 4-way, shall we?
To that end, to start the show, Cruz Montana stomped down to
the ring while the audience sang along with his theme song
which I’m sure made a lot of WWE marketing people very
happy.
Montana wasted no time and called out Zilla Fatu. Montana
said that if it wasn’t for Fatu, he’d be the #1 Contender
and he doesn’t give a damn about what the world says.
There’s no way in hell that Montana is going to let Fatu
take what’s his. Then a PA let Montana know that Fatu wasn’t
there.
That for reasons unknown brought out AAA Crusierweight
Champion Rey Fenix. Fenix said that he was only here to see
who won the #1 Contenders match for his title that’s coming,
but he agrees with Cruz. He should take out Fatu for trying
to take what’s his.
Montana said the even though they’ve been to hell and back
against each other, he respects Fenix for bing a positive
Latino role model. He then yielded the floor to Fenix and
the match and said that he was going to the parking lot to
wait for Fatu (who we presume is just late and not working
that night).
AAA Cruiserweight Championship #1 Contender’s Match: EK
Prosper vs. La Parka vs. Romeo Moreno vs. Tristan Angels
So, La Parka is actually La Parka III, with the character
dating back to the 1990’s and even appearing in WCW (which
Booker T surprisingly made subtle reference to). There was
some controversy about the original La Parka using the name,
so he had to change it to La Park. La Parka was the best
luchadore in WCW/NWO World Tour for the N64. La Parka is a
dancing skeleton who’s finisher is the Bonebreaker and he’s
everything that’s right and good about wrestling. The others
in the match are also there. Rey Mysterio asked for Prosper
and the other two Robert Stone decided on a whim because
he’s the worst.
The match started with Prosper and Moreno putting on a biut
of back and forth after Angels and La Parka ended upon the
outside. Morneo sent Prosper out and La Parka came in to
shove him into Prosper getting back into the ring. Then La
Parka and Angels went back and forth until Moreno came in
for an exchange.
La Parka hit a flapjack on Moreno, but Prosper got him with
a dropkick and grabbed a two count. Angels threw Prosper to
the outside and Moreno sent Angels out after him, then hit a
spring board from the top rope onto both. Then Laparka did a
moonsault from the top of the ringpost onto all three.
Angels and Moreno made it back into the ring and Angels
chopped him in the corner. Angels hit a suplex as the pace
of the match slowed down considerably. A clothesline put
Moreno on his back as Prosper flew in. Angels caught him,
but Prosper got out of it. Angels came back with a
backstabber as La Parka chopped him into the corner. Angels
hita backstaber on him as well for a two count.
Angels put La Parka’s face to turnbuckle, then countered a
Moreno attack with an insiguri. Prosper came in and hit
Angels with a back-kick, stunning him until La Parka hit him
with a crossbody. Then Moreno hit a missile dropkick on La
Parka and Prosper to leave all four on the mat.
Prosper used Angels for footing as hit a DDT onto Moreno.
Angels resonded with an uppercut and a second rope suplex.
Moreno interrupted the fun with a rolling suplex on Angels.
Moreno went up top but La Parka met him there for a giant
Spanish Fly. Prosper broke up the count with a frog splash
though.
Prosper, Moreno and Angels traded superkicks with Moreno
collapsing on a prone Prosper, but La Parka broke up the
“pin.” Angels set up Moreno, but Prosper flew in an took out
Angels before dispatching Moreno with a moonsault from the
top rope to win the match. He’s no dancing skeleton, but OK
I guess.
Match Result: EK Prosper defeated La Parka, Romeo Moreno and
Tristan Angels
After the match, Rey Fenix came to the ring to shake his
hand. Prosper and Fenix face off next week for the AAA
Crusierweight Title.
-Back from break, we learned that Zilla Fatu WILL be at work
tonight because he has to sign his NXT Contract. Off of
that, we went to the Lunchroom Playset where Kendal Grey and
Wren Sinclair were testing Grey’s reflexes. Vanity Project
wandered in and started hitting on Grey, which was weird.
Then Shiloh Hill came up, Gren and Sinclair made fun of
Vainty Project (except Myka) who said that they Drake needs
to win tonight to prove them wrong.
Thea Hail vs. Nattie
Hail and Nattie are having a match. I’d be lying if I said I
remembered why, except that Hail might have asked for it?
Anyway, Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic came to the ring
with Nattie and Hail brought Jaida Parker.
The match started with Hail stepping up to Nattie and a
choving match ensued. Nattie put Hail in a headlock, smiling
as Hail tried to fight out of it. Hail managed to send
Nattie off the ropes, but Nattie shoulder blocked her. Hail
exploded back with a Thez press and sent Nattie out to Lyons
and Petrovic. Hail then dove on all three.
Hail pulled Nattie back into the ring and made with the
stomps. She started working Nattie’s arm, but Nattie dodged
the attack and put Hail in a surfboard. Hail. tried to
counter, but Nattie’s legs shoved her into the ropes. Nattie
hit a snapmare and pulled Hail back up by the hair.
Hail countered a suplex into an inside cradle, but Nattie
got out and put her down with a discus lariat. Nattie put an
abdominal stretch onto Hail, but Hail planted a foot and
shoved Nattie off. Hail looked for the Kimura Lock, but
Nattie countered it and shot her into the corner.
Hail came back out and they traded rollups. Nattie went for
a Sharpshooter, but Hail got out of it and sent her into the
corner for an exploder suplex. She hit a block buster right
as Cruz Montana was show in the parking lot wandering around
via picture-in-picture.
Hail landed a headbutt and then a power slam before whiffing
on a springboard. Hail slipped on a Kimura Lock, but Nattie
stood up and slammed her out of it. Nattie locked in the
Sharpshooter until Hail had to tap out.
Match Result: Nattie defeated Thea Hail
After the match, Nattie kept the Sharpshooter on Hail and
Petrovic and Lyons grabbed Paker and held her back, making
her watch Hail get hurt.
-In the Locker room Playset, Lucien Price and Bronco Nima
discussed his Speed Title Match against Lexis King. They
both think that Price should win.
WWE Speed Championship Match: Lexis King vs. Lucien Price
These guys had a pretty good match last week, so this one
should be decent, if not faster (because of the Speed, you
see).
Right off the bat, Price hit a kick and went for a cover.
Birthright saved the day and King tried to hide bedhing them
on the outside. King worked the “eat up the clock” play,
rolling out of the ring and trying to hide until Price threw
him back in. King went back out as the clock hit 4 minutes.
Prince finally got King back into the ring, but King quickly
slipped back out. This time Price was ready for him and
threw him back in. King tried to get out again, but Price
hit him with an open palm on the ring apron at 3:09. Price
threw him back in the ring and splashed him in the corner.
King came back with a superkick, but Price caught him with a
shot at 2:34 to knock him back. King tried to escape again,
but Price caught him and pulled him back. King started
working the knee at 2:02 and then hit a DDT on Price. He
stomped ho9m at the ropes as the clock hit 1:44.
King started kicking, trying to slow things down and waste
more time. Price caught him though and levelled him at 1:14.
He threw headbutts and elbows, hitting a standing Rock
Bottom at 0:59. Price smacked King around, but the ref was
distracted by Brithright allowing Dempsey and Stacks to
attack Price.
King made the cover and the ref turned around to count the
three with 0:14 seconds left.
Match Result: Lexis King defeated Lucien Price
After the match, Birthright started beating up Price, but
Nima came down to make the save. OTM ran off Birthright and
hugged in the ring to show how strong their bond was.
Next, Grayson Waller, in a very threatening manner, walked
down the hallway towards the ring with a mic.
He followed through with that threat four minutes later by
arriving at the ring, mic in hand. Waller claimed that he
was taking over NXT, then made a slightly racist remark
about “another Samoan” taking bread off his table. He then
said it was ok that he said that, because he’s from
Australia so he’s been fighting Samoans his whole life.
Waller then made another questionable comment about Fatu
“taking off the ankle bracelet” and then Tony D’Angelo
interrupted to tell us all he doesn’t care who the #1
contender is, he’ll beat them all. Then Cruz Montana came
back from the Parking Lot (I guess he got tired of waiting
for Fatu). Montana said that he would have been the #1
contender if Fatu hadn’t interrupted.
Montana suggested that he and Waller have a re-match, and
then he’ll take out Fatu. Robert Stone then came running
down to the ring to do what “is fair.” Can you guess what it
is? You got it! Triple Threat for the NXT Championship at
Heatwave; Waller vs Montana vs D’Angelo. I’m sure that no
one else will be added to the match, especially after they
have signed their contract to work there.
-In the Warehouse Playset, Lizzy Rain and Shiloh Hill had a
conversation about nothing which was fine because Miles
Borne needed to talk to Hill. Borne said that if Hill can
beat Jackson Drake tonight, he’ll give him a shot at the
North American title at Heatwave. Again, NO ONE asked him to
do this.
-Back from break, Robert Stone was on the phone confirming
Fatu was coming to work and discovered Keanu Carver in his
office. Carver mentioned that another new guy was getting a
shot before him. He then offered Stone a coffee, very
aggressively. Then Kam Hendrix came in, Carver left and then
the segment crashed to a halt.
NXT Women’s Champion Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair vs.
Kelani Jordan and Kali Armstrong
The story here is that Grey got knocked around pretty good
in an Underground match against Lola vice a couple of weeks
ago. She was bleeding from the ear, but finished the match.
Since then, Sinclair has been trying to make sure she’s ok
and has all her faculties about her. Also, Jordan is facing
Grey at Heatwave for the NXT Women’s Title. I suppose that
should be noted.
Sinclair and Jordan started things off with Sinclair (who’s
a great worker, by the way) grabbing a headlock. She sent
Jordan into the corner with a dropkick and Armstrong grabbed
a blind tag. She came running in and Sinclair drop-toe’ed
her and sent her into the ropes.
Grey tagged in and leapt over the ropes in a double stomp.
She tried an amateur takedown, but Jordan fought back and
they traded bridging pin attempts. Sinclair came in for a
double team and the WrenQCC took out both Jordan and
Armstrong, sending them to the outside for stereo dives from
the top turnbuckles.
Back in the ring, Sinclair and Grey double teamed Jordanwith
Sinclair staying legal and getting a two count. Armstrong
then kicked her through the ropes, opening Sinclair up for
Jordan to send her to the corner for som high kicks and face
bouncing. Armstrong and Jordan isolated Sinclair in the
corner and made hot tags and quick pins, trying to get the
win.
Armstrong then knocked Grey off the apron and then speared
Sinclair in the corner. She held Sinclair while Jordan axe-
handled her from up top. Sinclair started throwing wild
punches, trying to get the tag to Sinclair. Armstrong put
her in an elbow lock, before slamming her and setting her up
for a springboard moonsault from Jordan.
Sinclair finally dodged and weaved enough to get a hot tag
to Grey who took out both Jordan and Armstrong with
suplexes. Grey hit them both with gutwrenches and Germans
until Grey’s balance gave out on her. She managed to get an
ankle lock on Armstrong, who sent her head first into the
turnbuckle.
Armstrong went for a powerslam, but Grey rolled through and
got a tag to Sinclair. She threw clotheslines at Jordan and
went for a DDT, but Jordan got out of it. Armstrong grabbed
a tag, but Jordan seemed to ignore her and went for a cover.
The ref sent her out and Armstrong came in. Sinclair blocked
a piledriver and went for a submission, but Jordan broke it
up.
Grey few across the ring and sent them both stumbling out.
Jordan tripped her and she went headfirst into the steps. In
the ring, Armstrong hit a massive Kali Connection on
Sinclair and got the pin to win the match.
Match Result: Kelani Jordan and Kali Armstrong defeated
Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair
-According to commentary, Robert Stone is fed up with Saquon
Shugars and Dion Lennox being at each other’s throats. So
they had a meeting via zoom, even though they were both
clearly in the Warehouse Playset. They talked trash to each
other and Shugars said that Lennox couldn’t beat him with
out DarkState’s help.
Then, out of nowhere, Shugars said “How about you see me in
a steel cage?” Lennox suggested that they add weapons.
Shugars said that they should do it next week. Lenox agreed
and said that this is where their story ends, with the sun
setting on Saquon Shugars.
Shiloh Hill vs. Jackson Drake
At some point during the last 10 minutes, this match became
a #1 Contenders match for the North American championship.
Myles Borne had offered Hill a shot if he won, but I guess
that applies to Drake now too?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anyway, Hill was brutally injured, but then made a couple of
tiktoks, found a mask in his shed (in a bag of masks, I
might add) that he said he could wrestle in, but then didn’t
show up with one for this match, so he must have had a
miraculous recovery. If Drake wins, Vanity Project ALSO gets
a Tag Title shot at Heatwave. So maybe that’s what they
meant by a #1 Contender’s match?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hill went right for Drake who ducked between the ropes to
fend him off. Drake pie-faced Hill who smacked him across
the ring. The opening few minutes of the match were pretty
uneventful, with minor moves and holds being traded with
neither one getting the upper hand. Then, Baylor distracted
the Ref and Smokes punched Hill in the face.
Drake continued the distraction while Baylor and Smokes
continued to pummel Hill on the outside. Then the threw him
back in so Drake could grab a two count. Hill fought back
with some open-palm strikes. He knocked Drake back and Drake
took the opportunity to drop his head across the ropes.
Vanity Project stalked around the outside while Drake
grabbed a headlock on Hill, moving his arm up to squeeze the
allegedly injured face of Hill. Drake threw a back elbow and
went back to the headlock. Drake threw a dropkick for two
aiming for the face again.
Hill fought back with open hand strikes, but couldn’t avoid
another dropkick. Drake went for a cutter, but Hill was
ready for it and clotheslined him. Hill threw a big boot and
then a powerslam followed by a standing senton to get a two
count.
Drake tried to come back with a springboard moonsault, but
Hill countered it with a pop-op punch to the face. Myka
tried to cause a distraction, but the ref caught Smokes and
Baylor trying to get at Hill and threw them all out of
ringside. Before they could leave though, Hill hit a dive
over the ropes to take out the field.
Back in the ring, Hill hit a shoulder block and then went up
top. Drake beat him to it though and went up too. Hill
headbutted him, sending him back into the Ref. They tumbed
away and Naraku appeared out of nowhere and hit Hill with
some poison mist. That allowed Drake to get a 450 in and
pick up the win.
Match Result: Jackson Drake defeated Shiloh Hill
So I think that means at Heatwave, Vanity Project gets a tag
title shot against Borne and Heights AND Drake gets a match
for the North American title against Borne.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
-The architect of all this madness, Robert Stone was in his
office talking to Zaria about her match at Heatwave against
Wren Sinclair to unify the Women’s North American and Speed
Titles (somehow). His solution: no clocks. So not really a
Speed match for the Speed title.
Any-hoo, in walked Kali Armstrong who wanted to know what
she gets for pinning Speed Champion Sinclair earlier in the
show. Zaria said that after Heatwave, there won’t be a Speed
title. Armstrong body shamed Zaria and got in her face, so
Robert Stone did what he does and made a match for next
week: Zaria vs Armstrong and if Armstrong wins, the
unification match becomes a Triple Threat at Heatwave.
Genius!
-Back from break, Zilla Fatu finally made it to work (they
sent a car for him and everything, why is he so late?) to
sign his contract so that he can officially become an NXT
Superstar and definitely not be added to the title match at
Heatwave.
Robert Stone was in the ring and introduced Fatu. Zilla
arrived in one of The Rock’s old shirts to a pretty good
theme song, I have to say, complete with chantable “Zilla”
intro. It occurred to me here that Fatu looks like a very
jacked Bruno Mars. That’s not important, but I wanted to
mention it.
Tony D’Angelo then appeared on the Balcony Above The Wall
People Get Thrown Through Playset and watched as Fatu took
the mic and said how exctied he was to finally be signing a
WWE/NXT contract. He said that his goal is show everyone
he’s not another “nympho” baby (nepo? He must have meant
nepo).
Then Grayson Waller came in from the entrance ramp and Cruz
Montana started stomping in through the audience. Stone got
on the mic and calmed everyone down by saying that as per
the contract, Fatu’s first NXT match will be a title match.
Then you’ll never guess what happened: They all agreed to
let bygones be bygones and went home.
NO! This is wrestling and they finally got to the fireworks
factory and made it a four-way for the NXT Title at
Heatwave, Fatu vs Waller vs Montana vs D’Angelo. Did you
know that means that D’Angelo doesn’t even have to get
pinned to lose the title? What a swerve!
The show closed with everyone yelling at each other from
different parts of the Live Broadcast Studio Playset.
Ah, NXT. Such good gooey wrestling filling wrapped in a
totally nonsensical donut.
PS – I will give them kudos for a contract signing that
wasn’t an exactly like every other contract signing in
wresting, but I don’t remember seeing Fatu actually sign the
contract. I’m sure he did and I just missed it while I was
feverishly getting all the action into the recap.