Posted on 10/08/125 by Bob Magee
-The Men’s Team NXT and Team TNA were shown arriving to
work, all at the same time (presumably carpooling) and the
Women’s Teams were shown preparing as well.
NXT Tag Team Champions DarkState vs TNA Tag Team Champions
The Hardys
The tag team Champions vs Champions, Title-For-Title,
Winner-Take-All match led off the show with the Hardys
entering to a massive ovation while the Dudley Boys watched
from the crowd alongside TNA President Carlos Silva. The
Hardys set a hardcore tone off the top by wearing all white
after Labor Day
Darkstate arrived in full force though, with all four
members coming to ringside and jumping the Hardys before the
match could even begin. The Hardys cleared the ring, but
were still surrounded by DarkState until the Ref sent Cutler
James and Saquon Shugars to the back, leaving Dion Lennox
and Osiris Griffin
The Hardy’s kicked off the match with an exctended double
team on Lennox before separating and leaving Jeff and
Griffin to face off. Griffin used his size to control Jeff
who tagged in Matt. Osiris hoisted him up, but tagged in
Lennox. Matt went for a Twist of Fate, but didn’t realize
that Lennox was now legal, so Lennox was able to knock him
to the mat.
The Hardys fought back with Jeff taking on both Lennox and
Griffin for a few moments before stepping on the gas with
Lennox and dropkicking him. Jeff went for a Twist of Fate,
but Lennox picked him up and put him on the ring apron (The
Hardiest part of the ring!) where he and Griffin went
high/low on him.
DarkState isolated Jeff in their corner and dropped some
double teams on him before Lennox put a headlock on in the
middle of the ring. Jeff tried to power out, but Lennox
pounded him and hit a standing crossbody. Jeff tried for a
tag, but Griffin cut him off.
Lennox came in for a double team and hit an absolutely nasty
DDT on Jeff. Griffin begged off and Lennox continued the
assault solo. The Dudleys continued to watch, much like us
all.
Griffin tagged in and he and Lennox traded shots on Jeff in
the corner. But, Jeff scrambled up the ropes and hit a
spinning senton from the top turnbuckle on both members of
Darkstate. That gave him the chance to get the hot tag to
Matt who hit a DDT of his own on Griffin. He then pounded
Lennox’ face into the turnbuckle while the crowd chanted
Delete.
Matt hit a Plot Twist on Lennox, but Griffin broke up the
pin at two. They hit a double slam on Matt, but Jeff broke
that up at two. Osiris got Matt up on his shoulders while
Lennox climbed the ringpost for a Doomsday Device, but Matt
countered and hit a twist of fate on Lennox, then one on
Griffin before taggin in Jeff.
Jeff hit a picture perfect Swanton Bomb on Lennox and pinned
him 1-2-3 to retain the TNA Tag Titles and win the NXT Tag
Titles!
Match Result: The Hardys defeated Dark State
Absolute banger of an opening match! Darkstate is always a
powerhouse and the Hardy’s are somehow getting better with
age. Loved it!
Women’s Elimination Match: Team NXT (Jacy Jayne, Sol Ruca,
Jaida Parker & Lola Vice) vs. Team TNA (Kelani Jordan, Mara
Sade and The IInspiration – Jess McKay and Cassie Lee)
Between the NXT Women’s Champion (Jayne) the Women’s North
American and Speed Champion (Ruca), the TNA Knockouts
Champion (Jordan) and the TNA Women’s Tag Champions (Lee &
McKay), there is a literal ton of gold in this match. Also,
on a personal note, I could not be more excited to see Lee
and McKay back in an NXT ring. I miss that iconic twosome.
Special guesrt referee Jordynne Grace was shown in the ring
as Team TNA made their way to the ring. This also prompted
the first “Shucky ducky, quack quack” of the evening from
Booker T. Vice led the intros for Team NXT and once everyone
had arrived the match was set.
Jayne and Jordan kicked things off with Jordan getting the
upper hand with a quick pin attempt. Jayne tried one of her
own and the two wrestled around until Jordan shoved Jayne
who bounced off the ropes and caught a blind tag from Vice.
Jayne reluctantly ceded the ring to Vice who was met by Lee
and McKay who took her down and posed, iconically. Mckay
stayed legal long enough to tag in Sade who dropkicked Vice.
Vice responded with a waistlock, dragging her to the NXT
corner for a tag and double team with Parker.
Sade fought back though and she and Parker traded blows in
the middle of the ring. Lee made an iconic run in and all 8
women started brawling while Grace tried to regain control.
The IInspiraiton ate a dive on the outsdie from Jayne, but
Sade followed her out and Jordan went up top for a splash on
the outside before Ruca flipped over the top rope and took
everyone out.
Grace seemed all right to let the fight move to the outside,
but was ready when Parker and Sade went back into the ring,
making them legal I suppose. Parker hit a swinging
neckbreaker on Sade after getting a yellow and red card from
Grace.
Ruca tagged in and hit a superkick on Sade. She got her up
in a stalling, stalling, stalling suplex and then flipped
into a pin for two. Ruca tagged in Parker and Team NXT took
turns taking shots at Sade in their corner.
Sade flipped it though, pulling Ruca back to the TNA corner
where McKay and Lee tried to double team her, but she hit a
double dropkick instead. Lee stayed legal and Ruca held her
back until she got a blind tag crom McKay who joined Lee in
double teaming Ruca.
McKay took shots at Ruca while a wave broke out in the
crowd. Sade tagged back in and slowed the pace down, nailing
Ruca with a knee to the back of the head. McKay and Lee
tagged back in and tried a double flapjack, but Ruca
reversed it into a double DDT.
Hot tags were made in both corners and Jordan charged Jayne
who cleared the ring with a bunch of stiff shots. She hit a
cannonball in the corner on Jordan and followed it up with a
top rope senton. Jordan hit a cutter on Jayne which brought
in Parker who hit a blockbuster on Sade then drove Lee into
the corner with her shoulder.
Parker set Lee and McKay up in the corner and drop slammed
them both. Sade hit a reverse x-factor on Parker though and
went up top for a moonsault that missed Parker by about a
foot. Parker hit a falcon arrow and got a pin, but Jordan
broke it up and a brawl broke out.
In the confusion, Sade grabbed Parker from behind and pinned
her for the first elimination. Ruca followed that with a
blockbuster on Sade, eliminating her and evening the odds
again. Jayne tagged in for an extended period, taking
offense from all three remaining members of Team TNA in
succession, but kicking out of any pin attempts.
Grace continued calling the match down the middle as Jayne
put a fist into Mckay’s stomach and made a hot tag to Vice.
Vice cleared house with kicks, putting McKay in one corner
and Jordan in the other to deliver repeated butt-based
blows.
Lee tagged in and Vice caught her with a back fist and a pin
to eliminate her. Vice then grabbed McKay in a back
submission hold and she tapped, leaving Jordan as the only
member of Team TNA remaining.
The IInspiration caused a distraction on the outside on
their way out, drawing Grace away from the match which
caused her to miss Jordan pinning Jayne. Jayne sent Jordan
to the outside and kicked her in the face, seemingly
injuring her ankle.
Vice tagged in but collided with Jayne. Jordan grabbed Vice
in an angle slam and got the pin to eliminate her, leaving
Ruca and Jayne as the last members of Team NXT. This was all
so chaotic, even the ring announcer was confused.
Jordan and Ruca battled in the ring, with Jordan hitting a
facebuster on Ruca for a two count. Jordan went up top, but
Ruca followed and the Jordan hit a spanish fly before trying
a 450. She missed as Ruca got the knees up. Ruca hit a
soulsnatcher on Jordan but Jayne tagged herself in and made
the pin to give the victory to team NXT.
Match Result: Team NXT defeated Team TNA
Whew! Normally, I don’t really go for these elimination
matches, but this one was a ton of fun. Everyone got a
moment to shine and the muddiness that these matches can
sometimes have was nowhere to be found. Also, I’ll say it
right now for those in the back: Jacy Jayne is destined to
be a superstar.
-Backstage, Matt Cardona was talking to NXT GM, Ava. He was
looking for a spot on Team TNA and was asking Ava for some
reason, but was interrupted by Josh Briggs who demanded a
match against Cardona next week to pay him back for
interfering in his match last week. Ava said she would work
it out with Santino.
NXT North American Champion Ethan Page vs Mustafa Ali
Ali is a fantastic performer who’s run in WWE just never
seemed to work out. It’s pretty exciting to see him back in
an NXT ring and facing off against Page, the greatest
Canadian alive (I’m legally bound to say that).
With the intros out of the way, Page and Ali locked up with
Page sending Ali to the corner. Ali, who looks absolutely
jacked these days, shoved him out of the corner and the two
started trading wristlocks. The two put on a technical
clinic for a few moments with Ali coming out on top with a
cutter and a standing moonsault.
Ali dragged Page out of the ring and began slamming his hand
against the apron. Page got a back elbow on Ali and then
yelled at the commentary team. Ali hit a spinning DDT on
page on the outside and threw him back into the ring.
Ali started going up top, but Page tripped him and wrapped
his leg around the ringpost. Ali fell to the outside,
writhing in pain. The ref checked on him and Page pulled him
up to knock him down with a forearm shot before tossing Ali
back into the ring for a big elbow drop or three.
Page tried to slow things down with a headlock, but Ali
powered out of it. Page hit a Confidence Breaker, but only
got a two count. He put Ali in a chinlock, working the
tweaked neck. Ali fought out of it though and went to answer
back but Page turned him over with a lariat.
They ended up on the top turnbuckle and Page tried for a
superplex. Ali knocked him off and when Page tried again, he
hit a sunset powerbomb from the top rope. He went up top
again, but Page hit the ropes, knocking him onto the
turnbuckle. Page went for a backbreaker over the turnbuckle,
but Ali blocked it, so Page settled for snakeyes on the
turnbuckle and superkick for a two count.
Ali collapsed after kicking out of the pin and Page started
talking trash. Ali hit a dropkick and dodged a couple of
charges from Page. PAge got a knockout blow sending Ali into
the corner for another two-count.
Page went for the Ego’s Edge, but Ali wormed out of it and
clapped his ears. Ali hit a tornado DDT out of the corner,
but Page kicked out at two. Ali dragged Page to the corner
and went up top for a 450. Page got out of the way though
and delivered a kick to Ali’s head.
Page tried for the Ego’s Edge again, but Ali countered with
a hurricanrana. Ali ducked two clotheslines and went
springboard, but Page caught him and went for a twisted
grin. Ali wormed out though and the tow remained at a
stalemate.
Ali sent Page out with a headscissor and then dove through
the ropes onto him, knocking Page over the announce table.
Ali pulled Page back into the ring and went up top, but his
foot was tangled in the mic cord. While he tried to get it
off, Page shoved Ali off the top rope all the way to the
barricade.
Page tossed Ali back into the ring and hit a twisted grin to
get the pin and retain the NXT North American Championship.
Match Result: Ethan Page defeated Mustafa Ali
What an incredible match! That could be a match of the year
contender for NXT. Page and Ali put on a back and forth
clinic that should be studied. There was no point where I
was able to tell who was going to win and it came down to
bad luck for Ali. Killer match heading into the main event!
-In the back Hijo del Dr Wagner jr was interviewed about his
issues with Ethan Page. They were interrupted by Lexis King
who accused him of being Tavion Heights. Wagner left and
Heights appeared behind King, shaking his head.
-After a break, the women’s Team NXT was shown celebrating
in the back and by celebrating, I mean they looked at each
other and went “oh yeah, we all hate each other” and parted
ways. Ruca was left and approached by Zariah and Blake
Monroe. Monroe said that their friendship wouldn’t last and
that she was coming for one of Ruca’s titles.
Men’s Elimination Match: Team NXT (Ricky Saints, Trick
Williams, Myles Borne & Je’Von Evans) vs Team TNA (Mike
Santana, Frankie Kazarian, Moose & Leon Slater)
The Main Event of the evening looked so good on paper that I
was able to stop asking myself “why is the TNA champion on
team NXT?” and just enjoy these 8 men at the top of their
game beat the hell out of each other. Joe Hendry acted as
the special referee for this match and earlier in the
evening was shown talking to both teams.
Team TNA entered first with Kazarian and Moose getting big
cheers as they came through the crowd. After a break, Team
NXT arrived with Evans and Borne coming out first, followed
by Williams and finally Saints.
Evans and Slater kicked things off with a battle of the
bouncy. However, before they could do anything, Kazarian and
Williams blind tagged in and started brawling. Borne tagged
in and hit an atomic drop and neckbreaker on Kazarian.
Kazarian then pushed Borne into hit team’s corner where they
started wailing on him. That brought in Team NXT and a full
brawl commenced.
When the dust settled, Kazarian and Borne continued in the
ring, with Moose trying to cause a distraction and missing.
Kazarian hit a modified fame-ass-er and then a cutter to pin
Borne and get the early elimination.
Both teams retreated to their corners as a disbeliving Borne
headed to the back. Saints stared daggers at Santana and
they started fighting with Santana hitting a headscissor,
but missing with a charge to the corner. Saints put him down
and tagged in Evans who went with strikes to soften up
Santana.
Santana reversed it into a backdrop though followed by
spinning Evans around with a backhanded chop. He set up
Evans in the TNA corner and chopped him again before Moose
tagged in. Moose jersey’d Evans (Canadians will get it) and
hit a big dropkick before dragging him to the TNA corner and
a waiting Kazarian.
Kazarian sent Evans into the opposite corner and slammed
him. He followed that with a springboard leg drop, but Evans
kicked out at two. Evans tried to battle back, but Kazarian
went for a pin using the ropes. Hendry saw it though and
called off the pin.
Williams tagged in and went to chokeslam Slater who got out
of it and delivered a high kick. Williams caught Slater on
the charge and slammed him, followed by a big kick. Williams
slowed the pace and set up Slater in the corner for some
chops. Slater ducked the third one and hit a Lethal
Injection-style cutter.
Santana tagged in to face Saints and dropped him with a
cutter. Williams stood up and he and Santana had a staredown
ahead of their upcoming match at Bound For Glory. Williams
tagged in Evans and Evans cleared the ring and began
bouncing around with X-Division Champion Slater.
Evans started diving over the ropes onto each member of Team
TNA. Unfortunately, when he got to Moose, Moose caught Evans
in midair. Evans got out of it though and headed back into
the ring where Slater was waiting and rolled him up for a
three count. With Evans eliminated, Team NXT was down to
two;. Williams and Saints.
Slater and Kazarian double teamed Williams with Kazarian
making the pin attempt. Williams kicked out and Kazarian
bounced Williams’ head off of Moose’s foot. Moose tagged
Slater in and Team TNA started working William’s ankle.
Slater hit a crossbody and delivered some punches before
tagging in Kazarian.
Willams began fighting back, but Kazarian put him back down
with a high kick. He began stomping Williams and hanging him
up on the ropes. Moose tagged in and charged, but Williams
dodged it. He want for a tag to Saints, but Kazarian pulled
him off the ring apron. Moose took advantage, but Williams
hit a back cutter. Saints got back up on the ring and tagged
himself in to face Slater.
Saints hit a Falcon Arrow, but Slater kicked out at two.
Saints went off the ropes, but Kazarian hit him in the back,
giving Slater a chance to hit his Utopia slam. Saints went
to tag in Williams, but but Williams hopped off the apron,
refusing the tag. Williams wandered away from the ring as
Kazarian took out Saints.
Williams walked to the back, leaving Saints to fend for
himself against all four members of Team TNA. Kazarian put
on a rear naked choke and tried to transition to a
crossface, but Saints rolled it over and pinned him to get
the first elimination for Team NXT.
Slater dove in to try and finish Saints off, but Saints
kicked out. Slater set him up in the corner and charged,
knocking him down. He went up top for a swanton, but Saints
got his knees up, and turned Slater over for a pin and
second elimination.
Moose took his turn next, sending Saints to the outside.
Santana threw him back into for a slam and a senton from the
TNA veteran. Saints kicked out at two, much to Moose’s
surprise. Moose went for a powerbomb, but Saints reversed it
into a DDT. He went for the pin, but Santana broke it up.
Santana started throwing hands at Saints, sending him
staggering to the corner. He chopped Saints then hit a big
slam, but Saints kicked out again. Santana went for a
powerbomb but Saints flipped out of it a delivered a
superkick.
Moose went for a spear, but Saints dodged it and hit
Santana. Santana shoved Saints into Moose who hit a
powerbomb and then Santana follwed up with a big slam to get
the pin and eliminate the NXT Champion.
Match Result: Team TNA defeated Team NXT
-After the match, Santino and Ava were seen talking in the
back. The GM’s congratulated each other and Ava asked
Santino to bring the Knockouts division to NXT next week for
a Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the
NXT Women’s Title.
Man, that was a good night of wrestling. The Men’s
Elimination match was a little bit slower than the Women’s,
but PPV quality stuff from all four matches on the card. TNA
and NXT are a great fit and there’s some great stuff teased
for next week!