Posted on 3/25/126 by Bob Magee
– Following the Then, Now, Forever signature, we went right
to the WWE Performance Centre before a recap of last week’s
episode from Houston, Texas was shown.
– Backstage, we saw Mr. Stone chatting with Shiloh Hill, as
Tatum Paxley asked him where her NXT Women’s North American
Title was, as well as Blake Monroe. Paxley left with Shiloh,
who was on his scooter. Meanwhile, a referee appeared and
tried to get Stone’s attention for an important matter.
WrenQCC (Wren Sinclair & Kendal Grey) vs. Fatal Influence
(Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) (w/ Jacy Jayne)
Henley charged at Sinclair early, but got taken down
instead. Henley got the advantage soon enough in the corner
with stomps, but got reversed into an early pin attempt by
her opponent. Henley got hit with a spinning kick from
Sinclair, as she quickly recovered and tagged Reid in. The
Fatal Influence duo shelled Sinclair with consecutive elbow
drops, but Sinclair fought back. Meanwhile, we got a
picture-in-picture inset during the match of Mr. Stone
checking in on Eli Knight and Elio Lefleur down and out
backstage after being beaten down by mysterious assailants.
Back in the ring, Sinclair got blasted with a kick by
Henley, as she quickly recovered with a floatover double
underhook suplex. Henley tagged in Reid, who took down
Sinclair with a modified Blockbuster while Henley had a hold
of Sinclair. This led to a commercial break.
We returned from break as we learned that Eli Knight & Elio
Lefleur were taken to medical attention after the backstage
attack. Bringing attention back to our match at hand,
Sinclair hit Grey with an enzuigiri as she reached out to
Reid for a tag. Reid dodged an attempted strike from Grey,
which opened her up for a back body drop from Sinclair. Reid
finally entered the match and held her own against Grey and
Henley for a bit. The Fatal Influence duo soon took
advantage with a double team on Reid, before Grey hit a
modified ushigoroshi on her opponent. Sinclair broke up the
count to keep this match going.
Grey tried for that ushigoroshi again, but Reid reversed and
hit a nice spinning elbow instead. Grey found herself
trapped in Reid’s armbar while Sinclair locked in the Final
Wrench on Henley to keep her from interfering. Grey tapped
out to win this match.
After the match Grey called her shot against Jacy Jayne, but
Lola Vice appeared and instead said that she’d be the one to
be the NXT Women’s Champion. NXT General Manager Mr. Stone
soon showed up and declared that next week in New York, we’d
see Kendal Grey vs. Lola Vice, with the winner going on to
face Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women’s Title at Stand & Deliver
next Saturday.
WrenQCC def. Fatal Influence via submission
This was a good opener for tonight’s show, especially as
someone who enjoys technical wrestling as much as I do. The
scheduled Grey vs. Vice match for next week’s NXT should
prove to be an interesting encounter to watch.
****************
Sol Ruca’s face-to-face with Zaria
Ruca was already in the ring and said that she has seen
everything that Zaria had to say on social media, telling
everyone who would listen. Ruca said that she thought that
she and Zaria were stronger than this, but she found out how
Zaria thought she wasn’t worth standing next to her anymore.
Ruca talked about how she stood beside her as a friend,
every time after every spear, after every snarky comment.
Ruca discussed about Zaria didn’t want a team, she just
wanted a moment, and that when she got that moment, Zaria
decided to take her out instead. Ruca said that she
genuinely believed that she and Zaria were better together,
which is why she took every opportunity given to them. Maybe
that’s where she went wrong, according to Ruca. She gave
Zaria her spot in a women’s title battle royal, vouched for
her in a TNA Knockouts championship match, and let her fight
for her NXT Women’s North American Title.
Ruca said that while it was clear she was fighting for her
and Zaria, it was clear that Zaria was simply just fighting
for herself. Ruca said that she now knows what Zaria is, and
it was time to take her on at Stand and Deliver.
Zaria appeared and provided a rebuttal. She accused Ruca of
stealing the spotlight, stating that Ruca only saw her as
nothing more but a “partner” in her shadow. Zaria said that
hitting the spear and F5 was a liberating feeling. And it
was fitting that Ruca wanted to fight her at Stand and
Deliver, because that’s where it’s started and it’s where it
will end.
Zaria yelled that Ruca chose the Women’s North American
Championship over her last year at Stand and Deliver, which
she hated greatly. Zaria said she hated seeing Ruca succeed,
because it meant that she’d stand behind her former friend
as a result. Zaria said that she cared enough to realize
that as long as Ruca stood, she wasn’t going to herself.
Zaria pointed out that this isn’t wasn’t about Ruca, but
being about caring about only her interests.
Ruca got upset at Zaria’s gaslighting and silent treatments
just because she didn’t get opportunities, then accusing her
of being the villain in her story. Zaria corrected Ruca,
declaring her not to be the villain of her story, but
nothing more but a mistake.
I find this feud having no true heel/face dynamics and it
being treated as a realistic breakup (or as realistic as a
wrestling storyline can get anyway) between friends. The
Performance Center crowd siding with either woman adds to
this. Hopefully the presumed Stand & Deliver match between
Ruca and Zaria delivers.
****************
– Ricky Saints & Ethan Page argued about who would be the
NXT Champion, which annoyed Josh Briggs. Page uttered that
between him and Saints, he was the one who pinned Joe
Hendry, which brought out the man himself. Hendry said that
he doesn’t care which one he’ll face, or if it’s Tony
D’Angelo, he’d handle either one of them at Stand & Deliver.
After Hendry left, Saints and Page continued to argue
amongst themselves.
Kelani Jordan vs. Thea Hail
This match got underway with chain wrestling between Jordan
and Hail before the latter hit a Lou Thesz Press. Jordan
caught Hail’s leg and began hitting her with punches to the
face. Jordan then followed that with an overhead suplex for
a two-count. Jordan smashed Hail’s head against the
turnbuckle twice, but the third attempt was block before
Hail gave Jordan a taste of her own medicine.
Hail struck Jordan in the corner and tried for a suplex, but
that was block. Jordan escaped a standing armbar from Hail
with a slam, but she got caught in it once more. Jordan
broke it up by throwing her into the middle turnbuckle
before connecting with an X-Factor. Jordan then got the
victory after a Rob Van Dam-style split-legged moonsault.
After the match, Jordan continued the attack on Hail before
she locked in an arm bar on her. Jaida Parker ran in and
went after Jordan and sent her to a retreat.
Kelani Jordan def. Thea Hail via pinfall
Kind of a short match, which makes it really hard to judge
on its own merits or lack thereof. Hail did show some nice
fire, but it was ultimately for naught. The Jordan vs.
Parker feud should prove to be a hard-hitting one.
****************
– We got remarks from Jasper Troy about what Keanu Carver
did last week in his attempt to ruin Booker T Appreciation
Night. Troy said that he and Carver would face off next week
in New York and he promised to make Carver pay for what he
tried to do with Booker.
– Backstage, Shiloh Hill was talking with Tatum Paxley,
telling her that he put a picture of Blake Monroe through
some tracking software, apparently having a tutorial of some
sort for that. Hill gave Paxley the supposed info about
Monroe’s whereabouts before leaving for the Gauntlet
Eliminator Match that was coming up next.
Gauntlet Eliminator Match (#1 Contender for NXT North
American Championship): Shiloh Hill vs. Dion Lennox vs.
Jackson Drake vs. Charlie Dempsey vs. ???
Hill entered first before the commercial break, with Jackson
Drake being the man he would face first in this Gauntlet
Eliminator.
Drake applied a headlock on Hill, but got hit with a running
shoulder block. Drake attempted a neckbreaker, but Hill
countered that into an attack on the arm. Drake recovered
and dropped him on the top rope with the guillotine. With
Hill stunned, Drake hit a knee drop to the head and
maintained control of this match early on. Hill recovered,
but got hit with a standing Russian leg sweep from Drake.
The former Evolve Champion soon found himself hit with
consecutive tilt-a-whirl slams from Hill.
Entrant #3: Dion Lennox
Lennox stormed the ring and hit Hill and Drake with
spinebusters to take command of the match as the match
headed to a commercial break.
Entrant #4: Charlie Dempsey
The Birthright’s patriarch entered during commercial, as he
took over in the match as we returned. He had Lennox locked
in a submission, with Drake and Hill soon joining in a train
of sorts. Lennox escaped, but it was Hill who got control
with scoop slams a-plenty. Dempsey trapped Hill in a
modified STF that was broken up by Drake. Dempsey and Drake
brawled it out in the ring, while Hill was thrown into the
barricade by Lennox.
Lennox entered the ring and hit a double German Suplex on
Dempsey and Drake. While Dempsey and Lennox fought, the
final competitor was set to enter. The voice of Candice
LeRae was heard, stating that she had tried everything to
snap a certain someone out of a funk, and maybe it took a
place that he called home… and the final entrant, as we’d
find out, is Johnny Gargano!.
Entrant #5: Johnny Gargano
Gargano seemed confused but the WWEPC crowd chanted for him
before entering the ring. Drake kicked Gargano as he
entered, which seemd to knock him out cold. Dempsey took
down Lennox with a triangle choke, but was lifted into a
sitdown powerbomb. Drake kicked Lennox out of the ring,
which left him at the mercy of OTM, who laid Lennox out with
a curbstomp into the broken barricade. Lennox was thrown
into the ring, as Hill hit his finisher, a back suplex into
a neckbreaker to score the first elimination.
Dion Lennox has been eliminated
We returned from the commercial break as Dempsey and Hill
had Drake locked in a simultaneous leg lock that got broken
up as the two began trading blows. Meanwhile, Gargano was
still out cold on the apron as Drake leapt over the top rope
to take both Hill and Drake out with an amazing dive. In the
ring, Drake connected with a 450 Splash on Hill, but that
wasn’t enough to get the elimination. Dempsey entered the
ring and attempted a German suplex, but Drake landed on his
feet. Drake clotheslined Dempsey out of the ring as he then
hit a suicide dive on the follow-up. Drake tried for a leap,
but got caught in the finisher of Hill, which got him the
three.
Jackson Drake has been eliminated
Dempsey stepped back into the ring and and began to mix it
up with Hill, as he connected with a Northern Lights Suplex,
followed by a double underhook Suplex. Dempsey attempted a
back suplex, but he found himself with Hill’s finishing move
to get the elimination. Afterwards, The Birthright assaulted
Hill as Stacks Lorenzo and Uriah Connors threw him into the
steel stairs. Dempsey hit a German Suplex on Hill, who was
then thrown into the ring. With Hill left beaten, Gargano
stood up and was pushed by LeRae, which was counted as a
pinfall win.
Johnny Gargano wins the Gauntlet Eliminator to become No. 1
Contender for the NXT North American Championship
The actual gauntlet match was pretty fun, and the finish was
a bit ridiculous, but oddly fitting for the rather
ridiculous world of NXT.,
****************
– Robert Stone was a busy, busy man as a referee complained
that nobody wanted to officiate the Jasper Troy vs. Keanu
Carver match next week. Stone said he’d think of something.
Jaida Parker rolled up and wanted to face Kelani Jordan next
week, Stone then booked the match for next week.
– OTM were backstage as we found out that we’d see them and
Darkstate in a six-man tag match next week in New York. TNA
World Champion Mike Santana was revealed to be the partner
of OTM in this big six-man tag match.
NXT Tag Title Contenders Tournament: Shawn Spears & Niko
Vance vs. Los Americanos (Rayo & Bravo Americano)
El Grande Americano’s two charges were revealed as the
replacement for Elio & Eli after their winning effort
against The Vanity Project last week.
Bravo started out against Spears in this match with a tie-up
in the middle of the ring. Bravo broke out of an arm wrench
from Spears and hit an arm drag as she showed off. Spears
taunted Bravo by flexing his derriere, and got a dropkick in
response. Rayo tagged in as Vance entered for his team. Los
Americanos’ attempt at a double team was overpowered by a
double clothesline from Vance. Rayo chopped at Vance’s
chest, but that did minimal damage to the area. Bravo blind
tagged in as their attempt at a double team finally succeed
against Vance with stereo kicks. Bravo took out Spears with
a dive, as Rayo tried one of his own. Vance caught him, but
Bravo assisted with the suicide dive to bring Vance to his
knees. We took a break in the action.
The match continued from break as Bravo soared and took
Spears out with the diving crossbody. The two men made the
tag to their respective corners as Rayo was on fire against
Vance and Spears. Rayo hit a moonsault from the top against
Vance, as he and Bravo attempted some kind of double team
move, but Vance caught the two. Vance chokeslammed Bravo
onto Rayo. Bravo showed some nice strength with a scoop slam
on Vance. He tried the airplane spin on Spears, but Vance
stopped that.
Vance headed to the top rope, but Rayo pulled Bravo out,
which caused a distraction as Bravo put something under his
mask. Spears superkicked Rayo on the apron, as he hit a slam
on Bravo. Outside, Rayo loaded his mask and hit the headbutt
on Spears. Vance got taken out with a loaded headbutt on the
apron by Bravo. The cover on Spears and this one’s done.
The Birthright were seen taunting Los Americanos from the
NXT Balcony, as the two teams will face off with the winner
facing The Vanity Project at Stand & Deliver
Los Americanos def. Shawn Spears & Niko Vance via pinfall
This was an okay match. Like with El Grande Americano, it
all comes down on the enjoyment on the whole Americanos
thing. I just couldn’t really get into this match as much as
I’d hope to.
****************
– Josh Briggs volunteered to be the referee for Jasper Troy
vs. Keanu Carver for next week’s show. Elsewhere, Tatum
Paxley was seen pacing at a hallway, in search of Blake
Monroe.
– Blake Monroe was seen with the NXT Women’s North American
Championship that she stole. Monroe was enjoying a bath when
a knock on the door was heard. It was Tatum Paxley, who
grabbed at her as we learned that they’d be facing off next
week in New York for the Women’s North American Title.
– We got remarks from Sexyy Red about her appearance at
Stand & Deliver next Saturday.
Next Week on NXT
Darkstate vs. OTM & Mike Santana
Jasper Troy vs. Keanu Carver (Guest Referee: Josh Briggs)
NXT Women’s Championship Contender’s Match: Lola Vice vs.
Kendal Grey
Ricky Saints (w/ Ethan Page) vs. Tony D’Angelo
Our main event kicked off with a staredown between the two
as D’Angelo blocked a kick from Saints by grabbing at the
foot. Saint tried to engage in a mat-based duel with
D’Angelo, and managed to keep up with him in this duel.
D’Angelo eventually used his strength to overpower Saints
with a lifting takedown that sent him rolling out of the
ring. At ringside, Saints blocked an overhead belly-to-belly
from D’Angelo. However, he couldn’t block the military press
throw between the ropes from D’Angelo. Saints went for a
leap from the apron, but D’Angelo caught him. The attempted
powerslam on the outside was countered by Saints, who pushed
him right into the steel steps, which took us to the final
commercial break of the evening.
We returned from commercial as Saints applied a resthold on
D’Angelo. The hold was broken up as D’Angelo rammed his foe
into the corner. Saints tried again with a sleeper on
D’Angelo, but he got thrown out of it. D’Angelo tried to
fight back with a standing Samoan Drop. Ethan Page pulled at
D’Angelo’s leg to create a momentary distraction. Off of
this, Saints attempted the Revolution DDT, but D’Angelo
muscled his way out of it to hit a suplex instead. Saints
recovered and hit two shotgun dropkicks as he attempted a
Rochambeau on his foe. Saints couldn’t connect on that, but
he did manage to hit a Spear for the near-fall.
Saints threw D’Angelo into the corner as he then stomped at
the leg. Another Irish Whip from Saints to D’Angelo into the
opposite corner. Saints chopped at D’Angelo’s chest as he
then landed two kicks to the back. That seemed to wake up
D’Angelo, who got fired up and hit Saints with a hard strike
to the face. Big clothesline by D’Angelo was followed by two
overhead belly-to-belly suplexes. Spear by D’Angelo made no
mistake, as he held Saints up for the Chokeslam. Page
attacked D’Angelo to force the DQ as he and Saints attacked
him two-on-one.
After the match, Saints and Page attempted a spike
piledriver on D’Angelo, but Joe Hendry ran in for the save
and fought off the two. With Saints and Page disposed of,
Hendry stared down D’Angelo and hit him with the Standing
Ovation. In the midst of this, Saints and Page stared down
one another as they got a hand each on the NXT Championship.
Before the show wrapped, Sarah Schreiber interviewed Robert
Stone, who revealed that we’d see a fatal-four way match for
the NXT Title with the four men we just saw. On top of that,
we’d get a contract signing with Hendry, D’Angelo, Saints,
and Page on next week’s show.