It”s Tuesday, and you know what that means! (Sorry, I’ve always wanted to do that). NXT is back and this week’s episode features some familiar faces from years gone by.
Vic Joseph began the night running down the card, but it wasn’t long before we got to the action
Jaida Parker vs. Wren Sinclair vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Cora Jade – Women’s Last Chance Iron Survivor Qualifying Match
On paper, even this early in everybody’s career, this sounds like a dream match. Let’s see if reality holds up.
All four women measured each other up and down, before pairing off. Parker and Jade both tried to steal a win by rolling up their opponents for simultaneous two-counts. Then they turned on each other and tried to do the same. Eventually, Jordan took out all of the women and focused on parker. Both Jade and Sinclair were thrown out of the ring, and Jordan sent Parker to join them. Jade went on the offensive, taking on Jordan but Jordan rebounded and hit a moonsault off the barricade.
Back in the ring, Jade dropkicked both Jordan and Parker and Sinclair snuck in to try to gain the advantage with a rollup. Jade once again dropkicked Jordan and Sinclair, but Parker once again gained the advantage and actually say on her two opponents.
COMMERCIAL BREAK!
BACK FROM BREAK!
Both Parker and Jordan were battling on the top turnbuckle. Jade performed a Tower of Doom/Power Bomb maneuver on then both. Jordan and Sinclair attempted another pin, but once again, kickout! Parker slammed Sinclair and went for another pin attempt, but Jade splashed the two to break up the pin and gain the advantage. Jade and Jordan had a bit of a standoff before focusing on each other. They both took each other out.
I got distracted for a bit, but came back just in time to see Jade throw Jordan out of the ring and start battling Sinclair. Jordan got back in the ring and clotheslined them both. Jordan hit her 450 Splash, but Parker broke up the pin attempt. Lola Vice came out and tried to hit Parker, but ended up hitting Wren Sinclair who, conveniently, landed on top of Jade to get the pin!
Wren Sinclair defeated Cora Jade, Kelani Jordan and Jaida Parker
Backstage, Eddy Thorpe was talking about how he “accidentally” knocked down NXT GM Ava. Lexis King interrupted and got into a verbal altercation with Thorpe, adding fuel to tonight’s match.
Jaida Parker was still in the ring and called out Lola Vice. Parker said she wanted her underground match right now. Vice came out and the two got in each others’ faces until Parker nailed Vice with an elbow to the face.
Backstage, Ashante Thee Adonis sent flowers to Petrovic, like the eff-boy that he is.
Backstage again, Axiom and Nathan Frazer were once again arguing, with Frazer stating that Axiom wins the Last Chance match, he’d have to have two matches on Saturday!
Tag Team Battle Royal
The Battle Royal began with all of the teams, uhm, battling each other. Hank and Tank dominated early.
Hank and Tank hit their press slam double-team maneuver on Gallus. PIP showed some of the eliminations that occurred during the break but, honestly and with all due respect, I don’t know the names of most of these guys. Then, Axiom and Frazer were shown bickering, because of course they were.
Hank and Tank eliminated *checks Twitter* Tyriek Igue, but Igue held down the rope and eliminated Hanl, Hulk Hogan in 1992-style.
Gallus threw Tank over the top rope, but precious baby Hank caught him and put him back. Wolfgang and his partner hit running strikes on three of their opponents. A few more moves, a few more strikes, a few more teams whose names I barely know (my fault, not theirs. I’ll get them eventually).
Eventually, (Don’t call me Matt) Bourne eliminated both Tank and Price to win the battle royal, securing a Tag Team Title match for the No Quarter Catch Crew.
Cut to backstage!
The camera showed Trick Williams, Ridge Holland, and my close, personal friend Eric Bischoff walking backstage, presumably on their way to the ring.
He’s back! And better than ever. Eric Bischoff made his entrance in the Performance Center and, as a fan of his since the ’90s, it was a surreal sight to behold. Bischoff said that NXT was undeniable. Also undeniable (because he can’t get through an interview without bringing it up) was the fact that he created Nitro to face off against Monday Night Raw and, for at least 83 Weeks, Nitro won! Bischoff also said he created the NWO to change the industry. Speaking of changing the industry, Bischoff said that what NXT was doing and that fans got to be a part of it.
Bischoff said he’s seen some of the talent and that they have the skills to take the business to the stratosphere. Two of those talents, Bischoff said, are facing each other on Saturday. Ridge Holland made his entrance. Bischoff introduced NXT Champion Trick Williams as well. Bischoff said that he can’t wait to see the two face each other, and that you could cut the tension between them with a chainsaw (which sort of defeats the purpose of the metaphor but whatever).
Bischoff said that Ridge Holland looked like the prototypical WWE star, similar to Dick the Bruiser or The Crusher. Bischoff said that Williams looked like the evolution of the revolution (which is actually kind of a cool nickname). He said that Williams has the size, the skills, and the charisma that you’d expect from a college athlete, and Bischoff can’t wait to see what happens between the two of them.
Ridge Holland then grabbed the microphone and said that Williams was nothing more than a standup comedian with abs. (Joke’s on him…no standup comedians actually have abs. That’s why they have to be funny). Holland said Williams is an insult to the vision of NXT. He said that Bischoff and the fans can praise Williams all they want, but he’s going to be the champion after Deadline.
Holland said that people like Bischoff are trying to hold onto the last bit of relevancy that they have, which was uncalled for but not altogether untrue. For that, the crowd said that Ridge is a wanker which is a pretty bold chant for an American crowd. Williams said that Holland was built like a fridge. He said that Holland took out Chase U so that he could chase Trick. He said that Holland is bland and vanilla and he’s of the mind that he might just take off his coat and whoop that trick right now! (And by ‘trick,’ he means dat ass).
Holland said he beat Chase U and showed what he was capable of. He also beat Trick, himself, at the ECW Arena show.
Holland said Williams and himself came up differently. Williams came up playing football but Holland came up in a “man’s sport,” Rugby. What would be really impressive is if either of them came up playing badminton. That’s a real man’s sport.
Holland said Williams is soft and he’s gonna put him down.
“You think I’m soft, right?” Williams asked. Then he threw hands.
The two brawled at ringside and Holland threw Williams into the steel steps, then cleared the announce table. Then he gave Williams the Redeemer DDT on top of the table. Medics took out Williams on a stretcher.
COMMERCIAL BREAK!
BACK FROM BREAK!
Sarah Schreiber was in the NXT parking lot and she said that NXT GM Ava joined Williams in the ambulance. She asked Ava for an update on the title match, but Ava said she didn’t know.
Nikkita Lyons vs. Karmen Petrovic
Nikkita Lyons made her entrance with her nunchakus. Karmen Petrovic entered afterwards. The two of them showed of their karate skills and dodged each others’ kicks. Petrovic hit a Rob Van Dam-style Rolling Sobat (like a leg trip, but prettier). Lyons hit a clothesline and then took Petrovic to a corner and continued her onslaught (I love commentary cliches.) Both women attempted pins on each other and then traded strikes.
Eventually, Lyons attempted her Vader Bomb but missed, and then Ashante Thee Adonis helped Petrovic up. Lyons went to hit Petrovic, but she dodged and Lyons ended up hitting Adonis. Petrovic nailed a spin-kick on Lyons to pick up the win! Loving that Adonis is the damsel in distress in this story.
Karmen Petrovic defeated Nikkita Lyons
Petrovic yelled at Adonis a little bit.
Backstage, Shawn Spears was talking to Brooks Jensen and Niko. Spears thanked Niko for his help and said that he’s been building up Niko for weeks and is almost ready to unleash him. Then Spears started chatting with Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley, like a creep. He said that he’s looking forward to Dolin’s return match. The two women walked away, and Tatum said that Spears was creepy. So see, wasn’t just me.
Backstage again to the No Quarter Catch Crew. Charlie Dempsey said that he was proud of his team members. Sinclair was still acting timid, but Dempsey congratulated her on getting the win. Sinclair said the NQCC is going to bring more titles to the group.
Gigi Dolin vs. Izzi Dame
This was a quick match, as it should have been. Gigi Dolin dominated most of it, going through a Best Of list of her moves. Dolin hit her shotgun dropkick but only got a two-count. Shawn Spears then showed up, like the creep that he is. Dolin eventually hit her Gigi Driver. (Fun fact: I used to call my grandmother ‘GiGi’ when I was a kid. She’s dead now.)
Gigi Dolin defeated Izzi Dame
Backstage, Sarah Schreiber was interviewing Je’Von Evans. All of a sudden, the 1-2-3 Kid/Syxx/X-Pac/Syxx-Pac/Sean Waltman himself showed up, and Evans reacted exactly like any of us would if we met the legend.
‘Pac said that he was a big fan and that Evans was the same age that he was when he first defeated The Bad Guy, Razor Ramon. Kid said that every good thing that happened to him after that could be traced back to that moment. He said he believes in Evans. Evans went to fist bump, but Syxx held up the ‘Two-Sweet’ horns and Evans returned it.
Lexis King vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Axiom vs. Eric Thorpe in the Men’s Last Chance Iron Survivor Qualifying Match
Lexis King made his entrance, as did Ethan Page, who is sitting in on commentary. This could be a great showing for Page if all goes well.
The rest of the competitors made their entrance, and it was Axiom who struck first. He took down Alexander and Thorpe, but King responded with superkicks all around. Thorpe recovered and cleared the ring. When Alexander came back in, Thorpe rolled him up for a pinfall, but Alexander kicked out. Cedric hit a Shelton Benjamin-esque Paydirt on Thorpe for a two-count of his own. Axiom broke it up and then threw Thorpe out of the ring.
Axiom and Alexander started trading blows but then shifted their attentions to their two other opponents. The two suicide…dove?…onto King and Thorpe and then Alexander hit a standing Spanish Fly on Axiom, followed by a pinfall attempt. King broke it up.
COMMERCIAL BREAK!
BACK FROM COMMERCIAL BREAK!
As if they didn’t see the first match of the evening, King performed of Tower of Doom/Power Bomb on his three other opponents. King hit a Fisherman Suplex on Alexander and Axiom, but they both kicked out. King then dove onto them both with a somersault, followed by the somersault’s older, cooler brother – a Swanton bomb on Alexander. Thorpe broke up the pin attempt and took out King and then German Suplexed Alexander.
Thorpe then hit a brainbuster of Axiom but before he could take advantage, Alexander slammed him and then hit a springboard moonsault. Each man traded a few more moves each, and Alexander hit a Michinoku Driver, but Thorpe broke up the pin attempt.
Axiom hit his Golden Ratio on King, but Thorpe stole the pin and won the match!
Eddy Thorpe defeated Lexis King, Axiom, and Cedric Alexander
Backstage, Cora Jade was yelling at Stevie Turner and Robert Stone about losing her own qualifying match. Jade stormed out and Eddy Thorpe showed up, gloating. He said he’s going to show Ava that he deserved to be in the match in the first place.
Vic Joseph went through the Deadline card for Saturday and it should make for a pretty great show!
Roxanne Perez came out and said that the winner if the Iron Survivor match gets a Christmas gift — facing Perez for the NXT Women’s Championship. She said it won’t be easy but it will all be for naught, as the winner only gets to be second place, compared to Perez. Perez said people doubted Wren Sinclair like they used to doubt her, but that Perex believed in her. The only thing is, she can’t be Perez. Neither can Sol Ruca. Neither can Giulia. So what if Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, and Zaria beat her in a tag team match. That doesn’t even count!
Say their names and they appear, though. Ruca, Vaquer, and Giulia all came out. Perez smiled, but she looked nervous. She said they all have to go through each other before they get to her. Them was fighting words, and the four women started brawling. That brought out Wren Sinclair who went after Perez and dragged her out of the ring. Security ran out to separate the women and then we cut to backstage to see…
EDDY THORPE HAS BEEN LAID OUT!!! But by whom, we ask you? By. Whom? That’s the question as we end the show and look towards Saturday for NXT Deadline! We’ll see you there! Or we’ll see you on another time!