Jeremy’s WWE NXT Review 8.6.24

Hello everyone, and welcome to our live WWE NXT coverage on 411! Jeremy Thomas with you as usual, and tonight NXT concludes their two-week Great American Bash event on SYFY. The second night of the GAB will see Ethan Page defend the NXT Championship against Oro Mensah, while MSK will challenge Nathan Frazer & Axiom for the NXT Tag Team Titles. Plus Trick Williams will battle Pete Dunne, Kelani Jordan defends the NXT Women’s North American Title against Tatum Paxley, and Joe Hendry is on NXT again to take on Joe Coffey. There are some potentially great matches in that lineup, and hopefully it can keep up the momentum that night one delivered.

Here at Thomas HQ, I finished out my remote coverage of the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival. You can see my reviews of the new horror film Cuckoo that hits theaters this week here, the expansive documentary on metal band Voivod called We Are Connected here, the thoroughly enjoyable Baby Assassins Nice Days here, the J-horror comedy House of Sayuri here, and one of the best horror films of the year in Oddity here.

Outside of my Fantasia coverage, I did some catchup on 2024 films, did a couple of rewatches, and caught a couple horror film from a few years back. The latter were Caveat from the director of Oddity, which was a solid little supernatural mystery film, and Speak No Evil which was damned good. Meanwhile, I watched Bad Boys: Ride or Die which keeps that franchise going decently along, finally saw Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga which I loved (though not as much as Fury Road), and Trap which was very good for most of its runtime but points every time it missed a good spot to end itself (at least three times). And I rewatched the original Twister which remains…FINE as well as Horror in the High Desert which earns an overall decent rating all thanks to a great final 15 minutes.

Anyway, we’re gonna have a lot to cover tonight so let’s hop right in.

As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry’s daughters is still active and if you can make a donation, that would be awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who’s done so thus far.

* We kick off tonight’s show with a recap of Hank and Tank’s antics during night one of the GAB as they Rosencratz & Guildenstern a recap of what happened last week including Gallus ruining Joe Hendry’s concert, Tony D and Roxy retaining their titles and more. Hank tells Tank they crushed it and then say “Same time next week!”

* We’re LIVE in the Capitol Wrestling Center and kicking off with Pete Dunne vs. Trick Williams.

Pete Dunne vs. Trick Williams

Lockup to start, Dunne into the ropes and gets hit with a dropkick. Trick with a big knife-edge chop and another, he picks DUnne up with a choke hold but Dunne turns it into a Kimura. Trick counters into a delayed vertical suplex and covers for two. Chop in the corner, blocked by Dunne who hits a single-arm DDT and traps Trick for some joint manipulation and a stomp onto the elbow.

Dunne lays in mounted punches to Trick and goes for an armbar, Trick blocks it so Dunne into a triangle attempt. But Trick picks him up with one arm and launches him across the ring! Both men up and they trade strikes until Dunne rakes the eyes. Trick reverses an Irish whip, Dunne with a coffin drop but Trick catches him with a neckbreaker off the top as we go to PIP break.

We’re back and Dunne has Trick wrapped up on the mat, then stands for a stomp to the shoulder. Dunne lies in wait in the corner and charges out for a knee to the side of the head. Another charging knee to the head. He lies in wait and charges, but Trick hits a clothesline to stop Dunne’s momentum. Trick fires back with punches and a couple scissor kicks. Dunne off the ropes into a flapjack! Trick pulls Dunne up, a couple counters and Trick with a uranage for two.

Trick grabs Dunne from the mat but gets kicked in the head, Trick pushed into the ropes back into a German suplex and kicks to the head. Dunne up top, Trick leaps up and grabs Dunne for a top rope flapjack! Trick lies in wait and charges but Dunne with a forearm. Trick with a kick but Dunne with an enzuigiri — Trick fires back with a BIG kick for a nearfall!

Dunne ducks a scissor kick for a powerbomb and then repeated stomps to the head. Dunne talks trash and Dunne stomps away some more. Trick kips up and chops away at Dunne, beating him into the corner. The ref backs him off and Dunne with a slap to the jaw, but Trick fires back and stomps him down until the ref backs him off.

Dunne rushes in and snaps Trick’s fingers — Trick rages and charges but misses the Trick knee, Dunne hits the Bitter End for three.

Winner: Pete Dunne (12:59)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Damn good match to start the show. Trick losing to Dunne is an interesting choice but he’s a main roster guy and that doesn’t bother me much at all.

* Earlier today in catering, Hank and Tank hang out with a punch of the roster. Lexis King takes over on DJ and everyone is unhappy. King says Eddy Thorpe isn’t going to be DJing because he broke Thorpe’s hand, so they’re listening to rock. Thorpe comes in and King gets kicked out. Hank declares its time for a wings eat-off and Stone says he could do it if it wasn’t his cheat day. Stevie says she can do it, and they sit down for an eating competition. Yep, that happened.

* Tatum and Kelani are up next.

* Ethan Page is talking about his ice bath when Nathan Frazer walks into medical and wishes him good luck tonight. Page says he doesn’t need luck but Frazer might since Axiom got pinned by MSK. Frazer says Page knows all about being pinned and they go back and forth before Page leaves and Frazer wonders where Axiom is.

NXT Women’s North American Championship Match
Kelani Jordan vs. Tatum Paxley

Lockup to start, Kelani with a wristlock that Tatum reverses and Kelani then flips out of. The evil trio watch from backstage as Tatum does some acrobatics in the ring but is caught in a waistlock. She backflips out of it, shoves Kelani off of her but Kelani rolls her up for two and locks in a shoulderlock.

Kelani shot into the ropes but she runs Tatum over. Off the ropes, leapfrog, Kelani with an armdrag and another off the ropes. Kelani with a ledrop and Tatum to the outside, Kelani leaps onto her! Tatum climbs under the ring, Kelani carefully pulls the apron up and the Kelani doll is there. She turns around right into a dive from Tatum into her knee as we go to PIP break.

We’re back and Tatum is working over Kelani’s knee. She goes to slam it into the mat but Kelani escapes and hits a sunset flip for two. She catches a kick and ducks an enzuigiri, but Tatum pushes her away and hits a bulldog off the ropes. Both women down as Wendy Choo comes out to the ramp and picks up the Kelani doll. Kelani with a cartwheel kick, she shoves Tatum against the ropes and nails her, she goes for a springboard but her leg gives out. She still gets a pin attempt for two, but misses a split-legged moonsault. 450 by Tatum! Cover for two-plus.

Kelani with an armdrag but she gets knocked down, Tatum goes up top and Kelani cuts her off. The champ goes up and blocks a shot by Tatum — SPANISH FLY! Kelani up top, frog splash for three.

Winner: Kelani Jordan (10:02)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Another good match. They made Tatum look like a serious threat and the win put some extra momentum behind Jordan. Both women benefitted from this match, which is exactly what you want.

Wendy gives Tatum her Kelani doll — then grabs Tatum and drops her to the floor! Wendy stares at Kelani.

* Charlie is annoyed at Myles for being thrown by XXXX. Wren walks in and asks if Tavion got trunked and Dempsey says he’s in Japan. Wren asks if that’s code for being trucked and he says no. Wren says if she wins tonight she should be in the group and Dempsey says no.

Tony D and the Family walk in to meddle, and says that if Wren wins then Dempsey gets a Heritage Cup match. Wren says she may not be feeling the match and Dempsey says fine, if she wins she’s in. Oba Femi cuts through and walks past Frazer. Axiom walks up and says he was giving Frazer space but they’re ready tonight.

* Oro and Ethan WALK backstage.

* Dunne is asked about his win and he says Trick is great but he’s at the top of his game and is ready to challenge for the title. Trick runs in saying “Figure this out!” and they brawl as refs try to break them up.

NXT Championship Match
Ethan Page vs. Oro Mensah

Circle and Page backs Oro into the corner, Oro ducks a shot and lays in some strikes on Page. Page counters an Irish whip and strikes Oro. Oro into the ropes and hits a rana on Page, then hits a splash in the corner, throws him to the mat and kicks him in the chest for two. Oro lays into Page’s back and sends him into the corner for a chop. Page counters a whip and puts Oro in the corner to strike, Oro fires back and chops Page into the corner.

Irish whip reversed into the opposite corner, Page sits down for two and then escapes to the outside as we go to PIP break.

We’re back as Oro is trying to fight back into the game and hits a kick, then sprinboard moonsaults right into a kick to the face by Page! Cover gets two-plus. Oro nails Page and escapes to the apron, he and Page trade shots over the ropes but Page kicks Oro through the ropes. He pulls Oro in but Oro hits a suplex on Page and lays in some shots to the jaw and chest. Clotheslines by Oro, quick jabs and a scissor kick for a nearfall.

Page comes back by countering with a kick to the head to slow Oro down. Page tells the announcers to “move” and goes up top, pulling Oro up but Oro with a shot to Page. Shots to the back, Page pushes him back and Oro with a flip kick! Page to the floor and Oro dives through onto him! Back in the ring, flip kick to the head, cover gets two-plus!

Both men up and trading shots, Page knocked back into the corner, Oro to the apron and nails him — springboard thrust kick and page to the outside! Oro dives through with a dropkick to Page. Page is crawling away but Oro follows after, throwing him headfirst into the picnic table — and Page grabs Oro for a back suplex onto the table! Ego’s Edge through the picnic table!

Page grabs Oro and drags him back to the ring, rolling him in. DDT by Page, cover gets two and three quarters! Page grabs Oro and goes for another Ego’s Edge but Oro slips out and rolls Page up for two. Superkick, another rollup for two. DDT by Oro! He lies in wait — he charges in for a spinning heel kick in the corner, cover but Page’s foot is under the ropes. Oro pulls him to the center of the ring, springboard but Page moves and Page with the big boot and an Ego’s Edge for three.

Winner: Ethan Page (13:08)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: No one thought Oro was winning this, but Page did a LOT of work to help get Oro over here and the kid looked great. The right result and a great effort by both men.

Ego says it’s the Era of Ego and he doesn’t care who’s next. Trick, Dunne — it’s not the era of NXT, it’s the era of NX-Me.

* The Rascalz are backstage talking about MSK’s long road to getting a shot at the titles they never lost. Lee says that he never thought they’d get here and he’s had some dark days. He recalls how Wentz had to go and he had a great NXT NA Title run, but this moment is the best of his career. It’ll take a lot of effort to win tonight but they’ll do it. Trey says they’re the Rascalz but tonight it’s about MSK.

* Earlier today, partying happened backstage and Ashante hits on Jaida, who says she’s focused on the Women’s Title. Lola says the title is hers and Tyson DuPoint talks about Thea’s match last week. A guy hits on Lola and gets put through a table, which Hank & Tank call awesome.

Joe Coffey vs. Joe Hendry

Joe dives on Mark and Wolfgang before the match and nails Joe! Back in the ring but Coffey with a push up uppercut. Backbreaker by Coffey and a corner-assisted splash on the mat. Coffey into the ropes and Hendry hits a kneelift. Coffey put in the corner but gets a foot up, he leaps off the top but Hendry moves and then hits a delayed vertical suplex.

Hendry with chops in across the corners and stomps Coffey down. Irish whip and a charging back elbow. Into the ropes again, Coffey holds on but is clotheslined over the top as we go to PIP break.

We’re back with Coffey hitting a kidney shot. Hendry into the ropes and goes for a sunset flip, but Coffey takes back over and drops Hendry onto the ropes before laying in a boot choke. Coffey distracts the ref and the rest of Gallus take it to Hendry, but Hendry grabs a chair and plays dead on the table and the ref ejects Gallus!

Hendry with a roll-up for two and then comes off the ropes with a back elbow. Back body drop out of the corner, he grabs Coffey for a fallaway slam and plays to the crowd for a moment, getting them hyped! Choke slam! That’s it!

Winner: Joe Hendry (8:12)
Rating: ** 3/4
Thoughts: This was hurt a little bit by the amount of time spent on the ad break, but it played out well and the crowd obviously loves Hendry for obvious reasons and the win was a foregone conclusion. Fun stuff.

Hendry is interviewed by Sarah post-match and asked whether he enjoyed his time in NXT. He says he likes it here and might stay for a lot longer. He says a lot of people in the locker may not like that, but they can find him here next Tuesday. He says they won’t need to say his name because he will appear.

* It’s Chase U time! Chase says that it’s been a rough couple weeks but they have a new classroom courtesy of Ridge. Thea and Duke are dejected about their losses. Ridge walks in and says they have to bring gold home to NXT and he’s pulled his last favor with Ava and Chase U has an NXT Tag Team Championship match next week. But it’s Ridge and Chase, not Chase and Duke. Ridge wants to prove he’s a winner and he wants to bring the gold home. He says Chase deserves it and they all do. Everyone is hyped except Duke.

* Shawn Spears walks up to Brooks backstage and says he vouched for him. Brooks says he doesn’t owe Spears his career, but Spears says he does owe him an open mind and he won’t need drinks. The women talk backstage, Roxy says “Oh, women I haven’t beaten yet!” and walks off. Stone says he’s going to set up a multi-women match for a shot at Roxy and Stevie says he can’t do it because he has sauce on his shirt. So she headbutts him and walks off to do it.

The O.C. walk up and say the BBQ sucks and it turns into a brawl when Tank says the party’s over.

Wren Sinclair vs. Kendall Grey

Wren and Kendall jockey for position, Wren with a takedown but Kendall reverses. Wren turns it into a headscissors and Grey escapes but is immediately caught again, with Wren trapping the arm as well. Wren into a wristlock, both to their feet, Grey with a waistlock reversed, Grey baits Wren into a crossbody off the ropes for one.

Grey works the shoulder, Wren to her feet and gets sent into the corner. Up and over, off the ropes and she nails Grey from behind for two. Wren right back to the arm, then changes tack into a half-bow and arrow. She transitions into a full bow and arrow in the center of the ring, Grey escapes and gets a two-count.

Grey with a neckbreaker and back elbows to Grey, a belly to belly suplex sends Wren to the outside. Grey throws her back in, Myles tries to move in on Grey but gets knocked down. Modified Angle Slam gets two. Myles is on the apron to distract Grey but Grey with a roll-up. Grey reverses and Dempsey chooses not to help — Wren wipes out Grey for the pin.

Winner: Wren Sinclair (4:13)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: As good as you can get in four-plus minutes. Wren joining the group and the Heritage Cup match is the important part here.

* We get an NXT profile on Je’Von Evans. He was told to go to college as a backup but it wasn’t for him and he got signed last year. Since then, he’s been a little crazy and wicked. He says Matt Bloom is the first guy he met and we get a Lord Tensai shout-out! We see a pic of Evans and Bloom, when Evans was a kid and Evans says they can cut the Tensai shoutout, right? He’s asked where he sees himself in five years and he doesn’t know, but he is growing up in front of our eyes so enjoy the ride.

* Oba is asked how his meeting with Ava went, and he said he’s defending the title next week against anyone. Tony D and the family cuts him off to hype his Heritage Cup match next week.

Set For Next Week:
– NXT Heritage Cup Match: Tony D’Angelo vs. Charlie Dempsey
– Eddy Thorpe vs. Lexis King
– NXT Tag Team Title Match: Chase U vs. Nathan Frazer & Axiom OR MSK

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Axiom & Nathan Frazer vs. MSK

Axiom and Lee start off, Axiom puts Lee on the mat and hits a wristlock. Lee flips Axiom and reverses the wristlock. Axiom breaks the hold and hits a dropkick, cover for one and he goes right into the headlock. Frazer with the blind tag, Lee kicks Axiom but Frazer with a roll-up for two and goes right into the wristlock.

Lee sends Nathan into the corner, he flips out and trips Lee, they trade covers. Into the ropes for lots of dodges and flips, Lee knocks Nathan down and puts him in the corner. He’s put on the apron but knocks Nathan down and tags in Wentz, who hits a Bronco Buster for WAY more than five. Lee pulls Nathan into a cover for two.

Nathan pulled off the ropes and hits an enzuigiri, Axiom tags in and hits a high crossbody. Wents knocked off the apron, Axiom sends Lee to the outside and Nathan dives onto him! Top rope springboard moonsault as we go to PIP break!

We’re back as Wentz tries to get a tag but Nathan blocks it. Wentz pushes Axiom into the ropes, moonsault and Wentz kicks him in the head on the flip! Hot tag made and Lee is in hot! He takes it to a tagged in Axiom and hits a leaping double stomp to the back, superkick in the corner and a takedown for two.

Wentz tags in but Axiom cuts him off and nails both challengers. Frazer isn’t in the corner and Wentz gets put up top. Frazer tags in, Spanish Fly and Phoenix Splash! Cover but Lee breaks it up at the last instant!

Axiom nailed by Lee, Frazer grabs Lee and Axiom goes for the superkick but Lee moves and Frazer got kicked! Springboard cutter from Wentz! Cover gets two-plus! Wentz tags in Lee — Hot Fire Flame! Cover gets two but Axiom breaks it up with a dropkick!

Wentz sent to the outside, Frazer puts Lee on the top and Wentz gets dropped off the apron. Frazer got a superkick on Lee, suplex and a superkick combo, cover gets two-plus. Golden Ratio does it.

Winner: Axiom & Nathan Frazer (10:33)
Rating: *** 1/2
Thoughts: I mean, we knew this was going to be ridiculous and it was in the best way. Would have loved the title change especially since they keep teasing a breakup between the champs, but maybe that means a Chase U win next week?

The Rascalz embrace in the ring after a show of respect from the champs. Lee then SUPERKICKS TREY! Wentz is shocked — and he gets low blow kicked! Lee tells Wentz he left him along and berates Wentz, then beats on him and kicks him out of the ring. Well, that was a choice but they had to do something to freshen Lee up. Trey grabs Lee and Lee throws him through the guardrail, then hits a charging knee to Wentz into the steel steps. The crowd chants “ASSHOLE!” as Lee walks off.

And with that, we’re done for the night!

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

The finish of this show is going to be a bit polarizing I expect, but NXT has done well with turning its babiest of babyfaces into hardcore heels so I'm hopeful. Either way, we had great matches throughout and some good storyline development for much of the roster. It was a very strong way to end the two-week event and I'm interested to see where the creative direction goes from here.