411’s WWE LFG Season Three: Episode One Report

-Source: A&E
-Run Time: 46:04

-LFG is back for a third season and we have two new coaches this time. I have enjoyed this show for what it is, once I realized it wasn’t going to be the original Tough Enough. I think they show will work better with the Taker Family dynamic gone, but we will see.

-Then! Now! Forever! Together!

-We start at the PC and Shawn Michaels thanks Booker T and Bubba for coming back for LFG. He tells them it is time to get back to basics. He notes Taker is down in AAA and talent is being pulled in different directions. He wants to do away with the points and teams. Sweet! He wants to get back to training the individuals and notes call ups can happen at anytime. They need people in the pipeline ready to go and they need people ready for NXT TV as quickly as possible. Yeah, because there may be a day when NXT gets raided to fill out the rosters after a bunch of people get released. Just a hunch!

-Show opening with Matt Bloom, Nattie, Kevin Owens, Bubba, and Booker T credited. I appreciate they are getting rid of the teams and points for the teams.

-We meet Matt Bloom, who is the head coach and VP of talent development at the WWE PC. He has been head coach for almost 11 years. He goes over the various gimmicks and says he had an amazing career inside the ring, but a better time outside the ring.

-Joe Tess is our narrator again, so not everything is changing. He talks about Kevin Owens and how he is going to pass on his wisdom while recovering from energy. KO doesn’t know what he would do with himself if he could’t be around wrestling. He is losing his mind as he has been off nearly 9 months due to his neck surgery.

-Nattie next and she says the PC is a machine and you have everything you need to learn. She wants to pass what she learned on to other people. She wants these kids to be what they can and wants them to connect to the audience.

-Elijah Holyfield is back and is coming off a torn bicep. Harlem Lewis also returns and he could be the next Evolve Champion for those that have been following every Wednesday on Tubi. Check out my reviews! He was the runner-up last season and says it is not about winning anymore. Yeah, this is different!

-Bloom meets with his four trainers and says they are dealing with talent that is on the on deck circle. They first match is Nikkita Lyons vs. Kali Armstrong! My Evolve kids! He wants Bubba working with Big Cat Kita! She has been finding her way back from injury.

-Booker gets to work with Kali Armstrong and she has been a star on Evolve where she was the first Evolve Champion. She was knocked off my Kendal Grey. Kali is great and is basically hanging around Evolve to do a program with former LFG winner, Tyra Mae Steele.

-Next match is Keanu Carver vs. Drake Morreaux. Bubba gets to work with Drake and he is obviously familiar with him. Matt says Drake is in sink or swim territory. They all like Drake and need him to put things together.

-KO gets to coach Keanu Carver who is a monster. I thought he would be Evolve Champion at some point, but has been up in NXT. It is just dawning on me now that all this was filmed months ago before the Evolve stuff aired. So, this could be tricky for me keeping things straight.

-Our Main Event will be Kendal Grey vs PJ Vasa. Kendal is awesome and even Dave has noted she is the future of the WWE’s Women’s division. Blood puts Kendal over huge and the big thing for her is if she can handle the pressure. Nattie gets to coach her and Booker gets PJ (who was known as P Nasty in the past).

-We meet Nikkita Lyons and she was on NXT before the injury. She tore her ACL and pretty much everything else in her right knee. The rehab took 10 months and we see some footage from that. I partially tore my ACL and PCL and had rehab for months and it sucked. Can’t imagine 10 months.

-Bubba wants to know if she is fearful and she says she is confident in her knee. Bubba wants to get her back and better than she was. They develop a secret handshake. I am already liking the way this show is running.

-Kali Armstrong ran track at USC and was a Three Time All American. She ran professionally and had a world record as part of a sprint relay. She tells Booker it is an honor and has been looking forward to this moment. She is ready to showcase what she has been learning. Booker tells her the playbook is important but the playbook is not for her and is for the other person.

-Kali was excited to have the match with Lyons as they are both fighters. She knows they are going to war tonight. We see them get last minute advice from their coaches. Bubba tells her to relax and let it rip. She jokes that Bubba has a lion in the cage as he music hits.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Kali Armstrong

-Vic Joseph and Jeremy Borash are on commentary like the first two seasons. Booker and Bubba are watching on a minor in the back. Lyons mocks Kali to start and gets caught with a dropkick. Lyons hangs on to avoid another one and drops the split leg drop. She gets some ground and pound and hits a leaping forearm in the corner. She works over the body and I need to note they are working in what looks like the Evolve Arena with a limited crowd. Kali gets sent into the corner and flips up and back where she walks into a super kick. Reverse Bronco Buster from Lyons as someone in the crowd yells “Six Seven.” That will annoy my son. Spin kick from Lyons as she has been dominating this one. Kali counters a whip to the corner by jumping to the top and coming off with a cross-body. She hits a powerslam for a two count. Suplex but Lyons delivers a knee to break that up. German Suplex and Pearl River Plunge gets a two count. Lyons goes for the mounted punches in the corner, but Kali brings her out with a powerbomb. KALI CONNECTION but Lyons hits a sick roundhouse kick to counter. Awesome! Lyons up top for a Vader Bomb, but Kali brings her down with a powerslam and now she hits The KALI CONNECTION (Pounce) for the pin at 4:15.

Winner: Kali Armstrong via pin at 4:15
-These two know what they are doing and they would have rocked it if given more time like they get on Evolve. This was just a taste and it was solid. **1/2

-Booker and Bubba are impressed. Booker sees star appeal in both women. Bubba tells Lyons they could have sold a little longer, but is impressed. Again, this coach is already better than what we got the first two seasons. He tells her not to distract from Kali while she is making her entrance (she was dancing) as it is a common courtesy. She understands and thanks him.

-Before our next match we see Keanu and Drake working in the ring with Booker and Bubba watching. Bubba wants to see Keanu throw a good punch and Keanu says he has a better punch than anyone here. He then refuses to throw one and Booker tells him he won’t make it in this shit and storms off. Booker: “you don’t know shit”

-Carver tells us played college football at Temple and got into a fight with his coach, so he quit. He went home and did Uber Eats to make money.

-Drake goes over to see Bubba and Bubba is still annoyed by Carver. Kevin Owens goes over to talk to Carver and he asks where he comes from. KO laughs as he tells the producers he just wanted to know where the kid is from and he started talking about fighting with his college coach. He tells Carver he has to figure out what is more important to him: speaking your mind or the job. It can cost you, if you speak your mind too often.

-Bubba tells Drake that there are a lot of eyes on him because he has been in development so long. Albert says the clock is ticking on Drake. I assume he wasn’t part of the releases because he is on this show. Drake says it is time to put up or shut up.

Keanu Carver vs. Drake Morreaux

-Lockup and Carver talks trash and Drake responds. As noted, Drake has been part of the previous two seasons. While it’s good exposure, you don’t want to be on this show every season. Drake struggles to get a slam and Bubba is pissed. Drake misses a splash and Carver lands a right hand to the ribs. He drops Drake gut first on the top rope with a release suplex. POUNCE from Carver. Not as impressive as the one Armstrong hit in the earlier match. Drake lands a knee in the corner and they seem a little off sync. KO: “With two guys that size, it’s never very physical.” KO needles Booker about looking at the punches Carver throws. They are kind of stinking the joint out here. Carver talks more trash and that fires up Drake. He hits a running boot and things are picking up a bit now. Discus lariat. Another one gets the pin at 4:00.

Winners: Drake Morreaux via pin at 4:00
-The last 30 seconds worked, and that’s really it. *

-KO and Bubba agree that Drake seemed to save everything for the last 30 seconds.

-KO wants to be honest with Carver and says they both looked too light. “You have to work this like it is SummerSlam.” He wants the offense to match the look. Carver is receptive and thanks KO. Owens is happy with the way he received the feedback.

-Bubba tells Drake that it was too light. “Lay it in. Dive into the swamp and fight the alligator with your bare hands.” Lot more F bombs in the series this year. It kind of works because the show seems less over produced now and getting back to just working in the ring and coaching.

-We meet Kendal Grey and she is awesome! She crushed it on Evolve and is now in NXT. She will be the future of the Women’s division. She meets with the coaches and says she feels the story is her fighting underneath.

-We meet PJ Vasa and Booker struggles as he keeps calling her by her former name. She wanted a P name and didn’t like Paradise so they went with PJ. It seems Vasa means ocean. Booker says she has a lot of pressure on her to perform at a high level because she is a veteran of this show. Bloom calls Kendal a generational talent. Yep!

PJ Vasa vs. Kendal Grey

-This is our Main Event and gets the full NXT Arena treatment complete with a full crowd. These two had a wonderful Street Fight at Succession II. No clue if that match was taped before this one or not. Lockup to start and Kendal uses her quickness. She tries to grapple, but PJ picks her up and gets a slam. The crowd loves Kendal! Vasa misses a charge in the corner and Kendal throws strikes. She avoids a splash and uses her speed, but gets caught with a Samoan Drop. Kendal rolls to the floor as PJ plays to the crowd. PJ follows and runs Kendal back first into the ring apron. Once more! They are really pushing the idea that anyone can get pulled for this show and moved to NXT. Back in the ring PJ finally hits the corner splash and gets a side suplex for two. Chokeslam but Kendal slips out and sends PJ shoulder first into the post. Grey throws elbow after elbow to get PJ off her feet, but nearly gets caught with another Samoan Drop. Kendal slips out and uses the momentum off the ropes to get a German Suplex. Nice! Superkick and another! She comes off the second ropes, but PJ catches her with a goozle. Kendal counters into a Flatliner for the pin at 3:42.

Winner: Kendal Grey via pin at 3:42
-The women crushed it this week! Kendal is just so smooth and this worked, like their Street Fight because it’s an easy story to tell. PJ was the monster and Kendal fought from underneath. Good stuff for under 4 minutes just like the opener. **1/2

-Shawn and Bloom were watching in the back and Shawn pulls Kendal over huge. He meets her after the match and tells her she is going to NXT ASAP.

-Kendal says she is so excited for the chance and her future. Shawn tells her this is her launching point and now it is all up to her. Yeah, she didn’t need to be on this show long. I assume they just wanted her to show that someone can get called up that quick. Kendal is awesome!

-Nattie and Booker are pleased with PJ and Kendal. PJ is happy for Kendal and says she deserves to be on the NXT roster. She’s happy to say she was the one that pushed Kendal up.

-We see Kendal sign her NXT contract! Again, Kendal is awesome!

-We get preview of what’s to come and there are a lot of familiar faces. There are also some people that were just released, so that’s awkward.

-This is the type of show I wanted. The new format works better and I like that they dropped the team competition aspect. Just give us these kids that are looking to get better and learn and have them work with legends. I am sure, like anything else on WWE TV, they are showing us what they want to see and I still think Kendal was there just because they wanted to show us that someone can get called up at any moment. This should be fun and anyone who has followed the past two season and follows Evolve will see a bunch of familiar faces. Sadly, this will be the last time we see some of these faces.

-Thanks for reading!