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Cook’s WWE NXT Review 5.19.26
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Hey kids! Steve Cook here with you for the latest edition of WWE NXT on the CW! We’ve got all kinds of things scheduled for tonight, but none bigger than the in-ring debut of the most talked-about man in sports entertainment, Mason Rook. Lots of opinions out there about the guy, I think it’s time we saw him get in the ring and show us what he’s got. Speaking of in-ring debuts, Tristian Angels also makes his NXT debut, based off the one match I saw him in on AAA I expect he’ll do well. We’ve also got two championship matches, including Lizzy Rain challenging Tatum Paxley for the Women’s North American Championship. Sounds like a good time to me!
If you already subscribe to the 411MANIA Wrestling Newsletter, earlier today you received some of my thoughts on AEW media rights drama, Brock Lesnar’s return & TKO sportswashing. If you don’t already subscribe, do so right now! Yes, before we get to the show because if you’re like me you won’t remember to do this a minute from now.
Cook’s WWE NXT Review 5.19.26
Then. Now. Forever. Together!
We’re in Orlando! DarkState is WALKING! Vanity Project is WALKING! Lizzy Rain is WALKING! Tatum Paxley is WALKING! Vic Joseph & Booker T are our hosts!
Tony D’Angelo & Myles Borne vs. Mason Rook & Kam Hendrix: Kam has some interesting posing before Rook’s entrance theme cuts him off. Kam & Myles start. Kam with a couple of knees and an elbowblock to Myles. Runs into an elbow in the corner, Myles works himself into a powerslam for two. Suplex avoided, Kam off the ropes and runs into a dropkick. Powerslam by Myles gets two. Tag to Tony, a judo throw and a clothesline. We see Tavion Heights watching backstage as Rook tags in. Forearms & punches are exchanged. Big chop from Rook, Tony avoids the Samoan Drop and runs into Rook. Rook runs him over and splashes him in the corner a couple of times before hitting a standing senton for two. Tony runs the ropes, hits a couple of forearms, Rook avoids the suplex, avoids a German suplex, Tony with some forearms and a tag to Myles. Double back suplex by Tony & Myles, Kam gets sent over the top rope. We go to Non-Stop NXT!
Kam & Mason work over Myles during the first part of the break. Kam sends Myles face first into the turnbuckle, but Myles fights back and clotheslines him. Tag to Tony, double elbowblock gets two. Kam hits a shot to Tony’s throat to get the upper hand. Clotheslines in the corner in front of Rook, who tags in. Mason hits the bodyslam, cover gets two. I feel like that shouldn’t have been during the commercials. Mason with some chops, Tony fights back with clubs to the head. Myles tags in, they can’t double vertical suplex Rook but he can take them over. Chinlock by Rook as we return full screen.
Myles avoids the bodyslam and sends him into the corner, where Mason hits Tony. Tony takes offense and ends up distracting the referee for a double team on Myles. Double elbow, then a splash by Mason gets two. Booker yells at Tony to break it up, he just stands in the corner. Kam with another nearfall. Kam with a big boot, as looking at the gear here I think Kam & Myles should be the tag team. Vertical drop by Kam gets two. Tag to Rook, he hits a spinning Blue Thunder bomb for two. Myles avoids the double vertical, both Kam & Mason miss in the corner and Tony makes the tag. German suplexes to Kam. Spinebuster on Kam! A spear gets two, Mason breaks it up with a senton. That caught a bit of Kam too, doesn’t matter, Mason tags in. Tony powerbombs Kam and Cactus clotheslines Mason to the floor. Tony goes for a spear but hits the steps instead. Mason joins them outside and Myles dives onto him. Tavion Heights appears to attack Kam, but sends him into Myles! That leads to a DVD in the corner and a powerslam by Mason! Kam tagged Mason before the powerslam and steals the three count on Myles.
Winners: Mason Rook & Kam Hendrix (12:04 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***
Match result was never really in doubt, they seem to have plans for Mason & Kam and needed them to go over in some form or fashion here. Mason seems more popular with the live audience, so Kam getting the pinfall in dubious fashion made sense. I thought Mason looked good, but I’m not sure he did enough to turn the haters around just yet. He could get there.
Kam celebrates, Mason stands behind him and stares while Tavion does some emoting on the outside.
DarkState talk about how they have the chance to be three-time Tag Team Champions. They’re locked in. They’re going to get back to doing what they do, striking fear in people’s hearts. When DarkState strikes, ain’t nobody safe.
Kelani Jordan beat Kendal Grey last week, a distraction involving Lola Vice & Izzi Dame played a little bit of a role.
Speaking of Kelani Jordan, she makes her way to the ring after a commercial break. Cut her music! Can somebody tell her what a girl has to do around here? She walked in the PC doors, and in 9 months she was a main event player in NXT. Last week she beat Kendal Grey, somebody you think should already be in the Hall of Fame. She’s better than all those *something* on Raw & SmackDown. She’s better than Blake, Sol and anybody else in the locker room right now. She made Lola Vice tap out, that alone should have put her in front of the line. She’s never even gotten a chance to go after the NXT Women’s Championship, she had to sit back & watch all these women that are half as athletic and gifted fumble opportunities left & right. Potential is for girls still trying to figure it out and she’s already done that. It’s her time to get a title shot, everyone’s grown too comfortable overlooking her. She’s the most underrated woman in the locker room.
Izzi Dame complains about Kelani trying to jump the line. She booted Lola’s head off last week. Get your ass in back of the line! Lola Vice tells them to stop wasting everyone’s time. They both have wins but she won when it mattered. Kelani talks a lot but she couldn’t handle Lola’s fists. Izzi thought she was going to get away with attacking her last week? Next week it’ll be Lola vs. Izzi. Kelani will be next in line after that. Kendal Grey walks out and immediately gets cut off by Kelani. Kelani says she isn’t going to wait after Kendal to get a title shot, and Kendal says that Kelani won’t even be getting close to the NXT Championship.
Wren Sinclair attacks Kelani from behind with her crutch! Not exactly sporting of her, but it’s not like we can stay mad at Wren. Lola knocks Izzi out of the ring! Lola dances while Kendal looks at her.
Sean Legacy & Dorian Van Dux talk about Sean’s loss last week, and their match next week in the Speed Tournament. Romeo Moreno & Noam Dar walk by. Noam tells Romeo not to be nervous out there against Tristian Angels. Romeo says he’s been learning a lot from watching Noam, and would like him to be out there for his match. Noam agrees.
Vic & Booker throw us to a clip of Busted Open Radio on Thursday where Nattie was talking some stuff about Jaida Parker. Layla Diggs says that Jaida runs her mouth about everyone, so what’s the difference? Layla looks up to Nattie and points out a couple of losses Jaida had recently. Jaida says she’ll drag Layla’s ass next week.
Tristian Angels vs. Romeo Moreno (w/Noam Dar): I think I heard King Booker make a brief appearance to talk about Angels during his entrance. Romeo go-behinds Tristian and takes him down twice before Angels slaps Moreno and takes him down before getting slapped while talking stuff. Dropkicks by Moreno. Elbow in the corner, but Tristian hits him in the back and double stomps him down. Vertical suplex gets two. Backbreaker by angels. Shiloh Hill is in the audience shaking hands and carrying a Mr. NXT sign while wearing a top hat. Meanwhile, Romeo hits a big dive on Tristian on the floor! He celebrates with Hill as we go to commercial.
We return to some shots exchanged. Clothesline by Romeo. Backwards roll into a kick in the corner, then he goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for two. Shiloh still having fun in the crowd. Angels hits an enziguri & backstabber for two. Fans are behind Romeo, Angels with a kick, goes up top and gets knocked off. Romeo goes up and hits a double stomp to the back for two. Angels rolls outside, blocks a kick from Romeo and trips him on the apron. He hits a modified Rocker Dropper with the knee to the back of the head for three!
Winner: Tristian Angels (4:59 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
What I liked hearing most here was that both these guys are 23 years old, so they’re only going to get better. That’s a scary thought, as they’re both already very competent at the job. I didn’t really care for the Hill in the crowd stuff, but it did serve the purpose of making sure the fans were into two guys they might not be, so I’m not too mad about it.
Angels says he hopes Hill enjoyed from the crowd since that’s where he belongs. Hill claims he outclasses Hill, Angels calls him a disgrace. Hill says he’s started his campaign to be crowned Mr. NXT and takes a fan vote. He found a picture of Angels wearing a grey top hat, and Angels is embarrassed. Hill says one more time for him and one more for the bumbling buffoon. Hill & the fans’ opinions aren’t valid, they can’t understand real beauty. Hill will pay dearly for trying to ruin his perfect in ring debut. Shiloh laughs as Tristian leaves.
Lola & Tatum talk about Izzi and how they have challengers left and right. Myles & Tony walk up and Tony tells him to take care of his boy Tavion. The champions agree that no one will take their titles. After Tony wishes them all luck & they leave, Naraku tells him that EVIL will strike when he least expects it and walks off.
The Culling talk about how they’ll be facing OTM next week when Izzi faces Lola. Shawn Spears got them the match, and Niko Vance & Izzi aren’t happy about it. Shawn says they can kill two birds with one stone next week and it could be a massive night for them. Apparently Niko & Izzi can’t multi-task. Kids! (They are kids compared to Spears, right?)
Women’s North American Championship Match: Tatum Paxley (c) vs. Lizzy Rain: Tatum takes Lizzy over with an armdrag, then works a wristlock. Lizzy gets out and they shake hands for the sake of sportsmanship. Tatum works a headlock on the mat, Lizzy with an armwringer, Tatum takes her down. The fans chant for both these women as they do some mat wrestling. Some gymnastics, they criss-cross the ropes, Tatum cartwheels out of a move and dropkicks Lizzi down. Rain on the floor, she catches Tatum, goes back in and hits a dropkick through the ropes as we go to Non-Stop NXT!
Lizzy rolls Tatum in the ring and works her arm. Tatum fights back, hits a butterfly siplex for two and locks in a rear chinlock. Lizzy tries to fight out but Tatim holds on. Lizzy kicks her way out of it, sunset flip rolled through by Tatum, she goes for a Boston Crab and locks it in. Lizzy powers out of it, but Tatum goes back to it, sinks it in better this time. Well for a little bit anyway. Lizzy to the apron, shoulderblocks Tatum, goes for an O’Connor Roll.
Tatum gets out as we return to full-screen, Rain misses a clothesline & Paxley hits a cross-body. Kali Armstrong is watching backstage as both women are down. Lizzy & Tatum exchange strikes. Lots of forearms, then chops. Double clothesline knocks both down. Tatum with a kick, Lizzy misses one, they both hit kicks. Lizzy with a clothesline and another. Pumphandle throw by Lizzy, some chops in the corner as the fans chant to make it rain. Running Samoan Drop gets two for Lizzy. Lizzy goes for another kick through the ropes, Tatum meets her with a dropkick this time. Cemetery Drive is blocked, headbutt & kick exchanged. Tatum gets Germaned, she pops up. Lizzy with a flying headbutt and Tatum falls outside. Back in the ring, Tatum caught on a kick, leads to a series of near-falls, Tatum finally hits the Cemetery Drive for the three count!
Winner: Tatum Paxley (11:38 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***
I really liked this! Both women can get it done on the mat, as they displayed here. A nice face vs. face match with no real hostilities from time to time isn’t a bad thing from where I sit.
Tatum helps Lizzy up and they embrace until Zaria appears and attacks both! F-5s for Lizzy & Tatum! Zaria grabs the North American Championship and poses with it. I guess Kali should have stood closer to the ring, she might be in line for a title shot instead of Zaria.
Kendal & Wren talk about what happened earlier. Wren feels bad about the distraction last week, Kendal insists it was no big deal. Robert Stone says that Wren can’t be hitting people with crutches, and she isn’t cleared to compete. Wren begs to be allowed to compete next week if cleared, and Stone agrees. Like I said earlier, you just can’t get mad at or say no to Wren Sinclair. Impossible!
Tate Wilder vs. Keanu Carver: I just now realized we have a “Tate” & “Tatum” on the same show. I hope I have an easier time with remembering that than Lizzy & Izzi. Hell, put them together and call them the Taters, why not? Keanu tosses Tate onto the apron, Tate tries a sunset flip but Carver responds with headbutts. Up & over in the corner, Tate lands on his feet on a backdrop, then Keanu goes for a sleeper. Tate maneuvers Keanu to the floor, then hits an Asai moonsault. Keanu jumps up to the apron behind Tate and bounces him off the ringpost. Keanu beats Tate down, then throws him back into the ring. Keanu with some forearms to Tate. Big German suplex by Keanu. Wilder is bleeding around his left eye, that can’t be fun. Some shoudlerblocks in the corner by Keanu, whip into the corner and an elbow. Short-arm clothesline by Carver, Wilder fights back briefly, kicks Carver, goes up top, hits the missile dropkick. Sling blade by Carver. Shoudlerblocks by Tate, Carver misses a shoulder in the corner and then gets sent back outside. Wilder jumps on the steps and into a DDT on Carver! Carver rolled into the ring, Wilder up top, hits the frog splash but doesn’t cover. Carver yanks Wilder off the top rope, hits a pounce and then hits a suplex into a driver for the three count!
Winner: Keanu Carver (5:40 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **
Bit of a styles clash here, as both guys excel at very different things and aren’t quite at the point where they can blend well together. I don’t think either guy is bad, though Keanu might need to loosen up a little bit. I dunno how Tate feels about taters.
My Spectrum feed decides to buffer at this point. When we come back, Myka Lockwood insists to the Vanity Project that she’ll take care of the DarkState members at ringside. Probably won’t be much of a problem for her, to be honest.
OTM talks to Shiloh Hill and signs his petition to make Tristian mad. BirthRight have a different opinion on the matter. Charles Dempsey talks about how Shiloh embarrasses himself and the whole business each week, and offers to teach him a wrestling lesson next week.
Sarah Schriber is in the ring with Kam Hendrix to talk about his accomplishments earlier tonight. He already put himself in the record books, and now everyone will know why they call him Showtime. He’s here to be number one, and he issues a challenge to Tony D’Angelo before Mason Rook and his music cut him off. Mason doesn’t like Kam taking credit for their win earlier tonight. The people saw it earlier, and Kam wouldn’t be out here making challenges if not for him. Kam tells Mason he better get with it, it’s every man for himself! This leads to Mason attacking Kam and DVDing him into the turnbuckle.
Next Tuesday: Lola vs. Izzi! Sean Legacy vs. Dorian Van Dux in the Speed Tournament! Wren Sinclair vs. Kelani Jordan!
NXT is going to Pikeville, KY, Corbin, KY & Evansville, IN in June!
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Vanity Project (Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes w/Jackson Drake & Myka Lockwood) (c) vs. DarkState (Dion Lennox & Saquon Shugars w/Cutler James & Osiris Griffin): Dion & Saquon attack right away before the bell rings. Dion in for DarkSate early, he eats a spear from Smokes for two. Baylor tags in, Lennox slams him and tags Shugars. Lennox with a big shoulderblock for two. Frequent tags for DarkState, then a little miscommunication to keep people interested. Shugars gets taken down, Smokes tags in to get hip tossed. Running shoulderblock in the corner, Lennox tags in & hits one of his own, Dion with a kick to the face for two. Shugars tags in, Smokes with a cheapshot to get the upper hand, that doesn’t last long, Dion takes Smokes over and then hip tosses Shugars on him. Saquon & Baylor tag in, Baylor gets catapulted to the floor. Shugars with a kick through the ropes, Smokes comes in and gets punched down by Lennox & Shugars. Vanity Project recovers on the floor as we go to Non-Stop NXT!
Vanity Project takes control during the commercials, they take turns stomping Dion in their corner. Dion makes the tag, Saquon dumps Baylor out of the ring, misses Smokes in the corner, and Baylor & Smokes do the double team to get back on top. Smokes keeps Shugars from making the tag.
Baylor gets punched in the chest as we return. Saquon avoids Baylor in the corner and ends up outside. Smokes tries to spear him and hits the barricade instead! Baylor misses with a clothesline and Dion gets the tag. Dion suplexes both Baylor & Smokes & kips up. Powerslam to Baylor gets two, Smokes breaks it up and gets tossed outside. Dion ends up outside, Saquon hits a diving kick to Baylor, rolls up Smokes for two. Backslide gets two. Saquon & Smokes exchange shots/ Saquon win, but Baylor attacks. Dion hits a sitout suplex, Saquon comes off the top and they get a two count. Saquon goes up top, but Smokes breaks up the attempted move. Dion clotheslines both men down. Saquon has a conversation with Jackson while Myka gets in the way and the other DarkState members hold Saquon back. Dion hits a big move but doesn’t know that he’s not the legal man after Saquon tags him. His spinebuster doesn’t count, but Saquon getting rolled up for the three count sure does, and the Vanity Project retain the Championship.
Winners: Vanity Project (11:29 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
I could be completely wrong, but it feels like some of these main events have to be sped up at the end to get everything in, including post-match stuff like we’ll see here in a minute. I thought this was decent enough, Vanity Project make for a good team and hopefully they’ll have a nice long reign with the titles.
DarkState has a conversation afterwards that leads to Osiris & James attacking Saquon! They stomp him down to the mat. Dion punches away on Saquon as well! Spinebuster to Saquon. Saquon smacks Dion, and Osiris & James take him outside. They toss him into a powerbomb from Dion through the table! Looks like DarkState is down to three members as the fans chant obscenities and our live event comes to an end. So long for now!
If you’d like to chime in with your own thoughts on tonight’s show, feel free to join your fellow 411 Maniacs down in the comment section! As the legendary Larry Csonka always said: Have fun and don’t be a dick. When I’m not here you can catch me on social media from time to time. To be honest, e-mail is a better option and you can reach me at [email protected].
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