Cook’s WWE NXT Review 9.1.26

Hey kids! Steve Cook here with you for the latest episode of WWE NXT on the CW! We saw some big matches at Heatwave and we’ve got some big matches coming up, so let’s go!

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Cook’s WWE NXT Review 9.1.26

Then. Now. Forever. Together!

Vic Joseph & Booker T are our hosts, and we look back at Heatwave. Zaria won the unification match. Vanity Project took the Tag Team & North American Championships. Jaida made Nattie tap. Kelani beat Kendal. Grayson took the Men’s NXT Championship.

Kelani Jordan is WALKING! Shiloh Hill is WALKING!

Zilla Fatu makes his way to the ring. He wanted to be the next champion, he didn’t get the job done. Tristian Angels cuts him off. All these people are bored of him already. Zilla proved he’s not the one ready to be on top of NXT. Tristian runs Zilla down, he’s not ready to be a champion. Zilla cuts Tristian off and issues a challenge, this seems to be a match suited for later tonight!

Naraku mocks Shiloh Hill for thinking he understands the darkness of the mist.

We see Myles Borne trying to justify his attack on Tavion Heights on social media. Not a compelling argument from where I sit.

Shiloh Hill vs. Naraku: Hill takes Naraku down right away. Naraku shoulderblocks Hill down. Hill with a shoulderblock. Naraku sends Hill outside. We go to commercial!

We return and Shiloh fights back. Naraku with elbows in the corner. Big chops from Naraku. Shiloh fires back. Pump kick by Shiloh. Suplex by Shiloh gets two. Naraku hits a stun gun, Shiloh keeps fighting out. Double clothesline sends both men down. Naraku mists his own hand, places it on Shiloh and gets the three count!

Winner: Naraku (5:51 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **
The first part of the story. I’m not really sure what that story is leading to, but I assume this is leading to some stuff.

Earlier today, Sean Legacy/DVD & Noam Dar/Romeo Moreno talked themselves into a tag team match.

Noam Dar & Romeo Moreno vs. Sean Legacy & Dorian Van Dux: Moreno & DVD go back & forth, hit some moves. Dar & Legacy exchange some shots. Legacy with a big clothesline. DVD with a legdrop on Dar, Moreno with an overhead suplex for two. Ankle locks send Legacy & DVD outside. Legacy & DVD reverse and hit some dives, and we go to commercial!

DVD flipping around, hitting a rana and a moonsault for two. DVD & Dar fire away. Dar goes for the armbar, Romeo hits a DVD & Legacy breaks the hold. Legacy dives onto Dar. DVD hits a dive. An assisted sliced bread gets two. Dar hits Romeo, which leaves him prone for a knee. Dar reverses a 450 into a rollup for three!

Winners: Noam Dar & Romeo Moreno (7:24 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/4
After the 8 man tag last week I expected something like this to determine a team for the Tag Team title shot. Moreno has been featured lately and Dar has been an NXT staple for years so it makes sense for them to get a shot at Vanity Project.

The Creed Brothers are back and attacking these fools!

Robert Stone asks Zaria which title she will choose. Zaria wants the North American Championship. BirthRight is very rude. Cruz Montana shows up to make a request. Keanu Carter shows up to make a similar request but also back up Montana.

Kelaini Jordan is WALKING! We’ll hear from her next!

Keliani Jordan is in the ring and reminds us that she’s One Shot Lani. She earned it. Kendal was in over her head at HeatWave. Kelani runs down all of her accomplishments and says that no one will take the title from her.

Jaida Parker comes down to the ring. She says that Kelani deserves the title, but she wasn’t the only one that called her shot at Heatwave. Jaida tapped Nattie’s little ass out, and she’s earned her way up to a title shot and she’s already beat Kelani. Kelani congratulates Jaida on her win, she’s still three levels below, she’ll give her a title shot but not tonight, she’ll see her next week! OK. I can dig that!

Thea Hail vs. Nikkita Lyons: Thea attacks Nikkita right away and gets some near falls. Nikkita drops Thea and hits a catapult on the ropes. Nikkita fires away and tries to make Thea humble. Nikkita runs into a headbutt. Thea hits an exploder. Running blockbuster gets two. Nikkita hits a German suplex for two. Thea gets a quick rana for two. Thea goes for the Kimura, Nikkita suplexes her over. Vader Bomb misses. Thea backwards cannonball off the middle rope gets the three count!

Winner: Thea Hail (4:16 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **
It’s been nice to see Thea featured again and I assume this will be leading to a big match for her on a PLE.

Vic lets us know that Kendal Grey suffered from vertigo during her last match and she’s out for the foreseeable future.

Mason Rook vs. Kam Hendrix: Rook attacks Kam during his entrance. Rook misses in the corner and gets punched outside. Hendrix works Rook over in the ring. Rook fires back. Hendrix fires a punch for two. Kam sits on Mason. Suplex blocked. Rook hits a crossbody. Clotheslines from Rook. Blue Thunder gets two. Kam rolls through a driver attempt for two, a Showtime kick gets two. Kam exposes a turnbuckle. Kam is sent into it and backdropped. A sit-out powerbomb gets the three count for Mason!

Winner: Mason Rook (4:36 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **
We’ll probably see another match between these two pretty soon. I get the dynamic, some think Kam looks like a million bucks & Mason looks like a penny. Hopefully the third match will be more satisfying than the first two.

Sarah Schrieber is with Tavion Heights. He feels betrayed. He’s lost the first championship he won here, and what hurts the most is his friend stabbed him in the back. The Vanity Project shows up and talks some smack, Tavion challenges Jackson to a title match and Jackson seems open to it and will pitch it to Stone since he has little respect for Tavion.

Zilla Fatu vs. Tristian Angels: Angels is the perfect heel to feed to Fatu in this situation. Zilla gets the advantage early, Angels takes over and stomps away on Zilla. Angels is sent outside, and Zilla hits the dive! Zilla gets crotched on the top rope, then sent outside. We go to commercial!

We return and Zilla takes the offensive. Urunage & a senton gets two. Backstabber by Angels gets two. Angels misses a kick and gets Samoan dropped. Zilla hits a flying forearm for the three count.

Winner: Zilla Fatu (5:25 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **
As much as they’re pushing Zilla right now, he needed the perfect person to lose to him, and I’m very high on Tristian Angels as the perfect heel to lose to people so that was the right choice.

BirthRight makes their way to the ring to recruit Zilla. They mention the Bloodline and how it’d be easier for him with them. Zilla says Hell No. Not like he needs any of those guys on his side, I have to agree with that decision.

Next Week: Kelani vs. Jaida! Jackson vs. Tavion!

Robert Stone is in the ring to introduce the new NXT Champion, Grayson Waller! Robert was happy to have a Bonafide superstar on top of his brand. He’s main evented Raw & SmackDown and traveled the world, he won a title at WrestleMania, but this means more than all of that. He has one person to thank, which is him. He’ll get back to the Raw & SmackDown GMs when it’s convenient. He teases matches with Zilla Fatu & Cruz Montana. Cruz is TNA good. He buried Tony D.

Saquon Shugars makes his entrance and insists he’s rattled some cages. Grayson points out he’s wearing half a shirt, then Cruz Montana comes out in the crowd. Cruz asks what’s good, and points out he wasn’t beaten at Heatwave. EK Prosper comes out and he’s swinging for the fences! Mason Rook is here for his shot, and so is Tony D’Angelo! Robert Stone says they’re not doing this now. Keanu Carver comes out and pitches a six-man tag for the main event next week. Not sure what the teams will be, but I assume we’ll see it next week. 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]. I’ll be more likely to respond there.

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

This was one of those weeks where we got a lot of full commercial breaks and it was probably the right choice. We're setting up for some big matches in later weeks, hopefully Kendal is ok but whenever vertigo is mentioned I get worried. The folks featured on this show did the best they could and I respect the effort.