wrestling / TV Reports
Jeremy’s WWE NXT Review 11.7.23
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Hello everyone, and welcome to our live WWE NXT coverage right here on 411! Jeremy Thomas as per the usual, and tonight NXT (still on USA Network for now) kicks off its Iron Survivor Qualifying matches! We’ll see Fallon Henley battle Tiffany Stratton for a spot in the women’s Iron Survivor match, while Tyler Bate faced Dijak for a spot in the men’s match. We’ll also see Von Wagner battle Bron Breakker in a chance for revenge after Breakker beat the breaks off of Robert Stone last week, Noam Dar defending the NXT Heritage Cup against Akira Tozawa, and the first appearance of Lyra Valkyria as NXT Women’s Champion. I’m sure we’ll get some follow-up on Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes’ situation as well. Should be a fun show!
Here at Thomas HQ, I’ve stayed busy in my movie-watching as I did my yearly Samhain watch of Trick r’ Treat, which I unabashedly love. I also watched the delightful teen comedy Bottoms, as well as the latest Kenneth Branaugh-directed Hercule Poirot film in A Haunting in Venice which was perfectly fine. Expend4bles, on the other hand, shot right into my top 10 worst films of 2023 list with a bullet. I found myself enjoying the hell out of Saw X, which gave the franchise a jolt of new life. The new Liam Neeson action-thriller Retribution wasn’t good but was at least a step in the right direction for him. Finally, I watched the 1968 drag queen documentary The Queen which I heartily recommend for Crystal LaBeija’s absolute read at the end. And the new holiday slasher maship It’s a Wonderful Knife was a fun little flick; you can check out my full review of it here.
On TV, I’m watching Drag Race UK season five and The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula season five, both of which remain a delight. And in comics I’m going back to do some non-X-Men catching up, which means I finally finished out Marvel’s King in Black event (it was okay but not great) and finished up Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk run (which is amazing).
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 start off with a recap of last week’s Hallowen Havoc night two with Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn having fun, Meta-Four being tormented by Akira Tozawa, Lola Vice winning the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Title match, Bron beating up Stone and Von Wagner returning, Dominik retaining the North American Title but Wes Lee returning, Trick costing Melo the NXT Championship and Baron Corbin attacking Ilja.
* We’re LIVE in the Capital Wrestling Center and kicking off with the NXT Heritage Cup match!
Heritage Cup Championship Match
Noam Dan vs. Akira Tozawa
Round One (0 – 0)
Circle and a lockup, Dar with a takedown and waistlock. Tozawa turns it into a wristlock, they fumble a bit for position and Dar snaps Tozawa’s arm against his shoulder. Tozawa with a takedown, but Dar with a bodyscissors and elbows to the head. But Tozawa is holding into the ankle until Dar gets a two-count.
Tozawa lays in the fists, shot into the ropes and a roll-up for two. Dar into the ropes, he holds on and then kicks Tozawa’s ankle out from under him. The crowd chants ‘YOU STILL SUCK!’ Tozawa reverses a suplex with 45 seconds left and Tozawa charges in, he goes up and over, superkick and he goes up but gets distracted by Meta-Four. He walks over to the Cup, Dar goes after him but gets hit with a back suplex. Dar with a superplex as the round ends.
Round Two (0 – 0)
Dar with a leg kick, Tozawa catches the follow-up and takes him down. Dar goes for a knee bar but Tozawa rolls him up; Dar with a roll-up reversal for the pin! And he hits a cheap shot after the bell as we go to PIP break.
Round Three (Dar 1 – 0)
Round three took place during the PIP break and had no pin. Dar lays in attacks after the bell and Meta-Four and Alpha Academy hit the ring.
Round Four (Dar 1 – 0)
Dar attacks right at the bell and hits a belly to belly suplex. He hits a diving clothesline for two. Dar talks shit to Alpha Academy and grabs Tozawa for an anklelock. Tozawa flips through and sends Dar to the outside, then dives on him. And then he dives on Ora Mensah for good measure! Dar pushes Tozawa into the ring post and goes for a superkick but Tozawa ducks. Tozawa with an anklelock in the ring, Dar taps!
Round Five (1 – 1)
Tozawa with a Helluva Kick and another right at the bell. Back suplex slam, cover gets a nearfall. They dodge kicks but Dar hits a shot to the jaw for a two-count. Dar pulls himself to the corner and gets up, Tozawa is up and hits a rana, cover gets two. German suplex by Tozawa for two as well.
Dar grabs Tozawa’s foot and is trying for the kneebar, but Tozawa pulls him up for a delayed German suplex. Spinning kick, Tozawa goes up top — he kicks Mensah and goes for a senton but Lash pulls Dar to safety. Dar back in, Nova Roller gets three.
Winner: Noam Dar
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Good enough match to start it off. I hate how these matches invariably have a full round lost to the PIP break, but as it went this was solid. I never thought for a moment Tozawa would win, but that’s fine.
Mensah manhandles Tozawa after and he gets slapped by Maxxine! Gable with a German suplex, and Otis with a splash off the ropes! Meta-Four pull Ora to safety.
* We get the video of Mick Foley announcing the Iron Survivor qualifying matches for this week.
* Lola Vice walks into the locker room with Elektra Lopez and tells Kelani, Arianna and Karmen that they are part of her history. Kelani says Lola should share the contract with Elektra for helping her win. Elektra says Kelani is just jealous. Roxy comes in and says that the title doesn’t guarantee a title and she shouldn’t make enemies out of the locker room.
* Lyra Valkyria is here! She has the mic and soaks in the chants for a moment before saying that she never dreamed it could happen the way she did, but she is our NXT Women’s Champion! She says whoever it was who said not to meet your heroes never met Becky Lynch, because she’s a true legend. But she didn’t just meet her hereo, she beat her. She defeated an icon and the Women’s Title is around her waist. They both brought it, and she’ll remember how the fans made it feel like magic and they showed the world what a main event Women’s Title match is all about. She says she made her dream come true but she’s not the only one with that dream, and that the NXT women’s locker room is full of people hungry for her title.
Xia Li is here! She comes through the crowd and Lyra asks to let her through. She asks if she can help Xia, and Xia asks if Lyra say what she did to her hero last night. Lyra says she saw it, just because Becky said if she wanted a championship she would win one. Xia says she plans to take Lyra’s, security goes to break it up and Xia kicks one of them into oblivion. Lyra looks down for the match.
* We get a vignette for Tyler Bate where he says he comes across chilled, but don’t mistake that for a lack of intensity because he’s laser focused. The Iron Survivor is something he can sink his teeth into and he’s tired of living on the past. He says Dijak is dangerous but he’s slain many a giant in the past. Namaste, boys and girls.
* Fallon is hyped for her match and Briggs & Jenson ask if she needs them. She says no, and that Tiffy time is over. It’s her time now.
* Chad Gable says they knew tonight wouldn’t be easy, and he had two matches in two days. Tozawa says he wants it now, and Maxxine says they’ll be back next week to be on Superstar Sessions. Drew Gulak walks in and asks what happened to Gable, he’s with this group? He talks up his people, Charlie says the Heritage Cup should be off limits to people like that and Otis writhes his hips. Chad shushes everyone, and it turns into a Gulak vs. Otis match.
* One of the refs walks out of HBK’s office, and says that Michaels has instructed him to use his discretion in the match between Wagner and Bron. Jacy Jayne walks into HBK’s room in the background.
Iron Survivor Qualifying Match
Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley
Lockup to start, they jockey against the ropes and shove each other. Tiff pulls Fallon down, but Fallon slaps Tiff and knocks her down. Off the ropes, she slides under Tiff’s legs and goes into a Boston Crab in the center of the ring. Tiff is able to crawl to the ropes though, and then bails to the outside.
Fallon drops to the floor but gets nailed by Tiffany. Tiff rolls Fallon in and goes up top, but Henley cuts her off. Up top, superplex! Fallon covers for two. Henley into a single-leg crab, Tiff crawls to try and get to the ropes but gets yanked back to the center of the ring. Tiff eventually gets to the ropes, and Fallon slides under to the outside for an uppercut as we go to break.
We’re back as Tiff and Fallon trade shots in the ring. Fallon with a waistlock but Tiff elbows out. Double headbut, Fallon with a waistlock slam and a cover for two. Fallon with a backslide for two, and Tiffany takes over, hitting a bodyslam. Fallon up top for a crossbody but Fallon grabs on and rolls through — she DROPS Fallon through the ropes to the floor!
Tiffany sets Fallon up in the ring around the ringpost and works the knee against it. Fallon with a kick to get free, Tiff in and gets rolled up for two. Stratton with a sitdown powerbomb to get two.
Tiff wraps up the knee and backbends into the submission, but Fallon slips free. Kick and elbow to the head, Fallon with a couple shoulder tackles and clotheslines. Charging back elbow, Fallon off the ropes for a leaping facebuster for two.
Tiff with a diving dropkick cuts off Fallon’s momentum. Fallon into the ropes, she goes up but ends up on Tiff’s shoulders. Rollihng slam, Tiff with the moonsault but Fallon rolls through. Tiffany takes back over and hits the Prettiest Moonsault for three.
Winner: Tiffany Stratton (10:26)
Rating: ** 3/4
Thoughts: Decent match with okay psychology. Fallon has made progress in her ring work but Tiff was the star here and she showed it.
* Wes is with McKenzie, who dances with him and welcomes him back to NXT. She asks why he came back, and he said he couldn’t stop himself if he wanted to so he backed off but he’s back. He has a whole list of things to do and on top of the list is smack Dom and get the title back.
Corbin comes in and mocks him, saying no one cares. Wes asks if he’s fighting for relevancy and Corbin says he could do what Wes did, or he could beat up Ilja. Wes suggests he beat Corbin himself, and Corbin says him and Ilja will have something in common: failing. Wes says he has something else to add to his list.
* Bron is asked if he’s concerned and he says the only person to be concerned about is Von Wagner. He’s going to make a statement tonight.
* Dijak says Mick Foley picked him because he has the grit to survive Iron Survivor, and the only thing he has in the way is Twinkletoes Tyler Bate.
Bron Breakker vs. Von Wagner
Von goes after Bron at the bell, beating him in the corner and slamming him into the next corner before knocking him out of the ring. He comes out and sends Bron to the steps, Bron leaps up and off into a big boot.
Back in the ring and Von is beating Bron with a ten-count in the corner. He goes up to the second rope with a clothesline, and Stone asks him if he’s alright. That distracts him enough for Bron to hit a big knee to the head. Bron batters Von in the corner but Von fights out — right into a double leg takedown and punches. Bron with a waistlock — German suplex.
Northern lights release suplex from Bron and THE STRAPS ARE DOWN! Bron with the Steiner Recliner! Von fights through and stands up, running into the corner and breaking the hold. Bron with a right hand and Von is hulking up! Von with fists to the head, into the ropes and a leaping lariat. Double underhook suplex, and then a splash in the corner. Big boot off the ropes! Bron on Von’s shoulder but he slips down — off the ropes but Von with a leg lariat for a nearfall.
They’re out of the ring and Von is clearing the announcer’s table. Von grabs Bron for a powerbomb but Von escapes and sends Von face-first into the steps. Low blow by Bron behind the ref’s back. Bron goes after Stone and picks him up, but Von saves him. Bron spears Von! Rolls back in the ring, Bron lies in wait — SPEAR! That’s three.
Winner: Bron Breakker (5:24)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: As good as this was gonna be considering the time. Von winning would have been the wrong choice, but he looked more solid than usual here.
Stone with a chair to Bron’s back after the match and Bron is pissed. Stone lures Bron out to the booth and Bron manhandles him — Von is right behind! Kick to the cut — powerbomb through the table! Stone and Von embrace.
* McKenzie is with Carmelo Hayes and asks about Trick’s return. We see the recap of Trick coming back and distracting Melo, then the stareoff that essentially ended the show. Melo says he was shocked his boy returned after such a brutal attack. He says he didn’t attack Trick and he saw Trick’s reaction and knows Trick is listening to all the outside voices thinking he attacked him. He says he’s going to anwer Trick face to face tonight.
* The Brawling Brutes have heard OTM’s story and they grew up on the streets too, just different ones. If you don’t scrap, you died and they’re the ones standing tall. A decade running through people. Butch says he was running through adult men as a teenager. Ridge says they have different principles; they don’t run up on people’s backs. They’ll see them next week.
Before the tag match, Arianna Grace comes out as Miss NXT and says she looks forward to the four showcasing their talents. She takes a seat in the entrance.
Lola Vice & Elektra Lopez vs. Roxanne Perez & Kelani Jordan
Roxy and Elekta start off, Roxy with some shots before Elektra picks her up and slams her down. She raps Roxy in the ropes and manhandles her, Lola with a cheap shot kick through the ropes and a tag, pin for two.
Roxy takes over from Lola with a wristlock. She slaps Lola a couple of times in the chest, tornado armdrag and Kelani takes in, she takes Lola down and covers for two. But Lola puts Kelani in the corner and takes in Lopez who knocks Jordan down, elbowdrop gets two. Lola tags back in, Lopez with a boot choke and then Lola with a hip smash. Lola sends Kelani into the ropes, but Kelani with a high cross body.
Roxy tags inand takes Lola down, but Elekta tags in, wipes out Roxy and tags in Lola. High-Low gets a two-count and Vice drags Roxy to the corner, tag in Elektra for a double hip smash. Lola talks trash but Roxy back with a Russian legsweep. Jordan tags in, she takes out Lola.
My feed went wacky, when it’s back Lola hits a spin kick to Roxy Lopez tags in but Roxy takes over, Pop Rocks to Lopez! She dives onto Lola on the outside, Kelani with the split-legged moonsault for three.
Winner: Roxane Perez and Kelani Jordan (4:41)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: As good as a match this long can be.
Arianna Grace interrupts the win announcement and says the true winner is all the fans. Karmen Petrovic attacks her and tells her to shut up.
* Joe Gacy is talking about how the voice in his head has gotten louder and louder over the years. People would judge him, call him the weird guy and the maniac. But this is how he was built. The people he surrounded him with kept the voice in check but now he’s in his own personal hell and he doesn’t know what to do — but maybe he does.
* Ilja talks about how he used every gram of energy to beat Melo last week and was very drained. Melo is a warrior, and he looks fondly back on their battles. But as he turned the corner, he got dropped by Corbin. He says Corbin saw a window of opportunity and took it, but his eyes are the window to his soul so take a look because Corbin’s on his radar. They’ve met before but with the title on his shoulder, he’s a different animal. He tells Corbin the only thing that can slay the dragon is the dragon himself. Corbin isn’t worried though, as he says backstage.
Drew Gulak vs. Otis
Gulak takes over early on and locks in a headlock, but Otiz powers out and hita a clothesline. Otis with belly slams to the head and a shoulder charge to the gut in the corner. Whip across the ring, he charges but Gulak moves and Otis hits the ringpost, spilling to the outside.
Otis back in the ring and Gulak charges with a back elbow, then a clothesline off the top. Cover gets two but Otis powers out. Gulak with a wristlock into a gogoplata and traps the arms. Otis pushes Gulak on his back for two, then picks him up for a one-armed powerbomb.
Gulak charges in but Otis catches him and drops him with a back suplex. off the ropes, Otis with a roll and takedown. He hits some spinning back elbows, whip across the ring and avalanche, big clothesline. Otis tears the shirt off and preps — WORM! Otis with a pop up powerbomb for three.
Winner: Otis (4:22)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: Again, as good as a match like this can be given the time. It was an Otis match, what more to say?
* Kiana congratulates Tiff backstage, and she says she gets to sit back and relax, find out who’s next. Kiana says she’ll qualify and Roxy won’t. Tiff says they can’t let anyone new or established knock them off their post. Like Fallon or Roxy. They say it’ll come down to them.
* Jacy is pacing in the Chase U office ranting about Chase not scratching her back. A trio of sketchy folks come in and hand her a letter for Mr. Chase, and walk off. Jacy opens it but Chase takes it before she can read it. He yells at her but Thea and Duke come in and talk about how they’re becoming close. Jacy says they were just talking about their match last week and says Chase and Duke have their first tag title defense next week. Chase cancels class, everyone leaves and Duke reads the envelope, which makes him unhappy.
Iron Survivor Qualifying Match
Dijak vs. Tyler Bate
Bate leaps on Dijak at the go and comes off the ropes, but gets knocked down. Dijak lays in strikes to Bate, whip across the ring. He charges in but Bate with a knee to the dome and off the middle rope with a Euro uppercut for one-plus.
Bate keeps the pressure on and kicks Dijak in the head, he goes for it again but Dijak blocks it. Bate onto his shoulders, he slides down and ranas Dijak through the ropes. Bate off the ropes and dives onto Dijak on the outside! Dijak crawling up against the guardrail, Bate leaps at him but is caught. Dijak with a backbreaker before tossing Bate over the guardrail as we go to PIP break.
We’re back as Bate hits a BIG superplex on Djiak! Bate with headbutts to Dijak and they start trading shots. Dijak batters Bate but Bate with the Bop & Bang and a second. Dijak with High Justice, cover for a nearfall.
Dijak is up and lying in wait, he goes for the swinging elbow but Bate ducks and hits him up for the ride! He slams Dijak down for two. Bate pulls himself up, Dijak is unsteady, swing and he misses but Bate goes down. Bate with a shot — Dijak with a kick! Bate off the ropes with a lariat, cover gets two. Bate grabs Dijak but gets suplex tossed across the ring!
Dijkak up top, he’s going for a moonsault? Bate leaps up — superplex but Dijak lands on his feet! BIG boot to Bate, cover gets almost three! Dijak goes up, Feast Your Eyes, Bate lands on his feet and hits some shots, Tyler Driver 97, Dijak counters. Bate with a kick to the head and leaps at him — Feast Your Eyes gets it.
Winner: Dijak (9:45)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: With these guys you expect a badass match. I don’t think this hit their potential, it was laid out a bit start-stop but they made it work for the most part and it was very good on the whole.
* Trick Williams has arrived in the parking lot! The face to face is next.
* Lita, Mick Foley, Jerry Lawler, and JBL are going to be picking the Iron Survivor Qualifiers. Lita’s picks are next week.
Set For Next Week:
– NXT Tag Team TItle Match: Chase U vs. Tony D’Angelo & Stacks
* Melo is in the center of the ring and says let’s cut to the chase. This is bigger than the title, it’s about his friend and brother so let’s talk about it. Trick comes out with a mic and prepares to speak, but Melo says he understands why Trick’s upset. He got blindsided and his opportunity was taken away. But roadblocks are part of the journey. He says he called Trick and shared his championships and glory with him. Without Trick there’d be no Melo.
Trick says over the last two years he did nothing but put Melo first. Every title Melo won, he felt happy. He took all the beatdowns and more to make sure that Melo didn’t miss. Melo says they were like Shaq & Kobe or Jordan and Pippen.
Trick says what about now when Trick has the ball and the shots? Why can’t Melo be with him that way. Or better question: the question he needs to know. Did Melo — Melo says ‘Did I do what?’ He says he believed him him before all the Whoop That chants, when the NFL didn’t work out. Everything Cena told him, Melo told him months ago. He had the potential for greatness and to be a once in a lifetime performer. Does that answer his question?
Trick says he wants to do his own thing, have his moments and main events. Why can’t Melo see that? Whenever Melo needed him, he had his back. He put everything into the entrances and more. But where was Melo when he needed him? He didn’t see what happened, and Melo wasn’t there. Melo says he didn’t see what happened? Trick didn’t, and the only voice he heard was Melo’s as he was put in the ambulance.
Melo says he didn’t see who attacked him? Trick says what’s his mind at? It’s what Melo wants, what Melo everything. So let’s clear the ice: did Melo attack him? Melo says ‘You want the truth?’ He starts to speak —
And here comes Lexis King? Lexis says they have quite the paradox. The friend who was brutally assaulted, and the first man at the scene of the crime was his best friend? Melo says shut his mouth and mind his business, and Trick says the same. Lexis says everyone seems to know who did it, but it could have been someone new, trying to make an impact, with thoughts so twisted and unclean. He acts Trick if he’s sure it was Melo?
Trick says he won’t tell him again to get out of here. Lexis taunts him more, Trick swings and Lexis ducks. Trick hits Melo! Lexis bails, and Melo is pissed. Trick offers the hand, Melo takes it. They embrace but Melo looks unhappy.
And with that, we’re done for the night!
