Jeremy’s WWE NXT Review 5.17.22

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Greetings and salutations, wrestling fans! It’s Tuesday evening, which means that it’s time for another episode of WWE NXT. I’m Jeremy Thomas, here as always, and tonight we continue on the road to In Your House early next month. The war between Santos Escobar and Tony D’Angelo reaches a new level as they meet in the ring, while Cameron Grimes & Solo Sikoa will team up against Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams. In addition, the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament will continue and The Creed Brothers get their rematch against The Viking Raiders as tension in Diamond Mine continues. Plus probably some Wendy Choo/Toxic Attraction silliness and Joe Gacy being culty; you know how it goes these days.

Here in the Thomas Den, I went on a splurge of movie watching over the past week. That includes the enjoyable documentaries Like A Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres and The Found Footage Phenomenon on Netflix and Shudder, and a rewatch of one of my favorite 2021 films The Night House which I discussed on the Check THIS Out! Podcast. (It’s still fantastic.) My Marilyn Monroe watch project jot a lot of work done as I watched the goofy fun of Monkey Business from 1952, the solid romantic dramedy Love Nest from 1951, and 1949’s largely-forgettable Love Happy. The weekend saw me watch the Firestarter remake on Peacock, which was abysmal, and I just today managed to catch one I’ve been wanting to see for a while, Everything Everywhere All at Once.

You guys, go see Everything Everywhere All at Once. No, really. It’s just about flawless.

Outside of the movies, I’ve most been working on catching up on Critical Role season three and have made some progress, but I still have quite a ways to go.

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 get a video recapping the start of the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament to start, as well as Cora Jade’s match against Natalya.

Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams vs. Cameron Grimes & Solo Sikoa

Melo cuts a promo in his entrance saying Solo needs to stop saying he’s got next, while Trick says at In Your House the NA Title comes back to where it belongs.

Melo and Trick try to attack at the bell but get taken out, Grimes kicks Trick down and Solo sentons him. Solo with stomps and kicks as Grimes goes outside. Bodyslam by Solo and another kick to the jaw, Solo batters Trick into the corner and Grimes tags in for his own kick. Solo and Grimes beat on Trick a bit, Grimes with a snapmare and diving kick, cover for two.

Wristlock by Grimes, Trick sent into the ropes and hits a kick on Grimes, shoulder tackle. Melo tags in, he gets an assisted sprinboard crossbody from Trick and covers for two. Grimes and Melo trading shots but Melo takes over, Grimes ducks under him and both men tag out.

Solo sends Trick into the corner and splashes him, he backs up and charges in for a hipsmash to the head of a seated Trick. Solo goes to to up top, Melo with a distraction and that allows Trick to hit a kick and then come off the ropes and drop Solo as we go to PIP break.

Back from break and Melo is wrenching back on a chinlock on Solo. He gets Solo on the mat and grinds in but Solo gets to his feet so Melo nails him. Solo fires back with a punch and sends Melo to the outside, but Melo trips him and comes up to the apron to jump in with a slingshot elbow.

Trick in now and he goes in for a splash, but Solo moves. Grimes in hot, he takes down Melo and then Trick. Forearm to Mello, and a double rana! He goes to the outside and kicks Trick from the apron, dodges a shot from Melo who was back inside then goes up top for a crossbody! He’s ready to go TO THE MOON! but Solo tags himself in. The miscommunication lets Melo and Trick take over and it devolves a bit into chaos. Melo nails Grimes but eats a spinning uranage from Solo! Cave In to Grimes, top rope splash by Solo for the pin!

Winner: Solo Sikoa & Cameron Grimes (9:58)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: An expectedly-good match to kick us off, as is the norm for NXT. Meloa, Grimes, and Sikoa are all great and Trick may be a step below them, but he did his part here just fine.

After the match, Solo snags the title from the ref and hands it to Grimes, who holds it up for a staredown with Sikoa.

* McKenzie are backstage with Pretty Deadly and asks them about their Tag Title match against the Creeds at In Your House. They pretend they’re terrified and can’t sleep before busting up laughing. Elton says they beat the Creeds in their first NXT match and dismisses the fact that it was due to the Gauntlet Match stipulation. Kip says they should see what the Creeds are like tonight after the Viking Raiders destroy them.

* We get a vignette from Thea Hill who has been signed to WWE. We get footage of her in her tryout and she says she’s pretty sure she was the youngest one there but just wanted to prove how much she wanted it. She can’t wait to start training — once she graduates high school next week.

Jesus Fucking Christ, I feel old.

NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Match
Lash Legend vs. Tatum Paxley

Lash charges in with a clothesline at the bell and covers for two. She hits a standing scissor kick and whips Paxley in the corner, she goes up and over but gets caught. Paxley with a rana into a headscissors, but Legend kips up and out. Diving clothesline by Paxley and another clothesline, cover for two.

Paxley tries to get Legend on her shoulders but she counters and knocks Paxley down. Legend goes out, grabs Paxley’s leg, and sends it into the ringboast. Back in and she charges, Paxley counters but gets knocked down. Legend with kicks to the leg and then a handstand leg snap. She grabs Paxley and goes into the ring ropes, working the knee and dropping down off the apron to snap it down. Cover for two.

Paxley with a headscissors, but Lash turns it into a stretch muffler. Paxley manages to sit up and rolls over for a sunset flip! Cover for two. Paxley fires off with punches and tries to lift Legend up to no avail. Suplex by Paxley, she hits a standing spinning moonsault for two.

Paxley ducks a roundhouse, goes to pick Legend up AGAIN but fails, scissors kick and cover for three.

Winner: Lash Legend (3:50)
Rating: **
Thoughts: Not great, but Legend continues to improve and Paxley did fine. The match was laid out a bit repetitively but otherwise it was solid for a four-minute bout.

* Tony D and his goons are backstage and Tony says Santos will have no one to blame but himself. His goons talk about how they’re going to do it, and the three of them reminisce about their past beatings on people on the street. Tony says tonight, he’s beating Santos alone. His goons are momentarily not sure, but Tony reassures them.

* We get an announcement that NXT is returning to the road with the first dates announced for Florida in June and July.

* McKenzie is backstage with Duke Hudson, and asks him what’s next. Duke says he doesn’t care what the NXT Universe wants and needs, and he took a few weeks off to clear his mind. He realized that no one can measure up to him, but his promo gets cut off as Bron busts through and heads to the ring. Poor Duke.

* Bron is coming out to the ring now with his title. Bron says the last time we saw him, he was dumped by Gacy into a field like a piece of trash. He says Gacy is convincing and has a couple guys doing everything he tells them to do. And he tells Joe that with all due respect, he can kiss his ass. He says that after the attack, he’s not just coming to beat him; he’s coming to put him unconscious.

Bron’s music plays, and Bron and his minions are on the elevated stage. Bron shuts him up and says he’s ready for anything Gacy has. He tells Gacy to get down to the ring but Gacy says it’s predictable and Bron has a tendency to lose his temple. He says their journey together isn’t over. Bron rejected the opportunity of a lifetime, but Joe doesn’t hold a grudge. He’s giving what Bron and all the people want: a one-on-one match. Bron says it’s done. Gacy says it’s time to up the stakes. He roughed up Bron’s father, dissed his family’s legacy, played with his mind and dumped him in the wilderness. Gacy says Bron should kick his ass and inflict new levels of pain. He says though if Bron loses control, he loses the title because it’s a title change on a disqualification. So the question is, how bad does Bron want it?

Bron says Gacy’s on.

* Indi Hartwell says she is tired of being down and she’s taking advantage of her being solo and having her biggest opportunity. So she’s challenging Mandy Rose. She’ll take Mandy’s measuring stick and shove it up her ass.

* McKenzie is backstage with Wes Lee and confirms that Xyon Quinn is not medically cleared again. Lee says that Quinn is ducking him and when he’s medically cleared, whenever that is, he knows where to find him. Nathan Frazer walks in and suggests a match between them, and Lee says it may not be the right time because he has a lot of pent-up aggression toward Xyon and doesn’t want to take it out on him. Frazer says he looks forward to the challenge.

Viking Raiders vs. Creed Brothers

Julius leaps over Ivar to start, nails Erik off the apron and then tags in Brutus. They knock Ivar out of the ring. Erik tags in and they take out Julius, Ivar with a bodyslam and Erik covers for two.

Erik with an anklelock on Julius and backs him into the corner, Ivar in and he nails him in the corner, then comes in with a shoulder block. Tag to Erik and clothesline by Ivar, cover for two by Erik. Julius manages to make the tag to Brutus, who lays into Erik and batters him on the ground. Release German suplex to Erik, Ivar in and gets picked up, set on the ropes and Julius dropkicks him to the outside! Brutus goes up top, BRUTUS BOMB and we go to break.

We’re back and Julius has Erik in a Million Dollar Dream. Erik tries to get over to make the tag but he gets whipped into the hostile corner, Brutus comes in and takes Erik down for a two-count. Brutus and Julius with quick tags to work Erik over, but Erik fires back and fights them off. He manages to make the tag and Ivar comes in hot, taking down an incoming Julius and splashing him in the ring. He knocks Brutus on the apron and flattens Julius with repeated shots in the corner, a splash against the bottom turnbuckle and cover for two.

Erik tags in, Julius nails him and goes to tag in Brutus. Fireman’s carry, Julius with a knee to the head followed by a slam to the mat, cover for two. Double whip into the riopes, Erik sends Brutus to the outside and tags in Ivar. He runs over Julius, Erik tags in and he gives Julius to Ivar who hits a bodyslam off the top! Cover for two, broken up.

Julius with a German suplex, he goes to catch Ivar who is up on the top but gets knocked down. BIG SPLASH but Julius moves! He rols Ivar up for two but Erik breaks it up.

All four men up now and getting hyped, they go into full brawl mode. Julius knocked down, Ivar knocked down, everyone’s done and Roddy and Damon Kemp try to interfere but Julius tosses him. The distraction lets the Raiders wipe out Julius for the pin.

Winner: Viking Raiders (12:46)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: A well-built match that escalated nicely was appropriately hard hitting. The Raiders getting the win makes sense.

Diamond Mine argues in the ring after.

* Santos Escobar is with Legado talking about how Tony D wants to be like him and he’s in Tony’s head. Like Tony, he says it’ll be one-on-one. Cruz is pissed and so is Wilde, who says that Tony’s goons will be out there no matter what they say. Elektra says never let emotion get the best of them and Santos reaffirms he’ll be going solo.

* Tiffany Stratton walks up to Grayson Waler backstage and asks him to take out Andre Chase. He says he will, talks her up, and says to pay attention as he does so.

* Moments ago, Bron Breakker was leaving when he’s asked if he’s playing into Gacy’s hands. Bron starts to go off on Gacy and Duke Hudson interrupts saying it doesn’t feel good, does it? Bron suggests a match tonight, and Hudson says next week.

Grayson Waller vs. Andre Chase

Sarray is sitting in Chase U’s section and is waving the flag.

Waller takes Chase down to start and then lays into him with knees, driving him into the corner. Elbow shot and a choke against the ropes for two. Chase into the ropes, ducks a clothesline and turns a hiptoss into a neckbreaker. Euro uppercuts by Chase and a shot to the gut, Waller fires back and comes off the ropes with a big kick. Mounted punches by Waller now.

Waller picks Chase back up, suplex blocked by Chase. He goes for his own, but Waller blocks too and then suplexes Chase. He kicks Chase in the head and grabs him for a whip into the corner, but charges into a back elbow. Chase with a knee and a sunset flip off the second rope for two, Waller with an immediate knee strike and two-count.

Waller picks Chase apart with kicks and shots, then gets Chase on his shoulder. Chase elbows out, ducks a clothseline and takes Waller down, then levers him into the corner. Inverted atomic drop, side Russian legsweep and Chase U stomps!

Waller manages to hit a big right hand and then charges Chase, who sends him over the top. Waller lands on Bodhi and Chase goes to check on Bodhi. Chase gets back in the ring, caught with the slingshot stunner for three.

Winner: Grayson Waller (4:13)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: As good as a four-minute match can be, Waller got the win as he should have.

* Gigi and Jacy is watching a promo from Katana and Kayden bitching about them. Mandy walks in and is angry about what Indi said about her, and they complain about how everyone’s disrespecting them. Gigi says they need to change that, and Mandy says it starts with Indi Hartwell.

* Diamond Mine is arguing backstage. Strong says they should be thanking him and there’s no way they can beat Pretty Deadly if they don’t follow his lead. The Creeds walk off and Roddy tells him to go after them.

Pretty Deadly come up and mock Roddy for not being able to show the Creeds how it’s done. Strong suggests himself and Kemp vs. the champs next week. They accept.

NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament
Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James

Roxanne with a waistlock, which James breaks and takes Perez down. Lockup, Kiana with a wristlock, sent into the ropes and shoulderblocks Roxanne down. Counterwrestling, which ends by a dropkick from Roxanne for two. Irish whipped reversed sending Perez into the corner, Perez with a neckbreaker and cover for two.

James locks in a surfboard and elevates Perez, but Perez rolls out into a cover for two. James sends Roxanne into the corner and spears her there, she grabs the legs and goes for a Boston Crab but Roxanne flips her out of the attempt. Kiana lays in some kicks and gets the Crab this time, Perez nearly gets to the ropes but she gets pulled back — Perez with a roll-up reversal for two.

My feed goes sketchy for a moment but Kiana with a backbreaker, and cover for two. Kiana sends Roxanne into a short-arm pull, but Roxanne turns it into a rana. Kiana goes for some shots but Roxanna fires back, and hits a Thesz press. Perez splashes Jiana in the corner, side Russian legsweep, cover for two.

They jockey for position, Kiana with a sidewalk slam and nearfall. Kiana runs into the corner, but Roxanne with the sunset flip bomb for three.

Winner: Roxanne Perez (5:10)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: It was a little rushed but not actively bad at any moment. Expected win for Rok-C.

* Malik Blade and Edris Enofe cosplay as Santos and Tony D and make fun of their confrontation when Stacks and Two Dimes walk up. Stacks says when they’re done playing make-believe, they can face the real thing next week.

* McKenzie congratulates Roxanne on her win and Cora runs in to celebrate. McKenzie tries to ask Cora about her match last week and she says it’s about Cora this week. Elektra comes in and says tonight is about Santos and next week it’s about Elektra when she takes out Alba Fyre. Cora asks Elektra what her problem is and Elektra says neither one of them are, then walks off.

Nathan Frazer vs. Wes Lee

The two lock up and we go into a wristlock, which turns into some counterwrestling between the two. Lee shot into the corner, he catches himself and goes up and over, they run the ropes and go with aerial dodges, nearfall by Frazer on a roll-up. Lee nearly kicks Frazer, who backs into the corner.

Lock back up, Frazer shot into the ropes, he goes for a superkick which Wes ducks, Frazer to the outside, Lee knocks him off the apron and dives onto him. Frazer gets rolled into the ring but he comes off the ropes immediately and dives onto Lee! Lee gets rolled back in, Frazer up top for a springboard but his leg gets caught by Lee, who hits an enzuigiri.

Lee chagre s in for a dropkick, Frazer moves, Lee gets put up top — Frazer up for a suplerplex, but Lee counters into a crossbody for two. Lee charges RIGHT INTO a superkick from Frazer! He goes up top, dives off but Lee dodges. They come off the ropes with a double high crossbody.

Both men slow to get up, Frazer is up AND VON WAGNER IN to big boot Frazer.

Winner: Nathan Frazer by DQ (4:23)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: Hey, these guys are pretty good. Who knew? Fake surprise aside, this was great until it ended at four and a half minutes in the latest attempt to get Wagner over. The ending really hurt this.

Wagner takes out Wes and picks him up, throwing him into the announcer’s desk from the ring.

* Tony is backstage with Stacks and Two Dimes before he begins walking alone. Santos talks with Legado before heading to the ring alone himself.

* Frazer and Lee are walking hurt backstage and Sanga walks up and says that was very unfair that two men of their size were beat up. Lee takes offense, and Frazer walks off. Sanga said he meant no disrespect, and Lee wants a match with him to prove he doesn’t have to be 10 feet tall to be successful around here.

Set For Next Week:
– Bron Breakker vs. Duke Hudson
– Mandy Rose vs. Indi Hartwell

Santos Escobar vs. Tony D’Angelo

They circle and jaw at each other before going into a lockup. Santos up against the ropes and eats a shot to the gut. They circle again, Santos with a waistlock and he controls Tony, who manages to get to the ropes and force the break but nails Tony as he backs up. Wristlock by Santos, stopped with a shot to the face, and Tony stomps Santos before laying in some punches on the ground. He grabs Santos in the corner, whips him across the ring. He lays in an elbow to the back of Santos’ head and hits a neckbreaker off the ropes, picks him up and drags the side of his head against the ropes.

Tony D captures Santos’ head and hits some uppercut shots, he comes off the ropes but eats an enzuigiri and goes to the outside. Santos comes off the ropes for a dive but Tony D with a big shot to the side of the head. He puts on his hat and mocks Santos as we go to PIP break.

Back from break and Tony has Santos in a seated abdominal stretch. He switches into a dragon sleeper, into an inverted DDT for two. Stomp to Santos a gut shots against the ropes. He comes off the ropes, but Santos with a big dropkick and then a leaping side kick that sends Tony outside. Santos DIVES onto Tony on the outside!

Santos grabs Tony and tosses him into the ring steps, then rolls him into the ring. He follows to the apron and leaps into a slingshot senton. Santos with a boot choke against the bottom turnbuckle into the ref hits four, he picks Tony D up and works the shoulder, dropping him back to the mat. Santos with a shoulder submission including a knee on Tony’s neck. Tony manages to get to the bottom rope though.

Santos charges in with a basement dropkick to Tony’s shoulder. He hits a single-arm DDT for two. Standing shoulderlock to a seated Tony, Tony manages to get around to his knees and Santos showboats, which lets Tony fight back and get free. Elbows off the ropes by Tony, belly-to-belly suplex and a release overhead belly-to-belly to follow it up. A third follows and Tony is fired up, he grabs Santos’ leg but Santos kicks free and escapes to the outside — Tony grabs him and pulls him onto the apron. He tries to suplex him in but Santos blocks it and Tony gets on the top. Santos follows — TOP ROPE RANA!

Both men down now, the crowd is chanting “HOLY SHIT” which screws with the sound. Tony goes to get his crowbar out of the hiding spot, but Wilde and Cruz got it. The goons come out and attack, Santos with a brass knucks shot to Tony and gets the pin.

Winner: Santos Escobar (12:49)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Decent main event. D’Angelo is acclimating okay to a main event spot and while the right guy got the pin in Santos, I think it was well laid-out. The expected shenanigans didn’t happen in a way that hurt the match at all.

Gacy is outside somewhere and says that we all know Bron has rage and he won’t be able to control his anger next week or at IYH. And his lack of control will grant Gacy full control of the NXT Title — AND THE WORLD. Dramatic zoom out and we’re done.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

All in all, this was a pretty decent episode. Yes, there was some iffy stuff; I do not understand what WWE sees in Von Wagner and their attempts to get him over aren't working. And the Gacy stuff isn't working as well as WWE seems to think. But while nothing burned the house down, the wrestling was mostly really solid and the newer talent is developing well. Not a must-see episode, but not a waste of two-hours either.