wrestling / TV Reports
Jeremy’s WWE NXT Review 6.21.22
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Hello there, NXT people! It’s another Tuesday evening, and that means it’s time for another episode of WWE NXT. I’m Jeremy Thomas, ever-present, and tonight we continue on the road to Great American Bash. We already know that Cameron Grimes will face Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship in two weeks at the special episode of NXT, and tonight Grimes battles Edris Enofe. Meanwhile, Carmelo Hayes will put his newly-won NXT North American Championship on the line against Tony D’Angelo while Von Wagner’s path of destruction is headed toward Brooks Jensen. Finally, Grayson Waller will take on Solo Sikoa and Alba Fyre will face off with Lash Legend. Some of those matches have a lot of potential, so here’s hoping for a fun episode tonight.
Meanwhile here at Thomas HQ, I had some family stuff that kept me from watching too many things. That said, I did watch the okay if not thoroughly engaging Price Is Right documentary Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much on Netflix, as well as Father Stu which was better than I expected thanks to strong acting across the board. I also checked out Watcher which was a great, unnervingly thriller that did exactly what it set out to do. On the downside, I was disappointed in Netflix’s Spiderhead which has solid performances but a script that intentionally avoids touching on its themes in any depth and thought the 1988 Ozploitation folk horror flick Kadaicha had some good moments but is too constrained to really stand out.
Outside of those, I’ve been watching a lot of Dropout.TV where the show Dirty Laundry is a bit of a blast in terms of nerd-celeb game shows. I also began watching a bit more Dimension 20 and have been enthralled by season seven, the Fantasy High spinoff The Seven. If you enjoy D&D actual plays like Critical Role I can’t recommend Dropout.TV enough — and after the free trial, it’s not at all expensive at just $4.99 a month.
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.
* Earlier today, Melo and Tony D arrived. And we’re kicking off with Solo vs. Grayson! Waller cuts a promo talking about how he’s sick about hearing about Solo and says we should be talking about him, the greatest first-gen talent in WWE history. He says the fans love Solo because they’re solo in their lives and says he’s sick of censoring himself on the mic, so it’s time to say what he really thinks about Solo and everyone here: first of all — SOLO ATTACKS.
Solo Sikoa vs. Grayson Waller
Solo beats on Waller on the outside, slams him headfirst into the apron and then follows to do the same into the announcer’s desk. He’s rolled in and the bell rings. Waller swings but Solo blocks it and clotheslines him, then headbutts him and hits a kick to the chest of a now-downed Waller. Shot to the head as Waller gets to his feet, bodyslam and then a diving headbutt off the ropes for two.
Waller hits a kneelift to turn the tide and lays into Solo, then slams him into the turnbuckle but Solo no-sells. Waller swings, blocked, and Solo sends Waller into the turnbuckle. He grabs Waller, hits a back suplex and then sends him into the corner. Waller stopps himself and hits a back elbow, Solo picks him up on his shoulders. Waller grabs the turnbuckle which comes off but gets knocked to the mat. Solo with a big chop to Waller and then stomps on his chest.
Solo sends Waller into the corner, Waller stops and goes up and over but gets run over. Off the ropes, big clothesline from Solo, cover for two.
Waller is battling back but gets knocked down from a shot, big chop from Solo. Shoulders to the gut in the corner and solo backs up, charging into a boot by Waller but Solo runs him over anyway with a clothesline. Kick to the spine and a shot to the head. Waller with a stomp to the feet, Downward Spiral by Waller. He grabs Solo and tosses him to the outside, showboats and comes off the ropes into a diving clothesline — ducked by Solo, who hits a clothesline and we go to PIP break!
We’re back with Waller back in control, with a sleeper locked in. Solo backs him into the corner and then judo throws him off. Waller into the ropes and ducks a clothesline before a leg lariat gets a two-count. Waller with a measured shot to Solo’s head and another to the back. He grabs Solo and nails a DDT, covers for two.
Waller picks Solo up and nails some kneelifts before dropping him to the mat. He goes up to the second rope, walks out to the middle of the rope but takes too much time and Solo nails him, sending him to the outside. Solo out and he runs over Waller, then rolls him in and runs him over again. Jabs to Waller and a splash in the corner, he takes aim and charges in for a hip smash to the head. Solo grabs Waller and gets him up, but Waller escapes to the apron and hangs him out. Diving Stunner to the inside but Solo catches him and drops him! Solo goes up top, but Waller rolls away so he drops down. Superkick from Solo, he charges in but Waller moves and Solo hits Chekhov’s Turnbuckle. Rolling Thunder Stunner from the outside gets the pin.
Winner: Grayson Waller (12:19)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: Hot match to start it off, these guys work great against each other. The ending was telegraphed by the turnbuckle, I don’t know where either of these guys are going next is my only issue here.
* McKenzie backstage with Tony D and his family. Tony says it’s a big night for his crew as Legado has a chance to get on his good side by beating Strong and Kemp and he’ll get his first taste of gold. McKenzie asks about Legado’s joining the family and Tony says there have been some growing pains. He asks Santos if they’ll prove their loyalty and Santos gives a sus as hell response.
* We get a vignette about the “winds of change” blowing in NXT 2.0 with someone talking about if they’re going to leave the penthouses of Dublin, it has to be for a good reason. It’s JD McDonagh (aka Jordan Devlin).
Katana Chance & Kayden Carer vs. Yulisa Leon & Valentina Feroz
Kaden and Leon start off and Kayden answers a dance move with a big dropkick and then a superkick, cover for two. Leon comes off the ropes and flips over Carter, gives a dance and knocks Carter down. Feroz atgs in and sends Carter into the corner, Carter given a Snake Eyes. Leon tags back in and takes Carter down for two.
Carter and Leon start trading shots, Carter takes over and tags in CHance. They trip Leon, slingshot senton by Chance for one. Leon is able to roll Chance up for one, and she goes for an awkward knee submission but Chance gets to the ropes. Carter tags in and hits a facebuster on Leon, she lays in the knees repeatedly and whips Leon into the corner. Stiner splash, Chance tags in and hits a crossbody, Carter with a dropkick, cover for two.
Chance with a kick sequence and cover for two. Carter tags in and locks in an elbow submission. Leon fights out and goes for the tag but gets grabbed by Carter. Enzuigiri, Feroz tags in and she armdrags Carter, then belly-to-bellies Chance into Carter. Cover on chance for two. Leon tags in, Irish whip, she lifts Chance into an elevated facebuster. Cover but Chance makes the save. Double suplex attempt by Leon and Feroz, Chance slips down and hits a double neckkbreaker. CChance into the ropes, Carter tags in, kick to Feroz and she falls over for a cover, Leon breaks it up.
Carter with a superkick to Feroz, she goes up top as Carter grabs Feroz, 450 splash for the pin.
Winner: Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (5:26)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: The match was good for the time it got, but these two have traded meaningless wins so much that I have difficulty caring too much about it to be honest.
* Wes Lee is out to the ring now to speak. He’s looking upset and says he thanks all the fans, noting it’s a blessing to still get the love from them. We get a “YOU DESERVE IT” chant and he thanks everyone. He says this is very much needed especially after the last three months he’s had. He says he’s gone from the highest of highs to possibly the lowest of lows — from being two-time NXT Tag Team Champion, reigning supreme with his best friend and brother, just to have their world explode right from under their feet.
He says he wears his tears proudly because while his world had crumbled beneath his feet, all he found was pain and anger. And it consumed him to the point he wasn’t acting as himself, and he apologizes. He was trying to prove himself from Xyon to Sanga and show Wes Lee can stand on his own two feet and do what he needs to do —
And here comes Trick Williams. Trick tells Wes to shut up and says no one wants to hear how lonely he is and his brother exploded or whatever. Trick says maybe the truth is Wes left his brother behind and isn’t the friend he pretended to be. Wes says Trick has no idea how he was there for that man and no idea the way they had to rise together to get to that point. And he gets Trick won’t get that because he’s just remaining second fiddle to his homeboy. He asks if Trick has any hype left for himself, and he’s waiting to find out what it is.
Trick says we work on his time and when he’s ready he’ll let him know. He’ll do what all Wes’ old friends did to him and just leave. Look, anything that gets Trick and Wes some direction of their own is good, and that could deliver some great matches.
* Tiffany says we’re going to be here a while if we want to know what she thinks of Wendy Choo. She says Wendy is tragic and says to look at her style and how she carries herself versus Wendy. She asks if we think Wendy has has taken first place in anything, has been in a gym or even knows a Jim. She does blame Wendy for costing her a match, and warns Wendy to stay away from her.
Roderick Strong & Damon Kemp vs. Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro
Wilde and Strong start off and Strong slams Wilde down, then rips his glove off and works the shoulder. Wilde backs Strong into the ropes, Cruz tags in, takedown and a moonsault for two. Strong tags in Kemp, who grabs Cruz and rolls him around they ring, they jockey for position and Strong yells at Kemp Kemp walks over and gets SLAPPED!
Kemp is pissed now and runs over Cruz, then suplexes him. Wilde comes in and gets belly to bellied onto Cruz. Kemp grabs Cruz and carries him to the corner, Strong tags in and chops Cruz. Cruz dives past Strong, tags in Wilde who comes in hot and takes out Strong. Kemp in but gets nailed in the corner. Wilde goes for splashes but gets caught by Strong and hit with a backbreaker, then Kemp with a clothesline.
Wilde fights back against Kemp but gets grabbed into a swinging bodyslam. Wilde counters Kemp, tags in Cruz and Strong tags in as well. Cruz goes wild on Strong, BIG kick in the corner and he goes up top for a front dropkick, cover for two.
Cruz with a waistlock but Strong elbows out, sidewalk slam for two. Wilde and Kemp are in but quickly go out, Cruz slides out of a suplex and nails Strong. Big leaping kick! Strong sends Cruz into the ropes, Two Dimes backswings with a crowbar and trips Cruz with it. Big kick by Strong finishes it.
Winner: Roderick Strong & Damon Kemp (4:48)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: Good for the time it got.
* McKenzie is backstage with Giovanni Vinci. He says he’s the most supreme athlete in NXT and send a message in style. He knows Bron, Tony, and everyone was watching and knows a premiere athlete walked in with style. Ikemen Jiro walks up and mocks him, seemingly setting up a match.
* We get a new vignette of Apollo Crews writing in his journal talking about how you have to confront your fear, and it’s important to be fearless. He walks down the street and sees a mugging. Someone says he shouldn’t go down there, and he envisions making a rescue. Then he makes it a reality.
* Here come Toxic Attraction! Mandy wants to make something really clear: last week Roxanne Perez and her reject friends may have gotten a fluke victory, but they’re still losers. Roxanna says it’s embarrassing that Roxanne thinks she’s on top of the world. Gigi says it isn’t playtime, it isn’t a video game or a fairy tale, and Roxanne isn’t Cinderella. Roxy will get a reality check that will be toxic.
Jacy says Roxanne should ask her friend Cora about choking under pressure because she’s great at it. Jacy says Roxanne should buy a bus ticket, go home and put posters of real stars like them on her walls. Mandy says if Roxanne sticks around it’s going to get ugly.
Cue Roxanne and Cora! Mandy says a couple wins won’t get Roxanne a challenge against her, and tells her not to be delusional. She says Roxanne doesn’t want to cash in the contract. Roxanne says Mandy’s right; she does feel on top of the world but she’s also earned every bit of being able to live her dream. And dreams are better when you get to share them. Roxanne says she and Cora got to thinking and as much as it would be her dream to become NXT Women’s Champion — and she will — winning the women’s Tag Team Titles with her friend will be much sweeter.
That brings out Kayden and Katana, and Kayden says the line starts behind them because they’re not done yet. Cora says they saw In Your House and they looked done to her. Katana says they don’t get to cut in line because they’re the flavor of the month. It breaks down into a brawl and officials break it up as Toxic Attraction laughs in the ring.
* McKenzie is with Melo and Trick and asks how Melo feels. Melo says she should ask Tony D how he feels, and then asks how Trick feels shutting Wes down. Melo says everyone wants next, but the only next they’ll be is the next to take an L.
* McKenzie is backstage post-break with Indi and Kiana James walks in wondering why they’re wasting time on her. Indi asks if she saw her win last week and she says she doesn’t focus on emotions. They go back and forth and Indi says to meet her in the ring next week.
Cameron Grimes vs. Edris Enofe
Lockup to start, Grimes sends Enofe to the mat and locks in a waistlock. Enofe counters it into a wristlock, they go into counterwrestling that ends up with Enofe hitting an armdrag. They trade some moves and Enofe with a roll-up for one, Grimes with a roll-up for two and they hit a stalemate. Grimes into the ropes, dropkick by Enofe and cover for two.
Enofe tries to Irish whip Grimes who hands into the ropes Grimes hits a standing rana that sends Edris to the outside, Grimes to the apron for a kick to Enofe and goes up top as Edris slips in, high crossbody for two.
Grimes with a kick to the head off the ropes, another kick to the chest and one more. Enofe asks for another one and another, Edies is getting worked up and he lays in a shot. They trade blows, Enofe with a jumping knee. Enofe sends Grimes to the apron, wraps him up and hits a forearm, then a running knee to send him to the floor. BIG give by Enofe! He rolls Grimes in, goes up top and does a 450 but Grimes moves. Grimes grabs Enofe for a tilt-a-whirl sidewalk slam. Cave-In finishes it.
Winner: Cameron Grimes (5:34)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: There are people Enofe should absolutely have a lot of offense against to build him out. The guy is stepping up from the NA Title to a World Title match is not that person. Solid match for the time though.
Grimes gives Enofe a pep talk and show of respect after the match.
* Thea Hail is walking into Chase U and she finds her roommate, but it’s Bodhi Haywood. Apparently Chase U has co-ed dorms. Thea unpacks and throws all of her clothes on Bodhi, rolls out her bedspread and jumps on it. Bodhi asks if the co-ed thing means they’re switching days, but Thea says they’re going to share. She is VERY excited about this and goes to get some food.
* Nikkita Lyons is still busting her ass to return to the ring and talks about how patience isn’t a virtue; it sucks. She says she’s back next week.
Von Wagner vs. Brooks Jensen
Wagner pushes Jensen in the corner right at the bell, Jensen fights out but Wagner takes over and hits repeated corner clotheslines. He backs off enough for Jensen to take over, knocking Wagner down with a spinning heel kick. Big sliding uppercut by Jensen, he goes to climb in and Wagner nails the hand to take over.
Wagner works over the shoulder but Jensen breaks it up. Jensen off the ropes into a big boot, and Wagner brutalizes Jensen’s good hand. Jensen traps Jensen’s thumb in the turnbuckle mechanism and nays in shots before he’s backed off. Wagner brutalizes the good hand some moreand Jensen fights back with back elbows, but Wagner with a single-arm DDT, cover for two.
Wagner grabs the good hand and joint manipulates the thumb for like half a second, then works the shoulder. He wraps the arm around the ropes and yanks on it. The ref backs him off and Jensen takes over with strikes and a corner clothesline. Big shot to Wagner from Jensen. He’s firing off repeated lefts and rights and hits a diving DDT off the second turnbuckle, cover for two.
Jensen goes up top, he leaps but Wagner… kind of catches him for a diving move? Olympic Slam, cover for three.
Winner: Von Wagner (4:45)
Rating: **
Thoughts: Yep, still not a fan of Wagner matches. These guys don’t have the timing down against each other, there were some weird moments at even less than five minutes.
* Grimes is backstage and Bron walks in, saying he has a lot of heart and that’s who he’s looking at facing. Grimes says he doesn’t think BGron is, because if this version shows up at GAB, he’s winning the championship.
* Joe Gacy tells the Dyad that he offered them purpose and they left everyting behind: their homes, their family, everything else. When they found that their dreams were pipe dreams, they were going to pack up and go home but he was there for them. They’re reborn and ready to take on the world. He says they may have tasted gold before, but without, intention gold is flavorless. When they return to that, level, it will be delicious now that they’re under his guidance.
Alba Fyre vs. Lash Legend
Lash swings at Alba to start but she ducks and lays in fists. She goes for a Tornado DDT, Lash shoves her off but Alba takes Lash down and covers for one. Chops to the chest by ALba, Lash hits a short-arm back kick though. Lash chokes Alba against the second rope and then the bottom rope. Alba is fighting back, she goes for the Gory Bomb but Lash blocks it and hits a gutwrench suplex.
Alba elbows free from Lash and then lays in shots, Lash cuts her off with a knee to the but. Irish whip countered by Alba, kick to the head, tornado DDT and cover for two. Big kicks to the chest from Alba, she comes off the ropes and gets caught with a sidewalk slam for two.
Lash charges at Alba in the corner but eats a back kick. Lash goes for a big boot, Alba moves, Gory bomb to Lash! Alba up top and leaps, Lash rolls out of the way. Lash grabs Alba’s bat and nails her with it for the DQ loss.
Winner: Alba Fyre by DQ (3:36)
Rating: **
Thoughts: These two didn’t match up well and didn’t have enough time to do much, resulting in a rushed affair.
* Tony D is backstage with the family, ready for his match. Melo walks with Trick.
Set For Next Week:
– #1 Contender’s Match: Kayden & Katana vs. Cora & Roxanne
– Sanga vs. Xyon Quinn
NXT North American Championship Match
Tony D’Angelo vs. Carmelo Hayes
Tony trash talks to start, then they lock up with Melo being thrown to the corner. Santos looks on as they lock up again, and Melo goes thrown to the mat. Another lockup attempt, Melo dodges and hits a headlock, shot into the ropes and run over. They go into the ropes again, some acrobatics by Melo who then showboats. Tony’s family gets on the apron as does Trick. As they drop down, Melo takes advantage with shots but Tony blocks one and nails Melo. Melo with a kick and he comes off the ropes but gets pressed into the air, coming down hard for a two count.
Melo back up and goes over Tony’s back, taking Tony down. Tony to the apron, Melo comes out and drops down to trip him. He’s distracted by the Family and Tony slips out and throws the champ into the steps as we go to PIP break.
We’re back with Melo bent back into a kneeling abdominal stretch by Tony D. Melo fights to get out and manages to do so, he sends Tony into the turnbuckle and then lays in with right chops. Tony charges, Melo ducks and springboard clotheslines Tony. Mounted punches by the champ, tilt-a-whirl crossface slam. Hayes is back up, he goes for a pump kick but Tony catches it. Exploder suplex, cover for two.
Tony grabs Melo and talks trash to him, saying he’s the champ and the Don. He nails Melo in the corner and then slaps him hard. Another big shot to the jaw from Tony, and he charges in but Melo moves and knocks Tony into the turnbuckle. Lungblower by Hayes, cover for two and a half!
Hayes goes up to the second rope but Tony crawls away and Melo drops down. Tony takes advantage, suplexing Melo! Both men are down and Tony is crawling to the corner, where he calls for the knucks from Santos. Santos shoves them too far, and Melo gets them! Shot to Tony, cover for three.
Winner: Carmelo Hayes (10:37)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Good match, the finish was a foregone considering Santos had to screw over Tony. Didn’t take much away from the overall match, and it moves the Tony vs. Santos feud forward so I’m fine with it.
And with that, we’re done for the night!
