Jeremy’s WWE NXT Review 7.27.21

Welcome, NXT fans! It’s Tuesday evening, which means it’s time for another episode of NXT. We have another big show tonight, with Adam Cole set to battle Bronson Reed while Samoa Joe and Raquel Gonzalez address their various situations — Joe as a man who’s tired of Karrion Kross rampaging his way through NXT officials, and Raquel as the dominant head of the women’s division. I’m Jeremy Thomas, as usual, and also on the docket tonight are another NXT Breakout Tournament match and probably more Cameron Grimes and LA Knight fun. There’s a lot going on so without further ado, let’s get right into it.

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.

The commentators break down tonight’s segments and matches to start, including Raquel addressing the NXT Universe and Adam Cole vs. Bronson Reed. We’re starting off with Oney Lorcan & Pete Dunne vs. Ciampa and Thatcher.

Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher vs. Oney Lorcan & Pete Dunne

Dunne and Thatcher start off and lock up, with Dunne trying to take Thatcher down but being caught in a wristlock. They trade some submission reversals and come up into a test of strength, with Thatcher getting Dunne on the ground and going for an armbar submission. Dunne reverses it into a leg submission but Thatcher gets free and they face off. Back into the test of strength, Dunne ends up on his back but locks in a legscissors, which Thatcher quickly turns into a single-leg crag. Dunne counters out and almost gets pinned before they back off. Lorcan and Ciampa tag in and lock up, headlock by Ciampa. Lorcan tries to shoot Ciampa into the ropes twice to no avail, then backs him into the corner and hits a chop which Ciampa answers with several of his own. Oney thrown onto the apron and then hit with a knee to drop to the floor. Tommaso out and he rolls Oney in as Dunne glares.

Thatcher tags in and works Oney’s arm, he flips him down and nearly covers before he locks in an legscissor elbowlock. Ciampa tagged in and he works the hand, then lets Dunne tag in and welcomes him. Lockup, Ciampa into the ropes, off several times into a big clothesline. Ciampa counters out and locks Dunne up, Lorcan in but Thatcher cuts him off and its synchronized beatdowns. Thatcher and Lorcan are out and Dunne does some finger snapping tease but Ciampa counters it and they go outside, with Ciampa and Thatcher tossing their opponents into the guardrail as we go on break.

During the break, Lorcan and Dunne took control and are working Thatcher over as we come back, with Lorcan tagging Dunne back in as we come back. Dunne preps a surfboard and tags in Lorcan, pulling Thatcher back as Lorcan chops the defenseless Timothy. “Oney Sucks!” chants as Thatcher fights back but gets stopped in his tracks. Thatcher and Lorcan grab each others’ ears and a slap by Lorcan, followed by a bigger one by Thatcher. More slaps but a kick kick by Thatcher and he tags in Ciampa who comes in hot! He splashes both Dunne and Lorcan several times, ducks a double clothesline and clotheslines both of his opponents! Tandem splashes but Thatcher gets shut down and Ciampa is now trading shots with Dunne. Dunne puhses Ciampa into the ropes, German suplex, Dunne goes for a big move and Ciampa counters into a crossface! Thatcher grabs Oney on the outside but gets leveled by a returning RIdge Holland. Inside the ring, Lorcan saves Dunne and gets thrown out of the ring, but Dunne hits his finisher for the pinfall.

Winner: Oney Lorcan & Pete Dunne (13:12)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Great match to start us off, and it teed up Holland for his return. Can’t complain about any of that.

After the match, Holland stares at Lorcan and Dunne. Thatcher and Ciampa come into the ring and Holland destroys Thatcher while Ciampa is forced to watch. Holland then headbutts Ciampa to the ground and the ground is HOT over this.

* We get a vignette for Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Breakout Tournament where he talks about taking his shots against Kushida and Adam Cole. He says there’s only one man coming out on top and it’s him.

* Samoa Joe has arrived, and he’s next.

* We’re back with Hit Row, and they make fun of Legado del Fantasma. They call themselves the new Kings of the Jungle but say that they’re hearing people like Imperium talk spicy about them. They tell them to keep their mouths shut and if they pop off at the mouth, they’ll knock their block off.

* Samoa Joe is out now. He sets up a chair and table with an NXT official document on the table. He says he knows Kross is too much of a gutless coward to appear in the building. So he decided to be proactive, and asks Regal to come down to the ring. Regal comes down looking none too happy. Joe says he can see the rage in Regal’s eye and understands, he gets what Regal has to do tonight and fire Karrion Kross. Joe tells Regal he has a much better solution; a way to satisfy their needs in three easy steps. Step One: don’t pick up the phone, you know he’s only calling because he’s drunk and — oh wait, wrong steps. Step One: he resigns from NXT management effective immediately. But with this other paper and Regal’s signature, he joins the active NXT roster. Regal agrees to sign and the crowd is happy. Joe then moves onto Step Three. With the next paper, Regal will make official Joe vs. Kross for the NXT Championship at NXT Takeover 36. The crowd chants for Joe and Regal signs on the dotted line. The crowd chants “Thank You Regal!” and we have a Takeover main event. Joe leaves the ring and Regal watches him go.

* We get the NXT Breakout Tournament vignette for Josh Briggs, who says Carmelo is standing in the way of his destiny. He breaks body and dreams, and he will be the winner of the tournament.

* Up next: LA Knight hits the links with Cameron Grimes.

* We’re back and Cameron Grimes is acting as LA Knight’s caddie. Grimes hilariously knows nothing about golf and Knight loses it when he doesn’t know what a driver is. Knight is about to tee off and Grimes bets him $1,000 the ball goes into the trees. He then ups it to $5,000 and Knight yells at him, then fires it right into the trees. Grimes laughs even as he’s ordered to get the ball.

NXT Breakout Tournament Match
Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs

Briggs starts off with a big bodyslam out of a lockup and lunghes at Carmelo, but he dodges. Briggs picks Hayes up but he slides down, chops to Briggs which do nothing. Hayes off the ropes for a springboard dive but gets caught. Hayes battles to try and take Briggs down with strikes in the corner, he gets shoved back. Briggs charges but Hayes dropkicks low and Briggs goes into the second turnbuckle. Hayes off the ropes but gets backdropped to the outside. Briggs gets Hayes in and goes to climb in but Hayes with kicks to the head, springboard legdrop and a cover for two. Hayes with a front facelock and he batters him with forarms to the back, but Briggs picks him up. Hayes has his guillotine choke on but can’t lock it in. Briggs down to a knee, Carmelo off the ropes but gets run over by Briggs. And we go on break.

Back from break and Briggs has Hayes in a rear chinlock, then bounds down forarms. Hayes gets up to his feet as Duke Hudson is now on commentary. Sidewalk slam, big splash by Briggs, cover gets two. Hudson is very solid on commentary here, as Briggs gets Carmelo up for a power bomb and Hayes fights out, then hits a rana. Briggs catches a boot and then gets caught with an enzuigiri. Springboard takedown from Hayes, and both men are slowly up. Hayes gets caught for a chokeslam, Hayes lands on his feet, Codebreaker and cover for two. Hayes is feeling it, he gets Briggs up, goes for a suplex but Briggs counters. Hayes with a big splash in the corner, he rolls out and gets leveled. Big chokeslam, cover gets almost three. Hayes ducks a big boot but gets kicked in the corner, Briggs goes for a sidewalk slam but Hayes counters with a spinning bulldog and then a second! Up top, Super Rocker Dropper gets the win.

Winner: Carmelo Hayes (10:45)
Rating: ** 3/4
Thoughts: This was the best match of the tournament so far. Briggs is solid, Hayes is destined to be a workhorse that doesn’t get as much of a push as fans will want, and Duke Hudson will be a star.

* We get footage from last week (off TV) of Franky being asked by McKenzie about her relationship with the Robert Stone Brand. She teases a ton of options including taking it over or teaming with Jessie to go after the tag titles, and Kacy and Kayden come in to tell them to get to the back of the line. They leave, and Franky says she thought their spunk was cute, but now it’s just super annoying.

* Back on the golf course, Knight is going for a shot and Grimes acts as a commentator to play-by-play it. Knight isn’t pleased and gets frustrated, hitting the ball into the lake. Grimes laughs about it and Knight tells him to go into the lake to get it. Grimes takes his boots off and gets in the lake, having found it when Ted DiBiase shows up. Grimes asks what he’s doing here, and DiBiase says he’s a mess. He tells Grimes that he’s better than this and Grimes says he’s a man of his word. Ted says Grimes wasn’t born to be a butler; he was born to be a champion. Sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in, and Grimes is a fighter.

* We get a recap of Ridge Holland’s return earlier tonight and Holland’s demolition of Ciampa and Thatcher. Backstage, Holland is asked why he attacked Thatcher and he says it’s none of our business. Thatcher isn’t the first person he’s smashed up and won’t be the last.

* Out come Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez. Raquel gets a mic and says last week she crushed one of the most feared superstars in the women’s division in Xia Li, and has dominated every single woman who’s stepped up. She asks who’s next and slips into Spanish. All she has to say is, keep ’em coming. Kai gets on the mic and says she’s been unstoppable since she debut. She says she tells people her friend is the most dominant woman in NXT history — more than Flair, Asuka, Baszler, Rhea Ripley, Io, and anyone else. She says the list will go on and says the NXT women’s division is one of the greatest because of one woman. She says NXT Takeover is four weeks ago, and asks who is woman enough to challenge Raquel? She talks a lot of trash about who has the guts to come down and face Raquel, and doesn’t get an answer because she says there’s no one. Kai says they’ve been through so much together, and as long as she has her back Raquel will always be champion. Raquel celebrates and as she comes off the turnbuckle, Kai charges in and kicks her head off! She grabs the title and holds it over Gonzalez, talking trash as the crowd loses their shit. Kai tosses the title on Gonzalez and stands over her before leaving. Raquel is upset and pissed.

* Adam Cole is backstage and says lately everyone has been trying to attach themselves to him, naming Kyle O’Reilly and Bronson Reed. He says he’s not Reed’s rebound and says Reed lost the North American title because he wasn’t good enough. Cole doesn’t care about his 14-year journey and says he’s going down tonight.

* Earlier this week, Io is training by herself and Zoey Stark comes up and says she doesn’t have to train along and they need to have a relationship. Io doesn’t want friends, and Stark says they need to be partners. Io says she respects Zoey but doesn’t like her, but Zoey manages to get her to agree to hang out.

* McKanzie sees Mandy Rose talking to Gigi Dolan and Zayda, but gets shooed off.

Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro vs. Jessi Kamea & Franky Monet

Jessi and Kayden start it off, and Kayden does some dodging of Kamea who calls for a test of strength. Kamea goes for the kick but Carter dodges, then rolls Kamea up for a two-count. Kacy tagged in, some tandem dropkicks and the like to Kamea. Carter back in, roll-up for two but Jessi turns it around with a big kick. Kayden kicks Jessi back and Franky tags in, but gets kicked in the head. Franky gets Carter in the corner and hits a big DDT, then chucks Carter by her hair into the corner and hits the charging double knees. Kamea tagged in, big splash to Kayden, cover gets one. Monet back in, kick to the back of Kayden and an axehandle to the back. Carter fights back with a spinning punch but gets knocked right down. WHip into the corner but Kayde knocks Kamea off the apron. Franky takes Carter down and beats on her with mounted punches. Stone gets on the apron and throws a shoe for Monet to use. Franky and Stone argue, and Kayden takes Monet out. Carter holds Franky for a 450 Splash that finishes it.

Winner: Kayden & Kacy (3:28)
Rating: * 3/4
Thoughts: I don’t like Franky losing quite yet, but it furthers the storyline and that makes it entirely palatable. Match was too short to mean anything, this was all about the angle. But yay, win for Kacy and Kayden…

After the match, Franky and Stone argue.

* Wade Barrett sits down with Roderick Strong and Malcolm Bivens and asks how they got together. Strong says that despite his talent, he couldn’t break through the chaos of the UE. But Bivens contacted him and he saw the light. Bivens says that Strong is one of the best and is a leader, and who thought Bivens would be the guy to bring him back to NXT? Not even Regal could do that. Barrett asks about Bobby Fish targeting Strong, and Bivens says whoever said money can’t buy happiness and is a broke liar. Fish vs. Strong is a big money match, and it’s happening next week. Strong says when he finishes Fish, it’s over.

* We’re back with a recap of WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov being postponed from last week’s NXT UK due to a hand injury and Regal, Triple H, and HBK announcing the match for NXT Takeover 36.

* Dakota Kai is asked to explain her actions but she wordlessly leaves the building.

Imperium vs. Hit Row

Ashante starts against Barthel, and Barthel takes over with a knee lift but is shot into the ropes for a dropkick. Barthel then puts Ashante into the ropes again and hits a palm strike, followed by a tilt-a-whirl slam. Aichner in now, he pulls Ashante into his shoulders but Adonis slides free and lays in the strikes. Neckbreaker by Adonis, cover gets two. Forearms to Aichner’s back, Aichner fights back and catches Ashante’s foot to pull him for a big clothseline. Top Dolla tags in, he gets Aichner on his shoulder, Aichner slides off but gets leveled with a jumping knee to the jaw. Ashante back in, elevated dropkick, over gets two. Neckbreaker counters into a back suplex by Aichner, Barthel tags in and hangs Ashante on the ropes. He goes into the ropes but gets distracted by B-FAB which allows Adonis to recover and hit a spinebuster for two. We’re on break.

Back on NXT as Imperium destroys Ashante through the ropes. Big spinebuster, then they go to finsih him off but Ashante ranas Aicher and goes for the tag but Barthel stops him. Barthel with an ankle lock, Adonis up but Barthel ducks an enzuigiri and pulls Adonis back. Aicher in and he picks Adonis apart with strikes to the torso. Backbreaker gets two. Barthel back in, Ashante fights back but gets clocked. Double underhook suplex, cover gets two.Adonis manages to snapmare Aichner through the ropes and goes for the tag sloooowly, he gets Barthel out of the ring and goes for the tag, Barthel back in but gets backdropped and Top Dolla is in hot. He wipes out Barthel, throws Aicher into the corner, splash and then sidewalk slam. Elbowdrop, cover but Barthel breaks it up. Barthel thrown over the ropes and he chucks Aicher into the corner, tags in Adonis, electric chair — and Legado comes in to take Swerve out on the outside! Top Dolla takes them out and chases Santos Escobar back as Ashante gets taken out by Imperium for the pin.

Winner: Imperium (12:24)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: These are talented guys, but this match seemed like a bit of a letdown. It went on too long and never got out of second gear. It wasn’t bad, it was just…there..

Legado attack Top Dolla and he fights back but the numbers game is too much until Swerve comes in swinging a chair and chases them off.

* The Way are arguing backstage about how Austin Theory is gone. Someone comes with a present for Indi and it’s a painting of the family with Dexter in the group. Gargano and LeRae are pissed and Gargano says he has no chance of joining the family. Indi suggests a match between Lumis and Gargano; if Lumis wins they give Dexter a chance, but if Gargano wins than no more Dexter.

* More Grimes and Knight wackiness. The Grizzled Young Veterans are there and try to get them to move on. Grimes points out all of Knight’s golfing mistakes but says he’s not going to let Knight be disrespected. GYV offer a double-or-nothing on Grimes’ $10,000 to get a hole, and Knight puts it in the water. Grimes takes his shot as Knight argues with GYV, and gets a gold club to the balls and then the head. He gets a hole in one and makes $20,000. He celebrates but then accuses the GYV of taking Knight out, and Knight chases them down as Grimes says he loves this game.

* Set for Next Week:
– Love Her or Lose Her Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Dexter Lumis
– Roderick Strong vs. Bobby Fish
– NXT Breakout Tournament Match: Joe Gacy vs. Trey Baxter

Bronson Reed vs. Adam Cole

They circle to start and Cole with a waistlock, but he gets thrown right off. Referee asks Cole if he’s fine and he says “I’m fine, shut up!” Awesome. Cole with a headlock, but Reed shoots him into the ropes for a bodyblock takedown. Reed picks Cole up, but Cole slides down and kicks at the leg. He works over the leg until Reed comes off the ropes and swats Cole down to the mat. Gorilla Press slam by Reed, big elbow. Cole whipped into the ropes, sunset flip but Reed sits down. Cole ends up on the apron and gets slammed into the turnbuckle, Reed picks him up onto the turnbuckle, superplex attempt but Cole fights it. He slides out for a sunset flip power bomb attempt and he can’t get it, but he kicks the knee out instead and Reed falls to the mat as we go to break.

During the break, Cole worked Reed over on the outside before going back in and targeting the knee. We come back with a kneebar by Cole locked in. Reed tries to fight out but Cole drops back to snap the knee. Targeted kicks at the knee and then he jumps on it against the bottom rope a couple of times. Cole trash talks Reed and says he’s nothing, which gets him slapped. They trade blows, and Reed takes over. Whip across the ring, avalanche, and then a body tackle off the ropes and senton for two. Red with a suplex lift but Cole slips down, step up enzuigiri but Reed counters the next kick with a Samoan drop of sorts for two. Powerbomb attempt, Cole slips out and we have Hit Row vs. Legado next week in six-man action. Cole with a big kick out of the corner and he covers for two. Cole is looking pissed, pump kick to Reed and then another. He goes for a superkick but Reed catches it and starts chopping him in the corner until the referee counts to four. A brief argument with the ref lets Cole hit a kick, up top, Panama Sunrise and a cover but NO! Nearfall. Cole lowers the knee, comes off for the Last Shot but gets clotheslined. Big power bomb by Reed and he’s going up top! Tsunami but Cole rolls out of the ray! Superkick, Last SHot, cover gets three.

Winner: Adam Cole (11:16)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Good match that played out exactly as you might expect, with the winner being exatly who you’d expect. Not either man’s best match but it was certainly enjoyable.

Cole celebrates at the foot of the ramp before Kyle O’Reilly comes out and obliterates Cole with a chair, then lays in other shots. KOR picks up the ring steps and tosses them, then suplexes Cole hard onto the steps. KOR stands tall over Cole to end the show.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

After last week's lackluster show, we had a return to form here with an enjoyable all-around episode. Most of the matches were good and we had a couple of big developments in Dakota Kai's turn and Samoa Joe going back to the active roster. I'm finding myself caring less and less about O'Reilly and Cole, it's worn out its welcome, but on the flip side the Cameron Grimes and LA Knight stuff continues to be absolute gold. Enjoyable episode all in all.