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Hello NXT viewers, and welcome to March! It’s Tuesday, which means that it’s time for another episode of WWE NXT. I’m Jeremy Thomas, with you as always, and tonight we have a busy card ahead of us as the NXT North American Championship will be contested between Carmelo Hayes and Pete Dunne. In addition, Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa will team up against the Dirty Dawgs, Solo Sikoa will battle no less than GUNTHER, and Von Wagner will answer Andre Chase’s open challenge. Oh, also Harland will get to murder Draco Anthony, which should certainly be a thing.

Here at Thomas HQ, I had a busy week of watching stuff. I kicked it off with the 1991 Graham Green-starring folk horror film Clearcut out of Severin Films’ All The Haunts Be Ours boxed set, which was an great piece of psychelogical horror, and followed that up with the also-great witchy coming-of-age film Hellbender which is now available on Shudder. I took a dive into the past with the shlocky fun of Thirteen Ghosts, watched the enjoyable documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball on Netflix, and then revisted nothing less than Scarface for the first time in years. (It’s still great, if overlong.)

After that, a rewatch of Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation was a blast, as was a rewatch of Scream 2022. And finally, I watched the perfectly-acceptable Marry Me and Gaspar Noe’s Climax, which was fantastic until the last several minutes when it fell down HARD. Finally, I didn’t watch much TV but I did get some reading done, making progress on Peter Bisking’s book about the New Hollywood era, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. That started to get a bit tedious so I’ve shelved it for now, and have jumped into some easy fantasy reading with Richard Lee Byers’ Forgotten Realms novel Dissolution, the first book in the “War of the Spider Queen” hexalogy. It’s a fun read, and a nice delve back into the era of the D&D setting’s height before things went downhill with Fourth Edition.

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’re LIVE in the Capitol Wrestling Center and kicking off with the big tag team match.

Bron Breakker & Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Dirty Dawgs

Things get started right off the bat as Bron and Ciampa attack the arriving Dawgs. Roode throws Ciampa into the ring and gets on the apron, but gets pulled off by Bron and Ciampa dives onto him before Team NXT pats themselves on the back and bark!

The bell has ring and Ciampa starts off with Ziggler, tagging in Bron and throwing Ziggler off the ropes into a Bron spinebuster! Cover for two. The straps are already down, and Bron picks Dolph up but Roode enters the ring. Bron takes out Roode but Dolph with the Zig Zag for two.

Dolph grabs Bron’s boot and tags in Roode, who stomps the NXT Champion and levies some mounted punches. Neckbreaker and a cover for two. Stomp to the head, Ziggler tags in and stomps a held Breakker in the chest. Ziggler threatens to superkick Ciampa and then locks in a mounted chinlock on Bron. The crowd is hot for this one as Bron gets to his fight and nails Dolph in the gut, but Ziggler fires back and hits a neckbreaker before tagging in Roode for a superplex. Robert to the second turnbuckle for an elbowdrop and cover for two.

Ziggler tags in and stomps on Bron, then raks the face against his laces. Roode in, he whips Dolph at Bron in the corner but Bron moves! He takes out Roode and tags in Ciampa, coming in hot. He runs over Roode and then does the repeated splashes, ducks a double clothesline and runs over both Dawgs! Kick to the gut of Roode, Fairy Tale Ending but Roode blocks it. Ciampa punches Roode, punches Dolph but gets hit with a spinebuster from Roode as we go to PIP break.

Back from break and the Dirty Dawgs are still in control, but Ciampa is fighting Dolph off as he tries to make the tag. He goes for a spinning punch, blocked by Ziggler, but Tommaso catches a dropkick and catapults Dolph out of the ring! Ciampa goes for the tag but Roode pulls Bron off the apron and throws him into the crowd.

Dolph grabs Ciampa and pulls him by the leg to the hostile corner, Roode tags in and they hit a double spinebuster followed by a nearfall. Roode is getting frustrated now, and he talks some trash to Ciampa before showboating. Roode pulls Ciampa up but eats a high knee to the jaw! Breakker is back to his feet, Roode and Ciampa crawl to their corners, Ziggler tags in and dives for Ciampa but he gets fought off and Bron is in!

Belly to Belly suplex to Dolph! Another to Roode! Irish whip to Dolph and a hard clothesline! Bron lies in wait, he charges in but Dolph with a big knee. Bron dodges the superkick, comes off the ropes — SPEAR! Bron tags in Ciampa, who goes up top. Bron outs Dolph on his shoulders — top rope bulldog! Cover for two but Roode dives in to make the save.

Roode sends Bron into the corner, Dolph rolls Ciampa up for two. Ciampa nails Dolph and hits the Fairy Tale Ending for three!

Winner: Tommaso Ciampa & Bron Breakker (13:06)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Very strong match to start off, with Ciampa and Bron gelling incredibly well. The Dirty Dawgs played the role of the heels as well as they ever do and the end sequence was legitimately thrilling to send the match home.

* Earlier in the day: Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams arrived. So did Pete Dunne.

* LA Knight walks up to the camere backstage and says tells people to pick up the phone and call and text everyone — including the side piece — because he’s about to call out the Outback Jackoff himself, Grayson Waller.

* Gunther says Solo Sikoa is getting what he wants tonight. He says he’s a professional and Sikoa is not the first to try to make a name off him. He says he will chop those tribal tattoos off his body and replace them with much-needed respect.

* LA Knight is in the ring. Knight leads the crowd in a little “Yeah” call and response, then says he and Grayson Waller have been doing this for a long time, since before Halloween Havoc. He won the match to determine who would be the host, and they’ve put each other through hell in WarGames. He points out the three fans Waller has cheering, then reminds us of how Waller stole his car, and he responded by returning to NXT and beating the hell out of him, which led to the restraining order and boyguard. But that wasn’t going to keep away LA Knight. So last week, Waller got the pin with a cheap grab of the rights, but —

And here comes Waller! He’s at the elevated stage with Sange, and says Knight is right. Last week, he won. He says Knight is the roadblock on his path to greatness and now it’s done. Knight says that he can’t hear a word Waller is saying, because everyone’s calling him an asshole. Waller says this isn’t a thing, he’s done, goodbye.

Knight shows the pic of Knight standing over Waller after last week’s match, and says every time they’ve faced off, he’s been standing over Waller. He says Waller is all about the likes, but this past week he’s been about the blocks because he got his ass whipped again. He dares Waller to prove he has a shred of manhood and face him in a Last Man Standing match. Waller says he’s all for it because next week he’s getting all the likes because he’ll be the Last Man Standing. The match is official!

* Persia and Indi are backstage, and Persia says she hopes Indi and Dexter can work things out. Indi says they need to focus, and she says she is. They start to go, but Persia goes back to look at some pics of Duke Hudson before going.

* We get a recap of last week’s women’s Dusty Cup matches and a preview of tonight’s matches.

Dusty Cup Quarterfinal Match
Wendy Choo & Dakota Kai vs. Indi Hartwell & Persia Pirotta

Perisa starts with Choo, who dodges a clothesline and then goes for a legsweep that fails. Persia grabs Wendy by her pigtails, but Wendy spins until she gets close and hits Persia. Persia gets Choo in the corner and tags in Indi, who takes Choo down but Wendy fights back and gets Indi in the corner.

Dakota tags in and they double team Indi with charging kicks to the head. Cover from Kai for two. Kai with a headlock, Choo tags in, double-team facebuster for two. Indi reverses an Irish whip and sends Choo in the corner, Choo dodges a charge but gets dropped and Persia tags in. Choo off the ropes right into a big kick, cover for two.

Indi tags back in, backbreaker and clothesline combo from Persia and Indi with a cover for two. Indi with an armbar as Dakota talks to herself in the corner. Choo gets to her feet, she armdrags Indi off and goes for the catg but gets caught, Choo manages to get free and tags in Kai! Kai with a takedown of Persia, a leaping snapmare to Indi, and she runs in for a big kick in the corner! Cover for two.

Indi manages to get Kai into the hostile corner and tags in Persia, who hits a Snake Eyes and then an F5 for two, with Chu making the save. Persia catches Wendy but Persia comes off the ropes with a big kick, Ch00 and Kai both come off the ropes onto Pirotta, cover for three!

Winner: Wendy Chu & Dakota Kai (5:20)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: Nice to see them get a bit more time than last week. Despite the wacky antics of the winning team, this was a moderately solid match that could have been more if given a bit more time.

* Vic and Barrett hype the Madison Square Garden show, then we get a preview for Diamond Mine’s NXT Tag Team Championship match against Imperium.

* The Last Man Standing match is now official for next week’s NXT.

Amari Miller vs. Lash Legend

We get a video from last week where this tag team fell apart when Lash went full bitch. The bell rings and Lash tries to bully Amari, but Miller launches in on some punches. She tries to roll Legend up off the ropes but Legend holds on and boots Miller down. She grabs Miller and shakes her head between the ropes, then picks her up for a backbreaker, holding it down for the submission hold.

Miller knees Lash in the head but Legend doesn’t give up, eventually slamming Miller down. She comes off the ropes for an elbow drop but Miller moves. Miller crawls for the corner but Lash grabs her foot. Miller kicks Lash in the head and goes for the punches, ducks a shot and kicks Lash in the head. Dropkick off the ropes and a kick to the ehad, She hits a charging moonsault and covers for two.

Miller goes to move in but gets pulled into the corner, Legend then grabs Miller and gets her up on her shoulder for a slam, three count.

Winner: Lash Legend (2:56)
Rating: N/A
Thoughts: Yeesh. Lash should not yet be competing on TV, she is NOT ready.

Afterward, Lash rants at the camera about how everyone was talking about Nikkita Lyons when they should have been talking about her.

* McKenzie is backstage with Solo Sikoa and asks about Gunther’s comments. Solo says Gunther can bring everything and he’ll still keep coming forward. He says respect is a two-way street and Gunther is in for a fight.

* Oh good, Briggs and Jensen segment. They’re looking at something on the phone and talk about wanting to ride it all night long. Elektra Lopez walks by and gets offended, but Jensen is talking about a truck. Lopez says Jensen wouldn’t know a real woman if he saw one. Jensen says the jokes on her, because HE’S NEVER BEEN WITH A REAL WOMAN. Briggs is embarrassed, Brooks is proud of himself. I want to die.

Gunther vs. Solo Sikoa

Gunther attacks to start and batters Solo, sending him off the ropes into a back elbow. He chops Sikoa in the corner with overhand slaps, then hits a Euro uppercut. Solo battles back but gets dropped with a chop, then has his neck wrenched between Gunther’s feet. Big bodyslam by Gunther, followed by a pick up and knee lift.

Gunther with an elbow to Sikoa’s face, followed by some overhand slaps. Sikoa powers back up and hits some shots but gets kicked to the mat. A boot to the face and then a snapmare to the ground, Gunther with a prone headlock. Sikoa gets to his feet and tries to shoot Gunther into the ropes, but Gunther cinches in. Solo manages to get him into the ropes but Gunther holds on. He charges, Solo gets him on his shoulders but Gunther counters out and short-arm clotheslines him down.

Gunther locks in a Boston crab in the center of the ring. he fights toward the ropes and gets his hand on it. Gunther with a chop to the chest, then a fist to the head but Solo is looking determined. He shrugs off a kick to the head and punches back, Gunther with another chop. Sikoa is fighting back once more, he comes of fthe ropes and hits a forearm. Off the ropes again, spinning wheel kick takes Gunther down! He goes for the superkick but Gunther blocks it, he goes for the powerbomb but Solo counters and slams Gunther down.

Gunther goes to the outside, Solo onto the apron and he hits a splash on Gunther on the mats! Gunther rolles back in, Solo takes aim — SUPERKICK! Solo covers for two. Solo goes up top, he takes aim, GUNTHER MOVES! GUnther with the sleeper, he elbows out of it but eats a chop to the back of the neck. Sleeper is back in, Solo is fading, Gunther with the powerbomb. He’s going for it again — POWERBOMB. That’s it.

Winner: Gunther (7:37)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: I don’t know why, but these guys didn’t click for me the way the match was laid out. It should have been a brutal, stiff fight and it was just…a match. Not sure it was the right time to end Solo’s winning streak either.

* McKenzie asks Dolph about his tag loss. Ziggler wants his title shot next week, and Ciampa comes in and says any chance of Ciampa being the #1 contender went out the window when he pinned him in the tag match. They trade quip and Bron comes in. Ziggler says that he’s going to take the title next week, and Ziggler successfully turns Ciampa against Bron by saying he could beat him. Bron says that he’ll kick both their matches next week.

* Joe Gacy gives Harland a pep talk before his match with Draco Anthony, which is next.

* Indi and Persia are upset after their loss. Persia says it’s on her and she feels sorry, but Indi says they win as a team and lose as a team. Duke Hudson is there to offer a consoling hug, and takes Persia away.

* Next week is NXT Roadblock and the NXT Championship match is a triple threat now.

Harland vs. Draco Anthony

Harland manhandles Anthony and throws him into the ropes, but Anthony escapes out. Joe Gacy distracts Drago and Harland grabs him by the head, but Draco catches him with the ropes. Draco back in and tries to take it to Harland, but gets thrown into the corner. Harland splashes a face-down Draco, then beats on him in the corner and picks him up to bend him over the turnbuckle.

Anthony hits a back elbow and kicks Harland in the head, then launches into punches. He ducks a clothesline and comes off the ropes with a flying shoulder tackle, cover for two. Harland tags back over, slams Anthony down and begins to repatedly slam Anthony head-first into the mat. Belly to back suplex, cover for three.

Winner: Harland (2:25)
Rating: N/A
Thoughts: RIP Draco Anthony.

After the match, Harland picks Draco up and, with Gacy nodding approvingly… hugs him. Yep.

* McKenzie Mitchell is backstage with Melo and Trick, and Trick says every match Hayes is in is the main event. Hayes says Dunne is one of the greatest, until he walked into here. Dunne has never been the A Champion and never will be. He’s making history and leading the way, and the question won’t be who’s next for Melo, but who’s LEFT for Melo.

* Ivy Nile is working out when her tag partner approaches and says that she knows she messed up. Ivy Nile says if she wants to be part of Diamond Mind, she’ll learn the hard way.

Dusty Cup Quarterfinal Match
Raquel Gonzalez & Cora Jade vs. Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz

Cora starts off with Leon, who grabs her and slams her down. Leon showboats as Raquel is tagged in. Raquel turns a waistlock into a wristlock, they counterwrestle until Leon gets against the ropes, Feroz tags in and goes fast against Gonzalez. She goes for a rana, Raquel blocks and goes for a powerbomb, Feroz rolls off toward a sunset flip but Raquel blocks it.

Cora in now and comes off the ropes with a big knee to Feroz. Feroz gets Jade off her and to the floor, she tags in Leon and leaps over the ropes onto Raquel — and Leon follows suit! Leon in and into a sequence of reversals, Leon catches Jade and slams her down. Feroz in and gets thrown from a springboard into a tackle on Jade for two.

Feroz takes Jade down, tags in Leon who hits a missile dropkick and covers for two. Jade tries to kick Leon off, eventually doing so, and tags in Raquel who catches a diving Leon for a release German suplex. Chingona Bomb, she tags in Jade, picks her up, kicks Feroz and then drops Jade on Leon for the pin.

Winner: Raquel Gonzalez & Cora Jade (4:47)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: It was sloppy in parts and too short, but still fun and worked for me.

* Sarray is showing off her necklace when Tiffany Stratton walks up. She thinks the necklace is tacky and offers Sarray one of hers. Sarray says she’s fine and Stratton slams Sarray into the sliding door, then walks off.

* Tony D’Angelo talks about the smell of opportunity in the air for WrestleMania weekend, but he zigs when most people zag. He has his eye on an opponent and he’ll become a made man when his opponent sleeps with the fishes.

Andre Chase vs. Von Wagner

Andre Chase starts off peppering Wagner with shots, but he gets sent into the ropes and caught. Chase slips out and tries to fight more, but gets slammed into the corner. Wagner batters him into the ref pulls him off.

Chase takes advantage and hits a couple of shots, but gets taken down. Wagner stomps on Chase’s head and batters him, then kicks him in the head as he’s trying to get up. Chase with a kick in the corner but Wagner batters him some more and avalanches him in the corner, then flings him across the room. Kneelift in the corner, then he gets him to the center of the ring for a front facelock.

Chase tries to fight out, but gets picked up for a backbreaker. He chucks Chase into the corner and charges in, Chase moves and grabs Wagner’s leg to slam onto his shoulder. He hits a clothesline on Von, then hits the Chase U stomps.

Bodhi Haywood and Robert Strone are arguing, Chase comes out and Wagner takes Bodhi out. Chase sends Wagner into the ringpost but wastes time checking on Bodhi. He gets in the ring, gets clotheslined, and then Angle slammed for three.

Winner: Von Wagner (4:09)
Rating: **
Thoughts: There wasn’t much to this match and even at four minutes it was repetitive. I’m not into anyone involved in this match except Robert Stone, and this did nothing for me.

* We get a recap of the social media reaction to Nikkita Lyons’ debut and then cut to Lyons, who says that she heard what Lash said. She suggests Lashing Out return so they can sort their business out. Wow, that was… not a good promo.

Set For Next Week:
– NXT Championship Match: Bron Breakker vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Tommaso Ciampa
– NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Imperium vs. The Diamond Mine
– Last Man Standing Match: LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller

NXT North American Championship Match
Carmelo Hayes vs. Pete Dunne

Lockup to start and Dunne powers Hayes to the mat. Hayes counters out into a headlock, they go into the ropes back and forth and Hayes clotheslines Dunne down. Chop by the champion and an Irish Whip reversed, Hayes flips over Dunne but gets clotheslined down.

Dunne goes to work on the arm, kicks the forearm hard. He chops Melo and sends him off the ropes into a short-arm clothesline. Dunne into the ropes but gets nailed by Hayes, they clothesline each other multiple times which turns into just repeated shots to each other until they both fall down. Back up and another double clothesline, Dunne floats over Hayes and gets dropped with a modified X-plex as we go to PIP break.

Back from break and Dunn e is in control of Hayes with a shoulderlock on the mat. Hayes gets to his feet and fights out, but Dunne fights back and they trade shots. Dunne ends Hayes into the ropes and goes for a German suplex, Hayes counters into a submission. My feed briefly went out and Dunne is now on the outside distracted by Trick — Hayes over the top and DDTs Dunne into the apron! Back in and a cover for two.

Melo now in control and he knocks Dunne down off the ropes. Showboat move and he starts to wrench the neck after. Dunne back to his feet but gets decked and he drops to his knees. Hayes with a forearm, and another but Dunne fires back with a BIG forearm, a knee in the corner and a shot to the elbow. He goes for a double hand stomp, Hayes moves and springboard off the ropes into a BIG SHOT! Cover by Dunne for two.

Dunne slaps Hayes, who answers with a kick to the head. Hayes goes for a move but Dunne counters out, suplex flipped out of and Hayes hits a lungblower for two! Hayes goes for a pump kick but Dunne blocks it and locks in an anklelock then kicks him hard in the head. He backs up and charges in, Melo with a head kick and cover for two. Hayes goes for a tilt-a-whirl maneuver but Dunne with BITTER END! He goes to cover but Hayes rolls out of the way.

Dunne tries to do digit manipulation but Hayes counters out, tilt-a-while into a crossface! Dunne breaks the hold by breaking the fingers, he goes for the Bitter End and Hayes counters into a TKO. Hayes goes up top but Dunne decks in. Dunne goes up, Trick on the apron and gets his fingers broken. Dunne goes for a superplex but gets shoved off, top rope Rocker Dropper, cover.

Winner: Carmelo Hayes (12:27)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: This delivered exactly as it needed to, which is not to be unexpected because I imagine these two are incapable of having a bad match against each other. Melo got the win as he probably should have.

After the match, Hayes says he’s a gold mine and he’s taking his talents to Stand & Deliver in Dallas. He’ll defend the title in a ladder match.

And with that, we’re done for the night!