Kevin’s WWE NXT Review 3.25.20

TONIGHT ~ Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa will have to answer to Triple H.

The show is back at Full Sail. The matches scheduled for TakeOver: Tampa will now take place on NXT TV.

Austin Theory vs. Tyler Breeze

The competitors seem to be mic’ed up. Theory mocks Breeze at every turn, including stealing his corner taunt. Breeze turned the tide, hit a dropkick, and taunted back. Theory takes over and slows down Breeze with a chin lock. He talks more smack. Breeze fights back heading into commercial. Returning, Breeze fires off a series of kicks and a corner forearm. Theory picks up a near fall and they go outside where he hits more shots. Breeze nearly gets counted out after being thrown aggressively into the guardrail but he beats the count. Theory has a powerbomb countered into a pin but then hits one into the corner. He rolls into a Supermodel Kick for two. As Theory nears a win, he starts taking a selfie video with Breeze’s phone. It’s an odd scene with no fans. He calls himself the future and Breeze slips free before hitting teh Beauty Shot to win.

Winner: Tyler Breeze in 13:25 [**1/2]

TONIGHT ~ Adam Cole celebrates being the longest reigning NXT Champion.

Killian Dain vs. Tehuti Miles

Dain is aggressive early but Miles is confident in his speed. He avoids him and fires off some shots. He also impressively leaps over him but was stopped when he ate a forearm and was thrown into the steel steps. Miles only gets in a few more shots but this is over. Dain wins with the Vader Bomb.

Winner: Killian Dain in 3:43 [*1/2]

Cameron Grimes vs. Tony Nese

Grimes is the one to take the first real upper hand, attempting a powerbomb around three minutes in. Nese fires back with several knee strikes and a spinning heel kick. It looks far better than the one Breeze won with earlier. A series of counters sees Nese hit a springboard moonsault for a near fall. Nese hits a superkick but Grimes responds with his Superman forearm. The Cave in connects and that’s all she wrote.

Winner: Cameron Grimes in 5:39 [**3/4]

Number One Contender’s Qualifying Match: Aliyah vs. Xia Li

Last time they met, Aliyah had her nose broken. Winner enters the ladder match. Xia doesn’t come out. Cameras go backstage and she’s crying in pain because of something that happened to her knee. Aliyah wants her hand raised. William Regal announces that while Xia can’t compete, someone else is medically cleared.

Number One Contender’s Qualifying Match: Aliyah vs. Io Shirai

Io explodes with a dropkick at the bell. Aliyah gets in some corner stomps but Io levels her with a throat thrust. Io turns it around with a moonsault to qualify.

Winner: Io Shirai in 1:22 [NR]

Keith Lee is out for an in-ring interview. He admits that he made a mistake hitting Dominik Dijakovic a few weeks ago. He thought it was him and not Damian Priest. Dijakovic comes out and says the title is all that he cares about, not an apology. Priest comes out to say that it’s a good thing neither of them is Damian Priest. His name will live on forever. He wants the title because of the money and girls that it comes with. They all brawl and Dijakovic takes them out with a springboard somersault senton on the outside to stand tall.

Adam Cole addresses us from a vacation where he’s poolside. He admits that he got rattled when Velveteen Dream confronted him. However, he shouldn’t be. Dream is a loser. That’s undisputed. He also says Bobby Fish wants a piece of Dream.

Brendan Vink and Shane Thorne vs. Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan

This is only Vink’s second televised match, with the first being on Raw this past Monday. He shows off his power early with an ST-Joe in the corner for two on Lorcan. Burch gets the hot tag and does his thing, including a cutter and middle rope missile dropkick. Vink gets up kind of quickly but Burch slaps on a crossface. Thorne tries to interrupt but Lorcna traps him in a half Boston Crab. Both men tap out.

Winners: Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan in 3:43 [NR]

Number One Contender’s Qualifying Match: Candice LeRae vs. Kayden Carter

Really fast-paced stuff to start here, leading to trading rollups and a stalemate after stereo dropkicks. Carter fires off some kicks to get Candice reeling, including a facewash boot with Candice draped on the bottom rope. It gets two. Candice can’t lock in the Gargano Escape and Carter slips free with some shots. However, Candice locks it in and Carter taps.

Winner: Candice LeRae in 4:28 [**]

Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong

These two had a TakeOver match that I gave ****1/2 last year. The expected quality mat grappling kicks this one off. Strong starts getting cocky and Riddle shut shim up with some stiff shots. Strong drops him with a front suplex onto the top rope heading into the commercial break. Returning, STrong is in control. Riddle fights back with strikes, including a Pele. he gets in some corner forearms and an Exploder. Strong catches the PK and turns it into the Strong Hold. Riddle fights out and wins out a series with the Bro Derek. That’s enough to wrap things up.

Winner: Matt Riddle in 10:52 [***]

Post-match, two big dudes run in and attack Riddle. He fights back but then wail on him with boots and corner splashes. A jumping elbow/backbreaker combo follows. Then, we hear the voice of Malcolm Bivens! He walks out introducing himself and figured that with no Pete Dunne around, he wanted to introduce Riddle to the future of the NXT tag division. He still doesn’t give us a name though.

NEXT WEEK ~ Velveteen Dream vs. Bobby Fish! A Second Chance Gauntlet featuring all prior losers getting another shot at the final spot in the women’s ladder match! Keith Lee vs. Dominiak Dijakovic vs. Damian Priest for the North American Title!

Triple H is in the ring when we return. He talks about the Gargano/Ciampa feud but Ciampa quickly cuts him out and joins him in the ring. He says everything that needs to be said has already been said. He says to bring that boy out here. HHH tells him there will be no physicality tonight and brings out Johnny. He shows up saying he doesn’t want to get in a ring with that psycho. He also doesn’t think he should get fined when the PC destruction was Ciampa’s fault. HHH makes him get in the ring. He wants this to end on a big stage. Johnny says that was supposed to happen last year but he broke his neck. Johnny’s only regret is that he didn’t break it. Ciampa says this needs to end. They don’t need a crowd or arena. HHH asks how long Johnny needs to be ready. he says two more weeks to heal up from the PC brawl. HHH agrees. He’ll put a ring in an empty building and it ends there. After its’ done, they will never touch in NXT again. Strangely, the odd videos that have been airing for weeks appear on the tron. KILLER KROSS! His face is seen a few times on the tron but the show ends.

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

While none of the matches this week were anything special, I quite enjoyed the show. They threw a fair amount at us. They set up a match for next week, brought back Io Shirai, introduced Malcolm Bivens, and showcased Killer Cross. Enjoyable stuff.