wrestling / TV Reports
Kevin’s WWE NXT Review 5.11.21
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May 11th, 2021 | Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida
Austin Theory vs. Karrion Kross
Right into the non-title action this week. The match stems from Theory’s interaction with Scarlett last week. Most of this went exactly as you’d expect. Kross mostly shrugged off whatever Theory threw at him in the early stages but then Theory got in enough offense with the help of Johnny Gargano to make it not a squash. Still, Kross put him down with the Kross Jacket or whatever he calls his mediocre finisher in 6:03. It did just what it needed to do and was fine enough. [**]
Post-match, Finn Bálor popped up behind Kross just like was done to him a while back. Finn said he doesn’t wait in line and wants his rematch, which Kross agreed too.
Earlier today, Leon Ruff asked William Regal for a match but the GM declined because of the beating he took last week. Ruff got mad and started trashing the room until he was kicked out. I love Leon’s fire.
Breezango vs. MSK
Hey, it’s more non-title wrestling. For the most part, Breezango fills a role on NXT. They’re the veteran team who is still over and can have solid matches. The issue is that none of what they do feels all that interesting. Anyway, with this being two babyface teams, it didn’t quite have the intensity or great crowd that you’d have if there was a team to dislike. Lee got isolated before making the tag to Carter, which set up the fun section of the match. That included a slugfest, high octane offense, and a ref leap frog spot that some people online felt was an awful decision. I think it was mostly fine. A blockbuster/spinebuster combo ended this in 10:49. Just some quality tag team wrestling. MSK is on fire and they’re a blast of a duo to have around. [***]
Breezango shook hands despite being frustrated, while MSK sent a message to Legado del Fantasma.
Backstage, Johnny Gargano complained to Regal about facing Bronson Reed and asked why he hated him. Regal said he valued him, put him over as champion, and said his headband is now being made into merchandise but he’ll still defend the gold next week.
While commentary plugged TakeOver: In Your House, Ever-Rise popped up behind them with an Ever-Rise Live sign.
Pete Dunne cut a promo in the ring saying that he doesn’t blame Karrion Kross for picking Finn Bálor because he knows he’s the toughest opponent. As the baddest man in NXT, he’ll be champion soon. He issued an open challenge and Leon Ruff answered by attacking him from behind.
Leon Ruff vs. Pete Dunne
Try as he may, Leon Ruff had no chance here. He wasn’t medically cleared, so Dunne was in control. Ruff still showed the fire that he’s been nailing lately, getting in a few hope spots but this was mostly a squash. The referee stopped this after some elbows to the head in 3:03. Perfect booking. Dunne looked great and Ruff did his thing in a loss. Dunne added a finger snap after the bell. [NR]
Legado del Fantasma got promo time in the back to put over Santos Escobar. He said that he no longer will allow KUSHIDA to be champion after today.
Franky Monet debuts in two weeks. Kross/Bálor II also in two weeks.
NXT Women’s Championship: Raquel Gonzalez [c] vs. Mercedes Martinez
BIG MEATY WOMEN BUMPING MEAT. It works for ladies too as these are two absolutely bruising females who could beat the hell out of each other. Dakota Kai was with Raquel, looking like an absolute 10/10. Right off the bat, they went at each other and brawled through the commercial break. Martinez even sent Dakota scurrying. Returning from break, they continued to just throw bombs at each other, which is kind of what I wanted from this. Some of the stuff they pulled off came off really well, like the Alley-Oop Bomb by Gonzalez and some of Martinez’s knee strikes. In the end, Raquel overcame most of it and used the one-armed powerbomb to retain in 11:58. A good, hard-hitting match that only lacked some drama because nobody believed in a title change. Still, a great person for Raquel to work with and Martinez proves her value here. [***¼]
Bronson Reed was found attacked in the locker room and he blamed The Way for it.
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott cut a promo on the ramp, introducing his new stable known as Hit Row Records. They went down to the ring where Swerve spoke in a chair that looks like it belongs in a recording studio, which was a nice touch. AJ Francis is known as “Top Dolla” Francis, Briana Brandy is “B-Fab” Brandy, and of course, there’s Ashante “Thee” Adonis. Top Dolla did some rapping and Swerve said they’re NXT’s new problem. I dug this segment and hope it means big things for Scott.
Earlier today, Cameron Grimes was bidding on a house for auction. He offered up $8 million but of course, was outbid by THAT DAMN TED DIBIASE who put up $20 million. These segments are absolute gold.
Zoey Stark got some sitdown promo time where she said she used to be a Toni Storm fan but now, Storm has lost her mind. She doesn’t like Zoey because she works hard in the gym. Something like that.
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Oney Lorcan
Two of my favorite guys to watch wrestle just having some back and forth action. They had a match that kind of right up their alley with some stiff strikes and entertaining grappling. Kyle/Pete feels like what we’re going to get at TakeOver, so this is an ideal match to build it. Lorcan wore Kyle down and looked to really soften him up for his buddy. Kyle had to rally late and hit the Brainbuster before adding the top rope knee to win in 8:58. Just some good wrestling that got the point across. [***]
Post-match, Pete Dunne hit the ring for a beatdown but Bobby Fish made his return to save his old friend. Kyle was happy to see him but the two parted ways and are going to focus on solo things.
A cool superhero movie trailer style vignette for The Way aired. Meanwhile, Bronson Reed announced that his match with Gargano next week will be in a Steel Cage.
NXT Cruiserweight Championship 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match: KUSHIDA [c] vs. Santos Escobar
I loved their first meeting so I had high hopes for this one. I’m also a sucker for this stipulation. It started with a brawl and as Legado del Fantasma tried getting involved, MSK arrived and they were all kicked out, making this one on one. KUSHIDA hit a big dive onto Escobar before a break. When they returned, this was clearly evenly matched. The two guys kept trading stuff and kept up the intensity level. It took a while but the first fall came at 10:57 when Escobar hit the Phantom Driver. I liked how they were going to go to commercial but KUSHIDA slapped on the armbreaker and evened it up in 11:23. Returning from a second break, you could fell things the importance move up as each guy had an added level of desperation. Things like a reversal pinfall sequence felt like it mattered because you believed this could end at any moment. The closing stretch was great, seeing Escobar escape the Hoverboard Lock, only to fall to a sweet Northern Lights Suplex in 22:14. A hell of a match that lived up to the original and helped make the title feel more important. [****]
