More Detailed NXT Results 3.22.19: Stokely Hathaway’s Debut, More

– PWInsider has a new set of more detailed results from Friday’s NXT live event in Tampa, Florida. You can see them below:

Attendance- 500, packed house with a vibrant crowd
Theme of the Night! – “The Return of the Manager”

Opener: Raul Mendoza defeated Albert Hardie via a Fisherman’s Driver.
This match was outstanding and a fantastic way to start a great card that was booked well that mixed well with the enthusiastic crowd. Even though Albert Hardie (ACH) lost, this was a match that elevated both wrestlers at least to local fans in this part of the Florida Loop and one can assume that they are using Raul Mendoza to be a Jedi Master for Albert Hardie. Hardie changed my opinion completely about him, I just was not impressed with what I saw when I saw ACH live at an event in Pasco county and on Internet clips. That all changed tonight because Albert Hardie seemed to go all out in this match that was fast paced with a constant high-level work rate. They traded near falls where Albert really liked good but he got caught by Raul who was then able to hit a Fisherman’s Driver for the pin. A very good match.

Katy Catanzaro defeated Deonna Purrazzo.
Both women received positive reactions from the crowd upon their entrances but once Deonna showed the crowd that she was a heel by hitting a cheap shot on Kacy, most of the crowd booed Deonna while really routing for Kacy. Deonna dominated most of the match and then would let the crowd know it by doing simple things like holding her arms out in an arrogant way. I believe this was due to Deonna’s actions in part but mainly due to Kacy’s ability to sell which she is fantastic at. Deonna’s domination and Kacy’s selling built an awesome comeback that was cut off several times by Deonna but eventually Kacy was able to hit an extraordinary move which I believe is going to be her finisher. I would describe it as a Tilt-A-Whirl Stunner where she spins herself around her opponent to then nail a Stunner at the end of it. It was impressive and so was this match. Both of these ladies have a bright future in my opinion.

Babatunde with Count Moore (fka Stokely Hathaway) defeated “The Beast” Nick Comorato.
Next, loud heavy metal music hit and a wrestler came bursting through the curtains with immense intensity and into the ring. He then went to two different corners and raised his hands with a lot of grunting involved. I had no idea who this was and it was announced that he was “The Beast” Nick Comorato. Nick, excuse me, The Beast then left the ring and waited ring side when the lights went out and Babatunde’s music hit. A spotlight then showed the curtains when Babatunde came out with a shorter African American gentleman in a suit. Babatunde was wearing the same half mask he has been recently that is awesome. It covers the lower half of his face and has the skull structure of the lower half of the face on it. Along with the presentation and that mask, his music makes his entrance awesome which is why he is always over locally in this section of the Florida Loop regardless of playing a heel or face. The gentleman with him was the artist formerly known as Stokely Hathaway and is apparently Babatunde’s manager. While Babatunde’s entrance was awesome, Count Moore (what a name) then took over and cut a hilarious, yet slanderous promo that popped the crowd. It has been so long since I have seen a promo that good that I looked more into this Count Moore and I am surprised the WWE signed him because it has been so long since they have had legit good managers in their ranks. I know there was Paul Ellering in NXT but he was rarely on the road with AOP and NXT occasionally makes some wrestlers go out with other wrestlers ring side but that has always seemed like an experiment or a way for a certain wrestler to work on some skill the crowd is oblivious to. This was none of that because the Count was clearly Babatunde’s mouthpiece and he did a better job, in my opinion, than Lio Rush, whose mic ability I respect to a high degree. Lio used to tag with Babatunde and he was the mouthpiece of the team. Vince saw a video them performing and then brought up Lio to Raw so those skills could breathe life into Bobby Lashley’s career. Lio was that good and I still think Count Moore was better. I truly hope this is a start of a return of managers to the WWE because I believe they are sorely needed for the main product to improve. The match then started and while the Beast got some offense in, Babatunde was able to hit Camaro with his swinging side slam finisher for the win which got a pop even though he was supposed to be the heel. There were several Stokely chants during the match and would randomly spew insults that got laughs at the crowd. He really impressed me.

Promo: The revolution has started because another manager came out! Kidding, this is probably an experiment according to my knowledge of how this company works but my heart wants these new managers as well as others they should sign to improve their product. Alright, time to come down from my soap box, the manager that came out was Robert Strauss (Robbie E), who cut a promo announcing he is managing Riddick Moss and that he would do great things because he will be recruiting a stable of monsters. Why? Because he is a man and he knows how to win, what to do, when to do it and how to do it which is why Moss is so great as well apparently. Strauss looked like a nerd businessman from the 80’s, so think nerdy Gordon Gecko with a bad wig or what the spawn of Harvey Whippleman and Ted Cruz would look like if he grew up to be an insurance salesman. This was just a promo announcing Moss would fight and win later.

Aaliyah and Vanessa Borne defeated Jesse & MJ Jenkins by cheating to surprise pin.
This was an average match but had great heat generated from the heels, Aaliyah and Vanessa Borne. The crowd popped loudly for Borne and Aaliyah despite the fact they were the heels. Eventually they were able to get heat through the use of cheap tactics on Jesse and MJ. In the end, Aaliyah won the match when she got a surprise pin. Half of the crowd popped for while the other half booed.

NXT Tag Team Championship: War Raiders defeated Luke Menzies & Kassius Ohno to retain the titles.
After an extraordinarily hard hitting and surprisingly good match that was given a lot of time, I gained a newfound appreciation for all four men’s abilities in the ring but especially Ohno, who worked with Menzies as the heel team. I think a major factor of this being such a good Tag Title match was due to Ohno carrying a lot for his team helping Luke Menzies look really good. This match went back and forth for the first half before the Raiders took over and hit all of their impressive moves but after each one Ohno or Menzies would make a slight comeback, especially Ohno with some impressive strikes but this would only last until the Raiders another impactful tag team maneuver. The Raiders whip corner clothesline on Menzies then their epic Rowe picks up Hanson to then drop him butt first down onto their opponent who is seated on the first turnbuckle in the corner of the ring. This looks brutal live when it is hit and it was brutal tonight but somehow Menzies kicked out. Finally, after cutting off another heel comeback attempt the Raiders hit a Double Team Powerslam or Thor’s Hammer for the win.

Intermission.

Shane Thorne Defeated Jeet Rama after laying down on Jeet’s Monkey Flip to cradle pin attempt.
This was another good match with strong technical wrestling from both wrestlers. Jeet Rama is a legit good grappler with his strong Kushti background but he had struggled mixing in those skills with his professional wrestling ability in the past but in this match, he seemed to figure it out and he made it work in this match which was the best I have seen him have. His opponent, Shane Thorne was the clear heel and has a new gimmick, “Solo Shane”. He has new music, a new look, a new attitude, and new trunks that looked similar to the late great Flyin’ Brian Pillman’s Cincinnati Bengals black and orange trunks. His new attitude worked with him as a heel and seemed to be an enhanced version of himself. Florida Loop fans are generally great but you do get the occasional person who did not get enough attention as a child so they say something they think is funny or yell an insult at a wrestler. For whatever reason this happened a couple time to Thorne but each time he had a great comeback to them that were hysterical yet PG. Jeet looked great in the match due to his moves looking real, like I could see him use them in a fight and Thorne was able to show off what he could do as a singles wrestler which made for a good match. Thorne won after being dominated for most of it by Jeet, only getting offense in after he would cheat. He won by outsmarting Jeet who hit several cool looking running Monkey Flips that he would then transition into a pin attempt. Thorne say the last Monkey Flip coming when the crowd expected it to be the move that would have made Jeet the winner. That was not to be as Thorne sat down on Jeet’s cradle attempt allowing Thorne to get the pin victory to a shocked and upset crowd.

Dijakovic defeated Riddick Moss with Robert Strauss
Moss and Strauss came out with Strauss using the microphone to declare that his monster will destroy his very tiny competitor then Dijakovic came out, he is 6’7. This was another hard-hitting match that had constant interference from Strauss. Strauss and Moss also had several hilarious spots were Strauss would declare a time out. With a bewildered opponent and referee looking on, Strauss would then poor water into Moss’s mouth. This was just so absurd especially with how Strauss looked that it had the crowd laughing. This spot did build to something though, the last time Moss gets water, he then spits right into Dijakovic’s face and then hit a great half Nelson slam for a close near fall. Donovan Dijakovic did some great selling in this match and made several great comebacks with one including an awesome discus boot to a charging Moss. These comebacks would be cut off by either Moss’s great cheap moves or interference from Strauss. Moss almost won when Strauss interfered and Moss hit an awesome Spinning Side Power Bomb for a very close near fall. Moss almost won again by using his feet for leverage with Strauss holding Moss’s feet down from the outside but they were caught by the referee. This led referee to kick Strauss out from ringside which distracted Moss long enough for Dijakovic to hit his Feast Your Eyes finisher for the win. This was an awesome match.

Fatal Four Way NXT Women’s Championship:
Shayna Bayzler defeated Kairi Zane IO Shirai Bianca Blair when she pushed IO off Kairi to get the pin.
Amazing match that had so many great spots that I could not write them all down due to the quick pace of everything happening in the match. In a night of great matches, there was a reason this was the main event because these ladies brought it tonight. Shayna played the smart evil heel throughout the match by avoiding opponents when she could and then sneak attack her opponents when the opportunity presented itself which ultimately led to her victory. The most interesting thing to happen was when Kairi Sane and Io Shirai cleared the ring only to turn around, face each other, and have a stare down. This made the crowd go nuts and they then started wrestling hard for about a minute until the heels jumped them. The finish came when Belair took out Sane, who was then taken out by Io who went for the pin only for Shayna to pick her up and throw her almost out of the ring so that she could then get the pin. Awesome, just awesome and I am looking forward to seeing which match is better. This one or the one coming up at Takeover.

Another great Florida Loop Show in Tampa.