wrestling / News

NXT House Show Results 6.07.19 – Tampa, Florida: More Detailed Report

June 8, 2019 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris
Kushida NXT 5-29-19

As noted earlier, WWE held a live NXT last night in Tampa, Florida. You can check out another, more detailed report of last night’s show, courtesy of Chris Hendricks and PWInsider below.

Attendance – 358

The Quick Run-Down:
Kushida defeated Kona Reeves

Jessamyn Duke defeated Jessie Elaban

Robert Strauss/Outliers promo.

Outliers (Dan Matha and Riddick Moss) Defeated Brennan Williams and Isiah “Swerve” Rock

Babatunde defeated Mark “The Beast” Comorado with swinging side slam Malcolm Blivens Promo with Jermaine Haley and Brandon Vink

NXT Tag Team Championship:  Street Profits defeated Jermaine Haley and Brandon Vink

Albert Hardie Jr defeated Boa.

Rachel Evers and Mia Yim defeated Vanessa Borne and Aaliyah

NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream defeated Shane Thorne

The Review:

This was not a bad NXT Florida Loop show but it was not on par with the previous night in Largo and other shows they have put on in this same location in Tampa. There was good wrestling but the card lacked an outstanding match and none of the matches reached the level of a fantastic match that other cards without a huge headliner normally have. It was still a fun show to attend and the wrestlers worked hard.

Kushida defeated Kona Reeves

This was a great opener and one of the better matches of the entire night. Kushida was extraordinarily over with the Tampa crowd and his opponent, Kona Reeves, was despised which set-up a perfect match dynamic the crowd fed into. Kusida dominated most of the match through spectacular maneuvers and hard strikes but Kona would cut him off with cheap tactics that drew heavy heat from the crowd. Eventually, Kushida gained control after a hard enziguri which led him to hit a tilt-a-whirl that he transitioned into his Hoverboard Lock that popped the crowd and gave him the victory.

Jessamyn Duke defeated Jessie Elaban

This was a solid match that could be very good in a year or two when both are a little more experienced. One thing is for sure, with her MMA background, Jessamyn Duke has fantastic striking ability especially with her kicks that look painful and she is able to generate the same effect with her kicks pretty much anywhere on her opponent’s body. She has gotten better since the last time I saw her but still needs to some more time to reach her potential. Jessie Elaban, who herself has been growing in a positive way as a performer, still needs a more experienced wrestler to help her deliver a great match so this probably was not the best match-up for either woman but they made it work. Duke controlled most of the match with her strikes but Jessie was able to mount to comebacks and hit some pretty cool offense along the way like a springboard falling back elbow drop. During her last comeback, Jessie was stopped in her tracks by a hard strike to the head by Duke who then won the match.

Robert Strauss and The Outliers promo

Robert Strauss came out and was able to garner a good amount of heat from the crowd by doing very little outside of bragging about himself but I guess the fine people of Tampa do not like braggarts. He then brings out his tag team, The Outliers comprised of Dan Matha and Riddick Moss who took this gimmick in a new direction. Before they were acting just as tough guys but tonight they acted like High School Football jocks that chest bumped and taunted the crowd like juveniles. This actually worked to get heat and was fun to watch.

Outliers (Dan Matha and Riddick Moss) defeated Brennan Williams and Isiah “Swerve” Rock 

This was a fairly good match that went back and forth with one consistent theme, every time the Outliers took control they would act like they just scored a touchdown and would hoot and holler. These antics worked to get heat and made the match stand-out along with the work of the newly minted Isiah “Swerve” Rock (Shane Strickland). Isiah was able to do some tremendous maneuvers in this match and the guy has tremendous ability. His powerhouse partner, Williams, is stuck in a strange gimmick and during two comebacks he would use his rear end like Naomi which is just weird to see especially when he is wearing daisy dukes. Regardless, it looked like Rock and Williams had a victory with Rock hitting an awesome kick to Moss’s head but Strauss pulled an old school manager trick by distracting the referee over some small detail only for Matha to come in and deliver a big boot to Rock for the victory. The Outliers then celebrated like they won the Super Bowl, it was entertaining.

Babatunde defeated Mark “The Beast” Comorado

This was a ten-minute match that should have been a one possibly two-minute squash match. Babatunde got a fairly big pop from the crowd who expected him just to stomp Comorado or “The Beast”. While in previous performances, The Beast looked like an Ultimate Warrior rip-off, tonight he looked strangely like Jim Duggan. At least, that is what the Tampa crowd thought as the chanted “Duggan” at him and “Ohhhhhh!” during the few minutes he was in control of the match. It was a little sloppy but Babatunde won with a Swinging Side Slam.

Malcolm Blivens Promo with Jermaine Haley and Brandon Vink.

Blivens came out bragging that he got his clients an NXT Tag Team Championship because he was the NXT Image rehabilitator.

NXT Tag Team Championship: Street Profits defeated Jermaine Haley and Brandon Vink

This was another fairly good match where the Street Profits had to carry Haley (Jonah Rock) and Vink a bit but it worked and it had a good unexpected finish. Due to Blivens’ interference, it looked like Haley and Vink could win when Haley went for a spear on Ford which would be followed by a Haley running splash to win the Championship but Ford was amazingly able to dodge it so Vink speared Haley which led to a quick roll-up victory for Ford and the Street Profits retained.

Albert Hardie Jr defeated Boa with deadlift German Suplex

This was a match that literally happened the night before but at least they changed up what happened with Albert Hardie Jr. controlling most of the match instead of Boa. Boa did make a comeback with his very impressive kicks but Albert Hardie Jr. was able to win with a Deadlift German Suplex.

Rachel Evers and Mia Yim defeated Vanessa Borne and Aaliyah

This was an average match between Borne and Aaliyah who are a very good female tag team on the Loop against two singles wrestlers thrown together. The match was a little off due to this dynamic but the Tampa crowd loved Mia Yim and constantly chanted her name. Despite Borne and Aliyah’s heel tactics, Evers and Yim were able to win when Yim hit a half-nelson lock to knee to the face, almost like a Zack Attack, for the victory.

NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream defeated Shane Thorne

This was a good but not great Main Event, which is a disappointment for an NXT Tampa show. Dream was very much over with the crowd but few knew Thorne, who is still trying his bored gimmick where he acts disinterested in a chair. The crowd did viciously boo him due to how much they loved Dream, who was very over with the crowd. They did have several impressive spots and Thorne was more than able to hold his own against Dream, when it seemed Thorne was about the achieve victory, Dream hit his Death Valley Bomb out of nowhere for the victory. This popped the crowd in a major way but this show still left you wanting something a little more.