Pantoja’s WWE NXT 2.0 Review 5.10.22

WWE NXT

May 10th, 2022 | Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida

Hell yeah, a great episode for me to return to because I love women’s wrestling. We opened to a video package of what happened to Bron Breakker last week after retaining the NXT Title.

NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship: Toxic Attraction [c] vs. Roxanne Perez and Wendy Choo

I admittedly don’t know much about Roxanne Perez. Toxic Attraction is still a stable I dig. Wendy Choo took out the champs and Mandy Rose with a cross body off the top instead of making a typical entrance. That got the challengers off to a good start but Jacy Jayne ran in with a neckbreaker on Perez to swing the momentum. Choo got the mild tag soon after but was isolated through the commercial break. Perez also received a mild tag, hitting a pretty sweet standing twisting moonsault that should’ve gotten a better pop. Rose got in the ring late and Choo took her down but that left Perez alone to eat a superkick counter to Code Red, giving Dolan the win in 10:01. That was a good opener. Choo has impressed in the ring despite her gimmick. It’s one of those characters that will never work on a bigger stage (it barely does here) so they should change it because she’s pretty good. [***]

Post-match, Choo wanted revenge but got beat up by Toxic Attraction.

We got footage of Grayson Waller and Tiffany Stratton going shopping together. You know, I actually like this pairing from a character perspective.

Diamond Mine spoke backstage as the Creed Brothers were unhappy with Roderick Strong for interfering last week because now the one loss on the Viking Raiders’ NXT record is tainted. They are going to have another match with them next week, expecting to win the right way. Roddy said he believed in them and brought in a new Diamond Mine member, Damon Kemp. The Creeds still weren’t happy because additions should be group decisions.

Joe Gacy came out with his minions. Eww, who let men on this show? Go away. He just spoke about how Breakker needs to take the next step in his journey. These two minions with him have stood out from the pack though he doesn’t reveal who they are. This Gacy gimmick is along the same lines as others throughout history and they rarely work. This one isn’t.

Sarray, a school girl once again, met up with Andre Chase and Bodie Hayward. She requested a mixed tag with Chase in Japanese, which Hayward hilariously understood because Chase U has a foreign language department that Andre didn’t even know about. Andre agreed and it’ll be him and Sarray against Stratton and Waller.

At the PC, Ivy Nile challenged dudes to a push-up challenge that they couldn’t really keep up with.

BREAKOUT TOURNAMENT BRACKETS

· Arianna Grace vs. Nikkita Lyons

· Fallon Henley vs. Sloane Jacobs

· Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez

· Lash Legend vs. Tatum Paxley

NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Quarterfinals: Fallon Henley vs. Sloane Jacobs

Jacobs is only 19. Henley has more of a gimmick here as Jacobs is kind of just a generic wrestler now. Henley did some taunting in the middle, showing personality. Jacobs got in a few decent moves as Brooks and Jensen came out to cheer on Henley. They had some back and forth before Henley won with a running knee in 4:16. It wasn’t all that bad though it was basic and dull. [*½]

One of the few men I’ll allow on this show, Santos Escobar and Legado del Fantasma was interviewed and said they don’t have any remorse about kidnapping AJ Galante.

An Alba Frye vignette aired.

Tony D’Angelo and some goons jumped Cruz Del Toro as he went to start the car. They put him in the trunk and kidnapped him. I didn’t even know they changed Raul Mendoza’s name.

Alba Fyre vs. Amari Miller

It’s Miller’s return from an injury two months ago that even saw her do a stretcher job. I don’t like a lot of the renaming WWE does and I don’t think Alba Fyre is great but I never really dug the Kay Lee Ray name either. The presentation on Fyre is solid though over the top. While this happened, we got PIP of Ivy Nile challenging dudes to do burpees. Although Miller has competed on NXT and LVL Up a bit, she was just here to get squashed. She got in a few bits of offense but never really threatened. Fyre won with a Swanton in 3:38. [NR]

Solo Sikoa locked Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams out of the building.

Cora Jade was interviewed and said that she’ll prove herself tonight against a future Hall of Famer.

Solo Sikoa came out to cut a promo to “Solo” chants. Man, you cannot deny that he’s an Uso. He talked about wanting a singles shot at the North American Title. Cameron Grimes came out to “you got lucky” chants and told Sikoa that Hayes has a title shot set for TakeOver but he’ll get the opportunity after. As Sikoa left, Williams and Hayes snuck in from behind and took out Grimes. Sikoa finally noticed and made the save.

We got a hilariously done scene where Legado Del Fantasma called Tony D’Angelo like it was a B-movie. They threatened each other a lot.

A lame interview segment between Nathan Frazer and Xyon Quinn involved Wes Lee interrupting and setting up Quinn vs. Lee.

Andre Chase and Sarray vs. Grayson Waller and Tiffany Stratton

This Sarray gimmick is so weird. I did chuckle though at how her transformation led to Hayward wearing her schoolgirl stuff and Chase having a blue sweater. The early stages saw the faces get the upper hand as Stratton and Waller had to regroup outside heading into a commercial break. Returning, Chase was now in trouble as Waller cockily worked him over. I do like how Waller prevented the tag as even when he kicked out of an inside cradle, he immediately positioned himself in front of the tag. Waller did his big elbow and launched Stratton into a moonsault on Chase. Sarray got the hot tag and even planted a dropkick on Waller. Stratton had a pin on Sarray but Hayward blew a horn that distracted her, so she hit him with a plancha. Once back inside, Sarray rolled her up to win in 10:26. That was pretty fun, mostly because Chase is just a delight. That man is putting in the work to make this gimmick a hit. Stratton and Sarray were also better than usual. [**½]

Now, Ivy Nile was doing lunges with Bulgarian bags. Guys were dropping like flies.

Mr. Stone was interviewed and talked about how stepping to Von Wagner puts you on the shelf. Ikemen Jiro, one of his victims, ran in for a fight until officials pulled them apart.

Backstage, Toxic Attraction made fun of Indi Hartwell for being sad about Dexter Lumis (unnamed) being gone. Mandy can’t relate because nobody has ever left her.

NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Quarterfinals: Arianna Grace vs. Nikkita Lyons

Lyons is the favorite of this tourney. This match was mostly here to cement that, with Lyons getting the bulk of the offense. Grace took her down early but otherwise didn’t do much. She ate a release German suplex and then lost to the split splash in 3:08. [NR]

Ivy Nile did more workouts and only one guy was left. She outlasted him in pull-ups and was disappointed.

We got a video package to hype Cora Jade vs. Natalya.

The Viking Raiders cut a promo to hype the rematch with The Creed Brothers.

NEXT WEEK

· The Creed Brothers vs. The Viking Raiders

· Santos Escobar vs. Tony D’Angelo

· Brok Breakker answers Joe Gacy’s invitation to join him

Cora Jade vs. Natalya

Not the most exciting main event but at least it gives Cora Jade a spotlight. Is NXT running house shows across Florida still? I don’t think so but if they want the young wrestlers to improve, a house show loop working the likes of Natalya, Ziggler, and other veterans is the way to go. Anyway, the early exchanges saw Jade stay level with Natalya, showcasing that she had indeed studied Natalya and could hang with the veteran. She’d hit bursts of offense like sending Nattie outside and a tornado DDT, though Natalya remained in control. After a break, Nattie got more vicious, wrapping Jade’s leg around the ring post like late ‘90s Bret Hart. Not as good but still. Jade sold the hell out of everything, screaming in agony each time out. She finally pulled Nattie into the post and then hit Sliced Bread for two. Jade went for the Sharpshooter but Natalya overpowered her and slapped on her own Sharpshooter. Jade struggled and fought, refusing to quit before passing out in 14:06. That was a very good main event though that could’ve meant more against a bigger star or with more build. Still, Cora continues to be a blossoming star. [***¼]

Post-match, Nattie bragged that everyone taps but when she found out that Cora didn’t, she helped her and showed respect.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

I might be the high man on this review but I enjoyed that show. Obviously it didn’t blow me away in the ring but there were good bookend matches, a fun tag in the middle, and some quirky little segments. I also like the spotlight being on the women without them overhyping/making a huge deal out of it.