AEW Dynamite 5/31/23 Results and Review

Well, I had a couple of days off from work so I decided to wait before reviewing all of the things I missed in wrestling. So here we go, let’s play catch up so that we can enjoy a little bit of wrestling and banter, for all two of you readers.

Blackpool Combat Club defeated The Lucha Brothers and Bandido

There’s a lot of trios matches in AEW, which I don’t mind, but it is apparent that they really like them. Not only that, we got some luchadors up front, which is always cool in my book. El Chapulin lives with the awesome outfit from one of the lucha guys, Bandido. A fun opener with a lot of back and forth action, and some great tags. This was a lot of fun with some great high flying moves, and some reversals from the Blackpool Combat Club. Smart moves, psychology was there, and well, the BCC just gets the win, but it wasn’t a pushover matchup in any way. Fun is how I’d describe this one, as the crowd was into it as well as I was.

Jay White and Juice Robinson came out, and I was falling asleep so this was meh, just an interview segment. It’s ok I guess. FTR came out and the four men started to brawl, and set up a match I’m sure, but I was so tired that this wasn’t that grand for me. I’m sorry, I just think this will lead to a great match next week with Ricky Starks.

Swerve Strickland defeated Big Bill and Trent Beretta in a triple threat match

Big Bill was mopping up at one point, truly using his size to throw the others around. I found it interesting overall, as he was being booked like a larger wrestler, slow and methodical. Swerve and Trent didn’t just roll over, mind you, but they were definitely having to deal with the bigger man. I found that psychology to be good, and interesting overall. A double suplex impressed me, and the crowd went wild too for it, making this triple threat a lot of fun to watch. Swerve would get the pinfall after some nice counters, and seizing the victory with an interesting finisher and crucifix pin. Fun stuff.

Don Callis and Takeshita get booed out of the building, in a promo. It wasn’t bad. There will be a match with Kenny Omega I’m sure.

Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy defeated Gates of Agony in a tag match

The team of Gates of Agony had this match sewn up for the most part. They threw around their opponents left to right, and then some. I couldn’t believe how much attention was paid to the beatdown that was going on. Cassidy and Allin scored a pinfall after the coffin drop, and some previous fast offense. However, the Gates of Agony delivered a beat down throughout, and I was personally impressed with how it went down. It was a fun match.

Sting came down with a bat, and the crowd went nuts.

Kris Statlander defeated Nyla Rose in the AEW Women’s Title match

I gotta admit, the women’s division in AEW impresses a lot. This was a hard hitting match, and both women put in some work, getting some hits in and moves that you don’t usually see with women’s wrestling under 5 minutes ala WWE sometimes. I found this to be great fun, with Statlander escaping, because Nyla Rose is no joke as a competitor. A good back and forth match, with some nice maneuvers. I liked it a lot. A 450 splash and Statlander got the victory, in a hard hitting match.

Adam Cole and Dr. Britt Baker defeated Chris Jericho and Saraya in a mixed tag team match

A nice back and forth match here. Saraya wrestling is cool, and Britt Baker is always fun to watch too. Jericho and Cole hit each other hard, with some heavy chops, and great overall back and forth. Baker even got some offense on Jericho! That was fun to see, and the crowd was all over it. Cole and Baker would get the win, but it was not an easy battle, there was a good amount of back and forth here.

Overall thoughts

A good night of Dynamite if you ask me. It had a little bit of everything you could ask for in a wrestling show. It had a lot of fun, and some good wrestling. They also announced some fun matches for next week as well. This was just a fun night of wrestling, and definitely had me enjoying every bout.

WWE NXT 5/30/23 Results and Review

We conclude a lot of wrestling reviews with NXT, but you don’t care when or how I’m reviewing these things. I’m watching wrestling, and just keep on moving forward. I’ll have more razzle and dazzle in the near future, but for now I’m just trucking with what I can watch, without overdoing it.

Gigi Dolin defeated Jacy Jayne in a weaponized cage match

Dolin and Jayne beat the bricks out of one another in this match. There was some back and forth, but it was weaponized and really hard hitting at times. If you’re a fan of ECW and hardcore matches, this was definitely up your alley. It wasn’t bloody, so don’t expect this to have that type of color, but it was brutal. We had some moves on chairs, trashcans, and just a good deal of brutality for WWE women.  

Tyler Bate and Wes Lee defeated The Dyad in a tag team match

A good tag match with Bate and Lee pushing through a great deal of action, reversals, and hard hits. I liked the balancing act that this match had, and it really was memorable in terms of just Bate and Lee doing their thing. Their finisher was nice, dual top rope action. Mustafa Ali showed up and helped the good guys at one point, and it was definitely a fun match. At around 10 minutes or so, this was a nice little matchup overall.

Tiffany Stratton had a promo celebration of sorts. It was ok I guess. I didn’t like it. After some balloons dropped, a few of the NXT women came in and jumped her, and she was mad. Next week there will be a number one contender battle royal.

We found out that Blair Davenport was behind beating down people with a mask on, so that was something.

Joe Coffey defeated Channing Lorenzo

This wasn’t great. It was a decent back and forth affair, but I was falling asleep. Maybe I was tired, or maybe I just didn’t care, but it wasn’t a great match. It did have some fine moves, and modern style, but when the bell rang, I was really happy. This wasn’t the best match, and well, it’s not the last time we hae seen the two.

Cora Jade defeated Ivy Nile

Less than five minutes, and it was ok at best. There were a few power moves, but it ended with Jade getting the big W. Nile isn’t done yet, so we will see what will happen in the weeks to come. Jade and Nile had a decent back and forth offense, and proved why she’s  getting a small push in NXT. I was disappointed how short the match ended, but that’s the story they told.

Carmelo Hayes defeated Noam Dar in he NXT Title match

Hayes once again proving that he is a fighting champion and showed up to beat down Dar. Dar was not without having a bit of offense, but the crowd was all into it, including a nice leg drop from the top.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, a good night of NXT. Lots of things are coming which includes a visit from Baron Corbin to close out the show. Fun times, nothing too crazy to write home about, and we are all done with reviews for today. More fun stuff to come, I recommend this show.

WWE Monday Night Raw 5/29/23 Results and Review

Well, we are catching up to all things wrestling, and here we go, another crowded Raw. We go forward with a review of the happenings on Monday Night Raw. A recap of Night of Champions starts the show, and we are greeted by our announcers, and we go forward with another night of wrestling. For those few readers that are looking at seeing Raw live, I’ll be watching it live in Cleveland, as I have floor seats, so that will be awesome. Until then, let’s take a look at how things went down on this night for RAW.

Seth Rollins opened the show as champion and came through the crowd. After so much wrestling, I forgot how a lot of WWE starts, and it is with talking segments. I’m a wrestling purist at times, and enjoy watching wrestling, more than the talking segments.

AJ Styles came out and talked some with Seth Rollins. The Judgment Day came out and challenged AJ Styles and Seth Rollins to a tag match for later on RAW. This set up the main event, and I guess for that, I give the night a few plus signs.

Ricochet defeated The Miz in a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match

A good back and forth affair from these two. The Miz was wrestling like he had a sense of urgency, and was actually putting on a good show. Ricochet countered and did his thing too, pulling off some nice reversals and high flying maneuvers as well. The crowd was into this one as well, which made the match a lot of fun to watch. Ricochet got some serious air on a shooting star press and the victory was his.

Trish Stratus came out to talk, and she cut another promo about being the best. Becky Lynch came out and the two start to fight, with Zoey Stark getting dropped at one point. The numbers game was too much, and Becky got a beat down from the two women.

Indus Sher defeated Javier Bernal and Kevin Ventura-Cortes

The jobbers got buried here. It was a boring thing to me. Meh.

Imperium defeated Alpha Academy

Not much of a match, it was about 5 minutes long, and that was it. Imperium looked good, Alpha Academy was good, and well this was a little fun. Valhala was out at ringside with the Tag Champions on commentary. Fun stuff for how short it was. I like Alpha Academy personally, but this wasn’t a great match, just a little distraction of fun.

Ronda Rousey and Shayna Bayzler defeated Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville, and Damage Control, and Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi for the WWE Women’s tag team titles

Not a bad match at all, but just a little over 10 minutes, it wasn’t epic, but it was fun for what it was. Everyone got a little offense in, but it was Ronda Rousey with an armbar that would secure the win for her team. A little back and forth, some high flying moves, and some submissions were had before the end with Rousey getting the armbar on Shotzi. I had fun, hope you enjoyed it too.

Dolph Ziggler vs. jD McDonagh went to a double countout

This was another boring moment, at around a minute or so, and it was just a beat down for the most part. Dolph got a beat down, Mcdonagh kept trying to beat up Ziggler and well that was it. Nothing to see here, just a waste of time for me.

Cody Rhodes came out and basically wanted to challenge Brock Lesnar again, which was ok I guess. I don’t care to see them wrestle again, if you want my opinion regarding that.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Bronson Reed in a Money In The Bank Qualifying Match

A good back and forth match with Nakamura taking some good offense from Reed. Reed was able to get in a beating before eventually getting hit with the strong style showing of Nakamura. There was some smart psychology at times with Nakamura working on Reed with kicks here and there. Nakamura would hit his finisher a couple of times to get the win, in this match that didn’t seem too long, but it was fun none the less.

AJ Styles and Seth Rollins defeated The Judgment Day

Overall a fun match again, with some back and forth action throughout. AJ and Rollins make a great team overall, and it showed in this one. It wasn’t a squash though, both teams had a lot of offense, and within 13 minutes or so, things unraveled and we got a win from the good guys. Of course Dominik and Rhea were at ringside and they were a factor, but it didn’t matter, because Styles and Rollins get the win.

Overall Thoughts

At the end of the day, things went well overall. I liked this night of Raw. It had some good back and forth action, a little bit of talking thrown in, and some good matches. The crowd had a lot of fun with this, and I enjoyed it too. It was fun, that’s all I can say. A fun amount of wrestling and some good moments that we are going to no doubt get followed up on in the near future.

AEW Double or Nothing 2023 Results and Review

Alright, enough was enough, I saw he memes and saw hat so many people were posting that the arena wasn’t even full, so what? I went ahead into watching AEW with open eyes, and no judgments, because I love wrestling and just wanted to see what would happen overall. So here we go, my thoughts on AEW Double or Nothing 2023, from Las Vegas, Nevada. I was at the first AEW, by the way, and hat was a great time, so I was expecting big things.

Orange Cassidy wins a 21 Man Blackjack Battle Royal

A great overall opener, and the crowd was into it. I like a good Battle Royal and well, Orange Cassidy survived, more than got a lot of offense in this one. He outlasted a ton of wrestlers, some more famous than others. I don’t want to write out the list, so I won’t. But there was a great showing from all, including the luchadors, which were fun to watch. Big Bill was interesting, I thought he was going to win to be honest. Brian Cage, Dusting Rhodes, Swerve Strickland, and Penta El Zero Miedo was great to see in the end. Orange won, and wow, good overall fun match if you ask me, which you didn’t.

Adam Cole defeated Chris Jericho in an unsanctioned match w/ Sabu as enforcer

So this was your street fight, which wasn’t terrible, but the naming convention was a little weird. Jericho got the bricks beat off of him at one point by Dr. Baker, and Adam Cole got hit hard a few times too, this was back and forth, no one had an edge for too long, and there was a great deal of damage done, including a table at ringside that Cole fell through. The match had a lame ending with Adam Cole winning after hitting Jericho in the face with punches. He just hit him a bunch until the ref stopped it. Meh. I didn’t like that ending, and I thought they could’ve thought of something more creative to end the match.

FTR defeated Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett w/ special guest referee Mark Briscoe in the AEW Tag Team Title Match

Not exactly a classic, but definitely not a bad match either. I found this to be a good overall match with a lot of action. There was back and forth, and lots of brawling, with some moves from FTR being tandem. Lethal and Jarrett are a good team, and they work well together. At one point, however, Jarrett hit Briscoe with a guitar and knocked him out, making this very exciting. But then Karen Jarrett hit the second ref with a guitar! This was a fun match, and went nuts at one point. After Briscoe woke up, a bit of back and forth and a shatter machine to get the victory. This wasn’t too bad, it ended up being a fun match, and FTR wins again.

Wardlow defeated Christian in a ladder match for the TNT Championship

As far as ladder matches go, this was ok at best. I liked it, fair enough, with Christian taking some major hits. Wardlow is young, and the announce team mentioned that several times. I didn’t hate this, but it was at half speed sometimes. Wardlow is good, and he meshes well with Christian’s offense. Wardlow really showed off his strength, and threw Christian around a bit, which was interesting to see. The two didn’t immediately go for the ladders, mind you, they took a little time before introducing the ladder inside the right, although they did get a few throws outside. Some major moments occurred including one hell of a dive off the top of a ladder through a table, and just splat. Wardlow wins this one, but it wasn’t without some punishment, and even Arn Anderson showing up.

Toni Storm defeated Jamie Hayter for the AEW Women’s Championship

Jamie Hayter caught a beat down from Ruby Soho and Saraya before coming out, and got beat up on the way to the ring. Storm would try to focus on Hayter’s arm as a result, and was dominant initially. A short match, with Toni Storm getting the win, and that was that. She’s pretty cool, and she won the match, fun stuff. Hayter couldn’t compete with 3 on one, and her arm was just wrecked. Dang.

The House of Black defeated Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed in the AEW Trios Open House Match

Not a terrible match, with some great back and forth action in this one. I liked the way things moved through quickly, and notably with Gunn and the Acclaimed doing some great tandem things. House of Black is awesome, I liked how they work. In the end House of Black would get the win, and it was a fun match.

Jade Cargill defeated Taya Valkyrie in the TBS Championship match

This was a good overall women’s match, with lots of back and forth. I liked it a lot, with Jade getting a good deal of offense against Taya. Taya is impressive too, and I liked to see her wrestle. The two put on a good showcase, and it was only about 9 minutes, but still had some hard hits and reversals. Fun stuff here.

Kris Statlander defeated Jade Cargill for the TBS Championship

Well, this got the crowd going, it was a squash basically, with just 50 seconds of action. Statlander basically went in and conquered with a tombstone piledriver and wins the TBS title. Fun stuff here, bu not a whole lot of action to write about.

MJF defeated Darby Allin, Jack Perry, and Sammy Guevara in the AEW World Title Match

Alright, so 3 out of the 4 guys in this match were flying around the ring. I mean flying, with dives, frog splashes, and a lot more. It was intense, and just amazing to see. All participants got a bit of offense in, and MJF would get the win at the end. However, if there is a weak link it’s MJF in terms of extremes, not to say he isn’t a good wrestler, but the acrobatics of the other 3 really outshined traditional wrestling at times. I liked the flying a lot, although the lucha themed elements leave a little to be desired in terms of psychology. This was a lot of fun, and MJF survives an onslaught of offense from all corners. This was plain fun, and just about 30 minutes of pure offense, not a lot of rest holds, although there were some great submission moments.

Blackpool Combat Club defeated The Elite in an anarchy in the arena match

So this was a wreck of a match. It was a brawl across the arena, and a hardcore match from the 2000s. It’s an interesting concept, but the execution is a little weird. It had a lot of guys fighting in different areas, all of them just brawling. There wasn’t a lot of great moves here, just a lot of brawling, and what not. Well, at least for the first majority of the match, lots of back and forth around the arena. There is a lot to explore on this one, but the end came with an outsider coming in, and well this was just a fun match overall.

Overall Thoughts

There’s a lot of great wrestling going on with Double or Nothing. I found that each match had a little charm, and the whole ppv was good. Nearly 4 hours of action, so it was a lot, but it was fun. The main event delivered, but it was every match that added a little bit to the overall event. I liked it. I had fun, hope you did too, and I’m slowly caching up to all the wrestling possible. 

WWE NXT Battleground 2023 Results and Review

I have been watching NXT lately, and was going into this show with very little foreknowledge. I guess I should pay more attention to the weekly show. This review is coming a little late, and I decided to skip a bunch of wrestling because I can’t do it all, so we’re going with the big shows, except Night of Champions, because I was working all weekend. Sigh. Here’s my review of NXT Battleground.

Wes Lee defeated Joe Gacy and Tyler Bate in a triple threat match for the NXT North American Title

 An excellent showcase of wrestling from a few different styles. From strong style to modern wrestling, there was a little something for everyone. This was definitely one of the better triple threat matches I’ve seen in a long time, and the trio really put the boots to one another. The crowd was into it, and I definitely felt it was a good opener for the big NXT show. Wes Lee managed to escape with the win, but it was a lot of back and forth before he managed the victory. A fun opener, with a lot of crowd interaction to boot.

Noam Dar defeated Dragon Lee in a WWE NXT Heritage Cup Title

I didn’t realize that this match had rounds. It’s interesting to change things up. The match was a nice back and forth one. Lee was using a more lucha style than Dar, and Dar was doing modern wrestling moves. Both men had turns taking advantage of the leverage needed to win, and each picked up wins before Noam Dar got the upper hand with an extra win. This was a fun match, but not great, I didn’t like the rules, as I don’t think pro wrestling should have rounds.

Ilja Dragunov defeated Dijak in a Last Man Standing Match

These two beat the bricks off of one another. There were a lot of great moments, solid hits, but the stairs were introduced and all bets were off. I haven’t seen stair play like this ever, and wow, Dragunov really beat the crap out of Dijak with the stairs. There were also some incredible chops, that even Ric Flair would be proud of, as there were some moments where the two just exchanged the hardest hits I’ve seen in a match that wasn’t UFC. This was a fight. I say that Dragunov won, but not without a LOT of hits, and what may very well be a legit broken arm or something, cause wow, his body was in bad shape. This was a fight above all else, and it received a lot of praise from the crowd.

Gallus defeated The Creed Brothers in the WWE NXT Tag Team Championship Match

After the match that had so much hard hits, it was hard to get into another. This match was a modern match with a lot of back and forth. The Creed brothers are impressive with their athleticism, and did some moves that I applauded. That included a nice stand up moonsault, and some more back and forth tag team moves that were great. Gallus were more hard hitting, like the Steiner brothers at times, while the Creed Brothers were high flying overall. Either way, good overall match with a lot of back and forth, neither team making a hugely dominant position. The finish came with a couple of distractions, and was not half bad, but this match was definitely not as fun as the Last Man Standing match.

Tiffany Stratton defeated Lyra Valkyria for the WWE NXT Women’s championship

This was an interesting back and forth match. The women were given time to really move around a lot, and Stratton impressed me. I didn’t know what to expect from her, but she definitely put on a show with some hard slaps and good submission moments. Her technical style was on display and it showed. I really liked her style, and looks. Lyra wasn’t bad either, but she was definitely getting attacked a great deal, especially her leg, which was the target of Tiffany’s offense for a great deal of the match. A good match, and definitely better than anything you see on tv from wwe at this point. Stratton has a beautiful moonsault, you gotta see it, it’s sweet. I liked this one, a lot.

Carmelo Hayes defeated Bron breaker in the WWE NXT Championship match

Before this match I was not familiar with either wrestler. Carmelo focused on Bron’s leg, and continued to focus on his offense in the early goings of the match. Bron would get a comeback, but he would favor his knee at various moments in the match. Hayes did some impressive high flying moves, and Bron’s power was on full display here. Hayes won with one hell of a leg drop from the top rope, and wow, just a good finish for a strong match.

Overall Thoughts

No one puts on shows like WWE in terms of fun. AEW might do well, but geez, I’m always stunned by how good NXT is. I’ve recently started to watch again, and am just stunned by the quality. A great show here, and a good main event, but that Last Man Standing match takes the cake. Overall, I liked this night of wrestling and recommend it for sure, you gotta check out what NXT has for everyone to see.

AEW Dynamite 5/24/23 Results and Review

Live from Las Vegas, AEW Dynamite came through live, and it was the lead show towards the big event on Sunday. Double or Nothing is going to happen live this Sunday and they are having a hard time selling tickets right now. I’ll be surprised if it sells out to be honest. I was there when the first one happened, and it was a packed house with a lot of great action. I loved it. But that was then, this is now, and we are going to be looking at AEW Dynamite from 5/24/23.

Orange Cassidy defeated Kyle Fletcher in the AEW International title match

I was not familiar with Fletcher at all, and neither did a lot of the people in the arena. This match was straight fire up front with Fletcher landing a perfect Brainbuster for a near fall. Then we move forward with a match that featured some back and forth, but it was Fletcher that seemed to have a chip on his shoulder as he was putting the bricks to Cassidy. Fletcher pulled a spinning tombstone, and I was marking out, wow, Orange Cassidy took a beating, but still managed to pull off a victory with a nice counter and roll up. Great match, fun times, go out and see this one!

Ricky Stark got beat down by the Bullet Club Gold, from what I was told. Or is it Ghost? I don’t know, it was a nice backstage segment.

FTR came out and cut a promo, then Mark Briscoe came out and there were words exchanged. Mark slapped Dax at one point, and that was that. Then Briscoe slapped the hell out of Jeff Jarrett! Fun stuff.

The House of Black defeated AR Fox, Blake Christian, and Metalik

The House of Black dominated, even though the new guys did have some offense. But it was the House of Black that would get the win with relative ease thanks to their comradery overall. Metalik was great, mind you, and Black Christian impressed me, meanwhile Fox was meh this im around. A good match, although it seemed a little shore.

MJF came out and cut a promo about this Sunday. This wasn’t  half bad.

Taya Valkyrie defeated Lady Frost

I was falling asleep, so I stood up to watch this match. Not a great one, it was a little slow, and only about 7 minutes overall. I liked it, don’t get me wrong, it was just not long enough in my book. An ok television match, but it was lacking something, I can’t put my finger on.

Chris Jericho and Adam Cole had a contract signing, and well that was that. But there was one thing, that made this outstanding, and that’s SABU! SABU came out and will be in Adam Cole’s corner this weekend.

Roderick Strong defeated Daniel Garcia

A slow moving match, with some strong moments. Roderick Strong is a technician, but so is Daniel Garcia. The two put on some good moments, don’t get me wrong, it was more of a traditional wrestling match, not a lot of high flying. A lot of stomps, chops, and hard hits. A good one if you’re a fan of both men, but it wasn’t super long, so there’s that to say. Strong hit his finisher back breaker, and wow, it was done with precision.

Lucha Brothers defeated Blackpool Combat Club in the ROH World Tag Team Match

An outstanding match with both teams getting some fight in, but it was the Lucha Brothers that were highlights for me. I love seeing them, and they put on some good moments here, flying across the ring with relative ease. They were in and out, back and forth, and had a lot of action in just 10 minutes or so. Claudio and Wheeler were not going to be denied their moments, as they hit hard against the Lucha Brothers. This was a main event caliber match, which is why they went on last overall. The Lucha Brothers win with a little help from the Young bucks, interfering on the outside. Good stuff, superkicks all over for a fun match overall.

Overall Thoughts

A good night of wrestling, don’t get me wrong. I liked it, but it wasn’t without some down points. I thought some of it was too short, but the matches that were given time were fun to see, especially that main event. A good night, and definitely worth checking out for sure. I liked this a little better than RAW for this week so far.

NXT 5/23/23 Results and Review

Another episode of NXT was broadcast and I was definitely interested to see how they treat their women on this brand. I also was interested in seeing some of the men wrestle, and well, I am relatively new to the latest incarnation of NXT, so I wanted to see what we had tonight, and well here we go, the results and review of the NXT show for 5/23/23.

Lyra Valkyria defeated Cora Jade in a semifinal match for the NXT Women’s Championship

I was expecting a longer match since it was NXT, but alas, it was not to be had. Under the 5 minute mark, this match was a fast paced romp with a few hiccups. With such a short matchup, I was surprised that the two were able to throw in as many  moves as they did. It wasn’t just slams either, there were some nice dropkicks, roll ups, counters, and more. I liked this match, even though it was under the 5 minute mark. Not a long one, but definitely something to consider, it was ok to say the least.

After the match Cora Jade brought in a kendo stick and struck her opponent in the knee, and then left. That was it.

Dabba-Kato defeated Axiom

Kato is huge, they are saying he is 7 foot 1, and Axiom is a masked wrestler. Axiom tried to put up a fight, but it was Kato’s big size and movement that was the story of this match. Axiom kept hitting the legs of the bigger man, and did manage to chop him down a little, but just couldn’t get the job done. This was not quite a squash, but it certainly was a short one, with Axiom losing after about 2 minutes.

Tyler Bate defeated Eddy Thorpe

This match was a slow moving affair. Bate threw around some nice offense, but it was Thorpe that slowed things down at times, with some reversals. There was a little back and forth with this match, but at around 5 minutes, it really didn’t do a lot of justice to what was possible. Bate did some good moves though, including a standing backflip pinfall, a few dropkicks and more. Thorpe did some nice counters too, and is interesting to watch, but this was Bate’s night as he was able to get the big win here. Even though it was short, it had some decent action.

After the match we had a little bit of a brawl as there will be a triple threat match this weekend for the North American title. I didn’t know everyone involved, so I can’t speak to that.

Nathan Frazer defeated Noam Dar

I expected a faster start to this match, but it was actually slow. It started with collar elbow tie ups, and then lead to a headlock rest hold before getting a little forward progress. Frazer was impressive to me, he was flying around the ring, ducking Noam Dar’s offense, in a unique way. It was a fun watch to see him go through the motions here. This would end up being a good match, with the two going back and forth, and dropping a few solid moves here and there. Noam Dar is quick, but Frazer was one step ahead in a lot of ways, and it made for an interesting matchup. Frazer would get the win here, but it wasn’t easy.

Hank Walker defeated Tank Ledger

In under 3 minutes, this was a fast match with not a lot to really write home about for me. It was ok, a little back and forth occurred, nothing too fancy, and Hank Walker would get the win. Post match Bron Breaker showed up and speared the two competitors, and that was that.

Gigi Dollin showed up and cut a promo, I wasn’t paying attention because I was on twitter. She kind of looks like Becky Lynch though, at least the hair.

Luca Crusifino defeated Von Wagner by DQ

Another short match, with not a whole lot to write home about. I’m shocked that there were so many matches this night that were so short. This ended in a DQ finish, and well that was that. I can’t blame you if you were tuning out here, it wasn’t much of a match. Von Wagner was interesting to watch, but this wasn’t much of a match, it had very little back and forth, although it wasn’t a squash mind you. After the match Wagner dropped Crusifino on the announce table, but it didn’t break, which was a cool thing overall.

There was a video of Tony D getting in trouble with the law, but I’m not sure what that was all about. Booker said it best, “mind your business”, so I just moved on.

Tiffany Stratton defeated Roxanne Perez tournament semifinal for the NXT Women’s Championship

A good main event for NXT, and Tiffany Stratton runs away with it. Roxanne Perez didn’t just roll over, mind you, there was a lot of back and forth. Stratton however, was one step ahead, and was able to throw a beautiful moonsault for the victory. I was impressed by her speed and athleticism. She moves forward into the finals of the NXT Women’s Championship at Battleground. Good match, definitely worth checking out.

After the match Perez got beat down by a masked individual.

Also, Dragonov ran down and brawled with someone, I wasn’t sure who it was. The two are set to fight this Sunday, though.

Overall Thoughts

This was a lopsided episode of NXT. I didn’t hate it at all, but it was up and down for the most part. There wasn’t any clear direction for me, and the matches were hit or miss. Some matches went longer than others, which were good. The matches that went over 5 minutes were good, while the shorter options were just not that great because they couldn’t tell a complete story for me. A good episode this was not, but it also wasn’t terrible, somewhere in the middle for me.