Due to the hectic nature of last week and WWE Elimination Chamber, I was unable to watch last weeks show. I am back here on RPW with the official review of this week and Episode #722!
The show begins with NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov making his entrance. Ilja wants Carmelo Hayes to make his way out for a confrontation. Hayes comes out and security stands between them, and he barks back. Melo makes it clear he thinks Ilja is threatened by him, and the segment ended a little oddly with security suddenly being on the ring apron and Ilja knocking 2 of them off. Carmelo is giving Ilja till the end of the night to get what I expect is a title shot.
Ava is backstage and gets asked a question by the camera man about it being a big show tonight, and she says every show till Stand and Deliver will be big – this is really where Kelly Kincaid could have got some TV time. Gigi Dolin interrupts Ava and wants to know about her spot on the roster, Ava walks into her office, and Jaida Parker is already in there. It leads to a confrontation with Gigi and Jaida and now they’re going to have a match later. I love how volitile everyone is in this company.
Singles Match
Kiana James (w/Izzi Dame) vs. Kelani Jordan
The Match:
After weeks of taunting from Kiana and Izzi, it appears Kiana and Kelani are finally going to clash here. I don’t know why but Kiana makes me laugh when she struts out with her massive handbag. It’s such a huge bag. One thing I want to give Kiana props for, she really does a good job at being 100% unlikable, she doesn’t try to be a cool heel, she just wants to be a heel. Izzi Dame’s pants appear to have been in a lawnmowing accident! Kelani just gets it man. She bumps so well, her movements are so silky smooth for somebody of her experience. These two had great chemistry. I said that and Kelani did mess up her footwork on a couple of things, but it’s not the end of the world. Kelani went to springboard in and Izzi pulled her down and she HIT THE RING APRON SO HARD. Kiana James then got the pinfall victory, and the bullies prevailed.
Winner: Kiana James via pinfall in 8:15.
Roxanne Perez again, is backstage whinging about not getting a title shot, and nobody cares. Jakara Jackson rocks up and gives her a hard time, and of course the little psycho hose beast Roxanne swings a fist at Jakara’s skull. Their fight gets broken up.
Tag Team Match
Edris Enofe & Malik Blade vs. The OC (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
The Match:
This might just be what Gallows and Anderson need. They have not been relevant for some time now, and they need to prove them going back to WWE was the right decision by getting in the hunt. I understand the dominance the Judgment Day have had but I think it’s imperative that The Good Brothers push forward. Malik and Edris have been getting a bit more focus lately, which I think is good. They’re a good team and just need some story. Gallows by the way, is looking in tremendous shape! Anderson hit a big spinebuster on Enofe, and they finished him off with the Magic Killer, which was the end of a really good match. Chase U show up and they want to get revenge on them for what they did last week. Nathan Frazer and Axiom want a shot too, and the LWO even show up and all 6 of them attack Gallows and Anderson. I assume they were naughty last week. The Wolf Dogs then show up having a laugh at the situation.
Winner/s: The OC (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) via pinfall in 5:24.
Oba Femi enters Ava’s office and wants to know who his next opponent is, and Ilja Dragunov walks in and Oba laughs and walks off. Ilja says they need to talk to Ava, and we cut away to Roxanne Perez making her entrance.
Singles Match
Roxanne Perez vs. Jakara Jackson (w/Lash Legend)
The Match:
This should be interesting, as we haven’t seen Jakara wrestle in a singles match in a while, and this is the battle of two unlikeable characters. Jakara is looking fit as a fiddle by the way. I have a feeling Meta Four are slowly going to be made babyface. Lash got ejected for pulling Jakara out of Pop Rox from Roxanne, and Jakara takes advantage with a Jakara-Matic. Roxy eventually locked in the crossface to win.
Winner: Roxanne Perez via submission in 4:09.
Backstage Thea Hail is with Jacy and another chick and it’s revealed Riley Osborne apparently just wants to be friends. Thea says Fallon gave her advice and Jacy said that Duke and Chase are losers, and Kiana and Izzi Dame rock up and they’re all being mean and Thea is now thinking twice about her situation. What a whirlwind! I thought Jacy turned babyface.
Backstage, Baron Corbin is annoyed that Bron wants him to spraypaint his leather jacket. Bron is hilarious with Baron. The Good Brothers want a shot at their belts, and I bet Stand & Deliver will be where it happens.
Singles Match
Dijak vs. Luca Crusifino
The Match:
Poor Luca is about to cop it here. Luca is out at the ring and he still has one of the best theme songs. Luca took charge early, which was great to see. Luca’s baseball slide into Dijak into the announce table made Booker T spill his drink on his notepad which makes me laugh so much. Dijak started to take control. Luca really copped it sweet here. The Discus Boot is hit and then Dijak wastes Luca and gets the victory.
Winner: Dijak via pinfall in 3:28.
After the match, Joe Gacy had broke out of the room Dijak threw him into and they brawled to the back.
Tony D and the Family were backstage and they want the Family to grab Luca. They got other business to tend to.
Lyra Valkyria is seen backstage heading to the ring!
Noam and is backstage with Oro Mensah and Kelly Kincaid shows up looking cool as hell! Kelly finally is being a backstage interviewer and seeking out the scoop. Noam tells us how he’s feeling with dealing with the No Quarter Catch Crew. That was fun. Kelly got annoyed because Noam threw it back to the commentary team.
Lyra makes her entrance and wow, she’s looking tremendous! She wishes Shotzi a speedy recovery, and asks Tatum Paxley to come out to the ring for holding up her end of the bargain last week. Tatum says she will do anything for her, and she’s being such a great creep, it’s amazing. Tatum gets to team with Lyra next week, and it’s a shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Titles, which is amazing. Ridge Holland then interrupts? Ridge would like the floor as the ladies part. Ridge talks about his predicament, and then that eerie promo we have seen for weeks interuppts and plays. Then it was revealed Shawn Spears was the man behind the videos as he nails Ridge with a chair!
Brooks Jensen then meets Oba Femi in the parking lot and says he wants to be his next challenger.
Kelly Kincaid is backstage looking for word with Carmelo Hayes who is hilariously surrounded by his security squad. He should have said instead of ‘No Contract, No Melo’ “No ticky, no laundry”.
Singles Match
Lexis King vs. Von Wagner (w/Mr. Stone)
The Match:
Von Wagner probably needs to win this one. He has failed a lot lately, especially with Noam Dar and Bron Breakker. Great selling from Lexis King in this one. Mr Stone got knocked over at ringside which served as a bit of a distraction, then Robert interrupted, and Von Wagner won with a roll up pin! After the match Mr Stone got hit with the Coronation by Lexis!
Winner: Von Wagner via pinfall in 4:11.
They showed a hype video for the Kabuki Warriors, and they cut to backstage with Lyra and Tatum Paxley talking about them. It’s so funny there’s all these ladies in the locker room that aren’t actually active roster. Jaida Parker talked some smack. Arianna Grace typically tried to make peace, and Arianna gets offended at Jaida saying “MY WORD.” She’s hilarious man.
Dijak and Ava are arguing backstage, and Joe Gacy has stolen a camera and goes upto Dijak and attacks him. This is such a hostile work environment!
Singles Match
Gigi Dolin vs. Jaida Parker
The Match:
Gigi is great because she’s just got that swagger about her. Gigi was really using some interesting chain wrestling and take downs in this one, so clearly she has been working hard on all of that stuff. Jaida really feels liek she has come out of no where, and she’s standing out. The only thing that bothers me is Blair Davenport hasn’t been seen in a few weeks after gaining so much momentum. Arianna Grace comes out all upset during the match wanting the ladies to stop fighting. It’s so funny, Arianna, do you not realise what pro wrestling is?? That’s so funny. Gigi Dolin headbutts her for getting involved and then Jaida Parker got a MASSIVE win over Gigi!
Winner: Jaida Parker via pinfall in 4:40.
Arianna is pleading with Gigi after the match. Ridiculous.
There’s a promo airing that shows a coastline… and it says See You Soon in the sand. And it then mentions NXT Roadblock for next week.
WWE NXT Heritage Cup Title Match
Noam Dar (w/Oro Mensah) (c) vs. Charlie Dempsey (w/Damon Kemp, Drew Gulak & Myles Borne)
The Match:
This was a strange little angle that was put together between what appears to be 2 heel factions. Charlie Dempsey ended up being the choice from the group which I am happy about because he’s definitely the stand out of the group for me. Noam Dar has really won me over with this run he’s had, he’s held the belt for some time. Charlie would be a great candidate to run this division too. Charlie Dempsey hit an AMAZING backslide pin into a bridge! I’ve never seen that before. Charlie won round 1. They get to round 3 as Dar tried to choke Charlie out. Dar was really struggling with Dempsey, which made this super exciting and difficult to pick. Dar nearly knocked Dempsey out to end Round 3, and then Round 4 Dar got a pin soon into it – evening it up at 1-1. Oh DUDE! Wow I did not see that coming. The NQCC got so involved in Round 5 that Dempsey ended up hitting a Dragon Suplex to pin Noam Dar, and he’s won the Heritage Cup!
Winner: NEW NXT Heritage Cup Champion, Charlie Dempsey 2-1, via pinfall in 11:12.
Roxanne leaves the building angry, she needs to get laid or something.
Next week for NXT Roadblock it’s announced the Wolf Dogs will defend the Tag Titles against Chase U, The Kabuki Warriors will defend the WWE Womens Tag Titles against Tatum Paxley and Lyra Valkyria, to join the match between Dijak and Joe Gacy.
Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes Contract Signing
Ilja Dragunov is in the ring awaiting Carmelo Hayes to get in the ring and they’re here for a contract signing with Ava. Melo gets cocky about his shot at the belt, and then all of a sudden Tony D’Angelo comes out, which is a super interesting development. I laughed so much, The Don just clicked his fingers because he ‘makes things move around here’ and Melo’s security just walks off and Melo couldn’t believe it. Carmelo cuts Tony off, and he gets told off, this whole situation is amazing. Tony is such a great character. Tony D pitches Melo and Tony at Roadblock, with the winner facing Ilja at Stand and Deliver. Tony is going to win… Carmelo is going to have to face up to Trick Williams at Stand and Deliver. I really thought it would be a 3 Way with Ilja! But this is an interesting change. Things get more interesting when Ilja gets nailed by Tony by accident when Melo shoves him, Tony gets put through a table and Melo signs the contract. The GM Ava just stands there, what a hilarious scene.
Final Thoughts:
This was another superb episode of NXT, I enjoyed it very much – I cannot wait for NXT Roadblock next week!
