NXT had a successful TV debut with a highly praised show and
impressive TV numbers and it appears that the Boss Vince McMahon is also happy
with how things went down.
During the interview, the WWE VP also talked about Mr. McMahon’s reaction to the show. He revealed that the Boss watched the whole episode of NXT and sent him massive congratulations after it was over:
“He watched the entire thing. I’m sure he’s at the office, probably at a meeting while he was doing it, but he enjoyed it, he loved it, he thought the talent did a hell of a job, thought they knocked it out of the park. He was excited. He sent me a massive congratulations after it was over and was thrilled with the product,”
Triple H went on to claim that The Boss was texting him throughout the day. He was excited about the show and he wished them luck before the episode went on air.
NXT’s debut on USA Network featured an hour of nonstop action with a new #1 contender being determined for the Women’s title and the crowning of a new champion. You can check out the results of the show here.
NXT’s debut on USA Network received some high praise from fans and it did good viewership numbers as well. However, it appears that not all the news coming out of the show was positive.
In a new WWE Now video focusing on NXT, new on-air talent
Matt Camp revealed that three of the current stars from the Black and Yellow
brand are on the injured list after this week’s episode of the show.
The list includes The Velveteen Dream, Arturo Ruas, and Kona
Reeves, three stars which all competed in various matches during the show’s TV
debut.
Out of these three, Kona Reeves competed in a dark match
against Damian Priest before the show got over and he got busted open during
this bout.
In the video, Camp revealed that the NXT Star needed stitches and doctors suspect that he may have orbital damage. He will be re-evaluated once the swelling goes down.
Arturo Ruas competed in an on-air match with former WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne. He is on the ‘not cleared’ list after the bout and reportedly needed x-rays to his fingers after his loss to Dunne.
Finally, Velveteen Dream who was in the main event for the
USA Broadcast of the show and defended his North American Title against
Roderick Strong was “walking gingerly” after his match.
Dream lost this bout and according to reports, he is also on the not cleared list because he is suffering from lumbar pain. You can check out the video WWE posted below:
On Thursday, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and TNT revealed the name and first official poster of their upcoming weekly show. The name is All Elite Wrestling: “Dynamite.”
Starting Wednesday, October 2, AEW will begin airing live two-hour weekly matches on TNT at 8 p.m. ET. The show will take place in different cities across the nation each week on Wednesdays, starting in Washington, D.C., at the famed Capital One Arena.
In the press release, it was noted that “AEW is giving fans a new wrestling experience for the first time in 20 years. AEW is about more than wrestling. It’s a movement fueled by fans, offering fun, gripping and authentic athletic matches every week.”
Future events announced so far will be held in Boston, MA, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh PA, Charleston, WV, Charlotte NC, Nashville, TN, Indianapolis, IN and Chicago, IL.
Here is the updated card for the premiere episode:
Chris Jericho & mystery partners vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega.
Nyla Rose vs. Riho to crown the first AEW Women’s Champion
Wednesday’s edition of WWE NXT averaged 1.179 million viewers, according to ShowbuzzDaily.
The previous time that NXT aired on the USA Network was during WWE week back on December 17, 2017 that drew 841,000 viewers. The show ranked #22 on the Cable Top 150.
To compare, this week’s RAW drew 2.272 million viewers (up from last week’s 2.130 million viewers), Tuesday’s SmackDown drew 2.064 million viewers (up from last week’s 2.061 million viewers).
The episode was expected to draw big viewership numbers because it was the first episode of NXT on network television.
The show had to go up against that Basketball Wives did 1.226 million viewers, Tucker Carlson Tonight with 3.285, and Anderson Cooper 861,000. Suits that followed NXT on the USA Network did 955,000, which down 10,000 viewers from the prior week.
Matches that took place on this show include Candice LeRae taking on Bianca Belair and Io Shirai and Mia Yim in a #1 Contendership Fatal Four Way Match, Roderick Strong vs. Velveteen Dream for the NXT North American Title, Pete Dunne vs. Arturo Ruas, Lio Rush vs. Oney Lorcan in a Cruiserweight Title #1 Contendership Match, and Killian Dain vs. Matt Riddle in a Street Fight.
In case you missed the show, you can check out the 6 takeaways from it here.
WWE will attempt to increase viewership with next week’s episode, which should be interesting to see what number it pulls in.
MMA legend Chuck Liddell is open to giving WWE a try. According to comments Liddell made to ComicBook.com, he hangs out with Shane McMahon every now and again and WWE has attempted to recruit him in the past.
“I used to hang out with Shane McMahon every once in a while, we would go out and party sometimes,” Liddell said. “And he said ‘If you’re ever seriously interested about coming over we should talk.’ I love fighting and I love being in real fighting and I mean I got nothing against WWE. I wouldn’t mind doing that now too. It’s just acting, going out and doing the acting. Those guys do some pretty impressive things in the ring as far as… I mean it’s all staged, but it’s still you know, it’s not easy.”
Liddell continued to talk about the differences between MMA and pro-wrestling during the interview.
“One of the things I’ve always had with that sport too, is… the difference between my sport and their things, see you’re putting your trust in the other guy not to hurt you. Surrendering your body to him. Like, throw you and hope he doesn’t hurt you. In my sport, I’m responsible for you not hurting me. I like having the responsibility on my end not yours.”
Liddell also said he could bring his fans and supporters with him into the wrestling world.
“I think you bring the fan base with you. And then, if you can get out there and perform and do your [stuff], it’s a little more over the top. I mean you see a lot of that with the fighters nowadays in the UFC. Seems like they’re taking a cue from the WWE guys, some of them.”
As for if another MMA fight is in the cards for the 49-year-old, Liddell says he’s staying retired.
The full interview with Liddell can be found here.
Kenny Omega was recently interviewed by Sportskeeda while in Singapore and spoke about the pending war on Wednesday nights between AEW and NXT. Omega was hesitant to call it a war, however, and insinuated that NXT is still just WWE’s developmental brand.
“You can call it a war if you want,” he said. “It’s like, to me, we’re in a completely different kind of business. I mean what they’re doing is different from what we’re doing. It’s weird, because it’s hard to say you’re going to war with people that I call my friends. And yet, we are going to war.”
Omega continued, “And yet, when I sit back and look at the grand picture, I’m going to war with these dudes that, if we were on the same show together, the same promotion…let’s pretend there were no borders. Let’s pretend there were no promotions. Let’s just pretend there’s just one big promotion. If these guys were in the same show as me, they’d be in the dark match. They’d be in the opening match of my main event match.”
The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion added that AEW fans will see real stars on TNT, whereas NXT offers “developmental talent.”
“You wanna call that a war, you wanna call that competition? Go ahead. Maybe it’s fun for you to do. That’s cool. But we’re different planets. And you’re going to see that right away, when you see 10000+ arenas sold out. You’re going to see smiles on fans’ faces. You’re going to see real stars. Not developmental talent but real stars appearing on your television sets, every week.”
Killer Kross is still officially a member of the Impact Wrestling roster, albeit not an active one. Kross sat down with journalist Chris Van Vliet recently and spoke about AEW, his influences in wrestling, and his love of horror films.
During the interview, Kross gave his thoughts on AEW.
“I watched the AEW show live in Vegas and I’m not saying this because I think I’m supposed to say it, in all sincerity, I was really blown away by it because there was just a different energy to the show, in a good way,” Kross said during the interview.
He continued to talk about the impact that the match between Cody vs Dustin had on the live crowd that night.
“There was like people literally weeping in the audience; Cody vs Dustin. You can’t orchestrate that, that’s not something you can preplan. Putting things together you can’t be like ‘and at this point the audience is going to cry.’ That was amazing to actually be around, I don’t think I’ve been at a wrestling event in the audience where that’s happened. It was just awesome.”
Killer Kross Interview Highlights
Kross also commented on the possibility that he could end up in AEW someday.
“I think with the direction that they’re going in with TNT and I think that with the flexibility that I’ve heard they are offering creatively, I definitely think there are some things that I could do there and creatively get out that it just might not fly elsewhere. But ultimately I’m not married to go in any specific direction for any company right now, it’s even difficult to think about, it’s stressful to think about just because of the other things that are associated with it.”
Kross also mentioned that he feels confident he’d be able to develop his character in other promotions as well.
“I’m in a place right now where I feel like it won’t really matter where I go, I’m going to be able to do what I’m doing in any way shape or form. I’ve hit a really cool peak creatively with things, I know how to lay things out differently so it will work on any platform. People haven’t seen me do that yet and there’s a reason why, because I’m saving it for perhaps a direction that I finally go in.”
The full interview with Chris Van Vliet can be viewed in the player below:
With NXT premiering on USA Network, WWE had a major merchandising push for the black-and-gold brand’s Superstars. They released an image on social media featuring brand new t-shirt designs for all 155 NXT Superstars. This revelation, however, hasn’t been taken well by one WWE Superstar: Luke Harper.
Taking to his Instagram account, Harper shared his frustrations with WWE’s advert. He wrote:
“Larry, In over 7 years with @wwe I’ve never had a single Luke Harper tshirt but now all 155 NXT wrestlers each get their own. Got it. Good luck tonight 8e/7c LIVE on USA!!!!! @erickredbeard @wweshop”
Despite the amount of time working for the company, Harper has never had a piece of ‘Luke Harper’ merchandise despite having solo runs as a singles competitor. At one point, he even held the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
After time away from WWE programming, Luke Harper recently returned to WWE television. He assisted Erick Rowan in Rowan’s matchup against Roman Reigns during WWE’s recent Clash of Champions pay-per-view.
Harper’s inclusion into the match sees him once again partnered with Rowan. The two were not only previously stablemates in the Wyatt Family, they also teamed together for a time as The Bludgeon Brothers on SmackDown Live.
All Elite Wrestling’s Joey Janela uploaded an unfortunate video during Wednesday afternoon. ‘The Bad Boy’ took to Twitter to share footage of damage to his car after somebody had broken into it. He revealed that his wrestling gear had been stolen while he was in Philadelphia.
The short clip shows the aftermath of the robbery, with broken glass all across the car seats. Cables can be seen strewn across the passenger seat as Janela deadpans “Good afternoon, Philadelphia.”
In the actual tweet, Janela wrote:
“Good afternoon Philadelphia, Wrestling gear is bye, bye…. Bunkhouse Janela is BOLA…….”
He later added that, despite having $80 in cash in plain sight, the robbers decided to steal the “sweaty gross wrestling gear” instead. They also took his Beats Headphones.
“I’m dying that I had $80 in cash laying around in plain site but the robbers decided to take sweaty gross wrestling gear and a man purse full of foreign coins…..”
I’m dying that I had $80 in cash laying around in plain site but the robbers decided to take sweaty gross wrestling gear and a man purse full of foreign coins….. ???
Trying to stay positive about the awful situation, Janela later tweeted that “If I don’t have any gear this weekend I still got these sick CHOPS BABY…”
Joey Janela recently competed for All Elite Wrestling’s All Out event. He participated in a three-way Cracker Barrel Clash matchup against Darby Allin and Jimmy Havoc.
WWE has issued an official apology after numerous fans suffered from technical issues using the WWE Network.
After the first hour of NXT aired live on USA Network, fans could continue watching the action on WWE Network. However, some allegedly had problems tuning into NXT’s second hour with the service not accepting their account details.
Acknowledging the issue, WWE apologized to fans who were unable to continue watching, writing:
“You may have experienced a technical issue with WWE Network earlier this evening. The matter has been resolved, and you can now access the Network and watch tonight’s episode of NXT on demand. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Triple H acknowledged the issues in a post-show conference call. He admitted his team had made him aware of the problems but believed that the issues weren’t as wide-spread as social media implied. He added that it’s something they will be looking into for future broadcasts.
NXT Pride
Despite the issues affecting a certain percentage of the WWE Universe, Triple H was incredibly proud of the show. He mentioned how this first show wasn’t the finish line for them, it was the starting line.
“I just stood in front of talent and said, hard to follow up what they just accomplished without saying anything that doesn’t sound trite other than to say how proud I am of all of this,” he said.
Triple H added that his sentiment extended to all those working behind the scenes, as well as the talent in front of the cameras.
Tommaso Ciampa has been out of action since suffering an unfortunate neck injury. This injury would require surgery, forcing him to vacate the NXT Championship in March 2019. Now, Triple H has given an update on Ciampa’s progress and information regarding his potential in-ring return.
“He is getting very close,” Triple H said following NXT’s debut on USA Network. “When you come down to the end of-unfortunately I’ve been through a lot of these, when you come down to the end there is this point and time when you are just chomping at the bit.”
He continued, explaining that “You’re ready to go, you feel like you can move the world. And yet, the doctors are still like, ‘Give it a bit more, take it slow.’ That last couple of percent to getting to 100% is the most frustrating part for an athlete because you feel like you can take on the world but you can’t just quite yet. He’s ready, he’s as close as he can get. He is the racehorse right now, stomping and pulling at that gate. When that doctor tells him to go, he’s going to come flying out of there.”
With NXT seemingly being treated as WWE’s third brand now, the previous main roster planned for both Ciampa and Johnny Gargano may be shelved in favor of a continued NXT run.
Following NXT’s premiere on USA Network, Triple H took part in a media call to discuss the brand’s first episode on their new network, at one point sharing how proud he was of all the talent involved for the show they just put on.
“I just stood in front of talent and said, hard to follow up what they just accomplished without saying anything that doesn’t sound trite other than to say how proud I am of all of this,” he said.
He continued,” It’s taking a long time to get here. This was a starting line, not the finish line. We went out there tonight on the number one network on cable television, USA, amazing partners for us for years and put on what I feel was an epic hour of programming on USA. Number one trending in the USA the entire time, number one in the world the entire time, and number 4 in the world the entire time. Tough to say more than that other than I thought it was a hell of a night and thought it was an epic performance on everybody’s part.”
Triple H added he is just as proud of the team behind the scenes as he is of the talent in front of the cameras. He thanked WWE’s partners at Full Sail University, stressing that without them, the show doesn’t happen.
Rush Returns
Last night also saw the return of Lio Rush to in-ring competition. When asked about Rush’s return, Triple H admitted that working on his comeback had been in the works for a while.
“This whole thing with NXT on USA, we’ve been talking about doing it for a year and a half, two years, then when it finally happens it’s a recent development. Until it actually happens, it hasn’t happened. Until we knew what was going on there was a bit of a lag there. I’m just really excited, Lio Rush won. He’s just a phenomenal, energetic, and money performer to me. Thrilled that we get to put him on the show and have him showcase what he does. He and Oney tore it up and that’s what it’s about.”
Lio Rush’s victory over Oney Lorcan grants him a championship opportunity against current Cruiserweight champion, Drew Gulak.
Ahead of his matchup against Naomichi Marajufi at Impact Wrestling’s Bound for Glory event, Michael Elgin has shared the personal importance the match has to him.
Taking to Twitter, Elgin wrote about his love for Japanese wrestling since watching AJPW for the first time in 1992. This passion drove him as a child to perform in Japan. Elgin made his Japanese debut in 2003 but still dreamed of wrestling for Pro Wrestling NOAH. In particular, he wanted to face one man: Marafuji.
He recalled how they were originally meant to wrestle in 2013, but an injury prevented Marafuji from competing that night. For him, it doesn’t matter that their bout isn’t for a championship or the main event of Bound for Glory. Elgin promised that the quality of the match will make it the main event of the night and will be the match people talk about on their way home.
Impact Wrestling’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view takes place on October 20th from the Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, Illinois.
Former World Champion Brock Lesnar returned to WWE programming this week and making an appearance at SmackDown Live, he challenged the WWE Champion Kofi Kingston for a championship match.
Kofi accepted the fight against the Beast Incarnate for SmackDown’s Fox premiere and since then, people have been wondering if WWE is planning to start the new era of the Blue Brand with Lesnar as the champion.
During the recent episode of Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray talked about the upcoming bout. He said that he doesn’t think there is any way for Kofi Kingston to win and it looks like we are going to see Brock Lesnar with the WWE title around his waist once again.
The WWE Hall Of Famer went on to explain why the Beast being the champion again is a good idea, saying that Brock will bring eyes on the show and it’s best for business:
“Brock’s name is known by people who might not be wrestling fans, Brock should bring a lot of eyes to this show on Friday, he’s the biggest name, and that’s why they’re going with him. And Brock as your champion is what’s best for business right now, with your show going to FOX.”
Bully also talked about Brock’s appeal and said that the
former Universal Champion is someone who makes people want to see him lose.
This is why we were invested in the storyline between Lesnar
and Seth Rollins and this is the same reason why his feud with Kofi Kingston
will work.
Brock Lesnar will challenge Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship during SmackDown’s Fox debut on October 4 and latest advertisements suggest that their rivalry will stretch beyond the 20th anniversary special of the show.
PWG returns this weekend for the annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament. These events are slated to take place over the course of three days on September 19, 20, and 22 at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
The first-round matches will occur over the first two nights before the winner is crowned on the third day in the tournament finals.
The winner of this tournament will receive a future shot at the PWG World Title at a later date. All first-round tournament matches, as well as three non-tournament matches, have been revealed.
Those matches not included in the tournament include
PWG BOLA 2019: Night 1
Jeff Cobb vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
Jonathan Gresham vs. Artemis Spencer
Darby Allin vs. Black Taurus
Dragon Lee vs. Rey Horus
Brody King vs. Caveman Ugg
A-Kid vs. Lucky Kid
Lucha Brothers (REY FENIX & PENTA EL ZERO M) take on MexaBlood (Bandido & Flamita) – non-tournament match
PWG BOLA 2019: Night 2
Bandido vs. Puma King
Orange Cassidy vs. David Starr
Pentagon Jr. vs. Tony Deppen
Fenix vs. Aramis
Joey Janela vs. Mick Moretti
Jake Atlas vs. Jungle Boy
Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) take on The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Dezmond Xavier) for the PWG World Tag Titles
Jonathan Gresham & Daisuke Sekimoto take on Jeff Cobb & Brody King – non-tournament match
PWG BOLA 2019: Night 3
Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) take on The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) in a possible PWG World Tag Title Match
We have seen a number of stars making their return to WWE
programming in the past few days and the list includes the likes of Kane, Rusev
and Lio Rush.
Now a latest report suggests that they are not the only stars who can make their comebacks on the WWE programming in recent times and there are a few more names who are waiting for a return in near future.
Dave Meltzer provided update on some stars which are currently out of action in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter and he revealed that the Usos are set to return to WWE programming soon.
He went on to reveal that the former World Champion Sheamus
is also ready for a return and the company is just waiting for a proper
storyline to bring him back:
“Also in that category is Sheamus. He’s been off and
has spinal stenosis, which is not a good thing long-term for a wrestler. But he
is ready to return and if a storyline is there, he would be brought back.”
However, one star whose future doesn’t seem so bright is one
half of the former NXT Tag Team Champions The American Alpha, Jason Jordan.
While you can never say never in wrestling, Jordan’s return looks unlikely at the moment and according to reports, there has been a feeling in the past that his career is over.
Jason Jordan has been away from in-ring action since February 2018 after he underwent a neck surgery. There has been no significant update on his status since then and a lot of people believe that he may never return to the ring again.
Posted September 19th, 2019 in News, WWE. Tagged: Sheamus.
Major League Wrestling (MLW) has announced that they have signed Dominic Garrini to a multi-year contract. Garrini is described by MLW as “ice-cold, calculated and quick to submit adversaries.”
As a competitor, he has earned himself the nicknames ‘The Crippler of Canton’ and ‘The Bone Collector.’ He represents Team East Coast Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Grappling Background
In an official statement, MLW wrote that Garrini has reached rarified air by being one of the “top 10 ranked Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the world.” Garrini is a legitimate No-Gi grappler and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt. He trains under Chad Kuhn and James Clingerman and has been acknowledged by the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s No Gi Rankings as being one of the best BJJ competitors.
Garrini has competed in over 200 competitive Jiu-Jitsu matchups. He has won gold medals from the IBJJF, ADCC, AGC, NAGA, Grapplers Quest and other notable grappling competitions. p
‘The Bone Collector’ made his debut against Ariel Dominguez during MLW’s War Chamber event on September 7th. He competed in a BJJ Gi and appears to be primed for a significant push in the promotion. His style blends his extensive grappling experience with the world of professional wrestling. Fans might be familiar with this fusion thanks to MLW star Tom Lawlor and WWE’s Matt Riddle.
Beth Phoenix recently spoke with Prime Time with Sean Mooney discussing her experiences as a commentator for NXT. She also spoke about why she left WWE in 2012.
“It’s been one of those things where I’ve had to just kind of commit myself, and give myself up to the process,” Phoenix admitted. “I fail all the time, and I’m always making mistakes, but we learn each and every week, and I’m learning to find my voice, and my place in the team, because, being a color commentator, adding that analyst role, is really different than being play-by-play.”
She described how the two different commentary roles are “completely different animals.”
“Driving traffic as a play-by-play guy, that is a big responsibility and a lot of work,” she explained. “[…] as an analyst, my job is to take some of the burden off the play-by-play announcer, and try to add a little bit of credibility from somebody that has experience in what is going on in the ring.”
Phoenix confessed commentating wasn’t something she ever thought she would do. She remarked that, if she were told five years ago that she would be calling the action in NXT, she would have laughed out loud.
Glamazon Departure
Regarding her WWE departure in 2012, Phoenix explained that her decision was based on her unhappiness with the direction of women’s wrestling in the company at the time.
“I was really frustrated with where the women were at from a company standpoint and the investment that was being made in us,” Phoenix said. “I felt in my heart I had done my best, and I’d try really hard to change things but, at some point I just got really frustrated.”
Beth Phoenix joins her NXT commentary partners, Mauro Ranallo and Nigel McGuiness every week on USA Network.
At one point in time, NXT’s beloved Johnny Gargano struggled to be a part of the WWE roster. Before his rise through the ranks and reign as NXT Champion, Gargano portrayed an Elf on WWE television in a match against MVP.
In a recent episode of Lilian Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory, Gargano reflected on his WWE journey.
Johnny Elf
“I was an extra almost every time they came to Cleveland,” Gargano said. “I had my first extra role when I was 19 or 20 years old and I was Cedrick Von Haussen where I faced MVP; you can find that clip on YouTube.”
He recalled having to get changed into an Elf costume and be approved by Vince McMahon. Their meeting was “like a movie” as Vince sat in a “villain chair with his back turned.” During his match as Cedrick Von Haussen, Gargano would suffer a bloody nose courtesy of MVP.
Rebel Heart Destiny
Despite his early tryouts and rejections, Gargano firmly believed that WWE was his destiny:
“I always believed in my heart I would end up in WWE,” Gargano explained. “Gabe Sapolsky gave me great advice that he once told Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. He said being on the indies is like being a doctor. You can’t just start operating on people and be successful at it. You need to go to school, you need to learn, which is how the indies are. I wanted to do as much as I could do.”
He continued,” Being told no made me work harder, being told no made me want it more. They [WWE] would only sign a certain amount of guys at a certain time. At my tryout, it was me, Tommaso Ciampa, Oney Lorcan, Ember Moon, TM61, Chuck Taylor and Drew Gulak, so it was a pretty indie-heavy. Matt Riddle was there but he wasn’t even an indie guy, he was a random guy from UFC, and they brought him in. They brought us in to do this tryout, but they said they could only sign one of us.”
He was told that if he were 6’7″ then it would be a no-brainer. Gargano, however, didn’t fit into that mold. He recalled that “The stigma was still alive in 2015 where I was too small and didn’t have what it took to be here, I was directly told that there wasn’t a spot for me in NXT. I wasn’t good enough to be in NXT. I was told that there might be a spot for me here and there, now and then, but there isn’t a set spot. I still have my ‘no’ rejection email.”
Cruiserweight Classic
His opportunity finally came during WWE’s Cruiserweight Classic. Gargano attributed that tournament as playing a significant role in changing NXT. He also believes that he and Tommaso Ciampa were instrumental in shifting attitudes towards smaller, indie workers.
Later, the two Superstars would be told they would be teaming together for the Dusty Rhodes Classic. He credited William Regal for doing all he could to help them be seen by management and the WWE Universe. When asked what he thought changed people’s mindsets towards himself, Ciampa, and indie wrestlers, Gargano points to their matchup with The Revival.
“I think we got that shot against The Revival where we blew it out of the park,” Gargano said. “I think that was where people were like, oh, these indie guys can go. I think that really opened the door to what NXT has become now. It has become a part of an all-star roster mindset to tear it up and NXT has really grown from there.”
Reflecting on his legacy in NXT, Gargano is aware that he hasn’t been around since day one. With NXT’s new incarnation, however, he feels like Superstars like himself and Ciampa are “The Godfathers” of NXT.
WWE’s NXT premiere on USA Network ended in a brawl between members of the NXT locker room. This occurred after the Street Fight between Kilian Dain and Matt Riddle spilled out of the ring. They fought into the backstage area before eventually finding themselves back in the ring, surrounded by their fellow Superstars.
After the cameras cut on the WWE Network, NXT General Manager William Regal stormed to the ring. He then set a rematch for next week’s episode. Their rematch, which will also be a Street Fight, comes with an added caveat: the winner will face Adam Cole for the NXT Championship.
Regal got into Killian’s face saying, “This Street Fight will continue next week on USA, and I’m going to give you both some incentive because the winner will face Adam Cole in an NXT Championship match!”
His announcement was met with chants of “Thank you, Regal” from the WWE Universe within Full Sail University.
Both Matt Riddle and Killian Dain nodded, staring at each other after the announcement was made.
Last night saw Adam Cole’s stable, the Undisputed Era, finally fulfil their promise of being draped in NXT gold. No matter who comes out victorious from the Street Fight rematch next week, expect Cole and his stablemates to do everything they can to keep the gold within Undisputed Era.
After his surprise appearance on this week’s episode of SmackDown
Live, The Beast Brock Lesnar is set to challenge Kofi Kingston for the WWE
Championship at the show’s Fox Network debut on October 4rth.
However, latest advertisements suggest that this won’t be
the last time these two come face to face and they might get involved in a
rivalry starting with their upcoming bout.
The Wells Fargo Center, which is the arena hosting the
November 15th episode of SmackDown Live recently updated the advertising for the
upcoming show.
They are now advertising a number of matches and segments for the episode and one interesting segments which is being advertised is a confrontation between Lesnar and the current WWE Champion.
Other stars advertised for the show include Roman Reigns,
Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, SmackDown Women’s
Champion Bayley, Daniel Bryan, Charlotte Flair, The New Day and more.
This episode will take place more than a month after Kofi
defends his title against the Beast Incarnate during the Blue Brand’s premiere
on Fox Network.
So it suggests that the rivalry between these two stars will extend beyond their upcoming match instead of it being a one-off bout on the upcoming show.
Brock Lesnar issued a challenge to Kofi Kingston during this week’s episode of SmackDown Live which Kingston accepted. The two will now face each other for the WWE Championship at the upcoming SmackDown episode on October 4.
Watch: Brock Lesnar returns to SmackDown Live to challenge Kofi Kingston:
Here are our takeaways from the first live 2-hour episode of NXT:
Candice LeRae Earned A Shot At The NXT Women’s Championship
Triple H hyped up the NXT crowd at Full Sail University to begin the show.
Io Shirai, Bianca Belair, Mia Yim, and Candice LeRae faced in a Fatal 4-Way match to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Women’s Championship. The match started out with a brawl with Bianca Belair getting the better of the exchange. Belair connected with a Moonsault on Candice but Mia Yim broke up the cover.
Belair hit Yim with a Suplex and went for the cover but Io broke it up. Shirai hit a 619 on Yim and followed it up with a Springboard Dropkick on Belair for a near fall. Yim booted Io to the canvas and planted Belair with a Tornado DDT but LeRae broke up the cover.
LeRae beat Yim down in the corner and then planted Io with a Facebuster on the apron. Belair planted LeRae with a Fallaway Slam and turned around into a Suicide Dive from Mia Yim. Shirai climbed to the top rope and took out Yim and Belair with a Moonsault as NXT went to a commercial break.
When NXT returned, all four superstars crashed to the canvas with a Tower of Doom in the corner of the ring. LeRae planted Io with a German Suplex but was then slammed face-first into the turnbuckle by Belair. Yim connected with Code Blue on Belair but Io was able to break up the cover at the last second.
Belair leveled Io and Mia with a Spear and then planted LeRae with the KOD. Bianca went for the cover but Yim broke it up at two. Yim connected with Protect Ya Neck on Belair but Bianca rolled out of the ring before Mia could attempt a cover. Shirai hit Candice with Double Knees and made her way up to the top rope.
Yim hopped on the apron and shoved Io off the turnbuckle and Shirai went flying into Belair outside the ring. Yim lifted LeRae up in the Electric Chair but Candice countered into a Reverse Hurricanrana. Candice quickly followed it up with a Moonsault on Yim for the pinfall victory. Candice LeRae is the #1 contender for the NXT Women’s Championship.
After the match, NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir surrounded LeRae on the entrance ramp. Shayna raised the title in Candice’s face and the two started trash-talking with each other to conclude the segment. It was later announced that the match will take place on October 2nd live on the USA Network.
NXT made its debut on the USA Network with a hell of a match. If you haven’t watched NXT before tonight, one of the first things you will notice is that the commentary team actually calls the action in the ring instead of bickering with each other. Nigel McGuinness got in a subtle shot at AEW at the beginning of the broadcast by referring to NXT as “the true alternative”. Baszler has essentially run through the entire NXT women’s division, so LeRae has a tall task in front of her if she wants to capture the title.
Roderick Strong Captured The NXT North American Championship
Velveteen Dream defended his NXT North American Championship against Roderick Strong on this week’s episode of NXT. The match started off back and forth as dueling “Velveteen!” and “Undisputed!” chants broke out in the crowd. Dream Clotheslined Strong to the outside as NXT went to a break.
When NXT returned, Dream was still in control and knocked Strong out of the ring once again. Velveteen connected with a Double Axehandle off the top rope and rolled Roderick back in the ring. Strong shoved Dream off the apron and hit him with a Backbreaker on top of the steel barricade.
Roderick followed it up with a Dropkick and took a break to pose as the crowd booed him. Strong drove Dream into the ring apron and stomped on him a couple of times before the action returned to the ring. Roderick went for the cover but Dream powered out at one.
Stong applied a Sleeper Hold in the middle of the ring but Dream countered into a cover for a two count. Roderick hit Dream with a chop to the chest and the impact echoed throughout the Full Sail Arena. Strong connected with a Backbreaker and went for the cover but the NXT North American Champion kicked out at two.
Roderick hit another Backbreaker and went for the cover once again but Velveteen kicked out at the last moment. Strong booted Dream to the outside and followed him out there. Roderick missed with a Dropkick and Dream shoved him into the steel steps as NXT went to a commercial break.
Back from the break, the action was back in the ring and Strong was in control. Roderick perched Dream up on the top turnbuckle and went for a Superplex but Velveteen blocked it with a couple of shots to the ribs. Dream and Strong traded punches and Dream knocked Roderick to the canvas.
Dream connected with a Clothesline and followed it up with a Superkick for a near fall. Velveteen hit the DreamDT for another near fall as an “NXT!” chant broke out in the crowd. Dream climbed to the top rope but Strong rolled out of the ring. Roderick hit Dream with a knee to the face and tied him up in the ropes.
Strong hit Dream with several forearms to the face and followed it up with a Tiger Bomb for a near fall. Roderick applied the Boston Crab in the middle of the ring but Dream was able to battle through the pain and reached the bottom rope to break the hold. Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish made their way down to the ring as Dream and Strong traded punches.
Velveteen Dream hit a Back Body Drop but Strong battled back and shoved Velveteen into the official. Velveteen hit the Dream Valley Driver on Strong but got distracted by Cole and O’Reilly on the apron. Strong capitalized with the End of Heartache and went for the cover but somehow Dream kicked out at two. Velveteen hit the Dream Valley Driver and made his way to the top rope once but O’Reilly hopped on the apron.
Adam Cole hit Dream with a Superkick while the referee was distracted and Strong once again capitalized with the End of Heartache for the pinfall victory. Roderick Strong is the new NXT North American Champion.
Dream and Strong put on a great match tonight. I’m assuming that Velveteen Dream will get a rematch for the NXT North American Championship in the near future. One of the things I am going to miss about NXT on the WWE Network is not having commercial breaks during the matches.
Pete Dunne faced Arturo Ruas in the first match of the second hour of this week’s episode. The second hour aired on the WWE Network. Both superstars went for an Arm Breaker early but neither were able to lock it in.
Dunne leveled Ruas with a Clothesline and started bending back Arturo’s fingers. Dunne stomped on Ruas’ elbow and tried to do it again but Arturo dodged it. Ruas connected with a Dropkick and returned the favor by bending back Dunne’s fingers.
Pete Dunne battled back with a flurry of chops to the chest but Ruas knocked Dunne to the canvas with a kick to the knee. Dunne battled back with a Dragon Screw as the crowd chanted “Bruiserweight!”. Dunne connected with an Enziguri and followed it up with a German Suplex for a near fall.
Dunne hit the X-Plex and went for the cover but Ruas was able to kick out at two. Pete applied a Triangle submission in the middle of the ring but Ruas escaped and hit a German Suplex of his own for a near fall. Dunne hit an Enziguri and snapped back Ruas’ fingers and continued to bend them back for the submission victory.
Kushida Confronted Walter
Imperium (Fabian Aichner, Alexander Wolfe, and Marcel Barthel) surrounded Denzel Dejournette and beat him down as the crowd chanted “where is Walter?”.
UK Champion Walter made his way down to the ring and posed with the rest of Imperium. Walter grabbed a microphone and said “we are Imperium and to us this mat is scared. We are here to restore the honor and tradition of our sport”.
Kushida interrupted and said this was his time. Kushida hopped up on the apron and fought off Wolfe, Aichner, and Barthel. Walter attacked Kushida from behind but Kushida was able to escape. Kushida then booted Walter in the face before escaping out of the ring. The commentary hinted at a future match between Walter and Kushida at the end of the segment.
Lio Rush Is The #1 Contender For The Cruiserweight Title
Lio Rush battled Oney Lorcan tonight on NXT. The winner of the match will earn a shot at the Cruiserweight Championship. The crowd chanted “welcome back!” at Lio Rush before the match.
Once the bell rang, Oney Lorcan sprinted across the ring and leveled Lio with a Blockbuster for a two count. Rush knocked Lorcan to the outside and hit him with three Suicide Dives in a row.
Back in the ring, Rush hit a flurry of kicks and went for the cover but Oney kicked out at two. Lorcan battled back with a Dragon Screw and followed it up with a couple of chops in the corner of the ring.
Lorcan hit Rush with an uppercut that sent Lio tumbling to the outside. Oney brought Rush back into the ring and planted him with a Powerbomb for a near fall. Lio Rush hit a ridiculous Springboard Stunner out of nowhere for a two count. Lorcan planted Rush with another Powerbomb and locked in a submission hold but Lio escaped.
Oney tripped up Rush and locked in a Single-Legged Crab in the middle of the ring. Lorcan transitioned into an STF in the middle of the ring as a “fight Lio fight!” chant broke out. Rush battled through the pain and got his foot on the bottom rope to break the hold.
Rush slapped Oney in the face and Lorcan got pissed off. Lorcan unloaded a series of chops and then charged at Rush but Lio countered into a beautiful Spanish Fly. Rush climbed to the top rope and hit a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory. Lio Rush will face Drew Gulak for the Cruiserweight Championship.
I actually thought this match was better than the NXT North American Championship match earlier in the night. It was great to see Lio Rush back in the ring and showing off his immense talent instead of playing the role of a hype man for Lashley.
Killian Dain battled Matt Riddle in a Street Fight in the main event of this week’s episode of NXT. Dain went right after Riddle to start things off but Matt hit an Exploder Suplex.
Riddle went for the Broton but Dain got his knees up. Killian grabbed a kendo stick from under the ring but Riddle took it from him and bashed him in the midsection. Riddle charged but Dain was ready and sent Matt flying over the barricade with a Back Body Drop.
Dain shouted “you want a Senton?” at Riddle and then promptly hit him with a Senton. Dain and Riddle battled through the crowd and to the backstage area. The Forgotten Sons trash-talked them as Dain launched Riddle into a production truck. They then battled next to Walter and Imperium and Riddle hit Dain with a knee to the face.
Imperium attacked Riddle before a massive brawl broke out with the entire NXT locker room. Dain and Riddle found each other within the brawl and started trading shots once again. The action returned to the ring and the entire locker room joined them at ringside while still throwing punches with each other.
Security rushed the ring but the NXT superstars beat them down. The brawl continued in the ring as the crowd chanted “NXT!”. Killian Dain took out a bunch of superstars with a Suicide Dive as NXT went off the air.
Overall, NXT had a very solid debut on the USA Network for the first hour and picked up right where they left off on the WWE Network for hour two. The only blemish during tonight’s show was the match between Xia Li and Aliyah. It was a botch-fest that did nothing positive for either superstar.
The women’s Fatal 4-Way, NXT North American Championship, and Rush versus Lorcan were all great matches. I was really looking forward to Dain versus Riddle and that a letdown. The brawl was fun but I still wanted to see an ending to the Street Fight. There will definitely be a much better match between those two superstars in the upcoming weeks.
This has confirmed that the Cruiserweight Title will now be part of the NXT show every week, which has been heavily speculated on by fans. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when this title match will take place.
Rush got fans speculating on social media earlier this year after he removed all mention of WWE from his bios on both Twitter and Instagram.
There have been several reported issues involving Rush that had apparently led to him getting backstage heat and being removed from television.
Before being removed from television, he was serving as Bobby Lashley’s manager.
What are your thoughts on Lio Rush being moved to NXT? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
The Velveteen Dream is no longer the WWE NXT North American Champion as he’s been dethroned by Roderick Strong.
The match happened on Wednesday’s episode of NXT in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University that saw Strong beat Dream to win the title. He’s only the fifth champion in the history of the strap.
When this contest between Dream and Strong was first announced, there was speculation regarding Dream’s future as the NXT North American Champion and his status under the NXT banner.
That speculation has only intensified now as typically when an NXT star holds a title for a long period of time then loses it close to the next waves of roster moves, those talents are usually leaving NXT.
Whether that happens and he’s placed on RAW or SmackDown Live remains to be seen.
Dream won the title from Johnny Gargano back on the January 30th episode of the weekly television show of the yellow brand.
Ironically, Dream retained the title in his previous title defense against Pete Dunne and Strong in a triple threat match on the main card of the WWE NXT TakeOver: Toronto II event in Toronto, Ontario at the Scotiabank Arena during SummerSlam weekend in August.
What are your thoughts on Roderick Strong winning the NXT North American Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials?
There is a new #1 contender in the WWE NXT women’s division and that’s Candice LeRae.
During Wednesday’s episode of NXT in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University, WWE held a match that would determine who is next line for a title shot.
A Fatal 4-Way Match featuring Candice LeRae, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, and Mia Yim took place with the winner becoming the next challenger to NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler.
As seen in the match, LeRae ended up winning it. As a result, LeRae has earned a future title match against Baszler. As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when this contest will take place.
WWE could save it for the October 2nd episode as that is a special episode for two reasons.
First, it marks the first broadcast that will see the show air for a complete two-hours on the USA Network. The second reason is due to them going head-to-head each week with All Elite Wrestling’s new series on TNT.
Whenever this title match does take place, there will be speculation regarding Baszler future as the NXT Women’s Champion and her status under the NXT banner.
The reason for that is because of the WWE Draft coming up as the company could move her to the main roster whether that’s on RAW or SmackDown Live.
