Big changes are coming to NXT over the next few weeks and months, so we might as well enjoy what we’ve got while it’s good. New NXT Champion Samoa Joe will address the NXT Universe, as will new Million Dollar Champion Cameron Grimes. The Breakout Tournament reaches its conclusion when Odyssey Jones takes on Carmelo Hayes. Ridge Holland and Timothy Thatcher are going to beat the souls out of each other. And match of the night should be Legado del Fantasma and Hit Row in a six-man tag.

 

Results

Ridge Holland def. Timothy Thatcher

Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro

Kay Lee Ray def. Valentina Feroz

Carmelo Hayes def. Odyssey Jones

Xyon Quinn def. Boa

Legado del. Fantasma def. Hit Row

 

 

Review

Million Dollar Champion Cameron Grimes, and Ted Dibiase, opened the show. When they got out of the car Grimes said they were still celebrating, and he looked so happy.

Dibiase said he came to NXT to look for someone to carry on the Million Dollar Legacy. They would have to be physically gifted, strong of body, mind, and heart. Quitters never win and winners never quit, and Cameron Grimes never quit. He kept going until he got the title.

Grimes said Dibiase drove him nuts when he first arrived. Dibiase said it was on purpose and Grimes told him he’s glad of the test. He lost his way, thinking about the shiny things and looking at all the zeros on his bank account. He thought that made him something, but he didn’t have an accomplishment that made him something. He knew though, when he was doing demeaning jobs for LA Knight, that he couldn’t let that happen to Dibiase.

Now he wants to know where he goes next. Dibiase said he already knows that. They go, ‘To The Moon’. Lots of fake money with Grimes’ face on it fell from the ceiling and Dibiase laughed while Grimes danced.

 

Ridge Holland, with Pete Dunne, vs Timothy Thatcher, with Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa grabbed himself a chair and sat at the end of the ramp. Dunne decided to hang out on the announce desk side of the ring. Their presence pretty much guaranteed shenanigans at some point, but they were very well behaved early on.

Thatcher was looking to isolate a limb and work it over. It was a good strategy in theory, but not the most successful Holland was going more for complete destruction and a clothesline had Thatcher rolling out of the ring to be consoled and encouraged by Ciampa as we went for a break.

Thatcher was back in it when we came back, but he’d moved from trying to wrestle Holland to trying to fight him. That didn’t work either and he got pinned off a powerslam.

Ridge Holland grabbed Tommaso Ciampa when Ciampa came in to check on his teammate. Pete Dunne got involved after Holland took a knee to the face and Ciampa chucked him out. When he went back to Holland, he was pulled out of the ring.

Danny Burch is back. He and Oney Lorcan arrived for the post-match beatdown. Lorcan got kicked off the apron, but Burch got a punch in before Holland put Ciampa down and out in the middle of the ring.

Thatcher pulled Holland from the ring, got distracted by Dunne and hit on the arm with a truncheon. He still tussled with Dunne though and Dunne had to pull Holland away after he delivered another truncheon blow, to Thatcher’s throat this time.

 

Carmelo Hayes spoke to Arash Markazi about the Breakout Tournament. It’s the biggest match of his career, but he’s never considered himself an underdog because why would he believe he’s anything less than great. He’s worked hard to get where he is and he backs up everything he says. There’s no one like Odyssey Jones. Jones is strong and fast and agile and he’s going to have to be extra careful because things could go south fast if he’s not.

 

Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis are engaged. They’ve had a lot of fun dating and the wedding is on September 14th, on the show.

An in-ring wedding is just too main roster for me.

 

Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro vs Gigi Dolan & Jacy Jayne

Dolan and Jayne showed they’re not above some underhanded tactics early on when they used double team distraction to sneak attack Kacy Catanzaro. They managed to isolate her for a little while, but she slipped past them to tag out before they could wear her down.

She was back up in time to save Carter from being pinned and one double team finisher later, Catanzaro got the pin. The match was too short, but Dolan and Jayne are an interesting prospect.

After the match, Carter and Catanzaro leaned over the announce desk and yelled about wanting the tag titles. Stark and Shirai haven’t defended them and they’re sick of waiting. They’ve got a point, and they have a good shout for being number one contenders.

 

Raquel Gonzalez had an interview with McKenzie Mitchell. She talked about how tough Dakota Kai is. Mitchell asked about Kay Lee Ray and Gonzalez said she’d been waiting for her. She knows all about Ray’s record-breaking NXT UK Women’s title run.

Franky Monet arrived and said she doesn’t wait in line. Gonzalez doesn’t have to worry about her friend kicking her in the face or about Kay Lee Ray stealing her spotlight, because she’s going to take her shine and her title.

 

Odyssey Jones spoke to Arash Markazi. He’s excited about the biggest match of his career. His positivity comes from the bad things in his life making him appreciate the good. He knew he’d get to WWE when he was playing college football, he just didn’t know it would happen so quickly. Odyssey is his energy personified for the world to see. His game plan is to go out there and be the best he can be. He doesn’t know what’s next for him if he wins because he can’t think further ahead than the match. Carmelo Hayes is very talented, charismatic, athletic, fast… the list goes on.

 

Kay Lee Ray vs Valentina Feroz

Poor Valentina Feroz, but I suppose someone had to be the sacrificial lamb for Kay Lee Ray’s NXT debut. The match was fine. Everything you’d expect and nothing more. Feroz put up all the fight she had. Kay Lee Ray finished it with a Gory Bomb. It’s good to see her in NXT. Now give her a decent feud.

 

Mandy Rose approached Gigi Dolan and Jacy Jayne backstage and told them if they never wanted to feel like they did after losing again, to go with her and never look back. Honestly, I thought they were already affiliated with her, but they followed so I guess they are now.

 

Samoa Joe is our first three-time NXT Champion. That makes him king in a land of savages and there’s no time to celebrate. He’d come out to the ring to find out who’s going to step to him.

Pete Dunne stepped up, and he was alone for once. He still thinks he’s the baddest man in NXT, even when he’s standing in front of Samoa Joe, and he thinks Joe knows it too. He demanded Joe go and find William Regal and make the match.

LA Knight came out and also demanded a match. He thinks Samoa Joe is afraid of him and he thinks he could have beaten Kross in under a minute. Dunne threatened to break Knight’s fingers if he stepped in the ring. Knight decided not to chance it.

Kyle O’Reilly came out next, the goofy version. Happily, the crowd didn’t boo him this time so I guess it was just the ending of the match that upset people. He said knows Dunne and Joe well enough, but LA Knight hasn’t had the pleasure, so he introduced himself. He was in the process of telling Joe he respected him and feels like he’s earned a title match when he was attacked by Ridge Holland.

Dunne tried to sneak attack Joe while he was watching Holland, but Joe was onto him. Tommaso Ciampa appeared from nowhere and went straight for Dunne. Holland grabbed Ciampa and headbutted him in the face. LA Knight tried to sneak attack Samoa Joe while he was looking at Ciampa, so Joe headbutted him out of the ring.

 

Ted Dibiase’s time with NXT is over. Cameron Grimes gave the Million Dollar Championship back to him. He told him it was his legacy and it was time to build one of his own. Dibiase handed him back the belt and told him he wanted him to have it, but he’d switched it for one of the replicas they sell in the WWE online store. Grimes laughed as Dibiase drove away cackling.

 

Duke Hudson started talking down to Kyle O’Reilly backstage and got slapped for it. A pull-apart brawl ensued. That should be a decent match. We’ll find out next week.

 

Odyssey Jones vs Carmelo Hayes – NXT Breakout Tournament Final

Great match. William Regal sat ringside for it and he looked very happy to be there.

Not all of Hayes’ high flying in the early going was under his own power. Odyssey Jones chucked him around like a stuffed toy. It didn’t slow him down at all, but he struggled to get Jones off his feet. He kept working on it, and he did manage to get Jones down and get a pin attempt out of it, but Jones halted his momentum with a single move.

Carmelo Hayes put his resilience and determination on display. He dodged Jones’ charge into the corner, sending Jones shoulder first into the post, but his scissor kick from the top didn’t keep Jones down long enough to attempt the pin.

Odyssey Jones moved out of the way of his second attempt and delivered a splash. He went for a slightly showy pin, not hooking the leg properly. Hayes flipped his weight and pinned him with a crucifix.

William Regal presented Hayes with the contract to face the NXT Champion of his choice. He said it’s much too early to decide, but he gave a shoutout to Jones.

 

Pete Dunne thinks Samoa Joe is scared of him and he’s going to win the title from him. Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan want the tag titles they were forced to surrender back, and Ridge Holland wants to injure Tommaso Ciampa the way he injured Timothy Thatcher – It was announced after the segment that Thatcher is out indefinitely as a result of the attack.

It’s nice to have goals.

Ridge Holland versus Tommaso Ciampa is next week.

 

Ilja Dragunov, the new NXT UK Champion, will be on next week’s NXT.

 

Boa, with Mei Ying, vs Xyon Quinn

Still no sign of Xia Li. Is she main roster bound, injured, or done?

This was almost a squash, but not in the direction you might have assumed. Boa had said another victim would fall to Tian Sha tonight but Xyon Quinn pinned him while he was focused on Mei Ying. Quinn decided to leap the barricade to leave after the match instead of trying to pass Mei Ying.

 

Johnny Gargano tried to convince William Regal to cancel Dexter Lumis and Indi Hartwell’s wedding. Regal said no. LA Knight came in shouting about Samoa Joe. Regal kicked them both out and slammed the door. He called them buffoons.

Johnny Gargano and LA Knight go one on one next week.

 

Malcolm Bivens announced there will be a Diamond Mine open challenge next week. Roderick Strong was training a couple of newbies in the background.

 

Hit Row vs Legado del Fantasma

Legado del Fantasma threw their jackets at Hit Row and attacked them before the bell. They chucked Swerve and Ashante ‘Thee’ Adonis out so they could focus on Top Dolla. B-Fab grabbed Escobar’s leg and Swerve and Adonis pulled Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde out of the ring. That left Top Dolla and Escobar to start things off, so the ref rang the bell.

Top Dolla helped Wilde into the ring when he tagged in. Adonis flipped him across the ring when he came in and it was all Hit Row going into the final break. By the time we came back, that had changed. I hate that.

Swerve took a bit of a battering from Legado del Fantasma taking it in turns with the quick tags while he was stuck in the corner. Top Dollar took the eventual tag and he was fired up. That was bad news for Escobar. His elbow drop might have won Hit Row the match if Wilde and Mendoza hadn’t leapt on him to break it up.

Top Dolla picked up all three of Legado del Fantasma and walked around the ring holding them before he dropped them. That was damned impressive, but it didn’t actually help them.

Escobar shoved Top Dolla into Adonis after Adonis tagged in and handed Legado back control. Swerve saved the match with a House Call on Mendoza.

Wilde and Mendoza tried to knock Swerve off the top turnbuckle. Adonis pulled Wilde down. Swerve kicked Mendoza down. Top Dolla cannonballed off the steps and laid all three of them out. His teammate might have got the worst of it. Swerve’s 450 to Escobar was only worth two.

B-Fab shoved Escobar into the ringpost after he dropped Swerve on his head, then turned around and came face to face with Elektra Lopez. She hit B-Fab in the stomach with a metal pipe then threw the pipe to Swerve who gave it to the ref. While they were talking Escobar grabbed a handful of Swerve’s tights and rolled him up.

 

 

Final word

A New Year’s Day main roster PPV was advertised during the show. It’s called WWE Day 1. Now, that could just mean day one of a new year. But with everything that’s been going on recently and all the coming NXT changes it definitely makes you wonder if there’s something bigger going on. There was no sign of the proposed changes this week, just TakeOver fallout and business as usual, although there are noticeably more newbies recently. Good episode and next week already looks stacked.