I haven’t gotten the prep work done to adjust NXT to my new format yet. So for now we’re sticking with the old one, minus the colors since honestly it does just take up a lot more time than it’s worth. Plus I’m going to have to be transitioning away from them for the change anyway. But with the preamble out of the way, let’s get on with the NXT Recap!
And our opening match on said NXT Recap is…
Pete Dunne vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Kyle O’Reilly
O’Reilly with a big forearm to Dunne starts us off, everyone trading shots now. O’Reilly with some knee lifts to the gut of Dunne until Gargano dumps him, only for Dunne to drop Johnny with a forearm, dropkick to the face! Grips the fingers and wrenches at them. Twists them backwards! Front hammerlock. Back body drop but Dunne counters with a Sunset Flip only for THAT to be countered with a Cross Armbreaker! But Johnny breaks it up only for O’Reilly to pull him into a Heel Hook! Dunne comes in with an armbar on O’Reilly, forces him to break the hold, Gargano therefore breaks up Dunne’s hold.
Johnny with a side headlock takedown, dropkick, but an arm drag avoided and Dunne looks for the Romero Special. Before he can cinch it in, O’Reilly comes in with a round kick to the chest of Dunne to send him to the floor! Kyle with an Armbar DDT to Gargano. Elbows and knees to the spine! Dunne attacks from behind and stacks the two men on each other, grabs one of each arm and stomps on their hands! Gargano and O’Reilly fight back with a series of charging uppercuts, Kyle with a Double Dragonscrew Legwhip on both men! O’Reilly wants an ankle lock, Dunne escapes to the floor, fight spills back into the ring, Gargano with a Tornado DDT on O’Reilly for a nearfall!
Commercial break, NXT Recap will resume when we return!
We come back to see O”Reilly sending a series of kicks to both men and dropping them. Charging forearm to Dunne, grabs the arm. Butterfly Suplex, and then rolls into a second one, Gargano looks to interrupt the third but he gets it instead! Covers Dunne for a 2 count. O’Reilly with a charging low dropkick to Gargano. Dunne and O’Reilly fight out on the outside, Gargano surprises both men with a couple of Tope Suicidas! O’Reilly gets two of them even. Slingshot Spear to O’Reilly for a nearfall! O’Reilly and Gargano fight over a Backslide, Pete Dunne rushes in to pelt them with kicks! Tiger Bomb to O’Reilly for a pin, Gargano with a PK to him rolls O’Reilly into a pin that he has to break up as well!, Avada Kedavra to O’Reilly Dunne surprises Gargano with an X-Plex for a nearfall!
Standing Kimura to O’Reilly, Gargano nails Dunne to set up a Kyle O’Reilly Catapult which takes Dunne outside! Gargano with a roll-up on O’Reilly but he reverses into a wicked Heel Hook! Dunne has to break it up, wants Bitter End but Gargano SPIKES him with a DDT counter!
LAWNDART INTO O’REILLY IN THE CORNER!
Geeze, nearfall! Kick fight between O’Reilly and Gargano, Dunne with a big hand stomp to O’Reilly stops that, round kick to the head of Gargano! O’Reilly fights back up with his combo of strikes! Dunne nails him and he tries his rebound, Gargano superkicks him and he rebounds AGAIN for a double lariat! Everyone is down!
O’Reilly with a Guillotine to Gargano, Dunne grabs O’Reilly with a sleeper! O’Reilly fades and Gargano escapes… Tijares setup for the Gargano Escape on Dunne, sending O’Reilly to the outside! Dunne breaks the fingers to break the hold – pulls him up for the Bitter End! Cover – O’Reilly breaks it up with a Flying Knee Drop from the top!!! Dunne and O’Reilly with a kick fight on the apron until Gargano knocks them both to the floor. O’Reilly and Dunne with a simultaneous clothesline spot on the floor!
Adam Cole rushes down to the ring with a chair!
Blasts both Dunne and O’Reilly with it, HURLS it at Gargano’s face! Brainbuster on the floor to Dunne! Last Shot for O’Reilly! Last Shot for Gargano! Adam Cole stands tall, everyone dead. William Regal and a horde of security come out to force him to leave, Cole makes sure to give a parting shot to O’Reilly on his way out. And we fade to commercial break. Guessing this gets restarted later, but for now…
Winner: N/A
Great match, TBD on that finish.
NXT Recap continues. As they’re still escorting Cole away, Ember Moon comes to the ring and demands to see Raquel Gonzalez! Says what she did to Shotzi was not funny. Raquel’s music hits and out she comes, in spite of Regal’s protests. She squares up to Moon and gets nailed with a series of hard shots that take her out of the ring and security is on her! Ember wants her to come back inside, but Dakota Kai jumps her from behind! Big boot takes Ember to the floor. Regal is tending to Ember now.
Legado del Fantasma talking backstage.
Santos Escobar says they’re familia. They were there for him when he won the NXT Cruiserweight Championship and he will be there with them when they become tag team champions. Wilde and Mendoza are quite confident. Escobar says they will do what they do best; take what’s theirs.
LA Knight with a mic as he strides down the hallway. Says it’s the LA Knight show! Says the guy who drew the short straw this week was the guy who beat Cameron Grimes a couple of weeks ago, he thinks his name is Jake Atlas. Knight says he will drop him on his head, and is the only man who can carry the million dollar legacy on his shoulders.
Up next on the NXT Recap…
LA Knight vs. Jake Atlas
Or so I thought but instead we see Hit Row roll up in the parking lot to interrupt Drake Maverick and Ever-Rise. They call him a clown. Drake says he’ll make them laugh, they need a new dentist. They start surrounding him, Killian Dain intervenes and gets between them. They warn him to check his little homie.
Now back to the ring, the bell sounds and this match is happening. Knight with a big armdrag, and feeling way too confident. Atlas with a roll up for a 2 count! Big arm drag from Atlas, Single Leg Dropkick! Springboard Arm Drag, cover for a 2 count! Arm Wringer, bashes the hand into the mat. Holds him down, Knight with a Sunset Flip counter but Atlas holds him down for a 2 count! Big kick to the jaw, knee to the gut, uppercut to the face! Knight with a body shot, eats a forearm, but Flapjacks Atlas on the top rope! Neckbreaker drops him!
Ted DiBiase makes his way out and Knight is very distracted. Atlas with a Springboard Sunset Flip for a nearfall, Knight gets him with a big scoop slam! LA Knight makes sure DiBiase is watching as he imitates his fist drop! Stomp to the gut. Knight drags Atlas between the ropes. Big running knee to the face! Slingshot Shoulderblock!
Commercial break, NXT Recap will resume when the show does.
We return to see Knight and Atlas fighting over a suplex. LA with a knee to the gut, gets him over but Jake escapes past him, suplex – no, Knight slips behind him for a Neckbreaker! Knight puts him in the MIllion Dollar Dream, Atlas sends him crashing into the corner! Ducks a few clotheslines, crossbody for a 2 count! Forearms, Knight reverses a whip, sends him flying over the top rope to the floor! Jake beats the 10 count, Knight clobbers him on the way back in. Now LA Knight goes up top, wants a Flying Double Axehandle but Atlas clips his gut!
Big lariat nails him, combination of punches! Heel Kick, Elbow, Brainbuster for a nearfall! Cameron Grimes meanwhile is out to talk to DiBiase about how he deserves the Million Dollar Legacy. Knight escapes a DVD, gives Atlas a knee lift but ends up nailed with a Rolling DVD anyway! Thurst kick to the face, goes up top, Knight cuts him off! Wants a Superplex but gets knocked away. Charges for a big leap to the top rope! But Grimes distracts him briefly… Atlas crotches him! The beautiful LGBDDT lands for the win!
Winner: Jake Atlas
This is a classic WWE feud, neither man winning a match in the lead-up to their own fight. But I am happy to see Jake Atlas be the benefactor, very overdue for doing something with him.
Oney Lorcan and Austin Theory get in a pullapart shoving match backstage.
Ted DiBiase with an interview says Knight dropped the ball tonight. But Grimes proved you need brains as well as brawn. Meanwhile Adam Cole is storming to the arena.
As the NXT Recap continues, Cole on the mic says two years ago to the day, he became NXT Champ. Whether Regal wants to admits it or not, he’s the real No. 1 Contender. He’s been gone for two months watching everybody try to live up to his legacy and they’ve failed. Says he took out three of NXT’s top stars in one night which means he wants the title back. Claims he doesn’t fear Karrion Kross, everyone sees him as a monster but not him.
Karrion Kross makes his way out!
He gets in his face and talks about how he’s been dominating since the day he signed the contract. They can talk about this right here. Adam Cole says they do everything they can to make Kross feel special. The big entrance, the cool theme, the girl, the smoke. All they have to do to make Cole feel special is ring the bell. Regal goes down to try and deny Cole but Kross interrupts him and says he wants all of them in that ring! Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, Johnny Gargano AND Adam Cole!
Well that’s one way to get a good TakeOver main event out of Karrion Kross. Maybe over-compensating a bit but it’ll be effective I’m sure. Cole leaves the ring, scales the announce table and tosses a water bottle that I think accidentally hit Scarlett! Kross is furious.
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell have a backstage interview. Candice is mad to hear Poppy is showing up soon and also mad to realize Indi’s listening to 80s power ballads.
Christian Casanova – now known as Carmelo Hayes – has stepped up to answer Kushida’s open challenge! That’s up next on the NXT Recap!
NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Kushida (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes
Psyche, next we see a video from Tian Sha. We hear from their leader talking about how Mercedes Martinez embarrassed her at the Mae Young Classic. They vow vengeance. Meanwhile Dexter Lumis picks up Indi’s headphones, still blaring 80s power ballads and puts it on, revealing a tear falling down his stoic face.
Anyway, NOW the Cruiserweight title is on the line! Lock-up, Hayes with a quick roll up for 1. Lock-up, Test of Strength. They trade advantage, Hayes with a cradle for a 2 count, Side Headlock Takeover. Kushida picks him up, whip, Kushida with some leapfrogs, Hayes with one as well, thrust kick to the back, arm drags, sweet dropkick! Whip reversed into the corner, Hayes charges but Kushida with a boot up. Hayes rolls him through, Springing Pele Kick for a nearfall!
Hayes pulls him up but Kushida pulls him to a side headlock. Tries to shoot him off, no avail. Kush takes him to the mat. Hayes hoists him back up, whips him but Kushida with a Handspring Elbow! Shotei avoided, Hayes grabs a boot, hooks the legs, drapes him across the middle rope, beautiful Springboard Legdrop for a nearfall!
Commercial break, NXT Recap will resume when the show does.
As we return, Kushida takes Hayes to the apron, Handspring Kick takes Hayes flying into the fence! Fight back into the ring, Hayes with an uppercut, Springboard Body Block of some sort, nearfall! Kushida fires back with round kicks. Shotei ducked, Hayes with an Around-The-World Facebuster for a nearfall! Kushida with the Hip Tos, Cartwheel Dropkick, Wind Up and the Pitch! Hoverboard Lock blocked, Hayes spins out, Springboard – into another Wind-Up Punch! Punt to the face! Kushida inches the Hoverboard Lock in and gets the tap.
Winner: Kushida
Very good stuff. Kush gives Hayes a fistbump after the match.
MSK with a promo backstage, they’re pumped up and say they’re ready to beat the breaks off of Legado del Fantasma.
Franky Monet with a promo backstage. She’s reading her own reviews, putting her over. Says she’s just getting started.
Up next on the NXT Recap…
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell vs. Zoey Stark & Zayda Remier
Indi takes Zayda down with a body slam, elbow drop to the back. Candice tags in, big elbow drop of her own. Rams her head into the buckle. Indi and Candice with quick tags, series of hits, cover for a 2 count. They put the heat on Zayda for a long bit. She starts to get momentum but Zoey’s knocked off the apron before she can make the tag. But Zayda fights back, wild right hands. Makes the tag, Zoey with a high kick, Handspring Pele Kick for a nearfall! Zayda unwisely tags back in and immediately gets demolished, Wicked Stepsister from Candice, Top Rope Elbow Drop from Indi for the win.
Winners: The Way
Mercedes Martinez with a promo backstage. Says newsflash Tian Sha, she’s been a marked woman for her whole life. Says she gets that Xia Li’s not the girl she met at the MYC, she’s a real badass now. But she beat her back then and this time, she’ll run right through her.
Ember Moon with a promo vowing to destroy Dakota Kai next week and then go on to take the title off of Raquel.
Next up on the NXT Recap, it’s the main event…
NXT Tag Team Championships: MSK (c) vs. Legado del Fantasma
Wilde and Lee start. Lock-up, Lee with a waistlock. Waistlock Takedown! Wilde with an arm drag, trip, cover for 1, Headlock from Lee. Wilde tries to shoot him off but he stays on him. But Wilde stands with him and rips him to the mat. Carter tags in, they try a big corner double team but Wilde flips Lee with a big lariat and takes it to Carter! Quick tags from the heels now, Mendoza Suplexes Wilde onto Lee! Nearfall. Basement Crossbody from Wilde for a 2 count! Series of charging kicks and enziguris, every one ends up down! But now out come the Grizzled Young Veterans… until Ciampa and Thatcher jump them from behind and drag them backstage! Carter leap frogs Wilde, deposits Mendoza, Carter with a Triangle Moonsault to Mendoza, Lee with a Tope to Wilde!
NXT chant, we go to commercial break, NXT Recap will conclude when the show comes back!
Legado del Fantasma in control as we return. Mendoza stomping Lee into the mat. Takes him to the heel corner, Wilde tags in, whip, Double Spinebuster, Wishbone, Stereo Basement Dropkick for a nearfall! Mounted Punches from Wilde! He holds Lee down, he fights his way up but eats a wicked charging back elbow! Tag to Mendoza who comes in with a Hilo! Back to Wilde, Pullover Splash, Slingshot Moonsault for a nearfall! Mendoza tags in to continue the heat.
He’s setting Lee up for a Powerbomb but he reverses for a big DDT! Makes the hot tag to Carter! Series of kicks capped off with a big Enziguri! High knee in the corner, Superkick to Mendoza, PK to Wilde! Assisted Standing SSP for a nearfall! Lee tags back in, Wilde with a desperation Jawbreaker, corner charge evaded, Mendoza tags himself in, Lee with an enziguri to the back of the head of Wilde, leading to a Half-N-Half Suplex! But Mendoza with a Springboard Dropkick for a nearfall!
Now once again they isolate Lee, charging clotheslines one after the other! Lee takes him up top – Super Rana sends Lee flying into a huge Powerbomb from Mendoza! Nearfall! Lee gets knocked to the floor. As Mendoza distracts the ref, Escobar stands up and sends Lee into the steps! Throws him into the ring, Leg Lariat/Russian Legsweep combo, Carter barely breaks up the pin! Bronson Reed appears to SQUASH Escobar into the barrier! Hart Attack Blockbuster in the ring for the win!
Winners: MSK
As always, very good stuff from these teams, a fine main event. And that’s the show!