Tonight's edition of NXT was the best since the relaunch. It wasn't quite as messy as last week's episode, and they seem to be slowly figuring stuff out. Tonight's episode wasn't great, and there's an abundance of room for improvement, but it was certainly more encouraging than the last two episodes. They have to drop the Joe Gacy gimmick though. It sucks. On the plus side, Tony DeAngelo debuts next week!
Winner: Xyon Quinn
Xyon Quinn (Daniel Vidot) is a Samoan-Australian former rugby player who signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2018. Since then, he's [erofrmed at house shows, competed in a few dark matches, and even appeared as enhancement talent on an episode of SmackDown last year. He defeated Boa in an NXT TV match last month but wasn't seen again until tonight when he made short work of the veteran Oney Lorcan and walked away with another impressive victory under his belt.
Loser: Nonsensical Promos
The show opened with a Hit Row promo that felt much longer than it actually was. When Hit Row first burst onto the scene in NXT they were a fresh and exciting stable whose schtick was refreshing Their segments were well-produced and fun/enjoyable. However, recently they've been cutting these rambling fake freestyle promos that don't make much sense. There are four of them, and everyone needs to get their bits in, but this was not a good way to kick off the show.
Later, Joe Gacy cut another "lolCancelCulture" promo that didn't make any sense and didn't really reveal anything interesting about his character. The crowd was damn-near silent throughout the whole thing, which is the absolute worse reaction a wrestling promo can receive.
Winner: Promising Tag Division
In a segment that hinted towards a promising future for NXT's men's tag team division, current NXT tag champs MSK claimed that just being champions isn't enough for them -- they want to be fighting champions! At this point, the duo was interrupted by the Grizzled Young Veterans, Zack Gibson, and James Drake, who staked their claim as the number-one contenders to MSK's gold. GYV was interrupted by Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams, who in turn were interrupted by Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen. The mic work in this segment was solid, even though it was mostly just six dudes yelling over each other.
It was later confirmed that MSK would join forces with Brooks and Jensen to take on the team of Gibson, Drake, Williams, and Hayes on next week's edition of NXT 2.0.
Loser: Johnny Gargano
Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis went on their honeymoon! And, of course, they brought Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae with them because why the hell not. As Indi's father figure, Gargano is repulsed by the idea of his pretend-daughter consummating her marriage, so he did all he could to recent it from happening. In the first skit of the night, Gargano donned a fake sharkfin and got in the sea to frighten the happy couple away from the beach where they had been canoodling. It worked, but then Candice told him they would eventually end up alone in their room together anyway.
Gargano convinced a maid to let him into InDex's room before they returned. He searched through Dexter's suitcase to make sure he had ... protection, but as he was searching the couple returned. Gargano hid under the bed as Indi and Dexter had a pillow fight that Gargano mistook for coitus.
These segments were extremely stupid, but they were pretty fun and everyone involved did a great job with what they were given.
Winner: The Diamond Mine
Roderick Strong successfully defended his NXT Cruiserweight Championship against cocky young Aussie upstart Grayson Waller but made Waller look like a million bucks in the process. It's easy to see what they're going for with the Diamond Mine gimmick now, and the pieces have mostly all fallen into place. It's a good mix of talent who could go very far if utilized to their full potential.
Loser: Raquel Gonzalez's Days Are Numbered
Raquel Gonzalez retained the NXT Women's Championship against Frankie Monet in an enjoyable main event, but it's what went down after the bell that will be remembered. Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne, and Mandy Rose) emerged from the back and began a beatdown of Frankie Money and her cohorts, Jessi Kamea and Robert Stone. Once they were done with Monet and her crew, they turned their attention to Gonzalez, who was still in the ring. In SHIELD-like fashion, they surrounded the ring and struck. The Champ thought back but the numbers game was too much for her to overcome. The show went off the air with Mandy and her underlings standing tall over Gonzalez as Mandy held the title aloft for all to see. A sign of things to come?
Full Results And Noteworthy Moments
- The show opened with a Hit Row promo during which they put their rivals on notice
- Elektra Lopez (w/Joaquin Wilde, Raul Mendoza & Santos Escobar) def. B-FAB (w/Ashante Adonis, Isaiah Scott & Top Dolla) via pinfall with a modified Blue Thunder Bomb
- In a pretaped skit, Johnny Gargano attempted to prevent Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis from consummating their marriage by pretending to be a shark and scaring them during their honeymoon
- In an in-ring promo, Joe Gacy tried to sell his faux woke gimmick with a dull, nonsensical promo
- Xyon Quinn def. Oney Lorcan via pinfall with a flying clothesline
- MSK said they want to be fighting champions, and were subsequently confronted by three hungry teams from NXT's burgeoning tag division; Zack Gibson & James Drake, Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams, and Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen
- Toxic Attraction walked past the camera while Raquel Gonzalez was being interviewed backstage, Mandy Rose eyed the NXT Women's Championship and said it would look better on her
- Io Shirai & Zoey Stark (c) def. Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne) (w/Mandy Rose) via pinfall with a Shirai moonsault on Jayne
- In a pretaped video package Bron Breakker put Tommaso Ciampa on notice; "You want a friend? I don't give a shit! Go get a dog!"
- Boa def. Andre Chase via pinfall with an inverted DDT after Tian Sha blew smoke in Chase's face
- Another InDex honeymoon skit aired
- Roderick Strong (c) def. Grayson Waller via pinfall with a high knee
- LA Knight attacked Odyssey Jones backstage and confirmed that the two would go one-on-one next week
- McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Cora Jade and Trey Baxter backstage, Jade revealed that she will be making her in-ring NXT debut next week
- Lash Legend's Wendy Williams-esque talkshow segment premiered
- Kyle O'Reilly def. Ridge Holland (w/Pete Dunne) with a rollup
- Dunne and Holland attacked O'Reilly after the bell but Von Wagner made the save
- In another vignette, Tony DeAngelo confirmed that he would be making his NXT debut next week
- Raquel Gonzalez def. Frankie Monet via pinfall with a Chingona bomb
- Toxic Attraction attacked Gonzalez after the main event