We have a lot to do this week. Read Claire’s blog, you will become smarter.
Come back here to kill those brain cells.
Let’s talk about NXT Roadblock!
Show off
Dolph Ziggler is the new NXT Champion. Yeah, I’m not even going to bury a lead here or pretend that this is not the biggest story. This. Did he do it with respect? Of course not. Dolph is a heel, and real heels make heels. In fact, how he won is very important to his character and fits the character of Tommaso Ciampa and Bron Breaker.
But before we get to that, let’s get to the match. Dolph was the smartest cat in the match, as evidenced by the fact that he refused to lock himself up with anyone and allowed Bron and Ciampa to fight each other for a bit. It didn’t last long, but it was enough to destroy their little alliance and really turn it into a triple threat rather than a glorified handicap match. Ziggler came up with a plan, while his opponents seemed to just come to fight.
And it was a damn good fight. Neither man dominated, a great way to show that they are equal. Ciampa was kicked out of Fameasser and Zig Zag, Breakker was kicked out of Fairytale Ending (even though it was a delayed count), and Dolph refused to stay downstairs for anything. He stopped every pin attempt and showed that his time in the WWE ring really put him a notch above the rest. If only a chip. Dolph wanted to divide, conquer and buy time because he had an ace up his sleeve. Pretty big ace.
Bron Breaker won the match. Champa was incapacitated and Dolph was on his back, courtesy of Military Press and Powerslam. Like last week, Big Bob Roode stuck his nose into the match and pulled the referee out of the ring shortly before the count of three. Bron, like the rookie, went after Rude instead of keeping his composure and focusing on the match. I like these touches because, as I said, they are true to character, but at the same time reinforce the main narrative of the match: Bron is an underdog due to lack of experience. And, not without reason, it is easy to piss him off because of his temper.
While Bron runs after Robert, this gives Champa time to recoup, while Dolph waits in the wings. Bron returns to the ring and Champa takes care of him. Tommaso was ready for a knee after failing to push off Bron. But, again, Roode saved the day for his partner. He pulled Armor away from Ciampa’s knee, and as Ciampa turned to collect himself, he ate a mouthful of Dolph’s superpink.
And now? Dolph Ziggler is the new NXT Champion.
This is the right move, if only because it gives more options for the story. Winning Ciampa or Bron just resets everything and makes all of Dolph’s time in NXT irrelevant. How about a champion? Now the brand has mystery, intrigue and real confusion. How does it work now with Dolph as champion? Who does he fight in Stand and Deliver? Does this affect Ciampa and Bron’s uneasy alliance? And if so, how?
Although not as good as the fight between Dolph and Ciampa, this fight was a success. And the shock ending was worth it.
extracurricular activities
Bedlam
LA Knight almost made it. Knight nearly destroyed Grayson Waller in their Last Man Standing match. But he let his hatred blind him to the most important part of any wrestling match. No, don’t “steal the show” despite what some people tell you. It’s paramount, you know, to win.
Knight started the match before the bell rang, a touch you all know I love. And for most of the match, he stayed on top of Waller. Inside the ring, outside the ring, Knight’s goal was pain. Los Angeles thought the match was over when he threw Grayson off the top scaffolding of the arena, but surprisingly, Sanga looked up, cradling Grayson in his arms like a newborn.
Needless to say, Sanga changed the tone of the match. Waller got his second wind when the big ringside man pulled out the handcuffs to “lock in” his opponent. But Knight, knowing he had no chance with Sanga, turned those pesky tables on the bodyguard and handcuffed him to the ring post.
With Sanga neutralized, Knight punished his opponent. Not just chair shots, but setting up a trash can around Waller’s head and then chair shots. But Los Angeles refused to give up. Waller looked down for the bill, but Knight wanted more.
After clearing the notice table, Knight fell victim to a foreign object hidden in Waller’s pockets. And yes, I know how it reads. Let’s move on.
Waller performed his favorite high-risk maneuver, descending from the top rope on a defenseless Knight, breaking the turntable and tripping over his bodyguard to support him as the referee counted to 10. When the man had no leg to stand on, literally, Sanga kept him afloat and carried him to the west.
An excellent match with a well-deserved ending, telegraphed through solid storytelling. It is clear that this will continue in Stand and Deliver. I can not wait.
Sabotage!
The headline here should be that Dakota Kai and Wendy Chu advance to the Dusty Cup Finals. Unfortunately, NXT Roadblock had other ideas. In the middle of a very good opening tag tag team semi-final match, Toxic Attraction descended from their perch to attack the knee of Raquel Gonzalez. And not a normal attack. “WWE officials” checked Raquel to make sure Big Mami could still walk, and she passed.
Unfortunately it didn’t work. While Cora Jade did her best to win the match, she ended up having to tag the former champion. It was obvious that Raquel’s knee was out of order and it buckled when she tried to hit with a finisher. Dakota Kai had a moment where she hesitated to pull out her old partner, but still got the job done.
Toxic Attraction did everything in their power to stop Raquel and Cora from getting a chance at their tags. Mission accomplished. Cora, visibly upset and with good reason, attacked Mandy Rose at the Toxic Lounge. Again, completely justified.
However, I would like the bigger story from the match to be about Wendy and Dakota moving forward and not about shenanigans around their victory.
Geniuses
Unlike the first semi-final match, Kei Lee Ray and Io Shirai vs. Casey Catanzaro and Kayden Carter were dedicated to them. And it was another blow to a night filled with them. The turning point in this match was a simple miscalculation by Carter and Catanzaro. K Lee Ray and Io put Casey in the worst possible position. Not Lotus, but on the top hitch, and there is nowhere to go but down.
Carter threw Io out of nowhere, and KLR put it on her shoulders. This was followed by a crazy inverted hurricane that, in any other world, ends the match. But both women lost sight of Shirai. As a result, Io burst back into the ring and pushed Carter into Catanzaro, breaking a pin attempt at two with only one heartbeat left to three.
A heart. Break.
One KLR bomb later, and KLR and Io are the second impromptu tag team to advance to the Dusty Cup Finals to compete for the champions. Interestingly, two odd pairs of teams, reluctantly assembled out of necessity, are vying for the entire enchilada.
Credence
The parking lot is the most dangerous place in NXT. Everyone knows this. With the exception of Brothers Creed, apparently, since they were caught on a slip. Someone attacked two cats with a shot at NXT gold, jeopardizing their title shot. While everyone was pointing the finger at different tag teams (Imperium, Briggs & Jensen, Legado del Fantasma), the Malcolm Bivens boys were judged ineligible to compete. Guess who took their place? Okay, you don’t have time to guess. MSC!
And the NXT title match between MSK and Imperium went surprisingly well. Imperium stuck to its script and slowed down MSK at many points. MSK were still attacking, but the match went in favor of the champions.
And then Creed’s guys entered the ring and chose all the violence. They attacked both teams, obviously angry and just wanting to fight.
My suggestion? We get a triple threat in Stand and Deliver with all three teams while Byvens reveals the attackers. While I wanted a winner, I actually prefer this scenario as it gives us a title match with three great teams with very different styles and a story with a lot of intrigue.
Revenge? Your name is Surrey
Last week Tiffany Stratton and Surrey got into it. By “getting involved” I mean that the first one slammed the second one into the wall just because she felt disrespectful. Surrey got his revenge this week by interfering in Stratton’s match against Fallon Henley. Surrey resorted to the tried-and-true smoke-in-the-door diversion, attacking Tiffany when no one was looking, and Fallon picked up on the disorder.
It was a pretty good match before the shenanigans and both women showed growth in the ring. Stratton is a great character who pulls everything together in the ring. The bears are watching… unless Surrey says otherwise.
U chasing
Chase U continues its series of entertainment. This is all.
pounces
This is how you use the Lash Legend talk show. Promote her beefs, show her character and set off her future opponent. This week we got… Nikkita Lyons, and yes, she deserves all the highlights. Lash, believing that Nikkita was being gassed because of her “butt implants” appearance and not because of her skills, was tired of being in the shadows. So yes, they will fight.
The checkpoint stood still from start to finish. A new champion, a Dusty Cup final has been set, drama between Indy Hartwell and Persia Pirotta, Carmelo Hayes has set the rules for his next challengers, and the Creed Bros are very, very angry.
The only negative I have for the show is that Zion Quinn was cast in that Joe Gacy and Draco Anthony. Fur.
But other than that? Show even without a champion.
Excellent rating
This is my assessment and I stick to it. Your move.