Great opening for the show and even better when it leads to the triple threat we all wanted to see.
PETE DUNNE VS. JOHNNY GARGANO VS. KYLE O’REILLY – NXT CHAMPIONSHIP #1 CONTENDERS TRIPLE THREAT MATCH
I really am getting on board with this growing trend of allies coming out for the entrance but then going to the back. NXT and AEW both are doing this a lot and it really helps put over the match.
I would have loved if the double submission had a double tap out to make them try to explain just how the result would be determined. I like when they actually show us once and never show us again just so we know what COULD be the result.
Back from a commercial break, we have O’Reilly working over both Gargano and Dunne standing tall.
With Triple Threats now widely known to be fought under No Count-Out and No DQ rules, why hasn’t a heel just walked into one, use a weapon to destroy the other two, and get the win?
Really loved the spot with Dunne taking out the legs of Kyle and Gargano who were trying to pin the other with hooked arms.
With the 5000 fans on Dynamite last week, you know it hurts Vince to see that a Friday Night show at 10pm had more fans than all of his shows in the last year minus WrestleMania.
This really has been the story of Kyle O’Reilly against the heels in Dunne and Gargano. The fact that he is doing it makes both Dunne and Johnny look kinda bad.
Bitter End from Dunne on Gargano but the pinfall is broken up by O’Reilly hitting a diving knee from the top turnbuckle.
Adam Cole out of no where and takes out everyone with a chair including taking out the referee. I think this is Cole’s way of saying he wants the NXT title.
William Regal has come out with Security to take him out of the ring but he is apparently willing to leave willingly.
Cole gives one last kick to Kyle on his way out as we head to another commercial.
Cole is still being told to leave but hasn’t yet when we get back from the commercial. We then see Ember Moon make her way past them towards the ring for some reason.
Ember is in the ring with a microphone pissed off but apparently the match is over after the Cole attack?
Raquel’s music hits and she runs past Regal who is trying to keep Gonzalez away from the ring. They eventually get her back before a brawl can happen.
Ember gets jumped by Dakota in the ring while Regal and security are distracted by Raquel until it is too late. Well, at least we get one really booked segment out of two.
Santos Escobar was telling Wilde and Mendoza that he will be at ringside when they win the titles tonight as they were there for him.
LA Knight is seen with a microphone dressed to wrestle as he walks to the ring for his match. He tells us why he deserves to carry the Million Dollar Mantle and is going to beat Atlas to prove it.
Drake Maverick is seen arriving earlier today asked about him being involved with the Indi and Dexter story last week.
Ever Rise shows up first before Swerve and Skid Row show up and get in the face of each other until Killian Dain comes in and things cool down quick.
LA KNIGHT VS. JAKE ATLAS
Jake Atlas is giving LA Knight a fight in this one. When LA Knight gets an advantage we see Million Dollar Man coming out.
Atlas takes advantage of LA Knight being distracted by Dibiase on the ramp but can’t quite get the pinfall victory. Who else wants to see Grimes cost Knight this so Atlas gets the win?
Knight is in control with an impressed Dibiase as we head to another commercial.
Back from the commercial break, we see Atlas trying to make a comeback but Knight has an answer for everything so far.
LA Knight is actually trying to go for the Million Dollar Dream and fails to allow Atlas to try a comeback. Atlas gets sent to the outside by Knight to stop the comeback.
I like the idea of seeing who can try to hit Dibiase’s move to show they can follow in his steps.
Cameron Grimes comes out to start talking to Dibiase while the match is going on in the ring.
Atlas is actually able to get a two-count on Knight in the ring which gives Grimes the chance to talk down about him to Dibiase.
Cartwheel DDT from Jake Atlas and he actually upset Knight and gets the pinfall victory. I actually love how this can progress the story with Grimes and Dibiase.
Post-match, Dibiase walks away shaking his head at LA Knight who is pissed off.
We see the training room with the outcome of Cole’s actions. Lorcan is all pissed off and it leads to Theory getting in his face defending the honour of Gargano. Likely getting them later in the show.
Dibiase is being interviewed about LA Knight but is interrupted by Adam Cole walking past and back towards the ring….. but commercial break time first!
Adam Cole is telling us he is the real number one contender regardless of whether anyone wants to admit it or not.
Cole says he wants the NXT Championship and that is why he took out three of NXT’s top stars in ONE night.
Karrion Kross has heard enough and makes his way down to the ring with Scarlett who looks like she has a Mike Tyson tattoo on her face.
Karrion Kross says Cole’s motives are understandable while also calling him a little man. He then tells Cole that once Karrion signed, Cole stopped being unique.
Cole says a great line about how Kross has all the lights and mirrors and girls to be made to look special but they just need to ring the bell to show why Cole is special.
Cole says Kross is simply the guy who has his property. Regal comes out to say Cole is not going to weasel into a title match. Kross tells Regal to shut up and put all four of them in the match at TakeOver.
Cole gets out of the ring and clears off the Broadcast table to stand on it and say he runs the show.
The Way are being interviewed backstage but want to talk about everything but them. Indi just has headphones on not paying attention.
Candice takes off the headphones so she will stop listening to 80s break up music.
Christian Casanova is giving us a video promo ahead of his match tonight so we know his name has been changed to Carmelo Hayes.
We see footage of Tian Sha going over footage of Xia Li losing to Mercedes Martinez beating her in the Mae Young classic. Great to see them going so far back for a story.
Dexter Lumis then comes over to the headphones that Indi had been listening to and puts them on to listen to.
KUSHIDA VS. CARMELO HAYES – CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP OPEN CHALLENGE
Not much happens during the beginning of the match before they go to another mid-match commercial tonight.
Hayes is in control as we come back from said commercial break but Kushida quickly changes things up sending Hayes to the outside.
We start getting into a good back and forth series from both as a way to show off Hayes when we all know he is losing this one.
Hayes trash talking to Kushida telling him he needs this one but it just lets Kushida know something is coming.
Carmelo blocks the Kushida lock but not the right hand that connects from Kushida after the spring board.
Hoverboard is locked on this time and Kushida gets the submission victory to retain.
Post-match, Kushida shows respect to Hayes with a handshake before leaving the ring to give him the ring for the debuting talent.
Time for a video promo from MSK ahead of their Title defense tonight.
Franky Monet is going over reviews of her debut with some guys who fanning her and doing her makeup.
ZOEY STARK & ZAYDA RAMIER VS. THE WAY (INDI HARTWELL & CANDICE LERAE)
Just when we think Zoey Stark can’t get any more generic, they put her in a tag team with someone who barely has a character.
Listen, Wade Barrett, we are the same age and I VERY MUCH know who Corey and Topanga are. I guess Boy Meets World wasn’t a big thing in the UK.
I get that Zoey Stark is talented in the ring but WHO IS SHE? Why should we care about someone that we know nothing about? Her character needs to be flushed so much more.
Indi and Candice get the easy win with Zayda Ramier taking the pinfall.
Mercedes Martinez is cutting a promo about Xia Li is not the same woman she faced at the Mae Young Classic but neither is she.
Martinez says she is going to run through Xia Li at TakeOver.
We are getting a break down of the card that is known for TakeOver at this point.
Ember Moon is now interviewed backstage about the attack from earlier by Dakota and Raquel. Ember says that next week she is going to take out Dakota then beat Raquel at TakeOver for the Women’s Championship.
Would be interesting if they announced Ember vs. Dakota next week as a #1 contender match just to lay some seeds about a possible descension between Dakota and Raquel.
MSK (NASH CARTER & WES LEE) VS. LEGADO DEL FANTASMA (RAUL MENDOZA & JOAQUIN WILDE) W/ SANTOS ESCOBAR – NXT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Would have liked to see this match built for two more weeks and have it at TakeOver instead but it is what it is.
Did they make Raul Mendoza wear a black face guard instead of a clear one so that it didn’t remind too many people of Cody Rhodes.
Grizzled Young Veterans start to make their way to the ring but are cut off and taken to the back by Thatcher and Ciampa who come out of nowhere.
Back from the commercial break with Legado Del Fantasma back in control taking it to MSK.
Nice move with the blind tag by Mendoza by not going in the ring and coming from a different angle to confuse Lee. The little things!
Great series of tags in and out by Raul and Wilde concentrating an attack on Lee in their corner. Finished with a Frakensteiner into a powerbomb that could have been better looking.
Lee is sent to the outside at the feet of Santos Escobar who throws him into the steel steps but Carter is able to break up the pin.
Out of nowhere, Bronson Reed squashes Santos against the barricade.
MSK are able to get the double team on Wilde and pick up the pinfall victory to retain the titles.
Post-match Reed and MSK stand tall with their titles in the ring as Legado Del Fantasma stand beaten on the ramp.
Jeff Johnson's Wrestling Soundoff 