The John Report: WWE NXT 03/12/24 Review
This is WWE NXT featuring Shawn Spears in action against Ridge Holland, plus words from Trick Williams.
It’s back to the summary style review with one or two matches getting play by play. Last week’s NXT Roadblock show saw the return of Trick Williams getting some revenge on Carmelo Hayes, so we’ll see how they follow up on that.
This episode took place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. My WWE NXT Review archive is here. Let’s get to it.
There was a video package showing NXT Roadblock highlights. Roxanne Perez turned heel with a cheap attack on NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria to continue that story. The big news coming out of that show was Tony D’Angelo beating Carmelo Hayes to earn a shot at the NXT Title held by Ilja Dragunov. That match will be at NXT Stand & Deliver on April 6th. That match also saw Trick Williams return to go after Carmelo Hayes, so that’s an obvious match for Stand & Deliver too.
It was Vic Joseph and Booker T on commentary as usual.
NXT Tag Team Title Qualifying Match: LWO – Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro vs. OTM – Bronco Nima & Lucien Price (w/Scrypts)
OTM attacked LWO during their entrance. Nima and Price took turns beating up Wilde with Nima hitting a stomp to the chest. Cruz hit a hurricanrana off the top. LWO sent their opponents out of the ring followed by dives onto OTM on the floor. Wilde got some offense going, but Scrypts got involved and Nima hit an impressive superplex off the middle turnbuckle.
(Commercial)
Cruz was on offense against Price with an impressive missile dropkick for a two count. After Nima tagged in, he hit a spinning slam with Wilde breaking up the pin on a two count. Cruz hit an impressive springboard kick on Price. Wilde did an incredible move where he jumped off Nima’s back onto the two guys (Price & Scrypts) on the floor! That was amazing. Nima tried to slam Crus off the middle turnbuckle, but Cruz countered with a hurricanrana. Wilde hit springboard-assisted 450 Splash on Nima for the pinfall win. It went about 11 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: LWO – Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro
Analysis: ***1/4 It was a pretty good tag team match with the faster LWO team finding a way to beat the bigger OTM team. The OTM guys are improving every time we see them, so that’s great to see. That leap by Wilde to the floor was amazing by him, which is becoming the norm for Wilde in tag team matches.
The win by LWO means they go to a triple threat match where the winners of that match get an NXT Tag Team Title match at Stand & Deliver on April 6th. Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin, the NXT Tag Team Champions, were watching on a platform in the building.
There was a clip from earlier today that saw Brooks Jensen shove the NXT North American Champion Oba Femi. Security guys separated them while Josh Briggs was also there to try to calm down Jensen.
A clip was shown of Roxanne Perez attacking Lyra Valkyria’s arm last week. Roxanne was up next.
(Commercial)
Andre Chase and Thea Hail were talking backstage with Andre saying he’ll always be here for her. Duke Hudson walked up and Hail wasn’t happy about Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nix hanging out without her. Kelani Jordan walked in saying she would team with Hail tonight.
Let’s Hear from Roxanne Perez
Perez was in the ring for a promo saying that she’s no longer the Roxanne Perez who is happy to be there. Perez said that this has been boiling up inside of her for an entire year. Perez reminded us about how she collapsed in the ring after beating Meiko Satomura and said of course she collapsed after carrying this brand. Perez claimed she had the best rookie year in WWE history (I’ll go with Kurt Angle). Perez said for the last year she’s been busting his ass while everybody else was drooling about Tiffy Time or Becky Lynch winning a championship that she could never win. Perez complained about the fans barely reacting when she was in the ring with Lynch. Perez went home crying that night. Perez said “screw you” to the fans for making her feel worthless. Perez claimed she’s the most decorated woman in WWE NXT history at the age of 22. Perez talked about things she has won and claimed she has won everything.
Perez mentioned Lyra Valkyria not giving her an NXT Women’s Title. Perez complained about Lyra going after the Women’s Tag Team Titles, so Perez decided to break the rules and do it her way. Perez whined about nobody caring when Indi Hartwell was holding her title. Perez said she didn’t need anybody’s approval. Perez bragged about hurting Lyra Valkyria and putting her in an ambulance. Perez said that you have all witnessed the rise and fall of Lyra Valkyria. Perez wanted NXT GM Ava to strip the NXT Women’s Title from Lyra and give it to Perez.
Ava the NXT GM arrived to remind us that Perez put Lyra in the hospital after a cheap attack. Ava said that last year they waited until they saw the full extent of Perez’s injuries last year. Tatum Paxley jumped over the barricade and went after Perez, but Perez kneed her to knock Paxley off the apron. Referees showed up to break it up.
Analysis: There’s the heel turn promo from Roxanne Perez after being a babyface for about two years. It was the usual heel promo where a wrestler blames the fans for not supporting them. A lot of heel promos do the same thing where a wrestler blames the fans for their actions. I assume we’ll get Valkyria vs. Perez at NXT Stand & Deliver, but it’s not official yet.
Lexis King entered for a match.
(Commercial)
Tony D’Angelo was having dinner with Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, consigliere Luca Crusifino and Adrianna Rizzo. They spoke about Tony D getting an NXT Title match at Stand & Deliver. Tony said that this move has been a long time coming. Tony said when Stacks hit the music to play Trick Williams’s theme song, it threw Carmelo Hayes off. Tony said that he called Trick up, he liked the idea and it happened. Ilja Dragunov walked in as the NXT Champion, so Tony excused his company. Dragunov congratulated Tony on his big win. Dragunov said that Tony has everything, but this title is all that Dragunov has. Tony told Dragunov that whatever happens here, Tony likes him. Stacks and Luca showed up to take Ilja away. Tony drank his wine and left. They cut to outside the building where Stacks & Luca put Dragunov into the trunk of a car.
Analysis: It’s important to try to tell a story of Tony D and Dragunov having a match, so I guess the creative team felt like putting Dragunov in the trunk of a car was a good idea. It’s a bit silly, but that’s what this whole mafia gimmick is.
Mr. Stone vs. Lexis King
Stone tried a cross body block off the top, but King avoided it and King hit a running knee to the ribs. King trash-talked Stone about his kids while delivering more kicks and knees to the ribs. Stone tried to fight back, but King nailed him with some chops. They battled by the turnbuckle, Stone knocked King down and Stone hit a cross body block off the top for two. King came back with a superkick and a running clothesline to the back. King hit the Coronation neckbreaker for the pinfall win after four minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Lexis King
Analysis: ** A decisive win for King. Stone got some offense with some basic stuff, but since Stone is a manager instead of a wrestler (he used to be a wrestler) it makes sense for him to lose here.
After the match, King wanted to do more damage, but Von Wagner made the save for his friend Mr. Stone. Wagner carried Stone away.
Analysis: That should lead to a Wagner match against King.
A clip was shown of Logan Paul announcing that WWE SummerSlam will be at Cleveland Browns stadium. Vic Joseph was excited since he’s a Cleveland guy.
Oba Femi was interviewed backstage by Kelly Kincaid. Femi said that Brooks Jensen is not ready to walk into his jungle and he’ll be slaughtered. Dijak interrupted Femi saying after he’s done playing around, we’ll see if Femi has what it takes to be a real champion. Femi stared at Dijak and left.
Analysis: There’s a nice tease of Femi facing Dijak. That should be a match at NXT Stand & Deliver.
Oba Femi entered for his NXT North American Title defense.
(Commercial)
Ridge Holland was shown training. Ridge got a phone call, so he did a Facetime call with his wife and daughter. Ridge told them he loved them and they told Ridge good luck tonight and please be careful. Ridge went back to training.
NXT North American Championship: Oba Femi vs. Brooks Jensen
Jensen tried an attack off the top, but Oba hit him with a shot to the ribs. They did a spot where they did a double clothesline and both guys got to their knees right after, so the show went to a break there.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Oba holding onto the ropes when Jensen tried a dropkick and Oba hit two straight backbreakers. Josh Briggs was shown watching in the back on a TV and then he left the room he was in. Oba hit a running uppercut against the turnbuckle. Briggs made his way to ringside as Jensen got some offense going with dropkicks along with a powerslam for two. Oba hit a back body drop to regain control. Oba tossed Jensen across the ring while also staring at Briggs at ringside. Oba hit a Popup Powerbomb and he taunted Briggs rather than go for a pin right away. Oba hit a second Powerbomb for the pinfall win. It went 12 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Oba Femi
Analysis: **3/4 This was all about Oba Femi looking impressive as the champion. Jensen was given plenty of offense and did fine in the match, but he wasn’t a threat to win. Oba remains undefeated and this victory was dominant as they come. Briggs being involved could lead to him becoming the next title contender against Oba although there’s Dijak in the picture too.
Tony D’Angelo and The Family were with Ilja Dragunov on the road by a bridge. Tony D said he’s walked to this bridge with many men and came back alone, but this isn’t one of those walks. Dragunov dared Tony to show him what he has. Dragunov told Tony he’ll find out that Dragunov always finds a way. Tony D left in the car while Dragunov looked at his title.
Analysis: I think they might be going with a Tony D win at Stand & Deliver. It’s been a good run for Ilja, but it feels like they want to push Tony D to that next level.
(Commercial)
Arianna Grace vs. Gigi Dolin
Dolin was in control after setting up Grace against the ropes and hitting a dropkick. Grace did a hiptoss and Dolin came back with a suplex that was a bit sloppy. Grace hit a clothesline while telling Dolin she’ll be a princess. Grace grabbed a crown, the referee made her take it away, so Grace did a low blow kick. Dolin did a low blow uppercut shot in return while the referee saw it. Grace won by DQ. It went about four minutes.
Winner by Disqualification: Arianna Grace
Analysis: *1/4 It was a below-average match that was all about the angle with Grace getting the win over Dolin due to a low blow. You don’t see those kinds of finishes very often, especially in women’s matches. I think character-wise Grace is ahead of a lot of women in NXT, but in-ring she still has to improve. That’s why NXT is also a developmental brand.
There was a backstage skit with some random women backstage exchanging trash talk. Lola Vice said mean things to Karmen Petrovic & Sol Ruca. Brinley Reece walked in with her positivity talk and she was taken away by Malik Blade & Edris Enofe.
Analysis: A lot of people in one short segment. This show likes throwing people on the show and it usually sets up matches.
Kiana James made her entrance with Izzi Dame.
(Commercial)
Kelani Jordan was shown backstage selling an injury. Thea Hail was freaking out about how she had to wrestle alone…or so it seemed. Fallon Henley showed up to team with Hail.
Kiana James & Izzi Dame vs. Fallon Henley & Thea Hail
Henley and James renewed their rivalry a bit with Henley hitting a dragon screw leg whip on James to take her down. After Dame tagged in, Henley hit her with a jumping kick to the head. Dame gave Henley a stun gun into the top rope. When James tagged in, she took control with a running kick to the head. The team of James & Dame worked over Henley for a couple of minutes. Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nix showed up at ringside to support Hail even though they have been mean to Hail lately. Hail got the hot tag with a flurry of offense including a neckbreaker and springboard senton on James. Henley tackled Dame out of the ring. James hit a spinebuster on Hail for a two count. Dame pulled Henley out of the way and Dame kicked Hail to knock her down on the floor. James hit her Bankrupt knee on Hail for the pinfall win after about five minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Kiana James & Izzi Dame
Analysis: **1/2 It was just an average match to further the story of Jayne not being genuine in terms of helping Hail. James & Dame work well as a heel team, but I don’t get the sense that James is getting any sort of singles push.
After the match, Thea Hail did a promo saying that Jacy Jayne must think that Hail is a loser and she wondered what happened to Jayne. Hail said she thought Jayne was her sister, but she is wrong and she is done. Hail said that she didn’t want to be anything like Jayne, so the fans cheered that. Hail apologized for being a loser and for not being cool enough, but Hail said that’s fine because the old Thea Hail is back, bitch. Hail ran around the ring like a lunatic while Jayne & Nix left. The fans were happy about this.
Analysis: Good for Hail to end this alliance with Jayne after several months. Ever since Jayne “saved” Chase U she has been heelish again, so it was not a surprise to see this happen where Hail realized that Jayne wasn’t really helping her. It was strange to not have Hail punch Jayne or something like that, but the words that Hail used were strong and the crowd loved it.
Riley Osborne was watching on TV and liked what he saw. Charlie Dempsey and No Quarter Catch Crew walked in with the Heritage Cup. Words were exchanged there. Nathan Frazer & Axiom walked in to exchange some words. Drew Gulak claimed that the No Quarter Catch Crew will walk out of Stand & Deliver as the Heritage Cup Champion and Tag Team Champions as well. They left.
Trick Williams is still to come.
(Commercial)
The Good Brothers duo of Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson were backstage doing a promo. They spoke about how they had to go through Hank & Tank in the Tag Team tournament. Gallows bragged about their success as a team while Anderson said they are on a mission where they will deliver Magic Killer’s to every team and they will go on to be the Tag Team Champions.
Hank & Tank were backstage watching on TV. They said they would shock the world and they won’t be surprised. Tank told them Hank to think one match at a time. Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin walked in trying to hype them up. Hank & Tank said they were ready. There was a lot of excitement from Hank & Tank as they excitedly left off screen.
Ridge Holland vs. Shawn Spears
I’ll go play-by-play for this match. Spears chopped Ridge hard and Ridge tackled Spears into the turnbuckle. Spears slapped Ridge, yelled at him to “let it out” and Ridge clotheslined Spears. After Ridge missed a corner charge, Spears got some offense going with chops along with punches. Ridge came back with a back body drop. Ridge charged, Spears ducked and Ridge went tumbling to the floor. Spears left the ring leading to Ridge hitting a forearm to the back along with an uppercut. Ridge teased Spears into the steel ring post, Spears got out of that and Spears sent Ridge into the post instead. Spears told Ridge he should have done it while adding that Spears is going to hurt him.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Ridge hitting some uppercuts, but Ridge came back with two superkicks to the face. Spears tied up Ridge against the ropes saying Ridge left everybody down and Spears said that Ridge let his wife down. Ridge came back with a headbutt along with a clothesline. Ridge tossed Spears out of the ring and Ridge threw Spears into the barricade. Ridge ran over Spears with a shoulder tackle on the floor followed by a hard whip into the steel steps. Ridge cleared off the commentary table. Ridge gave Spears a Chokeslam through the commentary table. The referee was administering a slow count and a table break does not lead to a disqualification in WWE, so the match continued. Ridge grabbed the chair that Spears brought to the ring. Ridge tried to attack, but the referee took the chair away and Spears got a rollup for two. Spears lifted up Ridge leading to a C4 slam into the turnbuckle while also benefitting from the chair in the corner. Spears covered for the pinfall win after about 10 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Shawn Spears
Analysis: ***1/4 A good match that Spears found a way to win even though he went through a table. I don’t like table breaking spots in regular matches, but I guess if you only do it once in a while then it’s okay. There were mind games by Spears since he tried to make it personal by trash-talking Ridge heavily throughout the match and it ended up leading to Spears getting the win. I don’t know about the story featuring Ridge not wanting to go over the edge by being too aggressive with his attacks, but hopefully there’s some long-term pay off for it. I like matches with a story and they used the story to show us why Spears was able to get the win. That can lead to another match where Ridge will find a way to get some revenge and overcome the crafty heel Spears.
Next week on NXT:
* Roxanne Perez vs. Tatum Paxley
* Gallows & Anderson vs. Hank & Tank
* Axiom & Nathan Frazer vs. Two Members Of No Quarter Catch Crew
* Heritage Cup Match: One Member of No Quarter Catch Crew vs. Riley Osborne
Trick Williams was up next in the main event.
(Commercial)
At NXT Stand & Deliver on April 6th, it’s Ilja Dragunov defending the NXT Championship against Tony D’Angelo.
Let’s Hear From Trick Williams
Trick Williams made his entrance to a big pop while the fans chanted “Whoop That Trick” and Booker T doing his adlibs during the music. Trick said usually he grabs the microphone and does his thing, but today he’s struggling to say what he really needs to say. Trick said he’s pissed off, angry and feels betrayed. Trick said for two years, he had Carmelo Hayes’ back and watched him succeed with a smile on his face because that’s what brothers do. Trick talked about taking a chance on himself by asking Shawn Michaels what he had to do to get to the top. Trick said that people were telling him that Melo wasn’t really happy for Trick. That led to Trick saying John Cena even wondered if Melo was genuine. Trick recalled asking Melo if he attacked Trick and Melo lied to his face. Trick said what hurt the most was that Melo lied about being his brother. Trick said that Melo claimed they weren’t on the same level. Trick agreed that they aren’t on the same level and mocked Melo for being shorter saying he’ll never be on the same level. Trick told Melo he had his back, yet Melo stabbed him in the back. Trick said that at Stand & Deliver, they’re going to have a match and pay him back for everything that Melo did to him. Trick said that the whole crowd would be chanting “Whoop That Trick” after it.
Noam Dar walked out with Meta-Four claiming that Trick lost his best friend and Noam lost the Heritage Cup. Noam said that he didn’t cry about it because he’s moved on to bigger and better things. Trick told Dar to mind his business and leave Trick alone. Dar said that there’s nobody hotter than Trick right way. Trick said the way Lash looks at him means that everybody agrees. Lash told Trick not to play and listen to what Noam is trying to tell him. Noam said that he was about to blast off. Dar said that next week they’re not going to talk about it because they’ll fight about it. Trick punched Noam and punched Oro Mensah. Lash Legend tried to slap Trick, but Trick caught her and Trick planted a kiss on her. The fans popped. Trick tossed Dar and Mensah out of the ring. Lash looked like she liked it while Trick celebrated in the ring. That was the end of the show.
Analysis: It was an entertaining segment because I like everybody involved here. Trick should beat Dar when they have that match next week. I believe it was fairly well known that Trick and Lash were dating, so they got to show some of that affection on camera there with the kiss. Trick challenging Melo to a match at Stand & Deliver was not a shock since that’s going to happen there and to a lot of fans that will be the main event of the show whether it goes on last or not. I also think Trick should win that match too.
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Three Stars of the Show
- LWO
- Shawn Spears-Ridge Holland
- Trick Williams
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The Scoreboard
This week: 6.25 out of 10
Last week: 7.5
2024 Average: 6.86
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Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
A decent episode but definitely a step down from last week’s Roadblock show. I did like the Shawn Spears-Ridge Holland match because of the story they told. I liked the LWO-OTM match as well. Oba Femi destroying Brooks Jensen was okay because it puts over Femi as a dominant champion. You don’t see women’s matches ending on a low blow very often like we saw in the Dolin-Grace match. Not a great match, but a memorable finish at least.
Roxanne Perez did fine with her heel promo although it was the usual “I blame the fans” type of thing. We have seen and heard those kinds of promos for decades. I think she can certainly take the NXT Women’s Title from Lyra Valkyrie at NXT Stand & Deliver. The Tony D/Ilja Dragunov angle didn’t really work that well for me, but it plays into the Tony D character of putting fear in people due to the “mafia” ties.
Trick Williams officially challenged Carmelo Hayes for NXT Stand & Deliver in the main event. I like how they had Noam Dar come out to challenge him to a match as well. Plus, they used it as a chance to have Trick kiss Lash Legend, who he is dating, so the fans popped huge for it. Trick and Melo at NXT Stand & Deliver will be a lot of fun.
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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport