Reviews

The John Report: WWE NXT 05/24/22 Review

By John Canton • Published 25th May 2022

This week’s WWE NXT featured Mandy Rose facing Indi Hartwell while Bron Breakker battled Duke Hudson in the main event with Bron’s rival Joe Gacy lurking nearby.

I think moving forward for NXT TV reviews I’ll use the summary reviews instead of play-by-play of the matches. It saves me some work and I don’t think most people are going to be too upset by that decision. The analysis and ratings will still be there. For the main event as well as title matches, I’ll go play by play for them.

This episode is taking place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. My WWE NXT Review archive is here. Let’s get to it.

They showed the “Don of NXT” Tony D’Angelo backstage walking with Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo and Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan with Tony delivering a message to Legado del Fantasma since Santos Escobar hit Tony with brass knuckles. Tony said it’s not over while telling them to watch what Stacks and Two Dimes are going to do. Santos Escobar was shown in the distance.

NXT started with Malik Blade and Edris Enofe in the ring. The commentary team was Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett as usual.

Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo & Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan (w/Tony D’Angelo) vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade

Enofe hit a great dropkick to take over for his team and Blade tagged in for a double team belly to back suplex. Blade also hit an impressive dropkick. A distraction from Tony D to Enofe led to Tony’s boys taking over. Stacks was in control of Enofe while Santos Escobar was shown with the Legado boys with Santos telling them they had to go to the ring. After a couple of minutes, Enofe broke free with a knee to the face. Blade tagged in, slipped on the top rope and barely hit a clothesline. At least he didn’t try the spot again and kept going. It was fine. Blade got a few nearfalls including after a top rope cross body block. Escobar and his crew showed up after Stacks hit Enofe with a clothesline. Stacks & Dimes hit a double running kick to the face head for the pinfall win after six minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo & Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan

Analysis: *3/4 A basic tag team match. Stacks and Dimes didn’t really stand out much while Enofe and Blade are great athletes. A lot of the moves from Stacks and Dimes were very basic moves. You can tell they are still young guys learning how to work. That’s what NXT is for a lot of people. It was a weak finish to the match.

Tony D’Angelo and his guys were in the ring with Tony telling Escobar and Legado that we know how this goes, so let’s do it. That led to Legado going into the ring for a brawl. It was quickly broken up by WWE Officials. It should set up a six-man tag team match.

Wes Lee was interviewed by Mckenzie Mitchell, who wondered why Lee would challenge Sanga. Wes said that this is something that he has to do to prove to everybody especially himself that he can do it (beat a bigger guy).

Sanga entered for a match.

(Commercial)

Wes Lee vs. Sanga

Big size difference here with Sanga launching Lee across the ring. Sanga applied a bearhug since Lee had his ribs taped up. Lee did a flipping kick that knocked Sanga out of the ring along with a double stomp to the back. Sanga hit Lee hard with a chop to the chest. Back in the ring, Lee went up top, Sanga moved and Sanga hit a clothesline with Lee doing a flip bump. Sanga hit a huge Chokeslam for the pinfall win after four minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Sanga

Analysis: ** It was all about putting over Sanga’s power advantage against the smaller Lee. Wes is such a talented guy, but as a smaller wrestler, he was there to put over Sanga. Lee sold that clothesline so well. I think Sanga using a Chokeslam as a finisher is a smart decision because it looks great when he does it.

After the match, Xyon Quinn went into the ring to taunt Lee since they had issues, but Sanga pulled Quinn back. Sanga checked on Lee.

Analysis: I guess that means that Sanga is a face now. That’s fine.

Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade were shown talking backstage. Cora hyped up Roxanne for her match against Lash Legend while Cora said she wanted to watch Alba Fyre vs. Elektra Lopez from the crowd.

They showed Bron Breakker walking down a hallway earlier in the day and two guys told him they saw Joe Gacy’s guys in his locker room. Bron went into his locker room and there was a childhood photo of Bron on his locker.

Alba Fyre vs. Elektra Lopez

I’m still getting used to the Alba Fyre name for Kay Lee Ray. Fyre had her bat on fire as she walked to the ring and then she blew the fire out. Cora Jade was in the crowd with some popcorn. Fyre was in control with a dropkick and a kick. Lopez got some offense sending Fyre into the turnbuckle and pulling on the arm while Lopez yelled at Jade at ringside. Lopez got a single-arm takedown while continuing to work on the left arm. Fyre got a knockdown with a headbutt. Fyre went up top and hit a Senton Bomb for the pinfall win after three minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Alba Fyre

Analysis: *1/2 Easy win for Fyre, who is pushed more out of these two women. Lots of cool moves by Fyre while Lopez was easily beaten even though she was on offense for most of the match. Fyre’s in a face role right now, but I have liked her more as a heel in her career.

Post match, Lopez got in Jade’s face and slapped the popcorn out of Jade’s hand. That’s a future rivalry moving forward.

They showed Diamond Mine with Damon Kemp saying that Roderick Strong hurt his ankle, so the Creed Brothers didn’t like that. Julius and Brutus said that they don’t use injuries as an excuse and Ivy Nile said that it’s the Diamond Mine way. Kemp left. Brutus was frustrated while Julius calmed his brother down saying they’ll get their hands on Pretty Deadly to win the Tag Team Titles.

(Commercial)

They had breaking news for the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament with Nikkita Lyons suffering an injury to take her out of the tournament. They didn’t say what injury, so it could be something else. I don’t know. Briggs & Jensen were there with Jensen still in a cast on his right hand. Fallon Henley was interviewed by Mckenzie Mitchell, who asked about Fallon getting a bye to the finals. Tiffany Stratton walked up with her annoying voice to say that Henley didn’t earn her spot in the finals. Henley challenged Stratton to a match.

Analysis: I don’t know what happened to Nikkita Lyons and what injury it might be. Lyons was my pick to win the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament and I assume most people would pick her. Having Stratton take the spot makes sense rather than just putting Henley in the finals.

NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Roxanne Perez vs. Lash Legend

Legend is taller and has been in NXT longer, but Perez is the better wrestler even at 20 years old. Legend hit a delayed reverse suplex for a two count. Legend hit a backbreaker. Perez got some momentum with dropkicks to the legs and a Thesz Press leading to punches. Legend did a legsweep takedown. Perez countered a Legend move and hit the Pop Rox (Code Red or a sunset flip powerbomb) for the pinfall win after three minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Roxanne Perez

Analysis: *3/4 It was decent for a shorter match. More time would have been nice for a tournament match, but it’s probably a case of decision-makers wanting to keep it short to prevent them from having a bad match. I’m glad that Perez won since she’s a talented wrestler with a bright future.

The win means Roxanne Perez moves on to the Women’s Breakout Tournament Finals.

Analysis: I think she’s going to win. Nikkita Lyons was my pick, but with her out, Perez is the best pick.

The Toxic Attraction of Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne were backstage doing a promo, but they were attacked by Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. Mandy broke free and was told by WWE officials to go to the ring for her match while other officials tried to break up the fight.

(Commercial)

Mandy Rose vs. Indi Hartwell

This was not for Mandy’s NXT Women’s Title. Mandy remains my favorite person in NXT by a lot. Just saying. Rose was in control early with a hard kick to the back. Indi got some offense going by sending Rose into the top turnbuckle and hitting two clotheslines. Indi hit a sidewalk slam leading to a picture in picture break.

(Commercial)

Rose was back in control after sending Indi into the turnbuckle and delivering a hard punch to the face. Indi got some offense with an uppercut along with a kick to the head while Mandy was by the ropes. Indi got a nearfall after a spinebuster, which led to Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne stumbling out towards the ring. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance arrived at ringside to continue their fight. Jayne went into the ring, so Indi kicked her out. That allowed Rose to recover and hit a jumping knee on Indi for the pinfall win after nine minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Mandy Rose

Analysis: **1/2 It was an average match with some good spots towards the finish. I thought Indi might win non-title to have her earn a title shot, but that didn’t happen. Rose winning is fine with me because champions need to win non-title sometimes too. It wasn’t clean. However, it’s fitting for a heel.

The two teams went fighting towards the backstage area in the back part of the building. Mandy Rose was standing in the aisle and then Wendy Choo hit Mandy with a ball bag. Mandy had to sell it like she was hurt by it. Choo picked up the NXT Women’s Title to celebrate.

Analysis: There’s your next title challenger. Sadly, I think Choo is going to win since Mandy has held the title for over 200 days and it’s likely time for a title change. It was silly watching Wendy dumping some plastic balls onto Rose and seeing Rose having to sell it.

Bron Breakker, the NXT Champion, was being interviewed by Mckenzie Mitchell with Bron saying there’s nothing Joe Gacy can do to make Bron lose focus. There was a TV behind them, which started showing a highlight of Bron running back a kickoff return in high school. Bron said his dad missed the game because he was in Japan. Bron said he’s okay while adding that Gacy’s mind games won’t work.

Tiffany Stratton made her entrance.

(Commercial)

Pretty Deadly, the NXT Tag Team Champions, did a promo about how well things aren’t going well with the Diamond Mine. They did a promo about how great they are as a team while doing their “yes boy” catchphrase.

NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley

They exchanged some hard chops to the chest early in the match, so that showed how intense it was right away. Stratton got the advantage after wrenching Henley’s left leg against the ropes. Stratton hit an impressive springboard flip attack onto Henley on the mat. Stratton did a cartwheel attack followed by a double stomp for two. Stratton did a bridging submission move on the left leg, so Henley did a punch to the ribs to break free. Henley made the comeback with a back body drop and a punch while selling the left knee so well that she collapsed to the mat. Stratton with a double knee attack by the turnbuckle and a twisting splash off the ropes for the pinfall win. It went about five minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Tiffany Stratton

Analysis: **1/4 This was fine for a five-minute match. The replacement Stratton gets the win, which is not what I expected, but I’m certainly fine with it. I liked the hard-hitting nature of the match since they did a nice job of delivering strikes while both sold moves well too.

Grayson Waller went into the ring to celebrate with his friend Stratton. The win by Stratton means she’ll face Roxanne Perez in the finals of the Women’s NXT Breakout Tournament.

Analysis: I think Perez will win. I think Lyons was going to win, but Perez is a good choice in Nikkita’s absence.

Kayden Carter & Katana Chance were interviewed by Mckenzie Mitchell. Chance hunted down Toxic Attraction and Toxic found out how serious they are. Carter said if “Toxic Trash” wants to do something about what happened, they should put their titles on the line at In Your House and see what happens. Wendy Choo liked the match and she liked the sound of “my sack of balls hitting Mandy in the face.” Awkward silence. No comment. Katana said that the Women’s Title looked good on Choo. Wendy said that at In Your House it might be Toxic Attraction walking in as champions, but she thinks Carter/Chance are going to win the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions and she is going to win the NXT Women’s Championship.

Analysis: It makes sense for Carter/Chance and Choo to get title shots based on storylines. However, I think NXT has to do a better job of having people “earn” a title shot. The same goes for Joe Gacy too. They need to put wrestlers in contender’s matches to earn the shots instead of just giving out title shots without earning it.

A quick video aired about Von Wagner’s recent destruction.

(Commercial)

They showed NXT newcomer Thea Hail talking about how her high school graduation was tomorrow (meaning today as in Wednesday). Thea talked about how she’s up for the challenge of training at the Performance Center while also going to university and thanked WWE for the opportunity.

Duke Hudson walked up to Bron Breakker saying he’s ready for tonight and he’s at his most dangerous when he has nothing to lose. Duke said he didn’t care about Bron’s daddy issues, Bron shoved him against a locker and Duke said that Gacy was right that Bron is predictable.

Von Wagner (w/Mr. Stone) vs. Ikemen Jiro

They changed Robert Stone’s name to Mr. Stone. Jiro is back after about a month of selling an injury and he was aggressive going after Wagner, but Von was ready with a powerslam. Jiro got some offense with a kick to the leg, but Wagner tripped him off the ropes. After a bearhug, Jiro broke free with a springboard dropkick and an enziguri kick to the head. Jiro hit a springboard moonsault on Wagner on the floor and a DDT off the top for two. Wagner punched Jiro repeatedly and then he hit a slam off the shoulders for the pinfall. They need a name for that move. It went four minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Von Wagner

Analysis: ** It was yet another win for Wagner over a smaller opponent. Jiro’s offense was good although we all knew he had no chance. It’s a push for Wagner, but they are not rushing it as he continues to face the same kinds of opponents instead of moving him onto bigger matches.

After the match, Sophia Cromwell showed up to point at the commentary table. Wagner picked up Jiro over his head to try to launch him, but Josh Briggs showed up for the save and punched Wagner out of the ring.

Analysis: That should lead to Wagner facing Briggs in a singles match. Briggs is bigger than the smaller guys that Wagner usually faces.

Tony D’Angelo was backstage with his crew. Tony called for another meeting with Santos Escobar with Tony reassuring his guys that he’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse. That’s a line out of The Godfather, which is a very famous movie from about 50 years ago.

(Commercial)

They showed Mr. Stone, Sophia Cromwell and Von Wagner. Stone said that Wagner has pissed off a lot of people in NXT. Cromwell said if you want to get noticed in NXT you need to ruffle feathers and that Von can handle anything that comes his way. Stone said she’s right.

Mandy Rose, Jacy Jayne & Gigi Dolin of Toxic Attraction were backstage in their lounge. Rose ripped on Wendy Choo for being a grown up kid while Mandy is a “grown ass woman” and Mandy seemed disgusted by her. Jacy Jayne didn’t like Kayden & Katana thinking they are the only real team around here and said that they can’t keep up. Gigi Dolin said that they are all insecure. Gigi said they’ll get their title shot at In Your House while adding that next week they’ll make it official. Mandy said that if they want these titles, they “don’t have the balls” to have these titles. Mandy sent it back to Wade and Wade was excited.

Analysis: The two title matches aren’t official until next week, I guess, but they are happening.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams were in the barbershop with Hayes talking about how he has to get the NXT North American Title back at In Your House. That led to NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes taking a seat and chatting with them. Hayes and Grimes exchanged words with Grimes saying he’s going to face Nathan Frazer next week to prepare for his match with Grimes. When Grimes left, Hayes said he’ll prove he’s the real champion.

Coming up at In Your House Premium Live Event on Saturday, June 4:

* NXT North American Championship: Cameron Grimes (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes

* NXT Tag Team Championships: Pretty Deadly (c) vs. The Creed Brothers

* NXT Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Joe Gacy – Breakker loses the title if he is disqualified.

They didn’t mention the two women’s titles matches that were discussed earlier in the show.

The NXT Champion Bron Breakker made his entrance for the main event. Bron was in all black gear with “BREAKKER” on his singlet instead of the more colorful gear that he used to wear to honor his dad and uncle.

Joe Gacy was shown talking to his druids saying they are getting to him and in this next match, they’ll make sure of it.

(Commercial)

A video aired with comments in Italian while the captions appeared on the screen. A male wrestler named Giovanni Vinci is coming soon. Giovanni means John in Italian.

Next week on NXT:

* Toxic Attraction and Katana Chance & Kayden Karter along with Wendy Choo will have a Women’s Championship Summit.

* Cameron Grimes vs. Nathan Frazer.

* Cora Jade vs. Elektra Lopez.

Bron Breakker vs. Duke Hudson

This is not for Bron’s NXT Title. Gacy was shown watching from the rafters with his druids by his side. I’ll go play-by-play for this with Bron hitting a body slam, a Frankensteiner (hurricanrana) and a belly-to-belly overhead suplex. Hudson with a shot to the back, Bron countered a drop down and picked up Hudson for a delayed vertical suplex. Hudson left the ring, Bron followed him and Hudson hit him with a clothesline on the floor. Hudson hit his own belly-to-belly overhead suplex. They each ran the ropes leading to a double clothesline spot that knocked both guys down. That led to a picture in picture break.

(Commercial)

There were about five minutes left as Gacy made his way to ringside along with his two mysterious allies. Bron was seated on the top rope, Hudson fought him on there and Hudson sent Bron off the ropes to the floor while Gacy smiled at ringside. Hudson sent Bron into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Hudson worked over Bron with forearms to the head. Bron tripped him up and went for the Steiner Recliner, but Hudson hit Bron in the throat. Bron hit a back body drop to power out of a move that Hudson was trying. Bron with two shoulder tackles followed by a powerslam. Bron with a running clothesline to send Duke and himself over the top to the floor. Bron stared at Gacy’s guys in the robes. Bron sent Hudson into the ring, then Bron punched the guys in the hoods and Hudson had a steel chair for some reason. Bron threw the hooded guys out of the ring. Bron tried to hit Gacy with a chair, but Gacy moved and then Bron hit Hudson with the chair. The referee saw it, so Bron was disqualified. It went 11 minutes.

Winner by disqualification: Duke Hudson

Analysis: *** It was the longest match on the show, and I think it was the best match too. It wasn’t great or anything like that, but I like that it was a competitive match while also doing a finish that you don’t see that often. The stipulation to Bron’s match at In Your House is if he is disqualified then he loses the title, so that’s why they did that finish to this match.

After the match, Joe Gacy told Bron that he can’t control his impulse. Bron told him to shut up. Joseph mentioned the stipulation at In Your House. Bron was frustrated. That was the end of the show.

Analysis: I think Bron should keep the title, but I wouldn’t be that shocked if Gacy won.

Three Stars of the Show

Bron Breakker
Mandy Rose
Roxanne Perez

The Scoreboard

This week: 5.5 out of 10

Last week: 6.5

Final Thoughts

It was a weaker show. I’d call it average or maybe below that. Lots of shorter matches this week other than the main event. I think they try to get a lot of different people on the show, which is fine, but it makes it less interesting overall.

Breakker losing to Hudson in the main event was a bit of a shock although it was a DQ to push the story at In Your House where Bron can lose the NXT Title if he’s DQ’d in that match.

I think the women’s segments setting up their two title matches were fine. I’m also happy that Roxanne Perez is likely going to win the Breakout Tournament as well.

NXT In Your House takes place on Saturday, June 4th. Here’s the updated lineup so far: