The John Report: WWE NXT 07/09/24 Review
This week on WWE NXT saw Tony D’Angelo face Lexis King, Wes Lee got a visit from old friends, and a big tag team main event.
The WWE NXT Heatwave PLE last Sunday in Toronto was an excellent show. Kudos to everybody involved for putting on the best NXT PLE of the year and probably for a few years too. It was a lot of fun to watch and write about.
As usual with NXT, I will do a summary style for most of the show and then play-by-play for one or two matches.
There was a video package showing NXT Heatwave highlights.
It was Vic Joseph and Booker T on commentary.
Let’s Hear From Ethan Page, Trick Williams, Shawn Spears & Je’Von Evans
Ethan Page made his entrance as the NXT Champion. I don’t think I’ve commented on it, but I like his theme song a lot. Some people don’t have great songs. I think his song fits him. Vic mentioned it took Page just 40 days to become NXT Champion, so he’s the fastest wrestler to become NXT Champion. Page had security with him around the ring while Page was in the ring doing a promo.
Page bragged about how it took him six weeks to take over this entire brand. The fans were chanting “shut the hell up” while Page talked about being a great athlete with a big ego. Page said that the entire locker room hates him, which is why he has security out there with him tonight. Page said he doesn’t have time for delinquents to cause problems for him. Oro Mensah ran out to ringside, so security took Oro away. Page thanked NXT GM Ava for banning Oro from Heatwave so that Page could win. Page talked about how he won arguably one of the greatest main events in NXT history and he got to walk out the champ. Page said that as your NXT Champion, he promises that he’ll make sure that none of these outsiders come to NXT and ruin what they have. Page said that they have a saying “We are NXT” but he said that is wrong because “I am NXT.” Page said that we have issued the “Era of Ego.”
Here comes Trick Williams with the interruption. Trick said he’s going to get even and the only way he can get even is by getting his rematch. Trick said he wants his rematch tonight. Page said that Trick has every right to be emotional. Page thanked Trick for that Trick Shot because I guess you can say Page fell into the NXT Title. Page told Trick that he’s not the guy around here anymore because Page is and this title proves that. Page denied Trick’s title match request.
Shawn Spears was the next man to interrupt telling Page that he owes Spears a giant thank you. Spears said he pulled Trick out of the ring during the pin. Page thanked Spears while claiming he would have won the title anyway. Spears mocked Trick for losing the NXT Title without being pinned. Spears told Trick he should go to the back of the line.
Je’Von Evans told Page and Spears to shut the hell up. Evans said he knocked both of them and came this close to becoming the NXT Champion. Evans said that he shot his shot and he’s going to shoot it again.
It turned into a fight between the four guys. Trick and Evans cleared the ring as the two babyfaces in the scenario while Spears & Page were out on the floor. Trick’s song played leading to fans singing “Whoop That Trick” to end it.
Analysis: A simple way to set up a tag team match for later in the show. Page does a great job being an egotistical heel and he’s an easy guy for the fans to hate. Trick and Evans are very likable as well. Spears is a good heel, but Page is the right choice to be the heel NXT Champion right now.
This Friday on Smackdown: Solo Sikoa’s rise to power continues. Plus, Tiffany Stratton’s first appearance as Miss Money in the Bank.
(Commercial)
There were social media promos shown from Lexis King and Tony D’Angelo setting up their match later.
Karmen Petrovic vs. Arianna Grace
They won as a tag team on the Heatwave pre-show and now they are opponents. Grace knocked down Karmen with a couple of shoulder tackles. Karmen hit a spinning clothesline. Karmen hit a back kick while Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx appeared to watch the match. Grace got some offense with an elbow smash and knee lift (that barely connected) for two. Karmen kicked Grace in the back of the leg followed by a spinning kick to the back for the pinfall win after three minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Karmen Petrovic
Analysis: *1/2 Easy win for Karmen, who is slowly building momentum as a singles wrestler.
After the match, mean girl Fallon Henley hit Karmen with a forearm to the back. Henley gave Karmen a suplex. Henley punched Karmen a few times along with a forearm to the back. Henley told Jayne she was sick of these rookies.
Analysis: Women like Jayne and Henley have been on NXT for about three years so I guess they have an issue with newcomers. It’s like being a college junior and not liking a freshman.
Brooks Jensen was shown talking to NXT GM Ava about his issues. Brooks apologized to Ava and Shawn Michaels for everything he’s done. Brooks said he got lost and out of control. Brooks wasn’t there to make excuses. Ava told Brooks there are a lot of ups and downs in pro wrestling. Brooks said that as a second-generation star, this is all he’s wanted to do. Ava said that after what Brooks did, they were ready to release him, but some people vouched for Brooks and Ava said that she and Shawn have decided to give Brooks a second chance. Brooks thanked Ava for that. Ava said that you are a WWE superstar 24/7 and you have to carry yourself that way all the time. Brooks said he understands that and he’s going to make an impact. They shook hands.
Analysis: It will be interesting to see where this story goes with Brooks Jensen, who is a talented guy who just needs a good storyline. Brooks saying he’ll make an “impact” will make people think that he could be involved in WWE’s involvement with TNA as well.
(Commercial)
NXT Heritage Cup Championship: Tony D’Angelo (w/Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, Luca Crusifino & Adrianna Rizzo) vs. Lexis King
Eddy Thorpe was on hand for the match doing his DJ work since he likes different music compared to King. King has nobody in his corner. Anyway, I’ll go play-by-play here.
Round 1: Tony applied an armbar on King while Booker complained about King having nobody in his corner. Vic said it’s because nobody likes King. Tony knocked down King with a shoulder tackle. Tony got some takedowns leading to an armbar on King. Tony hit a back body drop. King got some offense going with a dropkick. Tony held onto the ropes to avoid a dropkick. Tony got a takedown leading into a Boston Crab submission attempt, but the three-minute first round time ended.
Eddy Thorpe played some EDM music in between rounds so King told him to turn that music off.
Round 2: King was distracted by Thorpe playing the music, so Tony kicked King in the ribs and hit a Fisherman’s Suplex for the pinfall. Tony D leads 1-0.
(Commercial)
Round 3: The show returned with 35 seconds left in the round. Tony punched King in the ribs a few times followed by a suplex. Tony charged, King avoided it and Tony hit the turnbuckle. King hit a forearm to the back. King hit The Coronation neckbreaker for the pinfall. Match is tied 1-1.
Eddy Thorpe was playing EDM music again between rounds.
Round 4: King hit a running dropkick. Tony D came back with a clothesline. Tony worked over King with punches followed by multiple belly-to-belly slams. King rolled through leading to a two count. King was on the turnbuckle and jumped off with a DDT for two. Tony went for a suplex, but King countered with an inside cradle for two. King hit a superkick. Tony countered King leading to a huge spinebuster for the pinfall win. It ended at around 39 seconds into round four.
Winner (2-1): Tony D’Angelo
Analysis: **3/4 A solid match to give Tony D a successful championship defense against a competitive heel like King. Since King was distracted by Thorpe at times in the match, Tony D was able to capitalize to get the win. Tony needs an actual rivalry for the Heritage Cup.
There was a backstage scene where Brooks Jensen was beating up Je’Von Evans and throwing him into a cage. Referees checked on Evans. Josh Briggs went up to Brooks asking what he was doing. Brooks said he was trying to make an impact. Briggs got Jensen to leave.
Analysis: A new rivalry for Evans against Jensen, who did a random heel attack to set it up.
(Commercial)
Chase University was shown backstage. Ridge Holland walked up to them saying they stole the show and the whole weekend. Ridge said that he believes that Thea Hail is ready to become Women’s NXT Championship. Ridge said he got Duke a championship match against NXT North American Champion Oba Femi next week. Riley Osborne said that Femi will kill Duke. Hail was hyper about how Duke would win and she’s going to beat Izzi tonight.
Gallus – Wolfgang & Mark Coffey (w/Joe Coffey) vs. Tyson Dupont & Tyriek Igwe
Tyson & Tyriek attacked Gallus before they could finish their entrance. Mark hit a jumping kick to take control for his team. Wolfgang did a knee drop to Tyriek. After a couple of minutes, Tyson got the tag with impressive dropkicks. Tyson hit a sidewalk slam on Mark along with a running splash. Joe pulled the ropes down, so Tyson went tumbling over the top to the floor. Mark nailed Tyriek with a forearm to the face. Gallus hit their running kick/spinning slam combo for the pinfall win after three minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Gallus – Wolfgang & Mark Coffey
Analysis: ** A fast-paced match with the more experienced Gallus boys getting the win. The key spot was when Joe got involved on the floor, which led to Wolfgang and Mark capitalizing on the for the win.
Trick Williams was interviewed by Kelly Kincaid backstage, who noted that Je’Von Evans is now out of the match tonight. Trick said he knows that facing two opponents wouldn’t be the best idea so maybe he has to find a tag team partner. The Joe Hendry face appeared on the screen behind Kelly, so that gave it away.
Wes Lee was shown walking backstage to address his future.
(Commercial)
Let’s Hear from Wes Lee
Wes Lee did an in-ring promo talking about how was driven to win back the NXT North American Title at Heatwave, but he wasn’t able to do it. Oba Femi is still the champion. Lee was ready to raise that title above his head as the King of the West Side. Lee was sad as he reminded us that’s not what happened. Le said he didn’t know where to go from here because this was different. Lee spoke about how he’s had one hell of a run in NXT. Lee tried to say something while the fans chanted “please don’t go” while Lee said it was time for him to start stepping away…and here are the Rascalz from TNA.
The Rascalz duo of Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel joined Wes in the ring. When Wes was in TNA, he was in the group with them. Lee said he can’t believe they are there. Wentz was known as Nash Carter in WWE. Wentz said they don’t want to see Wes Lee go. Wentz said that they missed Lee. Trey said that they can’t believe they are there. Wes said that he is proud of the men they have come. Wentz told Lee he’s the greatest North American Champion ever. Trey said that the two of them were the best tag team to step into this building. Wentz said that they should get MSK back together and it’s time for the Rascalz to wreck shop around here. They did their hand gesture together and shared a three-way hug. The fans popped.
Analysis: That was cool. I’ll admit I didn’t watch TNA that much when the Rascalz were a trio in that company, but I certainly know a lot about Wes & Wentz when they were MSK in NXT. The deal here is that Wes was really sad about losing at Heatwave, so two of his best friends were there to pick him up. The fans popped big for this and that made it better too.
Ethan Page and Shawn Spears were interviewed by Sarah Schreiber in the locker room. Page said they are excited about beating Trick Williams again. Spears didn’t think that Trick would find a tag team partner. Spears left to help a lost soul. Page told Sarah to leave so the champ could warm up for this match.
Thea Hail made her entrance with Chase U for a match.
(Commercial)
Izzi Dame vs. Thea Hail (w/Andre Chase, Duke Hudson, Ridge Holland & Riley Osborne)
Dame is taller than Hail, but Hail has been in NXT longer. Dame used her power to kick Hail out of the ring. Hail got a sunset flip pin attempt. Dame used her power to send Hail into the turnbuckle followed by a boot to the face. Dame applied an STF submission. Crazy Tatum Paxley appeared at ringside, so Dame punched Paxley. Dame charged, Paxley moved and Izzi hit the ring post. Paxley never actually touched Dame. Hail hit a suicide dive onto Dame on the floor. Hail hit a cross body block off the top. Hail did double knees to the arm. Hail applied the Kimura Lock submission and Dame tapped out. It went about four minutes.
Winner by submission: Thea Hail
Analysis: ** A good win for Hail, who may start picking up some more wins to get her into the NXT Women’s Title picture. Paxley didn’t actually hit Dame in the match, but Dame focusing on Paxley ended up costing Dame the match.
Oba Femi the NXT North American Title appeared on the platform. Femi said that Duke Hudson will realize it’s a big mistake to face Femi next week. Femi said he was going to destroy him. Duke said that you shouldn’t understand Duke next week. Duke claimed he had the attention of WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus (since he did one of her moves) and said that he is the MVP of Chase University. Duke said he’s going to take the championship from Femi when he gives Femi a Chase University-sized ass whooping.
Analysis: I liked the promo from Duke, but I’ll go with Oba Femi in that match next week.
The Rascalz trio were walking backstage with Wes Lee saying that it’s crazy they are here. Wes said that he was about to quit. Gallus walked up to The Rascalz to trash them and said that they didn’t want TNA here especially that funny Scot. They said not to say his name (a reference to Joe Hendry). Gallus left while Wentz asked what that was about and Lee said that Wentz has been gone a while but the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Analysis: That’s an easy way to set up a six-man tag team match next week. It will be cool to see The Rascalz in action in NXT.
OTM and Jaida Parker were shown walking backstage for their match coming up next.
(Commercial)
They showed NXT GM Ava in her office with Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs. Ava said that Jensen has to get it together quickly. Ava said that Brooks will face Je’Von Evans next week. Josh Briggs said that he will handle that, but he wants to face Shawn Spears for taking a month of his career away. Stevie Turner suggested Briggs as Trick Williams’ tag team partner while Stone said “say his name” to reference Joe Hendry again.
OTM – Bronco Nima & Lucien Price (w/Jaida Parker) vs. The OC – Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Luke nailed a suplex on Nima, who was wearing a mask on his face due to a broken nose recently. Luke worked over Nima with kicks against the turnbuckle. After Karl tagged in, Price hit an elbow drop. Price caught a running Karl and hit him with a huge spinebuster. Karl broke free to bring in Luke, who unloaded with some clotheslines along with a boot to Price’s face. Karl was back in for a double team neckbreaker for two because Nima broke up the pin. Michin walked down the steps in the crowd to go after Parker, but they were separated by officials. The referee was looking at Luke while Price hit Karl with a knee to the back and OTM hit a double team move into a spinebuster for the pinfall win after five minutes.
Winner by pinfall: OTM – Bronco Nima & Lucien Price
Analysis: **1/2 A quality win for OTM beating an established tag team like The OC. It wasn’t a long match or a great match by any means, but it was fine for the time given.
A video aired from Fallon Henley complaining about Sol Ruca getting a title shot at Heatwave. Sol Ruca was shown watching the comments from Henley. That led to Sol Ruca being interviewed saying she’ll be ready for a rematch with Kelani Jordan. Sol said that Fallon has issues with her and she has learned that people here either put in the work or they just bitch. Sol said that she puts in the work while it’s obvious what Fallon is. That was Sol’s way of calling Henley a bitch without saying it.
Sol Ruca entered for singles action.
(Commercial)
Charlie Dempsey and the No Quarter Catch Crew’s Tavion Heights & Myles Borne were shown backstage. Dempsey was talking to somebody in the trunk of the car saying mistakes won’t be tolerated. Wren Sinclair was standing by there saying she didn’t see anything.
Analysis: That was NXT’s way of writing out Damon Kemp since he’s no longer part of WWE.
Fallon Henley vs. Sol Ruca
Each woman took turns doing cartwheels to counter moves. Sol hit an impressive X-Factor sending Henley’s face into the mat. Sol walked on her hands a bit, so Henley kicked her in the chest. Henley was in control with a knee drop to the left arm. Henley connected with a jumping kick to the head for two. Sol hit a couple of cross body blocks. A third attack off the ropes didn’t work because Henley knocked Sol down leading to Henley doing a facebuster into the mat. Sol came back with a dropkick. Sol jumped off the ropes with the Soul Snatcher and the cover, but she was attacked by Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx for the DQ. It went about five minutes.
Winner by disqualification: Sol Ruca
Analysis: **3/4 A competitive match between two talented women. Henley looks comfortable as a heel while Sol is easy to root for due to her positive attitude and being so talented in the ring. The cheap finish was done to get some heat on the heels.
After the match, Jayne hit Sol with a forearm while Nyx nailed Sol with a Pele Kick. Jayne helped her buddy Henley back up to her feet.
Analysis: It looks like the trio of Henley, Jayne & Nyx will continue to work together moving forward while Sol will need some allies.
Tatum Paxley was shown talking to herself while NXT Anonymous was filming her. Paxley said that cool girls like Izzi Dame don’t want to play with girls like Paxley. Tatum talked to a doll representing Izzi and claimed she would take care of her. Wendy Choo walked into the screen to pick up the busted doll.
They showed Brooks Jensen talking to somebody behind a glass door.
The main event tag team match was up next.
(Commercial)
There was a backstage scene with Cedric Alexander talking to Ava the NXT GM and Stevie Turner. Cedric said he appreciates the opportunity. Ava said she’ll see him next week. Robert Stone what was going on and Ava said that Stevie Turner arranged to meet Cedric. Cedric said he was officially in NXT. Stone brought Ashante Thee Adonis there as well, so Adonis and Ava went into Ava’s office while Stone told Turner that two could play at this game.
Analysis: The team of Cedric & Ashante were featured very briefly on Smackdown with video packages, but never really used much. Maybe they’ll get a shot in NXT.
Next week on NXT:
* Oba Femi defends the NXT North American Title vs. Duke Hudson
* 6-Man Tag Team Match: Gallus vs. Rascalz
It was main event time as the end of NXT Champion Ethan Page’s entrance was shown while Shawn Spears was already in the ring. Trick Williams was up next to a big ovation with the fans chanting “Whoop That Trick” as usual. Booker didn’t do the adlibs during Trick’s entrance.
The mystery partner for Trick Williams is…TNA’s Joe Hendry! Say his name and he appears. The NXT fans clearly believe in Joe Hendry since they popped huge for him. Joe’s fan-friendly entrance with the arm swinging is very popular as well.
Analysis: I’m happy to see Joe Hendry in this spot. Joe is a hard working dude who has really gotten over in an organic way in TNA, but also on social media.
Trick Williams & Joe Hendry vs. Ethan Page & Shawn Spears
Trick was on fire with punches and a leaping clothesline on Page. Trick sent Page into the turnbuckle leading to a splash. Hendry tagged for a double team elbow on Page. Joe also slammed Spears off his shoulders. Joe gave Page a delayed vertical suplex followed by a clothesline out of the ring. The fans were singing “I believe in Joe Hendry” as Trick tagged in and Trick hit a cross body block off the top onto both heels on the floor.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Hendry hitting an uppercut on Page. There was a DDT by Page and brought in Spears, who worked over Hendry with strikes. The Canadian heels Page and Spears made some quick tags as they worked over Hendry. As the fans chanted “we believe” there was a powerful suplex by Hendry. Trick got the tag with some jumping side kicks. Page caught Trick leading to a uranage slam to knock Trick out of the ring. Page hit a shoulder tackle on Trick on the floor. Spears was back in with a neckbreaker on Trick for two. Page back in for a double team suplex on Trick. Spears chopped Trick a few times. Trick came back with a jumping neckbreaker. Page grabbed Spears by the leg, Hendry tried to get in the ring, the referee was distracted by that and it was Oro Mensah attacking Page. That led to Oro chasing Page up the stairs and to the back. Spears was still legal and left all alone as Hendry got the tag. Hendry avoided a move by Spears leading to a DDT. Hendry caught Spears leading to a fallaway slam. Spears charged at Hendry, who tossed Spears out of the ring and Trick hit a Trick Shot knee on the floor. Joe hit the Standing Ovation slam for the pinfall win. Vic didn’t say the name of the move but he asked: “Do you believe now?” It went about 10 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Trick Williams & Joe Hendry
Analysis: ***1/4 A fun tag team match with a super hot crowd that loved the babyface team and especially Hendry being part of the match. It was a traditional tag team match where the babyface Trick was isolated for the second half while Hendry got the hot tag and the action picked up after that. Spears was obviously left alone because of Page going after Mensah, so that’s not a good thing for Spears, but it did continue the Page story with Oro at least. The fact that Hendry got the pin in this match shows that he’s going to have a role in NXT moving forward and he may even get an NXT Title shot soon as well.
Joe Hendry and Trick Williams celebrated the win as Hendry’s music played. The fans were waving their hands in the air like Hendry does. That was the end of the show.
===
Three Stars of the Show
- Joe Hendry & Trick Williams
- Tony D’Angelo
- Wes Lee and The Rascalz
====
The Scoreboard
This week: 7.25 out of 10
Last week: 7
2024 Average: 7.08
====
Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
A solid show with some fun moments involving TNA wrestlers like Joe Hendry teaming up with Trick Williams in the main event and The Rascalz reuniting with a sad Wes Lee, who is happy again. Hendry & Trick beating Ethan Page & Shawn Spears was the best match of the night. The fans treated Joe like a big star and the fact that he got the pin shows that NXT is really behind him.
I think there are some NXT episodes that will have better match this one, but I liked the way they advanced a lot of the storylines. Heatwave was really great because of the matches, so it’s okay if the matches were a bit weaker here.
The NXT brand is in a good place right now. The appearances from TNA people is helping too.
===
Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport