The John Report: WWE NXT 08/13/24 Review
This week on WWE NXT featured Tony D’Angelo-Charlie Dempsey for the Heritage Cup, Axiom & Nathan Frazer facing Chase U for the Tag Team Titles, and more.
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 recapping last week’s NXT Great American Bash – Part 2 show. The big shock was Wes Lee turning heel on The Rascalz after the main event.
It was Vic Joseph and Booker T on commentary as usual.
Wes Lee was shown arriving and Sarah Schreiber asked him why did he turn on his brothers last week? Wes said it was time to take what is his. Ethan Page took the microphone from Sarah Schreiber and walked down a hallway.
Let’s Hear from Ethan Page
Ethan Page, the NXT Champion, walked toward the ring with a microphone that had his name and logo on it. Page said that he had the skills to back it up and he has every single right to call himself All Ego. Page said that the Era of Ego will continue to roll on while saying that nobody is taking this championship from Ethan Page. That led to Page saying he heard Wes Lee chirping while saying he couldn’t take this from him. Page said that Trick Williams and Pete Dunne couldn’t beat him either. Page claimed that the Era of Ego will roll on. Page said it’s not NXT it’s NX-Me.
Say his name and he appears because here comes Joe Hendry. The fans were singing along with Joe’s catchy song. Joe told Page that he didn’t have to say his name because Joe would just appear. Joe got into the ring. Joe claimed that Page was the talk of WWE when he won the NXT Title at Heatwave until Joe appeared and closed the show. Joe said that last week, Page beat Oro Mensah, but the fans left talking about Wes Lee.
Page told Joe to take his victory from last week and take his past back to TNA. Page said he didn’t know why Joe was still hanging around NXT. Joe said he was there to win the NXT Championship. The fans chanted “We Believe” for Joe. Page said that TNA clearly believes in Joe Hendry, NXT believes in Joe Hendry and the fans believe in Joe Hendry. Page said that he doesn’t believe in Joe Hendry. Page said that Joe’s song makes him sick to his stomach while claiming that Hendry was on the 14th minute of his 15 minutes of fame. Page told Joe he’d expose him for the flash in the pan that he is.
Joe responded by saying that he is not an overnight success. Joe said he has been grinding for ten-plus years. Joe said he’s made believers of Hall of Famers like Kurt Angle, Booker T is the President of the Joe Hendry Fan Club and Shawn Michaels believes in him. Joe said he’ll make a believer out of him when he takes the NXT Championship. Joe said he was going to take it and sang his song, which Page wasn’t happy about.
Wes Lee showed up in the ring and superkicked Joe while Page was out of the ring. Page told Wes not to think about this title. Wes didn’t say anything.
Analysis: It was a good promo exchange between two strong talkers like Page and Hendry. The fans absolutely do believe in Hendry and they should because he’s a talented guy who has figured out how to get over using a catchy song, a catchphrase, and simply being a likable person. Page knows how to be a great heel, so they mesh together well. The cheap shot from Lee shows that he has his eyes on the NXT Title as well.
Charlie Dempsey and Myles Borne were working out backstage while Wren Sinclair walked up to them mentioning she’s in the group. Dempsey was frustrated by her while saying he’s waited three months to get the Heritage Cup back. Wren said she’ll meet them at ringside.
Tony D’Angelo and The Family entered for his Heritage Cup Match.
This Friday on Smackdown: Roman Reigns looks to finish The Bloodline while Nia Jax celebrates as the WWE Women’s Champion with a celebration hosted by Tiffany Stratton. Toodles.
(Commercial)
There was a backstage scene with NXT GM Ava standing by with Mr. Stone and Stevie Turner. Ava announced a No Mercy Gauntlet Eliminator Match for next week to see who will challenge Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Title at No Mercy. It’s only for women who has yet to have a shot at the NXT Women’s Title. They used a spinner to determine random participants: Wren Sinclair, Adrianna Rizzo and Sol Ruca.
NXT Heritage Cup Match: Tony D’Angelo (w/Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, Luca Crusifino & Adrianna Rizzo) vs. Charlie Dempsey (w/Myles Borne & Wren Sinclair)
Round 1: I’ll go play-by-play for this title match. Tony got a waistlock takedown, then back up and he hit a shoulder tackle. Dempsey grabbed Tony’s arm going for an armbar. Tony came back with a lifting slam. Dempsey went for a double underhook slam, but Tony powered out of that attempt. Dempsey got an armbar takedown, Tony rolled out of it and Tony hit a back body drop slam. Dempsey went for a kneebar, but the bell rang to end the round.
Round 2: Tony got a rollup, but Dempsey was in the ropes so there was no pin. Dempsey sat on top for a two count. Tony picked up Dempsey for the Forget About It cradle suplex into the pin for the three count.
Tony D’Angelo leads 1-0.
(Commercial)
Round 3: The match returned with about 20 seconds left in this round. Dempsey hit a back elbow followed by a rollup for two. Tony went for a backslide, but Dempsey got out of it. The bell rang to end the round and Dempsey hit Tony with a knee lift to the jaw.
Wren Sinclair motivated Dempsey by slapping him in the face a few times.
Round 4: Tony got a rollup for two. Dempsey was aggressive with an uppercut while Tony was against the turnbuckle. Tony came back with a clothesline. Tony worked over Dempsey with punches followed by two belly-to-belly slams. Tony hit a running powerslam. Tony hit a German Suplex. Dempsey sent Tony shoulder first into the turnbuckle and Dempsey did a jackknife pin for the win.
The match is tied 1-1.
Round 5: Dempsey delivered some punches to the face. Tony came back with a spinebuster. Dempsey hit a Northern Lights Suplex for two. Tony tried a back body drop, but Dempsey countered it leading to an armbar on the left arm. Tony countered it with a Powerbomb. They battled by the turnbuckle, Tony punched Borne down and then Tony gave Stacks a hiptoss over the top onto Borne on the floor. The referee was distracted by that, so Wren grabbed Tony’s foot to trip him up so Tony bumped into the ring. Dempsey hit a bridging Butterfly Suplex for the pinfall win at 2:02 left in the round.
Winner AND NEW NXT Heritage Cup Champion: Charlie Dempsey
Analysis: *** A good match most of the way with the heel Dempsey making the comeback to get two falls in a row for the win. The deciding factor was Wren Sinclair cheating to help Dempsey win, which is a different thing for her since she was a babyface in the past and that cheating move shows she has embraced the heel ways of Dempsey and the No Quarter Catch Crew.
Charlie Dempsey celebrated as the two-time NXT Heritage Cup Champion with the No Quarter Catch Crew.
Kelani Jordan, the NXT Women’s North American Champion, was talking to Lola Vice backstage. Tatum Paxley was doing her crazy routine with dolls. Lola talked to her to try to calm her down while Paxley said that everything was handed to Lola, who didn’t like that. This was done to set up a match.
A video aired about Eddy Thorpe and Lexis King having issues for several weeks. Thorpe likes EDM music while King likes rock music, so that’s why they are feuding. I wouldn’t call it riveting storytelling.
(Commercial)
Eddy Thorpe vs. Lexis King
Thorpe was making his entrance and King attacked him from behind with a forearm to the back. They went into the ring and the bell rang to start the match. Thorpe tried to fight back, but King stomped on Thorpe’s right hand since Thorpe has been selling a right hand injury. Thorpe hit a back body drop. Thorpe connected with a couple of kicks followed by a German Suplex. King came back with a double knee attack on the right arm. King hooked the arms leading to The Coronation for the pinfall win after three minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Lexis King
Analysis: ** A clean and decisive win for King using his finisher. King kept working over the right arm, Thorpe did a nice job of selling it and I think the right guy won here. Perhaps Thorpe will seek revenge on King in the future, but I certainly don’t mind King getting a push.
Trick Willams spoke about how he overcomes issues like beating Carmelo Hayes, and becoming NXT Champion. Trick spoke about his issues with Pete Dunne saying he is still looking to become the man here in NXT. Trick said one loss isn’t going to scare him, so he wants a rematch and he’ll figure his ass out.
Pete Dunne was interviewed backstage by Kelly Kincaid. Dunne said that men like Trick like to bitch and moan while Dunne moves forward. Dunne said he’s moving forward to the NXT Championship.
There was a scene by the makeup chairs as Jacy Jayne, Tatum Paxley & Jazmyn Nyx argued with Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson. It didn’t lead to a match challenge directly.
Lola Vice entered for singles action.
Tatum Paxley vs. Lola Vice
Kelani Jordan, the NXT Women’s North American Champion, was on commentary. Paxley sent Vice into the turnbuckle and hit a running cross body block. Vice came back with a powerslam. Vice did her “I’m a Latina” running hip attack for two. Paxley came back with an enziguri kick. Crazy Wendy Choo attacked Jordan on commentary by choking her out. Paxley hit Vice with a flipping neckbreaker. Vice avoided a move off the turnbuckle and Vice hit a spinning back fist on Paxley for the pinfall win after about three minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Lola Vice
Analysis: *1/2 Easy win for Vice after Paxley got a bit of offense. Vice is pushed to a decent level, so it makes sense for her to win.
At ringside, Wendy Choo held up the NXT Women’s North American Title while Kelani Jordan was down selling.
Ava the NXT GM was backstage to announce more women in the Gauntlet Match next week. There were more random names announced: Jaida Parker, Kendall Grey and Karmen Petrovic. That means there are six women officially announced in the match. Izzi Dame went up to Karmen Petrovic and Brinley Reece to complain about not being in the Gauntlet Match. Izzi stormed off.
Wes Lee was shown walking backstage for a promo up next.
(Commercial)
Let’s Hear From Wes Lee
Wes Lee made his entrance for his heel turn explanation promo. Lee said that last week he believed he would win the Tag Team Titles with his best friend, but Zach (Zachary Wentz) let him down again. Lee said this goes back to two years ago when Zack let him down when MSK was dead. Lee said that people doubted him while wondering if he would find a new tag team partner. Lee said he picked himself back up and busted his ass to become the greatest NXT North American Champion of all time. Lee said that some fans cheered and booed that, but you witnessed it. Lee said that Zach and Trey reunited in TNA where they have killed it while Lee broke his back to become a top star in NXT.
Lee said that they wanted to have a legacy that lived a long time. Lee said that it was him and him alone who achieved that greatness. Lee said that he’s done being Zach’s caretaker and said he’s done worrying about what he’s going to say and do. Lee said that he was the one driving them to shows and waking up Zach so he didn’t miss his flights. Lee said he was tired of taking care of Zach.
Lee said that where he wants to go, he knows he can’t have his friends riding his coattails. Lee said that he knew how this was about to go. Lee talked about how Zach wants to have a match with him while saying that No Mercy is coming up, so the title is fitting. Lee said that everything he has said there tonight is true and he will show him no mercy when he beats the living hell out of Zach. Lee said that Zach and Trey could go back to TNA where they can be TNA wrestlers. Lee said he can focus on bigger and better things like that NXT Championship. Lee wished his friends “all the best in your future endeavors.”
Analysis: A solid promo from Lee, who is a very good talker. Lee didn’t blame the fans for his turn and instead trashed his former friends Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel during the promo. Most of it was taking shots at Wentz, which is fine because it was logical for Lee to say based on their history.
Pete Dunne interrupted the promo. Dunne credited Lee for speaking his mind. Dunne said that last week, he beat Trick and now his eyes are firmly on that NXT Championship.
Joe Hendry’s music played as Joe snuck up behind Wes and hit him in the back to knock Dunne out of the ring. Joe and Lee got into a fight while Dunne joined in the fight. There were security guys and officials who broke it up.
Analysis: That should set up a triple threat match for a shot at the NXT Title.
Nathan Frazer & Axiom were interviewed by Kelly Kincaid as the NXT Tag Team Champions. Frazer said they were focused on their title defense. Axiom said that they are locked in and they are on the same page.
Tony D’Angelo and The Family were backstage to talk about the Heritage Cup Loss, but Oba Femi walked ahead of Tony to speak about how tonight was his open challenge against Otis. Femi said he was ready for battle.
Analysis: They have had Oba cut off Tony and Tony cut off Oba recently, so that should lead to those two having a match soon.
(Commercial)
Chase U was backstage chatting about the NXT Tag Team Title match. Ridge Holland told Thea Hail it meant a lot to him that she believed in him. Ridge said he’ll do everything in his power to make sure that Mr. Chase and him will come home with the NXT Tag Team Titles. Ridge was fired up.
NXT North American Championship: Oba Femi vs. Otis (w/Akira Tozawa & Maxxine Dupri)
This match is sponsored by meat since they are two big dudes. Otis had a big bruise on his right arm/shoulder after the good Tornado Tag Team Match on Raw. Otis ran over Femi with a shoulder tackle that knocked Femi out of the ring.
(Commercial)
Otis hit a sidewalk slam for a two count. Femi came back with a hard chop to the chest and an uppercut that sent Otis into the steel steps. Femi was in control with three straight running uppercuts for a two count. Otis fired up with a headbutt and shoulder tackle. Femi clotheslined Otis out of the ring. Femi chopped Tozawa while Tozawa was on the apron and that fired up Otis, who hit Femi with a clothesline. Otis slammed Femi followed by his Caterpillar elbow drop for a two count. Otis hit a Vader Bomb off the turnbuckle for two. Otis was punching Femi against the turnbuckle, so Femi powered out of it with a sitout Powerbomb for the win. It went 11 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Oba Femi
Analysis: *** It was slow-paced at times due to the guys in the match, but it got exciting toward the finish. I liked those nearfalls for Otis. Femi continues to impress while Otis had a good showing in defeat. That Powerbomb counter by Femi was a spot that The Undertaker did a lot in his career.
Brooks Jensen was featured in a video talking about how he hit rock bottom. Brooks said that Josh Gibbs had empty words. Brooks said that there was one man who made sure he was safe. Brooks said he has leader and mentor looking out for him. They showed Shawn Spears behind the camera telling Brooks that was perfect.
Analysis: I like the pairing of Spears and Jensen.
Edris Enofe & Malik Blade were shown in the locker room talking about that saying that it sounds like Brooks was being manipulated. They left while Hank Walker & Tank Ledger spoke about facing The OC next Tuesday on NXT.
Izzi Dame made her entrance for singles action.
(Commercial)
They showed highlights of the recent WWE tryouts in Cleveland from SummerSlam weekend. The boss Shawn Michaels was there of course along with CM Punk, Bianca Belair, Chelsea Green & Baron Corbin among others.
Izzi Dame vs. Brinley Reece
It was mentioned that Dame tried out for WWE two years ago during SummerSlam weekend and now she’s here. Brinley Reece also was signed after those tryouts at SummerSlam 2022.
Reece hit a running clothesline. Dame used her power for a shoulder tackle and a backbreaker. Dame connected with another backbreaker. Dame hit a sitout spinebuster for a two count. Reece managed to hit a Northern Lights suplex for a two count. Dame hit a boot followed by a spinning sidewalk slam for the pinfall win after about four minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Izzi Dame
Analysis: ** It was decent for the four minutes they were given. Dame does a nice job of using her size to her advantage while Reece is full of energy so she’s a natural babyface. Dame getting a mild push seems likely in the months ahead.
Ava the NXT GM was interviewed by Kelly Kincaid. Ava said that there’s a triple threat match between Joe Hendry, Pete Dunne & Wes Lee to see who gets an NXT Title match. Roxanne Perez interrupted to brag about how nobody is on her level.
A video aired from Shawn Michaels about NXT being in Chicago on October 1 (with CM Punk) and in St Louis on October 8th with Randy Orton at the show. Punk and Orton live in those cities, so it’s not a tough travel day for them.
(Commercial)
Ashante Thee Adonis was backstage flirting with some NXT women. After the ladies left, Adonis talked to Dion Lennox, who was reading a book. Adonis didn’t like being disrespected so he told him they could have a match next week.
Next week on NXT:
* #1 Contender’s Match: Joe Hendry vs. Wes Lee vs. Pete Dunne. The winner faces Ethan Page at NXT No Mercy.
* Gauntlet Eliminator Match: Wren Sinclair, Adrianna Rizzo, Sol Ruca, Jaida Parker, Kendal Grey & Karmen Petrovic. The winner faces Roxanne Perez at NXT No Mercy.
* Hank & Tank vs. The OC – Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
* Lola Vice vs. Wendy Choo
Analysis: I think Joe Hendry will win the #1 Contender’s Match and Sol Ruca will win the Gauntlet Eliminator Match.
NXT Tag Team Championships: Nathan Frazer & Axiom vs. Chase U – Andre Chase & Ridge Holland (w/Duke Hudson, Riley Osborne & Thea Hail)
It’s the second straight week with a NXT Tag Team Title match in the main event. I’ll go play-by-play for this.
Andre started with Axiom as they exchanged some basic holds. Andre hit a knee to the ribs. Axiom came back with a dropkick. Frazer ran the ropes leading to a rollup for two. Andre broke free and brought in the powerhouse Ridge. Axion pulled down the top rope so Ridge bumped to the floor. Axiom hit Andre a German Suplex and then Frazer dove onto Andre with a suicide dive. Axiom dove onto Ridge on the floor. Frazer dove onto Andrea guy while Axiom dove onto Ridge on the floor. The show went to break there.
(Commercial)
Frazer and Andre hit a running double clothesline at the same time. The crowd was really into the match. Ridge tagged in against Axiom leading to Ridge hitting multiple clotheslines. Ridge hit an overhead suplex on Frazer. Ridge powered up Axiom leading to a slam that ended like a DDT for a two count. Axiom hit a jumping enziguri kick on Ridge. Axiom hit a top rope splash and then Frazer tagged in with a 450 Splash off the top for two. Ridge hit a clothesline. Ridge powered up Axiom, Andre tagged in and Andre hit a double foot stomp on Axiom for two because Frazer broke up the pin. Frazer sent Ridge out of the ring leading to Frazer diving onto Ridge on the floor. Andre kicked Axiom, who then came back with a jumping kick on the turnbuckle. Axiom hit a spin kick on Ridge and then Axiom hit a suicide dive on Ridge. Frazer with a superplex on Andre and a brainbuster with Axiom assisting with a superkick. That led to a two count for Axiom. The fans were going crazy for that kickout by Chase. Axiom worked over Andre with kicks along with a clothesline. Andre came back with a running boot. Ridge tagged in against Frazer leading to a double team Powerbomb/Backstabber by Chase U and Ridge covered Frazer for two. The champions set up Ridge on the turnbuckle where Axiom kicked Ridge. Axiom gave Ridge a Spanish Fly off the top rope. Andre shoved Frazer off the top and sent Frazer crashing into the commentary table. Great bump by Frazer there. Axiom hit a Golden Ratio kick on Andre to knock Andre down. Ridge was back up with a huge clothesline. Ridge lifted up Axiom for a cradle DDT for the one…two…and three! Chase U wins! It went about 11 minutes.
Winners by pinfall AND NEW NXT Tag Team Champions: Chase U – Andre Chase & Ridge Holland
Analysis: ***3/4 That was an awesome match just like most Frazer & Axiom matches except this time they lost the titles. This was all about putting over Ridge as a physical force who proved his loyalty to Chase U. The Frazer & Axiom team is so talented and they always have awesome matches, so I’m going to miss seeing them as Tag Team Champions. With that said, I like Chase U as a babyface team that is beloved by the fans so I don’t mind seeing Chase U holding the titles. I liked the spot where Andre sent Frazer off the top rope and onto the commentary table to take out Frazer. I thought the commentary team did a great job of talking about how much this meant to Ridge Holland while also saying that Ridge was tough for Frazer & Axiom to overcome.
The Chase U group celebrated with the NXT Tag Team Titles. They showed some replays. Chase U continued to celebrate with the “students” in the ring joining the wrestlers. There was confetti in the ring with Chase U. The celebration continued for Chase U. That was the end of the show.
Analysis: I’m happy for the Chase U group. They’ve been through a lot, yet they remain popular with the fans. You can tell it meant a lot for the fans to see this title change happen on NXT TV rather than a PLE show. Cool moment.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Chase U – Andre Chase & Ridge Holland
- Charlie Dempsey
- Wes Lee
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The Scoreboard
This week: 7.5 out of 10
Last week: 7.5
2024 Average: 7.17
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Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
A very good show by NXT this week similar to last week. There were multiple title matches over the last two weeks without any title changes. This week we got three more title matches and two of the titles changed hands, which isn’t that common for an NXT TV show. That Tag Team Title match with Chase U’s Andre Chase & Ridge Holland beating Nathan Frazer & Axiom for the titles was a lot of fun. Excellent match. I’ll miss Frazer & Axiom as champions because they are so talented, but the fans love Chase U and the title change felt like a big moment.
Charlie Dempsey winning back the NXT Heritage Cup was cool to see because Tony D wasn’t that interesting as the champion and I like how they used Wren Sinclair to help Charlie get the win. I liked the Oba Femi-Otis match too. Two big dudes who can move well out there.
They are doing a great job of building matches up every week while also building to the NXT No Mercy PLE show. That Wes Lee-Joe Hendry-Pete Dunne triple threat match next week is for an NXT Title match and I think Hendry should win that. I think NXT has been hot for the last few months and it should continue as they head toward the debut on The CW in October too.
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John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport