WWE NXT 10/10/2023

WWE NXT 10/10/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/10/wwe-nxt-1032023.html

Dynamite is on at the same time as this show so they and AEW both stacked the cards up.

Cody Rhodes comes out to talk. He said he never expected to be out here but it feels great. He said the Rhodes have spilled a lot of blood all over this state. He said there will also be an NXT Men's Breakout Tournament and also said he heard people talking about a certain tag team tournament, that being the Dusty Rhodes Classic. He said that is also coming back. He then said he is the special guest GM of the show tonight.

Ilja Dragunov comes out. The crowd chants happy birthday at him. Ilja said he wanted to meet him. He said he wants to push the brand to the next level like Cody can. Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley come out. Dom says they are patting each other on the back. Dom says the fans are here to see him.

Dom said Ilja doesn't compare to him and says to ask Cody about his energy levels when facing The Judgment Day. Ilja said his dad used to work in a prison, so he knows how to change a barking dog into a sweet little puppy. Dom says Ilja should put the title on the line against him tonight. Cody then asks Dom if he's not willing to put his title on the line. Rhea said he's been carrying WWE on his back and just won the N-A title. Ilja says eating a man like Dom alive is the best birthday present. He then tells Rhea he will smash him. Cody said the match for the NXT Title between them is official. Cody says the match needs a special guest ref and it will be LA Knight.

We see John Cena arriving earlier in the day.

Roxanne Perez vs Asuka

Kelly Kincaid is in the viewing room and says the room is filled. She said nobody wants to miss a second of it. Shotzi then comes to ringside in her tank. Perez kips up out of a wristlock then Asuka fireman's carry takeovers her. Perez avoids a kick. Shotzi said she will host Halloween Havoc again along with Scarlett for Night 1. Perez slaps Asuka then flying shoulders her.

Perez goes to dive and is forearmed. Asuka top rope dropkicks her. Asuka hits Kawada kicks and hair throws her. Asuka thorws her down then shoves her face with her boot. Perez swings wildly at her and shotgun dropkicks her. Perez russian legsweeps her then topes her. Perez 2nd rope twisting crossbodies her then Asuka chest kicks her.

Asuka chickenwings her and Perez rolls out of it into a pin attempt. Asuka urakes her and hits a spinning high kick. Asuka buzzsaw kicks her and wins it.

I didn't like the booking of this. Perez had the crap kicked out of her and essentially was treated like a jobber against Asuka. And that's a real problem as she is treated as one of the top faces on the brand.

Kiana James gets in the ring after. Shotzi comes up behind her, kicks her and hits a fisherman's ddt. Shotzi holds up Perez's arm after.

We see Paul Heyman arrive earlier in the day.

Gallus is in the locker room. Joe is hyping up his partners and says let's show them who we are and what we are bout. 

Butch says he needs the Tyler Bate that he has battled with in the past. Ridge then grabs both and says it's fight night and they yell, "banger after banger". 

Pub Rules Match - Tyler Bate and The Brawling Brutes vs Gallus

The faces are jumped from behind. Bate suicide dives everyone over the top then forearms Wolf off the steps. Bate shoots a pool cue at Wolf. Butch shoves a dart into Joe's fingers then apron knees him. Mark goes to use a fire extinguisher, but can't get it. Ridge sprays him with it and puts him in a trash can upside down. Bate then rolls a bowling ball into the can. Ridge then crossbodies Mark as he hangs.

Joe dives at Butch and sends him into the steps. Bate uses the ropes outside for a rebound lariat. Bate is then dropped face first on the apron. Butch takes a triple powerbomb through a table.

We go to PiP break and return. Butch stomps Wolf's arm into the mat then all 6 trade pucnhes at the same time. Butch 2nd rope moonsaults outside then Ridge and Bate hit stereo airplane spins. The faces then do triple chest clubs.

The faces hit triple straight punches then Mark is lariated into a german. Wolf tope con hilos outside onto Ridge and Butch. Joe and Bate trade shots. Bate comes off the 2nd rope and takes a german. Joe then does a standing boston crab. Ridge breakes a pool cue over the back of Mark and a piece of it hits the ref. We then get triple stereo submissions.

Butch accidentally kicks Bate in the corner. Butch then takes a kick into a powerslam. Bate breaks the pin up with a spiral tap. A table is brought in and then Wolf uranage's Bate. Ridge throws Mark and Wolf over the top then Joe double jump crossbodies Ridge. Joe spinning lariats Butch. Joe pours beer on Butch. Bate grabs it and it breaks in his hand when it isn't supposed to then he hits Joe with it. Joe takes a triple powerbomb through a table and Bate picks up the win.

It was a fun brawl with some weapons use and the guys beating each other up. The crowd liked it and it was done well.

We get a video on Becky Lynch vs Lyra Valkyria. 

Lyra Valkyria is interviewed. Tegan Nox walks in and says her match was incredible. Lyra talks about Nox's match the previous night. Nox says Lyra's title match has to wait. Lyra said she has waited her entire career while Nox couldn't get the job done. Lyra says she's not letting anyone get in the way of the biggest night of her career.

John Cena comes out to talk. He says we are making history tonight and says the fans make this show great. He thanks the fans. Cena says Carmelo Hayes works hard and doesn't back down. He mentions Bron Breakker then Bron Breakker comes out.

Bron thanks him for coming. He said the people didn't come here to see Cena, they came here to see him. The crowd chants BS and Bron's words get cut out too. Cena says Bron lacks respect but says he is exicted for his match and respectfully wishes him good luck. Bron then decks Cena with a punch and misses a spear. Cena goes for an AA and Bron escapes the ring.

Tony D'Angelo and Stacks go up to Cody Rhodes. They say they have a problem and Cody says he is the GM. Stacks said they are looking for their next challengers. We see Dijak walk behind them. Tony says something Cody doesn't get and then Stacks says they want a 10 team battle royale with the winners facing them at Halloween Havoc. Cody said this reminds him of some of the concepts his dad came up with at Halloween Havoc. Cody says let's call it the Bada Bing, Bada Boom Battle Royale

Baron Corbin is interviewed. He complains about Ilja Dragunov. He asks if Ilja is trying to pad his record against Dom tonight. He said Ilja's rage and anger doesn't fool him. He says Ilja is ducking him. He said he's the only man outside of Melo who put him down and that scares him. Corbin says everyone around here is all the same then LA Knight's music hits.

NXT Title - Special Ref is LA Knight - Ilja Dragunov (c) vs Dominik Mysterio

Ilja side headlocks him then hipthrows him. Ilja slams Dom then hipthrows him again. Dom hits corner spears then Ilja sentons him. Ilja germans him and holds on for more. Rhea gets on the apron and Dom rakes the eyes. Ilja is thrown outside but is caught on the middle rope and whiplashes back.

We go to PiP break and return. Ilja enzugiri's Dom then tiger feints into a clothesline. Ilja germans him then crotch hold germans him. Dom's head is banged off the buckles and he is chopped. Dom chops him and Ilja goes wide-eyed. Ilja hits forearms then does machine gun chops. Dom superkicks him and dropkicks him in the back.

Dom misses a 619 then Ilja facekicks him. Ilja is catapulted into the middle rope then Dom 619's him. Ilja superplexes Dom. They fight on the apron and Ilja takes a ddt on the apron. Ilja powerbombs Dom then falling forearms him. Finn Balor comes down and gets nailed by LA. JD McDonaugh then comes out and LA beats him up. Rhea Ripley gets on the apron and Trick pulls her off. Ilja hits a torpedo moscow on Dom and wins it.

It was a simple match for the most part and nothing was wrong with it. Not great or memorable and it definitely could have used some more nearfalls, but it wasn't meant to be. The Judgment Day interfered but they were quickly taken care of.

Baron Corbin comes out then Dijak facekicks Ilja. Dijak stares down Corbin. He told Baron that he beat him to it and said "he's mine".

Carmelo Hayes and John Cena talk in the back. Melo apologizes about Bron. He says he will bring the ruthless agression against Bron. Trick Williams comes in and introduces himself to Cena. Melo brings up not being there for Trick last week but Trick just wants to talk about Cena. Melo says he is getting back his title otnight and says we are getting back Trick's title too. Cena does Melo's line and asks if Trick is good, as he makes a face at Melo. Trick asks Cena when he knew it was his time and Cena says let's talk.

We see Paul Heyman talking to Ava Raine in the back but we can't hear the audio.

Jade Cargill arrives wearing all pink. She meets Shawn Michaels and Shawn welcomes her.  

Baron Corbin talks to Cody Rhodes in the back. Baron asks if Cody is the man to talk to tonight. Baron says Cody owes him and to make the match. Baron says Cody jumped him from behind the last time they saw each other. Cody said Baron made a good case for himself. Cody says Dijak has also, though I disagree. Cody says he can make a case for the Melo vs Bron winner too. Cody says Baron will get his match, if he wins next week's match against Dijak and the winner of Bron/Melo. Baron says, "so much for a clean slate".

Dominik Mysterio is with Rhea. He has ice on his face and they walk up to Nathan Frazer with a bunch of NXT people in the back. Frazer said just because he got beat doesn't mean he gets to treat people like dirt. Dom asks who he is. Rhea said he's not NXT North American champ so he's nobody.

NXT Women's Breakout Tournament Quarterfinal - Dani Palmer vs Lola Vice

This really should be the final, not the quarterfinal match. These two are way above anyone else in this. They dodge kicks and stand off. Dani headscissors her then Lola shoulders her over. Dani headscissors her. Dani goes to leapfrog and is superkicked in the gut. Lola hits a stiff kick to the body then spin kicks her to the body.

Llola shakes her hip and hip attacks her. Lola bodyscissors her then Dani 2nd rope twisting crossbodies her. Dani hits clotheslines then shotgun dropkicks her. Dani handstand kicks her. Dani misses a corkscrew moonsault but lands. Dani double knees her and standing moonsaults, but is caught with a triangle. Dani flips over into a pin attempt. Lola spinning high kicks her and gets the win.

It was quick and both girls looked good as expected.

We go to Chase U. Thea Hail walks in and says Jacy told her to return to class. She said she agreed if only Jacy Jayne came too. Jacy says she hopes it's okay and Chase tells them to take a seat. Chase talks about Halloween Havoc's history.

Thea and Jacy argue and he tells them to quiet down. The class all starts playing with their phones. Chase starts yelling one of the student's named David. He then throws the phone through the wall and says everything was fine until Jacy showed up. Jacy then tells him of the big news - Duke and Chase will be in the tag team battle royale. Jacy then asks for a round of applause for the future #1 contendersto the tag titles. Jacy then tells Chase they will have so much fun.

We see Bron warming up in the back. Paul Heyman goes up to him. Paul says he has worked with his father and uncle. He says he has the best that both have to offer. He says he's not a wise man because he can remember the past, he's wise because he can see the future. He says he can see Bron Breakker in the main event of Wrestlemania. He says the only thing standing in his way is Carmelo Hayes. Bron says he doesn't care if it's Carmelo or Cena, he will break them all.  Paul then calls Roman Reigns.

We see Brian Pillman Jr. watching tv, then we see clips of Brian Pillman. He says his father was one of the most influential stars in the business. He says everyone tells him they loved his dad. He said he doesn't have fond memories of him though. He said he lost him at 4 years old and doesn't know him. He said being a wrestler is the last thing he wanted to be but he can't escape it, he has to embrace it. He says he has to bring pain to the business that hurt him. He said he wants people to think of him when they see his face. He says he is nobody's junior and said he will take on the name of the person who really raised him. He said his name was King and now so is his. This was silly as we all know it isn't his real name and we know half the reason he is here is become of his dad. 

Kiana James talks to Asuka in the back. She thanks her for otnight. She said she left just enough of Roxanne for her to finish. Blair Davenport goes up to her and talks Japanese.  Kelani Jordan and Fallon Henley then shake her hand. Tiffany Stratton goes up to her and says to let her know if she nbeeds anything, from one dominant NXT champ to the other. Asuka leaves then Tiff and Fallon argue. Fallon says she has no manners.

Carmelo Hayes vs Bron Breakker

John Cena is in Melo's corner and Paul Heyman is in Bron's corner. Paul does the intro for Bron. He says he is a Wrestlemania moment waiting to happen and calls him "Bad @ss Bron Breakker".

Melo hits punches early. Bron pushes him off. Melo enzugiri's him from the apron. Melo goes for a top rope crossbody and Bron catches him and slams him in one motion. Bron hits corner spears. Bron runs the ropes fast and Melo quickly springboard clotheslines him. Bron rolls out and we go to PiP break.

We return and Bron has Melo in a bow and arrow. Melo boots him from the corner then hangs from the top rope by his hands. Melo's neck is pulled down over the top rope connector. Bron catapults Melo into the bottom rope. Bron back elbows him then spears him quick. Bron hits some mounted shots.

Bron gorilla press gutbusters Melo for 2. Bron hits some flying shoulders then does Cena's blue thunder bomb. Bron then does the "you can't see me" motion and Melo superkicks him as he runs the ropes. Melo lariats him and corner splashes him.

Melo does his suplex lift into a cutter for 2. Bron hits a top rope facebuster for 2. Melo comes off the top then is caught and gorilla press powerslammed. Bron picks up steps. Cena hits him with the steps. Solo Sikoa comes down and they fight to the back. Melo codebreakers Bron on the floor then Melo hits the nothing but net legdrop over the back of the neck up top. Melo picks up the win.

It was an okay main but not their best work. They just didn't have the time and I thought it could have used some big spots.

Bron spears Melo after. He says win or lose, there's only one bad @ss in WWE. The Undertaker's music then hits. Taker rides a motorcycle to the ring. Bron calls him an old-timer and tells him to listen to him. Bron says there's only one bad @ss around here. Taker grabs the mic. He says he will be a special talent one day and says he has been watching him for a long time. Taker says there's just one thing - it ain't today. Taker then punches him out and hits a chokeslam. The crowd goes nuts for it and Melo is loving it in the corner.

Taker says he will give him advice. He says there's always an older, bigger, badder bad@ss waiting around the corner. He says Bron just met the baddest of them all.

On one hand, I think Bron is elevated by being out there with Taker. I think that's certain, but it also does kind of suck to see Bron be easily put down by Taker, especially since there's not going to be a match or anything where Bron can get his heat back.

Overall thoughts: It felt like the biggest NXT show that has happened in years with an electric crowd and all the big names showing up. The pub brawl was good, Ilja/Dom was okay and the main was okay, but not Bron and Melo's best work.I didn't like Perez getting destroyed by Asuka and while I do think Bron got some rub being out there with Taker, I would have liked him to somehow come out looking stronger in the end. I didn't like Dijak being put in the title picture for no real reason and I'd like to see some real programs for the tag titles to build to title shots, instead of just random challenges and set-ups. It was a good show overall and definitely a must see for NXT fans, but it wasn't perfect.