WWE NXT 4/16/2024
Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/04/wwe-nxt-492024.html
Noam Dar vs Dijak
Dar hits shin kicks and Dijak grabs him by the throat. Dar hits kicks to the chest. Dar spinning back elbows him and crossbodies him. Dar then goes for a fujiwara armbar. Dijak springboard clotheslines him. Dar guillotine chokes him. Dijak spinning slams him, throwing him out of the ring.
We return and they are fighting while in a leglock. Dijak hits back elbows then flying lariats him. Dijak throws him off a suplex. Dijk sitout chokeslams him for 2. Dijak gets stuck on the ropes and Dar lariats him from the 2nd rope. Dar then fisherman busters him for 2. Dar then armbars him.
Dijak runs at him and goes over the top. Dar forearms him off the apron then dropkicks him against the steps. Dar spinning back elbows him then high kicks him. Dijak spinning face kicks him. Oro distracts Dijak. Dijak boots him off the apron and takes a nova roller. Dar gets the win.
I didn't like this. They did too much as they always do and the logic was off here with Dijak getting thrown around by Dar and being unable to put him down.
Ilja Dragunov and Ava Raine talk in the back. He says next week is the end of Trick Williams in NXT as he will send him out of here. Ava tells Ilja that he can be in action tonight but he can pick his opponent. Ilja says that whoever stands eye to eye with him first can get a match with him.
Tatum Paxley does a promo saying she always wanted to be good and have friends and such. She said no matter how good she was, nobody wanted to be her friend. So she made them. She said she found one thing that would be good to her as long as she is good back - the NXT Women's Title. She said she wanted to be Lyra and loved her. She said she's the closest thing to good there was. She said she fought hard to keep the title on her. She said Lyra then lost the thing she loved the most - the NXT Women's title. She said she broke her heart.
She said Lyra is nothing to her now. She said she sees Roxanne is the coolest girl in class but she can't have that anymore. She said that needs to be her. She said Lyra is in her way.
Lola Vice vs Sol Ruca
Sol cartwheels out of a wristlock and water wheel drops her. Lola kicks her in the gut. Sol flips out of a hiptoss then hits a nice dropkick. Lola urakens her then hits a kick combo. Lola hip attacks her then axe kicks her back.
Lola kicks her in the ribs then hits kicks on the ropes. Sol hits forearms then gets put in a sleeper. Lola sleepers her then is dropped backwards. Sol hits shoulderblocks then powerslams her. Sol standing moonsaults her for 2. Sol twisting sunset flips her of the 2nd rope. Sol superkicks her and goes to cartwheel on the ropes but Blair Davenport shakes the ropes. Lola spinning high kicks her and wins it.
I didn't like Sol's bump here as that looked dangerous. It was an interesting match between two of NXT's up and coming girls. Sol looked good here and they found a way to get Lola a win while giving Sol an out for the loss.
Natalya gets on the tron after. She said Lola kept her from winning a title she never won before. She said she will fight Lola on her terms in her match. She said to show her what she got and said they will fight in NXT Underground in 2 weeks.
I'm real interested to see what that match will look like and if they can pull it off.
Ridge Holland talks to Ava in the back. Wilde asks why he's still doing this then Ridge chokes him on the wall.
We see Arianna Grace meeting up with Gigi Dolin in the park. Gigi said the sooner they can do this, the sooner it's over. Grace says they are going dress shopping. She said Gigi's style makes people think she will kick their head in if they get too close. Grace says they want to strive towards universal world peace.
Gigi wants to wear black. Grace says absolutely not. She just tells her to open her mind and allow elegance and grace to come in. She says she will have Gigi looking like her in no time.
Ridge Holland vs Joaquin Wilde
Wilde hits forearms then Ridge running back elbows him. Wilde 2nd rope corkscrew crossbodies him then dropkicks him out. Wilde misses a plancha outside. Ridge hits forearms and hits the post. Wilde superkicks him the Ridge hits a stiff lariat on the apron.
Ridge headbutt > splashes > overhead belly to belly suplexes him. Ridge pounces him then Wilde ddt's him off a powerbomb attempt. Wilde springboard kicks him and jawbreakers him. Wilde upkicks him and limbos on a lariat. Wilde neckbreakers him and tries to tope him but is powerslammed on the floor. Ridge lifts him for a bearhug and ddt's him out of it. Ridge then wins it.
It was a decent match here with Wile bringing the flying against the bigger Ridge. Ridge's angle and gimmick is not working here and is never going to work. This crowd does not like him or want to see him and this is ultimately a waste of everyone's time.
We see Josh Briggs looked at by the medical trainer early in the day. The trainer tells him to take things easy until he heals. Ivar asks him if he's good. Briggs says he's cleared and wants Oba Femi again. Ivar said he has been in this room before. He tells him to wait until he's 100%. He says then he can have the first shot at Oba and Briggs can get the first shot at his title. Briggs tells him to go to Raw and get beaten up by Sheamus again. Ivar said they should fight to see who gets Oba first. Briggs tells him to take off his vest and get his war paint on.
Brinley Reece, Enofe and Blade are training at the WWE Performance Center. Brin says they got "AOP". Then Enofe and Blade realize she is talking about A-O-P. They aren't high on the idea of facing them. Brin says she's scared of AOP but is coming out with Blade and Enofe. Enofe panics about facing them. Blade says they can win if they believe. Brin says exactly.
Andre Chase and Thea Hail talk. Chase says Jacy wasn't lying about what happened. He said he thought Thea could beat Tiffany and he said he risked it all in a bet on her. He then said when he saw her suffer, he had to throw in the towel. He said he hoped she would understand. He said his heart is always with her. Thea said she's sorry she doubted his belief in her and they hug.
The D'Angelo Family come out.
The D'Angelo Family come out. He says Adriana is the future of the women's division and said Stacks and Luca will go after tag team gold. He said his match with Ilja was a hard fight.
The No Quarter Catch Crew come out, minus Gulak. Tony says they aren't happy with how the deal worked out. Luca says The Crew can settle this debt or they will handle it. Damon Kemp speaks up and Tony said no one was talking to him. Tony gets mad at them interrupting him. Tony said The Heritage Cup looks good and Dempsey says it doesn't need to be held by a two bit gangster. Dempsey calls him a scumbag and says he won't let them disgrace the cup. They all then fight.
Open Challenge - Ilja Dragunov vs Je'Von Evans
The whole locker room comes out to try and fight Ilja. They fight over each other and Evans springboards in from the other side of the ring.
Evans and Ilja trade forearms then Ilja germans him. Ilja hits an enzugiri then release germans him. Ilja hits a chop flurry in the corner then he does facewash kicks on Evans. Evans superkicks him and they trade forearms. Evans hits chops then takes headbutts to the chest. Evans bounces off the ropes and hits a nice enzugiri.
Evans hits kicks to the chest, tries to springboard then is powerbombed down. Ilja running lariats him for 2. Evans hits a standing spanish fly off a tiger feint. Evans springboards and is chopped down. Ilja then running knees him for 2. Evans hits a ddt off of Ilja's shoulders then Evans suicide dives him. Ilja gets his knees up on a splash attempt.
Ilja rolls Evans into a corner death valley driver. Ilja hits a torpedo moscow and wins it.
It was a short but good match. The two matched up well and it was what it should have been with Evans going for the upset and coming close before being put down.
Karmen Petrovic is interviewed. She said she will be Natalya's training partner and will be with her for the NXT Underground match. Lola Vice comes in. She said Nat will come into her world and will have to follow her rules. She said it won't mean anything and says to wait and see who will be in her corner.
Sol Ruca talks to Ava Raine in the back. She said she needs to put an end to Blair. She tells her she doesn't want just another match, she wants a No DQ match. Ava asks her if she is sure. She said she won't stop until Blair is carried out of the arena.
Thea Hail vs Tatum Paxley
Tatum takes her down and stares at her. Thea armdrags her then tilt-a-whirl armdrags her. Tatum slides out of a lariat and they stare down on the mat. Thea splashes the arm then takes a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Tatum pulls Thea's neck down over the ropes then crossbodies her in the corner.
Tatum gutwrench suplexes her then does a reverse surfboard on the mat. Thea headbutts her then flying double forearms her. Thea flipping neckbreakers her then Jazmyn Nyx gets on the apron. Jacy Jayne trips Thea on the ropes. Thea then gets pinned.
Thea topes Jacy after and they fight. Chase U and refs break it up. Lyra Valkyria then fights with Tatum Paxley.
The match was short and wasn't much. It seemed to be there just for the post-match shenanigans.
Roxanne Perez is interviewed. She talks about that little freak Tatum turning on her girlfriend. She said it's great if they want to battle it out and beat each other to a pulp. She said maybe she will give a title match to the winner. She asks why Ava is always complaining like she has a hard job. Ava comes in. She says why choose? It'll be a triple threat the PPV with Perez, Tatum and Lyra. Perez says she is against her and is trying to get her to lose her title without being pinned. Ava said Perez said her job is easy and she will do great.
The Authors of Pain vs Malik Blade and Edris Enofe
Enofe takes shots in the corner then fights back. Enofe hits a dropkick and Blade jumps off the top on his opponent. Enofe then does the same. Enofe is popped up into a death valley drivers in the corner.
Razar pounds on Enofe then Enofe is held for a running knee. Enofe's head is banged off the mat then is dropped into a knee. Blade dropkicks Razar out. He gets his tope con hilo caught then Enofe tries to dive on them but Blade is rammed into Enofe. The AOP then hit a super collider and get the win.
It was a quick squash but it was real entertaining with some cool spots here.
Axiom and Nathan Frazer come out after.
We go to the clothes store. Gigi tells Grace that she wouldn't wear anything in here. Grace says she needs to dress like a princess to be one. Grace finds a dress and Gigi says she hates it. Gigi says she needs to make it her own. We hear her ripping the dress up then we see her wear it. Grace looks on in horror. Gigi says the dress looks great and she had to Gigi it up a bit. She tells the staff Grace is paying. Grace asks if they take credit and she shows a bunch of cards.
Josh Briggs vs Ivar
Ivar face kicks him to start and rolls over his back. Ivar cartwheels and hits a big lariat. Oba Femi is watching in the back. Briggs face kicks Ivar then side slams him. Briggs hits a standing splash. Ivar butt drops him in the corner. Ivar clubs on him then Briggs back elbows him. Ivar hits a shot to the gut then spinning slams him. Ivar tiger drivers him for 2. Briggs sidewalk slams him for 2.
Briggs gutbusters him and pounces him over. Briggs shoulders him off the apron then is pushed into the steps. Ivar spinning high kicks him then hits a top rope moonsault.
It was real short but it was good. I wish we could have gotten a full length match out of this because the two matched up well together. I don't like Briggs taking all of these losses though.
Oba Femi is asked what he thought of Ivar winning and he said it was interesting. Oba then takes out Oro Mensah somehow in his way out.
We see the cage get set up.
We then see clips of Trick Williams around Mania weekend.
Kelly Kincaid interviews Carmelo Hayes. Melo said the beef isn't over until he says so. He said he will make sure Trick doesn't leave here in one piece. He said he gave him everything and will take it from his ungrateful @ss.
Steel Cage Match - Trick Williams vs Carmelo Hayes
Melo jumps up and is slammed. Trick hits another slam. They stare down, Melo rolls over his back and is dropkicked. Trick slams him and lariats him against the ropes. Trick's head is banged off the cage and Melo springboard twisting lariats him. Melo is handed a weapon by his guards and he hits Trick with a stick of some sort.
We go to PiP break and return. Melo works Trick's arm then codebreakers it. Trick is thrown into the cage. Melo stomps him then flying elbows him into the cage. Trick moves and Melo goes into the cage. Trick 2nd rope uranages Melo.
They trade shots. Trick hits jumping side kicks and flapjacks him. Trick hits a rare reverse suplex and sends Melo into the cage. Trick jumping neckbreakers him. Melo is sent into the cage. Melo is caught off the top and takes a uranage for 2. Melo jumping ddt's him for 2.
Melo codebreakers him then Trick hits a flying lariat. Melo pumping knees him. They bang each other's heads off the cage. Trick blocks a move off the 2nd rope then spinning face kicks him. Melo's guards climb the cage and get knokcked down. A guard gets in the cage and is thrown into it. Melo grabs a chair and gets pumping knee'd in the face. Trick then wins it.
It was really disappointing. This was a real quick cage match that wasn't even a fraction of what it should have been. I thought we were going to get an epic battle here but much like the Mania match, it was nothing special.
Overall thoughts: I liked the second half of the show a lot more than the first half. The cage match was super disappointing here with them just having a very basic and safe cage match. While I applaud working safe, you have got to deliver in these matches. I don't know if they don't trust Trick or if he's injured, but his series with Melo has been totally forgettable and not worth watching. I liked Evans/Dragunov and Ivar/Briggs here. Ridge's angle isn't working and won't work and Dar/Dijak wasn't good. I wouldn't recommend this one.
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