WWE 205 Live 6/4/2021

WWE 205 Live 6/4/2021

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/05/wwe-205-live-5282021.html

Ah 205 Live. It sucks because there's little you can do in 30 minutes, but I like only having to watch a show that is 30 minutes long.

Ari Sterling vs Sunil Singh with Samir Singh

Ari hit a surprise high knee that seemed like it might have legit hurt Sunil. Samir tried to switch places with him but the ref caught him then Sunil clipped Ari from behind. sunil worked the leg some then got put over the top to the floor. Sunil got his leg again though and swung it at the post. Ari then pulled him into the post.

Sunil did a nice elbow drop on the knee from the top and put Ari in an inverted figure four called "The Bollywood Lock". Ari came back with forearms then did his flipping leg drop on a bent over Sunil. Samir got on the ropes and was nailed. Ari hit an enzugiri then his forward flipping side slam for the win. This really wasn't bad at all with SUnil working the leg then Ari getting a quick comeback before the win.

We saw clips from NXT with Kushida vs Carmelo Hayes. They say they would love to see Carmelo on 205 Live, but I wouldn't think that's a mutual feeling.

August Grey vs Ariya Daivari

Whew, it's been a whole two or three weeks without some combo of Grey vs Ariya or Nese. Got me worried there for a second.

Grey tried to go up and over in the corner but was pushed up and kicked. AD was hurricanrana'd out then Grey tope'd him through the ropes. Grey then got his head slammed off the announcer's table.

Grey missed his rope walk twisting crossbody then took a frogsplash to the back. Ariya then camel clutched him. They did a nice double clothesline spot. Grey flurried Ariya and threw him into the boards outside. He then did his rope walk twisting crossbody and hit some more punches. He hit a twisting suplex neckbreaker for 2.

Ariya came back wit ha reverse ddt for 2. Ariya missed the hammerlock lariat and they traded superkicks. Grey then ran through him and flipped him with a lariat before hitting a nice hammerlock ddt for 2.

A hit an unusual move for 2 then single leg crabbed him. Soon after, Grey hit a bad so much prettier and won it. There were some okay moves here but these guys don't put a ton of logic into their matches and that hurt what was good. Grey's new move was neat.

Overall thoughts: As I say every week, it's 205 Live. You only get 2 matches and usually they aren't the greatest. The opener was decent and the main had some good points but this was nothing I would track down.

WWE NXT 6/1/2021

WWE NXT 6/1/2021

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/05/wwe-nxt-5252021.html

#1 Contender's Match - Pete Dunne vs Kyle O'Reilly vs Johnny Gargano

Someone in the chat called Kyle "O'Reilly Auto Parts" which I thought was funny. Doesn't help that Kyle has an axel for his logo.

So this ended up being a no-contest after about 25 minutes, perhaps a first for a triple threat. Adam Cole came out and superkicked everyone and that was it. They had some 3 person submissions and a few other 3 way spots, but you know how these go. It was mostly just 2 people in the ring with the 3rd person sitting out. These are not really the guys you would put in this kind of match. The ending really sucked here and this is not what this promotion needed.

Ember Moon came out after all this happened and called out Raquel Gonzalez. Regal tried to stop RG but Ember kicked her out of the ring. Dakota Kai then nailed Ember from behind and left her laying on the floor. I think Ember further buried everyone in the 3 way with this.

Santos Escobar said he would be with the other LDF members when they win the tag titles tonight. Wilde said they would become leaders of leaders and champions of champions, the nEscobar said they would take what is theirs.

LA Knight got on the mic while walking to the ramp. He said Jake Atlas drew the short straw tonight and would drop him. He said he is the only man big enough to carry the million dollar legacy.

Drake Maverick was interviewed in the parking lot. Ever-Rise went up to him then Hit Row stopped by in their car. Drake argued with Swerve Scott then Killian Dain came to his defense.

LA Knight vs Jake Atlas

Knight took a lot of offense with Jake in control of most of this, then Ted Dibiase came down. Knight got distracted and was almost rolled up. Knight did a Dibiase fist drop and did a slingshot shoulder.

We surprisingly had a break cut into this and we came back to LA reversing a suplex into a neckbreaker. Jake was thrown over the top and splatted front body first onto the mat. Cameron Grimes came out during this to talk to Ted. Jake ended up winning this with his cartwheel ddt off the ropes. This was a total burial of LA. He got very little offense in and took the loss. I have no idea what they are doing with Knight but I would be heading for the door if I were him. People they like do not lose like this. My guess is that Jake won this because they are pushing lbgt stuff today but this was bogus because Jake doesn't even win on 205 Live usually.

Ted shook his head at LA Knight as he left and he put over Grimes a little.

The camera's went to the doctor's area. Oney made his case for why Dunne should be the #1 Contender, then Theory did too and they scuffled.

Ted Dibiase was interviewed. He said LA Knight dropped the ball then Adam Cole came back.

The singer Poppy is coming back next week.

Adam Cole did an in-ring promo. He said he is the true #1 Contender and said he took out 3 of NXT's top stars in one night and says he wants the NXT title back. He started talking about Karrion Kross, then Kross came out.

Kross said the title isn't Cole's and no matter what he does, it won't change things. He said Cole stopped being special when Kross came. Cole talked about Kross getting a cool entrance and said they do everything to make Kross look special, but said Kross isn't on his level. Cole said he is special and Kross has his property. Regal came out and Kross told him to shut up. Kross said he wants everyone - Kyle, Johnny, Dunne and Cole at In Your House. Cole then cleared the announcer's desk outside and stood on it to yell at Kross. He then threw a drink at Kross and left.

I didn't like this segment as Cole told the truth and made Kross look bad. Kross is mostly everything but in-ring as Cole said and he said Kross did get extra chances which is true.

Indi and Candice were interviewed. Candice didn't want to hear about Poppy, who the announcer brought up. She then grabbed Indi's phone and she was listening to power ballad's. Candice then pushed her off and it ended.

They said Christian Casanova is now known as Carmelo Hayes. I don't recall him being on NXT yet. He did a video promo and said he is the next NXT Cruiserweight champion.

We got a Xia Li and Boa video. Xia was mad at losing her first match in wWE to Mercedez Martinez at the Mae Young Classic years ago. She said she will finish MM at Takeover.

Dexter Lumis found Indi's phone and headset with the power ballads that she left behind. He was seen with tears dripping down his face.

The 5-Way was made official for IYH.

NXT Cruiserweight Championship - Kushida (c) vs Carmelo Hayes

Kushida won this with the hoverboard lock. Hayes was debuting here and got a small tapeds promo before he came in. I liked this probably the most of any Kushida match I have seen because while he did the same spots as usual, they actually made sense in the context of the match this time. He was also quite stiff and threw some nice strikes. This wasn't an amazing debut for Hayes but it was fine. I would not want to be debuted cold like this nor would I ever debut someone like this as they need the hype for people to care.

MSK talked to each other in the back. They said they will beat the breaks off their opponents tonight and keep their titles.

Franky Monet was at the make-up table in the back reading reviews of her debut. She said welcome to the era of Franky Monet and said she was just getting started.

Zoey Stark and Zayda Ramier vs Candice LaRae and Indi Hartwell

The heels controlled almost all of this with Zoey getting in a little comeback before the heels won. This was pretty much all squash and uninteresting.

Mercedez Martinez did a promo. She said she beat Xia before and will run through her at In Your House.

We got another teaser package for the Diamond Mine with people working out. It says they are coming soon.

Ember Moon was interviewed. She said RG uses Dakota Kai to fight her battles for her. She said she will get revenge on Kai next week then take RG's title.

WWE NXT Tag Titles - MSK (c) vs Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza)

MSK got the win here. Before we get into that, The Grizzled Young Vets came out during the match but were fought to the back by Thatcher and Ciampa. Escobar got involved, throwing Lee into the steps then soon after, Bronson Reed body splashed him hard against the boards.

This was a very tame MSK match with them not doing many of their usual spots. This one kind of felt like a night off for these guys and the match wasn't too bad as it was not the usual spotfest.

Overall thoughts: Not a good show with the opener being maybe the first triple threat to end in a no contest, LA Knight losing undeservedly, Cole burying Kross and a cold debut.

AEW Double or Nothing 2021 5/30/2021

AEW Double or Nothing 2021 5/30/2021

Here's what I have seen so far:

Serena Deeb vs Riho

Deeb won this with the tequila sunrise. They somewhat went with the story of Riho having a bad knee but Riho didn't sell it that much and Deeb didn't really focus on it much. They hit each other hard and the crowd loved it but when you do the injured body part storyline, you have to focus on it.

We had a fan fest video package where they used WWE music, which was odd.

Battle Royal

Lio Rush is the surprise participant which I don't think anyone had. Naturally, he loses in his debut. I really hope he is not done with MLW as MLW has done a fantastic job with him. There was a bad sequence here where Rush was taking on HFO by himself and winning and Hardy was just standing there observing instead of nailing him.

Christian was the heavy favorite here but lost. Christian has had one of the worst debut runs of anyone I can think of as they have just done everything wrong.

As for the Jungle Boy win, well I'm always in favor of pushing new talent.

Cody Rhodes vs Anthony Ogogo

AEW is not the place for boxing gimmicks. Ogogo's punches had been protected strong but Cody got hit with multiple punches and was able to pick up the win anyway. AEW's time honored tradition of making the heels lose in their first big match continues as Ogogo joins the likes of Brodie Lee, Brian Cage and Lance Archer. Ogogo wasnn't too bad here for his real match. This went too long and they kicked out of too much.

Miro vs Lance Archer

Miro won with the camel clutch after Lance passed out from the pain. Neither guy needed to take the L here and I figured if anyone was going to lose, it would be Archer. Where does Archer go from here? I have no idea, but it's harder to buy him as a threat with every loss.

I didn't really care for the Jake spot but they did some alright hoss vs hoss stuff here.

Sting and Darby Allin vs Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page

Sting took a suplex on the ramp and no sold it, then he did a dive off of the stage which was cool. They did the Bam Bam/Spike Dudley spot here with Page gorilla pressing Darby into the crowd. You would think this would be it for Darby, but he was able to get some offense in and make the hot tag to Sting. Page like John Silver should not be doing spots like that as those spots should be saved for the bigger guys. They did a neat spot here where Darby and Page were both in submission holds near each other then started attacking each other while in it. Sting ended up winning with a sharpshooter on Sky. Sting's team had to get the win here but what do Page and Sky do now? The gorilla press spot just was unforgivable.

Kenny Omega vs Pac vs Orange Cassidy

Kenny reversed a crucifix for the win. This was going into hour 3 and they had a long match here. It was no DQ and nobody thought to grab a weapon or have anyone help them out until the end of it even though it is perfectly legal. You can justify the faces not getting help but why wouldn't Kenny or Pac(who knows if he is a face or a heel anymore)?

Don Callis screwed OC by getting involved when he was about to win it then Kenny started hitting Pac with belt shots and won it. They did some big moves here, then the match would stop for 30-60 seconds, then they would switch someone else and go to another big move. OC did a pockets spot that actually made sense for a change, but then he kept his hands in anyway and dove on Pac while Kenny was down after a super german suplex. The selling wasn't really here and while some of the OC winning tease spots worked, the rest didn't.

Mark Henry was brought out and announced as a trainer and an analyst. I'm not real sure what Mark offers in that role as he was never a great worker. I'm surprised to see him jump from WWE as they seemed like they had a good relationship, but that wasn't really the big surprise that we were expecting.

Stadium Stampede

MJF came in with a limo then the Inner Circle repelled down the tron in a cool entrance.  They did every spot you could imagine in the first SS so there was little left to do here. It's probably time to retire this match for a while. I didn't really like this at all. It felt like a good 20 minutes before we saw S&O and FTR fight once we went to Jericho/MJF. Why was FTR chilling in the bar during a match? Don't they want to win or hurt their opponents? The Spears thing with the lights was dumb and him throwing the bolt cutters was dumb. Why wouldn't he just put them on Sammy's throat or something until he quits and get the easy win? And why wouldn't he just beat the crap out of him with stuff while he was tied up? As I called ahead of time, S&O were piledrivered through tables Friday but were no worse for wear here and somehow a one armed Jericho beat the crap out of MJF. There just lots of logic issues here and they really needed to show us some picture-in-picture video so we could see what everyone was up to.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown 5/28/2021

WWE Friday Night Smackdown 5/28/2021

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/05/wwe-friday-night-smackdown-5212021.html 

Next week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/06/wwe-friday-night-smackdown-642021.html 

The Uso's are talking in the back and Jimmy is ready to go for their match tonight. Roman and Heyman walk in. Roman wants to know what is Jimmy's end game. Jimmy said he wants the gold and wants the whole family to have gold. Roman isn't very excited and wishes they good luck, then tells Jey they will need good luck. Roman asks Jey if Jimmy is talking for him now. Jey confirms to Roman that he is with him even though he is teaming with Jimmy tonight and Roman says he should tell Jimmy that.

The Street Profits come out to talk. Ford says tonight is the clash of the titans with them vs the Uso's. They mock the Uso's old entrance with the haka and facepaint. Ford says Roman lives in Jey's head rent free. The Uso's then come out.

Jimmy says the best tag team in the world is back. Jey threatens Ford if he talks bad about Roman any more. Jey says this isn't a dream match but a nightmare and Jimmy says this will put them one step closer to becoming champs for the 7th time. Jey and Jimmy then tell them "welcome to the Uso penitentiary" and the match is up next.

The Uso's vs The Street Profits

Dawkings backdrops Ford onto Jimmy. Ford cartwheels and backflips into an armdrag on Jey in the corner then yells "USO" at Jimmy. Jey then gets backdropped for 2. Dawkins drops down then Ford hits Jimmy with a dropkick. Dawkins then hits a nice dropkick on Jey and they clothesline both over the top. Jey then gets thrown into the time keeper's area and Jey is thrown over the announcer's desk.

We go to break and return. Jey trips Ford then throws him into the rails. Roman and Heyman are seen watching from the back. Jey does a sliding chinlock to Ford. Ford fights off both and hits Jimmy with two enzugiri's. Ford goes for the tag but Jey pulls Dawkins off the apron. Jimmy then pop-up samoan drops Ford as we go to break.

Back from break and they double lariat each other soon after. Dawkins makes a come back on Jimmy. Ford then does an insane flip dive over the post onto Jey on the outside. Jimmy hits Dawkins with a big superkick for 2. Dawkins hits a double underhook twisting neckbreaker for 2 then spinebusters him. Ford misses a big frogsplash from the topas Jey saves Jimmy. Dawkins then comes off the steps and shoulders Jey. Jimmy then superkicks Ford for the win.

This ended up being a pretty good match as it went on. The Uso's winning was the right call here though I don't know if The Street Profits losing was the right call. Ford's dive was insane and the hightlight. This went over 15 minutes.

Megan Morant interviews Roode and Ziggler. Roode has the oddest ears. You really have to see them. Roode promises that tonight will be different than Backlash and Ziggler says they will win the titles back.

Natalya and Tamina vs The Riott Squad

We are joined in progress on this after a break. Liv hits a hard back shoulder to Natalya and the Squad does a messy double team move that looked like crap. Ruby uses her legs to ram Nat's head into the buckles.

Natalaya tries to double sharpshooter both opponents but can't. Tamina nails Ruby in the back hard and then she falls hard forward and land shard on the bottom rope on her throat. Tamina blocks a top rope armdrag from Ruby and headbutts her. Liv hits a side codebreaker on Nat on the floor that probably hurt her more than Nat. Tamina then hit a superfly splash on Riot for the win. As usual, this had the trademark diva's sloppiness and this was a short one.

Pearce and The Uso's talk in the back. Jimmy says he wants the winner of the tag title match tonight and Pearce agrees. Jey doesn't look happy as Jimmy leaves.

Camella is interviewed. She brags about some of her accomplishments and says while Bianca's career might be a fairly tale, she will end her haipply ever after.

Carmella vs Bianca Belair

Bayley jumps over the rail with a mic and then sits at the commentary desk. Bianca hits some corner spears and then has her throat bounced off the ropes. Carmella hits a big satellite headscissors and swings out Bianca. Carmella charges at her outside but is shouldered down.

Bayley calls Bianca a cheat then Bianca gorilla presses Carmella into the ring. Carmella comes back through with a facebuster on the apron. Bianca hits a real nice backbreaker then knocks her down with a shoulder tackle. Carmella crossbodies Bianca but she rolls through then fallaway slams her. She does her handspring int othe ropes and moonsaults onto Carmella for 2. I think something broke on Carmella's bra right before she headscissor chokes Bianca over the ropes. she then slaps Bianca and pounds on her.

Carmella superkicks her in the head for 2 as she hangs off the apron. Bianca hits a kiss of death for the win. Bayley gets mad and jumps on the announcer's desk then starts laughing at her. Bianca looked pretty good here hitting all of her offense.

The Mysterio's are interviewed. Dom says when one of them hurt the other hurts too. They said winning the tag titles was euphoria and nobody can top them.

Seth comes out and calls out Cesaro. He is wearing a wild green blue and purple suit with leaves on it. We saw clips of him attacking Cesaro last week. Seth claims to play audio of Cesaro from the hospital and it sounds like a whale or something. He kept going on after this about who knows what and this was a really bad promo.

 

Kevin Owens vs Apollo Crews

Owens rushes AC then cannonballs him in the corner. Owens then swantons him off the top for 2. Owens hits a stunner and Azeez nails him on the pin attempt for the quick DQ. This barely went 2-3 minutes before the interference. Owens gets checked on after.

Heyman brings Jey to Roman in the back. Roman isn't happy about not being told about all this. Roman says that as soon as Jimmy comes back, Jey got relegated to the opening match. Roman says he doesn't want Jimmy to go back to where people have to ask "which one are you, again?". Jey said he hadn't thought about it like that and Roman said maybe he should.

Rick Boogs is playing guitar. He says he has come to rock with Shinsuke Nakamura. He then does his intro for him.

Chad Gable vs Shinsuke Nakamura

Otis powerslams Nak before the bell rings. Gable hits some belly to belly suplexes for 2. chad armbars Nak over the ropes and armthrows him into the buckles. He goes for the moonsault but Nak moves and spin kicks him.

Gable goes for chaos theory but Nak escapes it and flying kicks him for the quick win. Corbin then takes his crown back and says the crown belongs to him. Boogs then nails Corbin from behind and Nak gets the crown back.

Owens is seen coughing in the back. He begs Pearce for another match with Crews. Pearce agrees and says they will fight for the IC title with Azeez banned from ringside.

Rey is praying in the back and Dom says something to him.

We go to break and return and Rey is down and in pain.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship - Rey Mysterio and Dominic Mysterio (c) vs Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler

Roode and Dolph get on the mic. They say this should be a forfeit if Rey can't compete. We see Dom in the back with Pearce and refs and he said Rey stepped up for him at Backlash(when Rey worked most of the match 1v2), and he will step up for him here.

The match starts 1v2. Dom gets dropkicked by Dolph. Dom gets beat down early and tries to make a tag but Rey isn't there. Dolph is wearing an odd USA colored braid in his hair. Dom comes back with some punches and puts both guys on the floor. He then plancha's both.

Dom goes for the 619 but Roode leg sweeps him. DZ evades a 2nd 619 attempt and hits a fameasser for 2. The heels double hiptoss Dom into a neckbreaker/powerbomb combo. Rey finally comes out and the heels get distracted. Dom rolls up Roode for the win. The heels looked like goofs here for not being able to win the 2v1 and being beat so easy. This was a waste of everyone here and a copy of the Backlash match.

The Uso's come right out and they face off with the Mysterio's as Roman watches.

Overall thoughts: Not a great edition of SD as there were tons of short matches with bad finishes and the main was not what we were promised.

WWE 205 Live 5/28/2021

WWE 205 Live 5/28/2021

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/05/wwe-205-live-5212021.html

This is one of Tom Phillips' last shows as he got released this week. I will always remember him messing up the call on a headlock early in his career.

Tom Phillips and Nigel McGuisness are the announcers.

Asher Hale vs Tony Nese

Ther go to the mat early and Hale gets backdropped hard. They trade strikes and Hale hits some hard kicks. Nese comes back and grabs his head, then jumps over the top to drop his throat over it. Hale gets back at him though with a hard chest kick flurry. Hale hits more kicks then takes a spin kick to the face for 2.

Nese gets flatlinered into the 2nd rope then Hale kicks the rope while Nese's face is on it. Hale sits up top and tapes a palm strike, then Hale lariats Nese over the top and falls out with him. They trade chops and Hale hits more forearms. Hale german's him and buzzsaw kicks him for 2.

Nese misses a 2nd rope moonsault then takes a high kick. Hale then throws him over his back and chokes him for the win. I liked Hale's kicks here but this match didn't have a ton of story or selling to it and it wasn't anything too special.

Ari Sterling vs Ariya Daivari

They mentioned how they have very similar first names early. Ari rolls Ariya into the ropes chest first and tries to roll him up. He goes onto the apron and is legswept, then holds his knee. Ariya then chopblocks him on the floor and throws him into the boards. Ari comes back and hits some bad corner punches, then is pulled down from the buckles. He then bangs Ari's knee off the post.

Ariya puts him in the figure four and Ari punches out. Ari then hits a pele kick and knocks him down. Ari hits some leg sweeps then flipping legdrops the back of Ariya's head as he is bent over. Ariya sits up top and Ari runs and does a flipping hurricanrana to bring him down. Ari gets Ariya out then sitting moonsaults him from the inside 2nd rope to the outside. They go back in and Ari wins it with a spiral tap.

Ariya tried here but I didn't like Ari having his leg worked over then doing all kinds of flipping moves.

Overall thoughts: It's 205 Live. You know the deal. I didn't think either match was that great and fell to a lot of the usual indy issues with a lack of selling.

AEW Dynamite 5/28/2021

AEW Dynamite 5/28/2021

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/05/aew-dynamite-5192021.html

Next week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/06/aew-dynamite-642021.html 

This is airing on a Friday at 10PM. Since it likely isn't going to do well in the ratings, they didn't bother putting on a big show.

 

AEW has a new stage set up for tonight. It makes it look more full and kind of feels like a 1990's tv show set up.

Darby Allin with Sting vs Cezar Bononi with Pretty Picture

Cezar hit some awful strikes early and threw around Darby, slamming him onto the stage. He was trying to pin him and it looked silly as Cezar is like twice his size but can't hold him down. Darby hit more offense that was really hard to buy and won this one easy with a coffin drop.

Darby calls out Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page to fight right now. Sky mocked him for it. He said at the PPV, it would be the end of one legend and the birth of two more. Pretty Picture then jumped Darby and Sting and Sky/Page joined in. As expected, The Dark Order came out to save them.

They bring out Paul Wight to officiate a weigh-in between Cody Rhodes and Anthony Ogogo. Paul says there will be no shenanigans and this will be "a serious weigh-in". Paul acted lik their dad trying to force them in the ring. Cody came out with something like 10 different people with many trainees.

There was fireworks going on in the background somewhere here that they mentioned. Cody weighs in at 218 and Ogogo weighs in at 219. QT says Ogogo has the victory in his hands because he is heavier and says he will win. Both of them posed and tried to get people to chant for their country. This segment went on way too long and felt like time filler.

They do a package on Stadium Stampede. They show clips from last year's match.

We cut to the back with Hobbs and Christian Cage going at it near a fenced in area. Hobbs gets speared into some boxes and the refs have to break it up.

Adam Page vs Joey Janela

Why? Janela ran at Page off the apron and was fallaway slammed on the apron. JR said Page was challening the Wild Samoans off that move in an odd line. Janela's green underwear is hanging out and Taz rightfully rips him for it.

Page got his mouth busted open and Janela tried to german him into the bottom buckle but they missed. Janela hit a nice diving elbow from the top. Page then got his head busted open and hit a buckshot lariat for the win. This wasn't any good and I can't believe Page ended up bleeding over this. This was little but filler.

Taz says Brian Cage wants to come say hi and Cage comes out. Page says he knows Team Taz is going to jump him and calls them out. Page mocks Cage, asking if he needs help to beat him up. Page dares Cage to leave Team Taz out of it at the ppv. Cage says he doesn't need their help and says nobody is better than Cage. Well, except for Darby and Mox who beat him clean.

Mox and Eddie are burying the Young Buck's shoes. Mox calls them "Rod and Todd Flanders"...then the promo just cuts out and we go to black before they finish the sentence. We come back from the black out and the promo continues.

Mox says he wants and needs the tag title belts. Eddie calls all the people in the back quitters for not being out there and going for it in an odd line. He tells the Bucks that the pressure is coming.

Tony Schiavone invites Orange Cassidy out but Pac comes out instead. Pac kicks him out. Pac's accent was really funny here. He calls out Kenny and Don Callis appears on the tron. Don calls him violent and aggressive and says he wants nothing to do with him. Kenny tries to jump and gets caught. The Good Brothers join in and get the edge on Pac then the Lucha Brothers come out to even the odds. Kenny goes for the OWA on Pac then Best Friends come out to interrupt it for some reason. Makes no sense since if Kenny takes out Pac, OC has an easier chance of winning. OC gives Kenny and envelope with the contract all ripped up that Kenny gave him. Then he hits an orange punch. Pac smartly then tries to beat up OC but he takes an orange punch too.

Tony interviews Jade Cargill in the back. Matt Hardy then comes out and makes his pitch, then Mark Sterling says Jade has accepted him as her manager. Mark threatens to sue him if he tries to interfere with his client. He says while Matt charges 30%, he only charges Jade if she wins. This Jade looking for a manager storyline has been awful and hasn't made much sense. I don't really see what Mark can do for Jade and the pair goes together like ice cream and motor oil, but at least the search for the manager she didn't want is over.

Kilynn King vs Jade Cargill with Mark Sterling

These two are bigger than most of the men on the roster. Even though Jade does nothing for me personally, she really is the total package as she is big, looks and acts like a star and has personality. Jade does a nice flip over the ropes and over King's back into a spinebuster.

King gets thrown out hard and Mark throws his card at her. Jade wins this with a glam slam. The crowd was dead and this was not very interesting.

Jake Roberts and Lance Archer do an interview. He says he doesn't want Dante Martin to win as he wants Miro. He says he will be the new TNT champ.

TNT Championship - Miro (c) vs Dante Martin

Dante has new white and black gear. Miro does some nice pounding on him in the corner and throws him high on an overhead throw. Dante hit his double jump springboard moonsault. He was thrown over the ropes onto the ramp and flipped over the rope, then he came back and did a springboard dropkick.

Miro then hit a pump kick and a camel clutch soon after to win. I was really surprised this was short and to the point.

Jake and Archer come out. Jake says Miro's fairy tale comes to an end at the ppv. He says something in gibberish and says it translates to "shut the hell up". Miro tells Archer to come fight him then Archer and Miro go at it as the refs come in to stop it. This wasn't done too well.

Tony is with Bryce in the ring and they are here to honor Shida being champ for over a year. They present her with a new title belt that is visibly a lot bigger than the older one and is an upgrade. They say it has been Shida's dream to defend the title in front of fans and Shida says she is happy she will get the chance to. She says the title is for the fans then Britt Baker comes out. Britt says the last year was Shida's year. She said she isn't going to be the face of the women's division, but the face of a new era. She said the last era was about 3:16, but this era is about DMD.

Sammy did his usual dumb stuff with the signs during a break.

The Dark Order - Evil Uno and Stu Grayson vs Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky

Stu does a springboard out of nowhere and ddt's sky on the apron. Uno sideslams Page and Stu springboard elbow drops him. Stu then slingshot senton's Page on the apron and is swept on his shoulder on the apron. Sky then slingshot cutter's him.

Stu does a flip bump off of a shoulder from Page. Page then iconoslams Stu. We come back from break with Stu hitting a uranage on Sky and doing his double backflip kick on both opponents. Uno hits a hurricanrana and an end of days. Page gets pushed by Uno's feet into a belly to belly on Sky, then the D-O does the cannonball and 450 combo for 2.

Sky got Page out of the Fatality, then they picke dup the win with a razor's edge. This wasn't anything too special and the outcome was obvious. Page says the same thing will happen this Sunday on the mic and then Darby and people in Sting masks come out. Sky beats up some of them and Sting is revealed to be one of the people in the masks. Sky then runs for it. Anyone remember when they did that one in TNA?

Eric Bischoff comes out. He said he was doing this 25 years ago with the NWO then brings out the Inner Circle, saying they might be as good as them. Jericho says he had a change of heart about Bischoff and thanks for him for being here. I don't really buy that one. They show clips of some of the IC's deeds which I probably wouldn't do since they are trying to push them as faces now. I guess we're supposed to cheer them for beating up all of the people we are supposed to like?

Santana says if they lose and are forced to break up, they wouldn't want to have to do it any other way. They all put over the Inner Circle and kind of do a restrospective. They all hug after Jericho says he loves them. MJF appears on the tron at the stadium as they pose.

It is revealed that MJF has Dean Malenko tied up to football pole there then the Inner Circle run after them. They get jumped from behind by The Pinnacle and thrown around the stadium. FTR piledrive S & O off a stand onto tables. This should put them out for a long time but they will be fine by Sunday I'm sure. The Pinnacle close by saying they are always on top.

Overall thoughts: Not a good one here. They were clearly filling time and stalling before the PPV and had a pretty weak line-up. The stuff they did do didn't really make you more excited for the PPV which isn't good on a go home show.

WWE NXT 5/25/2021

WWE NXT 5/25/2021 

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/05/wwe-nxt-5182021.html

Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai vs Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart

Shotzi climbs on RG's back and is thrown down. She tries it again from the front and is thrown down. Ember gets popped up and hurricanrana's RG. RG lifts up Kai for a double stomp on Ember. Shotzi comes in and does a sling blade facebuster on Kai for 2. Ember trips Kai into a Shotzi elbow then standing moonsaults her.

Shotzi puts Kai in a sharpshooter but RG pulls Kai out of the ring. We go to break and return with Kai and Shotzi each hitting each other with moves. Ember comes in and diving kicks RG then hits a nasty spinning forearm. RG is on all fours and she pendulum knees her and 2nd rope codebreakers her. RG then hits a big facekick on Ember, then throws her up into a Kai enzugiri.

Shotzi crossbodies RG off the top and Kai mule kicks her. Ember then puts a neat stf type of move on Kai but is sliced hard by RG. RG tries to single arm powerbomb her but is hit with a cutter. Ember holds up Kai upside down and Shotzi slides and does like a cutter for the win. RG then nails both opponents after. RG powerbombs Shotzi into the boards and post, then drops her over the rail.

This wasn't a bad match at all with some cool spots and the faces being decent.

TT and Ciampa do a promo. They said they made a mistake in calling out MSK. They said their will be a 3rd match between them and the Vets to decide who wins it since htey both won a match. TT said he will enjoy breaking their limbs.

We get a short video on Dunne/Fish, with Fish showing how Dunne injured him.

We see Finn and Kross/Scarlett arriving on the big screen in the arena.

Bobby Fish vs Pete Dunne with Oney Lorcan

Fish rushes after him to start and hits a kick combo. Dunne comes back with a nasty forearm. Dunne works him over a bit and is caught in a fujiwara armbar. Fish puts him in a hammerlock and bounces that arm off the ropes. He then forearms him hard and boots him hard outside of the ring.

We go to break and return with Dunne working his leg. Dunne slaps his back and hits some footshoves. Fish then comes back with a dragon screw. Dunne then runs and jumps up for some reason into a spinebuster. Dunne then pulls his fingers apart and jumps on his arm. Dunne goes after him outside but is back body dropped onto the floor. Fish then running knee's him into the boards.

Back in the ring and Fish hits like a capture suplex while Dunne is hanging off his body into the ropes. Fish hits some knees to Dunne's gut and Dunne comes back with a german. Fish then hits a jumping knee. Dunne wins it soon after with a bitter end. This one was all over the place with no real direction. Fish shouldn't have lost his first match back here.

Lorcan pounds on Fish after. Lorcan stands on Fish's recovered arm over the apron then kicks him in it.

Mercedez Martinez does a promo on Raquel. She said she learned from her loss and is on the road back to the title. Boa is then seen looking on from a room.

Hit Row is at the studio. They say it is time for Hit Row to go gold as they want some titles. Swerve says all eyes are on the main event, then Top Dolla says they are also looking at MSK and LdF. Adonis says he will slap Kushida back to the future.

Mercedez Martinez vs Zayda Ramier

ZR spin kicks her early after running into the buckles and moonsaulting over her. MM comes back with a spinning forearm and double arm suplexes her three times. MM spinesbusters her for 2 then throws her as she is on the top rope. She running knees her and hits a falling version of the schwein for the win. All squash here.

Red lights turn on and we see smoke from Tian Sha and Xia Li's crew. MM somehow gets marked on her hand.

Ted Dibiase talks to Toni Storm and Robert Stone's crew in the back. TD throws money at Stone and his girls try to pick it up.

We see Kross warming up on a punching bag.

Million Dollar Faceoff with Ted Dibiase and Cameron Grimes

Grimes wants to know why he's been doing all the stuff he's been doing to him. Grimes says he has been looking up to him and says he has learned that with money, he can treat people terribly and they will still like him. Grimes says it's true that you should never meet your idols.

Ted says he likes him and they have more in common than he thinks. Ted says he has put him through hell because he sees a little of himself. Ted says he is looking for that one individual who has the million dollar legacy. He says it isn't about money or humiliating people with money, it's about in-ring performance. Ted says he has that but Grimes has lost his focus since he got rich.

Music then hits and LA Knight comes out. He tells him to stop searching because he is the man Ted is looking for. Grimes calls him nickle and dime and says this is a convo between millionaires. Knight said he isn't a millionaire and with him, he can take the million dollar legacy up to new heights. Ted says he knows who Knight is and Ted said Knight can become a megstar. Ted puts him over and Grimes interrupts. He says Knight is jacked but he is no Cameron Grimes and says this is a million dollar faceoff and Knight shouldn't be here. He threatens to kiss his @ss to the moon. Knight hits him from behind and hits a snapmare driver or a bad cutter. Ted then says "kid, you're just never gonna get it, are you?". He then laughs and pats Knight on the back.

I liked this segment though I would have liked the Ted/Grimes part to go a little. We will have to see where it goes. I would put Ted with someone who can't talk though.

Franky Monet is in the back and gives her dog to some of the make-up artists.

Indi Hartwell is desperately looking for Lumis. She runs into Ever-Rise Live doing a taping. Drake Maverick then comes in and said he saw Dexter in a room hours ago. Indi goes into the dark room and it is covered in pictures of bloody hearts and Dexter being stabbed in the heart.

Franky Monet vs Cora Jade

Franky's entrance robe is very fluffy. Monet bangs her head off the mat then off the buckles. She running double knees her into the buckle then hip attacks her into the ropes. Monet gut kicks her and knocks her down. Jade comes back with forearms then does a satelittle into a russian leg sweep. She then takes a hard spear and takes a glam slam for the win. Monet weighs more than she used to and was vocal here, but not particularly that impressive.

The Grizzled Young Vets do a promo on Ciampa and TT. They said they came to NXT for the tag titles and said they are done with them. They said they aren't done with MSK though as they say they are the leaders the division needs.

We see clips from the media of Bronson Reed winning the N-A title. Then we see him and Kushida doing a photo shoot.

We then get an Imperium video. Walter says they will continue to keep this sport great. He tells them that they have to beat Breezango and mentions cutting Alexander Wolfe.

Bronson Reed talks in ring. He said it took 14 years to get here and good luck taking it from him. LdF then comes out. Escobar pretends to cry over the speech. He said he was born to be champ and the business belongs to him. He said North American means Mexico and the North American title belongs to him. LdF try to surround him but MSK come to save him.

Regal talks about the main event. He says we will have a match with Dunne/Gargano/Kyle for the #1 Contendership to the NXT title. He said the winner of that gets their shot at In Your House.

WWE NXT Title - Karrion Kross (c) vs Finn Balor

Finn is thrown out early but comes right back in. He gets Kross out and we go right to break. They trade holds during the break without anything real interesting happen. Back from break and Kross hits a big slam and takes control for a big. Finn reverses a move then starts working his lower back.

Kross is a lot bigger here than usual and appears to be juicing. Finn puts him in a crossface and rolls him into a double stomp. They go outside and Kross gets wrapped in the apron and stomped on.  We then go to our second break during this which is awful.

Back from break and Kross is in control. Finn slices him for a 1 count then they go face to face. Kross bangs the back of Finn's head off the boards then razor's edges him into the boards. Finn comes back with a ddt and a sling blade, then he clotheslines him over the top and flip dives him. Kross comes right back and backdrops him on the announcer's table.

Back in and Finn double stomps him then shotgun dropkicks him. He misses the top rope double stomp and eats a german suplex. He takes naother but rolls up Kross for 2. Finn starts pounds on the back of the neck of a downed Kross but the ref pulls him off. Kross goes to Scarlett and Finn chokes him. Kross powerbombs Finn out of a triangle choke.

Kross hits 2 forearms to the back of the head then stompson his head. Kross then chokes him out for the win.

The two breaks hurt this one. There wasn't that much selling or story and these two just don't mesh that well. This had the usual slow and not so epic feel that a lot of NXT main events have to them. 

Overall thoughts: This one wasn't too special though nothing was bad.