For the second time this weekend, I’m back with another Running Diary. This time, it’s for NXT Worlds Collide. It’s a very interesting time for the NXT brand. NXT UK is no more, and we have three title unification matches on tonight’s card, pitting NXT 2.0 champions against NXT UK champions. We also have some main roster performers looking to win titles in NXT. Lots of moving pieces all over the card.
It should be a fun show. Let’s go ahead and get to it. I have one question to ask all of you…
Are you ready?
Because I’m ready.
Well, if I’m ready, and if you’re ready, then we only have one thing left to do. I need you to say it with me, folks.
LESS DEW EET!!!
(0:04) We’re going to kick things off the North American Title match, with Carmelo Hayes defending against Ricochet. This one has Match Of The Year potential, and is something people have been wanting to see from the moment Melo debuted in NXT.
(0:10) One minute into the match, and we have a standing ovation from the crowd. The level of speed and athleticism is off the charts already.
(0:13) For someone with a “Melo don’t miss” line and a basketball taunt, Melo’s jump shot doesn’t look very pretty. I’m just saying.
(0:14) Our first “this is awesome” chant of the night. That didn’t take very long.
(0:16) I don’t know if Ricochet gets enough credit for his selling. He makes everything look like a million bucks.
(0:16) HOLY SHIT! Both men jump from opposite sides of the ring and attempt a springboard cutter at the same time!
(0:19) The inside of Ricochet’s ear is bleeding.
(0:20) Carmelo Hayes is bleeding from the mouth. Both men have been working a really physical style here, really laying those strikes in. It shows.
(0:20) B-e-a-utiful superplex from the top rope by Ricochet.
(0:23) Our second “fight forever” chant. I’m with it. I want a rematch, no matter who wins this.
(0:24) Poisonrana SPIKES Melo on the mat!
(0:25) After all the crazy shit we saw, the match ends on an inside cradle, with Melo retaining the title. That was so much fun. An absolute sprint with both men bringing their best against each other. 4.5 stars, and a wonderful way to get the show going. Follow THAT.
(0:29) Another Quincy Elliott “Super Diva” vignette. I’m 10000% sure that pro wrestling fans will be able to have a totally civil discourse about this character. For sure.
(0:31) Earlier today, Roderick Strong was shown bloodied and unconscious in the NXT parking lot. I think it’s really weird that the WWE Performance Center is in Orlando, Florida, but the parking lot for the venue is in East St. Louis, Missouri.
(0:33) It’s time for the Tag Team Title Unification Match. NXT Tag Team Champions The Creed Brothers, NXT UK Tag Team Champions Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen, Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang), and Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) are facing off in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination Tag.
(0:39) Fallon Henley and Lash Legend are brawling in the ring and at ringside, and I could not physically give any less of a shit.
(0:42) Mark Coffey pins Brooks Jensen to eliminate the NXT UK Champions from the match. Honestly, even though they held one of the two sets of titles in the match, it’s not a surprise to see them eliminated first. They’re clearly the “weakest” team in the match.
(0:45) Brutus Smash! Man, when Brutus Creed tags into a match, destruction is to follow immediately.
(0:46) Julius Creed pins Wolfgang to eliminate Gallus from the match. We’re down to The Creed Brothers and Pretty Deadly here.
(0:48) In its own way, this match has been a sprint, too. Having eight men involved in the match means there’s non-stop action. It’s difficult to keep track of everything that happened until we got down to two teams.
(0:50) Briggs, Jensen, Wolfgang, and Coffey come back out and are brawling in the entrance way.
(0:51) Julius Creed is a monster. Lifts Elton Prince up in a vertical suplex, “collapses” down to an almost seated position on the mat, and then gets back to a standing position… all while keeping Prince up in the suplex. That’s one of the craziest suplexeseseses I’ve ever seen.
(0:52) Damon Kemp attacks Julius Creed! The Diamond Mine have imploded!
(0:53) Pretty Deadly win. They’re the brand new Unified NXT Tag Team Champions. As I said, the match had a pretty crazy pace, with something happening from start to finish. I’ll go with 3.5 stars. I dug it.
(1:00) In a backstage segment, Tony D’Angelo seems to offer Cameron Grimes a spot in The Family, but Grimes declines. As always, when Cameron Grimes is mentioned, I am legally and contractually obligated to mention the fact that he nearly broke my leg at an independent wrestling show a few years back.
(1:02) It always makes me laugh when NXT shows wrestlers driving up to the building in their full ring gear. That’s such a ridiculous looking thing to witness. Even worse is when it’s a champion, because they’re driving in their full ring gear with their title belt draped over their shoulder. NOBODY IS GOING TO FUCKING DRIVE LIKE THAT.
(1:03) Time for the Women’s Title Unification. NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose, NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura, and Blair Davenport collide here. Satomura gets a ton of streamers thrown into the ring during her entrance. Nice touch.
(1:08) There’s some fan in the arena that keeps screaming at the top of her lungs. It is beyond annoying.
(1:09) Unlike the tag match, this is one-fall-to-a-finish, and not elimination style.
(1:10) Here’s a crazy stat. Meiko Satomura is two months away from her 43rd birthday, but she wrestled for WCW in 1996 and 1997. You do the math.
(1:13) This match is a lot slower than the first two matches were. That’s not a complaint. It’s difficult to have a show where everything is pedal-to-the-metal. You gotta slow the pace down every now and then.
(1:17) It’s wild to see Satomura out there hitting a beautiful Frog Splash from the top.
(1:21) LOL @ like four dudes trying to start a “U-S-A” chant, but it never took off, so they just weakly faded out.
(1:22) Mandy Rose pins Davenport to pick up the win! She is the Unified NXT Women’s Champion. Her incredible run in NXT continues. Nobody saw it coming, but she just keeps on winning. That was a fun match. Satomura was able to handle the heavy lifting, as she should have, but Rose and Davenport both got their chances to shine. 3.5 stars.
(1:28) From one women’s match to another, it’s time for the NXT Women’s Tag Team match. The champions, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, defend against Doudrop and Nikki ASH. This could be good.
(1:30) Yes, I am one of the gazillion people who wish this match was Chance and Carter taking on Piper Niven and Nikki Cross.
(1:34) The size difference between Chance and Doudrop is insane.
(1:36) The challengers have completely dominated the first few minutes of this one. I don’t even know if the champions have landed a strike, let alone had any real sustained offense.
(1:37) I jinxed the challengers. Kayden Carter gets the hot tag and comes in with a ton of momentum.
(1:39) Nikki is working a really aggressive style here. Good. She’s wrestling more as Nikki Cross than Nikki ASH, so that’s a start, I guess.
(1:40) Toxic Attraction’s music hits, bringing out Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, who get taken out immediately by Nikki. The distraction allows for Carter and Chance to get the win over Doudrop. That was stupid. The match was 97.6% in favor of the challengers, but they lose, anyway. Let’s just say 2.5 stars and go from there. Is that me being nice? Perhaps.
(1:43) During a backstage interview with Grayson Waller, The Dyad are shown handing a smiley face pin to a mystery person in a red hoodie. Looked like it could’ve been a woman, or a smaller-statured man. It probably won’t be enough to make anyone give a fuck about Joe Gacy or The Dyad, but we’ll see.
(1:46) Main event time. NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate in a Title Unification Match. This hasn’t been a very good night for the NXT UK brand. Can Bate change that, or will Bron officially put the final nail in their coffin?
(1:49) “The United Kingdom was built on the back of Bate.” Damn, he’s old as fuck.
(1:52) There’s a lot of intrigue here. If Bron loses, the rumors of him being called up to the main roster will begin instantly. Then again, Bate is one of Triple H’s favorites, so what about a main roster move for him if he loses here? I wouldn’t mind seeing either of these guys on Raw or Smackdown, to be honest.
(1:55) I don’t know if anyone in wrestling history has legs like Tyler Bate. He’s listed at 5’7″ tall and 175 pounds, but he has the thighs and the calves of a 300-pound hoss.
(1:57) Bron is the “hometown” guy here, but Bate is definitely getting stronger face reactions so far.
(1:59) In the early stages of the match, Bate’s British style is working circles around Bron, but as I was typing this sentence, Breakker’s brute force is starting to shine.
(2:02) Bron has a booger in his nose that is visibly rattling around whenever he exhales. Fun.
(2:04) A “this is awesome” chant. So far, I agree.
(2:06) Bulldog from the top rope, transitioned into a modified powerbomb. Bron is such an impressive athlete.
(2:08) Back-to-back really well done near falls for Bate. The pace has quickened, and we have another “this is awesome” chant.
(2:09) Bron kicks out of a Tyler Driver that REALLY had the crowd thinking would be the end of the match. Wow. This is so good.
(2:11) BREAKKER WITH ONE OF THE SICKEST SPEARS YOU’LL EVER SEE! It gets the win. Wow. That was nasty. 4.5 stars. Kudos to both men for that banger, but RIP to the NXT UK brand.
(2:13) Bate places both title belts on Bron’s shoulders, and the men hug. Bron raises Tyler’s arm and they pose for the crowd. We go off the air with Bron celebrating his victory.
Well, that was a pretty good show, as expected. I need to go eat some lunch and get some sort of rest before starting my third Running Diary of the weekend, so I’ll see you all then.