WWE nXt Results

May 23, 2018

Full Sail University, Orlando, FL
Commentary by Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson

Opening Segment

Tag Team Match: Heavy Machinery vs. TM61

So glad to see these guys starting off the show this week! Even Jonathan Coachman is front row sharing the love for Knight and Dozovic.

TM61 are wearing some new entrance gear that features their original name, “The Mighty Don’t Kneel”.
Thorne and Dozovic start this one. Dozovic and his yelling is pretty entertaining. Fans are into it. Takedown. Tag to Knight. Double takedown on Thorne and a pinfall attempt.

Knight holds Thorne up in the air for a little hangtime before dropping him for an atomic drop. Thorne tags in Miller. Miller is purposefully placed, legs split open, in the corner. Dozovic enters and Heavy Machinery use Thorne as a battering ram to hit his own teammate in the corner. It’s all HM so far.

Watson makes some kind remarks about HM possibly fighting for the title if they can keep up this pace. Vicious European uppercut by Miller to break up the submission hold Knight had on Thorne. There was a quick tag made against the ropes that Knight didn’t see before that. Seems to turn the momentum to TM61.

They isolate Knight in their home corner. Miller strikes Knight with kicks. Double team shoulder pulls. Thorne tags Miller in again quickly and they continue to keep Knight close. Knight tries to punch his way free but can’t do it. Lariat to the back of the head by Thorne. This stuns Knight. Another tag. Double suplex attempted but it’s Knight who suplexes Thorne and Miller! What a reversal!
Fans cheer for the tag to Dozovic. Knight makes it happen and here comes the bulldozer! Clotheslines for everyone. Scoop slam on Miller. Dozovic is hitting his arms. It’s time for the worm! Big elbow drop! 1-2-…Thorne saves Miller. This brings Knight back in to take care of Miller. Overhead belly to belly suplex by Knight. He puts Miller in the corner, bounces off the ropes and…Miller evades. Knight flies over the top rope. Awkward.

Meanwhile, Dozovic with a beauty of a suplex on Thorne. He goes up to the second turnbuckle, wipes off his arms and gets kicked in the head by Miller. He falls back on the mat. Thorne pins him, uses the ropes for leverage and Miller grabs his feet for extra pressure. They cheated to win!

Winners: TM61 via pinfall in 9 minutes

One cool point for Heavy Machinery because they continue to be such a fun team to watch wrestle. Dozovic’s mannerisms, especially the shouts and grunts, make him one of the most unique wrestlers on the roster. Dare I say, one of the most endearing, too.

One cool point for TM 61 because they’re gaining momentum in the Tag Division, earning two wins in a row. They’ll have to bide their time as long as the Undisputed Era are champs though.

Bianca Belair is featured in an nXt promo, a combination of in-ring clips and a backstage interview, as well as some family photos. She says we’ll find out who she is next week, setting up what was basically a commercial for a longer promo segment on her life. Looks like it might be similar to what nXt did recently for TM 61. Good call. We need to get to know these newer ladies of the Women’s Division.

Second Segment

A promo for EC3 is shown where he once again shares how he is the top 1 percent of this industry. References to nX3 are made as well. Great stuff.

Singles Match: Kairi Sane vs. Lacey Evans

Both women are still fired up from last week’s confrontation because this is one rowdy start. Evans with a hard slap on Sane. Sane returns the favour. Quick pin on Evans after a nifty slam. Evans tries a pin of her own but Sane kicks out. Evans with a headlock and she’s almost ragdolling Sane around too.

Evans uses her knees to deal out further punishment to Sane’s mid-section. Into the corner, Evans uses her leg to leverage over Sane’s arm against the top rope. Ouch. Evans continues to be aggressive yet methodical in her offense. She stretches Sane out, back warped against her knee, hand squeezing Sane’s jaw. Sane kicks her way out. Rolling blockbuster! Spear!
Sane cries out to the skies above and she’s stomping the mat to get the crowd clapping. Evans is seated against the bottom turnbuckle….SLIDING D! Evans flops out to the floor below.

Sane launches herself off the steel steps with a flying elbow on Evans. She goes to the top rope, jumps…WOMAN’S RIGHT! 1-2-3.

Winner: Lacey Evans via pinfall in 5 minutes

One cool point for the pace and aggression of both women in this match. That was a level of energy I wasn’t expecting to see, but it certainly was attention-grabbing. Crowd responded well to them, too. This feud has legs, and I’m not talking about the Stacy Keibler type.

Cathy Kelley is outside Full Sail and she’s hoping for a word with Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae. Gargano and LeRae are here and they’ve come to a decision together, as a team. He may not want to do it, but it has to be done.

Third Segment

We see a recap of the 6-man tag match, from last week, that saw Dunne, Burch and Lorcan defeat the Undisputed Era (minus Bobby Fish, who is out with an injury). In a post-match interview, Burch and Lorcan announce that they should be #1 contenders.

Undisputed Era, in what is becoming their traditional, weekly, backstage promo, accompanied by their theme music, answer back. They say there’s no way Burch & Lorcan should face them at Takeover: Chicago. Fish asks who are these losers? Strong has no patience for that. He wants to fight Danny Burch next week. This will prove how out of his league Burch is.

Handicap Match: Lars Sullivan vs. Velveteen Dream & Ricochet

We’ve got handicap tag rules in place so only one is allowed out at a time to face Lars. Lars scares off Dream and so Ricochet is tagged in. Lars shoves Ricochet to the mat face-first. Ricochet and Dream talk strategy and tag in for a double team attack. Double dropkicks! Sullivan stumbles into the ropes and he’s still standing. Dream grabs Sullivan’s leg as Ricochet hits a springboard dropkick, taking Sullivan down to the mat. Double axe-handle by Dream from the top..and another…and another. He’s going around the ring with these. Tag to Ricochet. Running punch to the face. Dream with a running elbow. Body avalanche. Right idea here to try and wear Sullivan down.

Ricochet flies at Sullivan and is caught in the air! Sullivan throws him into the corner but can’t unleash any offence. Dropkick by Ricochet sends Sullivan into the opposing corner. Double team attack continues. Superkicks by Dream and Ricochet independently, and then simultaneously to drop Sullivan for a 2 count only.

Sullivan clutches Ricochet around the throat but he’s beaten down again and can’t keep it. Double suplex attempted but Sullivan evades it. He throws the men off of him. Vicious lariat on Dream which almost takes his head off. Powerslam. 2 count on Dream.
Sullivan is breathing heavily as he punches Dream in the kidneys. Shoulder thrusts in the corner and Dream is feeling those as he gasps for air, on his knees. Strong Irish whip to the opposite corner by Sullivan. 1-2- kickout by Dream. Sullivan applies a headlock but not too snug, so Dream’s able to break free after a minute.

Huge powerslam by Sullivan on Dream for another 2 count. He heads up to the top turnbuckle! DIVING HEADBUTT. 1-2- Ricochet breaks the pinfall! He beckons for Sullivan to attack and slides to the outside. The chase is on. Sullivan is goaded into a trap as Dream attacks with a top rope elbow drop. Dream dives to tag in Ricochet. Ricochet with flying forearms, punches, kicks. He tries to whip Sullivan into the ropes. Reversed. Sullivan rushes and hits the turnbuckle. Diving crossbody by Dream. Standing shooting star press by Ricochet! 1-2- NO!

What else can these guys do to stop the big man? Tag made by Dream. Both men with kicks on Sullivan. Somersault splash by Dream. 450 splash by Ricochet who tagged Dream as he perched on the top turnbuckle. Sullivan’s hurt and he rolls out.

DREAM just hit Ricochet with a rolling DVD! Where did that come from? Dream starts jawing at Ricochet before sliding out of the ring, leaving Ricochet for dead. Sullivan picks him up for the Freak Accident. End of match.

Winner: Lars Sullivan via pinfall in 10 minutes

One cool point for Lars Sullivan for withstanding the two-pronged attack of Ricochet and Velveteen Dream long enough for Dream to screw over his teammate. It appears their common foe would be enough to bond them together, at least for a quarter of an hour, but, alas, the Dream/Ricochet feud lives on another day. Really, that’s best for business, if it leads to a Takeover: Chicago match.

Two cool points for the significant effort by Ricochet and Dream, and all the offense they threw at Sullivan to try and win. They worked well together in double team manoeuvres and their urgent pace made me feel tired just watching them.

Final Segment

Next week, Dakota Kai will have the good fortune of challenging Shayna Baszler for the nXt Women’s Championship.
Cathy Kelley interviews Kai backstage. Kai’s thrilled for the opportunity but she admits that Baszler is the biggest bully she’s ever come across. Just then, Baszler shows up and mocks her for the dream come true remarks. Kai doesn’t stand a chance. Kai gets a little shot of confidence and says we’ll see about that.

A recap of Velveteen Dream turning on Ricochet to cost their team the match against Sullivan is shown.

Candice LeRae comes out to the entrance ramp, followed by Johnny Gargano. Gargano takes his time getting into the ring, stopping to exchange a moment with a few kids at ringside. He’s got a neck brace on, indicating the effects of Ciampa’s attack are still present.
Crowd’s pretty hyped, chanting “Johnny Wrestling” to him. Gargano holds LeRae’s hand and reflects on the attack and its consequences on his life. His body reminds him of being driven off the stage through a table, of a knee to his head and into the LED light board, and he realizes it’s time to start thinking about his future. It’s time to start thinking about their future, Candice’s and his own.

He asks if it’s worth it. Crowd starts a “yes” chant. Gargano talks to LeRae off mic and he keeps repeating that he’s sorry. He rips the neck brace off and says it’s worth it. LeRae is trying to get him to stop. Gargano wants to finish this with Ciampa right now.
Ciampa strolls out to the entrance ramp. He says if Gargano’s still standing there in the ring when he arrives, he’ll finish it. LeRae has run away from the ring. Suddenly, a number of nXt officials enter the ring to try and stop Gargano from attacking Ciampa. So, that’s where LeRae went. Even she is trying to hold him back.

Gargano’s pretty conflicted, seething at Ciampa who is casually standing in the ring. Crowd continues to cheer for him and it appears as though Gargano will rush the ring…and he does! He jumps to the apron. Ciampa knocks him off, right into LeRae who hits the ramp hard. She’s knocked out. nXt medical team members and officials join Gargano in tending to LeRae. A kid in the crowd calls for the stretcher. Gargano’s insisting on getting more help as the show ends.

It’s not often that nXt ends with a segment, but the Ciampa/Gargano feud is no ordinary one. For their spot to get the nod over a handicap match that could easily have main evented the evening further proves the importance of their feud to the brand. We’re about a month out from Takeover: Chicago and you’ve got to figure that, within the next two weeks, we’re going to see an official match booked with a stipulation.

Aleister Black will return to nXt TV next week as well. It appears that Dream and Ricochet will cancel out one another in the title picture, so that leaves Lars Sullivan as the most likely challenger. EC3 is another possibility, but they have had no interaction as of yet. Adam Cole, the nXt North American Champ, had a pretty good match with Black a few months ago. Expect to see him wrestling, too. But, who? Who? Who?!

Looking forward to reading your cool point suggestions and comments on tonight’s nXt show.

Peace!!
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