NXT Review: 23/06

Linus O'Howell
3 days ago
7 min read

Evolve Championship: Aaron Rourke VS Tristan Angels

After Mr. Stone told Tony D’Angelo that he needs to be professional tonight, this week’s edition of NXT kicked off with Aaron Rourke putting his Evolve Championship on the line against Tristan Angels! Wade Barrett was back on commentary for this match (and the rest of the show), and whilst it’s a shame when Booker T isn’t around, Wade and Vic Joseph are great together! The match itself was pretty decent, I thought, with this being the first time I’ve gotten to see Aaron Rourke perform, as I simply don’t have any more time to watch any more wrestling shows! Anyway, I really enjoy Tristan Angels, so I was already excited for this match, with Tristan in control for the most part until he got dragged under the ring by who we’d assume to be Shiloh Hill! Rourke then took advantage of this, nailing Angels with a lovely Molly-Go-Round to get the win, setting up another Evolve Title defence on Succession III later tonight!

Grade: C+

Dion Lennox and Saquon Shugars Come Face-to-Face, BirthRight VS Hank and Tank, NXT Women’s Championship Contract Signing

Tony D’Angelo stormed into the NXT Parking Lot to find Naraku holding their contract for The Great American Bash! Naraku gave the contract to Tony, but this was all a trap as a fireball flew into the face of D’Angelo once he opened it! An ambulance was then called, with Tony D being taken away with a towel wrapped around his face! We then got a face-to-face confrontation between Dion Lennox and Saquon Shugars, with this being the final part of the build to their match this Sunday! Saquon was never happy with Dion for being given opportunities that he deserved, with Lennox just being another example of an athlete that’s come into NXT and stolen spots from hard-working Indy Wrestlers! On the other hand, Dion Lennox believes that his star shines far brighter than Saquon’s ever has, hence why he got so many opportunities, and more importantly, hence why he’s the leader of DarkState! Both guys then went on to say a few more things, and I have to say, this was a good segment! I thought both Lennox and Shugars delivered their lines well whilst making some good points!

Grade: B-

Matt Mathews seemed pretty anxious to be hanging around Hank and Tank, whilst The Vanity Project could be seen in the background trying to talk to Mr. Stone! We then got a hype video surrounding Myles Borne and Tavion Heights’ history in the No Quarter Catch Crew, leading to Wren Sinclair trying to give Heights some advice! After Tavion stormed off, Wren and Keldan Grey got excited about getting a double-layered cake once they both leave the Bash as Champions, before BirthRight were in Tag Team action against Hank and Tank! Like usual, Uriah Connors and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo were the two who were representing BirthRight, and I have to say, I thought this match was great! I was thoroughly impressed, with me staying entertained throughout! We know how good Hank and Tank can be, but Stacks and Connors have gelled perfectly together, like Uriah seems to be the perfect tag partner! Matt Mathews proved to be pretty influential at ringside, with his evasive manoeuvres leaving both Lexis King and Charlie Dempsey in pain, opening the door for Hank and Tank to deliver their trademark Tag Team finisher to score the 3 count! Very impressed!

Grade: B+

Shiloh Hill made it clear that he and Tristan Angels aren’t close to being even after what went down at the end of the “Mr. NXT” Pageant, with Shiloh looking to destroy Angels at NXT The Great American Bash! Speaking of The Great American Bash, due to Tony D’Angelo still being at the hospital, Mr. Stone decided to host the NXT Women’s Championship Contract Signing between Lola Vice and Kendal Grey in a backstage office in order to not risk jeopardising their other Main Event! The way that this segment was produced was we were basically being told that the position that Kendal Grey finds herself in right now is actually the same place that Lola Vice was in a while back! Like, NXT Commentary consistently puts over Lola and Kendal as two of the biggest crossover athletes in WWE, with that being a fair claim to make given the popularity of Vice in comparison to the technical ability of Grey! Whilst Kendal is destined to lead the NXT Women’s Division into a brighter future one day, that day isn’t now, with Vice reflecting back on her own journey! I honestly don’t know who’s going to win this match, which honestly makes it the match I’m most looking forward to on the entire card! I thought this was a well-produced segment, with the similarities (and also differences) clear for everyone to see!

Grade: B

EK Prosper VS Keanu Carver, Arianna Grace VS Izzi Dame: NXT Women’s Speed Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match, The Culling VS Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux

EK Prosper was out next as he was set for a difficult task when he went one-on-one with Keanu Carver! Keanu was furious with Mr. Stone for giving him a match against such a weak opponent in the form of EK, something EK didn’t take too kindly to (unsurprisingly)! As expected, Carver dominated this match, with Prosper’s only moments of joy coming due to his quick agility! However, in a shocking twist, EK actually won this match, rolling up KC with a great reversal to the shock of everyone watching! Unfortunately for EK Prosper, Keanu Carver is a sore loser, with Carver wrecking Prosper with a powerbomb through the announce table! This landed well, but Keanu doesn’t come across as important in the slightest!

Grade: C

Zaria brought up a great point in her video promo, stating that it was only last year when both she and Tatum Paxley were in the shadows whilst their “friends” competed for the NXT Women’s North American Championship! Unfortunately, Zaria doesn’t care about that any more due to Tatum embarrassing her on her first night as Champion, with Zaria happy to hand Paxley a rematch to give her “endless pain for the rest of her life”! Strong! Naraku was delighted with his actions earlier in the night, something that left Mr. Stone furious, whilst Keanu Carver told Stone that he’d warned him of what was going to happen until he gets what he wants! BirthRight were then out for the second time tonight, with Arianna Grace taking on Izzi Dame in the Final of the latest NXT Women’s Speed Championship Tournament! It was sort of ironic that both Arianna and Izzi are Heels who have a faction on the outside that likes to cheat! The reason why I said it’s ironic is that Dame literally punched Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo off the apron at one point, with Grace trying to take advantage, before Shawn Spears decided that it was a good time to get a high-five from Dame! Wouldn’t you know it, this distraction cost Izzi Dame, with Arianna Grace stealing away with a win that gets her onto The Great American Bash card! Could Grace actually win the Women’s Speed Title?!

Grade: C

Mr. Stone had just gotten off the phone with AAA General Manager Rey Mysterio when he confirmed that he’d announce Naraku’s opponent for The Great American Bash at the end of tonight’s show! Jackson Drake then put in a compelling argument as to why he and The Vanity Project should appear at the show, before Karmen Petrovic and Nikkita Lyons continued to talk trash about Jaida Parker! OTM then checked on Jaida, a move that probably should’ve happened ages ago, whilst Bronco Nima explained to Lucien Price that his appearance at AAA changes nothing between their bond! It was then time for the Main Event match of the night as Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux teamed up to take on an already disgruntled Culling! Legacy and Van Dux seem to be the latest NXT singles wrestlers who’ve been put together, leading to a really strong Tag Team being formed! I mean, it did wonders for FRAXIOM (on NXT), so it’s a proven method that clearly works if talent is involved! The Culling, on the other hand, have been on the decline for a while, with both Izzi Dame and Niko Vance clearly becoming more and more annoyed with Shawn Spears! As expected, Spears would lose this match following a brilliant couple of high-flying manoeuvres, leading to The Culling turning on their original leader, with Vance sending Spears crashing through the announce table! I don’t know what this means for Shawn Spears moving forward; like this could legitimately be his final-ever appearance on WWE TV, and it’s also going to be interesting to see how Niko Vance gets on as a singles competitor!

Mr. Stone Closes the Show

The final segment on this week’s edition of NXT saw Mr. Stone come down to the ring carrying the NXT Championship! Robert Stone quickly asked for Naraku to make his presence known, with the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion demanding that the Title gets handed over to him if Tony D’Angelo is unable to compete! This resulted in Mason Rook saying that he’d step up to face Naraku, whilst Jackson Drake firmly believes that he deserves a place at The Great American Bash! Rook would then take care of Drake and The Vanity Project, leading to Mr. Stone bringing out Tony D’Angelo to confirm that the match at The Great American Bash is still happening! Tony’s face was completely bandaged up on the one side, with Naraku straight away targeting that, whilst the show would then go off the air with both men feeling in control! Naraku should definitely win the NXT Title on Sunday!