Dakota Kai vs Mercedes Martinez
NXT 4/27 kicks off with a big match. Mercedes Martinez has been aching for a shot at NXT Women’s Champion, Raquel Gonzalez. If you wanna beat the woman, you gotta face her #1 bestie to get the chance. The smaller and younger Dakota still captains Team Kick with striking expertise. Mercedes can match her in technical grappling but has the edge in size, submission skills, and general badassery. It’s that last part that makes the difference as Dakota pours on the punishment but Martinez will not keep from kicking out of the pin attempts. She perseveres to hit a swarm of butterfly suplexes and attacks the vulnerable right shoulder of Dakota Kai. Her mistake is getting up on Raquel at ringside. The champ slides into the ring, causing a DQ with a big boot. Big Mami Cool decimates the stalwart Martinez for good measure.
Winner: Mercedes Martinez
Mid-interview, NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions, Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart, receive flowers. They’re elated until Franky Monet comes in and reads the note. She tells them that the admirer is Dexter Lumis. Ember says they must be for Shotzi (since she’s married, herself.) She’s equally hesitant and tries to hand her bouquet over to Ember.
Cameron Grimes is in the jewelry store looking for the most expensive, most extravagant, most ostentatious wrist watch he can acquire.
The Grizzled Young Veterans are in the ring and quick to call out NXT Tag Team Champions, MSK, as being happy to take on any opponent except the ones that matter: The Grizzled Young Vets. Cue Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher. Ciampa says there’s so much in common between them. Namely, they both want to go after the tag titles. It doesn’t take long before Thatcher is in their face with taunting chants and Ciampa drills them with his own boot.
McKenzie Mitchell is with Drake Maverick & Killian Dain. Maverick is sure that the Beast of Belfast will abandon or betray him for Imperium. He encourages Drake with a quote from George Michael.
Speaking of legendary Wembley Stadium performers, Xia Li and Boa seem to recreate Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody poster with their new mistress, Tien Sha.
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott is in “The Lab” contemplating Leon Ruff’s recent backstage ambush. He’s upset but a little proud that Ruff had that kind of gumption. Since the ring can’t seem to contain them anymore, he proposes a falls count anywhere match!
Toni Storm vs Zayda Ramier
Before the match, Toni addresses Zoey Stark, saying that she made Zoey famous at Takeover. She tells Zoey to pay attention to this match because everything she does to “this rookie,” Zayda Ramier, she intends to do to Zoey. It’s a mauling from there. Toni even hesitates in using the Storm Zero to end the match. When Zoey comes out to protest the sadism, it gives Toni pause enough that Ramier hits a shooting star press to win!
Winner: Zayda Ramier
Legado del Fantasma leader, Santos Escobar, tells Kushida that it was an anomaly that he was beaten for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza say the same about their recent troubles with MSK. Those troubles are to start changing in tonight’s main event.
Bronson Reed looks like he’s on his way to the ring when he comes across NXT North American Champion, Johnny Gargano, and Candice LaRae. A quick staredown and he heads to the ring.
LA Knight had a great time hanging an L on Dexter Lumis. On top of that, he’s so appreciative of Indi Hartwell for turning the tide. He just knows that it’s because she was aching for his affection. Yeah! As he exits, Ever Rise slides on in to ask McKenzie if she has any questions about their smash hit social media program. She doesn’t.
Bronson Reed vs Austin Theory
In recent weeks, the Thicc Boi from down under has been hunting the North American title. Theory, in his infinite… wisdom… convinced William Regal that Bronson Reed would need to go through him for a title shot. Reed has size, power, and surprising speed and agility. Austin is no slouch in terms of muscle either with an undeniable athleticism of his own. He also has the assistance of the mom & pop of The Way at ringside. As the tide starts to turn in Reed’s favor, Indi Hartwell’s presence at ringside attracts Dexter Lumis! Indi starts to back herself into a runaway Theory’s path but is saved by Lumis. The rest goes off without a hitch for Bronson Reed as he tsunamis his way to an eventual title shot.
Winner: Bronson Reed
MSK & Kushida are pumped and ready for their 6-man tag match vs Legado del Fantasma tonight, coining the portmanteau of “MSKushida.”
Johnny Gargano is livid in the hallways of Capitol Wrestling Centre, blaming their recent woes on Dexter Lumis and Shotzi & Ember for trying to steal “Indi’s man.”
Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel vs Killian Dain & Drake Maverick
Aichner rarely gets outclassed in raw strength but he’s stymied by the Belfast badass in this match. The apprehensive Drake Maverick is a spitfire against Barthel but more than a little distracted. Ironically, it’s a distracted Dain that allows Imperium to take the advantage. Taking out Killian Dain on the outside allows them to take advantage of Drake Maverick with a Euro Bomb.
Winners: Imperium
Pete Dunne is sure that the reason everyone seems to be getting opportunities but him is that he has the entire locker room on edge. He dares them all to prove him wrong.
Cameron Grimes is happy to lust over some sweet Swiss precision (it doesn’t even go tick tock!) That all changes when some diamond encrusted platinum perfection is thrust in his face, followed by the characteristic laugh of Ted DiBiase!
Jessi Kamea & Aliyah vs Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon (c) for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship
Before the champions can even reach the ring, they’re distracted by fruit, flowers, and confections carried by NXT production assistants. That gives Candice LaRae and Indi Hartwell ample opening to attack from behind. As they batter the alt-girl alliance, Robert Stone Brand celebrates as the referee tries to explain that they haven’t had a match, let alone won one for the titles.
Result: No Contest
Adam Cole suffers through an interview that he says has taken too long before it even starts. He outlines how the current top of the roster compares (or doesn’t compare) to him and his legacy. He keeps returning to Kyle O’Reilly, though, and the fact that KO isn’t ready to step into the big shoes. As the interview ends, we pull away to see O’reilly watching with earnest interest.
I’m unsure if this Diamond Mine is a soon-to-debut stable or a clothing line unaffiliated with NXT outside of sponsorship. That’s the effectiveness of the bump I saw. Is it referencing Malcom Bivens’ Tyler “Diamond in the” Rust? Is this indie stars Lady Frost and The Savage Gentleman who have used that hashtag recently? Is it Tessa Blanchard and possibly her beau, Daga, too? No way to know but hard to tell if it’s even something we should be looking for.
Main Event of NXT 4/27 – Legado del Fantasma vs MSK & Kushida
MSK is 100% synchronous when it comes to tandem offense. Unfortunately for them, Legado del Fantasma is the same when it comes to overall strategy. After Kushida is powerbombed through the announce table and Nash Carter driven into the steel ring steps, Wes Lee has to weather a hurricane of hurt. He manages to tag in a recovering Carter but he and Kushida are too badly damaged to turn the tide. Legado del Fantasma hold the belts they seek high aloft their broken foes as we leave the airwaves.
Winners: Legado del Fantasma
Five Takeaways from NXT 4/27
1. This new “Cool Kyle” O’Reilly seems about as cool as it is “new.” Call it Sami Zayn 2.0 or call it “Freeze Dried” Tang Cassidy. However you slice it, it isn’t working for me.
2. The main event managed to do right what never seems to be done right in WWE: The thrown-together team of champions (whether they like each other or hate each other) fail to beat the established teamwork of experienced comrades. Brava!
3. Dakota Kai has been doing such a good job grooming Raquel Gonzalez for her current spot that it has become easy to forget how good she is at the overall craft of professional wrestling. Her match tonight was for Mercedes Martinez but, intended or not, was for Dakota’s fans as well.
4. Finn Balor is back next week. Kyle O’Reilly had a stare down with Karrion Kross last week and a feud with Adam Cole continuing this week. Raquel Gonzalez is asserting her dominance like Adebisi in OZ. And throughout it all, Johnny Gargano and The Way is anchoring this show every week.
5. Cameron Grimes. LA Knight. Xia Li. Pete Dunne. Zoey Stark. What do all of them have in common? None of them laid a hand on anyone else this week but all of them built hype with 90 seconds or less.
Comments are closed.