When Takeover: In Your House ended with NXT general manager, William Regal, reflecting on his time in NXT and the chaos that surrounded the main event. On NXT 6/15 he comes to the ring and starts to reminisce about his favorite moments at the commentary desk, taking NXT shows international, and helping form it with Triple H. Karrion Kross is unmoved. He and Scarlett make their way to the ring and Kross mocks Regal for getting misty-eyed. He taunts Regal for losing control of NXT and that, in the chaos, the violence of Karrion Kross reigns supreme.
Kross even demands that Regal declare him the ruler of NXT. Regal doesn’t answer at first… but Samoa Joe does! Samoa Joe is back on NXT! Regal tells Joe that he can no longer keep up with the responsibilities of GM. He starts to ask Joe if he would be willing to take on those duties but Joe cuts him off and turns down the offer. Instead they come to an agreement that Joe will ensure “respect” from the competitors in a strictly administrative role. This prompts Joe to invite the “young champion” to take his leave which, to choruses of “Joe is gonna kill you!” and “Na na na na say hey hey goodbye!” he does.
The Grizzled Young Veterans defend their working class backgrounds and promise to kick in the heads of Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa later tonight.
Imperium vs Breezango
Breezango is on defense most of the match. Fandango and Tyler Breeze characteristically save each other from defeat over and again. Marcel Barthel in particular looks both sadistic and sharp, isolating Fandango for a long stretch. When Fabian Aichner gets tagged in, he hits a brutal clothesline that nearly exposes the physics engine of the matrix. Dazed but not done, Tyler Breeze stops a suplex with a small package for the win! All this time later and Breezango still has Imperium’s number! After the match, an angry Imperium beat their opponents down into a pile of meat, draping an Imperium flag over Tyler Breeze’s unconscious form.
Winners: Breezango
Backstage, security is trying to hold Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole apart. William Regal arrives to make another unsanctioned match between the two at the Great American Bash. Both will wrestle next week with opponents of their choosing. Cole protests, seeming to lobby for a title match instead. The new enforcer of the office, Samoa Joe pulls them apart and successfully quells O’Reilly. Cole is too cool for school and shoves Joe out of the way to get some more. Big mistake. He gets choked out and left on the floor for being insubordinate and churlish.
We come back from commercial break to a… phone charging?
Santos Escobar addresses Bronson Reed after Legado del Fantasma’s loss to the Aussie thicc boi & MSK at Takeover. He says that being put through a wall was the only thing Reed could have done to escape defeat and he did it. Now, Escobar wants a one-on-one for the North American title.
Kushida has been giving opportunities at the NXT Cruiserweight Championship by way of an open challenge each week. “All Heart” Trey Baxter is introduced via a promo package.
Kushida (c) vs Trey Baxter for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship
Kushida seemingly has the high-flyer scouted, opting for a low single and front facelock in the early goings. They seem to get hung up on a top rope flip over sequence but Baxter takes out Kushida’s hamstring with a sweeping kick and takes him all out with a diving inverted press! Kyle O’Reilly comes out to observe. Kushida gets more intense with his striking but Baxter does so too with a rebounding corkscrew kick. Kushida answers back with a fastball right hand but Baxter stops his follow up cold with a standing Spanish Fly! Springboard 450°! Do we have a new champion? Only two count. The rookie perches the champion on the top turnbuckle but gets jammed down with a shoulder lock. A kick to the arm and Kushida has it all softened up for his Hoverboard Lock kimura.
Winner and still champion: Kushida
Kushida shows respect to the youngster with a post-match handshake. Kyle O’Reilly extends respect as well, offering his own challenge for a match next week. Kushida accepts and it’s on.
Franky Monet (and Presley!) are happy to announce that, next week, she’ll be making her “encore” performance. Franky then ducks over to tell Jessi Kamea & Aliyah that Robert Stone seemed to cost them the match. When Stone shows up, she switches gears and says that his clients should listen to him more with Jessi and Aliyah sharing a conspiratorial look.
Mercedes Martinez watches the screen as her match against Xia Li plays. She says that they’re 1-and-1 and she’s ready to settle things any time.
“The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase is out for the presentation of the Million Dollar Championship belt to Sunday’s ladder match winner, LA Knight. Cigar in mouth, Knight pulls up to the Capitol Wrestling Centre in a white Corvette and struts it straight out to the ring. He gets a sincere mid-catch phrase to talk to Ted about the feeling of carrying on the legacy of his long-time hero. Despite the chants of “We want Cameron!”, he says that it is the greatest moment in his career. Ted drapes the belt over Knight’s shoulder. LA Knight says that, now that he has everything he wants, it’s time to drop what he doesn’t need. With that, he drops DiBiase with a right hand and starts putting the Jordans to the Hall of Famer. Cameron Grimes to the rescue! He repeatedly floors LA Knight and sends him packing, telling that he’s “crossed the line.”
McKenzie Mitchell asks Raquel Gonzalez why she’s competing in a tag team match a mere 48 hours after defending her NXT Women’s Championship at Takeover. Dakota answers, saying that Candice LaRae & Indi Hartwell are just keeping the belts warm.
The phone has now charged to 11%
Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon harass Dakota & Raquel on their way to the ring. Samoa Joe is there to keep the neutral ground neutral.
Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai vs Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro
Team KC each gives up a foot in height to the NXT Women’s Champion but they are spirited and skilled. Watching this match is worth it even if just for the assisted slingshot hurricanrana that they pull off. The Mighty Mice even manage to leave their opponents in a heap at ringside. It’s actually Dakota Kai that turns it around with a vicious assisted stomp, nasty kicks, and smart tags. Carter ain’t gonna make it easy, though, throwing her body into each attack. Unfortunately, it’s something Raquel can catch. Kacy has to save Kayden from a Gory Special into a Codebreaker! Smart tags and a 450/neckbreaker combo was almost enough to put away Dakota Kai but a rampaging Raquel and a Go2Kick from Kai ended it.
Winners: Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
Ever Rise shows us footage of their In Your House pre-pre-show set being scrapped by Top Dolla of Hit Row. They’ve rebuilt (in a fashion) and tell Hit Row that, next time, they’ll answer the door.
21% battery… for something.
Io Shirai is out to address the crowd saying that her next challenge is… interrupted. Candice LaRae is out. A lot of history between these two. She tells Io that she has to go to the back of the line and work her way up now. She also says that it’s a bad time to mess with her, causing Indi Hartwell to blindside her. Io fights back but the numbers are too much until Zoey Stark arrives to even it out. Io and Zoey stand tall as The Way goes away.
McKenzie asks Regal and Samoa Joe about order being restored but we cut to the gorilla position where Ciampa & Thatcher are met by MSK. The champs tell them that they’ll be watching. It costs them Nash Carter’s popcorn when Toothless Timmy decides he wants some pre-match carbs. When we return to the GM and the enforcer, Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory make a nuisance of themselves. They leave when told but Pete Dunne is a little more stalwart.
Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa vs The Grizzled Young Veterans
It’s looking more like a Johnston Chiefs hockey game than a technical grappling match to start. Ciampa tests his cardio and GYV’s jawbones as he and Thatcher drag them through an obstacle course of violence. GYV makes efficient use of the furniture, though, to stay in the fight. Thatcher gets isolated and is repeatedly stomped while in a submission hold. Ciampa evens it up but a miscommunication sees The Blackheart blast his partner directly in the mouth with a knee. They recover to give James Drake an Air Raid Crash from the second rope for a two count. Ciampa takes a tope suicida Doomsday device on the outside! Thatcher is winning a slugfest when Zack Gibson tries to trade submissions until Drake gets back into the action. They toss Ciampa onto the announce table banner board but he drops Gibson on the table itself with another Air Raid Crash. Ciampa and Thatcher try to pull apart James Drake like crocodiles with an antelope and he’s forced to tap.
Winners: Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher
Five Takeaways from NXT 6/15
1. From the moment Regal uttered the words “It’s time for a change” on Sunday, the buzz has been about Samoa Joe. For the time being, it’s a win/win/win. The fans get Joe. Joe gets a job (and a job with lessened chance of injury.) The NXT roster gets a chess piece to be put in the way to be the buffer between two competitors talking trash. We saw how dumb it looks when there isn’t one in the build to In Your House’s main event.
2. Tornado match. It’s a simple stipulation. Takes away the primary barrier between a crazy violent tag match and a broken structureless tag match. All it takes and, when done sparingly, makes a good match special enough to be a main event with no titles.
3. O’Reilly/Cole 2: Electric Boogaloo is on for the Great American Bash. Thought this was put to bed. My guess is Cole wins and we see a rubber match at SummerSlam’s Takeover or another one down the line.
4. Does the Diamond Mine run on a rechargeable battery? Is that the bump we saw in this episode?
5. Cameron Grimes is one of the most entertaining characters and story arcs in professional wrestling right now. LA Knight is a guy who needs spotlight minutes to facilitate his move to another night’s broadcast. That’s the best place for him. Character-based performers on NXT never seem to blow up on that show either due to lack of interest from that audience or various other reasons. Hoping Cameron Grimes breaks that curse.
