As we have grown accustomed to, NXT opens with a match and it’s a battle of former champions as former NXT UK Women’s champ, Kay lee Ray, faces former NXT Women’s Champion, Ember Moon.
Ember Moon vs Kay Lee Ray
Good match with great performers but a bit… muted? The CWC is not the same crowd as we had at Full Sail and some of the performers are showing the effects of that and the taped format of the last weeks. Great aerial work by both and it seems like a chance to showcase KLR to the US audience. Ember Moon hits a big sit-out power bomb but Kay Lee kicks out and can barely believe it herself. During a grapple/pin exchange, KLR hits a Gory Bomb for the win.
Winner: Kay Lee Ray
McKenzie Mitchell is with Pete Dunne, Ridge Holland, the returning Danny Burch, and token Yankee, Oney Lorcan. The former Team McAfee is set to end MSK as Burch & Lorcan are set to face them in the main event and vow to take back the NXT tag titles they never lost.
We get a look at Indi Hartwell’s bachelorette party in full swing as Indi thanks everyone for showing up. She’s a bit disappointed because McKenzie Mitchell didn’t bring a microphone to interview her but goes on with a toast. She thanks everyone for coming but especially the one person who, despite being skeptical of Dexter Lumis, supported and guided her on The Way: Candice LaRae. After asking Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro to stop TikTok-ing, Candice starts her speech and seems to have an epiphany that supports In-Dex in full. She then offers up the surveillance equipment she and Johnny Gargano had used to spy on InDex to do the same for Dexter’s bachelor party.
Carmelo Hayes vs Santos Escobar
Legado del Fantasma are ringside in full effect. The Breakout Tournament winner makes a good accounting of himself against the former cruiserweight king. Hayes frustrates Escobar by outmaneuvering him, forcing Escobar to respond with straight brutality to keep up. When the young upstart evades a Phantom Driver and responds with a DDT on the apron, the pack strikes. Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde distract the referee and it’s Elektra Lopez who body slams Hayes onto the bottom of the entrance ramp. Hayes is rolled back into the ring just in time to break the count and right in the path of a Phantom Driver.
Winner: Santos Escobar
Malcom Bivens is in The Diamond Mine gym with Roderick Strong and his newest acquisitions (and former NXT security,) The Creed Brothers. He gives a brief rundown of their respectable amateur grappling pedigrees to hype their later match.
NXT GM, William Regal, tells McKenzie Mitchell that, next week on NXT, we will see a Fatal 4-Way match for the #1 contender ranking for Samoa Joe’s NXT Championship. Former NXT Champ, Tommaso Ciampa, former NXT UK champ, Pete Dunne, former Impact and Million Dollar Champion (Yeah!,) LA Knight, and Kyle O’Reilly will face off.
The Creed Brothers vs Paxton Averill & Chuckie Viola
Old school squash match to establish the new team. Julius and Brutus Creed pretty much Road Warrior the hell out of the enhancement talent, hitting big slams and suplexes, no-selling strikes, and even use the Super Collider on the hapless duo. Julius finishes with a big double leg slam and sliding clothesline.
Winner: The Creed Brothers
McKenzie Mitchell is with a somber Ember Moon. Ember says that she had a plan to get back to the top but it looks like the plan wasn’t working. She’s going to make up for the loss of her tag titles, the loss of her tag partner, and the loss of direction. Just watch and see.
Hit Row is ready for war. Swerve laughs about how he was caught slipping by Legado del Fantasma. B-Fab has real issue with Elektra Lopez introducing herself with a steel pipe. They have a bit of Grandma wisdom for Escobar and his crew: “A hard head makes for a soft ass!”
Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter vs Io Shirai & Zoey Stark (c) for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship
Zoey Stark’s team-building strategy seems to be working as she and Io come out from the back separately but walk down to the ring together. Team KC usually have the speed, athletic, and high-flying advantage. Not tonight. Zoey Stark checks every box you could come up with and Io Shirai is “The Genius of the Sky.” The diminutive duo gets checked when Kacy gets a knee to the face and a moonsault to put her away.
Winners and still champions: Zoey Stark & Io Shirai
As the champs celebrate in ring, Catanzaro & Carter walk up the ramp and get attacked! GiGi Dollin, Jacey Jayne, and a Laimbeer-masked Mandy Rose lay them out.
Kyle O’Reilly gives us a promo sitting in the corner of a training ring. He talks about closing the chapter on Adam Cole (but not by name!) and moving on to the NXT Championship and Samoa Joe. He’s feeling free to not give a damn and trade one obsession for a newer, better one.
Dexter Lumis’ eclectic bachelor party crew is assembled. Johnny Gargano isn’t planning on paying for anything but Dexter’s old adversary, Cameron Grimes, is keen to let bygones be bygones and take the party… to the MOON! He’s even happy to see the zombie referee from their Halloween Havoc match! There’s Go Karts. There’s Odyssey Jones launching Drake Maverick on a trampoline. There’s Dexter going straight up Green Beret on another Lazer Tag team, leaving them open for Johnny to eliminate their unconscious bodies. He’s so happy that it only takes a slight shove from Odyssey to complete a high five with Dexter. Candice and Indi come out of hiding to celebrate as a cohesive family unit.
Boa tells Mei Ying that “It’s time.” The boogeywoman of Tian Sha debuts tonight!
Jessi Kamea and Franky Monet are discussing fashion when Robert Stone runs up, breathless. They’re barely tolerant of his huffing and puffing but he has important news: Franky faces Raquel Gonzalez for the NXT Women’s Championship next week!
Mei Ying vs Virginia Ferry
Another enhancement squash sees Mei Ying using stiff kicks, including one out of a cartwheel. She finishes off Virginia with ye olde Tongan Death Grip and the referee counts the shoulders on the mat over the chokehold to end it.
Winner: Mei Ying
LA Knight is out rolling in his convertible for a night drive. He’s excited for next week’s Fatal 4-Way. One more step to proving to everyone that it’s LA Knight’s game (Yeah!)
Tommaso Ciampa is motivated and a motivated Ciampa is dangerous. He used to be motivated to beat up Ridge Holland. Now, he’s motivated to beat up Holland and to beat up Pete Dunne and get Goldie back. Jump up and walk off with the chair flying.
Main Event of NXT 9/1: MSK (c) vs Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch
Heels or not, Lorcan & Burch are NXT originals so Burch gets a huge round of “Welcome back!” from the fans in attendance. The trans-Atlantic duo are known to hit hard but Nash Carter & Wes Lee are just as fast with their feet and come form all angles. To their credit, Dunne and Holland keep it clean from the ringside area and MSK’s signature double team ends a fair contest.
Winners and still champions: MSK
After the match, Pete Dunne nods to Ridge Holland after MSK leaves. The hard man gets in the ring and levels Danny Burch with headbutt while Dunne superkicks a shocked Lorcan. Stomps and powerslams on the two scrappers by their (seemingly now former) mates has the crowd chanting “You suck!” at Dunne and Holland as we leave the air.
Five Takeaways from NXT 9/1
- Right now, it’s looking like Samoa Joe will be a transitional champion. Of the participants for the Fatal 4-Way next week, Kyle O’Reilly seems to be the one most positioned for the title match and title run. But I see him as the least viable in that role. Everyone starts somewhere but he hasn’t shown anything that screams “star” throughout his wardrobe change and his feud with other former UA members. Even the promo he recorded for this episode looked more like a guy talking about getting over a breakup than getting ready for the fight of his life.
- Interesting to see Mei Ying in action. It really never needed to be done but, Xia Li being on the shelf, it is probably good to keep Tian Sha going and further explain Boa’s recent outings. Neither are on Xia’s level, though.
- The Creed Brothers are already over with me. Recruited by Gerry Brisco, they have legit grappling cred and a look and athleticism that could take them far. People are excited/fearful that NXT will become a “hoss factory” because “Vince likes big sweaty muscle me” (with the “rare” exceptions like Shawn Michaels, RVD, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, The Miz, and Kofi Kingston) but I’m cool with seeing some. NXT moved away from “developmental” to “third brand” and lost the home grown game to become “big league Ring of Honor.” That’s why there’s changes happening.
- Johnny Gargano is a damn national treasure. That is all.
- This was it. To some, this was the end of NXT. It will never be the same. It will never be good again. So on. So forth. I have my reservations. If Vince is in charge, then Bruce Pritchard should NOT be next in charge. There are rumors that some mainstays may not stay long and folks are fearful of their favorites’ futures. But I see more seats in that arena sketch accompanying the new logo. I see new faces coming up. And I see either a success or an opportunity for wrestling fans to do what they do best: bitch and moan and punish the wrong people.
