Posted on 4/24/124 by Bob Magee
The show opens with three General Managers having a
discussion about tonight. NXT GM Ava is joined in person by
Raw GM Adam Pearce. Smackdown GM Nick Aldis is on Zoom. They
put over tonight as a big night, and they also briefly
discuss the draft.
Ava talks about how tonight is about who will step up in NXT
ahead of the draft to take the place of anyone drafted away
from the brand. Ava confidently says NXT will never be the
same after tonight.
Opening the show from a sound stage at the Performance
Center in Orlando is a three-way match for the women's
title.
NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez defeated Tatum Paxley and
Lyra Valkyria in a triple threat match to retain her title
Perez pinned Paxley to win the match. Paxley had the match
won, but Perez cleverly slipped in to win.
The match goes through a split-screen commercial break. Some
good high spots before the break, and they trade some close
near falls after the show returns. They also went home
playing on a near fall. The finish was cleverly done.
As they go home, they all three are countering and
delivering big moves. Paxley and Valkyria are wrestling each
other after Perez is seemingly wiped out taking a roundhouse
kick from Valkyria. Paxley countered Pop Rocks, and she
whipped Perez toward Valkyria and the roundhouse kick.
Paxley and Valkyria face off, with Paxley getting a close
near fall. Paxley executed a 450 splash on Valkyria. As
Paxley is going for the cover, Perez jumps in to break up
the attempted pin. Perez then cradles Paxley with a
jackknife for a three count.
Fallon Henley gets into a pull-apart shouting match with
Jaida Parker in a backstage skit that also includes Thea
Hail and Kelani Jordan. Hail, Jordan and Henley were
chatting about Hail about recent events when Parker chimed
in to call out Henley. This clearly sets up a match between
Henley and Parker.
A vignette hyped the arrival to NXT of a newcomers Tyson
Dupont and Tyriek Igwe, who are set to debut next Tuesday on
NXT.
The Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile are interviewed by Kelly
Kincaid. They talk about main event tonight, where Trick
Williams challenges for the NXT title against champ Ilja
Dragunov. The interview concludes with them chanting "whoop
that trick."
An official announcement plugged NXT Battleground at UFC's
Apex facility.
The D'Angelo Family (Tony D'Angelo, Channing "Stacks"
Lorenzo & Luca Crusifino with Adrianna Rizzo) defeated No
Quarter Catch Crew (Charlie Dempsey, Damon Kemp & Myles
Borne) in a six-man tag team match
D'Angelo scores a pinfall on one-third of the Heritage Cup
Champions. The result could likely set up D'Angelo
challenging for the Cup in the near future
The trios match goes through a split-screen commercial
break. When the show returns, heat on Stacks as he is worked
over. A gutsy Stacks eventually makes the hot tag. Far from
the best hot tag, but D'Angelo runs wild anyway. The Don
cleans house on the Catch Crew. D'Angelo is going for his
finisher on Kemp when Dempsey chop blocks The Don's knee.
Nice combos by Kemp and Borne, along with Crusifino &
Stacks. D'Angelo kicks out for a near fall. Stacks jumps in
to break up a pinning attempt, saving The Don. Crusifino
gets to shine by doing an Arn Anderson spinebuster. For the
finish. D'Angelo plants Dempsey with a pop-up powerbomb, and
The Don scores a clean three count.
Jaida Parker (with OTM) defeated Fallon Henley
Parker pinned Henley after a hip attack. The match begins
during a split-screen commercial break, and the bout is
joined in progress after the break. Henley gets several near
falls, but Parker strikes with what was called a "Tear Drop"
hip attack, and Parker pins Henley clean.
Jacy Jayne, flanked by Jazmyn Nyz, cuts a promo on Thea
Hail, ahead of Hail and Jayne having a grudge match next
Tuesday on week two of Spring Breakin'.
A video package hypes Lola Vice, as she prepares for an
Underground match against Natalya. There contract signing is
up next.
NXT GM presides over a contract signing for a NXT
Underground match between Nattie and Vice. Set up is a
makeshift Underground ring with no ropes. Two chairs are on
each side of a podium. Nattie and Karmen Petrovic sit on one
side, as Petrovic is in Nattie's corner.
Nattie wants to know who is in Vice's corner. Vice responds
by saying Nattie is more worried about who is the second
than she is worries about Vice winning the match. Vice says
that although she can "shake her ass," Vice can also kick
Nattie's as well. Vice is supposed to be the heel here, but
the live studio audience cheers her like she is the
babyface.
Shayna Baszler is eventually revealed as the person in
Vice's corner for the match. Baszler comes to the ring and
cuts a promo. She pushes Petrovic, only for Baszler to get
wiped out by a roundhouse kick. Brief melee before Vice and
Baszler flee the ring, as Nattie and Petrovic stand tall.
Ridge Holland is seen arriving to the building earlier
today. Shawn Spears confront Holland, playing more mind
games with Holland.
The Final Testament are the focus of a video package hyping
them up.
NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazier & Axiom are backstage,
and they are fired up about The Final Testament. Other teams
are around them and they are upset too. In comes The Good
Brothers, and they are upset. Malik Blade & Edris Enofe are
also upset. Enofe then accidentally knocks over a cheap
stand-up mirror. A bad skit ends in bad luck.
Sol Ruca defeated Blair Davenport in a Beach Brawl match
Ruca pinned Davenport in a match filled with what Dusty
Rhodes would call blunder. No disqualification, so there are
indeed lots of weapons. Some of the props used are beach-
themed, like a surfboard that Ruca brought with her. Also
around the ring are things like beach balls and lawn chairs.
Other more harmful weapons are used including metal folding
chairs, and a folding table set up to look like a picnic
table.
Ruca falls backwards off the barricade at ringside with
Davenport on Ruca's back. Davenport is driven through the
picnic table. Moments later, Ruca executed her springboard
cutter finisher on a surfboard. Ruca then scores a pinfall
as the crowd pops.
Jonny Gargano hypes up Trick Williams with a pep talk in the
locker room.
Lexis King defeated Baron Corbin
King pinned Corbin, after a low blow and a Coronation
finisher. This match was set up by an angle shot yesterday,
which was shown earlier in the show. Not sure who is the
protagonist here, if there even is one. Seemingly the least
amount of crowd heat of any match on the show, but the
result at least put heat on King.
King tried to cheat by putting his feet on the ropes, but
the referee caught him. King would cheat again moments
later, but the ref misses it that time after almost
colliding with Corbin. Behind the ref's back, King boots
Corbin with a low blow. King then delivers a Coronation, and
he covers Corbin for a pinfall.
Both the champion and the challenger in the main event cut
pre-match promos. Also, World Heavyweight Champion Damian
Priest wishes Dragunov luck.
Trick Williams says he will whoop that trick like his mama
told him too. This is notable because Williams' mother is in
currently in the hospital, adding a real life situation to
the drama of the main event.
Trick Williams defeated NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov to win
the title
Williams pinned Dragunov after a jumping knee strike. And
new...
Strong back-and-forth action at the start. This was babyface
against babyface. They even slapped hands and hugged, just
before they broke out into a slugfest. They wrestle through
a split-screen commercial break, and they are fighting on
the turnbuckles as the show returns.
Ugly botch as Dragunov goes for a sunset bomb, and Williams
lands on Dragunov's chest. That causes Dragunov's leg to
fold up underneath him in an awkward manner. The referee
immediately check on Dragunov, must have been okay, as the
match continues on.
Dragunov with a coast-to-coast missile dropkick for a near
fall. Williams then makes a comeback, and Williams gets some
near falls of his own. One those near falls included
Williams doing Dragunov's finisher. Nevertheless, Dragunov
kicks out and fights back. He gives Williams an exploder
suplex in a corner, as the studio audience chants, "This is
awesome!"
Dragunov clears the announce desk, and he teases putting
Williams through the table. Williams counters Dragunov, and
Williams in turn gives Dragunov a Rock Bottom off the
barricade, through the announce desk. The table implodes
under the weight of the stunt.
Superplex in the closing minutes, and Dragunov delivers a H-
bomb. Dragunov drops another H-bomb flying off the middle
rope, but Williams kicks out at two and half. Dropping a
third H-bomb, Dragunov comes crashing down off the top rope.
Upon impact, Dragunov sells his hand as if he hurt it on the
H-bomb. Thus, Dragunov is unable to capitalize.
They trade near falls in the closing moments. Dragunov is
the last to kick out, but he is soon hit with a running knee
strike. They both signal for their respective finisher. They
face off like a gunfight, and Williams is the first to
strike as he hits the leaping knee strike. Williams then
covers Dragunov for a three count, AND NEW...
Doing the Hulk Hogan gimmick from WrestleMania VI, Dragunov
grabs the title belt from the referee. While Dragunov did
not go into business for himself like Hogan, the defeated
former champion does presents the belt to the new champ.
They embrace, and Dragunov leaves the ring to allow Williams
to have his moment. NXT has a new champion.