This Week In NXT 11 Edition: News and Recap
Welcome to the 11th Edition of This Week In NXT. We are two weeks away from NXT going live on USA Wednesday Nights. I can’t wait. We had another solid week of NXT action. Plus I got some news to share too. Let’s get started.
It was first reported by Casey Michael of Squared Circle Siren that Kacy Catanzaro would be leaving WWE due to a back injury. The latest update on that according to Dave Meltzer is that the decision isn’t final yet. As of today, she is still under contract to WWE. She has sent our two tweets which I’ll post below showcases some of her in-ring work. Neither tweet sounds like someone who is leaving.
We all know how these rumors get started. Will she stay or will she go? I hope she can stay. Maybe take some time off and come back. Kacy has shown a lot of potential in the ring. She could be a star for the NXT brand. Especially with the move to the USA network. I’ll keep eye on this story and update you if any more information comes out.
For the third year in a row, NXT WarGames will be taking place during Survivor Series weekend. The date is November 23, 2019. It will be held in Chicago at the All-State Arena (CM Punk? Just kidding). The last two events have been really good. I’m sure this year’s show will be as well. Tickets are on sale now.
The first two matches for the first NXT show on the USA Network have been announced. The Velveteen Dream will defend the North American Title against Roderick Strong. Also, a number one contender triple threat match to determine who will face Shayna for the NXT Woman’s Title. Mia Yim vs Bianca Belair vs Io Shirai. All three have a history with Shayna.
It was also announced that the first two NXT shows on the 18th and 25th the first hour will be on the USA Network and the second hour will be on the WWE Network. The whole show will be available on the network the next day. I found that interesting. Why they choose to go this route is beyond me. We shall see how it works. I’m excited about a bigger audience getting a chance to witness this awesome brand. Now let’s get into the recap.
The show kicks off with a tag-team match. Breezango vs Chase Parker and Matt Martel. Breezango had new music and were dressed in their detective cop gear that they became know for on the main roster. Parker and Martel are a team from the indies known as 3.0. I was not aware of them. The match was ok. Nothing special. Breezango looked good here. I love their finisher. Breeze puts Martel across his knee while Fandango hits the slingshot elbow drop for the win. Parker and Martel were ok but I’d like to see more of them. This match was all about Breezango and continuing to build them up as a team again.
Up next, Jordan Myles is making his way into Ful Sail with Keith Lee. Cathy Kelly asks Myles about his upcoming NXT Title Match with Adam Cole. He said he felt nervous. Lee tells him he should be more confident with the opportunity he is getting. Lee’s right. This is a big moment for Myles. He’s got to embrace it. I’ll talk a little later about their match.
We go to the parking lot where Io Shirai has attacked Candice LeRae with a kendo stick. They have to get these two ladies in the ring soon. At this point, save it for when the show moves to the USA Network. I still think they will have a street fight. A steel cage match works too. All this started in a steel cage match when Shirai turned heel, why not end things there?
We have Cameron Grimes (Formally know as Trevor Lee) backstage talking about losing the NXT Breakout Tournament. The lost is a set back to him getting to the top. He still has goals of being a champion even tho he feels he’s at the bottom after that loss. Grimes is one of many I hope to see get more TV time with the move to USA. We shall see.
Our next match up of the night was Velveteen Dream vs Kona Reeves. The match was wasn’t to bad. What happened afterward is the real highlight here which I’ll get into in a few. There was some trash talk early on. Reeves has shown improvement but he is still missing something. Dream picks up the win with the Dream Vally Driver. After the match, a video shows Roderick Strong next to a burning couch. This is the couch the Velveteen has used in the past. Strong refers to Dream saying he had to do something to get his attention. This got the Dream’s attention alright. You could see it all over his face. This should be a good match with these two in a couple of weeks.
Shayna Baszler vs Rhea Ripley was announced for next week’s show. It’s a none title match. I would have held off on this one for a bit. I’d build Rhea up on the weekly show first then have her face, Shayna. It will be a good match regardless but I would have waited on this one.
Bianca Belair vs Taynara Conti is the next matchup. I was impressed with both of these ladies here. Belair’s strengthen and athletism was on full display here. Conti was very good here too. This match was better than I was expecting it to be. Belair picks up the win. Now she can focus on the triple threat match I mentioned earlier so she can get another shot a the NXT woman’s title.
Our main event this week was for the NXT Title. Adam Cole vs Jordan Myles. The match starts off slow. Cole was keeping Myles grounded with some mat wrestling early on. Myles comes back and gets some nice offense in. Myles put up a good fight but it was Adam Cole retaining in this contest. Myles is one of many NXT stars with great potential to do big things for the brand. Myles leaves the arean with chants of his name by the crowd.
That’s it for this week's recap. I’d love to hear your feedback on the NXT product. I’m a leave my social media accounts at the bottom of the page so you can reach me to talk NXT or any other wrestling related topic you would like to discuss. One last thing, Johnny Gargano will be back next week. What does the future hold for him? This is his first appearance since losing at Takeover Toronto. What will he have to say for himself? I’ll discuss it here next week. Until then, take care and continue to support the black and gold brand.
Twitter: @moneymakerchris
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