June 28, 2023 / By mobanmarket
With the WWE Draft now over, changes are coming to NXT.
NXT Women's Champion Indi Hartwell, NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn, Apollo Crews, JD McDonagh, Zoey Stark, Von Wagner, Pretty Deadly, Katana Chance & Kayden Carter, Cameron Grimes, Grayson Waller, Indus Sher, Odyssey Jones, and Xyon Quinn are all moving on from NXT after being included in the draft.
The new WWE rosters will take effect after this weekend's Backlash pay-per-view.
Before both teams depart NXT, Fyre & Dawn will defend their Women's Tag Team titles against Chance & Carter tonight.
McDonagh is also set for his final NXT match. He issued an open challenge that was accepted by Dragon Lee.
A North American Championship match with Wes Lee defending against Drew Gulak has been announced for tonight. The show is also set to feature a grudge match between Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffey, Axiom vs. Scrypts, and the debut of Dani Palmer.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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The show begins with a recap of the recent draft, where a group of NXT wrestlers join the main roster on either Raw or Smackdown.
NXT North American Champion Wes Lee (with Tyler Bate) defeated Drew Gulak (with Charlie Dempsey) to retain his title
Lee pinned Gulak in a match that was just getting good when they went home. All they needed was way more time.
Dempsey got involved early on by distracting Lee, which allowed Gulak to get a near fall. Lee soon fought back, and they tease a superplex. Instead, Lee flips backwards off the top rope and rolls through, only to get met by a flying lariat off the top. Gulk then grounds Lee on the mat.
Moments later, a slugfest gives way to a comeback by Lee. He goes on to fly through the ropes with a tope. Dempsey interferes again by pulling Lee off the apron. Bate leaps in to make the save as he springs off the ring steps with a flying uppercut.
For the finish, Lee jumps back into the ring to deliver his Cardiac Kick. Gulak then takes the fall as Lee covers him for a three count.
A video package recaps an angle from last week on NXT television where Bron Breakker speared NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes through a gimmicked wall in a stunt.
NXT Tag Team Champions Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre are using a Ouija board to for a promo about their title defense later tonight.
Trick Williams is heading to the ring for a monologue. Williams talked about being friends with Hayes since high school. Williams goes on to say he took a spear for Hayes last week (which he did before the stunt where Hayes is speared through the wall). Williams says he would do it again.
Williams mentions Bron Breakker's name, and out comes Breakker to interrupt. This will set up a match between Williams and Breakker on the go-home show ahead of NXT Battleground. Breakker confronts Williams in the ring. Williams asks if Breakker is accepting Hayes' challenge for a title match at Battleground. Breakker not only accepts, he talks about how he will embarrass Hayes in Hayes' hometown in front of his friends and family.
Breakker goes to leave, but Williams says not so fast. Williams challenges Breakker to a match, and Williams to fight right here and now. Breakker heels on him and books the match for next week.
JD McDonagh in being interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell when Noam Dar interrupts to ask if McDonagh would injury Dragon Lee. Dar wants to protect his Heritage Cup, but McDonagh threatens to take it from Dar if he does not leave McDonagh alone.
Jacy Jayne defeated Gigi Dolan
Jayne pinned Dolan, and a bloody-faced Jayne also attacked Dolan again after the match. Jayne bled during the match, as she was cut open just before they went home.
Dolan's little brother, Miles, is watching from the front row. Jayne taunts him during the match, and Dolan embraces him later in the match. He also has to watch Jayne assault his sister after the match.
A cover on the actual turnbuckle itself is removed during the match, and it comes into play for the finish. Jayne smashed Dolan into the exposed turnbuckle, and Jayne follows up with a pump kick. She then covers Dolan for a pinfall.
Jayne delivers another pump kick after the bell, and she attacks Dolan for a post-match beatdown. Jayne smashed Dolan into the ring steps, and she boots her while Jayne taunts Dolan's brother.
Axiom defeated Scrypts
Axiom pinned and unmasked Scrypts in a match that was short but good.
Lot of flying and high spots, but they told a story as well that includes Scrypts being unmasked by Axiom after the match. Scrypts was dominating early on when Axiom fought from underneath.
Scrypts leaps off the top rope, and Axiom cuts him down with a kick. Golden Ratio by Axiom a second later, and Axiom covers Scrypts for a pinfall. Axiom is then unmasked after the match.
A skit in Fallon Henley's bar shows Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen are best buds again, and the band is back together. Women hit on Jensen, and Henley remarks that Jensen is all grown up. Too bad his character barely evolved, as he right back where he started like nothing happened. Whatever.
JD McDonagh defeated Dragon Lee
McDonagh pinned Lee, in what was billed was McDonagh's last match in NXT. They had a banger. Noam Dar interfered just before the finish. Dar and Dragon Lee brawled after the match.
Hard-hitting match went through a commercial break, as a match on this show is finally given enough time this week. Because of that, this became the best match on the show so far tonight. McDonagh is working over Lee when the show returns from the break.
Dragon Lee makes a comeback, setting up a tope con hilo. Lee then leaps off the top with a double foot stomp for a near fall. That double stomp is common in a Dragon Lee match, but I was somewhat surprised to see that in WWE as its Finn Balor's finisher.
McDonagh later cuts off Dragon Lee, and McDonagh gives Dragon Lee a Spicolli Driver on the ring apron. That led to them teasing a countout, but Lee barely breaks the count to continue the match. Lee with a second comeback gives McDonagh a snap dragon and a poison rana. McDonagh cuts off Lee again, turning Lee for a flip with a lariat.
They trade strikes down the home stretch. Liger bomb by Dragon Lee for another near fall. They fight while perched on the turnbuckles, setting up a Spanish Fly where McDonagh gets the upper hand. McDonagh then delivers a brainbuster for a the closest and best near fall of the match.
Canadian Destroyer spikes McDonagh, and McDonagh rolls out of the ring. Lee goes to retrieve McDonagh, and Noam Dar interferes with Lee. So, Lee drops Dar with a superkick. However, the distraction was enough to cost Lee the match. McDonagh head butts Lee, and then comes The Devil Inside suplex. McDonagh then covers Dragon Lee for a three count.
Joe Gacy (with The Schism) defeated Joe Coffey (with Gallus)
Gacy pinned Coffey in a battle of the Joes, thanks in large part to interference by The Schism.
The Dyad interfere at ringside when Rip Fowler puts Gacy's foot on the rope to break a count. Mark Coffey and Wolfgang then chase The Dyad around ringside, and the two teams brawl.
Amidst the melee at ringside, Ava jumps into the ring like she is about the jump Coffey. He turns around to confront her, and Ava does an Eddie Guerrero phantom bump acting like Coffey hit her. That distraction allowed Gacy to execute his Upside Down clothesline finisher, and he covers Coffey for a pinfall.
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Dani Palmer defeated Tatum Paxley
Palmer pinned Paxley after an Art Bar frog splash. Palmer wins in her "debut" match on NXT television, and she looked impressive.
Andre Chase is not in class to teach his class, after he was written off the show last week in a loss against Bron Breakker. Thea Hail is freaking out about what to do about Mr. Chase, and Duke Hudson has an idea. He will teach the class, and his first order under his leadership is to rip up the pop quiz.
Von Wagner and Mr. Stone are looking at Wagner's family photo album. They discuss some pictures of Wagner father (Wayne Bloom) in a tag match at SummerSlam inside Wembley Stadium. That was ironic given that tickets for AEW in that same stadium went on sale today.
Wagner gets angry and shuts down when Stone sees a childhood pic of Wagner with stitches on his head. Wagner does not want to discuss it, much to Stone's dismay. Stone continues to want Wagner to open up to him, but Wagner is reluctant. No sure where this is going, but it at least give Wagner's character some depth.
NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance to retain the titles
Dawn pins Chance to win the match. The champs retain on their way out of NXT. What happens to the titles is anyone's guess.
The match goes through a split-screen commercial break. Chance & Carter are on a roll until the show returns from the break. Soon thereafter, Chance is cut off and she is briefly worked over. Chance makes her own comeback, and she tags Carter so they can execute their tandem finisher for a near fall. Moments later, Carter & Chance use a Spanish Fly for another near fall.
As they go home, Chance & Carter again attempt their tandem finisher, but they are thwarted. Dawn & Fyre then execute a tandem finisher of their own, and Dawn covers Chance to win the match and retain the titles. The announcers on commentary sell it like the women's tag title are headed to Smackdown.
Dijak in a pre-taped montage issues a dire warning to Ilja Dragunov.
Apollo Crews, who is headed back to the main roster, offers Trick Williams some encouraging words.
Indi Hartwell vacates the NXT Women's Championship
NXT Women's Champion Indi Hartwell heads to the ring to address the audience. Hartwell is walking with a crutch and the title belt draped over her shoulder. Her right foot is in a walking cast. She reflects on her time in NXT, and she talks about getting drafted to the main roster.
Hartwell also announces that next week a tournament begins to crown a new NXT Women's Champion, which culminates in four weeks at Battleground. Hartwell vacates the title. She kisses the belt before laying it in the center of the ring.
She jokes that now she has to figure out how to get out of the ring (since she is walking with a crutch). Dexter Lumis pops out from underneath the ring, and he carries Hartwell backstage with her in his arms.
Tiffany Stratton suddenly appears in the ring. She picks up the title belt, and in comes Cora Jade. They are having a tug-of-war with the belt when a bunch of women on the NXT roster run in for a big brawl. The show ends with bedlam as the women brawl in the ring. The ending reminds me of a go-home show for the Royal Rumble, but its only May.
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