Roddy delivered a hard pass to Adam Cole’s CFO$ offer. Mercedez Martinez let Ember Moon know she’s got her number. Billie Kay talked her way into a match with Kairi Sane. There are only two shows left before TakeOver: WarGames and the brand are spinning quite a few plates right now. Can they keep the momentum going until the PPV?
We’ll find out in this week’s Rogues Portal NXT recap.
Heavy Machinery (W) vs. Chris Payne and Sean Maluta
We kick off tonight’s show with some tag team action featuring my very favorite beefy boys, Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic of Heavy Machinery. They’re facing Chris Payne and Sean Maluta. While it is a delight to see the incredibly talented Sean Maluta back from the Cruiserweight classic, my joy is short-lived.
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Tucker and Otis absolutely destroy the pair of them, but it’s still a fun match. Payne and Maluta make the most of the moments Dozer isn’t… well, bulldozing over them. Dozovic even hits the worm and Tucker Knight hits an amazing move off the top rope that you wouldn’t expect for a man of his build. I love Heavy Machinery. They’re charming, funny, and excellent wrestlers. Please let them win the Dusty Classic.
Ember Moon Makes the Match
Mercedes Martinez gets her wish: Ember Moon says she’ll show Mercedes exactly why she’s the most dangerous competitor in the women’s championship fatal four-way with a warm-up on next week’s show.
Billie Kay vs. Kairi Sane (W)
Kairi Sane walking out looking like a Final Fantasy airship captain with “you’re definitely about to run into a boss after a long cinematic FMV” music is my aesthetic.
She’s up against the much-slighted Billie Kay, whose still stinging from her loss in the battle royal. Billie Kay has improved so much over the last year. She’s still a little out of her element going one-on-one with someone as impressive as Kairi, but it’s a competitive match that makes both women look great heading into a post-War Games championship landscape. The crowd is into it, and Kairi gets big cheers for the elbow drop that gets her the pin.
Kassius Ohno Wants to Be A Champion
Kassius wants to prove he deserves another title shot and says the best way to do so is with a match against Lars Sullivan at War Games. Regal seems so surprised anyone would volunteer to try and beat the unbeatable beast of NXT that he makes the match. Good luck.
Get Ready to Cry Over A War Games Retrospective
Honestly, I think this match is absolutely bonkers. NXT delivers a startlingly warm-hearted retrospective of the match’s history and paints it as Dusty Rhodes’ baby all the way.
Zelina Vega is The Best
Andrade is… slightly less the best, looking a little uncomfortable with the extended moments of silence as Zelina serves as his mouthpiece. Sitting around while someone talks to your partner about you is an uncomfortable experience regardless of context, though, so I can’t blame him. Zelina as Andrade’s manager continues to be one of the best decisions NXT has made in a while.
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She hand-waves Drew McIntyre’s suggestion Cien isn’t a “real man” because he has Zelina. He makes it clear the specifics of her relationship to Cien are nobody’s business and have no bearing on the beatdown Andrade’s going to lay in his championship match. Zelina Vega is so cool and mean. Goals.
Jessika Carr in the Ring!!
I just think Kennadi Brink/Lady Ref Jess is incredibly cool. That’s all. Shoutout to great ref Jessika Carr.
The Velveteen Dream (W) vs. Cezar Bononi
My feelings about the Dream are complicated. Is this a gay panic gimmick? What’s happening? The Dream is a talented and charismatic performer who’s great on the mic and looks strong as hell in the ring every week. He gets a resounding victory over Bononi without too much foul play — where most queer-coded villains are weaselly cheaters, Dream is just determined to win. Please don’t mess this up, NXT. Also please tell people not to make gay jokes at live shows.
Ruby Riot: Out for Revenge
Ruby Riot’s not too happy about her ankle injury at Sonya’s hands. She commits to a rematch when she’s cleared for in-ring. Sonya’s another longtime NXT performer who’s made leaps and bounds since she debuted.
Shaky Cam Swag
Whoever manned the camera for this segment needs to re-evaluate their decisions. The Street Profits vs. Sabatelli and Riddick Moss feud is a fun addition to the tag division; with any luck, it’s building up to a match-up during the Dusty Classic. If it seems like I keep talking about the classic, it’s because I’m a little-worried nobody else is.
Adam Cole vs. Roderick Strong
This is the match of the week. I think Roderick Strong is a very good wrestler but not a very interesting one, but Adam Cole is charismatic enough for the both of them. There’s a sense of urgency and hatefulness throughout this match that makes it engrossing to watch. The crowd is passionate enough about both of them that there are none of the sustained awkward silences that sometimes plague matches at Full Sail. This is one of the best singles matches on NXT weekly television in quite some time.
After a devastating backbreaker, O’Reilly and Fish run out to drag Roddy out of the ring and put an end to the match via DQ. The Authors of Pain and Sanity immediately run out to join the fray. Alexander Wolfe dives to the outside, but it’s another huge backbreaker from Roddy into the boys on the outside that puts an end to the show. The camera cuts out on a pile of exhausted wrestlers: is this what the future holds?
Find out in NXT week’s edition of the Rogues Portal NXT recap.
