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The following report originally published 5 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…
KELLER’S NXT ON USA REPORT
MAY 20, 2020
ORLANDO, FLA. AT THE PERFORMANCE CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
Announcers: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Byron Saxton
(1) KARRION KROSS (w/Scarlett) vs. LIAM
The full ring entrance aired for Kross and Scarlett in black and white with Scarlett entering the ring and lip syncing the “Fall and Pray” lyrics. Kross landed a Doomsday Saito Suplex and two other suplexes, then won with his Kross Jacket submission quickly.
WINNER: Kross in 1:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: The ring entrance remains really cool. Kross was intense and impressive with those suplexes.)
-As they soaked up the win mid-ring, Tomasso Ciampa came out to his music. “Allow me to officially introduce myself,” he said. “My name is Tomasso Ciampa, and that ring you’re standing in, all of this, is my home. You already knew that, didn’t you? Of course you did. That’s why you attacked the main attraction – to make a point. I get it. Part of me kind of respects it.” He talked about him having a special aura at 6-4, 265. He said he stands out in a locker room of the greatest wrestlers in the world. He said it’s a special ring entrance. Ciampa entered the ring, with Scarlett opening the ropes for him. He walked up to Kross and said he is also special, which is why he had to look him in the eye and let him know that on June 7 at Takeover, he’s facing him. “And that’s special,” he said. “Welcome to the main event.” He then dropped the mic. They stared at each other intensely. Mauro said his heart is racing and his goosebumps have goosebumps. As Ciampa left the ring, Scarlett laughed.
(Keller’s Analysis: I like this a lot as the next thing for Ciampa to do. Even having lost the feud with Gargano, he can step up and defend NXT as his home turf against the new sensation with the buzz-generating ring entrance and rep. This is a good pivot for him that feels significant and meaningful for him. It also gives Kross a chance to show he can deliver a good match and look like a big star opposite of an NXT top tier beloved player.)
-Phoenix hyped the Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai main event.
-A video package aired on the Interim Cruiserweight Title Tournament with recaps of the match outcomes so far and the win-loss record of each. The screen closed with an image of the two matches scheduled tonight.
(2) EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA vs. AKIRA TOZAWA – Interim Cruiserweight Tournament match
Phoenix noted that Jordan Devlin took to Twitter to say that he is the true Cruiserweight Champion and only travel issues have him sidelined from defending it now. A graphic in the corner hyped Dexter Lumus vs. Roderick Strong coming up later. Saxton said Fantasma came to NXT with high expectations.
They wrestled with countermoves early and then stood and circled each other for a reset at 2:00. Phoenix said neither want to make the first mistake. They exchanged chops to the chest. Tozawa landed a punch to the face and then a head scissors, sending Fantasma to the floor. Tozawa leaped off the ring apron to head scissors Fantasma to the floor. He rolled into the ring to break the count. Tozawa landed a running flip off the ring apron onto Fantasma opposite the ringside steps. [c]
Back in the ring, Tozawa controlled Fantasma mid-ring. Fantasma took over including a splash on Tozawa’s chest on the edge of the ring apron. Fantasma set up a top rope move in the corner. He lifted and dropped Tozawa over the top turnbuckle, then scored near fall in the ring. Saxton said Fantasma can smell victory. Just then, Tozawa came back with a bulldog and then a top rope seton. Fantasma rolled to the floor to recover. Tozawa rolled him into the ring and scored two count, then stayed on offense with a barrage of strikes. Fantasma dove through the ropes a minute later and speared Tozawa into the ramp. He quickly threw him into the ring and then corner splashed him. He set up the Fantom Driver, but Tozawa maneuvered him into an octopus. Fantasma countered again and landed his Fantom Driver for the win. That moved Fantasma to 2-1 and Tozawa to 2-1.
WINNER: Fantasma in 12:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good match, but such a shame that Tozawa has been a jobber on Raw while this spirited and credibility-building series of Cruiserweight Tournament matches have been taking place. It also diminishes the value of Fantasma’s win that it took him that long to barely beat a wrestler who is getting crushed elsewhere regularly.)
-Mauro commented on a video package on the break up of Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher in their NXT Tag Team Title loss to Imperium last week leading two a singles match that Riddle won.
-Backstage, Thatcher said he enjoyed leaving the Riddle circus last week. He said he wants to go another time. “Pinfalls don’t count,” he said. “No fluke pins this time. You win by knockout or tapout. Those are the rules, Riddle.” He said he can pick the place, because he’s ready.
(Keller’s Analysis: I get the sense that Thatcher would just as soon wrestle without pay or a TV audience. He’s just ticked off and wants to beat people up who irritate him.)
-Phoenix hyped Mia Yim vs. Santana Garrett was up next.
-A Shotsi Blackheart vignette aired with her sitting on a tank saying she’s ball to the wall and she’s your daddy. She said she likes to rock, and tanks are how she rolls. “I am just like a tank because tanks don’t give a sh–.” She said she was raised by her dad, who was a motorcycle-riding badass. “He introduced me to rock ‘n’ roll which led me to punk rock, and so I joined a punk rock band.” He said pro wrestling is like punk rock, ballsy and rebellious. She said in the ring she feels she can do anything to anybody at anytime. Then they went to a drone shot of her riding the tank. She said she makes no apologies for who she is. “What you see is what you get,” she said. “And what you get you can’t handle.” She called out various wrestlers and delivered one-liners about them, as the tank drove over a crushed car. She told them all to prepare to get crushed.
(Keller’s Analysis: I liked that a lot. It’s memorable and really defined her forward-leaning demeanor and attitude, with a family backstory to give it credibility.)
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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(3) MIA YIM vs. SANTANA GARRETT
Phoenix noted that Garrett makes her out outfits. After an early back and forth, they both whiffed with dropkicks. Garrett landed a handspring back elbow to Yim in the corner and then snap suplexed her for a near fall. Yim came back with kicks and then landed her Protect Ya’ Neck finisher for the win.
WINNER: Yim in 2:00.
-After the match, Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae came out. They said she dropped the ball against Charlotte because she was too busy pandering to the fans. Candice said she would have thrived if she had that opportunity. Gargano agreed she wouldn’t have blown it like Yim. Gargano said she’s about to find out what happens when she gets an opportunity she doesn’t deserve. Gargano pulled down the middle rope as LeRae threw Yim to the floor. Keith Lee walked out to protect her. They looked at each other, then charged into the ring. Gargano and LeRae fled. Lee’s music played.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good shift for Lee to a feud with Gargano, and adding LeRae and Yim is an added layer beyond just a Lee-Gargano feud.)
-Phoenix recapped Damien Priest interfering against Finn Balor last week, helping Cameron Grimes score the biggest win of his career so far. Priest then attacked Balor with a chair.
-Cameron Grimes cut a promo outdoors, gloating about his win. He said he used to look up to Balor, but at the end of last week’s match, Balor was looking up at him. He laughed and said some might call it a surprise or an upset, but he doesn’t care what they think because he knows it’s Grime Time.
(Keller’s Analysis: He’s coming along, but I still see and hear someone putting on a performance and not fully feeling natural saying what he’s saying the way he’s saying it.) [c]
-In a backstage interview with McKenzie, Drake Maverick said you can say any cliche such as his back is against the wall, he’s fighting from underneath, and he’s an underdog story. He said he has to go in the ring against the best cruiserweight in the world. He said he’s tired of feeling sorry for himself and people trying to give him a pep talk or a Ted Talk. He said he has to do one thing tonight and one thing only: Win.
(Keller’s Analysis: Drake has been really strong in his performances in this ongoing story the last month or so.)
(4) RODERICK STRONG (w/Adam Cole, Bobby Fish) vs. DEXTER LUMIS
As Undisputed Era walked out, Cole bragged about being NXT Champion for over a year now. Lumis walked out to his creepy music. Mauro said he is another Dexter in touch with his dark passenger, and waking up in a cold sweat means he had a good night’s sleep. Phoenix said he gives them the creeps, but they know little about what drives his methodical actions. Mauro talked about him coming to the aid of Velveteen Dream. Phoenix said he slithered out from under the ring and she’s never seen anything like it. Mauro said Strong has to solve the puzzle that is Dexter Lumis.
Lumis opened with an armbar. Strong reversed out of it and put on a side headlock. Lumis came back with an elbow lock. Strong grabbed the ropes. Lumis broke and began to turn around, but then snapped his head back toward Strong as Strong made a sudden move toward him, so Storm bailed out to ringside. After Lumis got the better of Strong again, Strong bailed out to ringside a second time. When Strong got in some shots, Phoenix asked if they even know if Lumis feels pain because his expression never changes. Saxton said they are learning that Dexter can hang with the best. [c]
Strong grounded Lumis with a seated abdominal stretch. He yanked on Lumis’s nose as Lumis looked up at him with an expression that spooked Strong. Strong let go and backed away. Strong fended off Lumis with an Olympic Slam for a two count. Lumis blocked an Olympic slam and hit a Thesz Press, then rallied including a high back bodydrop followed by a slingshot suplex for a near fall.
Strong made a comeback with some kicks and a hard chop to the chest. Dexter rubbed his pecs as if he was enjoying the pain. Strong threw more chops, Dexter rubbed his chest and then hit a spine buster. Strong suddenly caught Dexter with a jackknife pin for the win.
WINNER: Strong in 14:00.
-When Strong celebrated at ringside afterward, Lumis grabbed him and applied a cobra sleeper on the floor. Cole and Fish came out and told him to break the hold. Lumis didn’t. They kicked him. Velveteen Dream then attacked Cole and Fish. He leaped off the top rope and landed on Cole. He then held Strong’s head in his lap and pet his hair. Mauro called Dream and Dexter “the oddest couple ever.”
(Keller’s Analysis: I was curious how Dexter would be framed against Strong, and they played this well with a match and a finish that let Dexter further establish his personality while also protecting Strong from doing a job to him. The closing scene caressing Strong’s head was creepy.) [c]
-They showed Fantasma driving up to Tozawa in the parking lot wishing him luck. They hugged. Tozawa thanked him. The thugs then drove up from the other side and attacked Tozawa against the driver’s side door of Fantasma. Then they sped away. Fantasma came out the other side of his car and checked on Tozawa.
(Keller’s Analysis: I love the ongoing “coincidence” of Fantasma not getting hurt or hurting the thugs whenever they’re around each other. This sets up a cool payoff, presumably in the tournament finals.)
(5) ONEY LORCAN & DANNY BURCH vs. EVER-RISE (Matt Martel & Chase Parker)
Phoenix noted Ever-Rise have been friends since the third grade and have been a team for 15 years. She said they’re looking to continue in the tradition of other French-Canadian teams like the Quebecers. Mauro said Burch and Lorcan redefine smash mouth. Lorcan and Burch dominated, with Lorcan getting a tapout win a minute in with a single-leg Boston Crab. Mauro said it was an inexorable, merciless attack by Lorcan & Burch looking to send a message to Imperium. After the match, they struck a post to mock Imperium.
WINNERS: Lorcan & Burch in 1:00.
-They replayed the angle from earlier with Gargano and LeRae getting into it with Mia Yim and Keith Lee. Saxton said Tegan Nox posted on Twitter “Um, Candice, who are you lately?” Dakota Kai replied: “Someone that doesn’t need to explain herself to you. Go make another Tegan Nox Comeback Story: Emotional. Gripping. Repetitive.”
-Backstage, McKenzie interviewed Lee. He said he requested the interview. He asked who records themselves eating dinner. He said he doesn’t care what the Garganos think or say. He said he has a problem with their new attitude and it will reach its limit at Takeover. He closed with: “Go tell the world.”
(Keller’s Analysis: Lee seemed like he was in his own world as he gave that promo, almost as if he’d be saying that aloud to himself even if there was no camera there. Lee has an arrogance to him that can play both ways, and the key is to channel it as a confident charismatic babyface who knows he’s good and maybe even thinks he’s better than he is, but you still want to see him succeed because he’s cool and fights people who deserve to be shown up by him.)
-Mauro plugged Drake vs. Kushida. [c]
-A commercial aired for NXT Takeover “In Hour House” with the “Underneath” theme song by Code Orange.
-They showed Io Shirai preparing for her match with Ripley later.
-Backstage Matt Riddle was pacing. He called Thatcher “Trashy Tim.” He said he’s not a stallion, he’s a putz. He said he’s down for his challenge. He said he has an idea for the location, somewhere they’re both familiar – the cage.
(Keller’s Analysis: I am enjoying them just letting Riddle be Riddle. The way he said Trashy Tim and was all proud of himself was delightful.)
(6) KUSHIDA vs. DRAKE MAVERICK – Interim Cruiserweight Tournament match
Kushida made his entrance first. Mauro said Drake is looking to keep his Cinderella story alive. Drake eyed the belt on his way to the ring and conveyed he was taking this seriously and trying not to let the pressure overwhelm him. Kushida outwrestled Drake in the opening minutes. Jake Atlas walked out and watched. Mauro said Atlas has a soft spot for the upset-minded Maverick and has become a fan of his. Kushida grounded Drake with an armbar and then landed a cartwheel dropkick for a two count. [c]
Kushida dominated after the break. He knocked Drake to the floor where Drake caught his breath as the ref counted to six before he rolled back into the ring. He favored his arm as he tried to mount a comeback. Kushida brushed him off and continued to work over his left arm including a stomp and then a double wrist lock. Maverick screamed in pain. The ref asked if he wanted to stop the match. Drake said no way. After another nasty arm attack, hyperextending Drake’s arm, Drake yelled at the ref not to stop the match. Drake put his leg over the bottom rope to force the break. Drake yelled at the concerned ref not to stop the match. The ref said that’s on him.
Kushida applied another double wrist lock while both were on the top turnbuckle and torqued, but Drake punched out of it. Drake went for a move off the top rope, but Kushida countered mid-air with an armbar, but Drake leveraged Kushida’s shoulders down for a shocking three count. Mauro shouted, “We have just witnessed the miracle on the mat!” Kushida was inconsolably in shock, dropping to his knees. “What. Just. Happened,” asked Mauro.
That moved Kushida to 2-1 and Maverick to 2-1. Mauro wondered what this meant for the tournament finals. Atlas entered the ring to congratulate Drake.
WINNER: Drake in 12:00.
-Saxton stepped onto the stage and said he just received word from William Regal, the NXT G.M., that because the three of them are tied with the same head-to-head record, the three of them will face each other in a triple threat match – Drake vs. Kushida vs. Atlas, winner faces Fantasma in the finals. All three stood the ring and talked at each other.
(Keller’s Analysis: This worked for me. I think I see roughly where they’re headed, and this all played out in a deliberate way with a payoff that I think will be satisfying, even if I’m not sure where Atlas and Drake end up after next week’s match. Are they friends and go their separate ways, does one turn heel on the other, do they end up a tag team, and how does Drake end up saving his job if he doesn’t win the tournament? There’s still a lot left to play out.)
-A video package aired on the build to Ripley vs. Shirai.
-Mauro said Damian Priest would speak next. [c]
-Phoenix promoted the Drake vs. Kushida vs. Atlas match next week. Mauro announced Riddle and Thatcher would indeed battle in “a cage fight” next week.
-Priest said championships will come eventually, but Balor’s return became his priority because Balor “put this place on the map.” He said he’s coming for him at Takeover, where he made a name for himself. He said the name Balor will turn to ash while the name Damian Priest will, you know, live forever. He laughed and extended his arms as the Damien Priest letters burned on the big screen behind him.
-Saxton said they have confirmed Karrion Kross will make his Takeover debut against Ciampa.
(7) IO SHIRAI vs. RHEA RIPLEY
As Shirai came out, Mauro noted Shirai won by DQ against Charlotte. Phoenix said Charlotte got DQ’d on purpose using the kendo stick, which must say something about how Charlotte feels about Shirai. Ripley then made her ring entrance. Phoenix said Ripley was billed as the next rising star, but she has an obstacle in her way in Shirai now to get another chance at the championship. Shirai landed a dropkick at the bell. Ripley fought right back. When Shirai leaped at her, Ripley caught her. Shirai then slipped free and scratched her back. Ripley said, “Are you kidding me?” Ripley dropkicked Shirai. Saxton said this is Ripley’s first match since losing her NXT Title to Charlotte at WrestleMania. Mauro noted this is also the first singles match between Ripley and Shirai. With Shirai in control at 2:00, they cut to a break. [c]
Shirai scored a near fall with a sunset flip after the break. She applied an immediate crossface. Ripley and Shirai battled on the top rope, blocking each other. Ripley eventually superplexed Shirai to the mat for a two count. Shirai caught Ripley with a sudden crossface again mid-ring. Ripley crawled over to the bottom rope to force a break. Shirai landed a 619 and then a springboard dropkick, sending Ripley to the floor. She then dove through the ropes onto her at ringside. With both down, Charlotte’s music played. Charlotte walked out, wearing the NXT Title belt. Shirai used a head scissors to send Ripley into Charlotte. Shirai threw Ripley back into the ring. She charged with a double knee drive in the corner for a two count. Shirai countered Ripley with a DDT and scored another near fall. Charlotte entered and gave Shirai a big boot. The ref told her to get out of the ring. She speared Ripley. Charlotte held up the belt and said, “NXT is Flair Country!”
WINNER: No contest in 12:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: This sets up Charlotte being “punished” by having to defend against both Ripley and Shirai in a Triple Threat at Takeover.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: If NXT is almost always somewhere between a 5 and 10 on a 1-10 scale, this was a 7.5 show. It was good start to finish. Nothing off the charts great, but it made sense and what they did I think they did well. It moved a lot of storylines forward and also moved several wrestlers along in their journeys effectively.
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