1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000 music 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,000 music 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,000 Welcome to the ring, it's Richard and Adam 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,000 music 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,000 breaking down the fights with flair and passion 6 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,000 music 7 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,000 Tag teams grappling belts are clashing 8 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,000 music 9 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,000 music 10 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,000 finishes and factions, catching action 11 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,000 music 12 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the newest 13 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,000 episode of finishes and factions goes 14 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,000 NXT from the 29th of January 15 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,000 in the centre stage arena in Lanter, Georgia 16 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,000 with myself, Rich and Adam, whoops no 17 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,000 correction a sold out 18 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,000 centre stage 19 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,000 I thought I fucked that one up in the first 30 seconds 20 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,000 Jesus Christ, yep I've been rich, we have Adam 21 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,000 here as well and we are back in 22 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,000 Atlanta with NXT for the first time in 23 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,000 seven years 24 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,000 That is a long ass time for Atlanta without 25 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,000 NXT and what a card 26 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,000 we've got for the, what a card we've got for today 27 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,000 this is um, I'm on all card 28 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,000 yeah 100% I mean we're going to crack straight in 29 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,000 because NXT this week did not start off 30 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,000 with a promo, it did not start off with 31 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,000 in ring backstage GM office, we started with 32 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,000 match one 33 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,000 We got downed business straight away this week 34 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,000 which I thought was brilliant, women's tag team match, we had 35 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,000 Julia the current NXT women's champion 36 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,000 tag team in with Bailey who was in her first 37 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,000 match on NXT since 2020 38 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,000 against Cora Jade and Roxanne Peretz 39 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,000 So it's important to realise how 40 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,000 historic stages in Atlanta 41 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,000 a majority of WCW 42 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,000 how shows filmed at centre stage 43 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,000 in fact one of the commentators 44 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,000 for this programme won his first WCW 45 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,000 tag championship at centre stage 46 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,000 in Mr Booker T 47 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,000 Can you dig it? Sucker! 48 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,000 I got a little bit too into that 49 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,000 I'm pretty sure my neighbours are not going to appreciate this one too much 50 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,000 Yeah 51 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,000 Never mind, never mind but 52 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,000 we started off with Julia and Bailey 53 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,000 and Cora and Roxanne Peretz 54 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,000 and this 55 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,000 I'm not going to lie, this wasn't a bad opening match 56 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,000 to be quite honest, considering the 57 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,000 NXT level star power we had in this 58 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,000 and this isn't downplaying NXT, it is 59 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,000 still a developmental brand 60 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,000 but a brand all the same, this is why 61 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,000 they don't go for the big arenas, they go for 62 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,000 the smaller venue 63 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,000 and that venue shows 64 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,000 a big confidence boost, unlike their TV rivals 65 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,000 and PWE 66 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,000 it's nice to have a full crowd in the background 67 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,000 100% 68 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,000 and now that NXT and TNA 69 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,000 have a multi-year talent sharing deal 70 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,000 it's a case that we're not just going to be treated 71 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,000 to NXT talent, it's going to be TNA talent as well 72 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,000 I cannot wait for the day that Joe Hendry turns up at NXT 73 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,000 with that title stuck on his shoulder 74 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,000 the pop in that arena is going to be incredible 75 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,000 100% 76 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,000 we digress, back to 77 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,000 Bailey and Julia vs 78 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,000 Cora Jade and Peretz 79 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,000 we had a few big spots 80 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,000 in this match as well, there were some big 81 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,000 talking points, I know you pulled this one up 82 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,000 I didn't pull it up in my notes but I did 83 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,000 definitely remember 84 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,000 that suicide dive from Peretz 85 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,000 that went into a turnbuckle attack 86 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,000 was absolutely amazing 87 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,000 100% 88 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,000 it sort of leads me on to the next point 89 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,000 that I had in my notes 90 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,000 I am of a firm belief that 91 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,000 Peretz is overdue 92 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,000 a call up to the main roster 93 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,000 she's not long dropped her title 94 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,000 I think it will be either the Monday night Raw after 95 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,000 WrestleMania at the latest 96 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,000 that we will see 97 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,000 Peretz up on the main roster 98 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,000 well at the minute, I think instead of doing it 99 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,000 obviously we've mentioned it here 100 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,000 about a transfer window 101 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,000 so traditionally, WWE 102 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,000 have done a WWE draft 103 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,000 where different superstars can be drafted to different 104 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,000 brands, whereas this time they've done it 105 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,000 a little bit differently where they've done a transfer window 106 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,000 instead 107 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,000 we've already seen some big names changing hands 108 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,000 Damian Priest went from Raw to Smackdown 109 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,000 Wyatt Six, who again went from Raw to Smackdown 110 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,000 The Miz, Raw to Smackdown 111 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,000 and just the night before this 112 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,000 we were told that 113 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,000 Selena Vega was going to be transferring 114 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,000 from Raw to Smackdown 115 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,000 in quite a big move 116 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,000 we have seen a lot of people go from Raw to Smackdown 117 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,000 I don't know if this is them just trying to give 118 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,000 a lot of the talent at Raw that isn't getting used 119 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,000 at the moment an opportunity to get used 120 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,000 there is not a lot of talent going from Smackdown to Raw 121 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,000 so I think we're trying to maybe even up the shows 122 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,000 a little bit, so Smackdown and Raw are more 123 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,000 similar in style 124 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,000 with their competitors, because at the moment you've got a very obvious 125 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,000 step in programs, there's very much Raw at the top 126 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,000 Smackdown in the middle, sorry, and NXT 127 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,000 is several steps below Smackdown 128 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,000 but that's because it's a developmental show 129 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,000 we've mentioned that already today and their budget 130 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,000 it purely just isn't as big as the two main 131 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,000 rosters so to speak 132 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,000 So what I think it's important to realise is that Raw 133 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,000 has recently 134 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,000 from being a three hour cable 135 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,000 and is now 136 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,000 between two to three hours 137 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,000 extreme and the 138 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,000 talent roster was so much more 139 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,000 bulked than 140 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,000 was so much more bulked than 141 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,000 it would have been ordinarily 142 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,000 And we've seen every show drop down in length as well 143 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,000 we're getting to it 144 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,000 this week's NXT was only actually an hour and 15 minutes 145 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,000 in length, but what they managed to pack into that 146 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,000 hour and 15 minutes was substantial 147 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,000 which I think if they can drop a bit of time 148 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,000 out of Smackdown and Raw a little bit more 149 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,000 with the content they're putting in with the promos 150 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,000 and their actual matches 151 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,000 you can only better 152 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,000 what's coming up in future 153 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:43,000 and I think you can see at the moment how WWE are experimenting 154 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,000 with play times and timing schedules 155 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,000 just to see what works for them 156 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,000 with obviously the move to Netflix 157 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,000 Netflix means that they're not bound by a certain 158 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,000 times or anything 159 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,000 a lot created 160 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,000 Obviously we're going to see 161 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Perez in the women's Royal Rumble 162 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,000 that's being confirmed 163 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,000 that she's taking part in the women's Royal Rumble 164 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:16,000 So I don't think she has 165 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:19,000 declared the women's Royal Rumble 166 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,000 I am just double checking 167 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,000 so currently no she has declared 168 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,000 for the Royal Rumble but I think it is a safe bet 169 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,000 to say that she is going to be seeing 170 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,000 the Royal Rumble 171 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,000 Yeah, so I had here 172 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,000 that there was a reasonable amount of 173 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,000 it was even contested for a majority 174 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,000 of the match 175 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,000 but I found 176 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,000 I'm not sure if it's just me personally, Cora Jade seems to be a bit of a weak link 177 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,000 in this match 178 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,000 So this seems to be a bit of a running thing 179 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,000 But then next here it does seem to be 180 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,000 Well, I'm just thinking with Cora Jade's 181 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,000 she seems to be getting quite a bit of 182 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,000 she seems to be 183 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,000 being used as filler most 184 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,000 Like we've said in previous episodes it's as though she's got 185 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,000 something signed into her contract that says that she has to make 186 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,000 a certain amount of appearances per year 187 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,000 and they are literally just trying to 188 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,000 get her in just in case she suffers an injury at some point 189 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,000 Yeah, it's as if she's due for some time 190 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,000 Yeah 191 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,000 It's Cora Jade off to have a baby 192 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,000 and that's why she's been shoved down our throats for the last couple of months 193 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,000 Possibly 194 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,000 I mean we are only speculating here there's nothing that has been confirmed 195 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,000 or nor denied but say I put in here 196 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,000 that I didn't think it was a great match 197 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,000 I'm not saying it's a bad match by any stretch 198 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,000 of the imagination but if you do 199 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:01,000 compare what you normally get 200 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,000 from a women's tag match in the main roster 201 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,000 it wasn't quite up to those standards but 202 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:10,000 again developmental company 203 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:13,000 they're still learning they are obviously bringing in 204 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,000 some bigger names to try and help with that I think 205 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,000 obviously Bailey's coming down and helping out but that workhorse has been everywhere 206 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,000 You know and 207 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,000 she's got Roxanne Perez as well as very experienced 208 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,000 and she's kind of using a bit of that 209 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,000 I think they'll be using her backstage to try and help some of these 210 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,000 smaller women that are coming up through 211 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,000 push through before Bailey goes back to main roster 212 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,000 and Roxanne Perez goes with it 213 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:43,000 Yeah and I think that's fair enough to assume 214 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,000 Yeah the crowd really seems 215 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:49,000 to go I mean it had Bailey in it 216 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,000 and Bailey is a bit of an NXT here 217 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,000 She is and she was one of the original 218 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,000 four horse women sorry of NXT 219 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,000 a majority of her titles 220 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,000 and things to start off with were all NXT titles 221 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:07,000 so she was very very popular within the NXT brand 222 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,000 before she went to main roster so when she gets to go back to her 223 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,000 what I suppose to her would be a 224 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,000 home roster more than anything 225 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,000 she loves it and because she's enjoying being there 226 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,000 the crowd really do get to pick up on that 227 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,000 and it makes us as viewers 228 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,000 definitely more interested in what's going on 229 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:31,000 Oh yeah definitely 230 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,000 it gives people like myself and Rich who aren't very 231 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,000 Yeah I mean I struggle with NXT 232 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:40,000 I've made this known from the start 233 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:43,000 you know as one of the I find it the weakest show 234 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,000 I struggle getting into it some weeks 235 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,000 some weeks have been brilliant some weeks 236 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,000 have been not quite so good 237 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,000 but then for me this week was one of the ones where 238 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,000 it wasn't necessarily bad wasn't necessarily great it filled it in 239 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:01,000 a lot of gaps ready for 240 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,000 the Royal Rumble 241 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,000 but in storyline and you know and then obviously 242 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:10,000 they're pushed through to NXT Vengeance which is their next pay-per-view 243 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,000 pay-per-view PLE 244 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,000 so yeah I feel we both jumped in 245 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,000 at a weird time and we're having to try and learn a lot 246 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,000 of backstory to where we came into it 247 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,000 and now we're slowly pushing through into new storylines 248 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,000 it will hopefully I will get a little bit more into it 249 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,000 especially if we consider 250 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,000 some of the later matches in the card without giving 251 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,000 too much away but the trick Williams-Wesley match 252 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,000 I've been looking forward to that one because I have the follow-up 253 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:43,000 from last week's NXT 254 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,000 but then there were some matches that I was a little bit like 255 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:49,000 not really sure I want to watch that one 256 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:52,000 but I think it all 257 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,000 depends as wrestling fans you know we've all got people we enjoy watching 258 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:58,000 and all got people we don't so 259 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,000 it makes that one a bit interesting I must admit I was 260 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,000 looking forward to the next aspect of 261 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,000 the next segment so to speak of this week's NXT 262 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,000 but before we jump on to that 263 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,000 we had a couple of interesting bits well I'll say 264 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,000 two more points that I kind of want to throw to this one apart from 265 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,000 you know the fact that they let Bailey 266 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,000 finish it which I 267 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,000 I think they could probably have used 268 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,000 they were going to lose out either way 269 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:31,000 on who got the win and how they did it 270 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,000 because none of these four women met 271 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,000 maybe Cora Jade at most needs a push 272 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,000 you know Bailey is very much over Julie is the current 273 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:43,000 NXT women's champion so she doesn't need anything 274 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,000 Roxanne Perez is the former NXT champion 275 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,000 so she's already had a big push and she's 276 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,000 working off the benefits of that but 277 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,000 Cora Jade was the only one that could have benefited 278 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,000 from a win 279 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,000 if they'd have got the win 280 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,000 yeah and it's 281 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,000 I think as we get further on through 282 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,000 I think the reason behind the creative decisions 283 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,000 on the match will probably become clearer 284 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,000 I'm hoping so 285 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,000 but yeah we had Bailey stick the pin 286 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,000 for the win on Cora Jade after a huge 287 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,000 flying elbow 288 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,000 which sort of closed that match out but 289 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,000 my view solid match can't really 290 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,000 a great way to open up a great card 291 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,000 I've got from there 292 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,000 that we went into an Eddie Thorpe 293 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,000 VT 294 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,000 after 295 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,000 this gave actually me a chance 296 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,000 to understand a little bit more about Eddie Thorpe 297 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,000 as a character 298 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,000 because up to this point he's just a guy that's been going after the NXT 299 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,000 rather unsuccessfully 300 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,000 yeah so I didn't actually realise 301 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,000 some of the stuff in this VT 302 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,000 was a thing so I learnt a little bit from this 303 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,000 especially with Eddie Thorpe I did not know he had a Native American 304 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,000 history 305 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,000 so that was quite a big bit of knowledge 306 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,000 for me to pick up and kind of go well that's kind of cool 307 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,000 because that then incorporates into what we were saying 308 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,000 on Monday Night Raw's episode about 309 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,000 so many different elements of wrestling 310 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,000 from Japan, from Mexico and stuff like this 311 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,000 and now we're getting more 312 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,000 plays from other 313 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,000 aspects of American 314 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,000 wrestling 315 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,000 and it's quite an interesting one 316 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,000 I think he's the only Native American superstar in professional wrestling 317 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,000 I don't think AEW have got anyone 318 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,000 that clicks in there at the moment and I don't think TNA have got anyone either 319 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,000 I think possibly big promotion 320 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,000 sort of big promotion 321 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,000 saying all of quite a wide net 322 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,000 in the bigger promotion 323 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,000 there's so many people that class themselves as pro wrestlers 324 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,000 now even if they're only maybe semi amateur 325 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,000 yeah this is it 326 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,000 I actually went away and did a little bit of 327 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,000 research because 328 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,000 with Native Americans 329 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,000 they obviously come from tribes 330 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,000 and I actually found out Eddie Thorpe is 331 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,000 from the, and I'm probably going to really butcher this 332 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,000 so any Native American who listened 333 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,000 to the apology but from the 334 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,000 Northern Peuti tribe 335 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,000 I mean, I don't think you've butchered it as badly 336 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,000 as you thought you have, it's not one that I've heard of 337 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,000 I did do some 338 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,000 history subjects on the American West when I was younger 339 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,000 it's not one I've heard of but there's so many 340 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,000 and it's not a country that we're from so it's not a history that we know 341 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:07,000 No, this is it 342 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,000 but we went from that 343 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,000 VT into an in ring promo 344 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,000 It wasn't really an in ring promo as such 345 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,000 it was more of an episode of the Grayson Waller effect 346 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,000 with Grayson Waller and Austin 347 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:25,000 Theory interviewing Oberfemi 348 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:28,000 I'd say interviewing very lightly, it was pretty 349 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,000 much just Austin Theory ripping the living 350 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:34,000 balls off the guy 351 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,000 I would argue 352 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,000 Austin Theory didn't really say an all 353 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,000 He didn't say a massive amount 354 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,000 it was more Grayson Waller running his mouth 355 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,000 Have I got the two confused? 356 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,000 I think you might have done some 357 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,000 Austin Theory wasn't the guy that was sat on the desk at the end 358 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,000 the guy from Atlanta where the other guy is Australian 359 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,000 Yeah, so Grayson Waller was the one sat down behind 360 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:14,000 Yeah, and Austin Theory was sat on the corner 361 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,000 Yeah, yeah, I mean either 362 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,000 or they kind of both of them had a little bit of a cheap 363 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,000 shot at Oberfemi and you can see through the entire 364 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,000 segment that he's kind of like who the fuck do you think you are 365 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,000 like the NXT champion here are you not going to have a little bit of respect for me? 366 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,000 Well, it actually sort of lends itself 367 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,000 how he decided to tackle 368 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:38,000 the pair of them 369 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,000 I mean, in the verbal aspect 370 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,000 I mean he really, he didn't go after them 371 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:47,000 personally on a physical level 372 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,000 or anything like that, he went after 373 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,000 purely professional level 374 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,000 It's important to realise that 375 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:59,000 all three of these wrestlers in the ring 376 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:02,000 have or are still 377 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,000 in have an NXT career 378 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,000 where they have competed within NXT 379 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,000 recently and 380 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,000 yeah, I mean Femi obviously current 381 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,000 Austin Theory and Grayson Waller were 382 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,000 being called up to the main roster 383 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,000 they had their own separate NXT run 384 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,000 I had no way in research 385 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,000 just to sort of get in 386 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,000 to understand what the 387 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,000 what the 388 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,000 the next sort of comment was about 389 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,000 because Oberfemi has said that 390 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,000 in the two years being in 391 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,000 that he's been in NXT 392 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,000 that he's out, he had a phenomenal 393 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,000 he had a record breaking run 394 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,000 the North American Champion 395 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,000 which sort of started on the 9th of January 396 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,000 Yeah, he had that for 272 days 397 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:05,000 the North American Championship 398 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,000 that is a long run considering 399 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,000 NXT don't normally let their titles hold that long 400 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,000 Now, to put this into perspective 401 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,000 the current NXT champion 402 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,000 has only helped a title roughly about 403 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,000 about 404 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,000 Dean 405 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,000 Yeah, so the current North American Champion 406 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,000 in NXT at the moment is Tony DiAngelo 407 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,000 from the DiAngelo family 408 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:35,000 I'm just going to recap on him because you broke up a little bit there so I think it might be a bit easier for me to do that for you 409 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,000 He's currently 410 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,000 114, 115 days into his reign 411 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,000 and we've seen a fair chunk of him 412 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,000 even since New Year's Evil when we started this podcast 413 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,000 with the first NXT episode 414 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:53,000 So, he's still got a long, long way to go 415 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,000 to be able to catch up with Oberfemme 416 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,000 basically over double the amount of time 417 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,000 and you've got to think about it, Oberfemme's already 418 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,000 he's already kicking on with the next title 419 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,000 and already defending that so he's completely forgotten about the North American Championship 420 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,000 Yeah, that's you, certainly 421 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,000 and 422 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,000 I mean, what a championship run he's had 423 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:28,000 And he has and it's been, you know, we find out a little bit later on in the episode 424 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:32,000 that that championship run is going to run, you know, even further 425 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:35,000 but he's got a difficult next match 426 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,000 with it 427 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:42,000 So, this segment basically, you know, finished with 428 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:47,000 A-Town Down Under basically, they really underestimated Oberfemme 429 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:53,000 and he's got to a point where he's fed up with listening to these two boys 430 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,000 kind of mouthing at him and having a cheap shot 431 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:59,000 without really getting him allowing him the time to speak 432 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:03,000 So, he does what we'd love to see champions do 433 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:07,000 and basically says, look, if your boys think you're good enough, come and get it 434 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:11,000 I've got a big bit of gold here and I'm willing to take one of you one in two weeks time 435 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,000 You know, whichever one it is, work it out between the two of you 436 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:19,000 So, before this happened, we had a bit of a segment 437 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:22,000 We had a bit of a popper 438 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,000 still comes out, aren't I? 439 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,000 Yeah, I think we need to turn your game up a little bit 440 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:33,000 and drop your game down a little bit 441 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:37,000 I've switched mic, Brian, stop it 442 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,000 Okay 443 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:56,000 Oh, right, so for the main event of this week's A-T, we've got 444 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:01,000 Bianca Belair and Naomi versus Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson 445 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:07,000 representing Meta 4 for the women's tag team championship 446 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:15,000 Yeah, and an interesting one for two main roster superstars 447 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:23,000 to make not just an appearance in NXT, but offering up a title 448 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:29,000 a main roster title match to a team in NXT as well 449 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:35,000 So this is breaking new ground for WWE as far as I'm aware at least 450 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:40,000 Yeah, it's not really something I can remember them doing in the past 451 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,000 So it's definitely... 452 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:51,000 Speaking of breaking new ground, I actually think this may have been Naomi's first time in NXT as well 453 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:57,000 So there may have been plenty of carries popped in this particular match 454 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:05,000 Well, yeah, definitely, because we all know that Bianca Belair had a fantastic NXT career 455 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:11,000 where Naomi was one of those that jumped in at the right time where NXT wasn't really... 456 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:17,000 wasn't a televised thing, so she went from their training performance centre straight to main roster 457 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:26,000 Well, she made her debut on the main roster, if I remember correctly, as a funk adaptor 458 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:34,000 I mean, more than likely that's a little bit out of my wheelhouse, I think 459 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:39,000 I didn't follow the early amounts of women's wrestling hugely closely 460 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:45,000 She was a support wrestler and I forget his name, but I can remember his fiend tune 461 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,000 because it sticks in my head more than once 462 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,000 Brody's Clay was the... 463 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:51,000 That's long 464 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,000 Yeah, and the other funk adaptor was Cameron 465 00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:00,000 Yes, she was released a long time ago 466 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:05,000 But anyway, we digress 467 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:13,000 Yeah, so the other important thing to mention is that Tag Team Champs actually competed 24 hours before this match aired 468 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:22,000 So they were competing on Raw on Monday night and then competing again on NXT on Tuesday 469 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:29,000 Yes, that is true, they ended up going against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez 470 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:34,000 Find that match covered in our previous podcast episode 471 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:42,000 Yes, most definitely, but yeah, there was definitely a differing power dynamic in this match 472 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:50,000 I mean, part of it is that we're used to seeing a superstar like Bianca Belair 473 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:55,000 who prides herself on being quite a strong competitor week in, week out 474 00:25:55,000 --> 00:26:02,000 But it's unusual to see her go toe to toe with somebody who can sort of equal her power 475 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:12,000 Somebody like Lash Legend who was quite honestly throwing Belair around at one point like a rag doll 476 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:15,000 Which is not something you see a lot of hugely 477 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:19,000 Unless you end up seeing her with against people like Nia Jax 478 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:24,000 But even then she holds her own against some of the bigger superstars as it is 479 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:30,000 Considering she's one of the smaller in height superstars as well 480 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:35,000 Fair enough, I didn't particularly look that far into it 481 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:40,000 But one of the next things that I was going to point out was going to point out that 482 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:48,000 I mean, Meta Girls in general were just looking very dominant over what are now some pretty seasoned tag team champions 483 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:55,000 And I mean, Lash Legend managed to hit quite an impressive handspring moonsault at one point 484 00:26:55,000 --> 00:27:00,000 Which I didn't actually think she'd ever attempt let alone pull off 485 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:05,000 But did really well with it in the process 486 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:11,000 Yeah, and I think sometimes a lot of these guys and girls, to be fair, when you see them hit moves like that 487 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:16,000 Just because you don't see them hit them week in, week out doesn't mean they can't necessarily do it 488 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:20,000 But they save some of those nicer ones for special occasions 489 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:29,000 What more is a special occasion as a main roster title being challenged for on NXT is a main event of all places 490 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:36,000 This is true, but considering it was such a, it was the main event and it was a big title match 491 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:42,000 The one thing that surprised me that WWE did is partway through this match 492 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:48,000 It was only about 30 seconds, but it was 30 seconds too much in my opinion 493 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:56,000 We did like a little mini mid-match promo between Ava, the NXT GM and Cora Jade 494 00:27:56,000 --> 00:28:02,000 Where basically Jade was upset about everything that had happened with Roxanne Perez earlier in the evening 495 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:17,000 Basically demanding to talk with Ava the GM who'd already had an action packed evening with everything to do with Roxanne Perez 496 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,000 That lot as well as the trick Williams incidents earlier in the evening 497 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:32,000 But it was just enough to take me completely out of the match and spoil it for me a little bit 498 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:41,000 Because if they were going to do something like that, then surely they could have found time to do that before the match started 499 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:51,000 Or even had it as a closing promo as opposed to interrupting the main event as well as a women's world tag team championship match 500 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:55,000 To just say, oh yeah, Cora wants a chat 501 00:28:55,000 --> 00:29:01,000 Pretty sure that could have waited until after the match or preceded the match starting even 502 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:04,000 Yeah, it seems a little bit disrespectful, doesn't it? 503 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:14,000 That's how I felt about it, but maybe I'm just being a bit, I don't know, just feel it just doesn't feel like it does the performers in ring 504 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,000 Any good to have their TV time interrupted 505 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:24,000 I mean if you're going to do it during one of the undercard matches then yes, fair enough, mechs complete 506 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:29,000 But you don't do it during your main event, no, not at all 507 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:35,000 I've seen a few times where you'll be halfway through a match and I take an ad break 508 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,000 And you're like, what was the point of that? 509 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:47,000 It is completely pulled you out whether it be for an actual televised ad break or for like I said, like when they spoke to Cora Jade, it does completely kill the vibe 510 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,000 And it's happening more often 511 00:29:50,000 --> 00:30:01,000 So ad breaks I can sort of understand, especially with the likes of NXT and SmackDown because they are still being broadcast on cable TV in the US 512 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:09,000 NXT on the CW and SmackDown I think on, I think it's on USA, I think it's on USA 513 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:19,000 I'm not 100% certain on what SmackDown has on in the US but they have cable TV affiliates that broadcast within the United States 514 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:28,000 And it makes sense for them to go to ad breaks because they have to do it on TV, they can't then continue playing footage 515 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:38,000 They still continue to play footage, it's just the commentary normally that's interrupted 516 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:52,000 But yeah, I mean that just sort of took me out of it, the ad breaks I can forgive because I understand that they've got to be able to appease the networks and things like that 517 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:59,000 Which when they move over to fully over to Netflix, which I imagine is the case, it will be the case at some stage 518 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:14,000 Then we may well see that recede either completely or next to never having a sort of ad break or at least giving the commentary team some kind of quick minute to sort of gather themselves 519 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:25,000 Because it's a long time to keep talking realistically about a match without sort of continually repeating yourself over and over again 520 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:34,000 But coming back to the match, we've got really regular momentum shifts within the match 521 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:44,000 It remained from beginning to end a really competitive match which to be quite honest was almost too close to call in some cases 522 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:56,000 The Meta Girls really did put up a very good fight for those tag team champions and would have vastly deserved it had they won 523 00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:10,000 However, Belair and Naomi retain after Jakara Jackson gets a bit desperate and tries what I've always referred to as a dirty pin 524 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:20,000 She's got a handful of tights trying to gain that extra bit of leverage towards the end of that match and it backfired on her completely 525 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:30,000 Which was such a shame to a degree because it would have been nice to see those titles go to someone in NXT but at the same time it's a dishonest way to win 526 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:37,000 I think Gerrero wouldn't have cared, he's the lychee and still 527 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:49,000 This is true, this is true, but that essentially is the last match on the card for NXT, there was nothing after that, no promos, anything of that nature 528 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,000 It finished with the end of that match really didn't it? 529 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,000 It really did 530 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:08,000 So yeah, we fade to black on yet another episode of Finishes and Factions and we hope that you'll join us again when our episode drops for SmackDown 531 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,000 So we look forward to seeing you then 532 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:26,000 See you soon, peace