Welcome to the ring, it's rich and atom.
Breaking down the fights with flair and passion.
Tag teams grappling belts are clashing.
Finisher's and factions catching action.
Welcome to Finisher's and Factions does NXT.
It's great to have you all.
My name's Adam, one of the hosts of Finisher's and Factions.
And as ever, joined by my co-host Rich.
Rich, welcome in.
Thank you, mate. How are you doing?
I'm not too bad. Thank you, buddy. Not too bad at all.
And today we're covering the episode from the 4th of March, 2025.
This was this one just gone.
And we were in back in the performance centre in Orlando, Florida.
And we are sort of one week removed from NXT being on the road in Cincinnati, Ohio.
And we start with a VT recap of last week's episode, which honestly, I'd really enjoyed last week's episode.
What were your thoughts?
Yeah, it was a very good episode.
There was a few little bits that I was a little bit like about like the main event wasn't maybe as good as it could have been.
That was obviously like the Ricky Saints match. His debut wasn't as strong as it could have been at all actually in his match with Jevon Evans against Ethan Page and Wes Lee.
But yeah, no, this week I definitely enjoyed just as much as to be fair.
And for me personally, at the moment, if you take out the production issues that NXT seems to have over the last few weeks, it's actually the strongest product, I think.
It's 100% the strongest product. And that's what that's almost what makes it even more frustrating when it comes to the production issues that they've been facing because realistically, there's no reason why NXT shouldn't be trouncing both Raw and SmackDown in terms of content.
I mean, not only have they got some incredible talent on the NXT roster, but we've had appearances from the Hardy Boys, we've had appearances from Moose, we've seen Santina Morello, we've seen a lot of the TNA guys as well.
That automatically adds in a bonus, you never know what you get in at the moment. NXT is top of its game.
Yeah, so much more and sort of added value and things like that. And yeah, it's just if they can get to the bottom of these production issues, I don't know if it's, this is the thing is I don't know if it's WWE that are having production issues, which seems incredibly unlikely, or if it's Netflix.
But it's probably as unlikely that someone is having some issues because I know we've missed out on some crucial parts of matches. We've missed out on promos, all because the cable network in America has had adverts and they've just cut everything out from that point to that point.
So yeah, it did make things a little bit more difficult.
Yeah, and regrettably this week is is no different as it sort of really spoiled this week for me. I didn't enjoy NXT as much as I have been, which sort of really annoyed me because
I enjoyed the match card, like, even just our first match between Chelsea Green and Piper Nevin versus Zarya and Sal Ruka. You know, that that was a bang in the first match, but it should be pushed through the cards, you know, you get to see sort of like a lot of other good quality matches
that kind of come to the core. But I mean, yeah, there was a few that were a bit head-missed, but we've got the North American Championship at the end of it, you know, we've got some good matches on this card.
But yeah, the production issues this week really did not help NXT where it should be at the top of the ladder.
No, definitely not. But let's jump into this match, sort of current United States female champion, Chelsea Green and
I forget what bodyguard basically Piper Nevin versus the team of Zarya and Sal Ruka who have been, despite sort of looking like the original odd couple, they have been doing some really good work here in NXT over the last few weeks.
They said running though, yeah, they've had a bit of a hot streak the last few weeks. They've had some not big wins, but wins that you wouldn't necessarily expect them to have considering the amount of time that they've been a tag team.
And that is, that's not long to be fair. I think that's probably since sort of vengeance day, we've seen more of them. But we've definitely definitely started to get to see a lot more of them.
There's definitely coming on quite strong this week, where most definitely Chelsea Green has had a few incidents last few weeks and a few losses that haven't necessarily hurt her, but have helped other people.
Yeah, it's not. It's definitely not been a more of a hindrance to herself than a help, but
has been concentrating a lot more on this tag team thing with Piper Nevin and we have seen defend the women's United States title as well.
So yeah, be interesting to see what they're going to what they're going to push for that but this this match had some some pretty good sort of spots in it to be fair.
I've got a few different ones noted.
So this match, they weren't really there for a lot of this match. There was one bit where there was a double head button they both kind of stack it around in the middle of the ring looking at each other with the foot that hurt.
So I've really got spot wise from from Zario and Python. I've been a few that you've picked up that I haven't which I'd be interested into.
For me, it's more, I've got probably quite a few more notes than you have around this but I don't think a lot of it is actually to do with the match.
But certainly an unknown reason. We've got Lillian Garcia doing ring announcing on NXT this evening. And it's a case that I can't I can picture his face but I cannot for the life of me remember his name.
The bloke that normally does ring announcing for NXT is inexplicably absent. And they've got, I mean, it's definitely a trade up Lillian Garcia I mean is an absolute legend in ring announcing as it goes but the other bits that I've got here is the
we see bits and pieces throughout the throughout this match where like I think Ava announces that.
Oh, I'm gone.
I'm trying to figure out my trying to figure out my own frigging notes at this point. Yeah, I've got down here that I mean on Evans.
I'm not under. As I said, my I had real issues with this episode this week and I'm not sure if I've got notes down here that happened before the match officially started.
If there was a like a like a promo because I've got down here in the notes for this match that Ava announced that Javon Evans will be facing Ethan Page next Tuesday at roadblock in a New York Street fighter Madison Square Garden.
Was a recap from last week's episode. No, I don't think so. But I also think we're missing something here right so just to go back into the match to be fair.
It's one by Zarya and Soruka. There's a double team on Soruka as she goes to hit the moon so Piper Nevin ends up dropping a leg drop on Chelsea Green mid ring.
Zarya throws Piper Nevin out of the onto Chelsea Green in like a powerbomb style and a Soruka hits a soul snatcher on Chelsea Green for a very clean three pin three count pin in the middle of the ring.
One thing we do see is during this match Chelsea Green has an unfortunate she ends up suffering an injury. She takes something to the face. I'm not trying to show it. I'm hoping it's not Piper Nevin's ass.
But she ends up with a broken nose and you can see that the inside of the bit in the middle of your nose that septum that was very much bent to a rather awkward angle. So yeah, there was blood everywhere for a little while.
So I'm hoping Chelsea Green feels slightly better so she can get back in the ring and have it re popped by Piper Nevin's butt cheeks again.
Yeah, this is it. Got some big time collar all over her face which was quite a visceral image.
Yeah, and then from the match I had a backstage segment so I'm not entirely sure where our notes have gone in different directions but I think they'll probably lead us back to the same place so we might have to go with it.
Yeah, pretty much. The only other thing that I'll mention that seems to be in my notes for this match is that there'll be sort of there are roadblock related press conferences sort of things taking place during NXT, some of which we are actually privy to as the episode progresses.
So yeah, I've got a GM office promo next after this match.
With Ava and Jordan Grace. Is that the one that you've got?
Yeah, talking about Roxanne Perez from last week.
Roxanne Perez is a little bitch and she gets around everywhere but she's got her finger in so many people's faces. You know when people wave your finger in your face all you want to do is rip it off and shove it down their throat.
She's the one waving the finger in everyone's face at the moment. It doesn't matter where you are, whether you're on NXT, whether you're on Raw or whether you're in the Elimination Chamber.
You're sticking her finger in your face and she's telling you something you don't want to hear.
And yeah, it starts getting tasty with Roxanne Perez because we get told about Cora Jade getting a match against.
So Cora Jade has managed to wangle her way into a match against the TNA Women's Ex-Division Champion, Masha Slamovich.
TNA Knockouts title holder at Masha Slamovich.
I'm sorry, I don't know much about TNA.
Yeah, no, it's a bit of an odd one, that one.
I'm not sure how. But then again, this seems to be sort of Cora Jade's MO.
She seems to get these matches seemingly out of nowhere, but again, this could have all been sort of born of a...
Born of a... Oh, that's the word I'm looking for, of a storyline from TNA that we just haven't seen.
So this is going to be possibly sort of a bit of a running theme with our coverage of NXT for the foreseeable future,
is that we're going to miss out on big parts, not because we're bad at taking notes.
I mean, apparently I'm not off to a fantastic start this week, but it's more of a case...
It's not time for my work week to consider TNA as well as three live shows,
or three programmes a week from WWE plus PLEs and stuff.
Yeah, this is it. WWE on its own to try and cover, while both of us have full-time responsibilities,
it is a physical impossibility. We're just not going to be able to do it. It ain't going to work.
I get behind some weeks as it is, and Adam's like, we need to have a week to record, and I go, bro, I still need to finish this episode.
But having said that, it's a case that even there are weeks where I've been behind.
This week is one of them. I think Rich actually, for the first time in a long time, has managed to pull ahead of me slightly,
but it's a case... Yeah, if we had to try adding other promotions like TNA and fucking AEW,
it is a case that we're just going to fall so far behind. It's going to be such a massive workload.
We'd essentially need another... We'd need more hosts to cover these different frigging promotions, basically.
We'd end up getting more episodes, because each conversation would have to be split at least two,
because we already talk enough shit for two hours as it is without adding a third person in with us to...
Oh, 100%. 100%. Yeah, so we've got this match all lined up.
If I see anything on social media about it, I'll probably go back and give it a little watch,
but I'm not going to hold out too much. We then go from this backstage segment with Ava into...
Well, we see Jada Parker come into the ring, really, and then we're introduced to the fact that we're getting a match between Jada Parker and Kalani Jordan.
This is...
Yeah, sorry, I'm just looking at my notes going, what?
So we then go into a backstage segment with Tric Williams talking to Ava about,
well, he's trying to get something out, and I don't quite remember off the top of my head what he was trying to get out.
All I made note of is the fact that you're Ryad Connors and Cale Dixon were trying to constantly give Ava a parcel,
and Ava's like, oh, yeah, no, that's quite a take-it. And then Tric Williams is like, no, take your parcel, fuck off.
Come back in five minutes, you know?
Yeah. Tric Williams has been in a fucking terrible mood for weeks now.
And yeah, just not... He's very much... I'm getting the impression because we have to point this out every now and again.
I thought giving them a whooping has been in a bad mood.
I think this is spanned even further back than that.
So the very first episode covering NXT that Finishes and Factions did was New Year's Evil.
This was where Tric Williams lost his NXT men's title to the current champion Oberfemi.
And that has just been... It's been a steady decline for Tric Williams from that point on.
Definitely. But it does say one interesting thing about Finishes and Factions, though.
Just bear with me a second because I thought I was signed in, but I'm not. See, we do do this live.
This episode going out is currently going to be episode number 34 of Finishes and Factions.
So that means that Oberfemi has been, in holding his title, over the course of 32 episodes,
of which a majority of those have been NXT.
I'd like to say a third, but I think they've had more PLEs.
But yeah, so we've spent a lot of time watching Oberfemi with that title ever since he took it off Tric Williams.
Yeah, this is it. And we've just seen Tric Williams trying to...
Trying to get a... He's trying to redeem himself to a certain degree, but it's...
You say that. A man trying to redeem himself does not grab Kail Dixon by the jaw and pin him up against the wall.
No, but a pissed off Tric Williams definitely does.
Yeah, doing that in front of your boss as well, I would not recommend, guys, talking from personal experience
and don't do it to your boss, that might get you fired.
Yeah, definitely.
Talking from personal experience.
But we then jump back into... We jump back into the ring, but this really pissed...
They'd already started the match.
So this was Jada Parker versus Kalani Jordan.
And we've said before... Well, I've certainly said before that no matter what Kalani Jordan does...
She's boring.
I really struggle with her.
Yes, so...
In case that Jada Parker... We haven't seen a lot of, I can get behind Jada Parker.
Bet you could.
Yeah, I expected that.
That's not what she said.
Like...
Yeah, like Jordan Grace, haven't seen a lot of her.
I can root for Jordan Grace.
There's so many other superstars in NXT that I haven't seen a lot of.
But I can sort of decide whether I'll root for them or whether I fucking hate them.
Kalani Jordan sits very much in that grey area in the middle.
She's almost like... For me, she's like the Taylor Swift of NXT.
Is that she's so generic.
It's a case that...
Yeah, just...
Oh no, I completely agree with you.
I don't think there's enough character development there for Kalani Jordan.
She has some ability, actually to be fair.
She has a rather large amount of ability.
Just the character is not to be built strong enough.
Just very little charisma about her.
Don't see her outside of the same tier three Jaded opponents.
We haven't seen her against anyone yet.
It's given her an opportunity to show off her ability to make me sit and go,
well, I think I've got that one wrong.
Hopefully, by the time we get to the WrestleMania week episode of NXT,
I'm sat here going, you know what, really annoyed that we doubted Kalani Jordan
when we first started this podcast.
I've cacked on her since the first episode, which is NXT New Year's Evil.
Yeah, I'm really not feeling much.
I did get a fair chunk of notes for this match.
Some pretty nice sort of highlights, so to speak.
I've got the fact that we see Kalani, no, Jaded Parker,
sorry, running the turnbuckles to do a backbreaker off the top rope.
We see modified Russian leg sweeps from Kalani Jordan,
which ironically, when we say we don't feel much from her character development,
did you know Kalani Jordan was the first ever NXT Women's North American champion?
Current title holder of that is Stephanie Vaikur as we air this episode.
So she has got an ability now.
I didn't make note of how long her title reign was.
It's not something I tend to research very often, but yeah, she has held a title.
But this match was the first singles match between the two women as well.
Bear in mind how long from what we're told by the commentary team they've been together.
It was surprising that this was the first time we saw them go one-on-one.
Yeah, I mean, that first time in the ring is always something that we look to look for
because it's a case that there's no familiarity there.
It's all new.
The rest, the superstars in the ring don't know what's coming.
We don't know what's coming, whereas if you've got somebody that's been feuding for a while,
it's a case that we know what to expect sort of thing.
But just because I am that sort of, I will do that sort of research.
You said you didn't have a note of how long Kalani Jordan's inaugural NXT Women's North American championship reign was.
It lasted for 140 days.
So we're not talking about a small title, are we?
No, this is it.
And it's a case that she was dethroned by Fallon Henley,
who then reigned for a further 111 or 110 days as recognised by WWE.
Well, there we go.
The man with the plan came up with the stats again.
This is why I love doing it, because I know that I think about it and I'll say it and you'll be like, you know what, mate?
You read my mind. It's there.
Yeah, exactly. It's why it works.
With that in mind, before we started recording this episode of the podcast,
both myself and Adam, our son, this was belched at the exact same time in the exact same style
and just carried on with the silence afterwards.
We hadn't said anything for a moment or two, but yeah, boom.
It finished you were the only one that heard it.
I didn't actually hear anything come from you or your side, but that's nothing unusual either.
This called sound quality is...
Oh, shit.
Yeah, maybe as time goes on, we'll figure out a different way of being able to get this all right.
But for now, at least...
That could be a way forward.
Anyway, digress.
Yeah, digress there.
Right, so the last few spots that I want to throw in there, ironically, are Kalani Jordan spots.
So at one point towards the end of the match, Kalani Jordan locked in a crossed-faced chicken wing.
The name of that move had me in stitches.
I'm not going to lie, just the idea of it at the time was quite funny.
We also have Kalani Jordan again hit what I can only describe as the sweetest,
Spanish fly from the top rope or the top turnbuckle.
It are.
Chef's kiss on the way that move was choreographed because they sold it so well that both of them,
but it was just perfect, absolutely perfect.
I'm glad you knew what the name of that move was because I can see it in my mind's eye now that you've mentioned it.
And I wanted to make a note of it, but could not for the life of me figure out what the move was called.
And by the time I'd figured out any way to be able to describe what it is that I was looking at,
we'd already moved on.
So it was kind of a case of I didn't want to sit there for 20 minutes trying to figure out how to describe this move that I'd seen,
which was, yeah, completely agree with you.
All my head.
Absolutely fantastic.
All I heard in my head is that move hit was a good old JR himself.
Oh my God!
Oh, living legend that he is.
Yeah, but a rather good BBQ sauce too if you haven't invested in some you should.
I haven't.
I've been meaning to as somebody that prolifically uses BBQ sauce.
I'm ashamed to say that I have not.
Not partook on good old JR's BBQ sauce.
I will sort out some at some stage.
It's just...
It's a tad on the experience.
I haven't pulled that trigger yet.
It's worth it.
Fair.
Yeah, but...
Not sponsored or endorsed, but would quite happily have a conversation about it?
I'd just quite...
I'd be more than happy to sit here and have a conversation with JR.
Sod the sauce like...
I mean it'd come up eventually anyway.
But it's a case that, yeah, 100% at one stage or another I will reach out.
I know I'll follow him on Twitter.
I will reach out and see if he's game to come and have a chat with two British wrestling fans and see what happens from there.
But yeah, that might be something in the works.
We ended up with Jada Parker hitting one of her...
I don't know if we call it a signature move, it's a move she used quite a lot, but she hit the hypnotic, which is basically just a...
What Jacob Batu does, but not quite as powerful.
It's a hip run into the corner really.
And then got a clean three count in the middle of the ring on Kalani Jordan again.
Yeah, this is it.
Kalani Jordan continues her...
Like I said, it was their first singles match, but they have been in tag matches together and they have had finishes as matches at the same time in those environments.
But Kalani Jordan is not on what anybody would refer to as any kind of winning streak just at the moment.
No, she's losing just as much as the Island Boys are in legal fees right now.
Yeah.
So we went from there into a conversation with...
What I've got it down is the DiAngelo family.
And there you've got Stax and the young lady's name who I can never remember.
Rizzo.
Yeah, that's the one.
I should know that from Greece to be fair, but yeah, Stax and Rizzo talking to Tony about how his back is since he had that much against...
I had the same issue with this guy last week, his name begins with an H.
I know you're talking about and I can't think of it either.
If you go back to the episode of the last PLE that NXT did, you will be able to find out who Tony DiAngelo faced in the Steel Cage.
Before he got his beat down from Sean Spears and his group of cronies, which have started coming into the fray a little bit more.
And then we got to see a little bit more about these backstage press conferences that Adam was talking about a little bit earlier.
And then we get to see one with Oberfammy talking about his match with Moose and how he's going to represent WWE in the NXT brand on TNA TV.
And if he loses that title, it'd be the first time that we'd have a TNA champion running around with WWE Championship.
Really not going to let that happen.
Obviously this match is coming up next week in Madison Square Gardens when NXT does...
I want to say roadblock, but I could be wrong, so I'm not 100% sure.
But they are facing off next week in Madison Square Gardens in New York.
So being back in the Performance Center this week was just a stop gap between for these guys, a bit of time at home and a bit of time with family while they were travelling around from Cincinnati, Ohio last week.
We then end up getting an in-ring promo from the TNA Tag Team Championship holders, which as a long-term WWE fans would know as the Hardy Boyz.
So Matt and Jeff Hardy come out to, as normal when you see Matt and Jeff Hardy, one hell of a pop with the WWE Universe.
And they come out talking about how awesome it's been to be able to come across to WWE with NXT.
How good their no-quarter catch crew were in their match against them last week.
And the fact that no matter where these guys have been within the wrestling industry, trust me over the years these guys have been into many different promotions.
We've seen them around the Indie circuits, we've seen them in WWE, we've seen them in TNA, we've seen them in AEW, we've seen them in Ring of Honor.
At one point before they returned a few years ago, they were over in the Japan Pro Wrestling.
There was a lot of these guys have held Tag Team Gold in pretty much every promotion they've been to.
So for them to come out and give no-quarter catch crew the compliments they were giving them about how good they were, that really does do an awful lot for no-quarter catch crew.
Even though they took a last week's episode, they put on a hell of a match against the Hardys.
We went into a little bit more detail about that on a previous episode, which you will be able to find on whichever platform it is that you are using.
So as the Hardy Boyz are stood in the ring talking about the match they have with Fraxian at Roadblock in Madison Square Gardens,
we end up having an unusual combination come out to the ring. Now we had Hank and Tank come down, which is not something I was expecting at all to be fair,
but gave it a slight sort of different feel to it.
Hank and Tank come down to the ring saying that you guys are the greatest Tag Team in our industry, in the history of our industry.
We want to be the greatest Tag Team in the history of our industry.
What advice could you give us to help us go to the next level?
And there was a few coy little remarks in the response that you got from the Hardy Boyz.
You've got to find things that work and you've got to make sure you're hungry and if you're not hungry it's not going to do what you want it to do.
You've really got to be what it is that you're trying to portray.
But sometimes it helps if you take things a little extreme.
And there's an exchange between the two about maybe having to feel the need to use such things like tables and ladders and chairs.
I made a note of this. TLC growing up for me was one of my favourite PLEs.
I have never had more fun watching wrestling than when it has involved ladders, tables and chairs.
Just because you go back through some of the big paper views when we've had these involvements and they've just been absolute phenomenal matches.
Even ten years later people go, oh, do you remember that match?
I remember seeing clips of a match between the Hardy Boyz, the Dudley Boyz and Edgum Christian.
There was ladders and beers and God knows what going on.
It was an absolute brutal carnage match but it was absolutely phenomenal.
So we then end up with this one. Matt's talking about impossible challenges when we get to see Josh Briggs and Yasuki Inamora come out saying they've come out to break up the Hardy Party.
And Hank and Tank need to remove their lips from the Hardy Boyz asses.
They're accusing them a little bit of ass kissing there but to be fair,
is looking for advice from someone who's better at what you do?
Ass kissing? Or is it just trying to level up the game?
Trying to do something a little bit different to try and get there?
I personally, if I had an opportunity to sit and talk to someone say like Joe Rogan about a podcasting,
I don't think that's ass kissing. I think trying to learn from the best is the only way you can learn.
Trying to be the best is the best way to learn.
So I think that's fair enough.
But Briggs and Inamora basically say that it doesn't matter what advice Matt and Jeff Hardy give them because they're wasting their time and their breath
because Briggs and Inamora are taking the title shot from them.
Now I wasn't aware that Hank and Tank had a title shot against Matt and Jeff Hardy so I'm guessing this is more relative of like you're not going to get an opportunity because we're going to be the ones to get there instead.
Now this was quite interesting to see and it was a nice little homage to the Hardy Boyz actually.
Hank asked Hank if he's thinking about going a little bit extreme. The two of them dive over the top rope and start brawling with Briggs and Inamora.
And as he, so you then got Matt and Jeffster in the middle of the ring looking at Briggs and Inamora and then Hank and Tank brawling up the entrance ramp towards the locker room.
And Matt suddenly kind of says, ah, Fraxium, I knew you'd come. And as the camera angle turns round to face the Hardy Boyz, it then jumps into that you've got Fraxium behind him.
So you've got Nathan Fraser and Axium who are the current NXT, sorry, tag team title holders.
And they basically have a conversation between the two tag teams about are they going to have the greatest, they want to match in Madison Square Gardens and it's going to be the greatest tag team of all time versus the greatest tag team of today.
And both teams are basically saying they're going to bring the best they've got. I don't know at the moment if the titles are going to be on the line. It'd be interesting if they are, but I don't think it's been advertised that way as a moment.
I think at the minute it is more of an exhibition match than anything else. I don't think they're necessarily putting titles on the line, but I wouldn't quote me on that as I'm not 100% certain.
Yeah, no, it definitely didn't mention anything that I remembered about this being a title match. That's definitely feels like an exhibition tag match. But then to be fair, it's something that we've seen on TNA television, or we know has happened on TNA TV.
I've not watched it. I don't know if Adam's gone back and watched specific matches just to help with the knowledge out on the podcast.
And not on this occasion, I'm afraid. Yeah, no, I didn't think you would have done that. But we do know that Fraxian have faced the Hardy Boys on TNA TV. So this will be the first time we've seen them on WWE programming after this deal.
So I don't think they've faced the Hardy Boys. I think they've teased it. This has been teased for a long time is Fraxian facing the Hardy Boys. I don't think they've actually faced off against one another.
I know Fraxian have gone to TNA and defended the NXT Tag Team Championship that they're holding over on TNA against some of TNA's teams. But the Hardy Boys and Fraxian have not faced off as of yet.
And this is what makes this such a big match is it's their first time teeing off against one another. And it's the first time we're going to get to sort of answer the question of who's the better tag team.
Do you have hiccups, my good sir?
I had one hiccup. That was it. It was a lone hiccup. But yeah, we basically went from that promo into I've got down here I've got a VT for the match between the title versus title match.
The title versus title between Stephanie Vacura and Julia.
This again is a match at roadblock, champion versus champion title versus title.
So what are those women, we're a walk out of Madison Square Gardens holding both bones.
Now, I personally can't understand why we're getting this much, but it's something we're getting so we're going to wait in anticipation for how good it's going to be because these two women are phenomenal.
Yeah, I mean, we both we, we all know what to expect from Julia in a match we know what to expect from Stephanie Vacura in a match.
And me if I'm a betting man I've got a odd feeling that Stephanie Vacura is going to have the edge. Personally, I think that's how it's going to work out.
It just, hmm, yeah, it's going to be a close match, but I've got a feeling that that Julia is dropping her title.
It wouldn't necessarily make sense considering how short a time Stephanie Vacura has had that title for her to drop it so quickly, because we end up getting into the we end up getting
dangerously close to a period of time in WWE history where title holders would change two or three times nightly.
And it just devalues the title doing it that way. But so I think logically, it makes sense that possibly, as I say, Stephanie Vacura is going to end up
walking out of that, walking out of that match at a double title holder.
First ever NXT double title holder as well.
Women's double title holder. It's a big point. They'd be marking it up as a big point in women's wrestling.
And then they gave us a BT of the history of women's wrestling in Madison Square Gardens. And they included some boxing bits as well, which was an intriguing one.
But I think it was UFC stuff on there for which would be part of the TKO group, which also UFC WWE.
Yeah. And then we went from that VT into the second match of the evening.
So this would have been the third match of the evening. And this is sort of where this is sort of where things all start to unravel a little bit for NXT here.
Now, I don't know what this was like when they did it live. I managed to find some footage that didn't make the edit, if you like, because we've said before, me and Rich have a tendency to, we won't sit up and watch these live when they go out.
So again, mostly because we've got full time commitments that mean that we can't stay up until 3, 4 in the morning watching wrestling and then be able to get up and go about our daily lives without feeling like a bag of shit afterwards.
I would have to be at work two hours after that episode finished. And yeah, no thank you.
Yeah, just neither of us have got the time and I'm not going to say we're old men here, but we're not quite as young as we used to be where we could have stayed up until that time and bounce back to relatively easily off the back of it.
We just, we're not there anymore.
I've done that in previous years, playing video games where we've kind of gone, dude, my love's gone off. Oh shit, I've got to go to work.
This is it, more than one occasion me and him have had where we've got that to go out and do a full day's work, having had no sleep whatsoever. But yeah, no, we don't have it in us to do that anymore, unfortunately.
And next, mainly NXT we seem to see this with. They, I'm not sure if it's WWE that edit it together or if it's Netflix or a collaboration of the two.
But we seem to have missed out a huge chunk of what goes on in this match. So the next match is a women's singles match between Jordan, Grace and Cora Jade.
This was sort of made earlier on after their, I'm going to say, heated discussion in the, in Ava's office earlier on in the episode.
And one of the things that they do point out almost completely unrelated to the, to the match in the ring is the Masha slumovich, the TNA knockouts champion is in attendance in the crowd and is putting camera as being in quite a prominent position of which, which she disappears from shortly afterwards.
So she was there purely for to get the face time with the camera. But considering she's got a match against Cora Jade next week as well, you'd expect her to want to get some research done on what she's going into the ring with.
Well, this wasn't particularly very good research from what, from what I, I wouldn't have walked out of there, walked out of NXT thinking, do you know what, actually, I'm a little bit more prepared for, for a match with Cora Jade in a few days time sort of thing.
As it's a case that while Jordan Grace sort of held a lot of the momentum for the majority of what little of this match we actually saw, Jade did have a few good bits where she was able to cut that she was able to fly out sort of fight back and actually managed to slam the back of great of Jordan Grace's
head into the turnbuckle at one point, but no, it didn't. But that wasn't what sort of cut this match short is that Jordan Grace ends up charging at Cora Jade into a corner, at which point Jordan Grace is pulled off of Cora by the referee.
And next thing we know, referees throwing up the X's, which for anybody that doesn't know, and a referee throws up the X's, this is unplanned, it's not something that they have.
It's not part of the script for a lack of a better way of putting it. It's a case that this is something that nobody was expecting. And there's normally a real injury that's included with this as well.
But we're not given any details as to what happened at all. With some research that I did while watching the episode, it turns out that Cora Jade managed to sustain some kind of head injury during the match.
And because the match is called off, Jordan Grace is declared winner by default.
This is what it doesn't make. If I've assumed this is unplanned, because if this is planned, I'm not seeing the payout of doing it this way.
And that's the way I've chosen to look at it, because it could very well be that it's planned and there's a payoff for this in a week or two's time. But at the moment, I'm not seeing any potential payoff for this whatsoever.
This doesn't seem to make any logical sense. Obviously, we've never been particularly kind about Cora Jade on the podcast before, but it doesn't mean that we don't hope that she's not got anything majorly wrong with her.
I mean, if it is something to do with her knees, I know that's close to where the ACL is, which I know she's had time off for in the past with ACL injuries.
So yeah, we're hoping that it's nothing too drastically serious that means that she wouldn't be able to come back and come back and maybe have a more active role in the in the storylines than what she's had so far.
Yeah, definitely. So we then went from this into a NXT spotlight about Tony D'Angelo winning the North American title. And there was a little intersection of this about how Sean Spears was basically coming for that title.
We do know from previous episodes that the main event of tonight's episode is a match between the two for the North American title. That was given to us last week when it got a little bit heated between the two teams.
Yeah, definitely. And we've got to wait for the main event for that one from there. Now, we went next into... I've dubbed this a split screen interview promo.
So something similar to what you'd see on a news program where you're interviewing two different parties in two different places sort of thing. And that certainly seemed to be the case here as we had Ethan Page on the left hand side of the screen and Javon Evans on the right.
And yeah, we already had announced that there was a match between the two at roadblock. It was a New York Street fight. I think trying to end whatever animosity is left between the two.
I don't think that's going to end in just one big match. I think this is going to continue to brew for a while. They're not just going to kick the shit out of each other once and go, yeah, we're best mates now. Let's form a tag team.
This is going to continue. Well, to me, Javon Evans has got plenty of reason to hate Ethan Page. Ethan Page took his final... I was going to say that Ethan Page shattered Evans' jaw.
He also shattered it. He didn't break it and shattered it. Because what he's done to him progressively over the course of the last few weeks has pretty much just been curling one out in his cornflakes.
Yeah, I've got to admit, I had to wonder where you'd got that from for a second because I was starting to think I must have missed that part of NXT.
But yeah, no, very much so. It's a case that he's... that would be a promo and a half. I don't think it's a promo I'd want to see either.
But yeah, it's a case that he's very much been poking fun at him and he's come off with a few victories from him as well.
But they weren't necessarily vintzing victories. It wasn't something that he just dominated Javon Evans at any point.
Javon Evans has played a blinder of a match only to be either in the wrong place at the wrong time or just really unlucky as that jaw injury plays a part almost every single time.
Yeah, well, obviously we know it was a storyline issue. But for a guy whose jaw was wrong, that second match they had where he lost his gum shield,
unless you've got absolutely no regard for your own safety, even wrestling against you. Like, the fact that they're still having this series of matches is just going to make it all a lot more interesting.
Well, I just like seeing Ethan Page get his ass handed to him on a plate.
That's good. Ethan Page has lost a lot of his mystique from this promo because he admits that the entire reason he's done all of this is a severe amount of jealousy, which do you know what I can sort of understand?
Because Ethan Page has worked his entire life and hasn't long been in the WWE. As the WWE is the big leagues, it's where everybody wants to end up when they step between those ropes sort of thing.
Whereas, Javon Evans is quite considerably younger than Ethan Page.
Yes.
I mean, the guy's 20 years old and he's made it to the big leagues already.
Well, that just shows the caliber of talent he is though, which is why when you mix him with someone like Ethan Page, it's going to bring out the best of both of them.
Yeah, so Ethan Page is 35 years old. So Javon Evans is 15 years, is junior.
That's all right. If he's 35, means I'm still a year younger, but looking to, I'm still a year younger than someone. That's all good.
Yeah, none of this father time bollocks for you.
Yeah, just yeah.
But yeah, they're basically in a no rules match next week, dubbed New York Street Fight as NXT will be coming to us from the Garden for Roadblock.
But I'm going to call this as it is supposed to be called, but I'll explain why I've done this in just a second.
So the next item on the card was a match, men's singles match between Trick Williams and Kale Dixon, who came to the ring with Uriah Connors as well.
And the reason I'm not the reason I'm sort of calling this as it was supposed to be called is because this wasn't just this was the squashiest of squash matches.
I think I've ever seen in my life.
This trick that's squashy, but you could put 20 of them in a packet and sell them for a pound and 29 pence in the local shop.
Yeah, very much so. It's, it is a case that this match ended as quickly as it started.
But it ended with the perfect trick shot. Well, actually to be fair, the only move we saw in this move in this match was a trick shot.
And he tricked Williams hit it clean.
Yeah. And after after he's finished sort of demolishing Paul Kale Dixon, he basically uses the at the at the opportunity to call out Eddie Thorpe and challenge him to a definitive match at NXT underground.
Now, as a complete NXT rookie still, it is a case that I don't know what underground is.
We've seen to think that it might be some kind of PLESC type show potentially in a few weeks sometime between stand and deliver and roadblock.
But yeah, not 100% certain what we're going to be seeing with that one.
No, you say it's called NXT underground.
Yeah.
I don't imagine Rich is doing exactly the same thing that I'm doing.
And it looks like it's coming up with more of it's a match type rather than a.
So, let's see.
It's the March 18th episode of NXT.
It was a fight club inspired concept hosted and commented by Shane McMahon. Now I do remember actually something along these lines when NXT sort of first started coming out and Shane and Mac had a run.
And yeah, I didn't think they still did this.
Wow.
We're going to see the money.
I think we may.
I mean, it's an interesting one.
I'll wait and see.
I will definitely wait and see with baited breath.
Just to hear the entry music.
Fair would be pretty cool.
And so we then end up having
an interruption.
So it's not like Eddie Thorpe Eddie Thorpe's any sort of crowd interview area.
You know that little top bit you normally see sort of like
the crows nest isn't it.
It's the medicine platform if you want to call it that busy trick Williams that he's not the man anymore but he still walks around like he is the man.
Eddie Thorpe should be the man. So yeah underground they've got that match at the moment we've seen no added stipulations to it as far as I'm aware is literally just a one on one match.
Oh, it's a man on one mano.
None of this strap strap match bollocks.
It is a case that these guys are going out there basically to hurt one another in a sanctioned WWE match.
And yeah, they'll they'll do what they have whatever the hell they like from that basically.
Yeah, we then go backstage to see someone getting the living shit beaten out of them with a chair by Roxanne Perez for the camera to move slightly for it to be revealed that Jordan Grace just got a don't split by a steel chair from Roxanne Perez.
And as Roxanne Perez walks off she basically just kind of mutters the phrase welcome to NXT.
And then that's kind of the last we see of that for now.
And we then go.
It was like a mini clip wasn't it it was a clip at if you like.
But it would if you blinked you'd miss it.
Yeah, pretty much sort of play.
We then go back to the time.
No, I think that's the start of something.
Yeah, 100%.
We then go back to the press conference area for another roadblock press conference we had over Femi before this time we've got moose.
I am I've been enjoying seeing quite a bit moose to be fair like we saw him last week on on the program he's pretty cool dude.
He's a football player apparently.
Normally I know a reasonable amount about about sort of the American football because I do watch a lot of it. But I have had to have a quick look to say that he played between 2006 to 2012 and he played for the Atlanta Falcons the Indianapolis Colts.
So he would have been a teammate at one point of our homeboy on Monday night Raw's commentary Pat McAfee and the also played for the Los Angeles rounds.
Before he gets about a bit.
He definitely makes some man was give you that.
I would try and pronounce his real name, but I have the utmost respect for this gentleman and do not want to butcher it.
But it's not very easy to pronounce.
No, I can't see it and I'm not willing to do it either so yeah we'll leave that at that.
But yeah it's a case that moose talks about being a prize fighter and how he's going to basically end over Femi's NXT Championship reign as yeah they're not competing in a winner takes all title versus title match.
It is a case that moose has come in to take that NXT that NXT heavyweight title off over Femi in short order and I'm going to be honest based on what I've seen of moose and what I know of over Femi.
It's going to be a difficult match to call.
I'm not sure I'm going to be able to reliably call them a winner to that match without being able to or without changing my mind several different times.
I can call it and back it up without chatting complete bollocks about something I don't know about so I'm not going to.
Fair enough.
But we're then it's a case that moose is not really feeling doing press conferences by the sound by the looks of things as he is then replaced by Ava at the press conference booth who has who announces a few different matches one of which we won't have mentioned just yet is a rock Sam Perez versus Jordan grace.
Which is where that little clip it sort of plays into things and to end this little segment we see a fatal influence interrupt to ask about Fallon Henley's championship rematch for the North American title is she's quite right in what she says she hasn't had that rematch yet.
What I thought this rematch was is it being written out of title matches because it was just becoming the same old sort of people over and over and over again.
So I think they they observe that role as and when they feel it nest that as and when they feel they can get away with it.
After a week after a week after a week after a week and yeah it's it's one of those it's it's going to be a case that.
I don't think they'll ever write it out completely but there will be a certain element of it's not always observed when it should be sort of thing.
So I was trying to tell Fallon Henley that she just needs to she needs to wait and discuss discuss it later.
It makes a very big deal of making sure that her opinions are heard in front of the media in which point Ava after telling her several times you know calm down.
We're going to talk about it in my office.
I ever got up and walked out and left Fallon Henley stood there looking like it's white.
Yeah, Fallon Henley was very very sort of wanting to talk about it now Ava was saying look I just want to go and watch the main event.
I don't really want to talk about it right now.
I'm not going to talk about it when I'm ready.
Definitely sorry.
I said what a main event it was though it was absolutely phenomenal.
So before we get there however we do have one more bit to mention.
We do.
A backstage promo with the gentleman who beat Tony D'Angelo up, Rich Holland.
Yeah, who seems to come out to to confront and have a few crosswords with the so far overhyped Ricky Saints.
Definitely, definitely overhyped.
Yeah, I'm sure we'll get some some pushback on this realistically from Saints fans but it's a case that I'm sorry until you can show me a match.
Put him in a one on one match with someone, anyone and then let me make a decision because so far.
What we saw in that tag match.
Yeah, I mean it's not been great at all really.
He didn't get a lot of time to showcase himself in the last match.
I'm not sure if they're trying to protect their prize asset or not but.
It just feels like he's been like a lot of they've assumed I think that a lot of hardcore fans are going to know who this person is.
And I don't think I would ever class me and riches like hardcore hardcore fans but it's not very often that somebody comes in from another promotion that either me or Rich, at least one of us know something about.
Yeah, no, I mean I get a lot of stuff and social media is from AEW.
Don't necessarily watch it but I know I've got a rough idea what's going on over there and who's over there.
But yeah, if it pops up I'll see it but yeah, I haven't got a vast knowledge of reasonable knowledge.
But a lot of the time I'd be like, I had to do where is Tony Saints to Ricky Saints be fair.
I have no idea who Ricky Starks was.
No, and I'm still really non the wiser.
I've sort of, I don't want to go back and watch any of his previous work because I want to judge him based on his merit and what he gets to do in WWE.
And so far, based on what he's done in NXT, it is a case that I'm just thoroughly underwhelmed.
Yeah, I know I'm going to blame you.
I do not blame you.
Right, well let's not undermine ourselves for too much longer.
Let's jump into something that on paper is meant to be an absolutely phenomenal match.
This is our main event in the evening.
This was for the North American Championship between the current holder Tony D'Angelo and the challenger, Sean Spears.
This was a combination of, well, it all started really with Sean Spears giving Tony D'Angelo a beat down after his match against Rich Holland at vengeance day in Steel Cage.
Well, I think going on, it's been going on, sort of a lot longer.
Yeah, it's a case that this was D'Angelo's first match back since that Steel Cage match, if you want to call it that.
It's a case that he's, it's been well documented that he's still suffering with his back because of that, because of what happened in that Steel Cage.
But in fairness, Tony D'Angelo comes out super aggressive and dominant in early doors on this match.
Sean Spears is trying to make him look like a bitch.
Tony D'Angelo is not about that life.
No, this is it.
But it's important as well to note that D'Angelo came out with the rest of the D'Angelo family at ringside and Sean Spears came out with, well,
their counterparts are supposed to be his family.
I think they're trying to claim they're the next family of NXT or the only family in NXT.
So yeah, family is kind of a loose way of going about it.
Yeah, very much so.
But yeah, it's, do you know what?
I didn't, I didn't entirely hate this much.
NXT this week was due to the production issues and everything like that, or the perceived production issues from the, from the edit that they put together and then published on Netflix that I then went on to watch.
It, the NXT product this week just wasn't there for me.
And so it wasn't there for me. I didn't particularly enjoy what I watched.
This match I enjoyed.
NXT on a whole I think could have been so much better.
And it was just, it was that sucking black hole that was the Jordan Grace Corrigate match, then the squash match for Trick Williams, that massive black hole in the card.
Just completely sucked the fun out of it all for me.
But this match was actually a nice reprieve.
It sort of tried, it went as far as it could to try and redeem, redeem back what we'd seen.
But it just wasn't, it wasn't enough to redeem and it wasn't enough to cover the bar that we'd had through the production issues.
I mean, we did have a pretty good match for our main event though.
I couldn't sit here and lie to you and tell you it was a bad match.
It really wasn't, but it wasn't Dave Meltzer has not given it five stars anytime soon.
But we, we did get to see, you know, a couple of high risk spots.
We got to see Sean Spears hit quite nice spear ironically.
We also got to see him lock in the camel clutch at one point on turning the Angelo trying to go for the weekend back.
Which is still sore from his still cage match.
Yeah, I mean, all of Spears' offence was focused on that lower back of the Angelo, which I mean, is the smart play realistically.
Whether you're faced with an opponent that you could beat easily or whether you're faced with an opponent that could beat you easily.
Or somewhere in between that it is a case that you look to take any and every advantage that you possibly can.
If you're not doing that, then you're not doing right by yourself or anybody else for that matter.
Yeah, no, exactly.
But yeah, it is a case that I've, yeah, most of, most of what you've said is what I picked out of this match.
Anything we haven't mentioned is the ending of the match where there is.
So Sean Spears has got turning the Angelo and a sharpshooter. Is he dame into fears?
And I didn't quite catch how she interfered because I was still writing the previous note, but I know that all hell won't loose after this.
The referee was very, very...
So Spears did have the Angelo in a sharpshooter.
The Angelo manages to power out of the sharpshooter and goes to, and hits his finishing move, the forget about it.
And goes for a pin at which time. Is he dame? Just seems to grab hold of Sean Spears' foot.
Right.
And I've got a feeling that the intention behind it was to literally put his foot on the rope to break the can.
Yes.
But Sean Spears ends up kicking out of it regardless.
So I'm really not sure what it is that they tried to accomplish with that, or if they may have been so far out of position to be able to accomplish what it was that they were trying to do.
That they then had to sort of make it up on the fly a little bit.
Oh, if you're almost dame in the case of shit were too close. What d'you mean by too close? Lift your leg up.
I think it's got more to do with...
I think it's got more to do with it was too far away.
Good job.
It was too mid-ring to be able to... without easy dame having to have the strength within it to pull not just Sean Spears by his foot,
but also to have pulled Tony DiAngelo with it would have just been too much there for it to happen.
So it was a case that they couldn't get good enough purchase on the bottom rope to break the can.
And Sean Spears had to kick out.
So he's still triggering the two-cown, but easy dame trying to help seems to have triggered a brawl which was going to have had to have happened anyway
as Rizzo comes flying in, Thers Press and just beats the living hell out of easy dame,
which I think this tension has been building for such a long time,
especially since that betrayal by dame during that cage match.
It's a case that it's just built and built and this was letting some of that pressure off.
It was that pressure release valve.
It certainly was and there was definitely a lot of pressure to be released.
But I think they gave it the best they could and we definitely did see towards the end of this match
so that Tony DiAngelo is definitely still not 100% back to his normal self because he was brokeling.
He was gassed.
It's a case that during the brawl, the underboss ends up in the ring.
Spears takes advantage of the fact that he's there, shoves him into DiAngelo,
who at that point is stood on the outside of the ring on the apron,
who basically falls back first onto a chair, which was originally bought out by Izzy Dame anyway.
Spears comes out, drags the champ back into the ring, hits the C4 but only manages to get a 2 count.
Spears only gets the win after Tony DiAngelo tries going for like a spade.
He's been for like a spine buster of some kind but is back at that point, just completely gives out.
Spears basically folds DiAngelo in half to get the pin count
and we have a new North American champion in Sean Spears.
That we do, which is something we've been looking at for a little while.
It makes me think maybe Tony DiAngelo may have dropped that one due to get some extra work done on his back
to try and make life a bit easier for him in the future.
Yeah, quite possibly.
It could just be a massive coincidence.
It's not outside the realms of possibility to make.
So yeah, Sean Spears reverses the spine buster for a 3 count to win himself a title.
And that North American title was pretty, that red band is just, it fits it nicely, doesn't it?
Yeah, very much so. Very much so.
And yeah, I don't think we've heard the last of this little family feud between the DiAngelo family and Sean Spears is whatever it is that he's calling them.
That's just hoping they don't bring Steve Harvey in for a guest appearance.
Family feud?
Yeah.
Oh, well, it could end up there.
It wouldn't be the first time that WWE's ended up on Family Feud.
Yeah, we've come to the end of a map.
This was a, because of production issues and the way that it was all edited together,
the entire episode of NXT this week, when you go back and listen, instead of watching it live, watch the edited version,
it comes to just over an hour.
And I've got a feeling that with this podcast episode is actually longer than the episode of NXT that's currently circulating on Netflix at the moment.
It is. You are correct.
But yeah, I've run out of notes for NXT at least.
I have too, to be fair.
Yeah, so thank you all for listening. The next time we will be dropping an episode, it will be,
NXT does SmackDown, where we will start to see a little bit more of the fallout from Elimination Chamber, I think,
because yeah, there's some heated bits coming our way.
And we'll be there to break down every last morsel.
For your entertainment.
But yeah, I will see you Adam on finishes and factions does SmackDown.
Thank you for joining me.
Look forward to it buddy. See you guys later.