Despite the generic and poorly mic’d Vic Joseph and Percy Watson on commentary, this was an ideal wrestling show as it was TWO BATTLE ROYAL’S. 10 minutes of entrances and varying levels of pops from the more-hardcore-than-usual AXXESS fans, then a 20-minute Battle Royal. TWICE!!
1. 18-Woman Battle Royal
Your participants are Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, Mia Yim, Kacy Catanzaro, Deonna Purrazzo, Marina Shafir, Jessamyn Duke, Vanessa Borne, Aliyah, Taynara Conti, Xia Li, Lacey Lane, Kavita Devi, Reina Gonzalez, Jessie, Toni Storm, Piper Niven and Kay Lee Ray, so that makes 15 folks from NXT and 3 from NXT UK. Kind of unfair, eh?
This, like most Battle Royal’s, had a whole lot of grunting. And cameras panning all about. Kacy Catanzaro went out way too early. Reina Gonzalez is working this Blackjack Mulligan/Stan Hansen aggressive cowboy type of gimmick that might work if the crowd stops being so confused. There wasn’t much of a story to follow here, unless you count Marina and Jessamyn dominating early before they went out, and Io, Belair and Storm being the clear stars. I liked Vanessa and Aliyah working their asses off to eliminate Piper, gloating, and immediately getting tossed by Toni and Io. After Toni went out, Bianca press slammed Io to win. **
2. 20-Man Battle Royal
Your participants are Matt Riddle, Roderick Strong, Dominik Dijakovic, Fabian Aichner, Eric Bugenhagen, Wesley Blake, Steve Cutler, Brian Kendrick, Akira Tozawa, Drew Gulak, Ariya Daivari, Humberto Carrillo, Tyler Bate, Bomber Dave Mastiff, Travis Banks, Ligero, Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, Rinku Singh and Saurav Gurjar. That’s 7 from NXT, 5 from 205 Live, 6 from NXT UK, and 2 from I’m not sure where yet but I guess if Jessie is NXT then so are they.
This, like most Battle Royal’s, had a whole lot of grunting. And cameras panning all about. Matt Riddle was the clear standout – charisma and presence for days, rocking out with Bugenhagen around the ring, throwing chops and palm strikes at any big boy who got in his way. And then he… was thrown out by Saurav Gurjar, which sure was confusing. Gurjar and his partner Rinku Singh have got a look, that’s for sure. Dijakovic had himself a nice big guy run, which included Fabian Aichner yelling “who’s the man now!?” at him before trying a springboard and getting eliminated by a punch to the face. I also liked Kendrick wearing his leather jacket the entire time. Tyler Bate and Roderick Strong were the final 2, which was an ideal final 2 as they brought back fond memories of the Undisputed Era/Moustache Mountain tag series – they threw shots at each other and brought a little drama before Strong emerged victorious. **1/2
Battle Royal’s are fun but it’s not like either of these were must-see. Let me tell you what though: 10-20 years from now, this thing might show up on some bizzaro Hidden Gems collection and be a look at a bunch of talents who went onto varying levels of success. And that will be neat.
