NXT 2.0, newborn lovechild of WWE’s inconsistent talent development initiatives, was almost a year old when it embarked on its second Premium Live Event.
Things had already changed since April’s “Stand & Deliver” in Dallas, when things had already changed prior. Gable Steveson – poster child for WWE’s investment in college athletes and NIL agreements – announced he was returning for another year of school, while Stephanie McMahon – who introduced him at WrestleMania – stepped down as WWE’s Chief Brand Officer.
Bron Breakker regained the NXT Title from Dolph Ziggler, then moved into a rivalry with Joe Gacy – who swapped hanging with Harland and a yearning for social justice with hanging with spooky druids and kidnapping Rick Steiner.
Also on the way to NXT In Your House: Wes Lee reflected on life at a beach, Von Wagner tossed Wes Lee through a table, Natalya made some guest spots, and there was a Gang War. As WWE once again took a deep dive into the pits of Corporate America, it all went so fast and didn’t make sense sometimes.
NXT In Your House took place in a wrestling studio dressed up like a house.
1. Losers Join the Other Gang: Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz del Toro w/ Elektra Lopez vs. Tony D’Angelo, Two Dimes & Stacks
Every so often a gimmick comes around that reveals a deep fandom behind the scenes at NXT; in this case somebody is fascinated with the Mafia and Tony D keeps reaping the rewards. The referee finding a crowbar hidden in the stairs was a great bit, and their grand entrance so over-the-top it was practically joyful.
This was good. Really good. Channing Lorenzo & Troy Donovan quietly made their WWE debuts on Level Up (LVL UP?) a couple months ago as a blowjob babyface tag team and a couple weeks later bought some cheap suits and hats and began calling themselves Two Dimes and Stacks. They were here to literally blend in but to manage that in this type of all-action 6-man tag was impressive.
Joaquin Wilde & Cruz del Toro meanwhile have found this weird good spot in WWE where they barely wrestle but usually get to go off on PPV. The eventual Escobar/D’Angelo showdown got a huge reaction as did the eventual spot where both sides ended up in the ring, made angry faces at each other, and charged with punches. Fun and exciting opener with the Legado guys carrying some greenhorns to the promised land. ***3/4
2. NXT Women’s Tag Team Title: Toxic Attraction [c] vs. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance
There was a part in a WWE Network documentary on NXT years ago (Breaking Ground?) where Finn Balor marveled over what the WWE Performance Center had taught him, like how to do a wrestling entrance and play to the hard cam. It became a reference point whenever anyone needed to make the point that in WWE they focused on aesthetic first and wrestling last, a point that comes up kind of often.
All four of these wrestlers seem pretty good, but most of the match’s energy seemed to come from their entrances. K & K brought the crowd to their feet with chants of “woop woop,” and Jacy Jayne just flat-out went wild.
Then the bell rang, and there was a pescado. A beatdown. A hot tag and that spot where a wrestler breaks up a pinfall by throwing another wrestler into it. At one point, Kayden Carter suplexed Katana Chance into doing a Frankensteiner on Jacy Jayne which hit Gigi Dolin – it was crazy. There were elements of a solid match here if not much more than that. ***
3. NXT North American Title: Cameron Grimes [c] vs. Carmelo Hayes w/ Trick Williams
Shouldn’t Cameron Grimes be close to broke given the eventual trends with Bitcoin and $AMC, or am I to believe he was able to successfully cash out in time and pivot to other and more reliable investment strategies? And if it’s the latter, why is that not the new gimmick? It’s possible I missed a promo.
They started this off all fun and scrappy with each looking for an edge, though by the time Grimes got DDT’d on the apron and they pulled off a second-rope Spanish Fly, anything besides those moves – some of the near falls included – didn’t get much more than a murmer. Impressive but empty. ***
4. NXT Women’s Title: Mandy Rose [c] vs. Wendy Choo
As she did in the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Classic in March, Wendy Choo – who wears pajamas and is usually sleeping – made the gimmick work for the wrestling match. Mandy Rose has put in the work too, though it’s possible that is just the sheer force of Being Around. Her as a division Ace is just a stretch is all, especially against the pajama lady who at one point cartwheeled herself right into Mandy’s spinebuster. Wendy got a fun run after Mandy ripped her body pillow up, then a running knee sent her back to dreaming. **3/4
5. NXT Tag Team Title: Pretty Deadly [c] vs. The Creed Brothers
Pretty Deadly and The Creeds are both throwbacks to a simple dynamic of wrestler, the obnoxious and brightly-colored but objectively gorgeous pretty boys against the Steiner-esque hard-working former amateur wrestlers who turned pro and have their parents in the crowd.
The good guys used suplexes and the bad guys used shortcuts, and Julius Creed has some things to figure out around selling a beating but he did do a brilliant Shooting Star Press at the end. Hot match, hot finish, Brutus Smash! ***3/4
6. NXT Title: Bron Breakker [c] vs. Joe Gacy
In asked to carry an era of NXT adopting an approach to “story” no different from the messy “main roster,” Bron Breakker has been tasked with a lot. I don’t know if any of it has allowed him to progress as a pro wrestler or in-ring performer, though maybe there’s other outcomes in mind. Either way, he’s trying.
He last faced Joe Gacy a month ago at NXT Spring Break-In in what was an acceptable TV main event, and I guess this was the PLE version of that with Joe Gacy and all his tricks challenging the WWE main event act in training that admirably plays along. They kept it basic and the crowd stayed involved, though the shift in tone of Gacy’s strategy from Druid interference to an Eddie Guerrero lying cheating stealing tribute felt like a stretch. That setup the finish, actually: another referee ran out to reveal Gacy’s ruse; then like all good pros Bron Breakker sent him through a table. Fine. Acceptable. Uninspired. ***
Happy Thoughts: The 6-man opener is worth checking out and there really wasn’t a miss all show, though there wasn’t anything else particularly worth checking out either. 3.0 / 5.0
