WWE NXT Review – August 15, 2023
NXT Tag Team Titles Match
The Family (Tony D’Angelo & Stacks) (c) vs. The Dyad (Jagger Reid & Rip Fowler)
Tony D’Angelo fires off right hands to Jagger Reid then Ri Fowler tags in and D’Angelo catches him with a bodyslam before tagging in Stacks. D’Angelo & Reid then both tag in.
Reid lands a back elbow in the corner then follows it up with a kick. D’Angelo delivers a suplex and tags in Stacks & he hits a leg drop but Reid tags out to Fowler.
The Dyad looks to double team on Stacks but D’Angelo tags in. Stacks both plants and The Family delivers right hands to Fowler & Reid’s midsection.
They send them crashing to the outside and Stacks goes flying to level him then he gets Fowler back in the ring and delivers an uppercut off the middle rope.
Reid tags in and trips Stacks then knocks D’Angelo off the apron. Stacks then finds himself on the apron and Reid knocks him off sending him crashing into the announce table that sends us to a break.
After the break Reid fires off right hands on Stacks’ head as he hands upside down from the top rope. He then delivers a shoulder block and fires off elbow strikes. D’Angelo tags in but the referee doesn’t see it. Meanwhile Stacks pins Reid but the referee is distracted by D’Angelo allowing Fowler to break the fall.
Fowler tags in and delivers a shoulder tackle then lands a pair of right hands and a knee. He delivers an elbow and looks for a back suplex but Stacks escapes and lands an enziguri.
Reid tags in and looks to stop Stacks from tagging in D’Angelo, but is unsuccessful. D’Angelo fires off stomps on Fowler and delivers a right hand to Reid that sends him crashing on top of Fowler then fires off more stomps on The Dyad.
He delivers clotheslines to both men in opposite corners, then plants Fowler with a spinebuster and Reid with a suplex. Fowler momentarily distracts D’Angelo then tags in and trips him as he runs the ropes.
Ivy Nile appears at ringside and diverts the attention of Joe Gacy, Ava and the majority of the masked members of Schism then 2 of the masked members attack The Dyad on the outside allowing D’Angelo to plant Fowler with a back suplex turn into clothesline for the win.
Winners & Still NXT Tag Team Champions: The Family (STILL CHAMPIONS!!!!!)
There was a vignette of Eddy Thorpe trying to repair his fighting spirit before saying that he had his eyes on Dijak.
We then see NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes signing merchandise then Wes Lee walks in and observes that Hayes has time to sign merchandise rather than returning his calls. He says the only thing Hayes will be signing in a contract for Heatwave and Hayes tells Lee to come back once he’s defeated Dijak in their upcoming #1 Contenders match.
Backstage Andre Chase & Duke Hudson spoke with Thea Hail to work things but Hail responded by telling Chase to just not throw the towel.
Blair Davenport vs. Dana Brooke
Match starts off with a lock up then Dana Brooke shoves Blair Davenport then delivers a hurricanrana and clotheslines her out of the ring before landing a crossbody off the apron. She rains down right hands then tosses Davenport back in the ring.
Davenport delivers a double stomp to Brooke’s spine then follows it up with a kick to her face. Brooke looks for a handspring elbow but Davenport moves out of the way and lands an elbow.
Brooke responds with a sit out powerbomb and goes for a pin but Davenport kicks out.
Brooke lands a clothesline and grabs the ring bell from the timekeepers area but Kelani Jordan wrestles it away from her and Brooke slides back into the ring.
She rolls up Davenport, but Davenport kicks out so Brooke lands several elbows but Davenport manages to land a knee strike to Brooke’s jaw follow by Kamigoye for the win.
Winner: Blair Davenport
After the break we head back to a heated confrontation between Carmelo Hayes & Dijak at Hayes’ merchandise signing.
Trick Williams vs. Drew Gulak
Match starts off with a lock up then Drew Gulak rolls up Trick Williams but Williams kicks out. Damon Kemp then takes a cheap shot at Williams from the outside while the referee is distracted but this doesn’t slow down Williams. He delivers a dropkick and a pop up right hand before the action spills out of the ring and Charlie Dempsey plants Williams.
He tosses him back inside the ring and Gulak delivers a dropkick to his head then he locks in a leg and abdominal submission but Williams fights his way out of the hold and fires off right hands. He follows it up with a dropkick and a jumping knee then lands a flapjack and a spinebuster.
Dempsey & Kemp try to interfere once again but Brooks Jensen & Josh Briggs run down to provide Williams with some aid then Williams delivers a kick under Gulak’s chin for the win.
Winner: Trick Williams
There was a vignette of Dabba Kato.
Baron Corbin says the great thing about being him is that he can say whatever he wants without any repercussions. He says no one has seen Gable Steveson since he ran him out of the Performance Center then takes a shot at the NXT locker room and says he’s ushering in a new era of Baron Corbin so it can take his rightful place in the main event.
Von Wagner & Mr. Stone then appear, and Stone says himself and the world disagree with Corbin’s statement about the locker room. Corbin tells Stone he could’ve ironed his suit and Stone asks Corbin if insulting him made him feel good. He says while Corbin wants his spot at the top one guy is standing in his way Wagner. Corbin asks Wagner if he’s capable of talking and demands that Stone give him the microphone. Stone does so and Corbin says giving Wagner the microphone was a bad idea. He tells Wagner that he needs to learn how to talk, then cites his own confrontation with The Rock on the Smackdown Fox premiere as an example. He tells Wagner if he wants to make lots of money then he should follow him unless he wants a long career as a security guard in the background.
Wagner says even though he hasn’t talked a lot Corbin talks too much. He says he’s built a friendship up with Stone and everyone is tired of hearing Corbin say the same thing. He challenges him to a match next week at Heatwave then tells him to bring whichever gimmick he wants. He says all of Corbin’s past gimmicks have sucked then tells Corbin there’s a table waiting for him.
They then begin brawling and Wagner clotheslines Corbin out of the ring. He sends him head crashing into the announce table then clears it & looks to put him through it but Corbin fights him off and sends him into the ring apron before security runs down and separates them.
We then head backstage to Judgement Day’s North American Champion Dominik Mysterio & Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley & they challenge Dragon Lee & Lyra Valkyria to a Mixed Tag Team Match next week at Heatwave.
After the break, we head to a video of Mustafa Ali airing out his grievances with Dominik Mysterio & Wes Lee’s runs as North American Champions. He pleads his case for why he should be holding the North American Title and says that the time for a new champion is now.
NXT Title #1 Contenders Match
Wes Lee vs. Dijak
Wes Lee begins to target Dijak’s knee then he sends it crashing into the mat then delivers a kick to it. Dijak sends Lee’s arm bouncing off the top rope then begins wearing it down. Lee responds with a kick to Dijak’s face then follows it up with a 2nd one to his head.
Dijak sends Lee crashing into the ring post shoulder first then delivers an elbow to his shoulder and continues to wear down his arm.
He looks for a big boot on Lee in the corner but Lee ducks out of the way and Dijak is sent crashing to the outside. Lee looks to land a tope suicida but Dijak catches him and sends him colliding with the ring post as we go to a break.
After the break Dijak has a hold lock in on Lee but Lee fires back with a DDT and plants Dijak with a powerbomb then delivers a Meteora then sets up for Kardiak Kick but Lee’s shoulder gives out.
Dijak then looks for Feast Your Eyes but his knee gives out. He manages to plant Lee with High Justice and goes for a pin but Lee kicks out then the action returns to the outside and Dijak sends Lee crashing into the ring steps. Eddy Thorpe appears at ringside and Dijak stares him down.
Lee takes advantage and delivers a hurricanrana off the barricade that sends Dijak crashing into the ring steps then gets him back inside the ring and lands the Kardiak Kick then climbs to the top rope & hits Spiral Tap to get the win.
Winner & #1 Contender To The NXT Title: Wes Lee
We then head backstage to Dragon Lee & Lyra Valkyria & they mutually agree to an alliance in order to face Rhea Ripley & Dominik Mysterio before they formally accept their challenge.
We then head backstage to McKenzie Mitchell is with Tyler Bate & she shares a video from the NXT Anonymous Twitter account of a heated confrontation between Bate & Gallus.
There was a vignette of Ilja Dragunov where he told Trick Williams that he was more dangerous than he can imagine.
Tyler Bate vs. Joe Coffey
Match starts off with a lock up then they go back & forth with submission holds before Tyler Bate lands a dropkick and takes a shot at Wolfgang. Joe Coffey takes advantage and blindsides Bate with a forearm then follows it up with a backbreaker.
Bate responds with a pair of uppercuts and several right hands then delivers a knee to Coffey’s jaw and lands another uppercut off the middle rope then delivers a suplex and a standing shooting star press before executing an airplane spin.
Coffey delivers a German suplex but Bate delivers a rebound clothesline and goes flying over the top to level Coffey on the outside then out of nowhere Dabba Kato appears and attacks Bate
Winner By DQ: Tyler Bate
After the match Dabba Kato looks to attack Joe but Mark Coffey & Wolfgang pull him out of the ring. Dabba Kato then delivers a double sit out chokeslam to Bate in the center of the ring.
Bron Breakker confronted Baron Corbin in the Parking Lot where Corbin stated that he would have an eye on Corbin’s match against Von Wagner next week. Corbin responded by saying that Breakker intimidates anyone in NXT but him.
After the break we head over to the latest edition of Hard Hitting Home Truths with Nathan Frazer. Meta 4 crashes the show before Noam Dar & Frazer get into a verbal exchange with one another.
Jacy Jayne vs. Thea Hail
Thea Hail delivers an arm drag then delivers a tope suicida to Jacy Jayne on the outside as we go to a break.
After the break Jayne sends Hail crashing into the middle turnbuckle. Hail escapes and rolls Jayne up but Jayne kicks out. Jayne then delivers a back elbow and a senton before she exposes one of the top turnbuckles.
Hail plants Jayne then delivers a pair of back elbows and a suplex out of the corner then she delivers a cannonball and a senton off the ropes. Jayne delivers a kick to Hail’s knee then lands a knee strike. Hail looks to cinch in a Kimura Lock but Jayne escapes and delivers a thrust kick.
She follows it up with a spinebuster then looks to send Jayne into the top turnbuckle face first. Andre Chase moves the padding back onto the turnbuckle to stop Hail from going into it face first.
Hail becomes enraged with Chase & Jayne takes advantage of the chaos as she rolls up Hail for the win.
Winner: Jacy Jayne
There was a vignette of Los Lothario narrated by the late Humberto Garza.
We then head back over to Carmelo Hayes finishing up his signing. Wes Lee walks in and presents Hayes with the contract for their Heatwave match but Hayes dismisses him and says he’ll see him on Tuesday. Lee says he’s not waiting and makes his way down to the ring with a table in hand. Hayes follows.
There was a video package of Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton where she promised to be on Heatwave next week.
Lee tells Hayes it’s time for him to sign the most important thing after signing things all day. Hayes tells Lee to chill and Lee says he knows nothing about Hayes’ current luxury lifestyle. Hayes concedes that while holding a top title comes with perks it also comes with plenty of hard work. He tells Lee that unless he’s been in his spot he can’t sit there and say it’s easy because he folds easily after a couple of hits. Hayes says Lee can’t be him and Lee says he doesn’t want to be like Hayes. He recalls being told he can’t wrestle by his supervisors who doubted he’d be able to do it during his time in the military and later by the haters who thought he couldn’t be a singles star. He says despite all that he still became the greatest North American Champion in history and reminds Hayes he was the one who dethroned him.
Hayes says while he won the North American Title he didn’t beat him. He says he put the title on the map and tells Lee he won’t and can’t beat him. Lee says Hayes is always talking about the can’t and says he refuses to fail anymore. He then signs the contract and hands it over to Hayes. Hayes tells Lee not to go chasing waterfalls. He tells him to stick to the rivers and lakes he’s used to. Hayes tells Lee that he won’t miss because he can’t miss then signs the contract. Lee then does a double stomp on the table and breaks it before they stare one another down to close out this week’s NXT.
Heatwave Card (August 22nd)
Trick Williams vs. Ilja Dragunov
Heritage Cup Title Match
Nathan Frazer (c) vs. Noam Dar
NXT Title Match
Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Wes Lee
Von Wagner vs. Baron Corbin
Mixed Tag Team Match
Judgement Day (North American Champion Dominik Mysterio & Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley) vs. Dragon Lee & Lyra Valkyria
