Below, we have the NXT results from the Tuesday, November 16th show, along with highlights and headlines coming from tonight.
NXT Results, highlights and headlines from last week’s show
WWE NXT Results 11/16
Tony D’Angelo def. Dexter Lumis. Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes attack Lumis after
Pete Dunne and Johnny Garganno Promo: They will face Carmelo Hayes for the North American Championship next week
Diamond Mine Promo: They set up six-man tag and possible Joe Gacy storyline
LA Knight Promo: He’s the uncrowned NXT champion, and Grayson Waller is in his way
Odyssey Jones & Jacket Time def. Diamond Mine
MSK go to an airport
Xyon Quinn def. Andre Chase, Quinn attacked by Legado Del Phantasma after
Cameron Grimes Duke Hudson in a Poker Showdown: They actually just played poker, before a Duke Hudson beatdown
Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagoner def. Briggs & Jensen
Lashing Out w/ Lash Legend: Grayson Waller says that waiting is overrated, and the game has changed in his favor
Persia Pirotta def. Gaby Stephens and Jane Levy
Dakota Kai Promo: She can’t control herself until she buries the past and beats Gonzalez
Tommaso Ciampa Promo: The new generation should fear Ciampa, and Bron Breakker reminds him that he should be his priority
Dakota Kai vs. Raquel Gonzalez ends in DQ and brawl to set up the women’s War Games match
NXT Highlights From 11/16
Odyssey Jones Shines in Six-Man Action
A match including Roddy Strong and Kushida was always gonna shine in the ring, but this six-man tag match really came to life because of the young blood involved. While Hiro still seems more character than wrestler at times, Odyssey Jones and the Creed Brothers continue to show that they can be big-time players in any match they are given. I’m still confused why we’re setting Jones as Cruiserweight Championship contender, but getting the win over Strong here is a big deal for the stock of Jones regardless.
This match had a good mix of chaos while still giving us a great string of power moves and in-ring classics. Seeing Strong lift the behemoth of Jones up for an Angle slam, in particular, was a must-watch moment. The other big takeaway from this match is the need to give Kushida more in-ring time, as he is too good to let sit idly as a mid-card tag team guy.
Duke Hudson and Cameron Grimes Go All-In on Feud
Listen, most of you would probably hate this. I loved this because it was just the right amount of wrestling stupidity for me. I think it was a shock to everyone when the “Poker Showdown” was… well, just a live poker game. Hudson and Grimes played a game of poker in the middle of the ring; no street fight or zany stipulation match. But, for me, the segment worked because I just enjoyed seeing how these two characters impacted each other. Grimes is a master of crowd work, and they got into this poker game somehow, and it led to the slow unraveling of Duke Hudson as he got beat at his own game.
I do think they’ll need to set up Hudson for what happens after this feud in a smart way because, as a poker character, he sure does stink at poker. That said, I’m a sucker for weird, but simple stories and this was that in a nutshell. Plus, I think this story is doing a good job of re-establishing what makes Cameron Grimes such a loveable, unique character. The climax was Hudson sending Grimes through the poker table, a sign that this feud is only heating up. And for my sake at least, I hope it only gets wilder from here.
Ciampa and The New Generation Make Themselves Heard
A story that has been slowly building with Ciampa as the final boss of NXT, and this week this became even more of a must-watch storyline. Tonight, the most pleasant surprise was the promo of Grayson Waller, who finally gave his character some wonderful dimensions. He explained his obsession with social media and stated that the old school ways of paying your dues had changed, and now you had to capture the moment to climb to the top. He seemingly drew a line in the sand between himself and the new guard, which drew the ire of Tommaso Ciampa.
What I most loved about Ciampa’s promo is how many guys he got over. He validated Waller’s credibility after his audacious promo, called out Carmelo Hayes’ demands as the A-Champion, and his ignorance of Bron Breakker summoned the champion to the ring. All while making Ciampa look more and more unhinged, and making Breakker seem like the more focused competitor perhaps heading towards War Games.
The only real issue I have here is I’m almost loving Ciampa as champion too much. The story of him being the one who stands in between the next generation and the top prize is so interesting, but I do feel like they should pull the trigger on a new era with Breakker as top champ too. In any case, NXT’s main event scene got a huge boost tonight with some of these incredible character moments.
A Blood-Feud Main Event Promises More
The build to this match could be considered a lowlight, as it could have certainly been saved for War Games, but Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai just couldn’t wait to destroy the other I suppose. And based on how this ended, there is so much more to come. DQ finishes are never too welcome, but besides that, this match was a must-watch.
Kai and Gonzalez have outstanding chemistry. The match had plenty of call-backs that made this match feel like it was worthy of the year’s worth of build it had received. And just when Gonzalez and Kai seemed like one was going to have to bury the other, Toxic Attraction struck. A beatdown commenced that all really lead to one thing – WAR GAMES.
It seems like we will be getting team Dakota with the three members of Toxic Attraction versus team Raquel with Io Shirai and Cora Jade so far. The only question is if Zoey Stark will be healthy enough to join the good guys in the double cage. This match deserves a clean finish, but this War Games Match is plenty worth putting that off for. The only thing that really needs to be inserted here is William Regal’s signature voice before the first NXT 2.0 PPV.
NXT Lowlights From 11/16
MSK Madness Needs to Stop
MSK, believe it or not, is still on their dumb shaman journey. This week, the “comedy” segment included MSK heading to an airport, sneaking on what seemed to be a marijuana reference and otherwise being too dumb for their own good. This is a team that held the tag titles for ALMOST A YEAR. They didn’t matter much as champions, always struggling to get pushed into proper feuds, but that has only gotten worse since losing the belts, as their comedy journey hasn’t been all that funny and they haven’t been able to wrestle.
Overall, the worst part of MSK’s current presentation is they should be elevating themselves to get their titles back and, unfortunately, I care way less about them now than I ever did, which is saying something rather unpleasant.
NXT Headlines
NXT War Games is officially happening on December 5th, two weeks after Survivor Series, which is taking place this coming Sunday. Survivor Series is set to be featuring the typical champion versus champion format, headlined by Roman Reigns with the Bloodline taking on Big E with the New Day. Meanwhile, this show started planting more seeds for War Games, with the women’s War Games match along with Ciampa and Bron Breakker nearly guaranteed to headline the first pay-per-view of the 2.0 era.
