Grudge matches were the name of the game for the November 16 edition of WWE NXT 2.0. Rivals would clash with the opportunity to do some lasting damage.
Dakota Kai returned to cost Raquel Gonzalez the NXT Women's Championship. Big Mami Cool was looking for payback this week with a one-on-one match in the NXT 2.0 ring.
Diamond Mine has made plenty of enemies, and now the odds are growing even. Kushida, Ikemen Jiro and Odyssey Jones teamed up to fight Roderick Strong and The Creed Brothers in a six-man tag team match.
Cameron Grimes took big money from Duke Hudson in his poker room, so the big man challenged The Technical Savage to try it again in a wrestling ring. The two would have a poker showdown.
Tony D'Angelo has never been afraid to challenge the best and brightest stars in NXT 2.0, but he might have bit off more than he could chew with the unsettling Dexter Lumis, especially with Johnny Gargano backing him up.
As with every week of NXT, plenty of surprises were certain. It was all a matter of who stepped up to continue building a legacy in this new era of NXT.
Dexter Lumis revealed a painting before the match of Tony D'Angelo sleeping with fishes. The Tortured Artist had D'Angelo reeling early, and when the monster started to gain momentum, he leaned right into a choke.
D'Angelo managed to escape to the outside where he used Lumis' easel to distract the referee. This allowed him to poke Lumis in the eye and hit a swinging neckbreaker, which was enough for a three count.
Afterward, Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams struck. They trapped Lumis' arm in a steel chair then hit a diving stomp. Johnny Gargano made the save too late.
Johnny Wrestling challenged Melo for the NXT North American Championship. Pete Dunne took offense after defeating the champion last week. Melo and Trick appeared in the crowd to accept both challenges, setting up a triple threat for next week.
D'Angelo def. Lumis by pinfall.
This was fine, but it should have been so much more. Lumis is a unique storyteller that could have pushed D'Angelo far more. Instead, NXT 2.0 rushed through a competitive contest to give the rookie a big win.
The mobster did not even get a chance to savor his win. It was more about Lumis losing and getting beat down instead.
Lumis is clearly playing second fiddle to Gargano when he could have easily challenged Melo before or after his father-in-law. Dunne and Gargano will give Melo plenty of good matches in the coming months, but it's important to continue to build the talent beyond the established veterans.
Diamond Mine prepared for the six-man tag team match when Joe Gacy arrived, asking for an opportunity. Malcolm Bivens gave him his card.
Roderick Strong set off Odyssey Jones with a cheap shot then ran off when the big man got into the ring. Julius and Brutus Creed were unfazed by the offense of Ikemen Jiro, isolating him for a while. Finally, Jones got the hot tag, and The Messiah of the Backbreaker found himself in trouble.
Strong managed to get the big man up for an Olympic Slam, but Jiro made the save. He hit a jacket punch on Strong followed by a big punch from Kushida that set up a running crossbody by Jones to take the win.
Jacket Time and Jones def. Diamond Mine by pinfall.
This feud between Strong and Jones does nothing for the cruiserweight division, and The Messiah of the Backbreaker has already shown he can defeat the big man one on one. It just feels like NXT is spinning its wheels until Diamond Mine has a fresh challenge.
Kushida is a better pairing for Strong and is still owed a rematch. However, this match barely featured the Japanese Superstar. Instead, he is stuck in an odd team with Jiro, feuding with The Creed Brothers, who they are unlikely to defeat.
The Grizzled Young Veterans Facetimed with Zack Gibson's nana. He convinced her that he and James Drake won the tag team championships by showing the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships. Gibson hoped this would help him win her fortune when she passed.
Andre Chase had a cheering student section for his match that quickly watched their professor get dominated. Xyon Quinn hit his second gear and put away Chase with a jackhammer.
Afterward, Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza struck aided by a returning Santos Escobar. Elektra Lopez told him no one said "no" to her before The Emperor chokeslammed Quinn hard on the floor.
Quinn def. Chase by pinfall.
This was a squash that mattered because Chase has been established, even if he cannot pick up wins. The match did not show much more from Quinn, but he continues to pick up steam as a dangerous competitor.
He also now has a true rival. Quinn will benefit massively from working with Escobar. The Emperor has elevated every opponent. The rookie needs this more than anyone, and he will be elevated even if he comes out of this with a loss.
Cameron Grimes bluffed Duke Hudson into folding a winning hand in their poker showdown. When he saw that The Technical Savage had bluffed his way to a win, Hudson attacked him and powerbombed him through the poker table.
He then pulled out a pair of scissors cut Grimes' hair and beard until officials convinced him to back off.
WWE tried to do something different here, but it did not work. Casual fans with no knowledge of poker were certain to be lost. Poker fans were likely to be embarrassed by the display where the game all came down to the first hand.
Hudson's gimmick is falling apart quickly as he cannot beat Grimes in a fair game of poker. Losing his cool after getting bluffed made no sense for a guy that is supposed to be a serious poker player.
Grimes vs. Hudson should be a good match. It is time to get away from the poker and get to the wrestling.
Kyle O'Reilly questioned Von Wagner about his appearance on SmackDown, but the big man told him he was still focused on their team.
Wagner was unaffected by the offense of Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen early. KOR spelled the big man and helped get him alone in the ring to hit a double underhook side slam for the win.
Imperium watched backstage and were unimpressed by the win of the developing team.
KOR and Wagner def. Briggs and Jensen by pinfall.
This should have been better. Both teams are among NXT's most highlighted, yet this contest barely got time to get going. Brooks and Jensen looked terrible losing so easily to the developing team that is struggling to find their chemistry.
Indi Hartwell was standing outside the trainer's room where Dexter Lumis was set to be sent to a local medical facility. Persia Pirotta told her to take of her man.
This left Pirotta to fight two local competitors alone. She stacked up Gabby Stephens and Jenny Levy on her shoulders for a double Samoan drop then hit an F5 to take the victory. Robert Stone watched closely from the stage.
Pirotta def. Stephens and Levy by pinfall.
Pirotta cannot act, but she is a powerhouse in a division that needs that kind of strength. She has impressed in the ring while Hartwell does the heavy-lifting outside the ring. Together, they have come together to make an interesting team in the women's division.
Stone made no sense to be in this spot, but something is happening with him. Everyone he has worked with has been fired except Aliyah, so Pirotta should be careful. Hartwell is the best manager and partner she could ask for to stay relevant.
Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter explained why they wanted to bring the wild energy they experienced every weekend as music concerts to the NXT Universe.
LA Knight explained that he would take out Grayson Waller so that he could go after the NXT Championship he deserved. Waller interrupted Lashing Out with Lash Legend to respond, calling out all the veterans of NXT as a dying breed.
Backstage, Tommaso Ciampa was ready to talk about all the young stars calling him out. However, he stopped himself, deciding to speak in the ring. Bron Breakker arrived to call his shot. The NXT champion was not interested in facing the man he already defeated.
Waller's comments were interesting. It seems he and Knight could genuinely be switching positions in NXT. NXT is slowly splitting down the middle between the veterans and the rookies, and it seems Waller has chosen his spot.
With WarGames on the horizon, Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, Knight and Dexter Lumis could be fighting for the original NXT against the young stars of NXT 2.0 like Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, Waller and Tony D'Angelo.
Ciampa sold his position here and cut a great promo on what NXT can be. Breakker did not do much this time around, but it was not his time quite yet to shine.
Raquel Gonzalez promised to break Dakota Kai for what she did at Halloween Havoc. The Captain of Team Kick made clear that she had a mission to ruin Gonzalez's life. Toxic Attraction told her to finish the job, and Kai told Mandy Rose that she would owe her twice after this match.
Kai laughed in the face of the intensity of Gonzalez. She ducked her larger opponent, who went hard into the steel post. After a running kaio kick outside, she took over, stomping Big Mami Cool into the mat.
The two women battled to the second rope where both women fell hard. After recovering, Gonzalez hit a second gear. As she threw around Big Mami Cool, Kai pulled off the pad from the bottom turnbuckle. She ducked the Chingona Bomb then sent Gonzalez hard into the exposed steel turnbuckle.
The Captain of Team Kick grabbed the shovel, which Gonzalez stole away. Toxic Attraction struck, saving Kai and causing a disqualification. Cora Jade tried to save Gonzalez, but both women got beat down.
Zoey Stark walked out with crutches, handing it to Io Shirai, who laid waste to the heels. The Genius of the Sky grabbed a mic and laid out the challenge for WarGames.
Gonzalez def. Kai by disqualification.
This might have been the only thing worth watching this week, but it was good enough to sell the entire show. Gonzalez and Kai have incredible chemistry. This was as good a match as NXT has put on in a while, even with the less-than-satisfying finish.
This always had to break down with WarGames on the horizon. Toxic Attraction had dominated NXT since arriving, clearly signaling their spot as the heel side of the WarGames match. It was just a matter of who would challenge them.
If it will be a four-on-four battle, Stark would need to be healthy enough to compete, or someone will need to step up for the final spot alongside the faces. Whoever does has big shoes to fill given the impressive line-up so far.
The latest in the sports world, emailed daily.
The latest in the sports world, emailed daily.