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Credit: WWE.com
Tony D’Angelo has built his family in WWE NXT 2.0 with the goal of taking over the brand. On the June 21 edition, he had a chance to complete that journey by defeating Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Championship.
Solo Sikoa and Grayson Waller both have aspirations to become the North American titleholder, but first they would fight each other to get ahead.
Alba Fyre is trying to rebuild herself, but Lash Legend has challenged her in the hopes of jump-starting her own career.
Cameron Grimes challenged Edris Enofe to work harder, and he accepted the opportunity to prove himself against The Richest Man in NXT. Brooks Jensen finally looked to get revenge against Von Wagner for injuring him in April.
NXT 2.0 continues to move forward, building stories that set the stage for greater matches to come involving young, hungry stars.
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Grayson Waller talked a big game before the match, but Solo Sikoa ran
him into the ring and quickly shut him up.
Sikoa may have had most of
the control of the bout, but Waller outmaneuvered him. The heel sent
his opponent into an exposed turnbuckle and then hit a return rolling cutter
to win.
Sikoa may not be a veteran based on experience, but
he works like one in the ring. It helps elevate his
opponents to compete at a main roster level. He told a complete story
with Waller while staying within the expected WWE style.
It
may not have been the most exciting of affairs, but this was a much better
television match than is usual for NXT 2.0. Waller got to show off his
range in the ring, and he pulled out a surprise win over a potential
title contender.
As long as this helps
launch Waller into title contention, the result makes sense. Both men
will be interesting contenders to Carmelo Hayes, and even Bron Breakker, soon.
Grade
B+
Notable Moments
- Waller ducked a charging Sikoa and then planted him with a leg lariat.
- Waller fought out of a Samoan drop only to jump straight into another as he attempted a return rolling cutter.
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Credit: WWE.com
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter moved quickly to pull out a swift victory, but Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz refused to
go down easy. It took an elevated 450 splash/neckbreaker combination to
take the win.
This was better than it looked on paper.
Two of the most established women’s tag teams took advantage of their
familiarity with one another to put on a solid sprint.
The
result was a foregone conclusion, but Leon and Feroz looked better than
ever together. The latter looked strong in her hot tag
sequence, particularly. Hopefully, one of these teams will help right the
women’s division.
Grade
C+
Notable Moments
- Chance flipped out of a double suplex and hit both opponents with a double neckbreaker.
- The former Jordan Devlin promised he was coming to NXT 2.0 soon as JD McDonagh.
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Stacks and Two Dimes came out ahead of Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del
Toro to watch this match closely.
However, after Damon Kemp was taken
out, Two Dimes accidentally tripped Del Toro. This set up Roderick
Strong to hit a running knee to win.
Kemp has been an ideal
addition to Diamond Mine. He is an
explosive athlete, who is benefiting from working with Strong. In a
match with a ton of talent, he stood out often. That said, everyone
looked good with the limited time.
No one
in the D’Angelo Family is doing well lately. This makes for a solid
story in the short term, but it could ruin the momentum of everyone
involved if they don’t break up soon.
Grade
B-
Notable Moments
- Strong
slapped Kemp in the face, which set him off. He suplexed both members
of Legado del Fantasma around the ring and then laid in forearms on the mat. - In
the ring, Wes Lee talked about his pain and need to prove himself.
Trick Williams interrupted to mock him for leaving his tag team partner and then refused a match with him. - In a pre-taped interview, Tiffany Stratton called Wendy Choo tragic and promised to ruin her.
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Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne called Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade and Indi Hartwell’s win last week a fluke.
Perez
and Jade interrupted to challenge Toxic Attraction for the NXT Women’s
Tag Team Championships. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter took offense,
beginning a brawl between the teams.
This could have been done in a
backstage segment. Instead, Toxic Attraction elongated their promos
while saying the same thing they have said most weeks. Perez struggled with
the WWE style of promo here and took way too long to challenge for
the tag titles.
The content was fine, but it did not feel like it
should have gone so long. It also made little sense that Chance and
Carter, after losing clean, would take offense to Jade getting a title
shot she earned. The match between the teams should be good, though.
Grade
D
Notable Moments
- Dolin got a chant all of her own when Toxic Attraction made it to the ring.
- In an interview, Giovanni Vinci promised to class up NXT, but Ikemen Jiro challenged him.
- NXT showed another Apollo Crews video package in which he asked himself how he can be better.
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Edris Enofe looked to prove himself against Cameron Grimes and took his best shots. However, after he missed a 450
splash, Grimes planted him with a uranage and the Cave-In to win.
This
was too short to be really good, but the two worked hard with limited
time. Enofe is extremely talented and will make an impact before long.
This was the briefest sample of that potential.
The Richest Man in
NXT is playing the face still but leaning more into heel tendencies. He
will play the same role against Bron Breakker. He could go full heel
afterward or move on as a fan favorite. Either path works, though it
would be a shame to turn Grimes again already.
Grade
C+
Notable Moments
- Enofe demanded Grimes keep kicking him in the chest, refusing to go down.
- After the match, Grimes shook hands with Enofe as well as Malik Blade.
- Breakker congratulated Grimes, who promised he would beat the champion at the Great American Bash.
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Brooks Jensen found himself wildly outmatched against Von Wagner.
While he tried his best, he dived right into the arms of
Wagner, who hit a fireman’s carry slam to win.
This was a good
sprint between two big man who got a chance to show more than they
have in recent weeks. Jensen especially had his best performance to date
as a solo act. He told the right story here as he was always outmatched
but never discouraged to keep fighting.
Now
that Wagner has defeated Jensen, he will likely be looking for his win
back from Josh Briggs. Hopefully, Round 2 gets more time than its predecessor.
Grade
B-
Notable Moments
- Wagner used the ropes and turnbuckle to injure the right arm and fingers of Jensen.
- Jensen hit a running clothesline and explosive DDT for a near-fall.
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Lash Legend used her strength to dominate, but she missed a big boot
to set Alba Fyre up for a Gory Bomb. Legend ducked the senton bomb and
bashed Fyre with a baseball bat, causing a disqualification.
This
was a lame finish to arguably the best work of Legend’s career to date.
Fyre sold well for her throughout and pushed her to be better. It ended
up coming off like a preview over a full match.
Fyre is stuck in
this feud with Legend for at least a few more weeks. Hopefully, NXT lets
the veterans stay dominant. She is the rare star right now who has
been well-protected since her rebrand.
Grade
C-
Notable Moments
- In a pre-taped interview, Nikkita Lyons warned she was done waiting and would return next week.
- Joe Gacy told The Dyad that the success they would find next would be sweeter than any gold they won before.
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The D’Angelo Family tried to get involved early, and Trick Williams
realized he was outmatched. The distraction allowed Tony D’Angelo to
take over against Carmelo Hayes. However, when it mattered most, Santos
Escobar passed brass knuckles to Melo, who used them to win.
With
all the hype, this could have gone longer. Melo and D’Angelo have
chemistry left to explore. Still, it was a good match from start to
finish where the right man won. Escobar costing The Don protects
D’Angelo for a future title shot.
For the moment, The A Champion
will move onto one of many possible challengers. D’Angelo vs. Escobar
continues, and there needs to be at least one last match between them.
Grade
B
Notable Moments
- Backstage,
early in the night, D’Angelo reminded Escobar to help him win. Later,
Melo promised to beat The Don and The D’Angelo Family in the main event. - D’Angelo relied on his power, but Melo ducked him, sending him into the turnbuckle followed by a lungblower for a nearfall.