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WWE NXT – The Return of Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal

Published Thu, 15 Oct 2020 11:35:12 -0500

In the second part of our WWE NXT report, the women's division saves the night, and Shotzi Blackheart announces the return of a beloved gimmick. Welcome to Bleeding Cool's Wednesday Night Wars report, covering AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT. We watch four hours of wrestling every Wednesday, so you don't have to! You're welcome.

The official logo for WWE NXT.

WWE NXT Report for October 14th, 2020 Part 2

Okay, it was a rough first hour for NXT. Can they turn it around in the second hour? God, I hope so.

Shotzi Blackheart drives to the ring. She's facing Candice LeRae to decide who gets a title shot at Halloween Havok. I think it's obviously got to be Shotzi. She is on all the advertisements for the show, after all. LeRea comes out, and this match gets going.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae

Can we just start NXT over? This should have been the opening match.
Like all the matches tonight, this match is technically really good. The difference is that LeRae and Blackheart actually have personalities, so I have a reason to get invested in it.
Blackheart fights as the underdog in this match. She gets beat up for most of it until after a commercial break when she makes a comeback. But LeRae gets her knees up when Blackheart tries the senton.
Blackheart slips off the ropes during a move sequence and has to quickly climb back up to get German suplexed by LeRae. She also messes up a bridged suplex—rough night.
There are more near falls, and then, eventually, LeRae rolls outside the ring. When Blackheart tries to follow, the ref stops her. In that time, LeRae is passed brass knuckles by Indi Hartwell, who is in the crowd area. She punches Blackheart with them and then pins her.

Wow, a good match I actually cared about that ended in a surprising way? Why can't every match be like this?

Drake Maverick talks to Killian Dane backstair. He's got a presentation about merchandising and branding for their tag team. He also has matching ring gear for them. Dane doesn't look too excited. Maverick says their name should be The Furry and the Fury. Also, they have a match tonight. Dane says Maverick better hope they win. NXT takes a commercial break.

Robert Stone and Aliyah are in the ring. Stone complains about how no one else wants to join his brand but says their loss will be someone else's gain. Toni Storm comes out, making her big return.

Aliyah vs. Toni Storm

The crowd seems really hot for this match, but it's hard to tell because the crowd noise is sweetened. So are the real people there excited, or does WWE just want people to think they are? There's no way to know.
Storm wins with a powerbomb.

If WWE made a show that was just women's wrestling, I'd give up watching Raw, Smackdown, and NXT and just watch that.

McKenzie Mitchell talks to William Regal about the end of the women's number one contender match. Regal says he's not happy, but the referee's decision is final. So Candice LeRae will face Io Shirai at Halloween Havok. Additionally, Mercedez Martinez will fight Rhea Ripley. Xia Li interrupts and begs for a match next week. Regal says he'll take it under consideration. See? They could easily give us a two-hour all-women show every week. NXT takes a commercial break.

Imperium heads to the ring. Then Drake Maverick and Killian Dane come out. Their silly music from last week starts playing, but Dane makes them turn it off. Dane insists he's starting the match.

Imperium vs. The Furry and the Fury

This is a comedy match to get over the odd couple tag team pairing of Maverick and Dane.
After some initial dominance by Dane, he tags Maverick and tosses him into the ring. Maverick then gets beat up for a while until Dane gets a hot tag and beats up both members of Imperium. Until he doesn't. Double-teamed, Dane needs to tag in Maverick.
Now Maverick gets the hot tag. He's fired up and takes on both members of Imperium. He actually does a good job, but when Marcel Bartel pulls Dane off the apron and throws him into the steel stairs, Maverick is distracted and gets caught up with Imperial Implosion for a pin.

Dane is pissed after the match. Ever Rise come out to pick on Maverick, but Dane makes the save. He gets in Maverick's face and shouts: "nobody hits you but me!" As he and Maverick leave, their silly music plays. I love this.

Dexter Lumis and Damian Priest are seen getting ready backstage as NXT takes a commercial break. Then Damian Priest makes his entrance. Shouldn't the champ come out last? Dexter Lumis creeps to the ring.

Dexter Lumis vs. Damian Priest – North American Championship Match

Priest is in control for the first part of the match, pre-commercial break. After the break isn't much different, Priest dominates in this match.
Lumis gets one flurry of offense in the final minute of the match. He manages to lock Silence on Priest, but Priest is able to get a leg on the ropes.
Cameron Grimes appears from under the ring and hits Priest with a cave-in. Priest gets the win.

Grimes gloats after the match. Priest kicks his ass. Johnny Gargano hits Priest with a chair. Candice LeRae comes out to gloat. William Regal comes out to set things straight. Johnny Gargano will get a shot at Damian Priest at Halloween Havok. Shotzi Blackheart comes out and reveals both LeRae and Gargano's matches will have stipulations chosen by Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal.

Well, that was a roller coaster. The whole first hour of the show dragged, but the two women's matches and the tag team match saved the night. But then the main event was a bit of a letdown. But then they brought back god damn Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal, ending the night on a high note. I hope things stabilize for NXT, and they're able to crown a champ that doesn't get injured and screw up all their booking plans.

And that's it for wrestling recaps. I get a day off from the nonstop wrestling watching, but I'll be back in two days with a report on WWE Smackdown.

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