Bayley tried but couldn’t keep Toxic Attraction together, JD McDonagh challenged Carmelo Hayes, and Thea Hail was kidnapped.

mail-revenge day NXT in your world! Claire has you covered on the blog and I have you covered here. A tag team for the ages.

Let’s talk NXT!

Poisoning

Well, I never expected to hear “Hobo Beat Up Chucky Doll” on TV this week, but here we go. Bayley visited NXT this week for a special “Ding Dong, Hello” show with Toxic Attraction. Toxic Attraction without Mandy Rose was an amazing experience and so far, that experience seems to be over.

Bayley showed up hoping she might heal the bonds between Gigi Dolin and Jesse Jane after they failed at revenge day. For a moment, it seemed as if she might. After Jacy gets this Chucky doll, Gigi replies that looking at the lights on your back is Jacy Jayne pose. Whew.

But Bailey reasoned with both of them and they relented. They apologized to each other and seemed to make up. Jessie said she gets nasty when she’s competitive. Gigi acknowledged that they needed each other because they had rejected everyone else. Bailey agreed! Toxic Attraction talked about going after the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships and of course Bayley fired it all up right away. She patted her back nonetheless as Gigi and Jesse stood together and held each other’s hands.

And then, of course, the Shawn Michaels Marty Jannetty moment. Super Jessie kicks Gigi in the door, “Ding Dong, Hello.” Unfortunately, the door didn’t open or collapse, but hey, you get the point.

Jesse heel here makes sense. But Gigi, even in this part, shows that she has the most talent of the two. I can’t imagine Jesse as the face though. I can’t understand feeling sympathy for Jessie or hoping she’ll beat any odds. But Gigi? Yes, I can do all of that for her. Some people are just natural heels and Jassi fits that mold perfectly.

However… I think recreating the barbershop moment feels a bit lazy and lazy. I know, I know, Sean runs things. But he feels unearned by these two.

I’m looking forward to next week because the most important step is always the next.

extracurricular

dragon heart

Carmelo Hayes Road leads to Bron Breaker, but said road has a few bumps. JD McDonagh showed up this week, telling the former A-Champ he’s not ready for the big belt and can’t lead the brand. It’s all funny coming from JD, a guy who actually lost to Bron and proved it he Not ready to lead the brand or carry the big belt. But I digress.

To my shock, this match started at the second hour of the show instead of the main event. And I kept wondering why. Yes, even with the good match these two made, I wondered why so early. Even when the match showed continuity as JD attacked Milo’s ribs after Team Apollo went to town on said ribs. revenge day, I wondered why. Then Ilja Dragunov’s music hit and I finally had my answer.

Dragunov made a beeline to the ring, manhandled Trick Williams, and distracted JD long enough for Melo to catch him off guard with an inside cradle and get W. unfinished business with the methodical lunatic. Melo came out of the dribble when Dragunov attacked JD. Unfortunately for him, McDonagh escaped before Dragunov could get to him the way he wanted.

I like to warm up Milo by making him face J.D., which gets the crowd more on Milo’s side. I even wondered if they were turning a bronzer on or turning Milo more face-to-face or at least skinny. Are you facing JD this week, in addition to being gripped by Apollo with broken ribs? This is the kind of thing that the crowd loves and changes that stand and delivery public Against Melo it could be tough.

Sol Survivor

I didn’t expect this to come. I haven’t seen Zoe Stark defeat Sol Roca. Sol looks much better in the ring than she did months ago, as she should, and having a solid dance partner like Stark helps. But I thought they’re keeping Sol’s momentum with a big W here. What we get instead is NXT’s proverbial baby split. Stark got the win but never left a good one alone. She attacked Soul after match, adding insult to the other thing, but ended up regretting it almost immediately. Seol snatched Zooey’s soul and left it lying in the middle of the ring. I’d rather let Stark get a W than let her look like a loser in the end. Or just give Sol the flukey the win. You’ve never been a fan of someone who loses the battle but wins the war, as he was.

Choose on your own size person!

Grayson Waller disrespected Shawn Michaels after that revenge day And Tyler Bate took it very Personally. So much so that he challenged Waller to a match next week because Aussie is currently “on hold”.

dominance

Do you remember when Dante Chen was a thing? NXT probably didn’t because they used him as cannon fodder this week. Chen went one-on-one with Daba Cato, who did not look Chen in the eye until the large man had gotten down on one knee. This was Shane’s best chance at W, but until then, come on. This was academic and yes, the big returning guy got a W.

Apparently Apollo Crews did something that pissed off the big guy. During a very short post-game interview, he told us all that Crews “knows what he’s done” and that’s why he “dropped his ass.”

I guess Apollo didn’t see that, did he?

stack packages

I’m still waiting for Odyssey Jones to come out but maybe my eyes should be looking at one of Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo. He is, after all, the boss. It’s crazy how Jones apparently fell for the difficulty. But Stacks’ win makes sense given that prior to this match, he and Tony D’Angelo approached Wes Lee about the help they gave in revenge day. Lee benefited from the beef with Dijak and expects to be fully compensated.

We’re having an open challenge at the North American Championships next week, and both guys want to play. So, well, making Stacks look good going in feels right.

This or that?

Wendy Cho and Elektra Lopez fight for Valentina Fairuz’s soul. During Fairuz’s match with Lyra Valkyria, Lopez appeared at ringside and Fairuz slipped some brass knuckles. Zhou, who accompanied Fayrouz to the ring, begged her friend not to use the UFO. Fayrouz hesitated, but eventually said no. Either because she refused to cheat or because she took her eyes off the prize, Fayrouz took another from L.E. Lopez shook her head in disappointment as Zhou consoled her friend.

spill something

During Briggs & Jensen’s surprise party for Kiana James & Fallon Henley, Pretty Deadly and Chase U got into it. And I mean they truly I got into it because Andre Chase cursed a storm. Pretty Deadly looked awful as they apparently hadn’t slept since missing out on another shot at tag team gold. Since this is wrestling, someone has scheduled a match between two teams.

I like the Pretty Deadly shaggy idea. They looked terrible and didn’t even bother to put on their ring equipment. In fact, during the game, someone asked, “What’s the point?” A nice touch that I really appreciate.

Thea Hill did not accompany her children this week. Why? Glad you asked. Ava Ryan kidnaps her after Thea verbally berates Tiffany Stratton for the way she talks about Chase’s wild part? It didn’t happen in the parking lot.

Chase U took an L once Thea came back screaming and clearly upset. Everything Rin did to her clearly upset her. If not for this short cut, Chase U would win here and that’s my main take. Gallus next showed up in Crow’s Nest with their eyes set on Un-Pretty Deadly, but Chase U deserves a run with those titles. Even if it is short.

Rox-C no guys?

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance drunk. They have been cheated in their tournaments and they think no one cares. They are so angry, they even boycott Roxanne Perez’s win interview. The former champions came to Perez aggressively, telling her she had no friends and challenging her to a match next week if She can call a friend.

Turns out Roxanne has some dope friends in high places because next week, it’s Carter and Chance going up against Perez and… Miko Satomura. Former champions may regret sticking their noses where they don’t belong, which seems like this week’s theme.

diamond clarity

So Isla Dawn thinks she’s Enola Holmes now? I’m really confused why someone like Dawn would care who hurt Nikita Lyons. Nothing about her personality screams “caring for others” or that she’s an advocate for justice. Tatum Baxley’s accusation before the game sounded bizarre. Maybe she did it to get into Tatum’s head? Possibly creating a rift between her and the diamond mine, to which her affiliation seems tenuous or… honorary?

My guess is the latter since Paxley hit the ring sans Ivy Nile and after Dawn got her W, it looked like she and Alba Fyre had nefarious plans for Tatum. Ivy managed to save, but me He thinks Isla & Alba have designs on making the duo into a trio, and Paxley is the target. I love that idea. I also reserve the right to be completely wrong. The match itself was short and didn’t do much for me as I spent most of my time getting around the cause.

This seemed like a much better paced show than usual. A strong top-down presentation that maintains a sense of urgency throughout.

These are my thoughts. Right or wrong, that’s what I felt at the time.

how do you feel?