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NXT Live: Largo
August 25, 2018
Minnreg Hall
Largo, Florida
Attendance: 400
On a very stormy night in Largo, NXT put on a good show even when advertised wrestlers like Tomasso Chiampa were not on the card. Fans still came out and even braved a flooded Minregg Hall parking lot. While the show was only one hour and thirty minutes, fans were treated to a fantastic show with some great matches. Also on this show, three out of the Four UFC Horsewomen wrestled in the main event that also featured the debut of Lo Shirai.
Street Profits defeated Cezar Bonini and Adrian Jaoude
Good opening match that had a good heat due to the story that was built throughout the match by the wrestlers. Cezar and Jaoude were able to implement classic tag team heel tactics and double team Montez Ford which built heat for the hot tag that got a big reaction when it occurred. The Street profits won the match when Angelo Dawkins hit a Spinebuster of Cezar which was followed by Montez ford hitting a beautiful springboard Frogsplash for the pin. The 1-2-3 got a good pop from a very active crowd and was a good start for the show.
Brian Williams (Brennan Williams) defeated Tian Bing w/ Rocky
Brennan Williams, who was announced as Brian Williams due to a name chance or announcer error, came out with a new gimmick. While his old gimmick was based around him saying “More power!” which always reminded me of Home Improvement, this new gimmick seemed a little over the top for me but it seems to be all the rage nowadays. The gimmick is based around being a strange, effeminate and eccentric wrestler with loads of mascara surrounding his eyes. It surprisingly got over with some fans in the crowd especially when he twerked in the corner of the ring and sat out on his butt which led the crowd to chant “Holy Sit!” Williams dominated most of the match and even though Tian hit several impressive kicks, Williams got the pin to win the match.
Lay Lane and Kacey defeated Taynara Conti and Reina Gonzalez
Reina Gonzalez and Taynara Conti both came out individually with both receiving a mild negative reaction from the crowd. Both played great heels throughout this match and made it very entertaining. Lay Lane then came out to a mild pop which was probably due to her unique because most fans in the crowd probably did not know who she is yet. Then Kacy Catanzaro came out to a good pop from the crowd and I underestimated just how over she is with wrestling fans in Largo, they loved her. This was a entertaining match where the heels were able to garner tremendous heat from beating down two smaller yet very athletic babyfaces. This match had a very organic and natural professional wrestling feel to it and had you wanting to see the babyfaces make the comeback to beat down the nasty, cheating heels. Lane and Kacy were able to hit several very athletic maneuvers that got pops from the crowd who eventually chanted “Lay and Kacy! Lay and Kacy!” Lay and Kacy both hit very impressive wristlock to springboard hurricanranas in the match with Lay’s being the most impressive due to her impressive ability to bounce of the top rope to middle rope back to the top rope springboard. Not to be outdone in a good match, Kacy hit an amazing springboard front dropkick where she jumped over the top rope from the apron to then springboard from the second rope to hit the move. Kacy then hit a standing corkscrew splash on Conti for the pin. Reina and Conti argued after the match with Conti screaming “I hate her!” in reference to Kacy. Conti then hilariously berated fans at ringside as she exited.
Dan Matha then came out which garnered a large negative reaction from the crowd showing that he has been a successful heel at Largo. The crowd booed loudly as he flexed in the ring and held his hand out for the microphone to be handed to him by Sarah Screiber. He was booed every time he tried to say “Ladies and Gentleman!” and after each time he tried to speak he generated more heat from the crowd which set-up a great spot for a babyface to come out to shit him up but it did not work out as planned despite the great set-up by Matha. This is due to Luke Menzies coming out and the crowd having no idea who he was.
Dan Matha defeated Luke Menzies
Menzies came into the ring to a very mild reaction from the crowd due to him being a relative unknown to these fans. He had a fairly decent match with Matha but Menzies still has room for improvement with his technical ability. Matha hit several big moves and then cut-off Menzies comeback with a stalling vertical brainbuster for the pin.
Velveteen Dream defeated Babatunde
Very good match. Babtunde came out to an above average crowd pop which showed me that he has gotten over locally and the ability he showed during this match shows that the work he has put into this craft is paying off. Velveteen Dream then came out to one of the largest pops of the night which set-up a match where he played the babyface being dominated by a big monster. Babatunde dominated the beginning of the match which led Dream to try to play head games to get an edge over Babatunde. Dream slid out of the ring and then ran to the opposite side to slide back in and then back out again. He would then pose every time he did this and confused Babatunde which got a pop from the crowd. Babatunde then figured out what Dream was doing and was able to catch him by the hair and impressively pull him into the ring over the top rope from the floor. The crowd had dueling chants of “Let’s go Babatunde!” and “Let’s go Dream!” Dream was able to mount a comeback against his monster opponent to land the Purple Rainmaker for the pin.
Intermission
Heavy Machinery v Forgotten Sons
After the Intermission concluded Heavy Machinery came out to a solid pop from the crowd and Otis took the mic to speak his mind. He stated that he and Chuckie were cheated out of a victory by the Forgotten Sons last night at the NXT show in Bartow, Florida. He said that the Forgotten Sons only got the victory because they used leverage from the ropes to pin them and that Heavy Machinery wanted vengeance! The Forgotten Sons music hit but they did not come through the curtain. The sons came out through the crowd to try to sneak attack Heavy Machinery which was hilariously stopped by Otis who unleashed a beat down on Wesley Blake. Jaxson Ryker did not even try to enter the ring when this happened and beat down of a sneak attack got a large pop from the crowd which was the beginning of another good match that got strong reactions from the crowd. The match went back and forth with the Sons cutting Heavy Machinery off with cheap heel tactics and Heavy Machinery making heated comebacks with impressive big maneuvers. This match could have had the most heat of the night due to several false finishes that were implemented in a believable fashion. Each time Heavy Machinery seemed to have the win, the Forgotten Sons found a way to break up the pin and every time the Forgotten Sons seemed to have Heavy Machinery beat, they kicked out. This back and forth went on until Otis was able to hit a schoolboy for the victory.
Raul Mendoza defeated Humberto Carillo
This was a great match with moves that astonished the crowd which eventually chanted “Lucha Libre!” Both Raul and Carillo. came out to a minimal reaction from the crowd due to Raul not being over with the crowd and Garza Jr. being a relative unknown. While it took time for the crowd to get behind the wrestlers in this match, the impressive in-ring maneuvers put on by both had the crowd cheering on their feet for them at the conclusion. Both wrestlers’ timing was off at the beginning with some awkwardness in the way they executed their moves on each other. Eventually they got on the same page to deliver a fast paced match with some exiting high risks aerial maneuvers. Carillo hit a very impressive plancha by running and leaping over the top rope onto Mendoza who was standing dazed on the outside which showed his immense aerial ability. Carillo had a fantastic false finish where he hit an impressive corkscrew moonsault which Mendoza was able to kick out off to the crowd’s astonishment. Carillo then went to the top rope again to try to put his opponent away only for Mendoza to hit a springboard enziguri which led to his victory. Carillo sold this maneuver to a large degree after the match by holding his head and not getting onto his feet after the match concluded. Raul stayed in the ring with the crowd applauding the effort shown by both wrestlers and he eventually helped Carillo up which led to a louder reaction from the crowd who really liked this match even though they were not interested in it at the beginning. This match is the kind of match that makes these local Florida Loop shows special.
Main Event
Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir and Shayna Baszler defeated Deonna Purrazzo, Lo Shirai and Kairi Sane
Three out of the Four UFC Horsewomen came out together to a loud pop from the crowd who knew they were seeing something special. Deonna then came out to a mild reaction followed by Lo Shirai who got a good reaction from the few fans who knew who she was. Kairi Sane then came out to a very positive and sustained reaction from the crowd which made me wonder what Shirai was thinking during that moment. The Horsewomen played the heels of this matchup and deployed classic heel tag team moves to constantly cut-off any comeback from the babyfaces. While the Horsewomen played the heels, a lot of their tactics were cheered by the crowd who generally liked them outside of a spot where Shayna tagged out of the match when Kairi was tagged in which got a lot of heat from the crowd. Shayna responded to this by stating “She’s a coward” while pointing at Kairi. Lo Shirai hit some impressive maneuvers throughout the match and Deonna Purrazzo looked good as well. Shayna had the best in-ring ability out of the Four Horsewomen but Jessamyn and Marina were able to successfully play their roles by brawling to dominate their opponents. Eventually Deonna was isolated with Shayna in the ring which led to Shayna submitting her with the Kurfida Clutch onto her while Marina and Jessamyn held Kairi from breaking up the submission. After the match Kairi entered the ring only for the Horsewomen to surround her and beat her down. This led to Kacy Catanzaro and Lay Lane to enter the ring to make the save and chase the Horsewomen off. While the Horsewomen were over, this got a good reaction from the crowd and was a solid end to a quick show in Largo.
No Tomasso Ciampa match even though he was advertised did leave a bad taste in my mouth with this show despite the good overall matches put on with this show.
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