NXT Live Show Report February 7th in Toms River, NJ
NXT kicked off a weekend house show tour of the Northeast with a stop in Toms River, NJ at the RWJ Barnabas Health Arena, the gymnasium to a local high school that offers a good space for the likes of NXT or other companies if they ever come here. This was NXT’s second time here, as they ran here a little over a year ago the night before Takeover: Philadelphia (I attended both). Outside of a WWE show in Atlantic City, these are undoubtedly the biggest shows I have been able to attend via toll-free drives, and I lucked into having a very close seat, equivalent to the type of floor seats I’ve been able to get at the 2300 Arena. It looked like a full crowd of people. After a playing of the National Anthem with Lilian Garcia’s vocals, NXT backstage interviewer (and New Jersey native) Sarah Schreiber went straight into the action as the event’s host and ring announcer.
1. Dominik Dijakovic beat Kassius Ohno with Feast Your Eyes. Not the all-out big man battle you would have expected from these two a couple of years ago on the indies (they’re in WWE now after all), but they got the crowd into things, as did every match on this card. Dijakovic had early control with a standing headlock, then Ohno took control by stomping Dijakovic’s feet and working him over. Big moment with them knocking each other down with big boots. Dijakovic got Ohno up for his finisher after Ohno missed hitting him with a moonsault. Ohno acted dazed, selling Feast Your Eyes, on his way to the back afterward.
2. Matt Riddle, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch beat The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler, Wesley Blake, and Jaxson Ryker) when Riddle pinned Cutler after a knee strike. Riddle was introduced as a pseudo mystery partner, as Lorcan stated on the mic how he and Burch couldn’t find a third partner, but they did find a bro. The recently-dubbed Original Bro got on the nerves of the Forgotten Sons when he flipped his flip-flops towards them during his entrance, and Lorcan got the crowd to chant “1 2 Bro!” Riddle got a hot tag after the Forgotten Sons had worked over Lorcan and then Burch, but both Oney and Danny (still Biff and Martin to me) got some highlight moments, including Lorcan throwing chops and hitting a dive to the floor. Lorcan and Burch hit their tandem DDT on Cutler for a nearfall towards the end, then Ryker (formally and forever Immortal’s Gunner) ran wild, including a big Polish Hammer to Burch right before the actual finish.
3. Bianca Belair beat Deonna Purrazzo with the K.O.D. Purrazzo got a big reaction and had crowd support for being announced from New Jersey, despite her hometown being over an hour north of here. She has gotten a lighter hair color now, and Belair likewise has changed up her hair, with her mighty braid now conveniently going down her back rather than coming out the top of her head. Purrazzo came off as the bigger crowd favorite, and they seemed to act accordingly in the match. Purrazzo went for her arm bar and got a standing arm triangle late before Belair just stomped on her. Belair picked up the win after Purrazzo charged shoulder first into the ring post.
4. Kairi Sane & Io Shirai beat Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir after Sane hit Shafir with the InSane Elbow. A repeat of a match shown on the post-Takeover: Phoenix episode of NXT TV, pitting two of the greenest women on the roster against two women who should be on the main roster yesterday. I didn’t think this was as good as that TV match, mainly because it had to be longer. Sane and Shirai were very popular, whereas Duke and Shafir definitely were not. Duke and Shafir were also announced as representing the Four Horsewomen to a reaction from the crowd that felt like surprise mixed with intrigue. Sane got the hot tag after Shirai was worked over a lot, though Shirai did get in a springboard dropkick to Shafir towards the end of the match.
- Intermission. At the end of it, Schreiber brought out two local kids, one of whom beat cancer. She played an easy game with them involving clips from Raw last year, which led to them winning a bag of merchandise.
5. The War Raiders (Rowe & Hanson) beat Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel to retain the NXT Tag Team Titles when Rowe pinned Aichner after he and Hanson hit a pop-up powerslam. Aichner and Barthel cut promos before their match, getting across who they are and how good they are, and getting the “What” treatment for their troubles. It was during the War Raiders’ entrance that I first noticed Jeremy Borash at ringside, filming entrances. The War Raiders hit a lot of their big moves, though Aichner and Barthel had time to shine as well, including Aichner hitting his double springboard moonsault for a nearfall.
6. Shayna Baszler beat Candice LeRae to retain the NXT Women’s Title with the Kirifuda Clutch. Big “Candice Wrestling” chant at the start of this. Baszler dominated a lot of it, with LeRae the latest recipient of Baszler’s elbow stomp, but LeRae also had time to shine as the challenger, including hitting three consecutive dives to the outside. Baszler locked in the clutch after LeRae missed with a springboard moonsault, and she had it in a little longer than necessary, letting go after the bell rang for a second time.
7. Ricochet & Velveteen Dream beat Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano when they both hit Ciampa and Gargano with dual Dream Valley Drivers and Purple Rain Maker elbow drops, pinning them at the same time. Undoubtedly the the hottest match of the night, with four of the biggest stars. Gargano indeed came out with the NXT North American Title, so them apparently shooting two finishes for his title match with Velveteen Dream (airing in two weeks) was likely done for the benefit of shows happening before that match airs, such as Halftime Heat (which happened live on Sunday after the last TV taping last Thursday) and these house shows. Gargano was looking very tan. Velveteen Dream wore a frayed Gargano shirt that Ciampa eventually tore off. Ciampa and Gargano acted like reluctant partners at first. Velveteen Dream did Ricochet’s moonsault into a pose early on. Lots of big moves led to the usual big chants from the crowd. Ricochet avoided getting hit by Gargano and Ciampa’s old tandem kicks. Ciampa received multiple super kicks towards the end, including two errant ones by Gargano.
- After the match, even as a lot of people were filing out to leave, Ricochet and Velveteen Dream spoke to the crowd briefly, with Ricochet thanking them for keeping up the energy from start to finish, and Velveteen Dream calling NXT the hottest brand in sports entertainment.
Another very fun night from NXT, clocking in under three hours. All of the wrestlers worked hard, and the crowd for the most part recognized that and reacted big during the matches, which all had the similar competitive formula. Some names that could have returned here from last year’s Toms River visit were absent (including Aleister Black, all of Undisputed Era, and the Street Profits), but this was still a deep card with a lot of experienced talent.