When I was growing up, I remember the adults around me complaining about the cost of cable and wished there was a way to only order the channels that you knew you were going to watch. Well, that is sort of what I did when I cut the cord in 2004 and went to streaming services. One of the streaming services that I have is Hulu Basic. Hulu Basic costs me $5.99 a month. I do have the add-on subscription of HBO Max bringing my monthly total, with state tax, to $22.24 a month. I used to pay over $200 a month for cable. Because I have the patience of Job and am not in front of my tv 24/7, this is the best financial decision for my family. However, this decision comes with a price of a different kind.
I do not know how it is decided, but not every match or segment that is shown on live tv is shown next day on Hulu. I have written about this in previous posts. This fact applies to this past Tuesday's NXT mixed tag match between Xia Li and Boa verses Mercedes Martinez and Jake Atlas.
Mercedes suffered a concussion as a result of a spinning heel kick from Li. I only became aware of the injury because of my Google feed. I also watched a portion of the match on YouTube. I think Mercedes was meant to kick out of the pin attempt but just couldn't. Great call by the ref and many prayers of healing for Ms. Martinez.
This past Tuesday also marked 7 days until NXT's Great American Bash. The opening match of the evening was to determine the #1 contender for the Women's Tag Championship. Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon vs. Zoey Stark and Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai were the three teams vying for the opportunity.
It was a fast and furious fight from the bell. Raquel opened the match with an explosion of power. She and Kai were probably the favorites to win. Conversely, the team of Stark and Shirai were the team least likely to win. They just do not a familiar history with each other. It was interesting to see whether or not they would overcome such an obstacle. And overcome they did. Io pins Dakota and she and Stark will now face Indi Hartwell and Candance LeRae this Tuesday for the gold. My prediction is that Candance and Indi retain their belts.
There was also some smack talk leading into this Tuesday's Great American Bash from former friends. Kyle O'Reily calls out Adam Cole. Yet, before Cole could respond, Samoa Joe interrupts with a fleet of security. Joe stands with both men in the ring while security keeps the top of ramp warm. The jaw jacking intensifies to the point where we see Kyle put Adam in a leg submission. Cole cries in pain while Samoa Joe looks on unimpressed. "Get him off me Joe!" screams the former champ. Joe exits the ring and calls for security to separate the pair.
The last time these two faced off in singles competition was at NXT Stand and Deliver where O'Reily defeated Cole. We are "2 sleeps" (thank you Pat McAfee) away from Cole v. O'Reilly II. I have run multiple outcomes in my head. This match can go so many different ways. Cole could win and even up the score. O'Reily could win showing the company's investment in him. The match could also be a count-out or disqualification prolonging the storyline. I'll just have to watch to find out.
The men's tag championship belts will also be on the line. MSK will square up against Ciampa and Thatcher. I personally miss Ciampa on top as a singles performer and I don't know if I buy into his pairing with Thatcher. It's a feud between the young guns verses the veterans. MSK is definitely going to give Tomasso and Timothy an aerial workout. I'll give this one to MSK.
Before I get to the last match of this week, I want to talk about the upcoming Million Dollar Championship fight between Cameron Grimes and LA Knight. Grimes should have won the title at TakeOver: In Your House earlier this year. I am crossing my fingers, toes and eyes that he captures the gold this Tuesday because if he loses, he has to become Knight's butler. Cute storyline but a waste of Cameron's insane talent.
The last match of this week was the impromptu fight between Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and the NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed for the title. Now, Reed recently made his debut on Main Event where he defeated Drew Gulak. This the first sign for many fans that he is getting ready to move up to the main roster. The second sign came at the conclusion of this contest.
Bronson was powerfully impressive as usual right out of the gate. Swerve gets in a plethora of moves against Reed prior to the interference of Hit Row members Adonis and AJ Francis. Yeah, I said AJ Francis and not Top Dolla. I'm not Nike...I just can't do it.
Anyway, Adonis pulls Bronson off the apron. This opens the door for AJ to bulldoze towards Reed. However, it all backfires on him because Reed sends Francis through the plexiglass barricade. It is while Adonis is checking on his mate that the champ sends him over the barricade to join his friend.
As Reed is making his way back into the ring, he receives a kick to the face by his opponent. This is then followed by Swerve's signature 450 off the top rope down on the champ. One, two, three and just like that, NXT has a new North American Champion. I am eagerly looking forward to the upcoming draft. Until then, I'll be enjoying The Great American Bash this Tuesday.
#BringBackBraun
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