Winners, News And Notes On May 4, 2021


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WWE NXT advertised the return of Finn Balor, Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon defending the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships against The Way in a Street Fight, Isiah “Swerve” Scott vs. Leon Ruff and The Grizzled Young Vets vs. Tommaso and Timothy Thatcher.

Last week’s broadcast of WWE NXT suffered a precipitous drop of almost 100,000 viewers, garnering a viewership of 744,000.

  • April 27, 2021—744,000
  • April 20, 2021—841,000
  • April 13, 2021—805,000
  • April 7, 2021—768,000
  • March 31, 2021—654,000

WWE NXT—Key Competition 

  • NBA Wednesday Night Slate
  • Young Rock

Pro Wrestling Bits—WWE’s Adnan Virk Problem

WWE NXT Stand and Deliver Total YouTube Viewership Last Week: 1,632,616 (Down from 1,791,531 views)

  • Most-Viewed: The Way Attacks Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon (238,875 views)
  • Least-Viewed: Isiah “Swerve” Scott Challenges Leon Ruff (36,547 views)
  • Median Viewership: 124,699 views

WWE NXT Results—Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Isiah “Swerve” Scott def. Leon Ruff

You would have never known this match was a Falls Count Anywhere match during the entire first-half leading up to commercial break.

A character like “Swerve” Scott has needed an entourage or a stable for quite some time and it’s good to finally see him get one.

The announce team said “AJ Francis” like we were supposed to know who he was. He’s a former NFL nose tackle who is now a Performance Center recruit as part of the 2020 class. He also appears on WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures.

Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa The Grizzled Young Vets

The more the Grizzled Young Vets call themselves the “soon-to-be” tag team champions—without actually winning them—the more it comes off like an ironic punchline.

This feud is being unapologetically booked for the few people who understand this obscure shoe reference from NXT UK.

Karrion Kross, Pete Dunne, Kyle O’Reilly and Finn Balor Appear Live

Karrion Kross was dressed like the world’s most dangerous Casino Dealer.

This Cook Kyle gimmick just ain’t it.

I was halfway hoping Finn Balor would come back from his vacation in Mexico with a sombrero and his hair braided.

WWE laid out its most O.P. Superstar for the first time at the hands of a comedy act.

Sarray def. Zayda Raimer

This was a nightmarish outing for poor Zayda Ramier, who had multiple high-angle landings on the back of her head and appeared lost during certain spots. The miscues overshadowed what should have been a showcase for Sarray.

LA Knight def. Jake Atlas

This felt like what wrestling used to be (LA Knight) vs. what wrestling can be (Jake Atlas as a LGBTQ star in WWE).

LA Knight used a recycled Rock joke (surprise, surprise!) and Wade Barrett put it over like he had just cut the Pipe Bomb promo.

Kushida Challenges Santos Escobar for the WWE NXT Cruiserweight Championship; Mercedes Martinez and Raquel Gonzalez Face Off

This felt like NXT rushed to book this rematch for next week. By this point of the show, next week’s show is already pretty impressive.

Between Mercedes Martinez (43), Shayna Baszler (40), Tamina (43) and even Asuka (39) in prominent programs on the main roster, WWE’s alleged ageism against women might be a tad overblown.

Vince McMahon is going to be so mad he wasn’t the first person to think of booking a dog to poop in Shotzi Blackheart’s tank.

The Way def. Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon—WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship

The Candice-Indi storyline is essentially a story of Candice LeRae gaslighting Indi Hartwell.

Much of this match was spent setting up the weapons. Thankfully, WWE had an overrun that gave this match enough time to use these weapons.

Ember Moon may or may not have potatoed Indi Hartwell with a stiff-looking forearm.

Shotzi Blackheart had yet another rough dive as the ladder failed to break. Not to be outdone, the table turned on Indi Hartwell, who took a hard spinebuster on a table that didn’t break. Not to be outdone, Candice LeRae performed an uncharacteristically errant springboard moonsault on a ladder.

The way this match was going—and given Shotzi’s well-known history with high-risk moves—her dive from the lighting rig was one of the ballsiest things I’ve ever seen in wrestling.

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