‘NXT: Roadblock’ Review (Mar 7th 2023)
Welcome to this week’s review of NXT, right here on Nerdly. This is a special edition of NXT, not a PPV but a “special event” in NXT: Roadblock, so let’s get straight into the review and see what happened this week…
Match #1: Jailhouse Street Fight – Tony D’Angelo def. Dijak
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
With The Underboss Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo by his side, Tony D’Angelo was the one who delivered hard justice to Dijak in a brutal Jailhouse Street Fight. The action was fast and furious with Dijak gaining the quick upper hand thanks to a High Justice chokeslam onto a chair, but his momentum was short lived when D’Angelo countered a moonsault into a back suplex onto several more chairs. The two men continued to wage war on one another and their attacks on the outside culminated in a massive top rope elbow drop from Dijak onto The Don through a table. A Feast Your Eyes onto D’Angelo seemed to spell the end, but Lorenzo sacrificed himself to keep Dijak from locking the cell. Dijak turned his attention to The Underboss, but the distraction gave D’Angelo enough time to incapacitate Dijak with a crowbar, locking him in the cell and winning the match.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #2: Bron Breakker & The Creed Brothers def. Indus Sher
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The team of Bron Breakker, Julius Creed, & Brutus Creed conquered the monstrous team of Indus Sher in thrilling Six-Man Tag Team action. Breakker & The Creeds used their incredible athleticism to down the powerful trio of Veer, Sanga, & Jinder Mahal, but the brute force of Indus Sher evened the odds by systematically destroying each of their opponents with chokeslams, suplexes, and clotheslines. The action was frenetic with all six men in the ring battling it out and it culminated in a spear from Breakker on Mahal and The Creed Brothers isolating Veer, hitting him with a Brutus Ball from Julius’s shoulders which gave their team the victory.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #3: Gigi Dolin def. Jacy Jayne
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
An incredibly emotional and hard fought match went the way of Gigi Dolin as she delivered payback to the woman who broke up Toxic Attraction. Jayne held an early advantage, gloating over her former tag team partner and brutalizing her the same way she did weeks ago when she kicked her through a door. Dolin managed to mount a ferocious and impassioned comeback and nailed Jayne with a twisting slam that resulted in the major win for the emotional Dolin. After the match, a ferocious Jayne attacked Dolin but NXT officials intervened before she could do further damage with a steel chair.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: Joe Gacy def. Andre Chase
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The cracks in Chase U have begun to show as their leader, Andre Chase, lost to Joe Gacy in singles action despite Thea Hail conquering her own personal fear of Schism. Chase came out firing, delivering one of his signature Chase University-sized whoopings, but Gacy weathered the initial storm and responded in kind. As the action continued inside the ring, Hail hyped herself up on the outside and told Ava that she wasn’t afraid of her anymore, but the distraction allowed Gacy to hit a crushing discus lariat and pin Chase, much to the dismay of Hail & Duke Hudson.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #5: NXT Women’s Championship – Roxanne Perez def. Meiko Satomura
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In maybe her greatest challenge yet, The Prodigy Roxanne Perez retained the NXT Women’s Championship against Meiko Satomura in a grueling affair. The legendary Satomura instantly took control, planting the champion and keeping her down on the mat thanks to her years of in-ring experience. The two Superstars traded a series of blows and pinfall attempts, but neither competitor relented, forcing them both to dig down deep to find a way to win. Satomura continued to batter the champion with kicks, but a heads-up move by Perez saw her ducking one of them and rolling the challenger up long enough to pick up the pin and retain her title. After the match, Satomura raised Perez’s arm, but the champion became unsteady, collapsed, and had to be ambulanced out of the arena.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3/5
A decidedly average “special” episode of NXT, one that coasted along until the main event – which was a fantastic battle between Roxanne Perez and Meiko Satomura. I know some people didn’t care for Perez collapsing post-match but I thought it added a gravitas to everything we saw in that match, really pushing Perez to her limits and thus making her less ‘indestructible’ than she’s been booked; almost adding more humanity to her IMHO.
