Toni vs. Candice, Ghostface, and Boa. Oh my!
Heading into tonight’s show there were two matches scheduled. One was Xia Li vs. Raquel Gonzalez, which Li requested to happen after receiving yet another letter from her family last week.
Xia Li vs. Raquel Gonzalez – Match never took place
Gonzalez made her way to the ring first. As she waits for Li to come down to the ring, Boa came to the stage and makes his way to the ring.
Boa let Gonzalez know that Gonzalez cannot have a match with Li as she is not present. This immediately angered the powerhouse as she says it was Li that called her out. It was clear that Gonzalez came for a fight and because Li wasn’t there, she took out all of her anger on Boa. The message was sent after she pummeled the messenger with various strikes and a couple of trips into the plexiglass on the barricade.
After Gonzalez exited, Boa’s troubles didn’t end there. A gentleman emerged from the stage through smoke and down the ramp to deliver Boa a letter of his own. Boa has been giving Li letters for weeks but now it seems to be his turn.
Where do you think all of this could be heading? Many fans on social media are anticipating it may be Karen Q who is in behind all of this. Karen has been out of action due to an injury that took place close to a year and a half ago.
Since we did not get to see this first match, we did get to see the second match that was advertised. This was Toni Storm vs. Candice LeRae.
Storm faced Shotzi Blackheart last week and beat her while she was distracted. Blackheart witnessed LeRae destroying her tank which caused her to have a breakdown. Although Storm was her opponent, she showed compassion and comforted her. This week, she wanted to avenge Blackheart by taking out LeRae.
Candice LeRae defeats Toni Storm
The match ended in what some may call a surprise victory. Although because it wasn’t a clean victory and what happened post-match, the result made complete sense. LeRae pinned Storm using the ropes as leverage to steal the win. Storm entirely frustrated at the fact that LeRae cheated to win, she went on the attack.
After a few moments, Ghostface from Halloween Havoc appeared to help LeRae. Blackheart then rushed in to try and even the odds but LeRae and Ghostface were able to take her down. The masked individual then revealed themselves to be none other than Indi Hartwell.
It isn’t much of a surprise that it is Hartwell as she has been cozying up to LeRae in past weeks by helping her out in matches.
Lastly, there was a Prime Target that highlighted Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai. Last week there were promo videos stating that Ripley will be the next to challenge Shirai for the title. This week’s video shows that they will battle it out next week.
Let’s get into the Winners & Losers this week:
WINNER: Candice LeRae
Staying on top and picking up that surprising (albeit cheating) win was unexpected. Personally, I feel that Candice should have won the title at Halloween Havoc. Giving her another chance anytime soon would be an overkill of the number of chances. So she definitely is in the back of the line for now. Her staying on top just like Dakota Kai did last week is a good thing for her.
WINNER: Indi Hartwell
Big fan of Indi and glad she is getting more screen time. To me, she is one to watch, and if given the opportunity could definitely be a future champion. Her being Ghostface was obvious, but sometimes the obvious is what is needed.
LOSER: Toni Storm
I can’t in good faith put Ember Moon in the loser section last week and not Toni this week. I don’t feel like either loss for these two returning competitors have hurt them at this point. They both didn’t lose clean. It just confuses me how they both came back wanting the title and that has kind of gone away. Unless Rhea wins the title and they go after her and that’s what they are waiting for. Now if Toni or Ember keeps losing then I am really lost.
Last note:
I am really interested in this Xia Li storyline now. In hopes that it continues, I hope there is some big moment at the climax of it all. If it is a way for Karen Q to come back, I am here for it.
What did you think of this week’s NXT? Who were your Winners & Losers this week? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!!
