Top-3 Hits from WWE NXT (07/09/24): Joe Hendry teams with Trick, Rascalz reunite with Wes Lee

Patrik Walker

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Top-3 Hits from WWE NXT (07/09/24): Joe Hendry teams with Trick, Rascalz reunite with Wes Lee image

Say his name and Joe Hendry appears, but more on that in a moment. As it relates to the events of this past weekend, you earn riches or fall ass backwards into them, the end result is the same: you’re rich.

Such is the case with Ethan “All Ego” Page, who left NXT Heatwave in his hometown of Toronto having effectively upset Trick Williams, and two other contenders, for the NXT Championship … by getting knocked out by Williams and falling backward onto Je’Von Evans for a three-count pinfall. 

You really had to see it to believe it, and the same is true for the entirety of the premium live event put on by Shawn Michaels, Ava and the Black and Gold brand — Heatwave easily getting the nod as the best PLE of the weekend (toppling Money in the Bank).

LOOK: HIGHLIGHTS, INSIGHT FROM SCORCHING NXT HEATWAVE

There were five title defenses in all and all were bangers.

Oba Femi ragdolled Wes Lee to retain the NXT North American Championship and with the stipulation that Lee can no longer challenge Femi for the belt. Sol Ruca and NXT Women’s North American Champion Kelani Jordan put on an instant classic that ended with Jordan clawing her way to a victory. 

WATCH: RHEA RIPLEY MAKES EXPLOSIVE RETURN TO WWE.

Axiom and Nathan Frazer healed growing fractures within the ranks of the tag team champs by taking down Chase U in a grueling match that left you on the edge of your seat. 

And the match between Lola Vice and NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez will not soon be forgotten, leaving everyone demanding a Part 2 to that feud after seeing Vice take Perez to the breaking point, where she mentally broke, but not in the way Vice wanted.

It was a psychotic break that left Vice destroyed in the middle of the ring.

The post-Heatwave episode of Heatwave kept the temperature sky-high within NXT, and it was time to see what the Heartbreak Kid and his general manager would cook up next.

3. BABBLING BROOKS 

What the hell is his problem?!

That’s basically what everyone is thinking at this point about Jensen, having seen him fly off of the rails lately in attacking announcers not named Booker T. (wise decision to avoid the Hall of Famer) and consistently being escorted out of arenas before going onto social media and continuing his ranting and raving about how NXT is hacking accounts and trying to silence him.

It was all enough for Ava to admit, to his face, that there was consideration to release him outright, but she and Shawn Michaels decided to give him a second chance — one that is technically an 18th chance, at this point. 

It’s infuriated Josh Briggs, who keeps vouching for Jensen, to no avail. 

If Evans is medically cleared in the next few days, Ava has sanctioned a match for him against Jensen on July 16, because it’s only right to give the “Young OG” a chance at revenge; but Jensen might seriously regret putting his hands on someone who is arguably the most awe-inspiring young talent in the entire WWE. 

2. Heading due Wes 

As noted, Lee was no match for Oba Femi at Heatwave, and it left him pondering the next direction in his career.

What no one expected was for that to be a possible hiatus, this time not due to injury, but the NXT Universe would hear none of it, chanting “please don’t go” as Lee did all he could to not succumb to his own teary emotions. 

Still, he was going to leave.

Was.

That was his plan to the point the word “go” nearly came out of his mouth to finish his final sentence in NXT when some old friends came out to stop him. It was The Rascalz, the latest crossover appearance from TNA on the heels of Joe Hendry and Jordynne Grace. Those who know the background here know why the pop was so crazy when The Rascalz came out, and it’s largely because prior to their current version, it was a duo known as MSK.

As the trio, they’re The Rascalz.

Trey Miguel and Zach Wentz successfully convinced Lee to not only stick around, reminding him he’s more than good enough, but to hit reset on his career and rejoin them in what appears to be a consistent crossover booking to come — potentially on a weekly-ish basis.

With Femi ruling the NXT North American Championship with an iron fist, penciling in MSK as the resurgence of Lee while also continuing to capitalize on the NXTNA crossover fever is a stroke of genius.

1. Trick Said His Name

The friendship between Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans is still on solid ground after the two went to war with both each other and Ethan Page and Shawn Spears at Heatwave, and that was proven on Tuesday night.

Page couldn’t wait to grab a mic in Orlando and rub his victory, and the belt, in Williams’ face, and he had to know that wouldn’t end quietly. 

Williams was justifiably furious walking out to the ring, but then came Spears to join Page in mocking Williams. It was time to even the odds and there was no better way to do it than for Evans to tell Spears and Page to “shut the hell up” because he had both of them pinned before the Trick Shot changed the course of everything. 

Page scoffed at Williams’ demand for a title rematch on Tuesday, but he couldn’t avoid Trick’s hands altogether — Ava booking the four as a tag team match.

That was until Brooks Jensen attacked Evans backstage only minutes after promising Ava he’d make the best of his second chance on the heels of his unhinged weeks-long rampage.

Trick was forced to choose another partner after the assault on Evans, 

And he said his name, so he appeared.

JOE HENDRY.

Hendry first made his NXTNA crossover debut at the Battle Royale to determine the No. 1 contender to square off against, guess who, Trick Williams at Heatwave, before being ganged up on and thrown out of the ring first, and quickly. He swore revenge to Shawn Michaels and that he’d be back, and he made good on that by teaming up with Trick instead of trying again to square off against him.

That spelled bad news for Page and Spears, both of them laughing after Evans was attacked and claiming Trick would never find a partner willing to go against them.

They didn’t believe.

But after getting whooped by Hendry and Trick on national TV (and with Page having been chased away by Oro Mensah)?

Now they do.

Patrik Walker

Patrik Walker Photo

Patrik [No C] Walker is an accredited, award-winning journalist and podcaster who has worked to become one of the most respected and recognizable forces covering the Dallas Cowboys. Having never lost his lifelong passion for the wrestling, the one-of-a-kind analyst is using his talents to complete a journey that began as a rambunctious kid wearing a championship belt fashioned from cardboard and aluminum foil, to the ranks of covering an industry that's had his heart pinned to the mat for decades now. Follow him on Twitter/X: VoiceOfTheStar.