NXT Gold Rush was a professional wrestling television special produced by WWE. It was held primarily for wrestlers from the NXT brand division. Gold Rush aired as a two-part special episode of NXT on the USA Network, taking place live on June 20 and 27, 2023, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
| NXT Gold Rush | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | NXT | ||
| Date | June 20 and 27, 2023 | ||
| City | Orlando, Florida | ||
| Venue | WWE Performance Center | ||
| NXT special episodes chronology | |||
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Production
editBackground
editNXT is the primary weekly professional wrestling television program for WWE's developmental brand, NXT. On the June 13, 2023, episode of NXT, WWE executive Shawn Michaels announced that the June 20 and 27 episodes would be a two-part special titled Gold Rush, themed around NXT's championships. The television special was held at NXT's home base, the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, and aired on the USA Network.[1][2]
Storylines
editThe card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand,[3][4] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT, and the supplementary online streaming show, Level Up.
On the June 6 episode of NXT, Bron Breakker challenged Raw's Seth "Freakin" Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship.[5] The following week, during Breakker's promo, Rollins appeared on the TitanTron to accept Breakker's challenge for his title during Week 1 of Gold Rush.[6]
On the May 30 episode of NXT, after Carmelo Hayes retained his NXT Championship, Baron Corbin, who became a free agent in the 2023 WWE Draft, made his return to NXT and attacked Hayes.[7] The following week, Ilja Dragunov interrupted Corbin's promo and challenged him to a match, which was made official for next week's episode.[5] During that week's episode, WWE executive Shawn Michaels announced on Twitter that the winner of this match would face Hayes for the NXT Championship on Week 2 of Gold Rush. The match was won by Corbin.[6]
On the June 6 episode of NXT, Thea Hail won a battle royal to become the number one contender for Tiffany Stratton's NXT Women's Championship.[5] The following week, the match was scheduled for Week 2 of Gold Rush.[6]
At Battleground, Wes Lee defeated Tyler Bate and Joe Gacy in a triple threat match to retain the NXT North American Championship.[8] On the May 30 episode of NXT, during a tag team match between Lee and Bate against The Dyad (Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid), Mustafa Ali, who became a free agent in the 2023 WWE Draft, returned to NXT.[7] Two weeks later, in a backstage segment where Lee, Bate, and Ali celebrated their win against The Schism, Ali proposed a match between Lee and Bate for the NXT North American Championship, where Ali would serve as the special guest referee. Lee and Bate agreed to Ali's idea, and the match was scheduled for Week 1 of Gold Rush.[6]
On the June 6 episode of NXT, Dana Brooke and Cora Jade participated in the aforementioned battle royal, and they were the last two persons eliminated in the match.[5] The following week, Jade interrupted Brooke's interview and blamed her for costing her the battle royal. After Brooke answered that she should not blame her, Jade slapped Brooke across the face. That same episode, Brooke distracted Jade during her match, causing her to lose. A match between Brooke and Jade was scheduled for Week 1 of Gold Rush.[6]
On the June 13 episode of NXT, Malik Blade defeated his tag team partner Edris Enofé in which Hank Walker, Tank Ledger, Brooks Jensen, and Josh Briggs watched at ringside. After the match, Blade and Enofé hugged each other with accompaniment of this two teams. After that, NXT commentator Booker T announced that the three tag teams would face each other in a triple threat tag team match during Week 1 of Gold Rush, with the winners facing Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) for the NXT Tag Team Championship during Week 2.[6]
Results
edit| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[10] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wes Lee (c) defeated Tyler Bate by pinfall | Singles match for the NXT North American Championship[9] with Mustafa Ali as the special guest referee. | 12:59 | ||
| 2 | Edris Enofé and Malik Blade defeated Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs (with Fallon Henley) and Hank Walker and Tank Ledger by pinfall | Triple threat tag team match to determine the #1 contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championship[9] | 9:12 | ||
| 3 | Cora Jade defeated Dana Brooke by referee stoppage | Singles match[9] | 10:46 | ||
| 4 | The Meta-Four (Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend) (with Noam Dar and Oro Mensah) defeated Valentina Feroz and Yulisa León by pinfall | Tag team match[9] | 3:22 | ||
| 5 | Seth "Freakin" Rollins (c) defeated Bron Breakker by pinfall | Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship[9] | 17:06 | ||
| |||||
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[12] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiffany Stratton (c) defeated Thea Hail (with Duke Hudson) by pinfall | Singles match for the NXT Women's Championship[11] | 9:08 | ||
| 2 | Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) (c) defeated Edris Enofé and Malik Blade by pinfall | Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship[11] | 13:18 | ||
| 3 | Nathan Frazer (c) (with Yulisa León) defeated Dragon Lee (with Valentina Feroz) 2-1 | British Rounds Rules match for the NXT Heritage Cup[11] | 13:02 | ||
| 4 | Gigi Dolin defeated Kiana James by pinfall | Singles match[11] | 9:04 | ||
| 5 | Carmelo Hayes (c) (with Trick Williams) defeated Baron Corbin by pinfall | Singles match for the NXT Championship[11] | 16:32 | ||
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References
edit- ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (June 13, 2023). "Shawn Michaels Announces NXT Gold Rush For 6/20 And 6/27, Main Events Revealed". Fightful. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- ^ Aguilar, Matthew (June 13, 2023). "Shawn Michaels Reveals Special Two Week WWE NXT Event". ComicBook.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Moore, John (June 6, 2023). "6/6 NXT TV results: Moore's review of a battle royal for a shot at the NXT Women's Title, Eddy Thorpe vs. Damon Kemp, Rip Fowler, Jagger Reid, and Ava vs. Julius Creed, Brutus Creed, and Ivy Nile, Mustafa Ali vs. Joe Gacy, Dani Palmer vs. Blair Davenport, Ilja Dragunov returns". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Moore, John (June 13, 2023). "6/13 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Baron Corbin vs. Ilja Dragunov, Noam Dar vs. Nathan Frazer for the NXT Heritage Cup, Wes Lee, Mustafa Ali, and Tyler Bate vs. Joe Gacy, Jagger Reid, and Rip Fowler, Roxanne Perez vs. Tatum Paxley, Edris Enofe vs. Malik Blade, Thea Hail vs. Cora Jade". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- ^ a b Moore, John (May 30, 2023). "5/30 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne in a weaponized steel cage match, NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes appears, the reveal of the masked attacker, new NXT Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton holds a "Tiffybration"". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Moore, John (May 28, 2023). "NXT Battleground results: Moore's live review of Carmelo Hayes vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship, Tiffany Stratton vs. Lyra Valkyria for the vacant NXT Women's Title, Gallus vs. The Creeds for the NXT Tag Team Titles, Wes Lee vs. Tyler Bate vs. Joe Gacy in a Triple Threat for the NXT North American Title, Noam Dar vs. Dragon Lee for the NXT Heritage Cup". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "NXT Gold Rush Week One results, June 20, 2023: Carmelo Hayes saves Seth "Freakin" Rollins from a Finn Bálor attack!". WWE. June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ Moore, John (June 20, 2023). "6/20 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Gold Rush night one featuring Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker for the World Heavyweight Championship, Wes Lee vs. Tyler Bate for the NXT North American Title with Mustafa Ali as special referee, Dana Brooke vs. Cora Jade, a Triple Threat for an NXT Tag Team Title shot". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "NXT Gold Rush Week Two results, June 27, 2023: Carmelo Hayes is still HIM after defeating Baron Corbin at NXT Gold Rush". WWE. June 27, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ Moore, John (June 27, 2023). "6/27 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Gold Rush night two featuring Carmelo Hayes vs. Baron Corbin for the NXT Title, Tiffany Stratton vs. Thea Hail for the NXT Women's Title, Nathan Frazer vs. Dragon Lee for the NXT Heritage Cup". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 27, 2023.