Category: Reviews

Ilana Glazer does a complete 180 from the Jewish screwball stoner humor of Broad City, taking an intense turn into psychological horror in False Positive. There’s not a trace of her slacker persona from the web series-turned-sitcom in her character Lucy, a young woman whose feelings of failure at being unable to fall pregnant disappear when her husband’s connections allow them to skip the long waitlist for New York’s top fertility doctor. But the glow of expectant motherhood turns increasingly to paranoia, delusions and terror, eventually going full freak-out in John Lee’s twisted homage to Rosemary’s Baby for the post-IVF age.

The attention-grabbing opening plunges almost into Argento territory as Pawel Pogorzelski, the brilliantly suggestive cinematographer on Ari Aster’s Hereditary and Midsommar, floods a sleek Manhattan office building in throbbing reds and blues that consume the night. A curtain flutters ominously at an open window, suggesting that some grim occurrence has taken place, and Lucy is seen wandering trance-like through the streets, her face and clothing soaked in blood. Pulsing away underneath all this is Lucy Railton and Yair Elazar Glotman’s vintage-style horror score, full of tortured strings and unsettling vocal chants.

Director Lee, who co-wrote the screenplay with Glazer and was a frequent Broad City collaborator, doesn’t quite sustain that bold stylistic stamp, even if the perturbing intimacy and insidious angles of the visuals go a long way toward masking the uneven tone. For the most part, this is needling psychodrama with sly elements of feminist satire, which makes the lurch into lurid nightmare in the final stretch a bit disconcerting. But if False Positive’s descent into more alarmingly weird territory threatens to send it off the rails, the A24 production, going out as a Hulu Original, is clever, creepy and original enough to keep you glued.

An advertising executive working at a bro-heavy agency where her boss Greg (Josh Hamilton) cloaks his smug masculine privilege in patronizing support, Lucy starts to believe she really can have it all. Her pitch lands her the lead on a big account, and her doctor husband Adrian (Justin Theroux) gets them an appointment at the city’s leading women’s reproductive center, run by his former teacher John Hindle (Pierce Brosnan). Something feels a little off at the swanky, sterile clinic, but Lucy seems determined not to let that faze her at first, even if the professionally ingratiating head nurse Dawn (Gretchen Mol) is instantly too familiar, and John’s charm already suggests a God complex as he proudly talks up the rewards of bestowing the precious gift of motherhood on women.

John has developed his own insemination method combining IUI and IVF technology, and one massive syringe shot later, Lucy is throwing up at the office. The doctor confirms that she’s pregnant, with the ultrasound revealing healthy male twins as well as a smaller singlet female. John points out the risk of complications and advises “selective reduction”; both he and Adrian favor keeping the boys over the less-developed girl. But Lucy ignores their objections and opts to keep the girl, naming her Wendy after her recently deceased mother.

There’s a long history of pregnancy in horror, with its aspects of corporeal invasion, heightened anxiety and, as Lucy’s simpering new younger friend Corgan (Sophia Bush) puts it, “mommy brain.” Lee and Glazer’s script frames the experience within the context of a patriarchal medical establishment and a reproductive Svengali whose suavely reassuring manner doesn’t hide a sinister controlling side in Brosnan’s chillingly effective performance.

As her pregnancy progresses, Lucy’s mounting suspicions go beyond the good doctor and the sugary-sweet icicle Nurse Dawn, extending to her husband as Adrian’s behavior around her becomes shifty. Plagued by queasy feelings and increasingly violent visions, she becomes convinced that Hindle and her husband are in cahoots and have done something to Wendy without her knowledge. She angers them both by choosing to engage a midwife for the delivery, Grace Singleton (Zainab Jah), who rejects modern gynecology. Her more spiritual, Afrocentric approach advocates reclaiming the traditional rituals of birth that belong to women but have been expropriated by male doctors.

Lucy finds the circle of people she can trust steadily shrinking as one after another they respond to her confusion and possible prenatal depression by questioning her stability. Is she paranoid or onto some kind of conspiratorial plan to take control of her pregnancy? The film teases out that question both in the crescendo of panicked isolation in Glazer’s compelling performance and the shadiness of everyone around her. Even the guys in the office suddenly seem more overt about undermining her confidence. Once she learns that Adrian and John are planning on merging their medical practices, her fears really take hold.

The shocking developments of the eventual birth and the deception involved send Lucy into a tailspin and the movie along with her. It veers almost into grotesque camp but with not enough abandon to really sell the Grand Guignol final act. A Peter Pan motif also seems unsatisfyingly integrated, even if the song “Who Am I?” from Leonard Bernstein’s score for the 1950 Broadway production provides a bewitchingly odd reflection of Lucy’s state of mind as she struggles with a reality too disturbing to comprehend.

False Positive might not quite stick the landing, but it’s a juicy genre entry about how women’s reproductive systems are treated like coveted real estate — expertly crafted in terms of its visual command and well-acted by a strong ensemble. Brosnan is deliciously diabolical, albeit mostly while maintaining a veneer of warmth; Mol laces subversive humor into the tasty supporting role of Nurse Dawn; Theroux keeps you guessing while showing glimpses of Adrian’s dark side; and Glazer ably expands her range as the woman in peril, driven to fierce extremes in her refusal to surrender.

The White Sox and Orioles were scheduled to play the second of a four-game set on Friday, May 28. That contest eventually got rained out and rescheduled for the following day, but I was at the ballpark during the rain delay that preceded the cancelation. As usual, that scenario was prime for a Craft Kave visit. Rain delay beers hit differently.

My approach when selecting a beer in the Craft Kave is to go with something totally random. I looked at the menu for something lighter from a brewery I hadn’t frequented. Marz Community Brewing Co. fit the script. The brewery is located about a mile and a half from Gate 5 of Guaranteed Rate Field. I have only heard great things about their beer and their food, so it’s a place I needed to get to know.

This beer in particular was their Jungle Boogie. It is an American Wheat Ale that clocks in at 5.4% ABV with a 44 IBU rating.

Looks

The can was simple but eye-catching. It features Jungle scenery with mostly ferns and other greenery plus some exotic flowers. It is clear and gets to the point. The rain and humidity really helped set the tone for this beer. While the one I had was in canned form, the beer’s color is a reddish-orange with a dense white creamy foam.

Taste

As the adage goes, “taste is king”. The first element that cut through was the malt flavors. It had tropical mosaic and tea undertones. The tea was light not even remotely close to an Arnold Palmer, but the mix of herbs helped smooth out the beer. Upon sipping further, the more the hops showed up, but it was still on the smother side. That was the most impressive part of the beer, as it was smooth but packed a lot of flavors. If you like beer that’s fruity but not too sweet, Jungle Boogie is perfect for you.

I definitely plan on hitting up Marz Community Brewing Co. at their location before a White Sox game in the future. If you’re interested in additional Marz products, check out our reviews of some of their other beers and learn more about their entire selection.

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Russ Olwell’s book on Dual Enrollment, A Guide to Early College and Dual Enrollment Programs (Routledge, 2021), is frank enough to be useful.  That’s uncommon in treatments of relatively new programs, and I mean it as a compliment.

 

Drawing heavily on his experience with dual enrollment programs in Michigan and Massachusetts, as well as others around the country, Olwell offers a practical overview of the benefits and challenges of these programs, as well as a working theory as to why they’re often as fragile as they are.  

 

First, the benefits.  Olwell draws a useful distinction between students who were likely to go to, and succeed in, college anyway, and students who were not.  He locates the primary benefit with the latter group.  That’s the group for whom, as he puts it, exposure to college can change eventual college attendance from a possibility to an expectation.  (p. 51) The former group already has IB and AP programs.  He cites several studies showing massive economic benefits to both students and the broader society from getting low-income and first-generation high school students involved in college coursework early.  

 

He mentions in passing the “blue-haired kid.” (p. 71) I would have spent more time on that.  A colleague once referred to the popular kids in high school as the “shock troops of gender conformity.”  She meant that for students who don’t fit into the very specific high school social scene, the real challenge of high school is more social than academic.  I saw that at Holyoke, where the Gateway to College program worked with prospective or actual high-school dropouts to get them back on track.  Many were perfectly capable of doing the work, but wilted in the coercive social atmosphere of high school; the greater diversity and tolerance they found on a community college campus allowed them to thrive.  

 

The challenges of dual enrollment are many and varied.  For example, some four-year schools condition the acceptance of transfer credits on the building in which the class was taught.  Others will flatly deny credit if the student hadn’t graduated high school yet, regardless of performance.  I laughed out loud at Olwell’s declaration that “Early College scheduling is simply a grinding nightmare.”  (p. 32)  It is, but only a practitioner would know that.  The college and high school years don’t align, the calendars don’t align, and even the time for sports and activities doesn’t align.  Textbook replacement cycles are different.  Faculty credentials are often different.  Disability accommodation protocols are different.  Parental expectations appropriate in one context may inappropriately carry over into the other.  Transportation is a beast.

 

Olwell is clear throughout that student support is a key variable.  If students are simply thrown into college classes without knowing what to expect, they’re likely to struggle.  Policies on placement designed for students who have graduated high school sometimes don’t fit students who are still there; for example, we had to redefine multi-factor placement to take account of students who hadn’t had certain courses yet.  Wraparound support is expensive, but without it, students may flounder.  And as affirming to an adolescent self-image as success can be, early failure can be devastating.

 

I was particularly taken with his discussion, drawing on Anthony Jack’s work, of the importance of helping students understand faculty office hours.  High school faculty don’t follow that model, so it may be entirely new to many dual enrollment students.  Depending on how the DE program is structured, students may or may not learn how office hours are supposed to work.  Those who learn it tend to be much more successful, both in the program at hand and upon subsequent transfer.  It’s an easy piece to overlook when building a class schedule, but it’s worth remembering.

 

A more subtle, but more difficult, obstacle often comes from college faculty who perceive dual enrollment as watering down the college.  That’s probably most pronounced in the community college sector, where the stigma attached to community colleges remains a sore point.  Faculty who have lived with, and resented, the snide comments about 13th grade may perceive dual enrollment as a tacit admission that the critics were right.  Here, Olwell notes that those objections typically fall away as professors teach the classes and are pleasantly surprised by the caliber of student work, but getting past the initial resistance can be a task.

 

Compared to many other interventions with less proof of benefit, dual enrollment programs have proved difficult (in most states) to fund.  In Olwell’s estimation, and I think he’s right, that’s at least partially because dual enrollment falls between institutions.  It asks both high schools and colleges to act in ways that neither was designed to act.  When the budgets for both are already strapped, it can be tempting for each to try to push costs onto the other.  When both sectors are unionized, collective bargaining agreements may not have been written with dual enrollment in mind.  In the short term, that can put sand in the gears.  That’s why he notes that a key element of successful programs is “entrepreneurial leaders willing to take some risks and bend some rules.”  (p. 11)  The rules weren’t written with this sort of thing in mind, but rules often take on a solemnity with age that really wasn’t warranted by their origins.

 

I’m acutely aware here that I’m only scratching the surface of an admirably useful book.  It touches too on student mental health, the unique issues facing STEM classes, the unique issues facing social science classes (THANK YOU), and the outsize mindspace taken up by the selective college admission process when drawing up policies.  For such a brief book, it packs a punch.  For anyone trying to get a DE program off the ground, or trying to improve one, or trying to get one funded, it’s well worth the time.

 

This season of My Hero Academia has featured some of the anime’s most explosive battles, which makes this level of recent comfortable complacency come as a shock. A slowed down episode of relaxation is understandable, but “The New Power and All For One” is a lethargic installment and it looks as if next week’s escapades enter an even more informal and relaxed rhythm. So far pacing has been the biggest problem for My Hero Academia’s fifth season and it leaves episodes like this one feeling like they’re spinning their wheels.

It’s a lot of fun to watch Kirishima and Tetstutetsu trade sparring tips while other students just kick back reading manga or run outside in the snow. These young characters often face constant responsibilities that it’s always appreciated when My Hero Academia just allows them to act their age and let their more juvenile impulses out. “The New Power And All For One” is full of moments like these, which will either elicit smiles or induce eye rolls. It never hurts when My Hero Academia’s characters are treated like real people instead of invincible superheroes, but it doesn’t change the fact that this episode feels like it’s running out the clock and a degree of emptiness sets in when the credits finally roll. 

“The New Power and All For One” gets bogged down with how it’s an episode that’s mostly about results and reflection, yet there are some Quirks that receive more attention than others. There’s still considerable fascination over Midoriya’s evolving One For All, but the characters circle around the same general points without making much progress. The highlight through all of this analysis is that Bakugo is now fully indoctrinated into Midoriya and All Might’s secret heart-to-hearts. It’s an absolute joy to have him casually weigh in and become a more justified presence in this group. 

It’s hard not to think of the One For All charged events from the Heroes Rising movie and how this shared dynamic between this trio of characters only grows more intense over time. The group also deduces that the anomalies surrounding One For All and how it wants to manifest multiple Quirks through Midoriya bears some connection to the nature of All For One and its multiple Quirk mentality. The beginning of this season teased the fundamental connection between these two powerful Quirks, as well as their original bearers, and it looks like this mysterious dynamic could frame much of the season’s remaining episodes. 

It’s been a while since My Hero Academia has checked in on Eri, but her Rewind Quirk is another ability that plays an important role in this episode. Everything that Eri does is absolutely adorable, but the glimpse of her writing letters to Midoriya and Togata so that she can better express her gratitude towards these two important friends in her life is just so sweet. It’s deeply comforting to learn that Eri’s starting to fit in and has become a relatively well-adjusted child who has risen above her past trauma. 

Togata playfully warns Eri that Monoma represents the “bad part” of U.A. High,  but he might actually be able to make her life easier and help her grow more comfortable with her abilities. “The New Power and All For One” explains the significance behind Monoma’s Copy Quirk and how it can be used to better understand people’s more volatile Quirks, such as the powers that Midoriya and Eri possess. It definitely seems like these experiments over what Monoma’s Copy Quirk can and cannot accomplish is foreshadowing a major breakthrough, either against a villain or to aid Midoriya in battle. “The New Power and All For One” is a scattered episode, but the brief detour on Monoma and Eri feels consistent with the rest of its reflective nature. 

Illinois — including Chicago — moved into Phase 5 of the state’s reopening plan on Friday, fully reopening for the first time since March 2020. This means people who are fully vaccinated can go without masks in most situations, conventions and festivals can resume at full capacity and the outdoor mask mandate in school is lifted.

The reopening comes as COVID-19 metrics continue to decline in the city and state, but also as the more contagious Delta variant — first discovered in India — has been detected in Illinois and Chicago.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 1,387,029 total cases of COVID-19 in Illinois and 23,035 deaths, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Redistricting Drama and Ward Remap

Illinois Republicans are asking a judge to toss out the new legislative maps Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law last week. The maps are based on data from the American Community Survey, instead of data from the U.S. Census, which state Republicans say is unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, a coalition of community groups have begun redrawing Chicago’s ward boundaries, though no City Council members have committed to giving up their power to redraw the map, according to leaders of the coalition.

Unfinished Business

Illinois’ General Assembly will meet again next week to finish leftover items from last session. This includes the controversial energy bill, and legislation that would create an elected school board.

Guests

Lourdes Duarte, WGN-TV | @LourdesWGN

Alex Nitkin, Daily Line | @AlexNitkin

Ray Long, Chicago Tribune | @RayLong

Laura Washington, Chicago Sun-Times and ABC7 Chicago | @MediaDervish

SOLON, Ohio – City officials have high hopes for the community reinvestment area that has been established in the city’s central retail district.

“That’s a really great economic development tool for the city,” Angee Shaker, the city’s economic development director, told the Solon Charter Review Commission Tuesday (June 8). “It will help attract new developers.

“We have aging buildings and some aging core shopping centers in Solon. So (through the CRA), if a property owner wants to renovate, they can get a tax exemption.”

There are minimum requirements for those exemptions, but it could be up to 100 percent for 15 years, Shaker said.

City Council passed an ordinance establishing and defining the boundaries of the CRA Monday (June 7).

The central retail district is bounded on the north by U.S. Route 422 and on the south by the Aurora Road vicinity, on the east by the SOM Center Road vicinity and on the west by the Solon Road-Aurora Road and Bainbridge Road-Kruse Drive intersections.

“We want it to be an active site with a lot of new business activity and a place where people can actually live,” Shaker said. “We do need more multi-family (housing), but we also don’t have a lot of high-end options for younger professionals and a cool place to go that’s walkable.”

Shaker, a Solon resident, was invited to speak to the commission to provide an update on the city’s business community, said Dennis Tidmore, chairman of the commission.

Any recommendations for amendments to the city charter that the commission makes must be approved by City Council before going to the electorate.

City Law Director Thomas Lobe told the commission at its first meeting in April that its deadline for making recommendations to council would be June 21, to allow enough time to get them placed on the November ballot.

So Tidmore reminded the commission that its next meeting – at 7 p.m. Tuesday (June 15) at City Hall – may be its last opportunity to finalize any recommendations and vote on them before the deadline.

Mixed-use planning district

Shaker said the zoning within the CRA is mostly commercial, along with some industrial, and includes a mixed-use planning district (MPD-A) around the former Liberty Ford site on Aurora Road, near Solon Road.

The MPD-A was established when voters approved Issue 65 – the rezoning of 21.76 acres of the former Liberty Ford site and adjacent properties – in November 2019. This zoning district could include restaurants, retail, multi-family housing and office space.

“We want it to be walkable and bikeable,” Shaker said. “It’s all part of the Solon Connects plan (a project aimed at improving bicycle and pedestrian connectivity for city residents and employees).

“With that plan, we are really focusing on the central retail district, as some of our aging shopping centers think about the tax abatements that are available (through the CRA).”

Residents often leave Solon to shop at mixed-use districts such as Pinecrest in Orange or the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights, Shaker said.

“We just don’t have a walkable area to go shopping and stop and have a cocktail or breakfast or something like that,” she said. “We really want to make it more of an experience; people enjoy that.”

When Issue 65 passed in November 2019, Solon-based Industrial Commercial Properties had a purchase agreement on the six-acre former Liberty Ford property and would have been the developer of a mixed-use project there.

But in December 2019, ICP withdrew from the deal, citing an undetermined level of ground contamination.

Other developers have expressed interest in the site, but the coronavirus pandemic “kind of shut conversations down,” Shaker said.

Commission member Lee-Ann Spacek asked Shaker if environmental issues are a barrier to redevelopment of the site.

“More studies need to be done, but there’s definitely something there,” Shaker said. “There was a car wash and a dry cleaner there, and it’s going to need cleanup, but we don’t know the extent of it.”

That could be an obstacle for potential investors, Shaker said.

“We’ve got to find a developer who’s going to move forward, do the environmental studies, and then we as a city can work with them,” she said. “There are grants out there that can help with the cleanup.”

Incentive for industrial area

Shaker said the city also has a financial incentive available for the industrial area called the Growth and Revitalization Incentive Program (GRIP).

“There’s a minimum investment they can make, and there are grants available,” she said. “Right now we only have a 2 percent vacancy rate in our industrial area, so our challenge right now is in this central retail district.”

The 2 percent vacancy rate in the industrial area is “quite remarkable at any time,” Shaker said.

“Our vacancy rates overall are pretty much lower in every category (compared to) when you look at the county and the state,” she said. “So Solon’s doing pretty well, but there is a concern about the office vacancy rate.”

Shaker said the pandemic has taken a toll on the city in terms of its office vacancy rate, which has increased 3.6 percent from last year to this year and now stands at 11.1 percent.

“I think it’s because a lot of folks are choosing to work remotely,” she said.

The city’s retail vacancy rate of 8.1 percent is 3.2 percent higher than a year ago, which is “not bad at all,” Shaker said.

“I think things will start swinging back, as more people are coming to work, and it’s going to get better,” she said.

Language for law director job

In other action, the commission unanimously approved a recommendation to update the language in the charter regarding the requirements for the city’s law director position.

Currently, the only qualification cited for the job in the charter states, “No person shall act as director of law unless duly admitted to practice law in the state of Ohio.”

The commission voted to remove that sentence and replace it with this one: “The director of law shall be admitted to practice law in the state of Ohio, hold an active license in good standing to practice law in the state of Ohio, have held such license in good standing for five years, and have experience in municipal or governmental law.”

The language for this recommendation came out of the committee’s administrative subcommittee, led by Vice Chair Michael Cullers, a lawyer.

That subcommittee and a zoning subcommittee are both working on other recommendations that they plan to bring to the commission at its next meeting.

Tidmore said he would present the commission’s recommendations to council at its June 21 meeting, which starts at 7:30 p.m.

By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)

NXT TV 
Orlando, Florida at Capitol Wrestling Center (WWE Performance Center)
Aired June 8, 2021 on USA Network

[Hour One] The show started off with a narrated highlight package of last week’s NXT show, which focused on Adam Cole inserting himself into the NXT Championship match at Takeover: In Your House. The narrator also ran through the matches already advertised for this Sunday’s Takeover show…

Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix were on commentary. A clip from “earlier today” showed Johnny Gargano and Pete Dunne brawling in the WWE Performance Center lobby. Oney Lorcan and Austin Theory were a part of the brawl…

1. Austin Theory vs. Oney Lorcan. Theory leapfrogged over Lorcan in the corner and hit Lorcan with a beautiful dropkick. Theory and Lorcan went into chain wrestling on the ground, trading ground submissions. Wade Barrett reminded viewers that Lorcan recently had the NXT Tag Team Championship vacated from him due to Danny Burch getting injured by Karrion Kross. Theory escaped and hit Lorcan with an elevated stomp and Fisherman Suplex.

Theory started gloating which allowed Lorcan to recover and beat down Theory in the corner. Lorcan knocked Theory off the apron with a knee lift. Lorcan and Theory traded stiff chops and forearms at ringside. Theory went to the apron but was tripped up by Lorcan. Pete Dunne showed up at ringside heading into the picture-in-picture.[c]

Johnny Gargano showed up at ringside to be in Theory’s corner. Lorcan hit Theory with knees, but Theory came back with a running blockbuster. Theory dumped Lorcan to ringside. While Theory was recovering from lower back pain, Lorcan recovered and pounced Theory to ringside. Theory got the upper hand and had a bit of a rally. Theory hit Lorcan with a Fallaway Slam. Theory hit Lorcan with a sweet, lucha-looking Sitdown Springboard Spanish Fly on Lorcan.

Lorcan and Theory took each other out at ringside. Pete Dunne and Johnny Gargano started to brawl once they got in each other’s face. Referees ran out to separate the two. Theory tossed Lorcan back in the ring, but was distracted at the Dunne and Gargano brawl. Lorcan took advantage of the distraction by slamming Theory’s face into the ringpost. Lorcan hit Theory with a modified Rock Bottom for the victory.

Oney Lorcan defeated Austin Theory via pinfall in 12:35. 

Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix checked in from the commentary table. Barrett sent the show over to an LA Knight video package. The show cut to LA Knight’s mansion (which looks a lot like Velveteen Dream, Lio Rush, and EC3’s mansion that they’ve used in past video packages). LA Knight cut a promo throughout his house about impressing Ted DiBiase and how embarrassing Cameron Grimes was. Knight had random females with him as he was in the hot tub and near his car. Eventually, Knight drove off in his car…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Heel vs. Heel matchup, which meant the fans were on their hands and phones for the beginning of the match, but it looks like they ended up picking Theory as the de facto babyface due to The Way being a bit easier to accept as lovable due to their comedic nature. Solid in-ring performance with Theory being very good technical-wise and Lorcan being fun brutal-wise. A decent opening match. I do hope that one of these days that both Lorcan and Theory evolve from being just enhancement guys because these guys have been way too talented for too long.

Michael Hayes, as Dok Hendrix, was shown on a set hyping up the NXT Takeover: In Your House event in the form of an ad. Hayes ran through the advertised Takeover card…

Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, and Raul Mendoza were in the ring wearing formal attire. Escobar said he was going to make Bronson Reed pay for messing with Escobar and Wilde last week. Bronson Reed made his entrance and told the production truck to replay what happened last week. A video was shown of Escobar being body pressed by Reed into the plexiglass. Reed had the production team replay the squishing to embarrass Escobar. Escobar dared Reed to get in the ring to do it again. Reed said “you’re on”.

Wes Lee and Nash Carter showed up to Reed’s side to even up the numbers before any fight broke loose. Escobar and his goons retreated. Escobar proposed a winner-take-all match for the North American and Tag Team Championships at Takeover between MSK and Reed against Legado Del Fantasma. MSK and Reed agreed to this challenge. Legado Del Fantasma was about to leave, but were interrupted by Hit Row making their entrance.

Isaiah Scott, B-Fab, Ashanti Adonis, and Top Dollar entered the ring and jawed with Reed, Nash, and Carter a bit. Legado and their face rivals left the ring and Vic Joseph noted that Hit Row was making their entrance because Isaiah Scott was facing Killian Dain after the break…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Well, this seemed a bit unnecessary and rushed. Just like the NXT Championship five person match, it seems like they’re overbooking and adding too many stipulations for no benefit. I was looking forward to Reed vs. Escobar in a singles match, and I’m looking forward to it less as a Trios (given how that would by nature make it more spotfesty with MSK and the goons involved). I also feel like the winner-take-all stipulation should be saved for an actual title change deep in a feud. This is not deep in a feud, but are they hotshoting the titles onto Legado? So soon after Reed winning the NA title? I don’t think so? If anything, I would have hotshotted the titles onto Hit Row because they are arguably the hottest thing in NXT at the moment without even doing much.

Vic Joseph noted that William Regal made the Bronson Reed, Nash Carter, and Wes Lee vs. Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, and Raul Mendoza for the North American and Tag Team Championship match official for NXT Takeover In Your House…

2. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (w/B-Fab, “Top Dolla” AJ Francis, Ashanti Adonis) vs. Killian Dain (w/Drake Maverick). Dain dominated early on. Scott retreated to ringside, behind the rest of hit row, to taunt Dain. Dain teased a suicide dive, but he stopped because Hit Row got out of the way. Scott tried to take advantage of a distracted Dain, but Dain continued to dominate Scott with holds and lariats. B-Fab distracted Dain again which allowed Scott to get the advantage by tripping Dain off the apron.

The camera showed that Ashanti Adonis was eating popcorn out of a zip lock bag (nice touch). Scott worked on Dain with pump kicks which Dain no sold. Dain no sold Scott’s slap. Dain and Scott traded blows with Dain getting the upper hand. Dain took down Scott with a stiff lariat. Scott did a backflip out of the corner, but ran right into Dain’s signature crossbody. Scott tripped up Dain and hit Dain with a House Call Kick for a two count. Dain recovered and slammed Scott to the mat.

Ashanti distracted Dain near the corner. Drake Maverick showed up and hit Ashanti with a cannonball from the steps. Top Dolla lifted Maverick and gave Maverick a Death Valley Driver on the apron. Scott caught a distracted Dain with a running single leg dropkick for the win.

Isaiah Scott defeated Killian Dain via pinfall in 6:39.

Highlights from the match aired…

Poppy was shown walking through the WWE PC hallways. The show cut to McKenzie Mitchell interviewing Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell about their thoughts on Poppy. LeRae said everyone should be taking about The Way rather than talk about Poppy. Indi Hartwell was still enthralled by Dexter Lumis as she recapped Dexter Lumis showing emotion after putting on her headphones last week. LeRae followed Hartwell, who walked off…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Simple and effective stuff to continue to introduce Hit Row to the audience. They are already so deep as characters and this was nice to show how dangerous their numbers advantage is. I’m still all-in in terms of Hit Row hype and I can’t wait until these peeps start main eventing takeover shows with their very fun act. At least I hope they get to main event some Takeovers and WWE PPVs.

The show cut to Cameron Grimes in a pool at his “mansion”. He cut a promo about being worthy of the Million Dollar Legacy while he had female legs in front of him. They then cut to Grimes smoking a cigar and drinking whiskey. He struggled to smoke the cigar. They then showed him getting massaged and massaging the masseuse (to recreate a scene from Dumb and Dumber). Grimes then ended his promo by saying he was going to the moon…

Mercedes Martinez was making her entrance, but she was attacked on the ramp by Xia Li. Mercedes’s random opponent in the ring had to stand and watch Li and Martinez brawl. Li had the early advantage, but Martinez recovered and womanhandled Li around ringside. The referees separated Li and Martinez. Rather than head to the back Martinez told the referee to ring the bell. The match started…

3. Mercedes Martinez vs. unknown local or developmental wrestler. Martinez quickly took down her opponent with a strike and ended her with an Air Raid Crash.

Mercedes Martinez defeated the enhancement wrestler via pinfall in 0:18. 

Mercedes Martinez welcomed Tyler Breeze and Fandango back to NXT. Fandango was in his weird Dango voice and Breeze had a random goatee. Breeze brought up how Imperium was feeling embarrassed for losing the tag titles to Breezango. Breeze said that he and Dango have a chance to embarrass Barthel and Aichner in the eyes of Walter again…

Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase was shown backstage heading to the ring…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Mercedes Martinez is one of the best female (and arguably overall) wrestlers in WWE. Not only does she have the in-ring on lock, but she’s also an amazing badass. Thank God she found a way to avoid being put in the god awful Retribution faction. Martinez is easily someone who deserves a few Women’s Championship runs very soon given how late in her career she is. She’s so good. Li will surely benefit from working with her.

William Regal and Paul “Triple H” Levesque welcomed Poppy to the WWE PC. Hunter was in cheesy ad mode in hyping up Poppy’s new CD. Hunter asked Poppy when the new Album was coming out. Poppy said it will once she presses the smartphone. Hunter continued to plug the Album. Dexter Lumis randomly showed up and gave Poppy a caricature painting of herself. Poppy liked the painting and gave Dexter a hug. Indi Hartwell showed up on queue and ran off sad because Poppy was hugging Lumis…

Cameron Grimes and LA Knight pulled up in their individual rides to the WWE PC parking lot. Grimes and Knight traded trash talk with Grimes being over-the-top…

Ted DiBiase was already in the ring. Ted asked Cameron Grimes and LA Knight to join him in the ring. The camera shoed Knight and Grimes in the hallway. Knight came out first to his theme. Grimes got the mic and interrupted with his theme as he walked past Knight. Knight and Grimes joined Ted in the ring. Ted said that the ultimate test is this sunday and both Grimes and Knight have to climb the literal ladder of success.

A golden ladder with dollar signs on it descended from the ceiling. Ted noted that Grimes will face Knight in a Ladder match. Knight took the mic and stated his case that he was going to win. He talked about how he’s going to step on a hillbilly and hilljack like Grimes. Knight said it’s LA Knight’s game. Grimes said that he may be a hillbilly, but he’s worth a million. Grimes said he’s a hill jack at the top of the hill. Grimes noted that Ted said the key to the legacy is by bringing it in between the ropes. Grimes said you can take his money, and fame, but he’s taking the Million Dollar Legacy straight to the moon.

Grimes climbed the ladder and said there’s nothing at the top at the moment. Ted told his security guards to “bring it” to the ring. The security guards brought a briefcase to the ring and put it on a pedastal. Ted said both men will fight, crawl, grab, and use every muscle in their body to have “this”, the Million Dollar Championship. DiBiase noted that the winner of the ladder match will become the new Million Dollar Champion….

The camera cut to the interview set where Karrion Kross was brawling with Kyle O’Reilly. William Regal stepped in between them after the guards separated the two and yelled “no more!”…

John’s Thoughts: An ok segment in terms of content, but I can’t help but feel like this segment was rushed in order to stuff a few more stipulations in the Grimes vs. Knight match. Putting the Million Dollar Title on the line and ladder stip makes sense, but the other matches on this show are also loaded with stipulations. This overbooking is combined with the short build towards this upcoming Takeover. Weird. I feel like Knight was kinda shoehorned in here last minute too. As for Grimes vs. Knight on Sunday, it could just end up being like any TV match, but it might also be an unexpected show stealer. Grimes, you don’t have to worry about, that guy wrestles like a main eventer. I keep going to matches that Knight has had with Alberto El Patron, John Morrison, and others as to examples as to how this guy is way better in the ring than he lets on. Knight’s top-tier on the mic, but he also has it in him to put on a great match with a great opponent.

Ever Rise was shown backstage shilling their merch and podcast. They noted that Ever Rise Live this week will be the Takeover “Pre Pre” show. Matt Martel said if you didn’t know about the show, now you know. Chase Parker noted “if you don’t know, now you know” is not their catchphrase (because Hit Row uses it, which Hit Row got from Notorious BIG)…

4. Zack Gibson and James Drake vs. August Grey and Ikeman Jiro. Grey was dominated by Drake and Gibson early on until he tagged in Jiro. Jiro got the advantage over Drake after a huracanrana. Gibson tagged in after Jiro had a bit of a rally, but the GYVs quickly got control over Jiro with tandem offense. For some reason Jiro was wrestling in his tie dye jacket. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher brought out chairs to ringside to sit down and watch the match.

The distraction allowed Grey to tag in and pummel Drake with punches. Grey caught Gibson with a neckbreaker. Grey hit Gibson with a reverse slingblade. Grey hit Drake with a tightrope crossbody. Drake blocked a Tornado Unprettier and punched Grey to the ground. Gibson tagged in and the GYVs hit Grey with Ticket to Mayhem for the victory.

The Grizzled Young Veterans defeated August Grey and Ikeman Jiro via pinfall in 4:58. 

Gibson took the mic and said that Ciampa and Thatcher are lingering like a bad smell. They said they were done with Ciampa and Thatcher and how they are acting like hooligans. Ciampa said the GYVs have to walk though Thatcher and Ciampa to get a title shot.

Gibson challenged Ciampa and Thatcher to a Tornado Tag match on next week’s NXT. Ciampa said there are several things the GYVs need to know about him and Toothless Timmy: they like tornados, they don’t need tags, and they don’t have to wait til next week. Ciampa and Thatcher stormed the ring and the GYVs left. Thatcher said he can’t wait until he can break Gibson and Drake’s limbs. The segment ended with Ciampa’s theme playing…

Candice LeRae was shown on her way to the ring…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Not a huge fan of wrestling in the jacket, but what little we saw from Jiro was impressive. It is going to take a while to get used to his look though if that’s what he’s going with. He looked like a mini-Kona Reeves. (Speaking of Reeves? Where is that guy? Is he still under WWE contract? His act was a guilty pleasure of mine. Plus, he can finally team up with his Caucasian doppelganger John Morrison now that Morrison is in WWE). The GYVs vs. Ciampa and Thatcher should be very fun next week. I’m glad they didn’t stick that stipulation match on Takeover because they’re already stuffing a lot of content into this Sunday’s show (more content than needed).

A replay aired of two weeks ago where Oney Lorcan attacked Bobby Fish after his match against Pete Dunne. The camera cut to Bobby Fish kickboxing a punching bag. Fish got to the camera and said he hasn’t forgotten about Oney Lorcan…

Candice LeRae made her entrance to the ring.Beth Phoenix compared LeRae’s animosity against Poppy to Beth’s animosity to celebrity Maria Menounos. LeRae took the mic and noted that Poppy put Indi Hartwell in tears for what she did with Dexter backstage. LeRae said the easy way is Poppy can come and face her or the hard way with Poppy being introduced to the NXT parking lot. Poppy made her entrance. Poppy said “I don’t wrestle, but I know someone who does”. Io Shirai made her entrance and return to NXT.

Shirai took down LeRae and hit LeRae with a flapjack. Shirai hit LeRae with a 619 and slingshot dropkick. Poppy and Shirai hugged and stood tall in the ring. Vic Joseph sent the show to Dok Hendrix for a “Slam jam update”…

Dok Hendrix did another Takeover ad by announcing the newest matches added to the Takeover show…

Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix checked in from the commentary table. Beth noted that the Takeover preshow will be hosted by Sam Roberts, Aresh Markessi, and Justin Barrasso. Vic Joseph hyped up Dakota Kai vs. Ember Moon for after the break…[c]

John’s Thoughts: For a second I thought they were booking Poppy vs. Candice LeRae for a match, which wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world. Poppy could have been NXT’s Bad Bunny (given that Poppy does have a fanbase). Using her to introduce Shirai made sense though given how she’s been a part of Shirai entrances in the past (including a fun Yumeko Jabami cosplay by Poppy during one of the Takeovers). That said, I can’t help but feel like Shirai’s return was both underwhelming and shoehorned. You would think that Shirai would be going after Raquel Gonzalez given Gonzalez dethroning her as champ?