WWE LFG (SEASON FINALE) REVIEW 10.05.25

And then there were four.

I apologize again for missing last week’s episode, where I probably would have been furious at Sirena Linton not making it to the finals, but we are here now at the final four. Two of these individuals will, hopefully, not get jerked around in NXT for only being halfway-ready for the next step, while I’m not sure what happens to the rest. Maybe they join the Don Callis family and take on the New York Jets next week. This is the WWE. Anything can happen.

And away we go!

SEASON TWO, EPISODE 15: SEASON TWO FINALS!

TONIGHT, Shiloh Hill tells us winning is the bare minimum, which leaves me unsure as to what else there is to do tonight. Dani has finally found herself. Also, we apparently have to drag out Drake Morreaux being relevant to all this, and he and Harlem Lewis will still do battle again (as they “split the judges’” vote last week) to decide who faces Shiloh later in the show. Oh, Shiloh might be getting screwed here.

THE FUTURE STARTS NOW.

HARLEM LEWIS VS. DRAKE MORREAUX (SEMIFINAL DO-OVER MATCH)

Harlem and Drake are already in the ring, in front of the paid NXT crowd, and they be clubberin, folks. Drake hits a clothesline and a big splash for two as Shawn Michaels and Matt Bloom watch from Gorilla to UNDERSCORE how SERIOUS this is. They fight on the outside, and Harlem sends Drake onto the apron. Harlem suplexes Drake onto the floor and rolls him back into the ring for two. Harlem continues his attack, hitting an elbow off the second rope to the back of the head for two. Shawn is backstage, favoring Harlem, seemingly, which is a nice bit of continuity, since I don’t think he really likes the season one winners. Drake hits his shitty comeback, hitting the chokeslam for a very close two-count. Drake can’t powerbomb Kidman, which leads to Harlem hitting the jackhammer for three.

WINNER: Harlem Lewis

MATCH RATING: B- Perfunctory. Nothing really wrong. Extended squash with a hope spot.

HARLEM: B+ This should be Shiloh’s to win, but Harlem’s always wrestled like he’s a bit above this, showed much improvement from his Evolve stint, and seems like he could be a player at the next level right now.

DRAKE: C+ Sold well. Comeback was weak. Way too tall for his girlfriend. There’s something there, but it’s still way hidden. I’d send him back to the lab for a makeover, but he’s not making it past this.

Harlem celebrates above Drake for the win, and they both head backstage to gorilla to speak with Shawn Michaels. Shawn tells them both they need a lot of work, but he feels he could slot Harlem immediately into NXT more. He tells Harlem this isn’t over, and that he will have to face last year’s runner-up later for the slot. Did they say this will be in Houston? Let’s see. Harlem walks by Shiloh, and is Shiloh that much bigger than him?

We are now in Houston, and Booker’s taken Harlem to his office at Reality of Wrestling. Booker’s office looks like the most bootleg version of something you’d probably find in Stamford ever. Shiloh is in the ring, thinking, and he is confident. Harlem is deep in thought. Now, here is Dani, ready to show folks she was never the underdog. We then get P. Nasty, jumping rope, and hitting a training dummy. We are padding the hell out of this. I’ve got stuff to do, people.

We are now in Houston, where I guess some live event occurred at some point recently. Hey, look, it’s Lexis King! We get even more quick interviews with Penina and the Undertaker. Taker gives Dani some quick words of encouragement. Dani and Shiloh TAPE THEIR WRISTS. Harlem sits in an empty room. Michelle McCool has thoughts. Fans fill in the arena in Houston. The coaches get a cheap pop in the ring. This episode could have been an email. A very short email.

DANI SEKELSKY VERSUS PENINA TUALAEPA (WOMEN’S FINAL MATCH)

We are 24 minutes into the show, and these women look almost exactly the same as they did episode one of season one. At least this means Dani’s still cute. Penina throws the hell out of Dani in a scool starting spot, and takes her down with a shoulderblock. Dani can’t get her down with two dropkicks and winds up placed on the top rope. A flying shoulderblock finally takes Penina down and sends her outside. Penina catches Dani trying to hit a crossbody to the outside and slams her on the apron. Dani gets slammed into the apron before being rolled into the ring. Dani’s big change to her appearance is a single braid in her hair. The coaches think Penina’s work isn’t good. A sloppy Samoan drop sets up a pin attempt too obviously close to the ropes for Penina. Dani returns with some body shots, but gets awkwardly slammed for her efforts. More dropkicks from Dani leads to a tentative tornado DDT for two. Dani misses a weak frog slam. Penina goes for the choke slam, but winds up in the Hell’s Gate. Penina fights…and fights…and fights…and finally taps!

WINNER: DANI SEKELSKY

MATCH RATING: C Rough effort at times from both ladies, and certainly not what you’d want to see from your finals’ match.

DANI: B- Rough effort on that tornado DDT and frog splash notwithstanding, her selling was top-notch, and the segment with the extended Hell’s Gate was solid. Mixed bag here.

PENINA: C- Rough, bordering on bowling shoe at times. More than one botch on an offensive move, and the coaches called out her tentativeness throughout. I’m not sure where we go here, since I could see her in a very specific role, but not much else.

I’d obviously go Dani here, but let’s see how this is decided.

Dani hugs Undertaker while Penina celebrartes with random Samoans. Dani’s mom is literally Dani in twenty years. That’s kind of nuts, actually. Undertaker makes a Jim Ross reference as we prepare for our final match tonight (unless we bring out Drake again because one of his shoelaces was untied.)

HARLEM LEWIS VS. SHILOH HILL (MEN’S FINALS MATCH)

Booker and Taker try to make this about themselves as Shiloh and Harlem circle the ring. Collar and elbow tie-up leads to more circling, as ALPHA MALES do. They take turns bringing each other down before Harlem goes on attack with some shots in the dorner. Shiloh reverses an irish whip into a big shoulderblock. Harlem gets sent to the outside, where Shiloh hits the cannonball off the apron. Some shots on Harlem on the apron pop the crowd, followed by a big legdrop to the apron from Shiloh. They wind up back outside again following some texts from my girlfriend, and Harlem is in control. It was girls’ softball drama, if you were wondering, but Harlem gets a two-count, then another off a running knee. Back suplex into a backbreaker looked awfully nice for Harlem. Shiloh reverses a probable jackhammer into a small package for two, and the spinning neckbreaker finishes for Shiloh.

WINNER: SHILOH HILL

MATCH RATING: B Far better than the women’s match, as these guys know how to do “physical” and “intense” really well.

SHILOH: B+ No one really hit that next gear tonight, as everyone tried to play it safe. He hit all his stuff with great intensity, sold well, and looks far more ready to have good matches at the next level than Jasper Troy did last season.

HARLEM: B+ You could almost say the same about Harlem here, but Shiloh simply seems more ready to go 10-12 minutes with anyone. My decision would be an easy one here.

Backstage in Houston, we get a private talk, without talent, with the coaches, Shawn, and Alicia Taylor. The ladies go first, and Bubba sees the growth in both women. He thinks Dani is more ready, though. Booker and Michelle pick Penina, which obviously means Taker goes with Dani for additional drama. Both women walk in, and Shawn picks Dani. It’s the right choice. I’m curious as to where she slots in, but she seems ready.

We now turn to the men and, surprise surprise, it’s another two/two split from the coaches. Shawn nails the landing and picks Shiloh. For all its wonkiness, we wound up with no surprises, and the two wrestlers who were the frontrunners at the start of the season wound up winning the contracts.

We end with the real winner of this all, Michelle McCool, winning the Coach’s Championship, complete with Shawn taking a dig at Taker’s streaks beind ended. Savage.

OVERALL RATING: C The right people won. The new folks impressed. Otherwise, not much happened here, or this season. I look forward to watching what seem to be two more polished winners than season one’s contribute at the next level.

What will season three bring? Seems like a hell of a lot more newbies, which is frankly needed. Do we have enough folks at this level in developmental now? Time will tell. Give me more than a few weeks before a new season begins this time, though, as it feels like we were crowning season one winners just a few weeks ago.

It’s been real. See you for season three.