Photos for Headline Surfer / TOP: Bron Breakker successfully defends his NXT title for the first time, squaring off with the head of La Familia, Santos Escobar, at Vengeance Day on Feb. 15, 2022, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
BELOW: An NXT poster shows Breaker (left), with an intense look on his face, with a smirking Escobar. The event that night was shown live on Syfy! cable television network to a national viewing audience.
BOTTOM: Dolph Ziggler delivers his patented superkick of Bron Breakker while the referee had his back turned, but Escobar only got a two-count.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Bron Breakker would not be broken by an upstart wrestler seeking vengeance despite the hype of the leader of La Familia and the ever-lurking villainous Dolph Ziggler outside the squared circle.
NXT Champion Bron Breakker, did, in fact, make quick work of Santos Escobar at NXT Vengeance Day, on Tuesday, and was shown on Syfy! cable television network from the NXT Performance Center on the campus of Full Sail University.
A little over a month into his first title reign, Breakker had earned his NXT championship belt by running roughshod over the likes of LA Knight and Roderick Strong while leading his team to a victory at NXT WarGames in just a short span after making his debut, eventually getting the best of Tommaso Ciampa in his championship rematch at New Year’s Evil.
With over 20 years of experience under his belt, Escobar – along with the rest of La Familia -- offered a dangerous new threat to the NXT Champion, but as things turned out, the former NXT Cruiserweight Champion underestimated the brute strength of Breakker.
And yes, Breaker had to deal with a big-name WWE superstar in Dolph Ziggler lurking outside the ropes. But he still managed to put away Escobar in under 5 minutes with a power slam and the 1-2-3 count of the referee to retain his NXT championship.
Breakker has had a target on his back since he defeated Tommaso Ciampa, with Santos Escobar being the one hunting him.
Escobar spent the past month stalking Breakker, saying that everything is done on his time. However, the contract was eventually signed – and now no amount of attempted ambushes or big talk could give Escobar an edge. Certainly not against the young champion one on one inside the ring where it mattered,
Breakker has had a target on his back since he defeated Tommaso Ciampa, with Santos Escobar being the one hunting him.
Escobar spent the past month stalking Breakker, saying that everything is done on his time. However, the contract was eventually signed – and now no amount of attempted ambushes or big talk could give Escobar an edge. Certainly not against the young champion one on one inside the ring where it mattered,
Escobar found out the hard way why Breakker's already on top of NXT, and likely to stay here for the remainder of this year and then likely get the WWE call-up to Monday Night Raw or Friday Night Smackdown to challenge the entrenched Roman Reigns for the Universal heavyweight championship.
After all, like Reins, Bronson Rechsteiner, a second-generation professional wrestler, is the son of Rick Steiner and the nephew of Scott Steiner, who performed together as the Steiner Brothers.
While Breakker's dad, Rick Steiner, was known as the gremlin-faced brawler, who wore a dog collar and barked, his uncle, developed an even bigger persona later in WCW as "Big Poppa Pump." Scott Steiner's iconic catchphrase on the mic before kissing his lef bicep was "Big Poppa Pump is your hook up! Holler if you hear me!"
Scott Steiner was a WCW heavyweight champion and even succeeded Hollywood Hulk Hogan as the leader of the NWO. He later starred in TNA Wrestling as well.
But for the time being, the focus was on Tuesday night with Bron Breakker's NXT championship on the line against Santos Escobar in the main event at Vengeance Day.
NXT's showcase event aired on Syfy due to the Winter Olympics being on USA Network. Live coverage began at 8 p.m. Eastern time with several preliminary marches leading up to the main event. These were the preliminary matches:
• Pete Dunne defeated Tony D'Angelo in a weaponized steel cage Match.
• Toxic Attraction Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne) of Toxic Attraction defeated Indi Hartwell & Persia Pirotta to retain their NXT Women's Tag Team Championship.
• Carmelo Hayes, with Trick Williams, defeated Cameron Grimes to retain the NXT North American Championship.
• The Creed Brothers (Brutus Creed & Julius Creed) with Malcolm Bivens defeated MSK (Nash Carter & Wes Lee) to win the 2022 Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Then it was game on between Breakker and Escobar. The challenger was in control earlier on with a dropkick and ground and pound before Breakker began to mount his offense - with a flurry of punches and shoulder blocks to take control.
Then Dolph Ziggler, the former WWE heavyweight champion, who was lurking outside the ring, jumped in when the referee was looking the other way and super kicked Breakker.
Escobar then tried to pin him, but only got a two count. An enraged Ziggler tried to climb through the ropes again but was intercepted by Tommaso Ciampa and the two started brawling away from the ring.
Escobar hit a tornado DDT but missed the prone champ with a frog splash. Breakker then hit a spear, pulled down his shoulder straps and gorilla pressed Santos into a power slam. Then it was the 1-2-3 pin and win.
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About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008 along the I-4 tourism corridor in greater Daytona Beach to Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed 115 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. AWJ: