NXT – November 8, 2017: Undisputed Style
NXT
Date: November 8, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo
Last week saw NXT turned on its head as we heard the announcement that WARGAMES is coming to Takeover with a three team, nine man match. Other than that it’s time to get everything ready for the show, which is mostly set already. NXT is great at setting up the shows and that’s what we’re doing tonight. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of the end of last week’s show with the WarGames announcement and the huge roar from the crowd.
Opening sequence.
Heavy Machinery vs. Chris Pain/Sean Maluta
Otis runs Chris over to start and Sean gets the same treatment. The big man actually hits a modified Worm before it’s off to Tucker for a kick to the face. A springboard elbow (from the bottom rope) crushes Pain again and it’s the Compactor for the pin at 2:22. Squash.
Ember Moon doesn’t like what Mercedes Martinez said about her last week and will face her next week.
Kairi Sane vs. Billie Kay
Kairi bows to her to start so Billie runs her over with a shoulder. A headscissors and a dropkick get Kairi out of trouble but Peyton Royce gets up for a distraction. It works quite well though as Kay grabs a torture rack. Sane fights out with some chops in the corner before marching across the ring for the sliding knee for two in the corner. After an elbow dispatches Royce, the top rope elbow finishes Kay at 3:51.
Rating: C. Sane was clearly winning here but at least Kay got in some offense. The Iconic Duo are kind of stuck in limbo here as they have nowhere to go in NXT. They’re not going to win the Women’s Title and the main roster divisions could use some fresh blood so just send them up there as the new Laycool.
Kassius Ohno, in a Cesaro shirt for a wink at the smart fans, comes in to see William Regal. He wants in on the NXT Title hunt so he should start with Lars Sullivan at Takeover. Regal grants the match.
Video on WarGames with clips from most of the matches. Having people like Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in there to talk about the brutality is a nice addition.
Zelina Vega and Andrade Cien Almas have a sitdown interview to say Almas will win the title at Takeover. Vega won’t let Almas answer a question about their relationship but she says they’ve known each other for seven years. Almas speaks Spanish and then in English says this is the new Andrade, who will be the new champion. Vega is excellent in this role and has made Almas a hundred times better in short order.
Velveteen Dream vs. Cezar Bononi
Dream wastes no time uppercutting Bononi into the corner and a spinebuster makes it even worse. The rolling Death Valley Driver (Death Valley Bomb) ends Bononi in 1:13.
Post match Dream says he’s on Aleister Black’s mind and he’ll get what he wants at Takeover when Black says his name.
We look back at Ruby Riot’s leg/ankle injury.
Earlier today, Ruby was told to rest her injury for a few more weeks. Sonya DeVille comes in to laugh at her. She tries to blame Ruby for not being in the title match so Ruby challenges her to a match when she’s healed up. Sonya tells her to heal fast.
The Street Profits run into a guy in a suit and give him a cup. Tino Sabbatelli’s dry cleaning is brought in and the Profits say it’s theirs. As luck would have it. Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss come in to say the Profits can’t afford this kind of suit. A match is set.
Ember Moon vs. Mercedes Martinez is set for next week.
Almas and Drew McIntyre will be face to face next week.
Roderick Strong vs. Adam Cole
They fight into the corner to start and head to the mat for a battle over a hammerlock. A good looking dropkick puts Cole on the floor and Strong hits a dive over the top to take him down again. Back from a break with Strong kneeing Cole down and dropping an elbow for two. Of course that means a chinlock with Cole whispering sweet spots into Cole’s ear.
Strong fights up and grabs a backbreaker for a breather. A jumping clothesline rocks Cole again and another backbreaker gets two. Cole’s enziguri gets the same and a superkick sets up the Last Shot for an even nearer fall. Cole takes him up top but gets reversed into a drop onto the turnbuckle….drawing out Fish and O’Reilly for the DQ at 12:04.
Rating: C+. This was getting good at the end but they were just waiting for the interference ending. That’s how this should have gone though as there was no reason to have it be anything other than a run-in. If nothing else, it’s nice to see a promotion smart enough to not have the participants of a huge match lose in a meaningless TV match.
Sanity and the Authors of Pain run out and the big brawl is on. Wolfe dives onto the Era (with Fish running over to help catch him) and Cole superplexes Strong onto everyone for the huge crash to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. The main thing here is I want to see Takeover more than I did when I came in. They built the matches up well and the go home show should be entertaining. WarGames is clearly the top draw of the whole show and that’s all it’s going to need. The fact that the TV leading up to it is good is just a very nice bonus. Good show this week and I’m not surprised.
Results
Heavy Machinery b. Chris Pain/Sean Maluta – Compactor to Pain
Kairi Sane b. Billie Kay – Top rope elbow
Velveteen Dream b. Cezar Bononi – Death Valley Bomb
Roderick Strong b. Adam Cole via DQ when Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly interfered
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Having people like Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in there to talk about the brutality is a nice addition.
Flair didn’t speak, they just showed his promos from the ’80s.