NXT – August 14, 2014: As Refreshing As A WWE Ice Cream Bar

NXT
Date: August 14, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

Things really need to pick up around here soon. I can’t believe I’m saying that but it’s the absolute truth right now. The lack of anything to build towards is hurting things, as we’re just spinning in circles instead of actually setting up a show or a match. Last week Breeze implied that he was cashing in soon but I didn’t hear a date. Let’s get to it.

Clip from Takeover of Tyler Breeze beating Sami Zayn to become #1 contender and Tyler taunting NXT Champion Adrian Neville ever since.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Mojo Rawley/Bull Dempsey vs. Vaudevillains

Big ovation for the Vaudevillains. Mojo cranks on English’s head to start but Aiden comes back with an uppercut for two. Off to a hammerlock from English, including a bow down into a tag to Gotch. Simon puts on a hammerlock of his own and does Hindu Squats to crank on the arm. Dempsey comes in and pounds Gotch to the mat but it’s quickly back to Mojo as he tags himself back in. This doesn’t go well for the makeshift team as Gotch catches him in a rolling fireman’s carry, followed by a middle rope Swanton Bomb from English for the pin at 3:07.

Rating: D+. That was far shorter than I was expecting. I’m glad they pulled the plug on the makeshift team before it went on forever, given that this was the obvious ending. Mojo has fallen through the floor in NXT and to be fair I can’t say I disagree with the way his push has gone. Ever since that beating from Rusev it was almost impossible for him to get back up.

Post match Bull destroys Mojo, drawing a big THANK YOU BULL chant.

Sasha Banks doesn’t like Bayley thinking she’ll be the next Women’s Champion. Bayley says Sasha doesn’t get a hug tonight.

Breeze is cashing in tonight. They didn’t do a great job of making that clear last week.

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

#1 contenders match. They trade headlocks to start with Sasha taking over with a knee to the ribs for two. Bayley takes her down with some rollups for the same as they trade near falls. They stay on the mat with Bayley grabbing a headlock, only to have Sasha fight up and nail a dropkick. Back up and Bayley gets aggressive, sending Sasha out to the floor for a breather.

We take a break and come back with Sasha getting two before putting on a chinlock. She stretches Bayley across the knees before ramming her face first into the mat. Back to a double arm choke on Bayley but the happy one fights up and nails some forearms, only to get her throat snapped across the top rope. A slap to the face looks to set up Belly to Bayley but Sasha counters into a Backstabber. Sasha puts on a Crossface but cranks on it too much, allowing Bayley to roll on top for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C-. The match was pretty dull stuff but Bayley got to be a bit more aggressive which is a nice change of pace for her. Bayley vs. Charlotte will be a better option than Sasha getting the shot as you can only do Charlotte vs. BFFs for so long until it gets really old in a hurry.

Tag Team Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Kalisto/Sin Cara vs. Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy

Cara and Blake get things going for some fast paced running before it’s off to the partners for some hard shots from Kalisto. Cara launches Kalisto into a backsplash onto Murphy for two. Murphy is sent to the floor and Blake gets taken down by a top rope cross body from Cara. A dropkick from Kalisto sends Murphy into a Cara powerbomb. Sin takes out Blake and Kalisto hits a standing sitout sliced bread #2 for the pin at 2:42. This was a fast paced squash and the masked guys looked really good.

The Legionnaires don’t like Enzo and Big Cass making the semifinals and speak a lot of French.

NXT Title: Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze

Adrian is defending and takes Tyler down to the mat to start. Some kicks to the ribs have Breeze in early trouble but he sends Adrian out to the floor in a big crash. Tyson Kidd comes out to commentary as Neville gets back in. We take a break and come back with Breeze still in control and Kidd not saying a word. Breeze puts on a front facelock before sending Neville out to the floor again.

A whip into the steps gets two for the challenger and it’s back to the front facelock. Adrian finally shoves him off to escape and hammers away in the corner. There’s a running boot to the face and a standing shooting star for two. Neville goes to the corner but dives into a dropkick to change momentum again. Breeze misses a charge into the corner and gets superkicked for a very close near fall. Both guys are spent but Breeze is able to break up the Red Arrow.

A sunset bomb plants Tyler but he rolls away before the Red Arrow can be launched. Breeze comes back with an INSANE tornado DDT to plant Neville for two. Neville counters a German suplex into one of his own for two more and both guys are down. Breeze rolls outside and takes a big suicide dive, which finally draws Kidd out to the ring. Fans: “NO! NO! NO!” Neville blasts him in the face with a superkick before Tyson can do anything. He kicks Breeze in the head as well and goes up for the Red Arrow, only to have Tyson break it up for the DQ at 14:46.

Rating: B. This was getting really good in the middle but took a breather and toned down a bit near the end. It seemed like a way to set up another match and that might be the best possible option. Breeze wasn’t the best option to take the title but he’s FAR better in the ring than anyone would have given him credit for.

Breeze goes after Kidd but eventually they team up on Neville. Sami Zayn runs in for the save and checks on Neville to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was much better than what they had been doing in recent weeks but it’s still not as good as the show had been for weeks now. You can see the fourway coming from here but that’s not the worst idea in the world given how insane a match between these four could be. Good show here and a lot of stuff is set for the future, which is NXT’s specialty.

Results
Vaudevillains b. Mojo Rawley/Bull Dempsey – Middle rope Swanton Bomb to Rawley
Bayley b. Sasha Banks – Rollup
Sin Cara/Kalisto b. Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy – Standing sitout sliced bread #2 to Murphy
Adrian Neville b. Tyler Breeze via DQ when Tyson Kidd interfered

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