NXT – October 2, 2014: The Best Thing Going Today. Fact.
NXT
Date: October 2, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Alex Riley, Jason Albert
Tonight we move one major step closer to Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville in the showdown for the NXT Title as Tyson Kidd has his FINAL title shot. Other than that we also have a rematch from Takeover as Bayley gets a Women’s Title shot at Charlotte, who seems to have turned face after their first match. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Takeover II and last week to set up both of tonight’s title matches.
Opening sequence.
Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Bayley
Feeling out process to start with the champ shoving Bayley down, only to have Bayley come out of the corner with an armdrag to send Charlotte out to the floor. Back in and Charlotte cranks on the leg as we get a LET’S GO BAYLEY/CENA SUCKS chant. Some backslides and rollups get two for Charlotte but she fights out of another backslide attempt and goes after Bayley’s ankle. The champ CRANKS on the leg and Bayley is in trouble as we go to a break.
Back with Charlotte still cranking on the leg in the corner before putting on the same leg hold. Charlotte tries to cannonball down onto the leg and gets rolled up for two. Bayley starts firing back but gets kicked in the leg to put her right back down. The leg is wrapped around the post and we hit the Figure Four with Charlotte bridging up ala Bray Wyatt’s spider walk for more pressure.
Bayley turns it over but Charlotte is right next to the ropes. Back up and Charlotte misses a knee drop and a charge into the corner and a middle rope back elbow gets two. Charlotte reverses a suplex into a neckbreaker and a bad looking Natural Selection (Charlotte shoved Bayley’s back to put her into the mat) retains the title at 11:38.
Rating: C+. I was getting into the story here of Bayley being in over her head with the wrestling skills but being able to get close by making Charlotte miss or trying a quick rollup. More importantly, the announcers SOLD THAT IDEA. They spent the entire match talking about the different styles and made me think Bayley could steal a quick win. Good stuff here.
Charlotte hugs Bayley post match.
Hideo Itami vs. Viktor
Ascension double teams Hideo down as the announcers mention that he has no friends in NXT. They destroy him with ease until referees come out to break it up. No match.
Earlier this week, Enzo and Big Cass trained Carmella at the Performance Center. Enzo puts her hand on his arm in a lockup. Carmella: “Sawft!” They do some basic stuff until Carmella dropkicks him out of the ring. He tells Cass not to post the video.
Baron Corbin vs. Troy McClain
A big elbow drops Troy, a clothesline stuns him in the corner and the End of Days gives Baron the pin at 53 seconds.
Kidd says he only needs one last chance and he’ll become NXT Champion. He walks away when asked about Natalya getting him the shot.
The Legionnaires want a rematch with Enzo and Cass next week.
Vaudevillains vs. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan
Aiden and Jason get things going with English being thrown into the corner. He takes a little bow but Jordan makes his chest dance in return. Off to Gotch vs. Dillinger with the pretty boys taking over in the corner. Back to English for a swinging neckbreaker for two on Jordan but Dillinger quickly comes in for some knees to the face. Fans: “YOU’RE NOT MANLY!” A rollup gets two for Aiden but the kickout sends him into the corner for a tag off to Gotch. We go old school with airplane spins to both pretty boys, setting up That’s A Wrap for the pin on Dillinger at 4:10.
Rating: C. The fans have basically turned the Vaudevillains face with the chants and calling things manly. They’re perfect challengers for Lucha Dragons and the match should go well enough. I’m surprised at how far the pretty boys have fallen as they looked like the next thing in the tag division. That’s probably better for everyone involved though.
Titus O’Neil is in the front row for the main event.
Itami is getting checked in the back (and speaking pretty clear English) when Funaki comes in to say he’ll have Itami’s back against Ascension.
Bayley says she isn’t done because there are girls that look up to her. Sasha Banks jumps her and says she’ll get the next shot at Charlotte.
NXT Title: Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd
Adrian is defending and this is Kidd’s last chance. The champ takes Tyson down by the arm to start and we can see the lights reflecting off Titus’ head. Back up and they slug it out with Kidd ripping the skin off with a chop in the corner. Neville backdrops him to the mat and a hard kick to the back gets two. He bails out to the floor for a breather, only to get kicked in the face from the apron as we take a break.
Back with Neville cranking on an armbar but getting choked on the ropes. Off to a figure four neck lock on the champion and the fans want him to tap. Neville turns around in the hold and lifts Tyson up for a powerbomb to escape. A series of kicks have Kidd in trouble but he nails a running big boot for two. Kidd nails another running kick before flipping Neville over with a snapmare and turning underneath him to make it a neckbreaker. Tyson goes up but gets kicked in the head, setting up a sitout powerbomb (“BETTER THAN BATISTA”) for two.
Neville bails out of a Shooting Star and tries a dropkick but gets caught in the Sharpshooter. He makes a rope though and heads to the apron to kick Kidd in the head. For some reason Adrian heads outside though and Titus gets in a cheap shot. Sami Zayn runs out and kicks Titus in the head as Neville dives back in at nine. Kidd loads up a superplex but gets kicked down, setting up the Red Arrow to retain at 13:07.
Rating: B-. Another good match between these two and the build to Zayn vs. Neville continues. Neville is still mostly good at this point but the big heel turn is probably looming. I’m not sure where Titus is going to fit in but I don’t think he’s going to be much more than a short term foil for someone.
Zayn salutes Adrian and says he’s coming for the title.
Kidd looks devastated and the announcer emphasizes that he’s out of chances to end the show.
Overall Rating: B. This was back to the standard for NXT, meaning it’s the best wrestling show on TV again. They had story development for some angles and set up stuff for the future while having some good action at the same time. As usual, NXT is as efficient of a wrestling show as you’ll find and a huge improvement over the usual waste of time that Raw feels like anymore.
Results
Charlotte b. Bayley – Natural Selection
Baron Corbin b. Troy McClain – End of Days
Vaudevillains b. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan – End of Days to Dillinger
Adrian Neville b. Tyson Kidd – Red Arrow
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