NXT – November 25, 2015: Don’t You Dare
NXT
Date: November 25, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Rich Brennan, Corey Graves
It’s another title match week with Bayley defending against Eva Marie in a match that has the potential to burn the place to the ground. The Full Sail fans just do not like Eva no matter what she does and it’s going to be quite the moment if she takes the title from the most popular act in NXT. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Michael Cole of all people is in the ring to open the show, though unfortunately we don’t get his sweet theme song about how awesome his life is. Cole says he’s in charge while Regal is out recovering from neck surgery. First up tonight: a contract signing for Takeover: London (finally not the week before the match) between Finn Balor and Samoa Joe. Cole goes to introduce Joe but Balor comes out first and promises to take Joe out in London. This brings out Joe who walks into the ring, signs the contract and walks out without saying a word or even looking at Finn. The champ goes to leave but Joe attacks and chokes Finn out.
Tag Team Titles: Vaudevillains vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder
Dawson and Wilder are defending and this is the Vaudevillains’ rematch. Dawson starts on Gotch’s leg to start but can’t get very far, meaning it’s off to English vs. Wilder. Aiden takes over for all of fifteen seconds before the champs go after his arm and take us to an early break. Back with Aiden in an armbar but he easily fights up and makes the hot tag to Gotch. Now it’s the Vaudevillains taking over but Dawson trips up Gotch to stop the Whirling Dervish. Everything breaks down and the Shatter Machine to English retains the titles at 8:05.
Rating: C. These teams really don’t have great chemistry together and a lot of that is due to the champs being the kind of guys that like to slow a match down. The Vaudevillains are a unique team as they don’t have a particular style and that makes it hard to find interesting matchups for them. It’s not bad, but these are really forgettable matches so it’s probably best that they’re done here.
Post match Enzo and Big Cass come out to beat up the champs for hurting Cass’ leg a few weeks back.
Eva has taken over Regal’s office because she needed a bigger place to get ready. Bayley is a swell girl but it’s time for a woman to become champion. She knows the fans have her back too and there are a bunch of gifts waiting for the celebration. Nia Jax comes in with a present of her own.
We recap Asuka dismantling Dana Brooke at Takeover.
Someone whose face we can’t see sings a song about needing liberators. Elias Sampson had a guitar a few months back so maybe it was him.
Dana Brooke vs. Asuka
Maybe not as Dana talks from the stage and Emma jumps Asuka from behind and puts her in the Emma Lock. No match.
Bayley understands why WWE wants Eva Marie to be the Women’s Champion but there’s one difference between them: Bayley is a wrestler. I know it wasn’t meant to be one, but that was one of the best insults I’ve heard in a long time.
Sami Zayn is coming back.
Apollo Crews vs. Jesse Sorensen
This would be the former TNA guy Jesse Sorensen, who left because they didn’t want him to wrestle any more after breaking his neck and decided to release him instead. Crews starts fast with a delayed vertical as the fans count the “time”. Just to show off, Crews waves them on and holds Jesse up even longer. A big running clothesline sets up a throw into a powerbomb (called an Alley Oop into a powerbomb) to end Jesse at 2:06. Total squash.
Crews accepts Baron Corbin’s challenge for London.
Corbin says Crews is going to be the answer to a trivia question for doing one thing once. He’s going down in London.
Charles Robinson has been sent to referee the main event.
Women’s Title: Eva Marie vs. Bayley
Eva is challenging so let the nuclear heat (and wolf whistles) begin. Nia Jax is here with Eva to make sure things aren’t fair. Robinson is the outside referee here so something might be afoot. They trade headlocks to start and a suplex gets two on Bayley, who comes right back with the Bayley to Belly for two as Jax pulls the referee out. Robinson comes in to count two on Bayley off a rollup and Jax adds a headbutt to keep Bayley in trouble.
Eva covers several times for two but Bayley takes her down with a running clothesline. Robinson breaks up the running elbow in the corner and Sliced Red gets a very close two. Another try at Sliced Red results in a ref bump and Eva goes up. Bayley stops her again though and, after dealing with Nia, grabs a super Bayley to Belly with another referee coming in for the count at 6:38.
Rating: B. This was one of the best done segments that NXT has done in a long time. It’s just a six minute match and nothing great in terms of wrestling, but sweet goodness they nailed the story here. The idea of the fix being in had the fans freaking out on every near fall and going nuts when Bayley survived. Bayley is the most over thing in NXT since Sami Zayn and it’s awesome to watch her mature into this hero instead of just being an underdog.
Nia Jax lays out Bayley post match and holds up the belt to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. This was a show that did a lot of good to set up the London show in three weeks while also throwing in two title matches with a really well done moment in the main event. Thankfully Cole wasn’t the star of the show and felt like a regular NXT commissioner. That’s the key to this whole promotion: find the formula that works and keep plugging people in and out when necessary. It’s worked for years and it’s working here, which makes this the most consistent show around.
Results
Scott Dawson’/Dash Wilder b. Vaudevillains – Shatter Machine to English
Apollo Crews b. Jesse Sorensen – Throw into a powerbomb
Bayley b. Eva Marie – Super Bayley to Belly
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A big concern for Owens is whether he will stay at his current weight or if he will continue to grow. If he keeps growing, he could get to the point where he is just too fat to do anything. Viscera and Rikishi are both good examples. Of course, he isn’t close to their weights but he is on a slippery slope. Why take a lot of time and money to push a guy who might become a probably in a few years?
That extra weight will eventually cause problems. I’m assuming he does a lot of cardio. The extra weight will wreak havoc on his knees. His hips and other parts of the body are also under tremendous pressure. His body will not be able to keep this up forever. To avoid his body breaking down, he will eventually have to workout less. If that happens, he will get fatter. He could also lose weight to avoid this.
Casual fans do care about look. Owens does not have a good look. That is a concern. I’m not saying he can’t overcome this, but it is going to be very hard to overcome it. Imagine a person turning on Raw for the first time. The first person they see is Brock Lesnar. Their reaction will probably be oh shit that guy looks like a monster. Now say the first person they see is Kevin Owens. Their reaction will probably be wow, he is fat.
He wants to be fat, that is fine. But there are valid reasons why WWE is concerned about pushing an overweight person.
Problem in a few years not probably in a few years.
His mic work is fine. His natural charisma and in ring skills will carry him.
Will Balor translate well to Raw, though? So far the only recent NXT guy I’ve found interesting is Owens but his weight has me doubting WWE has any interest in going all the way with him.
His mic work is still very questionable, and I doubt it will ever improve as I think it would have by now.
As for m.r. Statement on Owens, that guy has the whole package. He’s gonna be something big. His weight is a stupid reason to hold him back. He’s already proven it isn’t a detriment. I can only hope the company isn’t that petty.
He came in hot and beat Cena clean, but since has been relegated to midcard status along with the rest of the roster. I agree he’s got the tools but don’t think management wants a guy that looks like him as their top heel.
Owens is more upper carder.
He’s holding the mid-card title.
Who would you tell someone that doesn’t watch NXT to be excited for? Is there anyone with both big personality and wrestling skills?
Balor, but it’s much more about the whole package. There isn’t one person the show is about. Instead it’s about booking week to week and always having something to come back for. It’s old school wrestling booking that works because they take their time and let stuff develop instead of forcing it on you. They don’t treat their fans like idiots and let them figure stuff out on their own.
They had me thinking Eva was going to win the Title with stacking the odds against Bayley. Good stuff and London is setting up to be a good one too.
This might be an unpopular opinion but I want Nia to win the title at London.