NXT – February 13, 2019: When The Stars Are Away, It’s Still A Great Show (I’m Bad At Rhyming)
IMG Credit: WWE
NXT
Date: February 13, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson
We’re coming up on the build towards New York and that’s going to be a big night, with some of the card starting to come into focus. The big story continues to be Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa, but Velveteen Dream is getting involved as well, which could make for some very interesting curves. He does certainly know how to shake things up. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Dominik Dijakovic vs. Shane Thorne
Thorne gets smart by going after the arm to start, including wrapping it around the ropes and kicking away a bit, followed by a dropkick to the side of the head. Dijakovic shrugs it off with some power but Thorne stays smart by wrenching the arm some more. A belly to back suplex puts Dijakovic down but he superkicks Thorne off the top for a big crash. Dijakovic, who stands 6’7, nails a big springboard spinning ax handle to the floor (Fans: “FEAST YOUR EYES!”), setting up Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 4:22.
Rating: C. I still don’t know why his name isn’t just Dominic Dijak but at least he got a win here and looked fine doing so. Thorne has nowhere to go but up as he’s starting from scratch and looked good here. I hope he gets at least a chance and in NXT, they might be willing to actually give him a chance. Nice little match here that actually had me wondering for a bit.
The Undisputed Era says they’re having a down start to their year but losing the Tag Team Titles mean they’re all free to go for singles gold. Tonight, Adam Cole is starting with Ricochet.
We look back at the end of last week’s show with Io Shirai pinning Shayna Baszler.
Shirai wants the title but Bianca Belair isn’t sure about that.
Humberto Carrillo and Stacy Ervin Jr. are here for a tag match (with Mauro doing their introduction via voiceover for some reason) but Kassius Ohno interrupts. He knows how the crowd is around here but he won’t be around much longer. Instead he’s going somewhere to be appreciated….and here’s Keith Lee to knock him out with one shot to the face. Lee says he could have hit Ohno in the “dangly bits” like Ohno did to him and apologizes for the interruption.
Humberto Carrillo/Stacy Ervin Jr. vs. Street Profits
The Profits mock Ohno, who is still out as they walked past. Carrillo and Ford start things off with some fast paced counters, capped off by stereo missed dropkicks. A whip into the corner just lets Carrillo flip around a bit, followed by some rather nice armdrags into an armbar. Dawkins comes in with a heavy shoulder but Carrillo is right back up with a spinning kick to the face. A running shooting star gets two on Dawkins but Ervin walks into a rather fast spear to put him in trouble.
The chinlock doesn’t last long so Ford hits a SCARY belly to back, dropping Ervin on the back of his head so hard that the referee immediately slides over to check on him. Ervin is right back up and rolls over for the tag to Carrillo so house can be cleaned. A handspring elbow drops Dawkins and a big dive into an armdrag sends Ford outside. Everything breaks down and a very high moonsault gets two on Dawkins. Back up and Ervin gets caught in an electric chair, setting up the Doomsday Blockbuster to give Ford the pin at 6:15.
Rating: C+. Some of those dives and flips looked great and I could go for more of either team. I’ve liked the Profits for a long time now and having them get into the title picture would be fine. The same is true for Ervin and Carrillo, even though the latter is already up on the main roster, as he should be.
Post match the Profits say they want in on the title picture because they’re ready to go to war at any time, even with the War Raiders. This brings out Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel to say they should get the shot. Cue Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch power walking to the ring for a three way argument but the War Raiders come out to request more fighting over the titles. The Undisputed Era comes in from behind but the Raiders clear the ring without much trouble.
Johnny Gargano says 2018 was an up and down year but he knows his endgame. Now he knows what he wants to do and is ready to show the locker room. Johnny Wrestling is back.
Next week: Gargano defends the North American Title against Velveteen Dream.
Taynara Conti vs. Aliyah
Aliyah’s gear is designed by Versace. Conti wastes no time in trying an armbar but Aliyah is right back up with a faceplant as Vanessa Borne is out at ringside. Aliyah kicks her in the back a few times but gets sent face first into the middle buckle. Some throws by the arm have Aliyah in more trouble and a kick to the face makes it even worse. The armbar over the ropes stays on the arm but Borne grabs Conti’s leg, allowing Aliyah to slam her off the top. A series of kicks to the back of the head makes Conti tap at 2:52.
Post match Borne raises her head but here’s an angry Shayna Baszler to chase them off. Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir come in from behind though and it’s a big beatdown to all three. Shayna says this is the new reality.
Video on Velveteen Dream winning the Worlds Collide tournament and getting the North American Title shot.
Adam Cole vs. Ricochet
Cole starts fast with right hands in the corner before going after the leg. The knee is wrapped around the post and then around the rope back inside as Cole certainly has a focus. Ricochet gets in an enziguri for a breather but Cole is right back on him with more shots to the knee.
A knee crusher keeps Ricochet in trouble but he’s right back with a hard clothesline off the good leg. Somehow he’s fine enough to hit a standing moonsault for two so Cole goes right back to the knee. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Cole two of his own but he misses an enziguri. Ricochet grabs a suplex, only to get caught in the brainbuster onto the knee. That’s only two as well so Ricochet is right back up with a reverse hurricanrana.
Ricochet gets to the top but seems to slip/have his knee give out on what looked like a Swanton attempt. They forearm it out with Cole getting the better of things but taking too long going up top. Ricochet’s elbows don’t work as Cole knocks him down, only to have Ricochet pop back up. Some rolling suplexes set up Vertigo (Samoan driver) to finish Cole at 15:15.
Rating: B+. This was a heck of a match with a different side of Ricochet coming out. It’s cool that he got to do some stuff other than the flips for a change and having something like Vertigo as a more traditional finisher can help keep the big spots fresh. Cole was working hard too and they had a good story with the knee. I liked this more than I thought I would and it was a great main event.
Post match the Undisputed Era runs in to beat down Ricochet. Aleister Black tries to come in for the save and gets taken out as well to end the show.
Overall Rating: B. I know the Gargano vs. Ciampa feud is becoming an all time classic, but it’s a good sign that they can go almost completely away from it for a week and have a rather solid show. Other than Gargano’s promo, there was nothing about them on here and it was nice for a change. That’s a very good sign for the future and hopefully something they keep up. I say hopefully with a bit of a smile as they’ve done it for years now. Anyway, very good show, as you probably knew in advance.
Results
Dominik Dijakovic b. Shane Thorne – Feast Your Eyes
Street Profits b. Humberto Carrillo/Stacy Ervin Jr. – Doomsday Blockbuster to Ervin
Aliyah b. Taynara Conti – Kicks to the head
Ricochet b. Adam Cole – Vertigo
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I feel like the Street Profits could be amazing as a cocky heel team. It feels like they may be inching towards it too. Looks like the next Dusty tournament is coming, which has me hyped.
How has Aliyah not learned how to wrestle a 4-min match in her years at the PC? It feels like she has a new character every single time too. This one feels like Carmella-lite.