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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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NXT
Date: September 25, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Renee Young, Rich Brennan

The seeds are being planted for the big showdown of Neville vs. Zayn but they seem to be doing a very slow build. Tonight we get one of the roadblocks out of the way as Tyson Kidd is getting his FINAL title shot at Adrian Neville. Their first two matches have been solid so this one should be entertaining well. We’re also getting the Lucha Dragons defending against the Ascension. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Mojo Rawley vs. Bull Dempsey

The brawl starts in the aisle before Mojo hammers him into the ring for the opening bell. Dempsey runs him over and a top rope headbutt ends Mojo in 46 seconds.

Video on Baron Corbin, talking about being a different breed while getting on a motorcycle. Cool stuff.

Tyler Breeze comes to the ring as Mojo is leaving so Breeze beats him up too.

Tyler Breeze vs. Justin Gabriel

Justin gets stomped down in the corner to start but goes after Tyler’s knee. He slams Breeze face first into the mat for two but stops for a dance. A kick to the chest gets two but he has to bail out of the 450. Instead a STO and springboard splash get two for Justin but he misses the 450, allowing Breeze to finish him with the Beauty Shot at 3:58.

Rating: D+. There was a nice story to this one as the veteran Gabriel underestimated Breeze and got caught when Breeze took everything he had. Breeze has gotten way better than I ever thought he would and Gabriel is good enough to make anyone look good. The action wasn’t great but it told a good story.

Natalya asks Regal for one more shot for Kidd. Regal grants it but this is his LAST shot. I believe this was already advertised.

Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley

Bayley takes her into the corner to start but gets caught in a sunset flip for two. Bliss flips her down and Bayley is so impressed that she high fives Alexa. Bayley cranks on an armbar but Bliss tries to roll out, only to have Bayley roll with her in a nice counter. Back up and Bliss misses a standing moonsault before walking into the Belly to Bayley for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: C-. This was more fun from the NXT girls with Bliss having the perfect smile to go with the flips and Bayley being as adorable as is humanly possible. The wrestling wasn’t much again but this was more for an athletic display than anything else. Bayley getting a clean win should help bring her back up.

Post match Bayley calls out Charlotte and says she hasn’t been able to sleep since Takeover. Her mom was there to watch her lose. Bayley asks for one more match and the fans are WAY into the idea. Charlotte says Bayley earned her respect, but the second verse would be the same as the first. The rematch is on for next week.

Enzo, Cass and Carmella come to the Performance Center. Apparently she lied about being Enzo’s sister to get in the building which is ok with Enzo. She wants to get in the ring but Enzo says she has to get in shape first and start acting like a Diva. Carmella steps off camera while Enzo gets on the treadmill and clarifies that he and Carmella aren’t a couple. She comes back on camera in a sports bra and shorts, showing off quite the physique. Cass: “HOW YOU DOIN?” Enzo falls off the treadmill and might have hurt himself.

Marcus Louis vs. Enzo Amore

Louis is doing the Kurt Angle wig with wrestling headgear to hide being bald. Enzo talks about Louis eating pie and having a side effect. They list off possible types of pies and call Louis SAWFT. Louis hammers away to start and knocks Enzo to the apron, but Amore rips off the wig. Marcus is terrified and gets rolled up at 2:37.

Kidd says he’ll get his own title shot and says he has all the power in the title match.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Dragons vs. Ascension

Ascension is challenging. Konnor runs over Cara to start but Kalisto springboards in to take Konnor down. Off to Viktor who hammers Kalisto in the corner but gives up a tag to Cara. Sin headscissors Viktor down and powerbombs Kalisto into a moonsault for two. Back to Konnor for a hard headlock on Kalisto before throwing him around for two more. Viktor comes in and cranks on a chinlock as we take a break.

Back with Konnor launching Kalisto across the ring before putting on a chinlock. An over the shoulder backbreaker/middle rope elbow combo gets two on Kalisto and it’s back to the reverse chinlock. Konnor runs him over for two and puts on a bodyscissors to keep Kalisto in trouble. Back to Viktor for a hard uppercut but Kalisto slips over the back to escape a slam and there’s the hot tag to Cara. Ascension actually cleans house but here’s Hideo Itami for a distraction. Kalisto pops back up for the Salida Del Sol and the pin on Viktor at 10:23.

Rating: C+. This was the usual power vs. speed at this point but the announcers made it clear that Itami was coming in the entire time. I’m kind of glad they got rid of the rematch so we don’t have it hanging over us the entire time. That being said, do we really need Itami doing the WWE finish in NXT? Really?

Ascension chases Itami to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty basic episode of NXT here with all of the action working well enough and the stories all advancing. They’re getting good at the week to week booking again with stuff like the Kidd vs. Neville match coming at some point and the Women’s Title match next week. Good stuff again this week with the promotion getting back to the way it works best.

Results

Bull Dempsey b. Mojo Rawley – Top rope headbutt

Tyler Breeze b. Justin Gabriel – Beauty Shot

Bayley b. Alexa Bliss – Belly to Bayley

Enzo Amore b. Marcus Louis – Rollup

Lucha Dragons b. Ascension – Salida Del Sol to Viktor

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

NXT
Date: September 18, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Rich Brennan, Alex Riley

We’re past Takeover II now and the main story seems to have been Adrian Neville teasing a heel turn by pulling the referee out of the ring to retain his title. Other than that we saw the debut of Hideo Itami and what looks to be the start of a feud with former NXT Tag Team Champions the Ascension, who lost their belts to Sin Cara and Kalisto. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Takeover.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Titus O’Neil as your WWE Superstar for this taping cycle. He tells the fans that they’re lucky to be in his presence (“WE WANT DARREN!”) and complains about people like Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville taking up his time on Raw last week. Now he’s going to take up our time and just stay out here for awhile. Now this show will be called NXTITUS but here’s Sami Zayn to cut him off.

Sami says we need someone like Titus here who can’t win a match to save his life. While Titus is getting beaten up by a bunny, NXT is stealing the show. A fight is teased but here’s Adrian Neville to interrupt. The champ says he’s the man that stands up for NXT, but here’s Tyson Kidd with something to say.

Kidd says it’s a fact that Titus and Sami are both losers but at least Adrian is a champion. Tyson praises Adrian for doing what he did last week, which Sami says he’s cool with. Titus cuts them off and says he’s here to make a statement, but GM William Regal comes out and makes Titus/Tyson vs. Adrian/Sami for later. NXT does NOT need these long talking segments to start the shows.

We look back at Hideo Itami debuting and taking out the Ascension.

Charlotte vs. Emma

Non-title and of course the fans welcome Emma back. Emma knocks the belt out of Charlotte’s hand so the champ knocks her down and ties Emma up in the Figure Four headlock. She even mocks Emma’s dance with the hold on. That’s the kind of thing that elevates wrestlers just a step above the rest.

Emma rolls back for a cover and breaks the hold but Charlotte runs her over with a shoulder. The moonsault is broken up though and Emma grabs a rollup (after missing on the first try). A few running forearms drop Charlotte and there’s the Emma Sandwich. Emma gets two off a high cross body but gets caught in a neckbreaker and Natural Selection gives Charlotte the pin at 4:10.

Rating: C-. This was sloppier than I was expecting but it continues to amaze me how much more polished these girls look than the regular WWE girls. They look like wrestlers who happen to be women instead of the Divas who are bad actresses who try to have a match every now and then. The fans don’t seem to care about Emma anymore.

Justin Gabriel vs. Hideo Itami

Feeling out process to start until Hideo kicks him in the face to block a leapfrog. Gabriel bails to the floor and snaps Hideo’s neck across the top rope to take over. Off to a double chickenwing but Itami fights out with strikes and even taunts Justin a bit. A running boot to the face and kick to the chest have Justin in trouble before a springboard kick to the ribs drops Gabriel. Itami mostly hits a top rope double stomp for the pin at 3:35.

Rating: D+. Oh I hope there’s more to him than what I saw here. I know I’m going to get yelled at for this but I really do not care for wrestlers with such one dimensional offense. I don’t think Hideo used anything but kicks here and that’s going to get old in a hurry if it’s all he’s doing. That being said, this was just a three and a half minute match so it’s way too early to pass judgment on him yet. I haven’t seen much of his Japan work so I don’t know if this is what he’s like most of the time, but I really hope not.

Post match Ascension comes out and destroys Itami with the Fall of Man.

CJ Parker vs. Baron Corbin

Baron looks to be a biker. Parker gets shoved into the corner and is dropped by a right hand. The same snap Downward Spiral, now called End of Days, takes out Parker at 34 seconds.

We look at Marcus Louis getting his hair removed last week.

The girl (Carmella) that gave Enzo and Big Cass the hair cream comes into the gym to yell at them for getting her fired. She wants a job as a fighter and smacks Enzo down to the floor. I like these videos where they take things out of the arena. It’s a nice change of scenery even if it’s something as basic as a gym.

Tyson Kidd/Titus O’Neil vs. Sami Zayn/Adrian Neville

Kidd and Sami get things going but it’s off to Neville before there’s any contact. Adrian jumps over Kidd in the corner and gets one off a hiptoss. Sami tags himself back in and hits Adrian’s standing moonsault (Fans: “BETTER THAN NEVILLE!”) for one of his own. Adrian comes back in and does a standing corkscrew moonsault onto Tyson’s legs for two. Neville dropkicks Tyson to the floor but Sami tags himself in. The champ doesn’t notice and loads up a dive but Sami hits a springboard moonsault to take Kidd out again as we take a break.

Back with Tyson driving Sami into the corner for the tag off to Titus. O’Neil hits two backbreakers in a row before just throwing Sami away. It’s already back to Tyson who gets a TYSON CHICKEN chant. A chinlock slows things down a bit until Titus comes in with a hue uppercut. Off to an abdominal stretch before a hard slam drops Sami again.

A legdrop to the back of the head sends Zayn crawling for the corner where he avoids a charging Titus. The hot tag brings in Adrian to clean house with kicks and a standing moonsault for two on Tyson. Everything breaks down and O’Neil breaks up the Red Arrow by shoving Adrian onto Tyson’s knees, giving Kidd the pin at 11:30.

Rating: C+. Basic tag match here but you can see the seeds being planted for the eventual full heel turn by Adrian and the showdown with Sami. That story could take months to set up and the blowoff match could be a classic. Good match here though it was much more about setting stuff up for the future.

Sami is annoyed but says it’s ok to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a very basic but still entertaining show. They’re clearly setting stuff up instead of focusing on what’s going on right now and that’s a smart move. It gives the fans a reason to come back, but the good thing is NXT can keep things interesting on the way to the big stuff later on. Corbin could be a big deal in the future, Carmella can restock the Divas division and Itami is going to be a main event player soon enough. Couple that with the build to Neville vs. Zayn and things are looking up again for NXT.

Results

Charlotte b. Emma – Natural Selection

Hideo Itami b. Justin Gabriel – Top rope double splash

Baron Corbin b. CJ Parker – End of Days

Tyson Kidd/Titus O’Neil b. Sami Zayn/Adrian Neville – Kidd pinned Neville after a missed Red Arrow

Takeover: Fatal Four-Way
Date: September 11, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

For once I’m actually looking forward to a WWE special. This is the third two hour live event that NXT has run and the first two were knocked out of the park. The main event tonight is a four way with NXT Champion Adrian Neville defending against Tyson Kidd, Sami Zayn and Tyler Breeze in what should be a classic. Let’s get to it.

The regular WWE video plays but an NXT video hacks in. You might even say it takes over.

Opening sequence with only shots of people appearing tonight.

Tag Team Titles: Sin Cara/Kalisto vs. Ascension

Sin Cara and Kalisto won a tournament to get this show. They also now have their own music which starts with someone shouting LUCHA LUCHA LUCHA! Ascension has held the titles for nearly a year and have barely ever broken a sweat in a defense. Viktor knocks Sin Cara up against the ropes but gets caught by a standing Lionsault for two. That’s fine with Viktor though as he sends Cara out to the floor so Konnor can drive him back first into the apron.

Back to Viktor for a hard slam for two as the champions are already dominating. We hit a double chickenwing before Cara escapes a powerbomb. Konnor knocks Kalisto off the apron though and Cara can’t make the tag. An enziguri stops Konnor but he puts on a front facelock and just drives Cara back into the corner. That’s fine with Cara as he flips over and makes the tag to Kalisto.

Everything speeds up with a spinning slingshot plancha. A semi-botched sunset bomb gets two on Viktor as Cara dives on Konnor. Both champions go outside and catch Kalisto in mid air. Sin dives on both of them for a huge crash and the fans are WAY into this. Back inside they load up the Fall of Man but Cara trips up Konnor. Kalisto rolls out of the way and hits Salida Del Sol (standing sitout Sliced Bread #2) on Viktor for the pin and the titles at 7:48.

Rating: B-. Power vs. speed is something that is going to work no matter how many times you try it. They had to get the belts off of Ascension at some point and putting them on Lucha was as good of a way as they could have done it. This frees up Ascension to go after the Usos, which makes sense given that they already debuted on Main Event this week.

The new champions dub themselves the Lucha Dragons.

We get a quick pause in memory of 9/11.

Video on Adrian Neville about how tough a year it’s been for him but he hasn’t lost a single match. Everyone will remember that he’s the man that gravity forgot. He’s beaten all of his challengers and now he has to beat them at once.

CJ Parker vs. Baron Corbin

This is an added match. The much bigger Corbin shoves the Eco Warrior Parker into the corner….and then plants him with a very powerful one armed Downward Spiral for the pin at 32 seconds. He made it look even better by rocking Parker forward and then snapping him back. That’s a good way to start a push.

Video on Tyson Kidd where he lists off some of his facts, mainly talking about each man in the main event tonight. He will walk out as champion. Fact.

Enzo Amore vs. Sylvester LeFort

Enzo has new music which he might sing himself. This is Jersey Shore vs. France in a hair vs. hair match. Amore even has “hair cream” to get rid of Sylvester’s hair. Before the match, Enzo suggests a few hairstyles for LeFort, including a combover and a mushroom, complete with the fans shouting HOW YOU DOIN after every suggestion. According to Cass, after the match, Sylvester’s hair will be S-A-W-F-T.

Enzo grabs a headlock to start and ruffles LeFort’s hair to really mess with him. A shoulder puts Sylvester on the apron but he snaps Enzo across the top rope to take over. We hit the chinlock on Enzo followed by a hard kick between the shoulders. Amore fights back with some stiff punches but a Marcus Louis distraction lets Sylvester nail a clothesline for two. Cass takes out Louis, allowing Amore to grab a rollup (and tights) for the pin at 5:46.

Rating: D+. The wrestling was bad but what are you expecting from someone like Enzo? He’s a comedy character and has never had a match go more than a few minutes. This was a way to give the fans a good laugh and there’s nothing wrong with that. Cass and Amore are just a loveable team and they beat up the snobs. What more can you ask for?

Sylvester is being taken to the chair but Marcus makes a save. Amore and Cass get up though and LeFort runs off, leaving Marcus to take the cream on the head.

Tyler Breeze says the new champion will be gorgeous. Every outfit he wears goes with gold.

Here’s General Manager William Regal with something to say. He talks about how great it is in NXT right now and introduces the biggest international signing in NXT history. We get a video on Kenta, with various WWE wrestlers talking about how awesome he is. Kenta comes to the ring to a VERY strong reaction and he gives a brief welcome in English before going into Japanese. He says this is a dream come true and he’s starting over with a new name: Hideo Itami, a tribute to one of his heroes. His goal is to be NXT Champion….and here are the Ascension to interrupt.

Itami is thrown to the floor and Konnor demands a rematch for the titles. Hideo gets back in the ring and takes off his jacket. A kick and forearm put Ascension down and a double dropkick does it again. Itami gets a chair and stands….well not that tall actually but it’s a good debut.

Bull Dempsey vs. Mojo Rawley

Not much to this one as they were in the tag team tournament and lost, causing Dempsey to destroy Rawley. Dempsey hammers him into the corner to start as the fans want Kevin Steen. Mojo spears him down and hammers away but Dempsey runs him over with a splash. A top rope headbutt ends Mojo at 1:07. If Rawley wasn’t finished before, he certainly is now.

Dempsey adds another headbutt for good measure.

Enzo and Cass want to see someone bald. They see Marcus with a towel over his head and carry him into the arena for the big reveal. Enzo rips off the towel, revealing little bits of hair on Marcus’ head and no eyebrows. Nice touch. Enzo says he is B-A-W-L-D.

We recap Bayley vs. Charlotte. It’s another simple story with Charlotte being the girl that feels she’s here by birth and Bayley being the biggest fangirl in the history of wrestling who just loves to be here.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Bayley

Bayley now has streamers on her arms. Charlotte offers a handshake to start but Bayley drives her into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. A quick cross body gets two for Bayley but Charlotte counters a backslide with a neckbreaker. We hit the figure four headlock on Bayley and Charlotte even flips forward a few times and slam Bayley onto the mat. They trade a few rollups with Bayley countering a Figure Four attempt for two. Charlotte dropkicks her back down and nails a hard knee to the ribs.

Bayley comes back with a hard series of forearms, only to miss a charge into the corner and get slammed down onto the mat for two. Charlotte goes up top but gets caught in a top rope hurricanrana to put both girls down. The delayed cover only gets two but the Belly to Bayley is countered into a rollup. Charlotte nails her in the face, knocking Bayley head first into the bottom buckle. A moonsault doesn’t quite hit as Charlotte landed on her legs instead of on Bayley and only gets two. Natural Selection (the new name for Bow Down to the Queen) is enough to retain the title at 11:55.

Rating: C+. This was a far cry from Charlotte vs. Natalya but they had to have a heel win somewhere in there. I’ll give them this though: they had me wanting to see Bayley suplex Charlotte through the floor and take the title. The story was perfect here though and that’s as good as they could have hoped for. The match wasn’t bad at all either and that hurricanrana looked great.

Post match Sasha Banks comes out to beat on Bayley but Charlotte makes the save. Bayley is confused.

Sami Zayn talks about having to be ready for his opponents. He and Neville are friends, but he wants to beat Adrian to become champion.

Hideo Itami makes his in ring debut next week.

NXT Title: Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Adrian Neville

Neville is defending and this is one fall to a finish. After the big match intros, they have about half an hour for this if necessary. Kidd’s trunks now say FACT. The fans start their dueling chants and aren’t sure who they like best so far. After a minute of circling each other we’re ready to go with all four heading to the floor. That goes nowhere but they do tease Neville vs. Zayn to a BIG response. They head back to the floor with Neville kicking Kidd and Sami chopping Breeze.

Sami and Kidd go back inside with Zayn grabbing the Koji Clutch until Tyler makes a save. Now they head to the stage where Adrian’s knee is taken out and a double suplex plants him on the stage. Sami picks off Kidd but gets a double suplex of his own on the ramp. Back to the ring now with Sami getting double teamed by the villains. The fans tell Kidd that Nattie is better as Adrian gets knocked off the apron.

Sami gets stomped in the corner and Tyler covers after a suplex, triggering the brawl with Kidd. Tyson sends him to the floor and gets two off a neckbreaker to Zayn. Off to a chinlock on Sami but he quickly jawbreaks his way to freedom. Kidd puts him in the Tree of Woe though as Adrian is knocked to the floor again, followed by a kick to the face from Tyson.

Zayn tries to get back up but Kidd just pounds him down in the corner and puts on the chinlock again. Neville finally gets back in but Tyson sends him to the floor for about the fourth time. Adrian pops back in though and backdrops Kidd down. Breeze returns from the dead, only to get clotheslined down by Sami. Zayn loads up a dive to the heels but Adrian hits a HUGE top rope Asai moonsault to put them both down.

That leaves Neville vs. Zayn and the fans get even more into this all of a sudden. A big kick to the champion’s head gets two as Kidd is back in for the save. Kidd throws Neville into Sami to knock the champion to the floor and the Moss Covered Three Handled Family Credenza gets two on Sami. Tyson can’t get the Sharpshooter on Sami and the springboard elbow hits knees. Sami loads up the Helluva Kick but Tyler nails the Beauty Shot to knock him down. Neville tries to come in off the top but gets dropkicked out of the air for a VERY close two. Tyler gets two on Kidd as well and frustration is setting in.

Adrian goes up top but Breeze and Kidd load up a double superplex. That’s not enough for Sami as he makes it a HUGE Tower of Doom. Kidd somehow gets up at two and Breeze falls out to the floor. Sami punches Tyson into the corner and gets all fired up but charges into a boot from Neville. A Shooting Star from Adrian crushes Sami but Breeze comes in to steal a two count and make the fans gasp.

Tyler misses a Beauty Shot to Sami and gets caught in the Sharpshooter. Tyson drags him back to the center of the ring and Tyler loads up his hand to tap but Adrian grabs his hand to hold it up in a great move. Sami makes the save and the fans are very thankful. Sami and Adrian finally get to slug it out until Neville gets backdropped to the floor.

An exploder suplex puts Kidd in the corner and Zayn dives through the ropes to take out Adrian. In an even better move Sami dives from the floor, over the bottom rope and into a tornado DDT on Tyler on the floor. The Helluva Kick looks to finish Kidd but Adrian pulls the referee out of the way. A superkick drops Sami and the Red Arrow to Kidd retains the title at 23:58.

Rating: A-. If Sami had won the title there it’s even higher. I’m not wild on Adrian seemingly turning heel but in theory this sets up Neville vs. Zayn in the big showdown for the title. Thankfully Sami didn’t get pinned here and the huge spots worked really well, especially that Tower of Doom and the diving tornado DDT. This was more than worth the wait and now it looks like Sami is getting his chance very soon. Notice that they didn’t really let Sami and Adrian fight other than a brief exchange, even though the fans were begging for it. That’s a sign for the future.

Sami looks at Adrian with frustration on his face to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This wasn’t quite as good as Arrival and Takeover but these things are still as good as anything else you’re going to see in wrestling today. NXT has mastered this idea of setting something up and then executing it rather than meandering forever until they figure out what they want to do and expecting us to keep watching. I love this promotion and it holds up incredibly well week after week. Zayn vs. Neville is going to rock and the future looks bright with some major debuts on the horizon.

Results

Sin Cara/Kalisto b. Ascension – Salida Del Sol to Viktor

Baron Corbin b. CJ Parker – Downward Spiral

Enzo Amore b. Sylvester LeFort – Rollup

Bull Dempsey b. Mojo Rawley – Top rope headbutt

Charlotte b. Bayley – Natural Selection

Adrian Neville b. Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd – Red Arrow to Kidd

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NXT
Date: September 4, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Renee Young

It’s the go home show for Takeover II next week and we now have a main event set. This week we’re likely going to be setting the stage for the fatal fourway next week with Adrian Neville defending against Tyler Breeze, Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd. We also have the finals of the #1 contenders tag team tournament. Let’s get to it.

Before the opening sequence we hear about the card tonight, which will see the tournament finals and all four men in the fourway in singles matches.

Opening sequence.

Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte

Non-title. Charlotte takes her down with a headlock but Bliss goes to the middle rope for an armdrag followed by a headscissors. That’s enough for Charlotte as she chokes Bliss on the middle rope to take over. Bliss rolls through a powerbomb into a sunset flip for two but walks into Bow Down to the Queen for the pin at 2:22.

Bayley comes out post match and says it’s time Charlotte took her seriously, because she’s seriously taking the title at Takeover. She offers a handshake but Charlotte shoves her instead. Charlotte walks over to her and gets caught in a bad looking Belly to Bayley.

Breeze says he’ll win the title because he looks better than everyone else.

Kenta debuts next week and will be wrestling under that name.

Sin Cara and Kalisto say they have a great opportunity tonight and have the heart to beat the Ascension.

Tye Dillinger vs. Tyler Breeze

Dillinger jumps over Tyler in the corner to start and runs him over with a shoulder. Breeze gets all aggressive and stomps Tye down in the corner before putting on a front facelock. Back up and the Beauty Show is good for the pin at 2:40.

Kidd says he’ll win the title because he’s been around the world and is cocky and arrogant, but he’s earned the right to be.

Enzo and Big Cass at a beauty salon and goes in to see a friend of his to get some hair removal cream (I hope it’s Freebird brand) for the hair vs. hair match against Sylvester LeFort next week. A very effeminate man comes in and freaks them out so they get in an argument over who should test the cream. They spill it on a dog and the stylist freaks out as they look in shock and say the cream really works.

Tyson Kidd vs. Adam Rose

There are far too many people here with names that start with Ty. Kidd takes him into the corner for some knees to start. Rose comes back with elbows to the face, only to walk into a suplex. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Rose fights up with forearms and elbows to the jaw. Kidd dropkicks the knee out and puts on the Sharpshooter for the submission at 4:11.

Rating: D+. This was a glorified squash and Kidd looked good throughout. The fourway next week is going to be awesome and this was a good step to get us to that match. Rose is done at this point save for comedy and that’s all he was ever going to become. Then again, it’s not like any of this matters on the main show as NXT is in its own world.

Sami Zayn says he wants to beat Neville because Adrian is the champion.

The Vaudevillains, in black and white of course, promise that they’ll win the tournament. Aiden insists that Gotch can move mountains and Simon adds a hearty EXCELSIOR!

Sami Zayn vs. Marcus Louis

They trade wristlocks to start until Marcus gets him down into a chinlock. Sami finally fights up with a kick to the ribs and a clothesline followed by a nice dropkick. He easily takes Louis down and puts on the Koji Clutch for the tap at 2:59.

Enzo and Big Cass run out and try to use the cream on LeFort’s hair but Sylvester escapes.

Adrian Neville knows he doesn’t have to be pinned or submit to lose the title and he loves the challenge.

CJ Parker vs. Adrian Neville

Non-title again. Renee accuses Parker of using REGULAR gasoline recently. Neville spins around to start and takes Parker to the mat with a headlock. Parker fights back up with a spinwheel kick for two but misses a top rope splash. Adrian scores with some kicks of his own and the Red Arrow is good for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: C-. Neville has been a really good champion so far but I have no idea if he holds onto the belt next week. That’s the best thing you could ask for going into a big match as it really could go wither way. I love that Parker is now a lowly jobber as the fans absolutely could not stand him and he didn’t have the skill to stay at the level he was on.

Tag Team Title #1 Contenders Tournament Finals: Vaudevillains vs. Sin Cara/Kalisto

The Vaudevillains beat Bull Dempsey/Mojo Rawley and Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady to advance while Kalisto/Sin Cara defeated Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy and Adam Rose/Sami Zayn to get here. Kalisto spins English around to start and Aiden is quickly frustrated. It’s quickly off to Sin Cara vs. Gotch with the masked man being dropped ribs first onto the top rope and out to the floor.

English comes back in to hammer away in the corner, only to walk into a cross body. A double tag brings in Kalisto for a headscissors to Gotch. Something like the La Mistica faceplant gets two and everything breaks down. Cara dives over the top rope to take out English, sending him head first into the stge. Gotch catches Kalisto’s cross body but walks into the Salida Del Sol, followed by the Swanton from Sin Cara to give them the title shot at 5:50.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but it did exactly what it was supposed to do. I don’t think anyone expected a different outcome and that’s the right way to go. The luchadors are on a roll heading into the title match next week and there’s a chance the titles could finally change. Basic power vs. speed match here but it was fine.

Ascension comes out for a staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was one of the best go home shows I can remember in a very long time. Almost every Takeover match got some time and it set up the fourway perfectly. I can’t wait for the show now and based on the house show reports, the fourway has the potential to be a classic. Throw in the fact that all three titles could easily change hands and Enzo vs. LeFort could be a very solid comedy match and Takeover II is shaping up great.

Results
Charlotte b. Alexa Bliss – Bow Down to the Queen
Tyler Breeze b. Tye Dillinger – Beauty Show
Tyson Kidd b. Adam Rose – Sharpshooter
Sami Zayn b. Marcus Louis – Koji Clutch
Adrian Neville b. CJ Parker – Red Arrow
Sin Cara/Kalisto b. Vaudevillains – Swanton bomb to Gotch

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NXT
Date: August 28, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Alex Riley, Jason Albert

We’ve got something to look forward to now with Takeover II just a few weeks away. All of the titles will be on the line but the champions need some challengers. As for tonight, the main story is the debut of the new General Manager to replace JBL who left for undisclosed reasons. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Ascension vs. ???/???

If the jobbers have names they weren’t mentioned. Fans: “LET’S GO JOBBERS!” Konor runs over Jobber #1 with a shoulder before Viktor launches #2 in over the top rope. Fall of Man ends #2 at 1:06.

Post match Ascension says the tournament ends next week and they’ll find their latest victims. Konor says they will rise.

The new General Manager is……WILLIAM REGAL! He says he’s been here since the beginning and as his first action, he’s going to name the main event of Takeover II. First up though, he’d like Adrian Neville to come down to the ring. Neville congratulates him on his new job and asks who’s next. Fans: “GOLDBERG! GOLDBERG!” Regal is about to announce the opponent but Tyson Kidd (in a Mike Tyson hoodie) interrupts.

He accepts the title shot but before Regal can confirm it, here’s Tyler Breeze to interrupt as well. Breeze: “Are you serious? This uggo? Everyone deserves a title shot before him. EVEN HIS WIFE!” This brings out Sami Zayn to say that he deserves the shot above Kidd and Breeze. Neville wants to face all of them because this is NXT. Regal approves and we have a main event.

After a break, Regal makes Zayn/Neville vs. Kidd/Breeze for tonight.

Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

We immediately get the best chant ever: “BAYLEY’S GONNA HUG YOU!” Sasha sends her into the buckle to start and drops Bayley with a knee to the ribs. We hit the chinlock and get yet another awesome chant of “LET’S GO BAYLEY! CENA SUCKS!” Back up and Sasha chokes away in the corner, only to walk into the Belly to Bayley for the pin at 3:16.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t much but it’s hard to not like Bayley. She’s got this sweet innocence about her and it’s like watching an eight year old in an adult’s body. The awesome belly to belly helps as well as it makes her almost like Eugene: she’s so happy to be here but can be deadly when she gets the chance.

Bayley says she’s like kitten stuck on a branch that tells you to hang in there. She’s going to turn her dream into a reality and win the Women’s Title at Takeover. This brings out Charlotte to say that she would laugh at a kitten stuck on a branch. She tells Bayley to stick to hugs because she’s going to destroy her at Takeover. Bayley doesn’t want a hug (Fans: GASP!) because she’s going to take the championship. Charlotte leaves and says she warned her.

Bull Dempsey vs. Angelo Dawkins

Dawkins is still a nerd. Dempsey takes him into the corner to start and drops a bunch of elbows for two. Some knees to the ribs have Dawkins in trouble as this is totally one sided. Dawkins gets in some jobber offense before the Bulldozer gets the pin at 2:50.

The Legionnaires laugh about shaving Enzo’s beard and speak a lot of French.

Tyson Kidd/Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn/Adrian Neville

Neville and Breeze get things going with the champion grabbing the arm for early control. Adrian and Sami start cranking on the arm until Sami stays in for a wristlock. Neville uses Sami’s back for a corkscrew splash and the heels bail to the floor. Kidd comes back in but it’s Breeze superkicking Neville as we take a break. Back with Kidd getting covered for two before Kidd puts on a chinlock.

Breeze comes in again and stomps on the champion before putting on a chinlock of his own. Kidd gets the tag but Neville dropkicks the knee out, setting up the hot tag to Sami. Everything breaks down and Zayn cross bodies both opponents down at the same time. A Michinoku Driver gets two on Breeze but Kidd fights out of the Blue Thunder Bomb and gets two off a DDT.

Sami suplexes Breeze into the buckle and crawls over to Adrian for the slightly cooler tag. A dropkick followed by a standing shooting star gets two on Breeze. There’s a kick to the gorgeous head but Breeze breaks up the Red Arrow. Sami accidentally kicks Neville off the top but the heels argue over who comes in. The Blue Thunder Bomb plants Breeze and Kidd pins Neville at 9:58.

Rating: B-. Oh man the fourway is going to be awesome. Sami could still pull off the big win but any of the other three are solid options as well. They’ve built Neville up enough so that the pin on him is going to mean something. This was a good tag match with the ending setting up a few more stories for the main event of the big show. Good stuff.

Sami gives Kidd the Helluva Kick post match and holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is the kind of show that NXT has been needing for a long time. It was the kind of fun that I’ve been missing from this promotion and it made me want to see the Takeover show more than ever. The main event is going to rock and Bayley winning the title could be amazing. Really fun show this week that flew by.

Results
Ascension b. ???/??? – Fall of Man
Bayley b. Sasha Banks – Belly to Bayley
Bull Dempsey b. Angelo Dawkins – Bulldozer
Tyson Kidd/Tyler Breeze b. Adrian Neville/Sami Zayn – Kidd pinned Neville after a kick from Zayn

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NXT
Date: August 21, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

The show has changed timeslots for the first time ever and is now airing at 4pm EST on Thursdays. Things picked up for the first time in a good while last week with an awesome Tyler Breeze vs. Adrian Neville title match, ruined by Tyson Kidd interfering. Sami Zayn made the save and in theory it’s time for a big tag match. Let’s get to it.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Finals: Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Vaudevillains

Cass throws English around to start and nails him with a big boot to the jaw. Off to Simon vs. Enzo with Amore nailing some fast punches to the ribs for two. Cass throws Amore into the corner to crash into Gotch but Simon catches Enzo’s cross body and That’s A Wrap sends the Vaudevillains to the finals at 1:47. That was really quick.

The Legionnaires attack Cass post match and shave half of Amore’s beard.

Here’s HHH to make an announcement. He talks about how important NXT is to the WWE Network and thinks it’s time for NXT to take over again. On September 11, it’s Takeover II, airing live with all three titles on the line. In addition, there will be a new NXT General Manager named next week.

We look back at Kidd costing Breeze his title match last week.

Breeze is ticked off at Tyson Kidd and says Tyson Kidd is going to find out why Prince Pretty is more than just a pretty face.

Tyson Kidd vs. Tyler Breeze

Breeze is much more aggressive this week and goes off on Tyson in the corner. Kidd comes back with forearms and a hard kick to the back. A suplex into a neckbreaker puts Tyler down and there’s a hard dropkick to the side of the head. Breeze gets to the ropes to avoid the Sharpshooter and bails to the floor, walking out for the countout at 1:46.

Breeze says he’s fine with walking out because his attention is on the title match at Takeover.

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

Non-title. Becky has no green in her attire anymore. Charlotte takes her down into a front facelock but Becky takes her down by the leg. They stay on the mat with Becky getting a few rollups for two each but Charlotte kicks the redhead into the corner. Charlotte hooks the figure four neck lock for a bit before getting two by just shoving Lynch to the mat. Back up and Lynch nails some clotheslines but walks into a kind of t-bone suplex. Bow Down to the Queen gets the pin at 4:10.

Rating: C-. Not much of a match here for the most part with Lynch not looking all that comfortable on the mat but trying her best. Charlotte continues to look good in the ring and has a good finisher to go with the attitude. That puts her way ahead of a lot of female wrestlers so she’s got the first major steps down.

Amore and Cass come out and make Star Wars references while challenging the Legionnaires to a hair vs. hair match. If they don’t accept, they must be S-A-W-F-T!

We look back at Bull Dempsey beating up Mojo Rawley.

Mojo Rawley vs. Steve Cutler

Mojo takes him into the corner to start and gets two off a shoulder block. Cutler is sent into the corner and crushed by a few splashes. Hyperdrive gets the pin for Mojo at 1:34. This is what he should have been doing for since he debuted.

Post match Rawley says he’s still standing here and can take everything Bull can throw at him.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Finals: Sami Zayn/Adam Rose vs. Sin Cara/Kalisto

Rose and Kalisto get things going and we’re already prancing. They trade wristlocks until Adam tags in Sami to a very nice ovation. Sin Cara comes in and they hit the mat with Sin grabbing a headscissors. Cara quickly sends Sami out to the floor and the luchadores tease dives as we go to a break. Back with Kalisto headlocking Rose for two. Adam powers up and tags in Sami as things speed up. Kalisto avoids a clothesline, lands on his fingers and crawls across the ring without using his feet.

Sami is rightfully freaked out and it’s off to Cara for a kick to the chest. A hiptoss gets two on Zayn and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Sami nails a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two of his own. Rose comes in again and puts on a chinlock of his own. Kalisto gets the tag and walks into a powerbomb for two. It’s quickly back to Cara who cleans house and nails a Tajiri elbow for two on Rose. Everything breaks down and Cara dives out onto Sami. Rose gets all fired up but walks into the sitout Sliced Bread #2, followed by Cara’s Swanton Bomb for the pin at 10:10 shown.

Rating: C. This was just a step above a squash with the luchadores running circles around Rose and Zayn. This is the kind of win that they need to establish themselves as a big tag team. Sami not taking the pin was a good idea and he didn’t look horrible throughout the match. Nothing all that interesting but it sets up a good match in the finals.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the matches ending so fast but they kept this show moving. A lot of stuff has been set up for the coming weeks and we finally have something to build to at Takeover II. The three title matches and presumably a hair vs. hair match should make for a good card with a few other surprises through in. Good but not great show this week.

Results
Vaudevillains b. Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore – That’s A Wrap to Amore
Tyson Kidd b. Tyler Breeze via countout
Charlotte b. Becky Lynch – Bow Down to the Queen
Mojo Rawley b. Steve Cutler – Hyperdrive
Sin Cara/Kalisto b. Sami Zayn/Adam Rose – Swanton Bomb to Rose

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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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NXT
Date: August 7, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Jason Albert, Alex Riley

Things have been oddly dull in NXT lately but we’ve got a #1 contenders tournament starting up tonight whichs hould liven things up a bit. If nothing else there’s going to be a new set of challengers for the Ascension, which is exactly what the division needs. We might even get some Vaudevillains tonight. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan vs. Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore

HUGE pop for Enzo and Cass. Dillinger grabs a wristlock on Cass to start and is quickly sent to the corner by the throat. Cass: “How YOU doin?” Jordan comes in with a belly to back suplex for two and the pretty boys take over on Big Cass. We hit a reverse chinlock from Jordan as the fans are wanting Enzo.

Cass gets caught in a top wristlock from Tye but Cass blocks a stomp. The hot tag brings in Amore who gets his head superkicked into the third row. Tye doesn’t cover for some reason though and brings Jordan back in. Cass dives into the corner to block a charge aimed at at Enzo, followed by a big boot to Jordan’s face, giving Enzo the pin at 5:23.

Rating: D+. Did the pretty boys turn heel and no one told me? They certainly were wrestling like heels in this one and it really didn’t work for them. Cass and Amore are a solid oddball tag team though and Cass is finding his niche as the guy who gets the hot tag and cleans house.

We see the tournament brackets.

Amore/Cassady

Mojo Rawley/Bull Dempsey
Vaudevillains

Sami Zayn/???
Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel

Sin Cara/Kalisto
Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy

Sami Zayn is in the back and says his assigned tag partner isn’t medically cleared (no name is given) when Gabriel and Kidd come in to remind him of the time Kidd walked out on Sami in a tag match against Ascension. Zayn offers to beat them both tonight when Adam Rose comes up and offers to be Sami’s partner. The fact that Sami is wearing an Axl Rose shirt is purely a coincidence I’m sure. Sami sucks Rose’s lollipop.

CJ Parker vs. Xavier Woods

Parker says that the signs he carries are a social movement. Woods is in his traditional clothes and hasn’t put on the white suit yet. It’s a brawl to start and a clothesline puts Parker on the floor. Back in and Parker avoids a charge, sending Woods shoulder first into the post. We come back from a quick break with Parker getting two off a senton backsplash.

A running double knee in the corner sets up a top rope ax handle for two on Woods. We hit the chinlock on Xavier but he blocks a second backsplash with some knees. Woods comes back with some strikes and a high cross body. A running low Downward Spiral gets two on Parker and the Honor Roll clothesline gets the same.

Woods goes to the top rope and walks down a bit before diving four fifths of the way across the ring for a splash. Parker was so far across the ring that he could have put his foot on the opposite ropes. For some reason that only gets two and Parker comes back with a kind of Death Valley Driver for the pin at 8:12.

Rating: C+. I can’t believe it but there are a few things to talk about here. First and foremost, why would you have Woods bust out a big move like that and have it only get two? It looked awesome but instead the match ends a few seconds later. Second, why did the announcers keep calling it an elbow? This isn’t one that you can really call anything other than a splash but Riley insisted it was an elbow. The match was good, but at the end of the day I have no interest in either of these guys.

Tyler Breeze is going to cash in his title shot against Adrian Neville. No date is specified but this sounded like an announcement.

Bayley vs. Eva Marie

Eva comes out on a podium like a sculpture. Makes sense for her. Cue the You Can’t Wrestle chants as they circle each other to start. We get the far better “BAYLEY’S GONNA HUG YOU” chant a few seconds later as Bayley takes Eva down to the mat and rides her for a bit before they roll around for some cradles. Eva gets two off a snap suplex but Bayley takes her down and hammers away. A running elbow in the corner sets up the Belly To Bayley for the pin on Eva at 3:18.

Rating: D. Eva looks good in the outfits but it’s clear that she isn’t anything in the ring. Like, she’s making Nikki Bella look like a master right now. To be fair though, ring time is the only thing that’s going to help her at this point so even a quick match like this one is going to help her.

Tag Team Tournament First Round: Sami Zayn/Adam Rose vs. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel

Even the announcers dance during Rose’s entrance in a funny bit. Kidd grabs a headlock on Sami to start but Zayn comes back with some very fast armdrags. Rose comes in for a staredown with Kidd and a little spank to Tyson. Kidd heads outside for a meeting with Gabriel, earning Justin a spank of his own. Things finally get serious as Rose gets beaten down in the corner.

Gabriel kicks him in the back for two but Rose comes back with a spinebuster for a near fall of his own. Kidd helps put Rose in the Tree of Woe for a stomping and we take a break. Back with Kidd holding a chinlock on Rose and tagging in Justin to stomp away. The double teaming continues, including a low dropkick from Gabriel for two.

A belly to back suplex gets the same but Kidd’s springboard elbow drop hits knees. I still think that would do more damage to Rose than Tyson but whatever. The hot tag brings in Sami to clean house, including the big flip dive to take out both villains. Rose goes up and hits a flip dive of his own. Back in and the Helluva Kick nails Gabriel for the pin at 9:48.

Rating: C-. That was….long. It was a lot of Rose getting beaten on before we hit the tag to Sami for the interesting part. Zayn really needs to get back to the underdog blood feuds that made him so popular here in NXT, but that might be where they’re going with him in the tournament.

Overall Rating: D+. What the heck has happened to NXT? They went from the can’t miss show of the week to a pretty dull hour of TV. Having so much time between the big shows is killing it as Breeze has been #1 contender for ten weeks now and we still haven’t heard a date for his title shot. The matches were mostly decent but the stories just aren’t doing it for me as it’s basically Neville waiting for Breeze and Ascension beating up everyone in sight while laughing at the pathetic challengers. This show needs a shot in the arm, but all the stars they have waiting to debut could be the answer they need.

Results
Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore b. Jason Jordan/Tye Dillinger – Amore pinned Jordan after a big boot from Cassady
CJ Parker b. Xavier Woods – Death Valley Driver
Bayley b. Eva Marie – Belly To Bayley
Adam Rose/Sami Zayn b. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel – Helluva Kick to Gabriel

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NXT
Date: July 31, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

The main story continues to be Breeze vs. Neville and the long build is actually working for me. Both guys are on fire at the moment and we’re just waiting on the time when Breeze cashes in his title shot. Other than that we’re in need of some new challengers for the Ascension. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Tyler Breeze vs. Angelo Dawkins

Dawkins takes him down with a nice amateur move but Breeze reverses him into the corner for a stomping. They head to the floor with Breeze still in control (Breeze: “YOU’RE NOT GORGEOUS!”) before a Beauty Shot gets Breeze the pin at 1:08.

Post match Breeze says that was annoying because he didn’t plan to have a match. He was just out here to show us a clip of him costing Neville the match last week. However, he has a monumental announcement: he has submitted his music video for Academy Award consideration in the Best Documentary category. Fans: “THANK YOU TYLER!”

Breeze wants to show it again but here’s Adrian Neville instead. He doesn’t want to watch the video but wants to know when Breeze will be taking his title shot. Tyler says the director of the Hobbit needs Neville back on set. Adrian tops him by saying he got a Snapchat from Tyler’s mom and Tyler isn’t the only member of his family that likes to send selfies.

Natalya is glad that Adam Rose is back because he’s a fun guy to be around. Tyson Kidd, in a Mike Tyson hoodie for some reason, comes in and says Rose is a dancing fool. Natalya is annoyed so Kidd challenges Rose for later tonight.

There’s going to be a tournament for the #1 contendership for the Tag Team Titles starting next week.

Tyler Breeze has LEFT the building!

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte

Non-title. Lynch is VERY different tonight with only the green attire staying. She comes out to a hard rock song with a lot of energy. Renee says it’s shades of Lita and I can see that. Charlotte takes her down to the mat but Lynch bridges out before kicking away from a leg lock. A springboard kick to the chest staggers Charlotte but she comes back with a Stunner to the leg and a few Robinsdale Crunches.

Charlotte stays on the leg and bends Lynch’s leg, only to be kicked away with the free leg. That doesn’t last long as Becky cannonballs down on the leg for two. Lynch comes back with a one footed dropkick and a legdrop, only to get caught in the Bow Down to the Queen for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: C. Basically a long squash here with Charlotte destroying Lynch for most of the match. Above all else though, I’m glad she has a finisher that has nothing to do with the leg. The comparisons to Ric are already going to be there and there’s no reason to make her a copy. Lynch has a lot of potential with her charisma and look alone but I would have her win a few matches before losing to Charlotte.

Mojo Rawley needs a partner for the tournament and Bull Dempsey comes up and reluctantly offers to team up with him. He also threatens Rawley if he screws things up.

Ascension vs. Steve Cutler/Mac Miles

Miles has since been cut so I don’t think this is lasting long. Cutler tries a headlock on Viktor and is thrown away with ease. Konnor runs him over before a double shoulder crushes Cutler. The fans chant BABY BLUE as Konnor screams a lot. Miles is knocked off the apron and Fall of Man takes care of Cutler at 2:20. This was more of a squash than the Divas match.

Post match the Ascension says the tournament’s winners’ fate is total annihilation. The fans seem WAY into this.

Video on CJ Parker going after Xavier Woods. They meet again next week.

Mojo Rawley/Bull Dempsey vs. The Mechanics

The Mechanics are Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson. Dempsey and Dawson get things going and shove each other around until Mojo tags himself in for a wristlock on Scott. The Mechanics start making fast tags to work on Mojo’s arm but he drags Wilder over to the corner for a tag to Dempsey. Some corner splashes set up the Bulldozer for the pin on Wilder at 2:40.

Bayley is glad the BFFs broke up and reminds us that she beat Charlotte a few weeks ago. The champ comes up and mocks her a bit before telling Bayley to forget about all this nonsense.

Adam Rose vs. Tyson Kidd

Rose sends him into the corner to start but heads to the floor to flirt with Natalya. She gets a lollipop and seems to like it, only to tick Kidd off. He takes the lollipop from her and lays it on the mat before hammering on Rose as we take a break. Back with Rose getting kicked in the face and clotheslined out to the floor. Kidd posts him for two and drops a leg on the back of Rose’s head for two more.

A chinlock kills some time before Rose is tied up in the Tree of Woe for more kicks to the ribs. Back to the chinlock but Rose powers out with a suplex. Adam fights back with some right hands and clotheslines followed by the running clothesline in the corner. Rose can’t hit the Party Foul but gets to the ropes to avoid a Sharpshooter. Tyson grabs the lollipop and yells at Natalya, allowing Rose to small package him for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C-. I never got into this one and Kidd’s booking continues to take longer than it should. The match wasn’t terrible or anything but Rose is nothing more than a comedy character and probably shouldn’t be pinning Kidd. At some point Kidd is going to have to split from Natalya but it won’t be anytime soon I wouldn’t think.

Kidd is mad at Natalya to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The new cycle couldn’t get here soon enough. It’s very clear that they’re running out of steam and the matches aren’t all that good either. They really need something fresh and that’s the perk of NXT: we’re guaranteed that fresh idea next week as we enter the tournament and possibly the build to a new mega show. This week wasn’t terrible but there’s nothing especially good about it either.

Results
Tyler Breeze b. Angelo Dawkins – Beauty Shot
Charlotte b. Becky Lynch – Bow Down to the Queen
Ascension b. Steve Cutler/Mac Miles – Fall of Man to Cutler
Bull Dempsey/Mojo Rawley b. The Mechanics – Bulldozer to Wilder
Adam Rose b. Tyson Kidd – Small package

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