NXT
Date: June 15, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s the week after Takeover and possibly the last taping cycle before the Brand Split really screws things up. Not a lot of major changes took place last week aside from new Tag Team Champions as Revival took the belts back from American Alpha in a pretty surprising upset. Next up is Brooklyn in August so let’s get to it.

We get a We Stand With Orlando graphic.

Long recap of Takeover, running the better part of four minutes.

We’ll be hearing from Finn Balor and Samoa Joe later tonight.

Authors of Pain vs. ???/???

The Authors of Pain are the monsters who attacked American Alpha last week and have Paul Ellering (who somehow looks younger than he did when he first came to the WWF in 1992) in their corner. The announcers have no names for the jobbers, who are run over at the bell to start. To be fair they don’t have individual names for the Authors either with one of them being referred to as the Tattooed One.

Some hard knee strikes have the first jobber in trouble before it’s off to the other one for more of the same. The non-tattooed Author throws one jobber into the other and it’s a side slam/big boot combo for one and a running clothesline/Russian legsweep combo to the second for the pin at 1:36. Total dominance, though names for the Authors would be helpful, as well as a better finisher.

Andrade Cien Almas (speaking of needing a better name) is happy with his win last week when Tye Dillinger comes in to interrupt. Dillinger: “Now listen up you six.” A rematch is requested and seems to be granted.

Ellering is asked what he and the Authors are doing here but he’ll only say “in due time”.

Carmella vs. Tessa Blanchard

Carmella grabs a quick rollup for two to start and a dropkick makes things even worse for Tessa. Blanchard drops her with a forearm and asks how the fans are doin. A legsweep doesn’t work though as Carmella dances away, only to get caught in an abdominal stretch. Carmella just blasts her with a right hand to the jaw, followed by a superkick to set up the Bronco Buster. A Downward Spiral into the Code of Silence (that leg crossface) is enough to put Tessa away at 2:47.

After last week’s cage match, Samoa Joe says he destroyed his brother and hunted a demon around the world to get his title. This cage match ended all the questions and officially started the reign of Joe. No one can take it from him.

Blake and Murphy say there were no problems until Murphy started causing the issues. The blame seems to go towards Alexa Bliss but they agree to get their Tag Team Titles back.

TM61 vs. Blake and Murphy

It’s now TM Six One instead of TM Sixty One. In case it’s gone over your head (which was the case with most people, including me), the 61 is the international calling code for Australia. The fans want to know where Alexa is. Blake and Thorn start things off with Shane nipping up out of a wristlock before it’s off to Miller for a shot to the face. A slingshot hilo gets two for Thorn and a standing moonsault/jumping fist drop combo gets the same on Murphy. TM61 is moving very quickly here and even better than they were in their debut.

Murphy comes back with a clothesline, which Graves thinks could have taken out Lord Humongous. We hit the chinlock on Thorn for a bit before it’s time for the heel miscommunication as Blake clotheslines Murphy by mistake, which allows the hot tag off to Miller as everything breaks down. Murphy is sent outside and Thunder Valley (a double gorilla press slam) puts Blake away at 5:37.

Rating: C+. Nice match here that accomplished two goals at the same time with TM61 looking dominant over former champions and Blake and Murphy dissolving for good. I’m really not sure where they go from here but TM61 should be up for a title shot after Alpha and Gargano/Ciampa get their chances.

Revival said they told you so and now have their titles back. Dawson: “Clink me Jack!” That means bang the titles together.

The announcers talk about Bobby Roode debuting in the UK over the weekend.

We look at Bayley injuring her knee against Nia Jax.

Bayley has a doctor’s appointment next week and if she’s cleared there, she can get back in the ring.

Tye Dillinger vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Takeover rematch and Dillinger is still crazy over. The fans start the dueling chants with something about one hundred and then a much louder PERFECT TEN response. Almas flips over the top rope to start and a springboard cross body sends Tye outside. Back in and Tye takes over, only to run into a dropkick to send him outside again so Almas can do his pose in the ropes as we take a break.

Back with Almas getting two off a sunset flip and slapping on an armbar. Tye gets free and they run the ropes, only to have Almas dropkick Dillinger as he tries to drop down. Dillinger gets one off a backbreaker and some crossface shots to the face have Almas in more trouble. Back up and Almas hits some forearms to the face and a spinwheel kick, followed by a dive over the top to take Ty out again. A Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog sets up the double running knees in the corner to give Almas the pin at 10:48.

Rating: C+. Almas looked better here but there are still a lot of things that need to be fixed with him. It’s a combination of the old school vignettes not matching the character, the male stripper entrance gear, the lack of a mask and the not great in ring abilities. He’s hardly horrible and is really just more bland than bad with a pretty weak finisher for a high flier. Finally, either go with Andrade Almas or Cien Almas because the three names really don’t work together. It doesn’t help that Dillinger is so popular right now, especially in front of the Full Sail crowd. They need to capitalize on that, especially with the recent callups.

Here’s Finn Balor to address the crowd but first he has to soak up a THANK YOU FINN chant. That switches to a PLEASE DON’T GO before Finn starts talking about watching NXT in Ireland and wanting to be a part of that. He became a part of NXT but it became a part of him as well. Finn was NXT Champion for 292 days (YOU DESERVE IT) and he went to wars with Neville, Tyler Breeze, Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe. At the end of it though, he’s not the champion. Now the question is what’s next for him. Fans: “BALOR CLUB!” Finn: “Too sweet!”

Balor asks what’s next for him again…..and here’s Shinsuke Nakamura. They shake hands and the fans instantly think this is awesome. Nakamura says when he was in Japan, he watched Balor become the icon of NXT but now he’s no longer champion. Balor is still an icon though and if Nakamura wants to be champion, he has to beat the icon. The fans lose their minds over that and start the MATCH OF THE YEAR chant. Balor says that’s the answer to what’s next for him so the match is on at some point in the future.

Overall Rating: C. You really can feel the recent callups hurting things a lot these days as the last few shows have only been decent. The Takeover special was great but there’s only so much they can do aside from dream matches. Almas is really just not clicking though and they need to make some adjustments with him. To be fair though, not facing someone as hot as Dillinger would help a lot and it’s not like the matches have been disasters or anything close to them.

The rest of the stories have potential but it’s a bit early to see where they go. I have no idea who is next for Joe, unless Balor vs. Nakamura is on TV to set up the title match in Brooklyn. NXT has a lot of work to do but I can easily trust them to pull it off, which is a really rare thing in wrestling.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

NXT Takeover: The End
Date: June 8, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re back with a big show at Full Sail for the first time since last fall. It also might be the final show under the Takeover banner depending on which news source you believe. If nothing else it’s likely to be the final match between Finn Balor and Samoa Joe for Joe’s NXT Title inside a steel cage as the gimmick makes its debut in NXT. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the beginnings of NXT with names like Seth Rollins, Paige and the Wyatt Family. Then it was the era of Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Kevin Owens and Sasha Banks. However, all things that have a beginning must come to an end. We look at Samoa Joe and Asuka winning their respective titles as the old THE END IS HERE theme plays. Tonight is the end of the beginning.

Tye Dillinger vs. Andrade Cien Almas

This is Almas’ (formerly known as La Sombra in Mexico) debut. The place goes NUTS for Dillinger’s count to ten entrance and you would think he was a huge star based on the reception. Almas’ entrance attire is all white, including suspenders and a hat with a feather but no mask. The white comes off to reveal some blue and white tights for a pretty basic look. So he’s a male stripper?

Dillinger takes him down into a sunset flip and the fans are just going nuts for him. Almas sends him outside as the fans chant BETTER THAN ONE HUNDRED (as in ten is better than Cien, which is Spanish for one hundred). A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker (very popular move these days) gets two on Almas but he pops up to put Dillinger down.

Almas misses a moonsault as Tye rolls away, only to have Almas hit a standing moonsault for two instead. Andrade tries a headstand in the corner, only to have Dillinger superkick him down for two instead. Almas backflips into a double kick to the back before a bulldog puts Tye in the corner, setting up a double running knee in the corner for the pin at 5:18.

Rating: C+. This was uh…..not that great. Dillinger completely stole Almas’ debut here as the fans were COMPLETELY behind him and Almas didn’t exactly do much to win them back. Almas was totally fine here but certainly nothing that blew me away. It’s good enough but running knees in the corner isn’t enough of a finisher for him and he’ll need something much better.

We look back at American Alpha taking the Tag Team Titles from the Revival in a great match at Takeover: Dallas. This turned the Revival into a much more serious and aggressive team coming into the rematch here.

Tag Team Titles: Revival vs. American Alpha

Alpha is defending. Dawson and Gable start things off with Chad taking him to the mat but getting dropped with a shoulder block. It’s quickly off to Jordan who hits that really high dropkick for two on Scott, drawing a JORDAN chant. Back in and it’s a four way standoff with Alpha sending Revival at each other, only to have Dawson and Dash get behind the champs’ backs for double belly to back suplexes.

Those are reversed as well and it’s a double ankle lock to send Revival scurrying for the ropes. Back in and Alpha starts working on Dash’s arm and the referee doesn’t count a tag to Dawson. Not that it matters as the distraction lets Dash get in a cheap shot on Chad so the real tag can go through. That’s fine with Gable who works on Dawson’s arm, earning himself an uppercut to take it outside.

Everything breaks down again and Gable scores with a top rope double clotheslines, followed by a double dropkick to send Revival outside again. Back in and Chad tries a flying headscissors but gets caught in a hot shot to finally change control. They be clubberin in the corner for two on Gable and it’s time for an armbar. Dawson gets two off a spinebuster and it’s back to Dash for the armbar sequel.

Dash loads up something on top but gets pulled down into an armbar over the ropes. The hot tag is broken up by Dawson and a Trash Compactor (I haven’t seen that in years. It’s kind of like a delayed spinebuster from Dash with Dawson adding a top rope legdrop.) of all things for two on Gable. Not that it matters as Gable crawls through Revival’s legs and makes the hot tag off to Jordan as house is cleaned.

The spear in the corner gets two on Wilder but a sunset flip/clothesline combo gets two with Dash spearing Gable down for good measure. Jordan grabs a backslide and tags out at the same time, allowing Gable to sneak in for a German suplex with Jordan adding a dropkick for two. The fans accurately call this awesome as Chad puts Dawson in an ankle lock, only to be kicked away into an uppercut from Dawson.

That and a rollup with trunks is only good for two so Revival loads up their powerbomb/top rope clothesline combo, only to have Gable reverse it with a belly to belly ala Rick Steiner back at Wrestlemania IX. Another quick tag brings in Jordan as everything breaks down but Grand Amplitude is broken up and the Shatter Machine gives Revival the titles back at 16:00. That’s the first time anyone has ever held any title twice in NXT history.

Rating: A. This was an amazing athletic display and I was genuinely surprised by the ending. That belly to belly to counter the clothesline was outstanding and really had me flashing back to the Steiner Brothers. Revival looked great here too and you can almost guarantee a rubber match between these two, maybe going 2/3 falls. Either that or Gargano/Ciampa get the title shot while Alpha heads up to the main roster. Whatever happens now, this was outstanding.

Alpha is getting a standing ovation when two big guys who look a lot alike hit the ring and destroy them with splashes in the corner. A swinging side slam/running boot to the head drops Gable and a Russian legsweep/running clothesline does the same to Jordan. As they stand dominant (and receive a WHO ARE YOU) chant, Paul Ellering of all people comes out to watch. Those two would be Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani, collectively known as the Authors of Pain and normally under masks.

Asuka is warming up when Bayley comes up to look at her.

We recap Austin Aries vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, which is built around Aries wanting to prove that he really is the best in the world. Simple story and that’s all it needs to be.

Austin Aries vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Aries is coming in with taped up ribs. The fans are split but singing Nakamura’s theme tilts it in his favor. They hit the mat to start and that’s a standoff. It’s back to the mat with Aries jumping out of a headscissors and both guys ducking kicks, leading to a staredown. Nakamura puts his hands on the bad ribs and tells Austin to bring it. The fans think Shinsuke is going to kill him as he starts firing off more knees to the ribs.

Nakamura does his shaky leg in the corner (Good Vibrations) but a third attempt is countered into a shinbreaker. Aries drives a knee into Nakamura’s ribs but his slingshot hilo hits raised knees. For once it actually hurts the legs though and Aries kicks away at them to keep control. Off to a modified chinlock with a knee in the back as the fans sing the song again. Nakamura pops up and shrugs off the leg injuries to start firing off kicks. He really shouldn’t be able to do that. A knee to the ribs in the corner has Aries in trouble but he fights out of the reverse exploder suplex.

The knees to the head can’t set up the Last Chancery so Aries discus forearms him out to the floor, followed by the suicide elbow. That’s only good for two back inside as this is really starting to heat up. Aries goes up top but gets pulled into a triangle choke, only to make the ropes for the break. A release gordbuster looks to set up Kinshasa but Aries counters into another shinbreaker and throws on the Last Chancery.

As usual the hold can only stay on so long so Aries hits the running corner dropkick but he has to roll through the 450. Another running knee is blocked and Aries take him to the apron for a slugout with Nakamura scoring off an enziguri. Nakamura charges into a Death Valley Driver on the apron for a nine count but Aries screws himself over by missing a suicide dive and hitting the barricade. Back in and a middle rope Kinshasa sets up the real thing for the pin on Aries at 17:05.

Rating: A. The key there was Aries had Nakamura mostly beaten and then tried to go one step too far (in an effort to show how much better he was) and knocked himself out to set up the finish. It’s another excellent match as Nakamura continues to be someone who can turn it up to about 17 on a scale to 10 but it wasn’t quite as epic as the Zayn match. These two are both going to be fine though, especially if Nakamura learns to sell the leg injury. Aries could have done more with the ribs too but the announcers were speculating that they weren’t even hurt in the first place.

We recap Asuka vs. Nia Jax, which is the basic giant vs. giant slayer story. Both of them beat Bayley up pretty badly but the question is whether Asuka’s strikes can work on a monster like Jax.

Women’s Title: Nia Jax vs. Asuka

Asuka is defending and is quickly headbutted, followed by a hair toss to send her flying across the ring. A modified Octopus Hold of all things has Nia in trouble but she reverses into a backbreaker for two. Nia rubs at the face but gets caught in a guillotine, only to reverse with a big old suplex for two. Nia has to spin out of an armbar but gets caught in most of a triangle. It’s on loosely enough that Nia can lift her up for a buckle bomb to escape.

The champ’s back is bent around the post as this has been mostly one sided so far. Off to a bearhug but Asuka escapes and grabs a quick kneebar. A rope is grabbed so Nia plants her with a spinebuster, only to miss a legdrop. Asuka comes back with a quick middle rope dropkick and a running hip attack for two. The powerbomb gets two on Asuka but she grabs an armbar to start a TAP chant. Nia powers out of that as well but gets kicked in the head three times in a row. A running kick/knee to the head retains Asuka’s title at 9:09.

Rating: B. They had a story here with Asuka just coming at Nia over and over until she finally got somewhere but they’re running a bit of a risk by having Nia lose two big matches in a row. There’s more than enough time for her to rebuild but you have to assume Bayley gets the next title shot, possibly setting up a triple threat for the title. Nia looked more aggressive here and that’s where she needs to go, though she needs to get the title sooner than later.

Earlier today, William Regal was talking about the show when Bobby Roode walked past him. Regal immediately left to talk to him.

The cage is lowered.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe. Balor beat Joe twice at previous Takeovers but lost the title to him at a house show. Tonight is the final match between the two and it’s being held in the first ever steel cage match in NXT history.

Neville is here.

NXT Title: Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor

In a cage with Joe defending. Balor is the Demon again and comes out from behind a piece of cage, which he shoves over and crawls across for a really cool visual. Pinfall, submission or escape to win here. Joe goes straight for the door to start but it’s barely even worth trying that early. The fans are behind Balor as he raises his boots to stop a charging Joe in the corner. A hard shot to Joe’s head lets Balor try a climb but Joe quickly pulls him back to the mat.

It’s time to go into the cage for the first time with Balor tasting the steel. Joe kicks him in the face but it’s too early to escape. An enziguri almost lets Balor escape but a German suplex drops him for two instead. Joe chops him to make everyone go WOO but he misses a charge and gets caught between the ropes and the cage. Balor hits a string of running strikes but can’t get over the top.

Instead Finn kicks him square in the jaw, only to have Joe fall on the ropes to crotch Balor down. The Muscle Buster is countered and they strike it out to put both guys down. Back up and Balor heads for the top, only to have to come down with a Sling Blade for two. A second Sling Blade gets two more but Joe pulls him out of the corner and gets two of his own off the Muscle Buster.

Joe shouts that he’s going to end Balor but Finn sends him into the cage a few times, followed by a third Sling Blade. A quick Coup de Grace gets two and Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch. Balor tries to flip out of the corner onto Joe but the hold is broken, meaning Finn has to settle for most of a standing double stomp. Balor gets his legs over the top of the cage but Joe pulls his head down and hits a middle rope Muscle Buster to retain the title at 16:07.

Rating: A-. I was expecting a bit more out of the finish but I’m surprised by the fact that Joe won off a clean pin. It’s a huge win for him as the Demon has never been beaten before. Again you have to think that Balor is heading to the main roster now and Joe should be soon behind him, but this was all about Joe and that’s a good thing for the long term future of NXT because whoever beats Joe is a huge star.

Balor has to be helped out to end the show.

Overall Rating: A+. When sixty percent of your show is an A- or better, I don’t know how much better you can get. The only thing missing here was some of the atmosphere and energy that existed down in Dallas but that’s hardly anything to take away. There were three excellent matches here that are worth checking out plus one very good and another that was just good, earning itself worst match of the night honors. This didn’t have the hype coming in but it was another amazing night of NXT.

Results

Andrade Cien Almas b. Tye Dillinger – Running double knees in the corner

Revival b. American Alpha – Shatter Machine to Jordan

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Austin Aries – Kinshasa

Asuka b. Nia Jax – Running knee to the head

Samoa Joe b. Finn Balor – Super Muscle Buster

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

NXT
Date: June 1, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s one week before Takeover: Revenge/The End and the big stories are all set. Last week saw the addition of Austin Aries vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in what could be a show stealing classic to go along with the announcement of Nia Jax as the new #1 contender to the Women’s Title. Expect a hard sell on the NXT Title match tonight. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Revival for an opening chat. They want to become the first two time NXT Tag Team Champions and they’re going to hit American Alpha really hard next week. Dawson keeps talking until Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano interrupt. They want the titles too but Dawson tells them that they’re just good hands.

Revival is going to take care of business but Ciampa wants to know if it’s going to be like they took care of business in Dallas. That doesn’t bother Revival because at least they’ve won something. They walk away but Gargano and Ciampa want to fight and it’s a double dropkick to put Revival on the floor again.

Shinsuke Nakamura thinks Austin Aries will bow down to the king next week.

Tye Dillinger vs. Buddy Murphy

Murphy is alone here but has his first name back. Dillinger works on the arm to start and it’s a standoff with Tye flashing tens. It’s down to the mat with Dillinger working on the arm even more. Back up and Murphy scores with an elbow to the jaw before cranking on a chinlock. We’re told that Revival vs. Gargano/Ciampa will take place tonight before Tye gets in a Thesz press of all things. A superkick sets up ten (of course) punches in the corner followed by an AA onto an exposed knee to give Dillinger the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C-. Dillinger has the gimmick and the in ring ability so hopefully now he’s going to get some wins. I’m not sure how Blake and Murphy are going to do as singles guys but they’re not the most interesting in the world. Murphy seems to have more to him than Blake but it’s clear that Alexa is going to be the big star from the group.

Earlier today Corey Graves sat down with Samoa Joe and Finn Balor. Finn can’t believe the loss in Massachusetts happened and his world came crumbling down. It was his job to fight every night as champion though and he was beaten on that night. Joe says he finally got the title shot he deserved after all the hoops NXT made him jump through. Finn thinks that sounds like entitlement but Joe says he was Finn’s partner in the Dusty Classic.

Indeed he was but then Joe wasn’t willing to give him a title shot (yeah he was) so Balor brings up all the time they’ve spent together over the years with Joe, including being at his wedding. Joe says he’s been successful everywhere but Finn interprets this as Joe thinking he hasn’t done anything. Balor says he’s coming for the title and a fight almost breaks out right here before we cut away. Good stuff here but this is something NXT is just awesome at every time.

Elias Samson vs. Austin Aries

Aries takes him down by the arm to start and puts his knee on Samson’s face while working on an armbar. A dropkick gets two and it’s right back to the armbar. Samson fights up and grabs a chinlock, only to get suplexed right back down. Austin sends him outside for a suicide dive before the running dropkick sets up the Last Chancery for the submission at 3:26.

Rating: C. As much as people like to think of Aries as someone with a dangerous submission move, that’s the first televised submission win he’s had in over three years. Leave it to NXT to set up a big submission hold for him just a week before the biggest match he’s had in the company while TNA basically said one win a few years ago was close enough.

Post match Aries says he’s going to put the spotlight on himself next week.

Andrade Cien Almas vignette. He’ll be at Takeover.

Revival vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa

Dawson headlocks Gargano to start but takes some fast armdrags before it’s off to Ciampa for a running kick to the head. Dash comes in for a slugout but gets sent to the floor. Ciampa goes after him and eats a hard clothesline as we take a break. Back with Dash working on Ciampa’s leg before it’s off to Dawson to stay on the injury. That lasts all of ten seconds before Ciampa breaks free and brings in Gargano for a kick to the head. Everything breaks down and it’s Gargano and Dawson left in the ring. Dawson takes him up top for a superplex but Gargano locks their legs together on the landing to pin Scott at 10:29.

Rating: B-. I didn’t like this as much as I was expecting to but the finish was a really cool surprise as Alpha now has their next challengers assuming they retain the titles next week. Gargano and Ciampa are growing on me after a slow start but it’s pretty clear that Revival is on a downward swing now that they’ve lost the titles.

Post match Revival beats Ciampa down and load up the same move they used to hurt Big Cass’ knee. American Alpha runs out for the save just in time.

It’s time for the contract signing between Nia Jax and Asuka. Nia says she broke the heart of NXT and now she’s going to break Asuka. She isn’t scared of the champ and signs. Asuka says Nia talks too much and if she’s not scared, she certainly should be. The fight is on and Nia plants her with a powerbomb to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was just ok despite being a strong go home show. You really can tell that the writer who helped cause a lot of NXT’s success is gone as I can’t imagine them setting up a match and then having it take place later in the night. There isn’t a lot of energy going into this Takeover and a lot of that is due to it being built around rematches. There’s about as much interest as you can have given that but NXT is actually trending down a bit at the moment, which you really don’t see that often.

Results

Tye Dillinger b. Buddy Murphy – Fireman’s carry backbreaker

Austin Aries b. Elias Samson – Last Chancery

Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa b. Revival – Small package to Dawson

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

NXT
Date: May 25, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re two weeks out from Takeover and after last week, most of the card is set. The big story is the announcement of the first ever steel cage match around these parts as NXT Champion Samoa Joe is defending against former champion Finn Balor. Other than that it looks like we’ll be getting Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries as well. Let’s get to it.

William Regal tells us that Bayley is injured and unable to face Asuka for the Women’s Title. Therefore tonight there will be a triple threat for the #1 contendership between Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss and Carmella.

Opening sequence.

Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. TM61

TM61 is the recently signed The Mighty Don’t Kneel, comprised of Shane Thorn and Nick Miller. In a quick pre-match inset promo, TM61 says they’re here for the titles because they’re mighty and don’t kneel. Miller and Ciampa hit the mat to start before it’s off to Thorn, who gyrates and sticks his chest out as he walks around. Gargano gets pulled down in the corner for a double wishbone as things settle down a bit. Johnny crawls through Nick’s legs for the hot tag, only to have Ciampa eat a double elbow to the jaw. TM61 actually stands tall as we go to a break.

Back with Miller holding Ciampa in a headlock until an elbow to the jaw allows Gargano to get the tag and spear Miller through the ropes. Thorn comes in but gets caught in something like an Anaconda Vice with Gargano using his legs as a crucifix. Ciampa is back in and elbows Thorn again, only to eat a dropkick for the tag off to Miller. Nick comes in and starts cleaning house, capped off by a delayed backdrop into a neckbreaker from Thorn. Gargano dives onto Miller, leaving Thorn to take the knee to the head/superkick combo for the pin at 13:13.

Rating: B. This was a different kind of tag match with all four working hard and far less of a formula as all four are faces for a change. TM61 looked very polished here and should be ready for a big push once they get in a few wins over teams like the Hype Bros and the Revival. Really solid, long match here and that’s how you debut a team like this.

Gargano and Ciampa applaud TM61.

Video on Samoa Joe winning the title and his new found aggression.

Bayley is upset that she can’t compete when Nia Jax comes in to say that she’s broken Bayley, who will never be the same again. Carmella runs in to defend her friend but Nia laughs it off. Alexa Bliss comes in and gets the same treatment.

Andrade “Cien” Almas takes off his mask while watching old lucha libre.

Here’s Austin Aries with something to say. Aries is tired of hearing people talk about how someone is the best. You’re only the best until someone better comes along, so he’s always called himself great. But how do you define greatness? Maybe by proving your talent over ten years? Or by having great matches everywhere you go? Or by being a champion in every promotion you’ve ever been? See, he’s done all those things but he’s tired of being overlooked. The fans chant for Nakamura but Aries wants a shot at the winner of the cage match. There go the lights and here comes Nakamura.

Shinsuke starts in Japanese then corrects himself because Aries doesn’t understand. Nakamura: “You don’t speak Japanese?” Aries: “I don’t understand you.” Nakamura: “Yeah me either.” Shinsuke says the title isn’t coming to greatness because it’s coming to the King of Strong Style. Cue Regal, which draws a TAKEOVER chant. The match is made though nothing is mentioned about being #1 contender.

American Alpha is ready for the Revival because there’s more to wrestling than punching people in the face. It doesn’t matter if it’s in Dallas or at Full Sail, they’ll be ready, willing and Gable.

No Way Jose vs. Jonathan Ortagun

Jose dances out of a waistlock to start and it’s already time for an airplane spin, which goes both ways for a little extra fun. A clothesline in the corner just annoys Jose and things get serious, including an atomic drop and the baseball punch. The cobra clutch slam gives Jose the pin at 3:21.

Rating: D+. Jose is fun but he’s basically a new version of Adam Rose. If they keep him in that style of a character everything will be fine, but given WWE’s track record with characters like him, I really wouldn’t give him a great chance long term. The dancing is fun though and he serves his purpose just fine.

Jose dances with the announcers post match.

Video on Finn Balor, who wants the title back.

Asuka doesn’t care who she faces at Takeover because she will defeat them.

Carmella vs. Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss

For the #1 contendership at Takeover. Bayley hugs Carmella before her entrance. Nia has a new entrance where the camera cuts to an extreme closeup of her eyes before she starts walking. Bliss bails to the floor to start so Carmella, the fan favorite, tries and fails at a headlock. Alexa’s attempt at coming in off the top goes horribly as Nia is waiting on her and it’s time for a break.

Back with Carmella headscissoring Nia into the post, which brings Alexa back in to slam Carmella’s head off the mat for two. Bliss yells a lot and knocks Nia outside, followed by a Vader Bomb for two. The backflip into the knees to the chest get two on Carmella and Bliss drives two knees into Nia for good measure. The Sparkle Splash gets two on Jax with Bliss making the save. Nia has had enough of this being in trouble and gets up to shove both of them down like they’re nothing.

The blondes send a charging Nia out to the floor but Carmella’s dive is easily caught by the monster. Bliss makes the save though and it’s Carmella diving onto Nia again with a lot more success this time. Back in and Carmella snapmares Bliss into the corner for the Bronco Buster. The leg crossface brings Nia back in for the save, only to have Carmella get two off a middle rope Thesz press. Graves actually says he’s never seen that before. Nia breaks up the Bronco Buster though and drops the leg on Carmella for the pin at 12:30.

Rating: B. This was MUCH better than I was expecting as you can really see the long strides that Carmella has made in her abilities. She’s certainly the most complete performer of these three as you have Bliss and Jax as more role players (Bliss as the calculating one who steals shots where she can and Jax as the monster), which are fine for both of them. This was a lot of fun though and a far better match than I would have thought.

Post match Asuka comes out to stare Nia down. The champ comes down to the ring and Nia threatens to drop her where she stands to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. In less than an hour, NXT has hyped up the two matches already set for Takeover and added two more, including a title match. This upcoming show doesn’t have the best buzz around it, but if there’s one thing NXT is great at it’s making you believe that something is a lot better than it probably should be. This show did a great job of building that show and making me want to see it, which is exactly what they were shooting for here.

Results

Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa b. TM61 – Running knee/superkick to Thorn

No Way Jose b. Jonathan Ortagun – Cobra clutch slam

Nia Jax b. Carmella and Alexa Bliss – Legdrop to Carmella

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT
Date: May 18, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re three weeks away from Takeover and the main event has been announced as Samoa Joe defending the NXT Title against Finn Balor, but this time it’s going to be taking place inside a steel cage. That’s never been done before in NXT and it should be interesting to see how NXT builds up to such a match. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video on Nia Jax vs. Bayley from London last year with Nia saying she would destroy Bayley in a rematch, which takes place tonight.

Opening sequence.

Blake and Murphy vs. Austin Aries/???

Aries has a mystery partner after Blake and Murphy interrupted him last week. The partner is……Shinsuke Nakamura. Alexa Bliss is certainly not happy with this development. Blake and Murphy aren’t sure who should start so Aries dropkicks Murphy in the corner for an early two. It’s off to Nakamura for the shaky choke in the corner (which Tom calls Good Vibrations) before he puts Murphy on his knees for a slingshot elbow from Aries. Shinsuke actually stares Blake off the apron before suplexing Murphy down. Aries reaches over for the tag but Nakamura intentionally doesn’t tag, setting up Kinshasa to end Murphy at 2:47.

Post match Alexa walks out on the team. Murphy walks out on Blake.

Bayley says she isn’t going to let Nia Jax bully her way into whatever she wants because it’s going to be a repeat of London. After that, it’s time to get the Women’s Title back.

Video on Asuka with a band playing a song. You don’t see that too often.

No Way Jose talks about how much he loves smiling and how much energy he has. Some people might not like him but it’s time for a fiesta. He’s here to fight, but first it’s time for some dancing.

Carmella misses Enzo and Cass but wants to be Women’s Champion.

Carmella vs. Peyton Royce

Peyton is definitely one of the more sexualized women around here as she does a very slow crawl over the ropes to get inside. Carmella is actually taken down to start for some elbows into the neck. We hit an early chinlock before Peyton sweeps the leg to keep control. Two Amigos into a PerfectPlex gets two on Carmella but a few elbows and a Thesz press take Peyton down. A hurricanrana sets up the Bronco Buster and the leg crossface makes Peyton tap at 3:36.

Rating: D+. Royce was fine here but I’m not sure how much Carmella is going to do other than win low level matches and then get squashed by Asuka or Nia. It’s a good sign that they’re setting up some fresh competition though as the division was really depleted over the last few months.

Clip of Finn Balor and Samoa Joe getting in a huge brawl at a house show on Saturday with the locker room having to break it up.

General Manager William Regal has made their match a steel cage match and we see the contract signing with both of them saying it ends at Takeover.

Blake and Murphy beg Alexa to take them back but she says it’s going to be easier to win the Women’s Title without 470lbs of weight on her back.

Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Rob Ryzin/Danny Burch

Gargano and Burch start things off as the fans chant TERRA-RYZIN. That’s the most interesting part of the beginning as it’s quickly off to Burch vs. Ciampa, one of whom is dubbed a “psycho killer”. Burch runs him over with a clothesline for two before Ciampa shrugs off both jobbers’ offense. Gargano comes in with some clotheslines of his own and slingshots through the ropes for a spear. A running knee from Ciampa and a superkick from Gargano put Ryzin away at 5:00.

Rating: C. I liked this more than I thought I would as Gargano and Ciampa are carving out a very nice little niche for themselves in the tag division. I’m not really a fan of either guy but it’s cool to see a new team getting somewhere and setting themselves up as potential challengers for American Alpha down the line.

Speaking of American Alpha, Regal say they’ll be facing the Revival at Takeover.

Bayley vs. Nia Jax

Nia easily shoves her away to start so Bayley gets on Na’s back for a choke. Bayley gets thrown around with ease with almost none of her offense having any effect. A few whips into the corner have Bayley reeling and she goes chest first into the middle turnbuckle as we take a break.

Back with Nia holding her in a reverse chinlock before going after Bayley’s arm. Off to a cobra clutch on Bayley, followed by a clothesline to the back of the head for two. Nia switches it up into an arm trap bearhug, only to have Bayley escape and avoid a charge in the corner.

Some kicks to the legs and another dodged charge sends Nia outside, followed by a hurricanrana off the apron. Back in and the Bayley to Belly doesn’t work so she settles for a DDT instead. Bayley grabs the guillotine but Nia shoves her off and Bayley comes up with a bad limp. The legdrop onto the leg sets up the regular legdrop for the pin on Bayley at 16:17.

Rating: B-. This was a weird one with Bayley being completely squashed. I’m not sure where they’re going with Bayley and the leg injury as it seems like something that they want to use to take her off TV, but maybe it’s to build her up for a big comeback to get back in the title hunt. It was also lacking all the drama of the London match and that really was the first match’s strong suit. Still though, pretty good here.

Bayley’s leg is checked on to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show to set up a bunch of stuff for later and there’s nothing wrong with that. Aries vs. Nakamura has the potential to be a blast and will finally give Nakamura an actual feud against a top level star. The rest of the show was nothing great but the wrestling was watchable and set up some stories for later on. In other words, it’s NXT doing what a wrestling company is supposed to do, just like always.

Results

Austin Aries/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Blake and Murphy – Kinshasa to Murphy

Carmella b. Peyton Royce – Leg crossface

Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa b. Danny Burch/Rob Ryzin – Running knee/superkick combination to Ryzin

Nia Jax b. Bayley – Legdrop

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT
Date: May 11, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

Finn Balor is back tonight and it’s already time for him to go after his NXT Title again. Balor lost the belt a few weeks back at a house show to new champion Samoa Joe, meaning Finn’s target should be obvious. Other than that it’s time to really hit the gas on building towards the next Takeover which is scheduled for about a month from now. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video on Finn Balor, talking about how the title is his obsession before the loss to Joe. I believe this aired last week as well. Balor may have lost the title but it’s time to embrace the demon inside.

Here’s Finn to open things up. After a THANK YOU FINN chant, Balor thanks the fans and talks about how the matches with Joe could have gone either way but he won the first two. Before he can talk about what happened in the third match, Elias Samson comes out to sing about Balor’s masquerade being exposed. Samson says Finn is nothing without the title so Balor kicks him in the head to put Elias outside. The guitar goes flying but thankfully Samson makes the save. Jeff Jarrett is somewhere groaning at the guitar not being destroyed.

Last week, Eric Young called himself a world class maniac who is so glad to finally be here in NXT.

Balor wants Samson tonight.

American Alpha vs. Corey Hollis/John Skyler

Non-title. Chad takes Skyler to the mat to start and we get the Kurt Angle themed chant. Hollis comes in and gets headlocked down as well before we hit the seated armbar. It’s off to Jordan who easily throws Hollis into the air for a face first crash onto the mat. A double hiptoss puts Hollis down and there’s a double dropkick for Skyler as this is completely one sided so far.

Hollis finally realizes that he can cheat and the jobbers take over on Gable for the first time. Skyler drops a knee for two and we hit the chinlock. That works for all of five seconds before it’s off to Jordan as house is cleaned. Cue the Revival on the ramp for a distraction but Grand Amplitude puts Hollis away at 5:10.

Rating: C-. This was a nearly complete squash and that’s all it needed to be. Alpha is so far ahead of everyone else right now that it wouldn’t make sense to have them do anything but squash other teams. Revival vs. Alpha II should be a really solid brawl though and it would help to have something like No DQ involved. A regular match would be fine too though.

Shinsuke Nakamura is asked what he thinks about Alex Riley’s rage. Nakamura starts shaking, like he has rage you see.

Alex Riley vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Riley had been calling himself the white lion down in NXT, at least until he got released a few weeks after this. Riley goes right after him to start like he’s a guy about to be released going after one of the top stars in the promotion. Nakamura misses a knee though and Riley hammers away, earning himself a string of knees and forearms to the ribs and face. The running knee in the corner sets up the inverted exploder suplex, followed by Kinshasa to put Riley away at 2:38.

Austin Aries is in William Regal’s office to say he wants to prove he’s the best. Blake and Murphy come in to talk about being disrespected. Aries: “You don’t even have the decency to bring Alexa Bliss with you?” Bliss comes in and yelling ensues so Regal makes Blake/Murphy vs. Aries/a partner of his choice next week. Aries pulls out his phone and implies he knows someone.

Alexa Bliss vs. Rachel Ellering

That would be Paul’s daughter. Bliss starts on the arm by bouncing it off the mat and working on an armbar. A forearm gets two on Rachel and it’s back to the armbar. The comeback goes nowhere as Bliss does the psycho eyes choke to set up the Sparkle Splash for the pin at 3:52.

Rating: D. They’re doing a good job of setting up Bliss as the midcard heel though I can’t imagine her ever being a real threat to someone like Asuka. Ellering was really just there and didn’t show anything outside of being competent in the ring. Then again that’s been the case several times before, but she’s a long way behind Tessa Blanchard in terms of potential.

Bayley says she’s getting ready for her rematch when Nia Jax interrupts. She learned from the loss to Bayley but it’s clear that Bayley has learned nothing from losing the title. A challenge for a rematch is issued and Bayley says she can choke Nia out again. This was a really awkward, and likely WAY too scripted, exchange.

Bayley vs. Nia is official for next week.

Finn Balor vs. Elias Samson

Just regular Finn here and his shoulder is taped up. Feeling out process to start until Balor knocks him to the floor and takes us to a break. Back with Balor holding an armbar and the fans saying it NEEDS MORE COWBELL. Samson fires off some forearms but Balor just blasts him in the face a few times. Some running chops in the corner put Samson on the floor for a baseball slide. The Sling Blade sets up 1916 for the pin on Samson at 7:47.

Rating: C-. This was fine and did exactly what it was supposed to do. In theory this sets up another Balor vs. Joe match but I’m really not needing to see them fight for a third time out of four total major matchups. This is also where Samson is a good player. He’s not going to be a top heel anytime soon but those songs are enough to get the fans hating him every week and then he can take a beating and make someone else look good. That’s an important role to have and Samson is as good of an option as they have for it at the moment.

Balor says he wants his rematch for the title because it belongs to him. Now he’s possessed like a demon stalking his prey so here’s Samoa Joe to interrupt. Before it can get physical, Regal comes out to make Balor vs. Joe III for Takeover on June 8. That’s really rare for NXT as they almost never have feuds go on this long. Joe yells a lot so Balor dives over the top to take him out.

Overall Rating: C+. They’re finally starting to set up some stuff for the next Takeover, which is a good thing even though I’m not wild on the main event they’re going with. However, this was a step up over last week’s show and they’re setting up some stuff for the future, which is where NXT shines best. Aries’ partner could be interesting and you don’t know what they might pull off for that.

Results

American Alpha b. Corey Hollis/John Skyler – Grand Amplitude to Hollis

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Alex Riley – Kinshasa

Alexa Bliss b. Rachel Ellering – Sparkle Splash

Finn Balor b. Elias Samson – 1916

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT
Date: May 4, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips

We’re back at Full Sail this week and things should be getting interesting again in a hurry. The next Takeover has been scheduled for June 8 so they only have about a month to get wherever we’re heading. Samoa Joe is the new NXT Champion and tonight we may find out who he’s facing next. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Joe to get things going. The new champ calls himself a man who keeps his word and this title win was inevitable. If anyone has a problem with that, they can come out here and get choked out. Cue the debuting Eric Young (grumble grumble) to a very nice reception from the crowd. Young says the only thing you can count on in life is change and now it’s time for him to collect another of those titles. Joe leaves without any violence and says Eric doesn’t belong in the same ring as him.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Nia Jax

Nia throws her around a bit and drops the leg for the pin at 1:09. I think we have Asuka’s first challenger.

Tye Dillinger vs. Austin Aries

Dillinger shoulders him down and shows Aries a 10 to start but Aries comes back with some armdrags into an armbar. We get the BOTH THESE GUYS chant as Dillinger starts in on the back with a few stomps and a hard whip into the corner for two. Aries claps his hands around Tye’s ears before sending him outside for the corkscrew dive. Tye raises a boot to block a dropkick and gets two off a fireman’s carry slam onto his knee. That’s fine with Austin as he forearms Tye in the face and hits a 450 for the pin at 4:37.

Rating: B-. They’ve got something in Dillinger but he’s still doing the same jobbing stuff that he’s been doing for what feels like forever now. Of course Aries is awesome and has proven himself time after time. I could easily see him getting the first major title shot at Joe and the match would rock either way.

Revival vs. Hype Bros

Ryder and Dash get things going and I’ll give you two guesses as to who the fans are behind. Zack has to fight both of them off and is quickly pulled into the wrong corner for a tag to Dawson who pounds Ryder down. Dash puts on a cobra clutch as Corey continues his eternal hatred of all things Mojo Rawley by insulting his trunks. The hold is pretty easily broken and Ryder dives over for the hot tag. Mojo cleans a little bit of the house before walking into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 4:12.

Rating: D+. Nothing to the match here but what were you expecting? It’s pretty clear that Revival is going to get the first title shot against American Alpha at the next Takeover so this was more of a foregone conclusion than anything else. That’s all the Hype Bros really need to be anyway so this http://shopantibioticsonline.com worked fine all around.

Alex Riley isn’t worried about Shinsuke Nakamura next week because he’s so small. Riley promises to be a maniac next week.

No Way Jose vs. Noah Potjes

The fans are WAY into Jose with Phillips saying it’s contagious. Graves: “So is the flu.” Jose dances a lot and mocks swinging a bat. A few armdrags set up the baseball punch and a quick full nelson slam puts Noah away at 2:17.

Aries says that was a perfect 20 but something seems a bit off. He’s been flying under the radar since he’s been here but that’s all about to change. Now if you’ll excuse him, he has a banana to eat.

Video on Finn Balor losing the title to Samoa Joe. Balor is back next week.

Samoa Joe vs. Eric Young

Non-title. Joe works on the arm to start but they opt to just trade big shots to the face instead. A swinging neckbreaker gets one on Joe but he throws Eric out to the floor for a big suicide dive as we take a break. Back with Young eating a hard elbow to the jaw and the enziguri out of the corner. We hit the nerve hold as this isn’t exactly flying off the page so far.

Joe gets two more off a backsplash before elbowing Young’s head off to stop a comeback bid. Eric does the slide between Joe’s legs and scores with a running forearm, followed by the good looking top rope elbow for two. The release Rock Bottom out of the corner plants Eric though and it’s the Muscle Buster into the Koquina Clutch for the submission at 14:20.

Rating: C-. The match was watchable enough but Young really doesn’t have a character outside of “that guy who used to be in TNA.” That’s really not enough for a debut against a big name with a promo as simple as “I’m here to change things and win the title.” Based off how soundly Joe won, I could very easily see this being a one off appearance for Young. There isn’t much of a reason for him to stick around and it’s not like this was anything special.

Overall Rating: C. This was a really flat show with the only good match being Aries vs. Dillinger and that wasn’t even great. Balor coming back next week should help a lot though and they’ll be able to start setting up Takeover to give the show some fire. This show felt really empty and didn’t have anything to off but NXT can turn it on very quickly so there’s no reason to be worried.

Results

Nia Jax b. Tessa Blanchard – Legdrop

Austin Aries b. Tye Dillinger – 450 splash

Revival b. Hype Bros – Shatter Machine to Rawley

No Way Jose b. Noah Potjes – Full nelson slam

Samoa Joe b. Eric Young – Koquina Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT
Date: April 27, 2016
Location: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s a big night around here as we’re going to take a quick field trip up to Lowell, Massachusetts where Finn Balor lost the NXT Title to Samoa Joe. We’ll be looking at at least part of the match tonight, which is a really cool thing that NXT can do. When is the last time you even heard WWE reference a house show other than the European tour? Let’s get to it.

We’re told about the title change right off the bat. Why hide it at this point?

Asuka vs. Eva Marie

Non-title. The fans tell Eva that she can’t wrestle as we hit the stall button to start. The fans are actually split on Eva as they trade headlocks and armbars. Asuka blasts Eva in the face and rolls forward for a little dancing followed by the hip attack. A Fujiwara armbar sends Eva straight to the ropes and another hip attack sends her out to the floor. Graves thinks it’s starting to unravel as Nia Jax comes out to check on Eva.

Back from a break with Eva mostly missing a running boot to put Asuka down. We hit the double arm crank for a bit before a hard shot to the face keeps Asuka in trouble. Another arm crank slows things down even more until Asuka pops up with a middle rope dropkick. A second dropkick has Eva in trouble and it’s time for the kicks to the chest. Eva tries to send her into the corner but eats a spinning kick to the face for the pin at 12:55.

Rating: C-. Eva was WAY better than usual here but it should be noted that she was doing very basic stuff for the most part. Still though, the fact that she didn’t have a major botch is a step up and it’s definitely one of her best performances yet. Also Graves deserves some credit here as he was channeling Bobby Heenan hard here by praising the heel throughout the match. That adds so much and everything worked well here.

We see some clips of Samoa Joe winning the title last week with the Muscle Buster. They only showed about thirty seconds total.

Joe says his win was inevitable and no more words are needed.

Revival vs. Matt Lee/Jeff Parker

Parker and Lee are both really skinny and I believe used to team as 3.0 in Chikara. The 3.0 on their tights would seem to support that theory. We’ll say Parker is easily taken down and pounded in the corner as Lee shouts that he is respecting the rules by not interfering. Lee then starts a DEFENSE chant as Parker is dropped ribs first into Dawson’s knee for two. It’s off to Lee as the fans chant DEFENSE as well. The Shatter Machine puts Lee away at 3:12.

Rating: C. You could tell there was something to Lee and Parker after those chants. They were both entertaining and it was clear that they had some experience. Unfortunately they didn’t have any kind of a look and are almost completely interchangeable. It was a total squash though and I could get behind the new aggressive Revival, though I don’t know how much steam it would have.

Post match Dawson says they’re the best and want their titles back.

Hype Bros vs. Blake and Murphy

No Alexa here so the interest is already down. The fans want to know where she is too as Mojo scares Blake into the corner to start. Mojo gets down in a three point stance and declares that neither Blake nor Murphy are in fact hyped. Ryder comes in for two off a neckbreaker and a double facebuster to take both villains down. Blake starts in on the leg before it’s off to Murphy for a shot to the head. It doesn’t seem to do that well though as Ryder slips over to the corner for a tag off to Mojo. House is cleaned and the Hype Ryder puts Blake away at 4:48.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but how far have Blake and Murphy fallen in the last few months? When you’re putting over the Hype Bros, it might be time to reconsider your career choices. I don’t think Rawley and Ryder are going anywhere other than a midcard tag spot and there’s nothing wrong with that, at least as long as the fans still dig them.

Post match the Revival comes back out and jumps the Hype Bros.

Carmella vs. Aliyah

Aliyah was in a battle royal recently but is probably most well known from Breaking Ground. Carmella snapmares her to start but Aliyah takes over with a seated full nelson. A middle rope leg gets two and this is almost all Aliyah so far. Carmella comes back with a hurricanrana out of the corner and a Bronco Buster, followed by the leg crossface to make Aliyah tap at 3:19.

Rating: C. Aliyah was a very nice surprise here and Carmella looked fine. I know they’re not exactly the new Horsewomen but it’s really cool to see the division being rebuilt with a fresh cast of characters. Bliss and Blanchard looked awesome recently and these two would be a nice addition as well. Good little match here.

Elias Samson says he’ll show that he’s the drifter and will prove to Nakamura that he never should have drifted into NXT.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Elias Samson

Nakamura takes him to the ropes to start and holds Samson in place with his head. A knee drop sets up the shaky boot in the corner, only to have Elias explode out with a clothesline. Samson gets two off a suplex and we hit the chinlock. That’s fine with Nakamura who kicks Samson in the head, setting up the running knee in the corner. Kinshasa puts Samson away quick at 4:24.

Rating: C. They’re doing a really good job of setting up Nakamura as the new star of the roster, which is a really good idea given the possible departure of Finn Balor and having someone like Samoa Joe as champion. Samson is fine in his role and I’m kind of glad they didn’t push him too hard yet as he’s better as a jobber to the stars for the moment.

Overall Rating: B. I had a really good time with this show as they kept things moving all night long and got a lot of acts out there. It’s going to be interesting to see where things go at the next TV tapings but leave it to NXT to figure out a way to move the top story along while still being on the Dallas tapings. They nailed this episode though, which says a lot when none of the matches amounted to anything special.

Results

Asuka b. Eva Marie – Spinning kick to the face

Revival b. Matt Lee/Jeff Parker – Shatter Machine to Lee

Hype Bros b. Blake and Murphy – Hype Ryder to Blake

Carmella b. Aliyah – Leg crossface

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Elias Samson – Kinshasa

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4D3EGQ

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/article/samoa-joe-wins-nxt-championship

I did find it interesting that they mentioned the title match on last night’s show but this is a big surprise.  If nothing else it frees Balor up to do other things.  Like debut at Payback.

NXT
Date: April 20, 2016
Location: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re still down in Texas and it’s a big week tonight with Apollo Crews vs. Samoa Joe and American Alpha facing Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in a non-title match. It should be interesting to see how these now main roster stars are treated on NXT, though there’s a good chance that at least one of them wasn’t announced for the main roster when this was taped. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. American Alpha

Non-title. Before the match, Cass says he and Enzo have been doing this longer than anyone in NXT history. Tonight they’re going to find out if there’s just one word to describe them. The fans immediately declare this to be awesome as Gable and Amore get things going. Gable easily takes him to the mat and it’s off to Jordan to stay on the arm. The fans think this is wrestling though I could also accept a Bavarian checkers tournament.

Jordan works on a variety of armbars before it’s back to Chad for a hammerlock. After at least two minutes of working on Enzo’s arm, he dives over for a quick tag to Cass as we take a break. Back with Cass slamming Enzo onto Jordan for two before we hit the chinlock. Gable tags himself in though and snaps off an over the shoulder flip to keep Enzo in trouble. A collision allows the tag to bring in Cass though and Gable actually gets beaten down for a bit longer.

Cass hits a good looking Stinger Splash before working on the arm as well but Gable finally sends him into the corner and makes the tag off to Jordan. That means it’s time for the running right hands and the suplexes with Jordan ripping the straps down. Enzo gets sent into the corner for the running shoulder but Cass takes the bullet for him. Jordan puts the straps back up and takes them down again, setting up Grand Amplitude to put Enzo away at 13:30.

Rating: B-. Another good match from two teams who do little over than have good matches. Enzo and Cass have turned into one of the biggest surprises as far as in ring abilities go and it was cool to see them in one last big match before they left. Alpha is just so far ahead of everyone else though that I’m not sure who they could conceivably lose the titles to.

Apollo Crews is ready for Samoa Joe because he doesn’t like bullies.

No Way Jose vs. Alexander Wolf

Jose likes to dance a lot but Graves is much more concerned about why Jose is always being denied entrance into various places. Alexander gets caught in an airplane spin and a legdrop gets two, but he’s up with a chinlock on Jose because it was just a legdrop and it’s not 1987. Some baseball swings to the chest sets up a baseball style punch (as in he winds up for a pitch and punches the guy in the face) for the pin on Alexander at 2:59. Jose is fun but I really don’t see him lasting more than a few months without some big adjustments.

Austin Aries says he wasn’t lucky at Takeover and if Baron Corbin wants to fight him again, he’s not a hard man to find. There’s a lot of A-level talent in NXT but there’s only one man at the A-Double level.

Elias Samson is playing guitar when William Regal comes in to say Samson will be facing Shinsuke Nakamura soon.

Nia Jax vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Nia doesn’t waste time and grabs a shoulder breaker to start. A big elbow drop sets up a Samoan drop and the big leg ends Deonna at 1:35.

Bayley thinks Asuka will beat Eva Marie next week but she’ll be watching.

Apollo Crews vs. Samoa Joe

Fans: “PLEASE DON’T LEAVE!” I’m not sure who that’s directed at but it could apply to either. Feeling out process to start as Joe can’t quite get anywhere with his wristlock. Instead Apollo grabs a headlock as we actually get some NXT house show ads with the announcers saying Joe gets a title shot at a show in Massachusetts. I don’t think I’ve ever heard them do that before. Joe comes back with the snap jabs but Crews snaps off a great looking dropkick.

We take a break and come back with Joe hitting a big chop, followed by the corner enziguri. A hard running elbow drops Crews again and it’s off to the neck crank. Joe gets two more off the backsplash but gets caught in a snap suplex to give Apollo a breather. The running clothesline and really quick nipup set up Crews’ jumping enziguri but the standing moonsault gets two. Crews can’t quite get Joe up for the lifting powerbomb though and the Rock Bottom out of the corner plants Apollo. For some reason this draws a loud NXT chant, followed by the Koquina Clutch to make Crews tap at 13:33.

Rating: B-. This was a hard hitting back and forth match with Crews being an interesting opponent for Joe. Balor is the kind of guy who can get by Joe with pure skill but Crews is someone who can match the power, requiring Joe to just beat Crews even harder for the win. Fun stuff here and a good TV main event.

Overall Rating: B+. Two big matches that both worked, matches set up for next week and a debut. I’m really not sure what else you could ask for in a show that ran forty seven minutes without commercials. It’s going to be interesting when we get out of Dallas and see what’s coming up but of course NXT is capable of setting up a few things like the idea of Balor vs. Joe/Nakamura or Bayley/Jax vs. Asuka. Any combination could be entertaining and it’s not clear who it’s going to be, which gives you a reason to come back. Really efficient show here and that’s all you should expect from something like this.

Results

American Alpha b. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady – Grand Amplitude to Amore

No Way Jose b. Alexander Wolf – Baseball punch

Nia Jax b. Deonna Purrazzo – Legdrop

Samoa Joe b. Apollo Crews – Koquina Clutch

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