NXT Date: April 13, 2016
Location: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips
We’re back to normal now after Takeover: Dallas but we’ll be seeing some the action from Wrestlemania Axxess where about four weeks of shows were taped. This is going to include some TV debuts and potentially the fallout from the big show, though there’s a good chance a lot of that will be included in backstage segments. Let’s get to it.
Commissioner William Regal runs down some of tonight’s big events, including Shinsuke Nakamura’s TV debut.
Opening sequence.
The camera is a little different here as the hard camera is opposite the entrance. Other than that it looks like a regular setup, despite Axxess taking place just a few feet away.
Austin Aries vs. Angelo Dawkins
The fans are behind Aries here of course. Dawkins quickly takes off his headband but gets taken to the mat and ridden a bit. A hard shoulder puts the much smaller Aries down but he snaps off some armdrags to take over. Dawkins throws him down and stomps away before slapping on a front facelock. This sets up a lot of yelling about Dawkins’ Island, the meaning of which I’m sure will be covered later. Back up and Dawkins misses a charge in the corner, allowing Aries to start in with those hard forearms. The neckbreaker over the middle rope sets up a roaring elbow for the pin on Dawkins at 4:15.
Rating: C-. Standard debut here and there’s nothing wrong with that. Aries looked fine here and beat up a jobber that we’ve seen before, though none of that really matters as we’re still waiting to see his next big match. Given that Corbin is gone, maybe he could challenge Balor as there’s no point in seeing Balor vs. Joe III.
Samoa Joe says nothing has changed and now he wants Apollo Crews next week.
No Way Jose is coming next week.
Alexa Bliss vs. Tessa Blanchard
Tessa is of course the daughter of Tully. Bliss takes her down to the mat to start but gets kneed in the face for two. Back up and Alexa drops her again, allowing Bliss to stand on her back for Graves calls a Tony Hawk. We hit the cravate for a bit before Bliss loads up a slap. Tessa blocks it though and shouts I DON’T THINK SO in a Stephanie style screech. Alexa is done with this though and grabs Blanchard by the throat while giving us the best crazy eyes I’ve seen since Edge retired. A shove Tessa down and a standing moonsault into knees to the chest gives Alexa the pin at 3:52.
Rating: C+. Bliss’ best match ever and a lot of it is due to those eyes. I know she gets a lot of compliments for her looks but that was one of the best visuals I’ve seen in a very long time. At the same time though, Tessa clearly has that it factor and knows what she’s doing in the ring. Give her some experience and a bit of a character and she’s ready to be one of the top women in NXT. Really nice surprise here and I’m very pleased.
Finn Balor is ready for any challenger as the new #1 contender. He’ll be sticking around for Nakamura’s in ring debut. That’s really the only option right now but it still seems a little soon.
Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano vs. Vaudevillains
Gargano armdrags Gotch into an armbar to start before it’s quickly off to Ciampa who takes English’s head off for two. Everything breaks down for a bit and Gargano gets double teamed on the floor to give the Vaudevillains their first real advantage. Gotch works on the arm and tags in English, who comes in between the bottom and middle rope. I’ve never seen a male wrestler come in that way unless he was injured.
Gargano knees Gotch off the apron and quickly crawls over to Tommaso for the hot tag. A hanging downward spiral (think Randy Orton) gets two on English but Gotch makes a blind tag to come in. The rollup doesn’t work though and the flip over armbar makes Simon tap at 5:03 in a big upset.
Rating: C+. This picked up near the end but above that it was a big surprise. You really don’t expect a main roster team (and they were acknowledged as such) to lose to a team that hasn’t had a ton of success even in NXT. Still though, well done on a clean win and maybe Ciampa and Gargano are going to be the next challengers.
Tye Dillinger says Nakamura is great but tonight Nakamura is competing against him, not the other way around. Tonight Nakamura is being sent back to Japan. Dillinger leaves but comes back to give interviewer Rich Brennan a 3.
Baron Corbin vs. Tucker Knight
Corbin takes him into the corner for some right hands to start but Knight gets in a nice dropkick and a Thesz press. Back up and End of Days puts Knight away at 1:57. Nothing to see here.
American Alpha stood in the empty convention center wearing their new titles earlier today when Enzo and Cass showed up to praise the new champions. They’d also like a match, which doesn’t even need to be for the titles. Jordan and Gable seem to agree with the idea.
Bayley vs. Liv Morgan
Wristlocks are exchanged to start as the fans sing the HEY WE WANT SOME BAYLEY song. Morgan does a Matrix move to avoid a clothesline, only to get elbowed in the back. The fans think Bayley is going to hug her but Morgan grabs an ankle scissors to take over. A bulldog sets up a monkey flip, only to have Bayley counter a whip into the Bayley to Belly for the pin at 3:24.
Rating: C-. Just a quick match to get Bayley back on her feet but Morgan looked good out there at the same time. It’s clear that they’re planting the seeds for the next batch of women and with Sara Del Ray coaching them, there’s little doubt that they’ll all work out. Remember how nothing Bayley and Sasha were back in the day and then look at where they were just a year or so later.
Post match Bayley says she was beaten by a better woman but the fans make her want to keep standing and be champion again.
Tye Dillinger vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
The chants are almost split to start but Nakamura’s fans cut off Tye’s with a HE’S ELEVEN chant. Tye armdrags him down and holds up the ten fingers, which fascinate Nakamura for some reason. He even asks the referee about it but Tye tells him to bring it, which you just don’t do to this guy. Back up and Nakamura takes him to the ropes before casually putting his head on Tye’s chest. That gets a ten from Shinsuke and an offer to bring it.
The fans already say it’s awesome and while I get the sentiment, could you save that for more than two minutes into a glorified squash? Tye gets two off a good looking superkick and we hit the chinlock. Graves has to mock the fans for failing to chant ELEVEN in rhythm as Shinsuke starts his comeback. We get the kicks to the chest and head, including the shaking stomp in the corner. The Kinshasa puts Dillinger away at 5:14.
Rating: C. Dillinger is a great example of someone who has skills and talent but is rarely ever going to win a big match. However, as soon as you get the TEN thing going, everyone forgets about that because he’s got enough charisma to carry him wherever he needs to go, even if that’s normally to a loss. I don’t think Nakamura needs much more explanation.
Overall Rating: C+. This was back to basics for NXT and that’s what they do best. It was a night of quick/nothing matches but we got some storyline advancement and potential matches set up for down the road. It also helps that they announced two matches for next week (American Alpha vs. Enzo/Cass and Joe vs. Crews) to give us something to look forward to. As usual, NXT knows how to book week to week and sets the standard for doing so.
Results
Austin Aries b. Angelo Dawkins – Roaring elbow
Alexa Bliss b. Tessa Blanchard – Moonsault knees to the chest
Johnny Gargano/Tommasso Ciampa b. Vaudevillains – Flip over armbar to Gotch
Baron Corbin b. Tucker Knight – End of Days
Bayley b. Liv Morgan – Bayley to Belly
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Tye Dillinger – 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:
NXT Date: April 6, 2016
Location: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips
This is the first of a series of special shows from Wrestlemania weekend with most of the matches taped from Axxess weekend. It should be interesting to see how things go with a very different style audience. Also it’s not clear whether or not we’ll get much advancement in the major angles as everything needs to reset after Takeover: Dallas. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Takeover as you might guess.
Phillips and Graves welcome us, clearly from Takeover.
New correspondent Catherine Kelly tells us what we can expect, including Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson, which was a dark match at Takeover.
We see a video on American Alpha winning the Tag Team Titles, followed by Jordan (nearly in tears) and Gable talking about what it means to win the titles on the biggest weekend of the year.
Video on Asuka winning the Women’s Title from Bayley.
Bayley says congratulations to Asuka and admits that Asuka is just on another level. A champion is made by how many times they get back up and get better so she’ll rise to the occasion again.
We recap Elias Samson getting pinned by Johnny Gargano a few weeks back. Post match Samson beat him down until Apollo Crews made the save.
Recap video of Aries vs. Corbin.
Aries calls himself the most polarizing man in wrestling and that’s just fine. He’s not out there to prove anything to the people though because he’s out there to prove something to himself. Talent and passion can’t be measured with a ruler and a scale but he proved everything he needed to prove to Baron Corbin and isn’t going anywhere soon.
We see Finn Balor retaining the NXT Title over Samoa Joe.
Balor says he escaped and survived Joe again.
Joe has nothing to say.
We see Samson singing a song to Crews but backing away from a fight.
No Way Jose is coming.
Elias Samson vs. Apollo Crews
Samson comes out with his guitar and has something to say but we have a lot of booing to get through first. The fans say that they want wrestling but thankfully Crews cuts it off to get things going. Crews throws him into the corner to start so Samson hides behind the guitar. A headlock doesn’t get Elias anywhere and it’s an armbar to put him on the mat. The armbar even goes to the floor so they head back inside for yet another armbar.
Back from a break with Samson getting in a shot to the back of the head and putting on a chinlock. Another chinlock doesn’t go anywhere and it’s Crews getting up and hammering away to a surprisingly strong reaction. Samson bails to the floor and gets taken down with an apron moonsault, only to have the standing version hit knees back inside. Elias gets in a jumping knee to the head but asks for silence, allowing Apollo to kick him in the face. The toss powerbomb puts Samson away at 14:46.
Rating: D. This really wasn’t very good and that’s probably it for Samson for a little while. Crews moving to Raw is still a surprise but at least he went out on a win unlike Corbin. Unfortunately it wasn’t a good match as most of it was spent on armbars and chinlocks. Samson is much more of a character than a wrestler but I’m not sure how far he can get on that alone.
Video on Zayn vs. Nakamura.
Sami can’t put all of his emotions into words.
Nakamura says strong style has arrived.
Overall Rating: D+. This is a tricky one as the show should have been white hot coming off Wrestlemania weekend and the awesome Takeover but instead it’s a recap and dark match. Maybe you can argue that this is a breather from all the action and a fear of burnout but I was looking forward to something entertaining here and wound up seeing a bunch of stuff all over again. It’s not often that I get to say this but I was disappointed here.
Results
Apollo Crews b. Elias Samson – Toss powerbomb
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:
NXT Takeover: Dallas Date: April 1, 2016
Location: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
We’re back with another NXT pay per view style special and one heck of a stacked card. The main event here is Samoa Joe challenging NXT Champion Finn Balor in a rematch from their match of the year candidate from London. Other than that we have Sami Zayn’s potential farewell match for the promotion against the debuting Shinsuke Nakamura in what should be a near classic. Let’s get to it.
Of note: I was in the arena for this show so this is my second time seeing it.
Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson was scheduled for the show but was bumped to a dark match due to time constraints. I’d assume it will air on TV at a later date.
The opening video focuses on the history of Texas wrestling before talking about how this is the future. The two title matches and Zayn vs. Nakamura receive the focus.
Tag Team Titles: American Alpha vs. Revival
Alpha (Chad Gable/Jason Jordan) is challenging. There isn’t much of a story here other than Alpha has beaten all the other teams to earn a shot. Gable starts with Scott Dawson (of Dawson/Dash Wilder) and the fans do the GABLE chant in tune with Kurt Angle’s old cheers. That quickly changes to “WHICH ONE’S DAWSON, WHICH ONE’S DASH”, which makes sense as they’re about as interchangeable as the Usos.
Gable takes him down with some headlock takeovers but Dawson keeps countering with headscissors. A rollup gets two for Chad as the sequence earns a nice round of applause. Chad gives him a gentle pat on the cheek and everything is about to break down. More armdrags have Dawson in trouble and it’s off to Jordan who gets a chant of his own. The evil champs get a breather with a rake of the eyes, only to have Alpha backdrop them both as this is one sided so far.
Chad comes back in to work on the arm as things slow back down. Gable gets two off a cross body out of the corner but misses a dropkick. As usual I’m not sure why that miss hurts but the one that connected didn’t. Jordan comes in for some stereo German suplexes and it feels like I’m watching the Steiners vs. the Brain Busters. To continue with that theory, Wilder comes in off a tag and gets Chad to chase him into a clothesline from Dawson to take over for the first time.
Now we get to the Revival’s bread and butter of cutting the ring off and working on body parts like a good old school team would do. Dawson puts on a Gory Stretch but gets countered into a sunset flip for two. A double DDT drops the champs but Wilder crawls under the ring and nails Jordan to break up the hot tag. That hooligan.
In the (unfortunately) memorable part of the match, Dash loads up a powerbomb for a clothesline from Dawson but can’t keep Gable up, basically making it a slow motion Dominator with the clothesline missing completely. It’s only two though as Wilder isn’t legal, meaning it’s back to Dawson as the fans chant BOTCHAMANIA and remind the champs that they screwed up.
Chad FINALLY crawls through Dawson’s legs and makes the white hot tag to Jordan for some serious house cleaning. A string of suplexes gets two on the champs but Scott gets a quick rollup for two with Wilder using a towel to hold his partner’s feet on the ropes like a classic heel. I’d love to see more of that kind of stuff. An uppercut gets two on Jordan with Gable making the diving save for a SWEET false finish.
Jason misses a charge into the corner but Gable makes a blind tag to come in. Some rollups are exchanged for two and Gable gets some more near falls off a small package and a reverse victory roll. Jordan makes a blind tag of his own and runs around the ring to sneak in and spear the heck out of Wilder, setting up Grand Amplitude for the pin and the titles 15:11.
Rating: B+. What a match and it really did feel like the Steiner Brothers vs. the Anderson and Blanchard. That’s the kind of a pairing you never expect to see again in this generation but these two really did get close to pulling it off. Like so much in NXT, the Revival was talented but just ran into a team more evolved than they were. Alpha is one of the most polished acts I’ve ever seen given how long they’ve been together. I know Gable gets the hype (as he shoulder) but Jordan is an amazing talent in his own right with some amazing athleticism and technical abilities.
Jim Ross and Michelle Beadle are shown.
Kota Ibushi is here for a BIG reaction from the crowd.
Ad for the NXT UK tour.
We recap Austin Aries vs. Baron Corbin, which is all about Aries debuting and getting attacked by Corbin, who was mad over losing the #1 contenders triple threat match. Aries is out for revenge.
Austin Aries vs. Baron Corbin
Corbin whips him into the corner to start but gets forearmed in the head a few times for his efforts. A discus forearm puts Corbin on the floor and Aries nails a top rope ax handle for good measure. The announcers talk about Aries breaking up a 600+ day Samoa Joe title reign, which is as close as you’ll get to an acknowledgment of Ring of Honor around here.
Back in and Corbin finally realizes he’s a lot stronger than Aries and shoves him down to the mat. A whip sends Aries shoulder first into the post for two and things slow way down. We hit the nerve hold with Corbin shouting that Aries is a little man from nowhere. Not quite the Great Gatsby but close enough. Corbin lets go of the hold and gets two before telling the timekeeper to ring the bell. There’s something awesome about someone who just yells at everyone else because he knows no one can touch him.
Aries comes back with some left hands and a neckbreaker across the middle rope for a cool spot. A missile dropkick followed by a running corner dropkick put Corbin on the floor for a suicide dive, which of course draws an NXT chant. Aries tries another charge but runs into Deep Six on the floor for a huge crash. For some reason the referee counts one twice so Aries dives back in at eleven. It must be getting the leftover Ring of Honor out of him. Back in and Aries says bring it so Corbin tries End of Days, only to have Austin roll over into a cradle for the pin at 10:43.
Rating: C. I really don’t like this ending and the match felt a bit off. Aries didn’t get in a ton of offense and then he wins on a quick rollup. I’d assume this was designed to set up a rematch but it’s really not the best debut. The idea made enough sense but it’s not the version I would have gone with. You can have Corbin take a loss here and not really have it damage him as he can just lay people out to make up for it later. I don’t hate this but it didn’t do much for me.
Balor arrived earlier in a Star Wars shirt.
We recap Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. There’s nothing personal here but Zayn made his debut with a big win over Cesaro years ago so now Nakamura wants to win a big match in his own debut. It’s pretty clear that Sami is heading for the main roster after this one so they’re likely going for a big moment here. We also get a video on Nakamura, whose introduction was basically “Yeah you all know him and you know he’s awesome.”. Why go with anything other than the obvious?
Scott Hall and X-Pac are here.
Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
The fans sing along with Sami’s music for a cool moment. As big as Sami’s pop is though, Nakamura’s chant and reaction are just that much bigger. The place seemed to be in awe of him and his spastic dancing, even doing their holy swearing chants during the entrances. They circle each other a bit and the fans chant YES in advance of contact. Sami ducks the kick to the head but Nakamura tells him to bring it.
Back up and Sami cranks on the arm as the fans are totally split. Now we get my new favorite NXT chant of “BOTH THESE GUYS!” That’s quite the compliment and not something you often hear. As we hear about Nakamura’s Kinshasa knee (Daniel Bryan’s running knee), Sami starts throwing him around with armdrags before telling Nakamura to bring it in a nice touch. More knees to the ribs put Sami down and we get a SHINSUKE’S GONNA KILL YOU chant.
There’s the first kick to the head and a second gets a one count. Nakamura puts on a front facelock as the director tells Graves to talk. Sami gets in a suplex for two and a big forearm puts Nakamura on the floor. That’s not good for Sami as Nakamura gets in two straight knees to the head, followed by a running knee to the ribs for two back inside. Sami is smart enough to make Nakamura miss a charge out to the floor, setting up the big flip dive. The fans again declare this awesome as Sami catches a charge with a Michinoku Driver to put both guys down.
Then in the sequence of the match they slug it out with forearms for at least thirty seconds, drawing a YES chant until it turns into trading forearm bombs. Nakamura’s nose is busted and they start speeding up again to a round of applause. Nakamura gets the better of it with knees to the ribs and a flurry of kicks/stomps to the head to put Sami down. Both guys are gassed though so Sami takes Nakamura’s head off with a clothesline.
That just earns Zayn a cross armbreaker which is turned into a triangle but Sami stands up and kicks him in the face for the break. When all else fails, KICK HIM IN THE FACE! Now it’s Sami kicking Nakamura down against the ropes, followed by the Koji Clutch in the middle of the ring. Shinsuke turns it into a rollup for two and followed with a quick enziguri. Fans: “FIGHT FOREVER!”
The Helluva Kick misses but so does the Kinshasa, allowing Sami to grab the Blue Thunder Bomb for an awesome near fall. Nakamura rolls to the floor but still gets up a HARD kick to block Sami’s diving DDT. Back in again and Sami tries the exploder, only to have Nakamura elbow the heck out of the back of his head. A middle rope knee to the head sets up the Kinshasa for the pin on Sami at 20:07.
Rating: A+. And that’s your match of the show, weekend and year so far. Just a brutal, brutal fight with two guys hitting each other as hard as they could for twenty minutes until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. Nakamura looks like a killer on arrival and Zayn gets to move on to the main roster with a classic on the way out. What more can you possibly ask for out of two guys in a match like this? Outstanding stuff and one of the hardest hitting matches I’ve seen in a very long time.
Nakamura takes a bow but helps Sami up to chants of “THANK YOU SAMI!” Zayn raises Shinsuke’s had before staying in the ring for a bit in what looks like his goodbye as his music plays one more time. We get one final OLE chant as Sami waves goodbye and looks back. The camera work here makes it much more effective on the broadcast than it was in the arena.
We recap Bayley vs. Asuka. Again it’s similar to the Tag Team Title match as Asuka has run through the division and only the champ is left. Simple but effective.
Stephanie McMahon is shown and described as an integral part of the women’s division. I’m to the point where I don’t even care about this anymore. Stephanie has decided that she invented the division and set it up so that’s the official company line now. Moving on.
Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Bayley
Bayley is defending and both women get enormous reactions. Asuka’s entrance sees cherry blossoms fall from the ceiling, which were just bags being emptied out by production staff who could be seen in the rafters. The fans argue over whether Bayley is going to hug Asuka or if Asuka is going to kill Bayley. Feeling out process to start until Bayley eats a right hand to the face to knock her into the corner.
They hit the ropes but miss some running strikes to give us a standoff. The running hip attack puts Bayley down though and the champ is suddenly in trouble. A second hip attack misses though and Bayley gets in a middle rope elbow for two. Asuka can’t quite get a Fujiwara armbar as Bayley makes the rope so it’s off to some kicks to the ribs instead. A quick hurricanrana sets up Bayley’s guillotine choke but Asuka escapes and puts on an ankle lock.
That’s reversed as well and Bayley starts forearming her, only to have Asuka scream and dropkick the champ again. Now it’s time for some YES kicks, followed by a running knee for two more. Asuka kicks her in the head again as this is getting a little more brutal. Back up and they both try dropkicks, followed by Bayley blocking another dropkick and grabbing a legbar of all things. Asuka gets up so Bayley elbows her in the leg before busting out a dragon screw leg whip.
A quick cross armbreaker has Bayley in trouble and a seated armbar makes it even worse. That’s countered into a rollup (because of course) for two but Asuka can’t get her namesake lock. Fans: “BOTH THESE WOMEN!” Bayley’s armbar doesn’t work and unfortunately the Bayley to Belly doesn’t either, allowing Asuka to get in a snap belly to belly. The Asuka Lock goes on and Bayley is in trouble, eventually falling down and fighting for a LONG time before passing out in the hold to give Asuka the title at 15:24.
Rating: B. The ending felt a little flat here but that’s up from feeling very flat live. The match worked and you could get a much better story with the camera showing Bayley getting more and more desperate as she just didn’t have what it took to hang with someone as skilled and seasoned as Asuka. They did a good job of protecting Bayley by having her pass out, but I still don’t think Asuka did enough on the arm to set up that hold. The ending makes sense in theory but I still don’t like the execution. It’s still a good match though.
Post match Asuka looks at the fallen Bayley (now awake and sitting up) but walks away without a handshake or any kind of sportsmanship.
We recap Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor. Joe already lost to Balor in their first title match back in London but went on to win a VERY long match over Sami Zayn to earn this spot. Since then, Joe has gone on a mini rampage (as is his custom) to set this up.
Bobby Roode is shown in the front row. Now that’s a big deal. Well kind of. As big a deal as a TNA guy can really be.
NXT Title: Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor
Balor, in full demon mode, is defending…..and he has a chainsaw. It never ceases to amaze me how he goes from a normal looking guy in a leather jacket to whatever insane monster this is supposed to be (It’s awesome but where in the world does this come from?). They slug it out to start with Balor being sent outside, only to come back with right hands to bust Joe WAY open. You really couldn’t see the severity of the cut live but there’s quite a bit of blood coming down his eye.
Joe throws Balor hard over the barricade so the doctor can look at his eye but then throws the towel away. In an amazing visual, the camera cuts to the barricade where the demon face rises up like he’s on an elevator and springboards off the barricade with a forearm. The referee brings the towel in again but Joe throws it away and smacks Balor in the face.
Balor does that hop over the ropes out of the corner (that’s always sweet) but Joe knocks him off the apron for one of the hardest suicide elbows I’ve ever seen. Oh wait though as we have to check the cut again, though to be fair half of Joe’s face is bloody here. Again, that wasn’t clear from the audience, who swear at the medical staff for not letting them fight. The announcers suggest that the match could be stopped but they finally get the cut closed (as well as they could at least) so Joe can Rock Bottom Balor out of the corner.
The enziguri gets two on the champ and they stop it AGAIN for the cut. That earns them an F*** PG chant, followed by the Facewash to Balor in the corner. A running big boot and knee drop get two but Balor dropkicks him down. That means it’s time for another medical check and a LET JOE BLEED chant. The champ fires off some chops to send Joe outside, followed by a HARD running kick to the chest.
The Sling Blade connects but Balor misses a dropkick, allowing Joe to hit the backsplash for two. Joe stays on him with the powerbomb into the sequence of submissions, capped off by a Crossface. This caused a Benoit chant in the upper deck which was immediately booed out of the building. So even NXT fans have standards.
The Muscle Buster only gets two and Balor wins another slugout with something like a Pele and it’s time for demon mode. The dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace but 1916 is countered into the Clutch, only to have Balor climb the buckles and flip back onto Joe for the pin to retain at 16:22. Joe’s stunned look is great as he has no idea what happened to him.
Rating: A-. This felt much more like a fight than a match and that’s exactly what it needed to feel like. I know a lot of people are going to complain about the referee stoppages but that’s the wrestling world we live in now. I really don’t have an issue with someone having a bloody eye getting treatment before the cut gets out of hand. Yes it got annoying but after seeing how bad it really was, I more than understand it now.
What I’m not sure of is who the next challenger is going to be. There’s no logical reason to do Balor vs. Joe 3 and the only other option would seem to be Nakamura, though it’s a bit too soon for that. At least we had a really good match here, though it was a step down from their London match.
Joe stares at Balor to end the show.
Overall Rating: A. The show was better on a second viewing but it wasn’t a classic by any stretch. I didn’t feel much of a flow here as it’s really just a collection of matches. That being said, it’s a collection of REALLY good matches with the Nakamura vs. Zayn match more than stealing the show. Other than that you have a great opener, an awesome main event and a totally watchable Aries vs. Corbin match that doesn’t even last eleven minutes as the worst match of the night. This is what NXT does: set up matches and then blow the doors off when it’s time for the show. Great stuff here and an amazing start to the weekend.
Results
American Alpha b. Revival – Grand Amplitude to Dawson
Austin Aries b. Baron Corbin – Rollup
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Sami Zayn – Kinshasa
Asuka b. Bayley – Asuka Lock
Finn Balor b. Samoa Joe – Balor flipped back onto Joe while in the 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:
I’m half dead already so no full live report at the moment (though the full reviews are coming eventually) but here are some quick highlights.1. American Alpha is so over it’s scary.
2. The Aries match ended REALLY fast, almost to the point that I thought Aries was injured.
3. The Zayn vs. Nakamura match woke everyone up like few matches I’ve ever seen. That was amazing live.
4. “BOTH THESE GUYS” is the best chant they’ve had in a long time.
5. The ending of the women’s title match really didn’t work as it just ended out of nowhere. Also Asuka needed to work on the shoulder to set that up.
6. The towel was the biggest heel of the night.
7. This wasn’t a great show and is probably in the bottom tier of Takeovers.
8. I was tired at this show so a second viewing might severely change my mind.
NXT – March 30, 2016: They Even Go Home Better Than Raw
NXT Date: March 30, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips
It’s the go home show for Friday’s Takeover: Dallas and the card is set in stone. Therefore tonight is all about the final push towards Texas, meaning all six matches are going to get some solid TV time. Announced for tonight is Bull Dempsey vs. Samoa Joe in what should be a good slaughtering. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
American Alpha vs. Corey Hollis/John Skylar
Jordan powers Hollis into the corner to start, easily lifting him up like a small child. Gable comes in and rides Hollis on the mat for a bit before cranking on a hammerlock. Fans: “BREAK IT OFF GABLE, BREAK IT OFF!” It’s off to Skylar for a wristlock of his own, only to be taken down with ease. A slingshot armdrag doesn’t do much damage but looks very cool, much like a lot of Gable’s offense. The jobbers actually get in a swinging slam on Gable, only to tick him off and earn Hollis and Skylar an overhead belly to belly each. Grand Amplitude puts Hollis away at 4:40.
Rating: C-. Standard squash here with American Alpha looking awesome, just like they were supposed to. The title match on Friday should be a lot more entertaining as the Revival should be a really solid opposition for Gable and Jordan, though I can’t imagine anything but new champions.
Finn Balor is tired of hearing about Samoa Joe’s obsession with being NXT Champion because he has an obsession of his own. That obsession is the reason that he beat Kevin Owens to become NXT Champion and the way he defeated Samoa Joe the first time back in London. Two more days Joe.
Video on Baron Corbin attacking Austin Aries a few weeks back.
Baron Corbin vs. Mike Culori
Mike actually gets in a dropkick to knock Corbin into the corner to start but it only earns him Deep Six for the pin at 1:17.
Culori gets the End of Days post match.
Video on Shinsuke Nakamura with people talking about how amazing he is.
No Way Jose video.
Revival vs. Tucker Knight/Steve Cutler
Non-title. Dawson takes Cutler into the corner to start and it’s quickly off to Wilder, who kicks Cutler in the face to keep control. The slow beating continues with Dawson getting two off a gordbuster. Cutler finally escapes a suplex and it’s off to the much bigger Knight to clean house. The champs get Knight to chase them though and it’s the Shatter Machine for the pin at 4:45.
Rating: C-. Slow and steady here as is always the case with the Revival. They really do work an old school style and it really does still work, though the fun part is going to be seeing them get knocked off by a more energetic act. It’s still cool to see the known jobbers in NXT and it’s even better that they still get in enough offense to make them look credible.
We look at Joe choking Dempsey out last week.
Bull Dempsey thinks Joe is jealous of Dempsey’s physique. Tonight though, Joe gets a cheat meal in the form of these two fists.
Apollo Crews vs. Alex Riley
Riley hammers away to start and is looking aggressive like he has in recent appearances. Crews fights up and starts getting athletic though with a jumping clothesline into a nipup, followed by the toss into the Batista Bomb for the pin at 1:58.
Post match here’s Elias Samson to sing a song for Crews, warning him to take his time and avoid the danger. Graves: “With a voice like that, no wonder he’s homeless.” Samson backs away from a challenge though.
Baron Corbin finds it interesting that Austin Aries hasn’t showed up since the beatdown a few weeks ago. After Dallas, Aries can “go sit next to Virgil at one of those conventions and beg people to remember him.” Oh man that was glorious.
Video on Bayley vs. Asuka, focusing on Bayley growing up in front of our eyes and becoming a role model for all fans from men to women to children. Then Asuka debuted and was immediately the most dangerous woman in NXT. As Graves put it: “Don’t disrespect Asuka or she’ll kick you in the skull.” The women aren’t sure who to pick because Bayley will never quit but Asuka is like nothing anyone has ever faced before. This was the only match they could have gone with and it’s going to be awesome.
Sami Zayn is ready for Nakamura, even though he has an Intercontinental Title match of his own two days later. He knows a thing or two about making a name for yourself in NXT and doesn’t think he would be here if he hadn’t beaten Cesaro three years back. Yeah he may face Nakamura again down the line but there’s only one chance to make a first impression at the biggest NXT show ever on the biggest wrestling weekend ever. Sami isn’t about to step aside and let Nakamura make his name that easily.
Samoa Joe vs. Bull Dempsey
Dempsey runs him over to start and fires off some heavy right hands in the corner. Joe gets bored being on defense though and kicks Bull in the head, followed by an STO and the Koquina Clutch for the submission at 1:31.
William Regal has to send wrestlers down to break the Clutch but Joe beats them up as well. The hold goes on again until Finn Balor runs in for the real save. Balor dropkicks him into the barricade but Joe drags him to the announcers’ table as this turns into a fight. Security holds them apart until Balor dives off the table with an AJ Styles forearm. They’re finally separated to wrap things up.
Overall Rating: B+. This was a show where the wrestling meant nothing. Instead this was all about hyping up Takeover and that’s exactly what they did. Every match got some time or some kind of a buildup package and I want to see Takeover more than I did coming into tonight. Friday looks like a great night of wrestling matches and that’s exactly what Takeover has become: two hours of entertaining wrestling, which is all it needs to be.
Results
American Alpha b. Corey Hollis/John Skylar – Grand Amplitude to Hollis
Baron Corbin b. Mike Culori – Deep Six
Revival b. Tucker Knight/Steve Cutler – Shatter Machine to Knight
Apollo Crews b. Alex Riley – Toss sitout powerbomb
Samoa Joe b. Bull Dempsey – 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:
NXT Date: March 23, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
We’re getting very close to Takeover: Dallas with just two shows to go before perhaps the biggest show in the history of the promotion. The card is almost entirely set now and it should be interesting to see how they final building process goes. NXT tends to be good at this so hopefully the trend continues. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Elias Samson vs. Johnny Gargano
Samson is still undefeated and starts fast by pounding Johnny down in the corner. I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into a squash as Gargano deserves better for the Johnny Wrestling name alone. With Johnny down, Samson gets a bit distracted by going into something like a trance. Samson charges into a boot in the corner and eats a kick to the head, only to catch a charging Johnny with a knee to the ribs. Another jumping knee is countered with a quick rollup to give Gargano the pin at 2:18. Well that was sudden.
Samson lays Gargano out with the neckbreaker post match and sends him into the post for good measure. He loads up another neckbreaker on the ramp but Apollo Crews comes out for the save.
Takeover video.
Rich Swann vs. Finn Balor
Non-title of course. Balor takes him to the mat with a wristlock to start and Rich can’t get to his feet. Instead it’s off to a headlock before the champ easily takes it down to a hammerlock. Back up and a good looking dropkick staggers Balor, followed by a spinning kick to the face. Another dropkick puts Balor on the floor and the fans are behind Swann here. Balor is all fired up now though and sends Swann outside on the other side for a hard kick to the head. The Coup de Grace sets up Bloody Sunday for the pin on Swann at 5:22.
Rating: C+. I can always go for a quick match where a big name actually has to break a sweat to beat someone a few levels beneath him. It’s also a good idea to get Balor out there every now and then to make sure that people don’t forget how good he really is. They’re doing a nice job with Swann in his first two matches as he’s gotten to show off in losing efforts.
Emma and Dana Brooke are ready for Emma’s rematch with Asuka. Dana has been helping her train and tonight Emma is going to do the job. She also confirms that she’s been out due to injury.
Sarah Dobson vs. Alexa Bliss
Bliss is back in the old pink attire. Dobson takes her into the corner to start but misses a charge to give Bliss a quick two. We hit an armbar on Dobson as the announcers argue over how big a star Bliss really is. Bliss misses a charge in the corner and Dobson gets two off a high cross body. This brings Blake and Murphy to the apron for a distraction and cheap shot, setting up the Sparkle Splash to give Bliss the pin at 4:12.
Rating: D. Much like on the main roster, you can really see the line between the wrestlers and the Divas. Bliss is really just out there because of her looks instead of her ring skills, though she’s awesome as the evil heel manager. Dobson wasn’t bad from what I can see here and I know she’s done some good stuff out on the indies.
Samoa Joe has nothing to say.
Bull Dempsey vs. Danny Burch
Well this is a bit more awkward. No match though as Samoa Joe comes out and destroys both guys before shouting about how he’s coming for Balor and the title.
Video on the awesomeness that is American Alpha with the two of them talking about their paths through the amateur ranks towards NXT. None of that matters unless they win the NXT Tag Team Titles though.
Jose No Way is coming.
Emma vs. Asuka
Emma actually takes over with a headlock to start but Asuka reverses into one of her own. A jumping cross armbreaker has Emma in major trouble and the flying hip attack gets two for Asuka as we take a break. Back with Asuka working on a hammerlock until she gets bored and switches over to an ankle lock.
Emma finally kicks her to the floor and starts pounding away before putting her feet on Asuka’s shoulders and pulling at the arms. It’s off to a regular chinlock with Emma putting her knee in the back. As has been the case all match, the hold is quickly broken so Emma can put her in the Tree of Woe for some shots to the ribs.
Asuka is up at two though and the frustration is starting to set in. They run the ropes a few times until another hip attack drops Emma as the comeback begins. Emma dropkicks her into the ropes but Asuka bounces off for another hip attack. A good looking German suplex sends Emma flying and it’s the Asuka Lock for the tap out at 15:14.
Rating: B. This was a very nice change of pace as these two still have some nice chemistry together. They were going with an enhanced version of the same formula from Balor vs. Swann here as the bigger name had to work harder than expected with a challenger. They’ve done an awesome job of setting up Bayley and Asuka as unstoppable, meaning the match is going to have some awesome buzz going on.
Overall Rating: C+. Nothing great here but the build towards the big show has been awesome so far. The card is mostly set at this point and there’s only so much that a few more TV shows are going to be able to do. They’re doing a good job of going around the card and giving everything a good build so I actually have some faith in what they might be able to pull off in Dallas.
Results
Johnny Gargano b. Elias Samson – Rollup
Finn Balor b. Rich Swann – Bloody Sunday
Alexa Bliss b. Sarah Dobson – Sparkle Splash
Asuka b. Emma – Asuka Lock
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:
NXT Date: March 16, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
Takeover is looming and we finally have a main event for the show. Last week Samoa Joe beat Sami Zayn in a two out of three falls match to earn the title shot against NXT Champion Finn Balor in just over two weeks. The rest of the card is mostly set as well and it should be interesting to see where things go from here. Let’s get to it.
We open with a long recap of Joe beating Zayn last week.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Sami Zayn to get things going. Last week he went to war against a 300lb Samoan and for those of you who have never done that, it’s really not that fun. Sami isn’t the slightest bit ashamed of what happened last week and if he had fingers just a few inches longer, he might be going to Takeover for the title shot.
Either way though, Sami wants to do something special in Dallas and here’s Commissioner William Regal with an announcement. Sami does indeed deserve something special in Dallas so here’s his opponent: SHINSUKE NAKAMURA, who pops up on screen to say that he’s coming to NXT. As you might expect, the fans go INSANE.
Hype Bros vs. Angelo Dawkins/Kenneth Crawford
Rawley is a big crowd favorite to start and shoves Crawford around the ring early on. Dawkins comes in so Mojo starts doing some football drills to keep him in the corner. A big shot drops Dawkins and Mojo declares that both of them ain’t hyped. Ryder comes in for some of his signature stuff before bringing Rawley back in to clean house. A discus punch from Rawley sets up the Hype Ryder to put Crawford away at 3:24.
Rating: D+. Just a squash here as the Hype Bros continue to be an entertaining act and get to build themselves up before being fed to some other team who can beat them on their way to a title shot. Not bad or anything here and it’s a really good sign that there are jobbers who you recognize instead of bigger names losing all the time.
Video on NXT at the Arnold Classic, complete with a cameo by Arnold himself.
Emma and Dana Brooke run into Deonna Purrazzo and laugh about her loss a few weeks back. Deonna is ready for Emma tonight and trash is spoken. Dana promises that Emma will take it seriously but pats Deonna on the head anyway.
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Emma
Emma takes her down to start and stands on Deonna’s hair like only a villain can. Some choking sets up the former Emma Sandwich for two before it’s off to the chinlock. Deonna fights back with a few elbows to the chin but misses a charge into the corner, setting up the Dilemma. Dana is very pleased as the Emma Lock makes Deonna tap at 3:49.
Rating: D+. Emma and Dana are similar to the Hype Bros as they’re not likely to ever get the title on their own but defeating them could look like a big deal for the right opponent. Assuming Asuka takes the title from Bayley in Texas, Emma (or Dana if she’s ever healthy) could be a good choice for a TV challenger before Asuka fights a refocused Nia Jax.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jesse Sorensen
Ciampa is very aggressive to start and pounds Jesse into the corner, including a hard running knee to the head. A discus lariat gets two but Jesse actually makes a comeback with a good looking dropkick. Sorensen gets caught on top though, allowing Ciampa to drive a knee through Jesse’s legs into the chest for a unique looking move. That floatover armbar makes Jesse tap at 2:30. Ciampa looked good here, maybe as good as he has aside from that match against Joe.
We look at Asuka saving Bayley from Nia Jax and Eva Marie.
Nia Jax/Eva Marie vs. Bayley/Asuka
Bayley and Nia get things going and the champ is thrown into the corner for the tag off to Eva. That’s just fine with Bayley as she easily takes Eva to the mat and brings in Asuka. The rapid knees and kicks have Eva looking….well moderately annoyed because she doesn’t know how to sell anything. It’s back to Bayley but Nia gets a blind tag and plants her with a Samoan drop. Eva comes in again to crank on both arms but Bayley pops up because she’s Bayley and it’s Eva Marie. Nia comes in and accidentally drops a leg on Eva, allowing the Bayley to Belly to put Eva away at 4:01.
Rating: C. There’s something about that charisma that Bayley brings to any arena that always makes me smile. She’s just hard not to like and it helps that she’s wrestling like a main event star now instead of a goofy comedy wrestler. Hopefully this wraps up Eva and Nia for now and they’ll split soon like they should have before they got together in the first place.
Post match Bayley and Asuka stand next to each other, allowing Regal to come out and make Asuka #1 contender for Dallas.
We look back at Baron Corbin beating up Austin Aries two weeks ago.
Aries is at his home for a satellite interview. He received a lot of offers to wrestle around the world but NXT was where he wanted to go. After the attack, Regal came and apologized to him but there was nothing to be sorry for. Corbin should have attacked him at his face because Aries has been a champion everywhere he’s gone. Aries hasn’t been handed anything because he earned his NXT contract. It wasn’t because he’s 6’6 and 300lbs but because he’s earned it over the last ten years. In Dallas on April 1, Corbin is going to learn that it’s a great day to be great but a bad day to be Baron Corbin.
American Alpha vs. Vaudevillains
For the #1 contendership. Gable takes Gotch to the mat to start but Gotch kicks his hands away and does something like an enziguri from the mat. Jordan comes in for a double dropkick and a double clothesline to put the Vaudevillains on the floor. Back from a break with English holding Gable in a chinlock before it’s off to Gotch for a chinlock of his own. Those dastardly villains.
Gable finally sends Gotch throat first into the ropes and makes the tag off to Jordan. Everything breaks down and Gotch has to break up Grand Amplitude (“their finisher”) according to Graves. A BIG German suplex drops English with Gotch diving in for a save. Gotch and Jordan go to the floor as English gets two on Gable off a sitout powerbomb. Not that it matters as Jordan comes back in for Grand Amplitude and the pin on English at 10:25.
Rating: C+. It’s getting more and more clear every single week that American Alpha is just flat out better than any other team on the roster right now. Dash and Dawson are talented but they’re much more of a niche team than anything else. Alpha continues to look awesome all the time and they’re so much fun to watch in the same vein as Haas and Benjamin used to be.
Overall Rating: C. This was a building show instead of anything worth watching and there’s nothing wrong with that so close to probably the biggest NXT show of all time. There were three matches set up tonight and each one of them should be something fun to see. This was more of an important show than a good one and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially since NXT continues to know how to build a card at a much higher level than WWE.
Results
Hype Bros b. Angelo Dawkins/Kenneth Crawford – Hype Ryder to Crawford
Emma b. Deonna Purrazzo – Emma Lock
Tommaso Ciampa b. Jesse Sorensen – Floatover armbar
Bayley/Asuka b. Nia Jax/Eva Marie – Bayley to Belly to Marie
American Alpha b. Vaudevillains – Grand Amplitude to English
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
NXT Date: March 9, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
It’s a special show tonight as we’re back at Full Sail but also getting to find out who will be facing Finn Balor in Dallas for the NXT Title at Takeover. Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe both won a triple threat match but then drew in a singles match. Therefore tonight it’s a 2/3 falls match, though the result may have been spoiled with Sami appearing on Raw earlier this week. Let’s get to it.
Quick video on Joe vs. Zayn.
Opening sequence.
Here’s William Regal to get things going with a quick announcement: since Baron Corbin attacked Austin Aries last week, the two of them will be facing off at Takeover: Dallas. Simple and to the point again. He wraps it up by saying we’ll be getting a conclusive #1 contender tonight.
Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn
2/3 falls and we get big match intros. Joe teases a kick to the head to start before taking him down into an armbar. Sami reverses into a wristlock and rollup for two but Joe drives him into the corner. The referee actually stops to lecture them about wanting a clean break which suggests that they have a lot of time to work with here. Joe takes him back down with a hard headlock as the announcers actually keep up with the time frame by saying Joe had Monday off while Sami was on Raw.
The headlock eats up a lot of time until Sami reverses and armdrags Joe into an armbar. La Majistral gets two for Sami but Joe lights up his chest with a chop. Another armdrag sends Joe to the floor but he’s still smart enough to be out of the way before Sami can launch the dive. We take a break and come back with Joe kicking at Sami’s chest to take over. Joe grabs an arm trap chinlock for a bit, followed by a running boot to the face in the corner. The fans start to get behind Sami as we’re treated to his amazing selling.
Sami gets in a kick to the chest but charges into a belly to belly. More hard forearms to the head have Sami in trouble until he comes back with a hard clothesline in a rare power display. Joe’s corner enziguri gets two and a backsplash is good for the same. Sami can’t get a Koji Clutch so Joe plants him with a powerslam for two. Another break gets us past the twenty minute mark and we come back to see Joe hammering him down in the corner again.
Joe takes out the legs but gets sent to the floor, allowing Sami to get in a slingshot moonsault for the first really big spot. Back in and a high cross body gives Sami a rare near fall, only to have Joe turn him inside out with a clothesline. The corner Rock Bottom sets up the MuscleBuster to give Joe the first fall at 27:56.
We take another break and come back with Sami fighting out of another MuscleBuster attempt, only to have Joe ram him into the buckle a few times. Sami dropkicks him for a breather but the referee breaks it up because Joe is busted open. The distraction lets Joe go nuts with strikes to knock Sami across the ring. We get a kickout at two with some bonus yelling so Joe puts on a chinlock. Joe misses a knee drop and gets rolled up for two.
That’s about it for Sami right now as Joe sends him outside and drives Sami into the steps for a long nine count. An STO on the floor gives Joe another nine count and now it’s time for Sami’s comeback with forearms and a suplex which takes quite a bit of muscle. Joe rolls outside for Sami’s flip dive and a quick Koji Clutch ties us up at 38:37.
We take another break and come back with Sami getting two off a Blue Thunder Bomb but both guys are spent. Joe loads up what looked like a superplex but Sami sunset bombs him down for two. With Joe heading outside for a breather, Sami brings back the dive through the ropes into a tornado DDT for a long nine count. The Helluva Kick is countered into a powerbomb into a Boston crab into a crossface into a modified Rings of Saturn. Sami gets his foot on the ropes for the break as we hit 50:00.
Joe waits for Sami to get up and starts in with the strikes, including a hard set of kicks to the head. Sami is crumpled in a ball on the mat before popping to his feet. This time it’s Sami putting Joe in the Koquina Clutch but Joe rolls over and puts his foot on the ropes for the break, just like Sami did earlier. The exploder suplex into the corner sets up the Helluva Kick but Joe steps aside and grabs the real Koquina Clutch, making Sami pass out for the win at 54:08.
Rating: A. Well that worked. Seriously what else do you want me to say? Two guys just fought for nearly an hour and it was one great stretch after another. The only minor issue was Sami being on Raw earlier in the week to spoil this a bit but I think I can live with that one. Joe needed this one as he now has a big signature win on his record and looks on fire going into Dallas where things really could go either way. Great match here and a great way to spend an evening.
Overall Rating: A+. Here’s the thing that pushed this one over the top for me: before and during the match, the announcers talked about American Alpha, Carmella and Bayley being scheduled for tonight. Once we hit about forty minutes in, they said those things would have to be rescheduled. That’s something you so rarely get in wrestling today: the announcers acting like this is real.
It wasn’t a big main event that started with a few minutes left and happened to fit perfectly into their schedule. Instead, this match went on long enough that it changed what they had planned because this wasn’t what they expected. It breaks away from the perfect structure that you’re so often stuck with on most wrestling programming and that’s very refreshing for a change.
Results
Samoa Joe b. Sami Zayn – Koquina Clutch
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
NXT Date: March 2, 2016
Location: CFE Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
It’s a big night for NXT as we have a past great name coming in to face off with NXT Champion Finn Balor on the finale of the Orlando tapings with Neville coming back for one night only. In addition to that we’re getting closer to the big showdown in a 2/3 falls match next week with Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe for the #1 contendership. Let’s get to it.
We open with a quick video on Balor vs. Neville later tonight.
Opening sequence.
Hugo Knox/Tucker Knight vs. Vaudevillains
Knox is rather tattooed which I don’t remember about him last time he got squashed. A dropkick puts Aiden in the corner but he quickly takes over and brings in Gotch for a chinlock. The announcers mention the Vaudevillains being up to their old ways to confirm their heel turn, which is probably the best move for a team called the VILLAINS. English kicks away and it’s back to Gotch for another chinlock on Knox. Everything breaks down and the Whirling Dervish pins Knight at 3:33.
Rating: D+. Just a squash here with the Vaudevillains being back as the heels they should have been all along. I don’t think they have much of a chance of getting back to the title picture but a feud with the Hype Bros feels like an older feud where the announcers just start talking about how they’re having issues, setting up a big match later. Yeah they fought once but it was hardly anything huge. We don’t need to have them come out here and fight or stare at each other every week. It worked back then so let’s try it again today. It just might work better than having them fight over and over until people get sick of them.
Emma and Dana Brooke aren’t impressed with women like Deonna Purrazzo and promise to win tonight.
Finn Balor video.
We look back at Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson attacking Enzo Amore outside the Performance Center until Big Cass made the save.
Enzo and Cass promise to stand over Dawson and Wilder as Tag Team Champions.
Dawson and Wilder (now collectively known as the Revival) blame Enzo and Cass for the attack.
Enzo/Cass vs. Revival for the Tag Team Titles at Roadblock.
Emma vs. Santana Garrett
Garrett used to be Brittany in TNA. Emma sends her into the buckle to start and pounds her into a butterfly suplex. There’s a move you don’t see very often anymore. Some kicks to the back (there’s a more popular one) has Santana in trouble and another big kick stops a comeback bid. We hit the double arm crank as this has been one sided so far. Now we get the real comeback as Santana gets in a Russian legsweep, only to have Emma crotch her on top. Something like a curb stomp sets up the Emma Lock for the tap out at 5:38.
Rating: D+. Another glorified squash here with Emma getting to look good, even if there’s little for someone on her level to do. Asuka vs. Bayley is going to be the big feud for the next month and I don’t see anyone outside of Nia Jax being the next big challenger for whoever survives there. Emma has gotten better in the ring but I’d rather she be on her own as Brooke really doesn’t add all that much.
William Regal tells Eva Marie and Nia Jax that they’ll be facing Bayley and Asuka at some point in the near future.
Regal is in the ring after a break and introduces the latest talent acquisition: Austin Aries. The fans and announcers are WAY into this but Baron Corbin jumps Aries during his entrance and lays him out with the End of Days on the floor. Corbin to Regal: “AN EYE FOR AN EYE!”
Elias Samson vs. Steve Cutler
Cutler seems to annoy Samson for some reason and gets punched in the face for his efforts. Maybe he didn’t drop a dollar in the guitar case. A suplex and some elbow drops have Steve crawling on the mat but Samson stops for some air guitar. Samson’s quick neckbreaker is enough for the pin at 3:03.
Rating: D+. I could go for something other than a squash at this point as they haven’t been filling up the extra time with good promos like in the old NWA formula. Samson is turning into more than I was expecting but he still needs a big win over someone to take that next step. I don’t know how well he’s going to do and I’d call him a longshot at the moment but anything is better than jobbing like he did for all those months.
The Hype Bros are glad they lost the first match to the Vaudevillains and think they should take them out early. The Vaudevillains are listening and smile.
Neville video.
Finn Balor vs. Neville
Non-title and they have a ton of time here. It’s a battle of the wristlocks to start with neither guy being able to get very far. Finn’s headlock only works for a few moments and it’s Neville smacking him in the face with a dropkick. Now it’s Neville working on the headlock until he drops Finn with a hard kick to the ribs. Neville doesn’t seem to know what to do against Balor so he kicks Finn down another time and we take a break.
Back with the fans getting behind Finn to get him out of a chinlock as Neville is the default heel here. Finn gets up again and catches a charging Neville with a backdrop over the top, sending him head first onto the steps to really wake up the crowd. Neville pops to his feet though and sends Balor outside for a great looking moonsault. It’s time for another chinlock but Balor gets up with a great looking Pele to stagger Neville.
Some kicks (hard ones too) get near falls on Neville but he comes right back with the rapid fire kicks and a pair of German suplexes. The Red Arrow is broken up with a running enziguri and Balor hits the big flip dive to put Neville down on the floor. That’s still not enough for the Coup de Grace though as Neville crotches him again.
Neville has to bail out of the Red Arrow though and gets caught in a Sling Blade for a VERY close two. They’re trading bombs here and the fans are getting more and more into it every time. Balor dropkicks him into the corner and nails the Coup de Grace, followed by Bloody Sunday for the pin at 18:40.
Rating: B+. This was a great chess game as Neville was way too cocky to start until he got serious and had to trade big shots with Balor, who he seemed to underestimate early on. People forget how good Neville can be when he’s doing stuff besides high spots and that’s what we got here: a long wrestling match built around high spots but still with enough wrestling and storytelling to keep the fans hooked from bell to bell.
They shake hands and applaud each other post match.
Joe says next week should be easy and calls Sami Zayn ungrateful. Sami thinks Joe is trying to come in here and take whatever he wants at Sami’s expense. Joe gets in his face and brings up saving Sami from Kevin Owens. That was Joe saving his career but next week he’s taking it away. I’m really digging this stuff with the interviews hyping up a match from next week to close out the show. So many times Raw is wrapped up to end the week and it gets annoying.
Overall Rating: C+. It’s really hard to have a single match save a show but that’s what they did here. This was a bunch of nothing until two guys got to spend nearly a third of the show beating each other up and showing how great the in ring product around here really can be. Really fun main event here and it actually makes up for the uninteresting stuff that got us here.
Results
Vaudevillains b. Hugh Knox/Tucker Knight – Whirling Dervish to Knight
Emma b. Santana Garrett – Emma Lock
Elias Samson b. Steve Cutler – Neckbreaker
Finn Balor b. Neville – Bloody Sunday
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NXT Date: February 24, 2016
Location: CFE Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
As has been the case recently, this is going to be about fallout from last week and the main event in particular. Last week, Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn went to a double pin in a match for the #1 contendership, meaning we don’t have a challenger for Finn Balor. Odds are that won’t be established tonight either but odds are we’ll get a fun show out of it anyway. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
American Alpha vs. Blake and Murphy
Gable and Murphy get things going with Chad easily taking him down into a leg lock. The good guys start in on the arm as Corey talks about Chad being able to dribble a bowling ball. Blake comes in and is quickly ridden down to the mat. Some rapid fire dropkicks (and a Ricky Morton reference) has the bad guys in trouble as Chad waits in the middle. A double dropkick puts Blake on the floor and we take a break.
Back with Jordan staying on the arm and Gable doing the same. You don’t often see the good guys in control this long. Blake’s slam doesn’t get him away from the armbar but the heels FINALLY get him into the corner to take over. We hit a chinlock on Gable for a bit before it’s back to Blake for forearms to the head.
A double arm crank keeps things slow and the heels keep pulling Gable away from the hot tag. You can only do that so many times before it stops working though and the hot tag brings in Jordan for the series of suplexes. Murphy’s dropkick is swatted away and the Grand Amplitude puts Blake away at 13:37. That’s a long match for a non-main event in NXT.
Rating: C+. Nice match here even though it was a glorified squash until the ending. American Alpha is clearly the real deal and ready to give the titles some much needed energy. Blake and Murphy on the other hand have smacked their heads against the glass ceiling and I’m really not sure where they’re supposed to go from here.
We look back at the ending to last week’s show.
Regal says we’ll be seeing Sami vs. Joe in a 2/3 falls match in two weeks. As for next week though, there’s a new talent debuting.
Elias Samson song.
Christopher Girard vs. Apollo Crews
Girard is indy star Biff Busick in his NXT debut. Crews punches him into the corner to start and scores with a quick dropkick. Busick comes back with a running European uppercut (From an indy wrestler? You don’t say.) and a chinlock, which he flips backwards to keep Crews in trouble. Another elbow to the face sets up another chinlock as this is starting to drag. Crews gets up with a spear and a running corner splash, followed by the toss into the helicopter bomb for the pin at 5:12.
Rating: D+. You shouldn’t need two extended chinlocks in a five minute match. Girard has a really good look and a lot of intensity but the offense isn’t exactly working so far. He seems similar to Tommaso Ciampa, which makes you wonder why they bothered signing two people who seem so much alike. Then again, you certainly can’t tell how a career is going to go based off one match and it wasn’t a disaster.
We look back at Carmella vs. Bayley from two weeks ago with Eva Marie and Nia Jax attacking until Asuka made the save.
Carmella and Bayley are ready for Eva and Nia tonight. They’re friends now but Carmella wants another shot at the title. Bayley isn’t worried about Asuka, even though she’s going to be a threat down the line.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bull Dempsey
Bull takes 40 seconds to get his shirt off and we get some jumping jacks before any contact. Ciampa wants a test of strength but is quickly run over, setting up a rolling backsplash from Bull. Back up and Ciampa easily drops him with some hard shots and he rips at Bull’s face. Ciampa starts cranking on the arm but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Bull to fire off the left hands. Not that it matters as a Fujiwara Armbar with Ciampa flipping over onto Bull’s back is good for the submission at 4:18.
Rating: D+. I’m pretty sure this is it for Dempsey in NXT and it’s not like he’s going to be that missed. He’s just a comedy jobber and you can put almost anyone into that spot. Ciampa was fine and it’s nice to see him win a match instead of put up a good fight and then lose in the end.
Joe says the announcement means Sami has to suffer twice and that’s just fine with him.
Sami sounds a bit nervous about the two out of three falls match but this is why he came back from the shoulder injury. He’s ready though because his goal is to be the first ever two time NXT Champion.
Carmella/Bayley vs. Nia Jax/Eva Marie
Carmella starts with some Thesz Presses and left hands to Eva, followed by a double suplex to give Bayley a quick two. That means it’s time for Nia to throw Bayley around and easily block a rollup attempt. Eva comes back in and is booed out of the arena, only to have Bayley take her down like the easy target that she is.
We take a break and come back with Carmella holding Eva in a headlock on the mat. Eva gets up and makes the tag off to Nia, who plants Carmella with a shoulder breaker. It’s back to Eva for her grunting based offense, including a choke in the corner. Something like a cobra clutch from Nia keeps the villains in control and she swings Carmella around with ease.
Nia misses a charge and falls out to the floor though, allowing the hot tag to Bayley. The running elbows in the corner have Eva in trouble (like, more trouble than her trying to work a match) but Nia breaks up the cover off the Bayley to Belly. Carmella comes back in for her leg crossface with Nia making another save. Jax drops three straight legs on Carmella, allowing Eva to get the pin at 11:34.
Rating: C-. Nothing to see here but I hope that doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing more of Nia and Eva as a one and a fourth headed monster. Carmella clearly wasn’t going anywhere near the title for a long time so having her take the fall here makes the most sense. Eva is still doing well in this heel role but the heat isn’t what it was before.
Regal and Balor are in the back with the boss talking about how Balor is approaching the longest reign in NXT Title history. Therefore, next week he’ll be facing Neville. No word on if that’s a title match or not.
Overall Rating: C. Not their strongest episode but it set up stuff for the next few weeks as well as helped to confirm a lot of what we’re likely to see down in Dallas. This was your usual breezy episode of NXT and it’s nice to not come into a show dreading how bad it might be on any given week.
Results
American Alpha b. Blake and Murphy – Grand Amplitude to Blake
Apollo Crews b. Christopher Girard – Helicopter Bomb
Tommaso Ciampa b. Bull Dempsey – Fujiwara Armbar
Eva Marie/Nia Jax b. Bayley/Carmella – Eva pinned Carmella after three legdrops from Jax
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at: