NXT
Date: December 2, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Rich Brennan

Takeover: London is in two weeks and the card is mostly set. That leaves us with two shows to firm up the build, which means we could be in for some entertaining nights leading up to the next big show. The cliffhanger from last week saw Nia Jax throw her had in to the ring for the Women’s Title shot and Bayley doesn’t have an opponent for London yet. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger

Some chops earn Dillinger a throw across the ring and Corbin chokes on the mat. Corbin is in his full slow mode here and it’s working as always. Dillinger comes back with a clothesline and a superkick for two, only to come off the middle rope and right into the End of Days for the pin at 2:52.

Apollo Crews is ready for Corbin at Takeover and is ready to team up with Finn Balor to face Corbin and Samoa Joe next week.

Tommaso Ciampa says Joe is dangerous, but Ciampa is even more dangerous because he has nothing to lose. When he pins Joe tonight, everything changes.

Nia Jax vs. Blue Pants

Pants has a modified version of the Price is Right theme. Jax takes her down by the arm to start and stomps on the hand. A toss by the head keeps Blue in trouble and her kicks have no effect. Some elbow drops and a Samoan drop set up the big leg to squash Pants for the pin at 2:10.

Dash and Dawson don’t want to talk about Enzo and Cass because they’d rather just hurt people. If the consequences of hurting people are the Tag Team Titles, they don’t have much to worry about. Last week Enzo and Cass jumped them because those two can just talk the talk instead of walking the way. Dash really doesn’t get why Enzo and Cass are getting the title shot in London when they haven’t beaten anyone. That’s fine with them because Cass has a good leg that they haven’t broken yet.

Adam Rose vs. James Storm

Rose orders his music cut off because this is serious business. Storm starts with a shoulder but Rose gets in some shots to the back to take over. A chinlock doesn’t get Adam anywhere as Storm comes back with his forearms and running neckbreaker, followed by the Last Call for the quick pin at 2:38.

The Vaudevillains are disappointed that they lost last week but they’re going to win here tonight. Cue Jason Jordan and Chad Gable to disagree. Really quick and to the point promos here.

Video on Sami Zayn winning the NXT Title last year at Takeover: R-Evolution.

Vaudevillains vs. Jason Jordan/Chad Gable

Gable takes Gotch to the mat to start but Simon grabs the arm, only to have Chad easily flip out. It’s off to Jordan to take English to the mat with ease and Aiden’s leapfrog is countered into an atomic drop. The fans say this is wrestling as English counters an Irish whip into the corner by standing on the middle rope and posing. Gable comes back in and goes after English’s bad leg but gets backdropped out to the floor for a big crash. Not that it matters as Chad slides over and makes the tag off to Jason for a bunch of dropkicks. The Grand Amplitude puts Gotch away at 5:28.

Rating: C. This was just a step ahead of a squash as Gable was barely in trouble for a minute before making the comeback for the hot tag. Those two could be something special in the future as Gable is getting quicker every week. Jordan has come out of his shell by bouncing off Gable, which has been the big trick they’ve needed for over a year now.

Gable and Jordan offer a handshake but the Vaudevillains walk away. Well it fits their name a lot better.

Emma and Dana Brooke are ready for Asuka in London.

We get another song from what seems to be Elias Sampson.

Liv Morgan vs. Emma

Morgan is formerly known as Marley and Gionna Daddio. Emma doesn’t seem impressed and grabs the Dilemma followed by the Emma Sandwich. Morgan comes back with a quick guillotine choke and a dropkick. That’s it for the jobber offense as Emma drops her again and gets the win with the Emma Lock at 3:48.

Rating: D+. Morgan has some good charisma and the fans like her but she’s still in the early stages of her NXT run, meaning these losses don’t mean much. This was clearly just a warmup for Emma before she gets ripped into 14 evenly divided pieces by Asuka in London. At least it wasn’t a total squash.

Emma is in the ring when Asuka pops up on screen, beating the fire out of a punching bag. She’ll see Emma in London.

Bayley says she’s ready for all challengers, including Nia Jax. This brings up Nia, who stares at the title. Bayley says she’ll accept anyone who comes at her, so Jax knocks her through a door.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Samoa Joe

Ciampa isn’t scared as Joe drives him into the corner and works on a wristlock before no selling a chop. Joe stays on the arm until Ciampa tries another chop. That just ticks Joe off so he forearms Ciampa’s head half off. They start slapping the taste out of each others’ mouths with Joe getting the better of it until Ciampa grabs a rollup and stomps on Joe’s arm.

More hard strikes stagger Joe and a guillotine choke has him in even more trouble. Make that a Kimura but Joe drives him into the corner again for the break. The enziguri knocks Ciampa half cold and a scoop powerslam makes it even worse. Joe Facewashes him in the corner and the release Rock Bottom drops Ciampa again. The fans are behind Joe until the Muscle Buster and Koquina Clutch end Ciampa at 6:37.

Rating: B. That might be a bit high but dang these two were beating the tar out of each other. Those were some incredibly hard strikes with Joe absorbing everything Ciampa threw at him and looking like a real killer for the first time with London looming. This has me even more ready for the title match and was a really, really fun surprise. Good stuff.

Overall Rating: B+. NXT is getting in six matches an hour. Can you imagine most other wrestling shows pulling that off? This is straight out of the old school WCW shows as they’re flying through squash matches to set up the big show with the showdowns you want to see. Awesome show this week and one of the best they’ve done in a while.

Results

Baron Corbin b. Tye Dillinger – End of Days

Nia Jax b. Blue Pants – Legdrop

James Storm b. Adam Rose – Last Call

Jason Jordan/Chad Gable b. Vaudevillains – Grand Amplitude to Gotch

Emma b. Liv Morgan – Emma Lock

Samoa Joe b. Tommaso Ciampa – Koquina Clutch

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

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NXT
Date: November 25, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Rich Brennan, Corey Graves

It’s another title match week with Bayley defending against Eva Marie in a match that has the potential to burn the place to the ground. The Full Sail fans just do not like Eva no matter what she does and it’s going to be quite the moment if she takes the title from the most popular act in NXT. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Michael Cole of all people is in the ring to open the show, though unfortunately we don’t get his sweet theme song about how awesome his life is. Cole says he’s in charge while Regal is out recovering from neck surgery. First up tonight: a contract signing for Takeover: London (finally not the week before the match) between Finn Balor and Samoa Joe. Cole goes to introduce Joe but Balor comes out first and promises to take Joe out in London. This brings out Joe who walks into the ring, signs the contract and walks out without saying a word or even looking at Finn. The champ goes to leave but Joe attacks and chokes Finn out.

Tag Team Titles: Vaudevillains vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

Dawson and Wilder are defending and this is the Vaudevillains’ rematch. Dawson starts on Gotch’s leg to start but can’t get very far, meaning it’s off to English vs. Wilder. Aiden takes over for all of fifteen seconds before the champs go after his arm and take us to an early break. Back with Aiden in an armbar but he easily fights up and makes the hot tag to Gotch. Now it’s the Vaudevillains taking over but Dawson trips up Gotch to stop the Whirling Dervish. Everything breaks down and the Shatter Machine to English retains the titles at 8:05.

Rating: C. These teams really don’t have great chemistry together and a lot of that is due to the champs being the kind of guys that like to slow a match down. The Vaudevillains are a unique team as they don’t have a particular style and that makes it hard to find interesting matchups for them. It’s not bad, but these are really forgettable matches so it’s probably best that they’re done here.

Post match Enzo and Big Cass come out to beat up the champs for hurting Cass’ leg a few weeks back.

Eva has taken over Regal’s office because she needed a bigger place to get ready. Bayley is a swell girl but it’s time for a woman to become champion. She knows the fans have her back too and there are a bunch of gifts waiting for the celebration. Nia Jax comes in with a present of her own.

We recap Asuka dismantling Dana Brooke at Takeover.

Someone whose face we can’t see sings a song about needing liberators. Elias Sampson had a guitar a few months back so maybe it was him.

Dana Brooke vs. Asuka

Maybe not as Dana talks from the stage and Emma jumps Asuka from behind and puts her in the Emma Lock. No match.

Bayley understands why WWE wants Eva Marie to be the Women’s Champion but there’s one difference between them: Bayley is a wrestler. I know it wasn’t meant to be one, but that was one of the best insults I’ve heard in a long time.

Sami Zayn is coming back.

Apollo Crews vs. Jesse Sorensen

This would be the former TNA guy Jesse Sorensen, who left because they didn’t want him to wrestle any more after breaking his neck and decided to release him instead. Crews starts fast with a delayed vertical as the fans count the “time”. Just to show off, Crews waves them on and holds Jesse up even longer. A big running clothesline sets up a throw into a powerbomb (called an Alley Oop into a powerbomb) to end Jesse at 2:06. Total squash.

Crews accepts Baron Corbin’s challenge for London.

Corbin says Crews is going to be the answer to a trivia question for doing one thing once. He’s going down in London.

Charles Robinson has been sent to referee the main event.

Women’s Title: Eva Marie vs. Bayley

Eva is challenging so let the nuclear heat (and wolf whistles) begin. Nia Jax is here with Eva to make sure things aren’t fair. Robinson is the outside referee here so something might be afoot. They trade headlocks to start and a suplex gets two on Bayley, who comes right back with the Bayley to Belly for two as Jax pulls the referee out. Robinson comes in to count two on Bayley off a rollup and Jax adds a headbutt to keep Bayley in trouble.

Eva covers several times for two but Bayley takes her down with a running clothesline. Robinson breaks up the running elbow in the corner and Sliced Red gets a very close two. Another try at Sliced Red results in a ref bump and Eva goes up. Bayley stops her again though and, after dealing with Nia, grabs a super Bayley to Belly with another referee coming in for the count at 6:38.

Rating: B. This was one of the best done segments that NXT has done in a long time. It’s just a six minute match and nothing great in terms of wrestling, but sweet goodness they nailed the story here. The idea of the fix being in had the fans freaking out on every near fall and going nuts when Bayley survived. Bayley is the most over thing in NXT since Sami Zayn and it’s awesome to watch her mature into this hero instead of just being an underdog.

Nia Jax lays out Bayley post match and holds up the belt to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show that did a lot of good to set up the London show in three weeks while also throwing in two title matches with a really well done moment in the main event. Thankfully Cole wasn’t the star of the show and felt like a regular NXT commissioner. That’s the key to this whole promotion: find the formula that works and keep plugging people in and out when necessary. It’s worked for years and it’s working here, which makes this the most consistent show around.

Results

Scott Dawson’/Dash Wilder b. Vaudevillains – Shatter Machine to English

Apollo Crews b. Jesse Sorensen – Throw into a powerbomb

Bayley b. Eva Marie – Super Bayley to Belly

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

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NXT
Date: November 18, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s another title defense this week as Bayley is already defending the Women’s Title against Alexa Bliss. This was expected to be one of the big Takeover matches so it should be interesting to see where they go for the title at the show in London. Eva Marie and Nia Jax are hanging around as well. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Nia Jax vs. Carmella

Carmella goes right after her with forearms to the face but gets caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Nia: “Hi Carmella, how you doing?” A bearhug has Carmella in trouble but she counters with a quick guillotine choke. Some dropkicks stagger Jax but she counters a hurricanrana into a spinebuster, followed by the legdrop to put Carmella away at 2:48.

Alexa Bliss says her hands are fine from carrying around Bayley’s Women’s Title but now her ears are hurting from hearing about that Iron Man match. Yeah Bayley won now stop talking about it. It’s her time now, but her rant is cut off by a referee who says Blake and Murphy will be banned from ringside.

Ascension vs. Jason Jordan/Chad Gable

Viktor and Gable start but all four quickly come in for a standoff. We settle down to Jordan vs. Konnor for the power battle. Jordan gets him into the corner and it’s a series of rotating shoulders to Konnor’s ribs, followed by a double northern lights suplex for two. Konnor comes right back by powering Gable into the corner for a bunch of hard stomps.

A chinlock keeps Gable in trouble but he fights up and backdrops Viktor to the floor, allowing for the tag off to Jordan. House is quickly cleaned and the straps come down for a suplex on Viktor. Everything breaks down and Viktor’s middle rope knee gets two on Jason as Chad and Konnor fight on the floor. Gable drops Konnor with a flip dive off the apron and the Grand Amplitude (such an awesome name) puts Viktor away at 6:12.

Rating: B-. Gable and Jordan are getting close to that rocket push up the ladder and you can see a showdown in London for the Tag Team Titles. The fans are eating them up and they can more than back it up in the ring. It’s the idea of finding a hot act and running with it, which is one of the most important things a wrestling promotion can do.

Video on Bayley vs. Bliss, showcasing the basic difference in their personalities.

Bayley says keeping the title is just as hard as winning it in the first place. Tonight Bliss is learning a wrestling lesson from the last Horsewoman. Bliss is going to find out what it means to respect this title and Bayley herself.

Emma vs. Mary Kate

Mary Kate used to be known as Rosie Lottalove but has dropped probably 120lbs to get down to a much more reasonable look. She runs Emma over to start but Emma trips her up and stands on the hair. Some choking on the ropes and rams into the buckle have Mary Kate in more trouble and the Emma Lock is good for the submission at 3:12.

Rating: C-. This was your standard new Diva gets beaten up in a few minutes before she has a character or personality. It also helped set up Emma looking more dangerous but Asuka crushes her, likely on TV before London. I could see Emma and Dana vs. Asuka in a handicap match with Asuka pulling off the upset, assuming you still consider that an upset.

We recap Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews.

Corbin challenges Crews for a match at Takeover.

Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Corey Hollis/John Skylar

Non-title. The Vaudevillains will be getting their rematch next week. Hollis gets caught in the wrong corner to start and the champs go after his knee. Dawson takes him down with a dragon screw leg whip and it’s off to Dawson to crank on the knee even more. There’s a knee crusher and the champs pull on the leg to continue their Andersons style. Graves gets in a great line about Dawson and Wilder: “No flips, just fists.” The third knee crusher of the match keeps Hollis in trouble but he kicks Dawson away and makes the tag to Skylar who walks right into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 5:08.

Rating: D+. There’s something so fun about watching these two rip someone’s leg apart. It’s a style that is going to work no matter what changes in wrestling because it’s so simple but makes perfect sense. The ending was amusing too as Skylar was all fired up and didn’t walk four steps before he got caught for the pin.

Dana Brooke interrupts an Asuka interview to challenge for a rematch. Asuka takes off her mask and gives a disturbing yes. The interviewer and Asuka leave and Emma comes in to be all evil about some plan they have.

Samoa Joe isn’t here tonight because William Regal is worried that Finn Balor is going to screw up the London main event. Next week they sign the contract.

Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley

Bayley is defending and the “HEY! WE WANT SOME BAYLEY!” chants start during the big match intros. Bayley throws her into the corner and stomps Bliss down to start, sending Bliss outside for a breather. A quick bulldog gets two for the champ and she cranks on Bliss’ arms a bit. The fans try some dueling chants but Bliss’ support isn’t the strongest. They head outside with Bayley going face first into the apron as we take a break.

Back with Bliss working on the arm and the fans chanting BOO/YAY with nothing really happening. Bliss starts going after the hand (which really should be better by now) but Bayley fights up with running ax handles. Alexa takes her right back down and moonsaults into double knees to the ribs. The Sparkle Splash is broken up with a powerslam for two but Bayley’s arm is starting to give out again. The running elbows in the corner stagger Alexa until she comes out with a sunset flip for two. Frustration sets in for Bliss, allowing Bayley to grab the Bayley to Belly for the pin at 11:47.

Rating: C. This was better than I was expecting as Bliss didn’t seem to have any chance of winning coming in. The arm work was fine for a story and the ending worked perfectly with Bayley staying calm and waiting for Bliss to get frustrated to finish her. Good little match here and that’s all it needed to be.

Post match here’s Eva Marie and my goodness this crowd hates her. She has to tell them to stop booing over and over to get her challenge out. I can’t wait to see how they word this on Total Divas to make Eva out to be some innocent victim. The title match seems to be next week, giving us a rare double title defense.

Overall Rating: B-. Another totally acceptable show with Bayley retaining the title in a big TV main event and a lot more stuff being set up for London. This is the NXT formula working to perfection and it still makes me want to see the big shows while giving me entertaining TV week to week. Good show here, but were you expecting anything else?

Results

Nia Jax b. Carmella – Legdrop

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan b. Ascension – Grand Amplitude to Viktor

Emma b. Mary Kate – Emma Lock

Bayley b. Alexa Bliss – Bayley to Belly

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews 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: November 11, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

We’re on the road to London at the moment and the big story is Samoa Joe turning on Finn Balor last week after Balor’s title defense against Apollo Crews. This likely sets up the main event at the next Takeover, though there’s a chance Crews and Baron Corbin could be added in to make it a four way. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the end of last week’s show.

Opening sequence.

Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin

Never mind as Apollo Crews hits the ring and destroys Corbin, sending him running off. Crews shouts at Corbin to come back but he’s long gone.

The announcers preview the rest of the show.

Bayley/Hype Bros vs. Blake and Murphy/Alexa Bliss

Ryder and Murphy get us going but it’s off to Bliss a few seconds in. Bayley is more than happy to come in and, after Alexa takes off her bracelet, the champ takes her down with a headlock. Fans: “SHE AIN’T HYPED! BAYLEY’S HYPED!” Bayley sends her into the corner for a running elbow but the threat of a Bayley to Belly sends Bliss out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Mojo clotheslining Blake and bringing in Ryder as Graves psychoanalyzes his colleagues. Ryder gets caught in the wrong corner and stomped down, followed by a backbreaker as the fans continue to chant what sounds like “HEY WE WANT SOME BAYLEY!” Murphy’s reverse chinlock doesn’t get very far so he drives Zack back into the corner for a slingshot hilo from Blake.

Back up and Zack dives over for the tag to Mojo, in his neon green gear (Byron: “SLIMER IS ON THE LOOSE!”). Everything breaks down and Bliss gets knocked to the floor but she grabs the title and runs off. Bayley is ticked off so she Bayley to Bellys Murphy and chases Bliss off. Hyperdrive puts Murphy away at 12:11.

Rating: C. I don’t usually get annoyed with the NXT fans but that HEY WE WANT SOME BAYLEY chant was driving me crazy here. The match itself was just a formula match but it sets up Bliss vs. Bayley for the new champ’s first fresh title match. Good enough here but most importantly it got the job done, which is where NXT shines.

Ascension accepts Gable and Jordan’s challenge.

Nia Jax runs into Eva Marie and they walk off together.

Deonna vs. Nia Jax

No Eva in sight. A quick Samoan drop plants Deonna early on and we’re already in the slow squash. Jax throws her into the corner and plants her with a release spinebuster. A legdrop puts Deonna away at 1:49.

Clip of Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson beating the Vaudevillains in the Dusty Classic to set up tonight’s title match.

William Regal underwent successful neck surgery. No word on how long he’s out.

Bayley is looking for Bliss and finds her Women’s Title. Nia Jax jumps her from behind and scares Bliss off for trying to get the title. Jax looks at the title and drops it next to Bayley before leaving.

Tag Team Titles: Vaudevillains vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

Vaudevillains are defending. English and Dawson get things going but it’s quickly off to Wilder with the champs taking over in the corner. Some kicks to the chest put Wilder down so it’s off to Scott who gets caught in an armbar. Wilder offers a distraction from the apron though and Dawson takes out the knee as we go to a break. Back with English’s knee in trouble as Wilder cranks away. Dawson wraps it around the post because he wrestle like a modern day Anderson.

More shots to the leg set up a slingshot suplex (so he’s an Anderson and Blanchard hybrid) for two. English’s leg is wrapped around the post again but he pulls Dawson’s face into the post, allowing for the hot tag to Gotch. Everything breaks down with Simon cleaning house, only to have English tag back in for no logical reason. Gotch is sent into the steps and English’s knee is crushed the same was Cass’ was a few weeks back. Wilder’s reverse Figure Four gives us new champions at 12:00.

Rating: C+. This was an old school psychology driven match with the leg work being the story running throughout the whole thing. The Vaudevillains felt like transitional champions so this was a better idea than letting them hang around while the titles got weaker. Wilder and Dawson will have more opponents anyway and can lead to a showdown with Gable and Jordan.

The new champs can’t believe it.

Bayley vs. Bliss for the title next week.

Here’s Samoa Joe for his big explanation. When the Dusty Classic was announced, Finn Balor came to him and asked Joe to be his partner. They won that tournament and Joe wanted an NXT Title match. Now to Balor’s credit, he agreed to the match but did nothing when Regal put him in the #1 contenders battle royal.

That lack of action drove Joe to do what he did last week because he doesn’t deserve to wait for a title shot. The day he walked in to NXT he was owed a shot because he’s Samoa Joe. This brings out Balor but the referees break it up. Joe says good choices and grabs the Koquina Clutch to choke Balor out. Joe holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a moving day show for NXT as they got a lot more stuff set up for down the road but it didn’t really like anything big happened here, including a title change. The good thing about NXT though is they’re capable of taking something that doesn’t feel huge and turning it into something bigger later. You can see most of the London show from here and it’s going to be a fun night because NXT takes the time to set up their big shows instead of just throwing them together.

Results

Bayley/Hype Bros b. Blake and Murphy/Alexa Bliss – Hyperdrive to Murphy

Nia Jax b. Deonna – Legdrop

Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder b. Vaudevillains – Reverse Figure Four to English

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews 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: November 4, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s a big show this week as Finn Balor is defending his NXT Title against #1 contender Apollo Crews. NXT has spent the last few weeks building up Crews and giving us a person to care about but there aren’t any real personal issues between the two other than the title itself. That could make for a good match but it might not be the most interesting. Let’s get to it.

The opening video recaps Crews winning the battle royal and becoming #1 contender.

Opening sequence.

Asuka vs. Cameron

This could be interesting. Fans: “ASUKA’S GONNA KILL YOU!” Cameron tries a slap to start but gets caught in a cross armbreaker for an early submission attempt. A running kick into the splits drops Asuka but she comes back with a hip attack and mocks Cameron’s pose. Askua grabs a Fujiwara armbar before just smashing Cameron in the face. Fans: “REST IN PEACE!” The Asuka Lock is good for the submission at 3:41.

Rating: D+. I kind of feel sorry for Cameron as she has a horrible character and there is no way she’s going to be accepted no matter how good she gets in the ring. Some of the gymnastics and flexibility stuff worked for her here but the screeching makes people hate her more than anything. Asuka’s path of destruction continues to be awesome and her facial expressions make the squashes that much more entertaining.

We recap Big Cass’ leg injury from last week.

Dawson and Wilder laugh at Carmella for injuring her friends. They get their title shot next week and then they’ll be the baddest guys in the room. Wilder even brings in a wheelchair as a gift for the Vaudevillains.

Chad Gable and Jason Jordan want to keep moving up the card and one day they’ll be the world’s greatest tag team. Jordan: “Whoa whoa whoa I told you about that.” Their next idea is to wrestle the greatest tag team in NXT history. Gable: “We can’t wrestle ourselves.” This winds up being a challenge to the Ascension.

Bull Dempsey vs. Angelo Dawkins

Dawkins has a Sawyer Fulton with him. The threat of a right hand makes Dawkins duck, allowing a knee lift to the head. Dawkins kicks him down and puts on a front facelock but Dempsey Bulls up. Bull punches one of the headbands off and a top rope seated senton gives Dempsey the pin at 2:53.

Fulton walks away from Dawkins post match.

The Vaudevillains are impressed with Dash and Dawson but they’re ready to add their names to the pantheon of NXT greats. They sent the wheelchair rolling away. Simple promo here but it was fine.

Crews looks at the NXT Title.

Bayley has the Hype Bros as her partners against Alexa Bliss/Blake/Murphy for a six person tag next week.

Eva Marie vs. Marley

Marley is a blonde in half of a football jersey. Eva armdrags her down and dances to celebrate before starting on the arm. The fans debate if Eva is rachet before she stops a comeback with a boot to the face. Fans: “WHAT WAS THAT???” Marley is on her hands and knees so Eva runs in for a very low downward spiral and the pin at 2:48. If that’s her finisher, she’s in an even worse place than I thought.

Dana Brooke and Emma respect Asuka but want to give her a better welcome to NXT. It’s Emma’s turn soon.

NXT Title: Apollo Crews vs. Finn Balor

Balor is defending and there’s no Demon this time. We get a spotlight and a staredown for the big match intros. That’s a really cool idea that I haven’t seen before. Feeling out process to start with neither guy’s headlock getting them anywhere. Back from a way too early break with Crews holding a headlock. Finn fights up and grabs a front facelock but Crews lifts him up into a delayed vertical suplex for two. Fans: “THAT’S TOO EASY!”

Off to something like a cobra clutch from the champ but Crews tries a sunset flip. That’s fine with Finn who rolls through and takes Apollo’s face off with a basement dropkick. Crews kicks him back down and goes to the middle rope, only to take an enziguri to put him on the floor. Finn nails a BIG flip dive to take us to our second break. Back with Balor firing off some running chops in the corner, followed by a clothesline for two.

Crews shrugs it off again and hits a fall away slam into a Samoan drop for two more. The fans are still split as Apollo nails a jumping enziguri, only to get caught in the Sling Blade. There’s the gorilla press but the moonsault hits knees. REVERSE BLOODY SUNDAY of all things gets two but the Coup de Grace misses. They trade kicks to the head and both guys are down until Baron Corbin runs in for the DQ at 15:09.

Rating: B. Give this a finish and it’s a borderline classic. These guys beat each other up for fifteen minutes and the shots were getting bigger and bigger every time. I’m sure we’ll see them fight again at some point and it’s going to be one heck of a war whenever they do. Really good stuff here but the ending was the right call as you don’t want either one losing.

Post match Corbin beats both guys down until Samoa Joe makes the save. Joe stars Corbin down but then takes Balor out to turn heel. Fans: “WHY JOE WHY?” A Muscle Buster lays Finn out and Joe holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Another week, another great use of an hour to advance a bunch of stories and give you a reason to come back next week. Balor needed a new top heel and Joe is going to be a great opponent when they probably fight in London. As usual, another good hour of wrestling TV this week as they set up matches and stories so smoothly that it’s like one big, long story that just keeps going, which is so much better than the start and stop style that you get elsewhere.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews 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: October 28, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

Things are still picking up around here and we have what should be a good featured match tonight with Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Breeze. Tyler eliminated Joe from the battle royal a few weeks back and has been laughing at Joe for costing him a shot at the title. Other than that we also get part two of Apollo Crews’ sitdown interview which should set up a good title match against NXT Champion Finn Balor next week.

Opening sequence.

Emma vs. Shazza

Two Australians here. Fans: “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OY OY OY!” They stare at each other to start until Emma dropkicks her down against the ropes and stomps away. Dana: “BREAK HER!” After Emma has to kick out of a quick rollup we hit the neck crank on Shazza. Back up and Emma charges into some boots in the corner but Emma comes right back with the Emma Lock for the submission at 4:21.

Rating: D+. This was your traditional “here’s a new Diva now watch her get squashed” match and that’s fine all around. It’s a formula that works perfectly well in NXT so why mess with the plan? Building Emma back up before she gets squashed by Asuka is a fine move as it extends the feud for a few more weeks. That’s an area where NXT shines and it’s a shame so few companies can pull it off.

We look back at James Storm’s debut last week.

Storm quotes his old TNA to sum up his character and says he loved to hear the fans tell him he deserves to be here. If anyone has a problem with that, sorry about their luck.

Video on Finn Balor with fans talking about how cool he is and clips of his time in New Japan.

Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano vs. Jason Jordan/Chad Gable

The fans are behind Gable again and he starts with Ciampa. They fight over a test of strength with Gable not being able to break it with a monkey flip. The grip continues as they’re on the mat for a string of near falls. Gable finally takes over with an armbar and the fans are eating this guy up. Jordan comes in (Fans: “THIS IS WRESTLING!”) but can’t stop the tag off to Gargano who helps with some double team strikes to the face.

Gargano’s front facelock doesn’t go anywhere so Jordan picks him up and drives Johnny into the corner. It’s back to Gable and the fans are right back at their chanting. Chad’s armbreaker over the rope has Gargano in even more trouble but it’s quickly back to Ciampa who has even worse luck. The fans think this is awesome and are even happier when Gargano slingshots in with a spear for two on Gable as we take a break.

Back with the fans wanting the Gable to be saved but Ciampa puts a knee into Chad’s ribs. Ciampa and Gargano take turns on an abdominal stretch with Gargano adding a running dropkick to the back of the head. Gable finally comes back with a judo throw and makes the tag to Jordan for some dropkicks.

There go the straps (I didn’t know we were in Memphis) and it’s time for a bunch of suplexes (I didn’t know Memphis was next to Pittsburgh). Everything breaks down and Gargano slingshots in with a DDT for two on Jordan. Jason slips out of a double suplex and brings in Chad for the Grand Amplitude for the pin on Ciampa at 14:53.

Rating: B. The length surprised me here but they barely stopped the whole time out there. I’m really glad they just turned Gable and Jordan face because the fans were going to cheer for someone like Chad no matter what he did. Really fun and long match here with a ton of energy that you don’t usually see on TV.

Bayley loves the fact that she’s the Women’s Champion and has no idea why Alexa Bliss has so many problems with her.

Eva Marie is in front of the Moulin Rouge. She’s coming back very soon though. Sweet goodness they’re embracing this one full boar.

Nia Jax vs. Kay Lee Ray

Nia throws her into the corner to start, rag dolls her a bit and puts her in a Canadian backbreaker. That’s actually not the submission though and Ray rolls Jax up for two. Kay tries a springboard though and gets caught in a spinebuster. A big legdrop (with an even bigger smile) give Jax the pin at 2:38. That smile runs in the family.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

Dawson and Wilder jump them during the entrance and crush Cassady’s leg against the video board. I knew those things were going to get someone hurt someday. They work over the leg as Enzo is down and that’s how Cass will be written off TV for a legitimate leg injury. No match.

Alexa Bliss challenges Bayley to find a team for a six person tag at some point in the future.

It’s time for part two of the Apollo Crews video. He can’t believe he’s here and that he wrestled in front of 16,000 people in Brooklyn on his birthday. Crews’ sister can’t believe he’s been this successful because she sees him as her little brother. The battle royal was another way for him to prove that he can hang with anyone in NXT and now he wants his chance at his friend’s NXT Title.

Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Breeze

Breeze bails to the floor to start and the threat of a stomping keeps him on the floor. Back in and Tyler gets in a few shots to the back and poses on the ropes. That’s enough for Joe and he hammers away in the corner to send Tyler back outside. A suicide dive crushes Breeze and takes us to a break. Back with Joe hammering away with the usual including the corner enziguri.

Tyler grabs a quick backstabber for one and a dropkick gets two. A chinlock doesn’t get Breeze anywhere as Joe fights up with his variety of strikes and the backsplash for two. The Rock Bottom out of the corner sets up the Muscle Buster but Tyler escapes into a rollup for two more. Breeze nails a quick Supermodel Kick for two and both guys are down. It’s time to slug it out with Breeze trying an O’Connor Roll, only to get flipped into the Koquina Clutch (Normally I would ask if he had ever watched a TNA match but that’s a very stupid question.) for the tap out at 12:08.

Rating: B-. As usual Breeze is good for a solid performance against anyone he gets in the ring with and is still an awesome gatekeeper to get into the NXT main event. This wasn’t a classic or anything but for a quick match to further establish Joe as a player in NXT, this did everything it needed to.

Finn Balor is ready for Apollo Crews, who has beaten everyone he’s fought. He hasn’t fought Finn Balor though, and Crews isn’t becoming champion next week.

Overall Rating: B. Another week and another efficient use of NXT’s time. They did everything they needed to do this week and set up the non-Takeover big show next week with Crews getting his title shot. It’s probably too early for him to have a major shot at Balor but it’s still cool to see the champ in action. Good show here, as is definitely the standard for this promotion.

Results

Emma b. Shazza – Emma Lock

Jason Jordan/Chad Gable b. Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano – Grand Amplitude to Ciampa

Nix Jax b. Kay Lee Ray – Legdrop

Samoa Joe b. Tyler Breeze – Koquina Clutch

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

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

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

NXT
Date: October 21, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re in the fun times for NXT now as they’re a long way off from starting the build to the next Takeover so we might have another big card in the middle, meaning it’s time for some fun TV. Apollo Crews is the new #1 contender to Finn Balor’s NXT Title but tonight we’ve got a former TNA World Champion debuting. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the battle royal with Crews last eliminating Baron Corbin for the win. That was quite the star making performance but I still don’t have much of a connection to him. That’s the same thing I said about Finn Balor though and that turned out quite well.

Opening sequence.

Asuka vs. Billie Kay

Kay now has a full entrance so there seems to be some plans for her. We also get a quick inset promo from Kay where she says she’s been around the world and has some long legs. So Stacy with an accent. Fans: “YOU KILLED DANA!” Billie’s early cheap shot doesn’t work but she grabs a nice delayed vertical suplex for two. She goes after Asuka’s arm but Asuka comes right back with the rapid fire offense. A forearm just ticks Asuka off and there’s a cross armbreaker on Kay. Fans: “ARMBAR!” Kay makes the ropes so Asuka gives her a German suplex, followed by the Asuka Lock for the submission at 3:27.

Rating: C+. This was another efficient match as Asuka got to destroy someone else, but the important thing here is that we now have something to differentiate Billie. No it’s not much, but she’s Australian and has long legs. If nothing else it’s more focus than she’s got since she debuted so they’re going somewhere with her. It’s a start and that’s something everyone needs.

The announcers rave about Asuka.

Video on Baron Corbin.

Tyler Breeze says that Samoa Joe doesn’t get to win the Dusty Classic and then just go on to be #1 contender. After last week, Breeze isn’t #1 contender but Joe isn’t either. If Joe has a problem with that, he can come find Breeze because Tyler would love to slice a few pieces of bacon off of Joe. In case you didn’t get that, he’s saying Joe is fat. I didn’t know Tyler was a Steiner.

Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

Cassady says if you come see them this Halloween, you’re knocking on the wrong door. Dawson (are he and Wilder officially called the Mechanics or not? I know they’re often called that but has that ever been used in NXT?) takes out Breeze’s leg to start and we get into an old school Anderson series of tags as they work over the leg. Dawson grabs a leg lock and Enzo is in big trouble early on. Cass finally breaks it up with a kick to the head and Enzo grabs a small package to pin Dawson at 2:24.

Enzo and Colin take a beating post match.

Video on Rhyno.

Breast cancer is bad.

Eva Marie is still in Paris. The NXT fans probably don’t understand French culture but she’s got a present for us: herself.

Danny Burch vs. James Storm

The fans seem genuinely shocked by this one. The announcers actually mention Storm’s cup of coffee in the dying days of WCW and treat him like a huge deal. Fans: “YOU BELONG HERE!” Storm looks the same as he did in NXT and is good here. Burch pounds him down in the corner and cranks on the neck, only to have Storm come back with some clotheslines and an enziguri in the corner.

A running neckbreaker (Storm: “GOODNIGHT!”) sets up a new move where he looks like he’s loading up a White Noise but spins Burch around into something like a Russian legsweep for the pin at 1:52. Apparently it’s called the Eight Second Ride. I’ve heard worse names and this was a good debut.

Storm does his catchphrase.

Apollo Crews vs. Finn Balor is in two weeks.

Video on Crews where he talks about growing up all over the world and watching wrestling with his dad. Ultimate Warrior got his attention and he thought he’d like to do it. Crews starts crying when he talks about convincing his mom to buy a toy belt they couldn’t afford. Some clips from Evolve wraps up part one. This helped lay a groundwork for Crews and that’s more than he’s had so far.

Nia Jax is still here and is back next week.

Alexa Bliss vs. Peyton Royce

Bliss grabs a headlock to start and steps on Royce’s back when Peyton drops to the mat. It’s off to an armbar from Alexa as the announcers bicker like morons. The fans chant for Peyton so Alexa pounds her down and moonsaults into double knees to the ribs. The Sparkle Splash gives Alexa the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D. Bliss isn’t much in the ring but she can look intimidating with Blake and Murphy behind her. I don’t think anyone is going to buy her as a real threat to Bayley but she can be a good hill for Bayley to climb. Well as good as a 5’1 hill can actually be. Royce could be fine with some more time and a character.

Post match Bliss says she was made to be Women’s Champion.

Joe vs. Breeze next week.

Rhyno vs. Baron Corbin

They immediately brawl to start and fight to the floor for all of five seconds. Back in and Rhyno gets the better of it and punches him up against the ropes, sending Baron out to the floor for a breather. Rhyno follows him out but gets sent into the post as we take a break. Back with Baron slowly stomping away and putting on a chinlock to slow things down even more.

Rhyno fights up and they head outside again with Corbin being sent into the steps. Back in and a quick suplex gets two for Rhyno, followed by the spinebuster for the same. The Gore connects for a surprising two (good) and the fans want one more. Rhyno proves that listening to the fans is a bad idea as he charges into the End of Days for the pin at 12:29.

Rating: C-. This was fine for a low level TV main event but it’s still nothing I need to see again. Corbin has been doing the same thing for so long now and he needs a story other than “Corbin vs. power guy”. Rhyno is a nice win for Baron, but find something new for him to do already.

Joe says desperation is a very funny thing. Tyler Breeze is the epitome of a desperate man but Joe knocked him out. Then he had the nerve to call Joe out. That desperation is going to get him hurt, so Tyler needs to put in his highlights and make sure his hair is nice and pretty, because Joe is coming for him. When is the last time you saw a show ending with a preview for next week like that? That’s a nice old school change of pace.

Overall Rating: B. An hour of story advancement, acceptable wrestling (mostly) and an old school hype promo to end the show. This continues to be my favorite show of the week and they keep polishing it more and more every time. They’ve even set up a few weeks worth of big matches to keep you coming back. Yeah notice that WWE: they set them up for future shows, not the next half hour.

Results

Asuka b. Billie Kay – Asuka Lock

Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore b. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder – Small package to Dawson

James Storm b. Danny Burch – Eight Second Ride

Alexa Bliss b. Peyton Royce – Sparkle Splash

Baron Corbin b. Rhyno – End of Days

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

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

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

NXT
Date: October 14, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re past Takeover: Respect now and the question is who comes after Finn Balor’s NXT Title next. In theory it’s Samoa Joe, who teamed with Balor to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic last week. Other than that we’re going to find out who is next to go after Bayley now that Sasha Banks is likely gone. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Takeover: Respect. What an awesome show.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Bayley to get things going but she has to stop for a MATCH OF THE YEAR chant. Last week’s show was amazing from top to bottom, especially the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic because Dusty had such an impact on this place. The main event was her dream come true because it took the Divas Revolution to a whole new level. That’s true. Not only did they have stupid tagline and Twitter hashtags, some of them might have even been trending. You know that means they’ve made it.

They want women’s wrestling to be respected but here are Alexa Bliss with Blake and Murphy to interrupt. The fans actually give Alexa the WHAT treatment and I really hope that doesn’t become a thing down here. Bliss talks about how awesome Bayley is and how proud she should be of what she accomplished. The future for the women of NXT has no limit and she’s happy to share it with Bayley.

Bliss takes the title and says they won’t be sharing this. She didn’t write letters to herself when she was ten, but she wants the title too. Bayley isn’t worthy of being champion and it’s going to be a lot easier when Bliss takes it from her. For real. Well at least it’s not Eva Marie.

Last week, Regal congratulated Balor and Joe on winning the tournament. Joe gets right to the point: he’s undefeated since he arrived and would like a title shot. Balor would love to give him a shot but Regal says it’s not that simple and makes a battle royal for the #1 contendership. Joe isn’t happy but Regal isn’t budging.

Tye Dillinger, Apollo Crews and Rhyno all say they’ll win the battle royal.

Breast cancer is bad.

Vaudevillains vs. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton

Non-title. English spins around to take over on Dawkins’ arm as Graves goes on about how weird the Vaudevillains are. A Fulton distraction lets Angelo get in a shot to the face and it’s off to Sawyer for some big shots in the corner. Angelo talks some loud trash as Fulton hooks a quick chinlock. A missed charge in the corner allows for the tag off to Gotch, who the fans find manly. Gotch suplexes Dawkins down and knocks off one of his headbands (don’t worry he has a second), setting up the Whirling Dervish to pin Dawkins at 3:14.

Rating: D+. Nothing match here but it was little more than a way to remind the fans that Vaudevillains are in fact a thing. They haven’t gotten a lot of focus lately but I have a feeling that Gable and Jordan will be more than enough of a challenge for them going forward. The Mechanics, who beat them in the Dusty Classic, are going to be around too.

Speaking of which, the Mechanics bring up the tournament match and think it means they’re the #1 contenders. However, they’ve been dealt the cards of Enzo and Cass, who will learn their lesson soon enough.

Clip of Asuka destroying Dana Brooke.

Dana was getting looked at when Asuka came up to laugh at her. She stared Emma down as well with that creepy smile. I like Asuka more and more every time as she’s almost eery at times.

Evie vs. Nia Jax

Nia Jax has some size to her, looking to be about the same level as Havok. The fans do the Baron Corbin counting and Nia shoves Evie into the corner. We hit an early bearhug followed by a splash in the corner. Fans: “JUST STAY DOWN!” Evie fires off some kicks but a release Rock Bottom ends her at 2:12. So we have Bayley, Asuka, Nia, Bliss, Brooke/Emma and the new jobbers who could easily be elevated. The division is already being rebuilt and it’s already looking good.

Package on the praise for the Iron Man match.

Tyler Breeze and Baron Corbin say they’ll win.

Eva Marie is in Paris for some me time.

Battle Royal

Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Tye Dillinger, Colin Cassady, Enzo Amore, Danny Burch, Elias Sampson, Mojo Rawley, Blake, Murphy, Rhyno, Tyler Breeze, Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, Bull Dempsey, Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, Samoa Joe, Zack Ryder, Steve Cutler, Riddick Moss

I think that’s everyone but I can’t fine a complete list anywhere. Only Rhyno, Corbin and Joe get entrances. A group of guys go after Joe to start and they get him to the apron but he punches his way back to safety. Everyone brawls with everyone as there’s too much to call early on. Gargano hides in the corner and ties himself around the ropes. Steve Cutler is the first elimination after three minutes.

Burch and Sampson are put out as well with Gargano following them. All four were put out by Crews in quite the display. Back from a break with no one having been eliminated during the break. Enzo and Blake have to save themselves but both stay in. Cass throws Moss out but the Mechanics get rid of him, only to have Enzo dump both of them at once. Dillinger eliminates Enzo but gets beaten up and tossed by Dempsey. Rhyno saves Corbin and eliminates Bull to get us down to ten.

We’ve got Ciampa, Ryder, Breeze, Joe, Crews, Blake, Murphy, Corbin, Rawley and Rhyno still left. Corbin dumps Rawley as the fans are behind Breeze. Things start to slow down and Breeze has to survive a double team from Blake and Murphy. Corbin eliminates Ryder and then turns on Rhyno to get rid of him as well. We take another break and come back with Blake, Murphy, Crews, Joe, Corbin and Breeze as Ciampa was put out during the break.

Joe dumps out Blake and Murphy at the same time before blocking the Supermodel Kick and erupting on Breeze. A running boot eliminates Tyler and it’s down to three. Corbin throws Joe to the apron and Breeze pulls him out to get us down to Crews vs. Corbin. Fans: “THANK YOU TYLER!” That’s a very interesting result.

They drive each other into the corner and the fans are entirely behind Crews. A spinebuster plants Apollo but Corbin gets frustrated when Crews stays on the apron. Apollo starts his comeback but the moonsault hits knees. Crews comes back with a series of kicks to the head though and a clothesline eliminates Corbin for the win at 23:12.

Rating: C+. Battle royals are always tricky to grade but this was more than entertaining enough. They flew through some of the eliminations here but the result is a good way to give us a new #1 contender and challenger for the title. There are only so many ways to run a battle royal and this was about as good as it was going to get.

Overall Rating: B+. In 58 minutes, we have a new #1 contender to the Women’s Title, Tag Team Titles and NXT Title, as well as a new feud between Joe and Breeze and an awesome debut for Nia Jax. As usual, NXT knows how to use its time better than any other wrestling show I’ve ever seen as they got everything accomplished in less than an hour with almost no time wasted. Another really good show this week and it flew by. Why can’t WWE do in five hours what NXT can do in one?

Results

Vaudevillains b. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton – Whirling Dervish to Dawkins

Nia Jax b. Evie – Release Rock Bottom

Apollo Crews won a battle royal last eliminating Baron Corbin

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

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

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

http://411mania.com/wrestling/wwe-news-eva-marie-misses-nxt-shows-to-film-total-divas-blue-pants-leaving-nxt-and-more/

I can accept this.  She’s great at popping the crowd but why should she take a spot that could go to others who are actually signed to the company?

Update: On Twitter, Leva said “don’t believe everything you read.”  There might be more to this so maybe we get the Big Cass intro again.

I don’t know why I don’t do these for every Takeover since they’re NXT pay per views. This felt like a show that was thrown together for the sake of having another Takeover on the calendar, but this is NXT where you can actually have faith in your wrestling product for a change. Let’s get to it.

We’re going to do this one a little differently as there are four matches that matter so let’s get the filler out of the way first.

Asuka squashed Dana Brooke in her debut. This was exactly what it needed to be as Asuka destroyed Brooke like she was nothing and even got in a few shots on Emma for good measure. I’m not sure what Brooke and Emma do now but it’s pretty clear that Asuka needs to be pushed as something important. Save for Nia Jax, there’s really no one left to challenge Bayley so it almost has to be Asuka.

As bad as the reason is, I’m hoping that Eva injuring Carmella at that house show might show WWE that she’s just not ready to compete at this level. With Asuka right there and whatever Jax has (she’s an Anoa’i so you know she’s got a good Samoan drop), Eva really would stick out even worse than she did before. Anyway this was an awesome debut for Asuka as she showed a bunch of striking and submission abilities as well as some awesome presence. What more can you ask for in less than six minutes?

Apollo Crews beat Tyler Breeze in the featured non-main event level match. This was a match where I really didn’t know who was going to win going in, but it became pretty clear that Crews is a major deal in NXT. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with Breeze, but NXT is the kind of place where they can rebuild you after some losses. Breeze has earned the fans’ and my respect already by taking what should have been a nothing comedy gimmick and turned it into one of the most consistent characters on the roster.

Breeze could become one heck of a face who wins with last minute superkicks but right now he’s great as a gatekeeper heel who has good matches against anyone. Crews still needs a character but the same could be said of Finn Balor back in June and he turned out fine. I like that powerbomb better than the standing moonsault as you can only get so far on a move like that. It doesn’t seem like someone kicking out of it would mean that much, but the powerbomb is an upgrade.

That leaves us with just the tournament and main event to go so let’s look at the three tag matches in a row.

First up we had Finn Balor/Samoa Joe vs. the Mechanics. This was an old school work the body part, which makes perfect sense given that the Mechanics are basically Anderson tribute wrestlers. Balor tweaked his knee during the match which seemed to be the most logical idea going forward into the finals. That being said, Balor and Joe won anyway after a Muscle Buster into the Coup de Grace which hurt the knee even worse. This was old fashioned tag team work and amazingly enough it still worked just fine despite people saying that those old styles don’t work anymore.

In the surprise of the night (at least going on) Rhyno/Baron Corbin beat Jason Jordan/Chad Gable. I was really stunned when Corbin pinned Jordan, but the more I think about how huge of a reaction Gable received the more sense it makes. You really don’t want to divide the audience with something like Balor vs. Jordan and miss the reaction that you want with Finn. Gable is something really special and could be a big deal going forward in NXT.

As for the match, they changed up the formula here and went with a fast paced tag match with a ton of saves. This is another one of the many things that I love about NXT: they know how mix up a card and not be repetitive. That’s one of the things that drives me crazy about WWE. How many times do you see the same finish or the same kind of match either on the same card or in a row? Stop doing the same stuff and mix it up a little.

That takes us to the final which was the most disappointing match of the night. Balor/Joe won the tournament in a good enough match over Rhyno/Corbin, but Balor’s knee injury never went anywhere. Yeah the heels worked it over for a good chunk of the match but the injury never went anywhere. I kept waiting on the injury to cost Balor something and it just never came. I’m assuming it sets up Balor vs. Joe in the future and the match wasn’t bad but it didn’t do anything for me.

The Rhodes Family presented the winners with a trophy. Nothing came of this but it was a nice moment.

Oh and no Dusty Finish? Really? Not once in the whole thing?

And then there’s the main event. Sweet goodness how awesome are Bayley and Sasha together? This was one of the best put together matches I’ve seen in years as every single thing set up the next move. I’m having trouble picking the first thing to rave about in this. We’ll start with Sasha torturing Izzy.

This is one of the most inspired ideas I’ve seen in a long time as they took something so basic and simple as a major fan and turned it into a plot device. It’s thinking outside the box, which would probably get them protested on Raw because a bunch of stupid groups who claim they’re doing the best thing for children don’t understand the concept that kids can handle being sad if something good happens in the end.

Bayley wound up winning and Izzy was happy, but instead of experiencing joy, there are people out there who would rather kids never have any problems in their lives because that’s how things will work in the real world right? I’ll cut myself off there and stick with using Izzy was awesome and made the match.

Another awesome moment was Bayley stomping on Sasha’s head to make her tap in a callback to Sasha stomping on Bayley’s hand in Brooklyn in a failed attempt to make her give up. It makes Bayley look like the tougher of the two and the one who deserves to be champion for never quitting in the end.

I can’t praise this match enough and somehow it’s just a step behind their classic in Brooklyn. This is in the running for feud of the year and this is their second great match in six weeks. Those aren’t numbers you see very often and it more than lived up to the hype as the first time two women main evented a pay per view.

This show more than exceeded expectations and was carried by the wrestling instead of the storytelling, though the main event delivered on both. For a show that felt like it was there for the sake of having a show and to give a tournament a big stage, this worked incredibly well and I had a blast watching it. As usual, NXT doesn’t know how to fail at a major show. London should be outstanding, as almost everything they put on is.

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

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

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