NXT Takeover: Respect
Date: October 7, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

This is one of the weaker looking Takeovers on paper as it’s only been about six weeks since the last special. However, there are four major matches taking place tonight with a thirty minute women’s Iron Man match for the Women’s Title and the final three matches in the inaugural Dusty Classic Tag Team Tournament. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about Bayley having the title but now it’s about earning respect.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-Finals: Finn Balor/Samoa Joe vs. Mechanics

There’s no stage this time but just the screen and a flat aisle. Balor gets knocked outside to start so Joe pounds on Wilder. Dawson pulls his partner out of the way of a corner charge though and the villains take over. Balor finally gets back on the apron as his partner is getting beaten down but an enziguri allows for the tag to the champ. A pair of kicks put the Mechanics on the floor and Balor unleashes the big flip dive to get the crowd even more fired up.

Wilder saves Dawson from the Coup de Grace and Dawson chop blocks Balor to put the champ in trouble. The Mechanics start taking turns working on the knee, including wrapping it around the post and a half crab from Dawson. Balor avoids an elbow drop but Wilder takes Joe off the apron to keep Balor in trouble. This is classic tag team formula stuff so far and it still works. Wilder doesn’t have as much luck though as Balor dives over and makes the tag to Joe for some house cleaning. There’s the Muscle Buster to Wilder and Balor adds the Coup de Grace for the pin at 9:08 but Balor wrenched his knee again.

Rating: B. This is what NXT does best: simple, basic storytelling that accomplishes everything they needed to take care of. Balor’s knee is messed up going into the finals and you had a good match to get to the point. They didn’t just do a three minute match to set up the long final but rather took their time and gave us something entertaining in the less important match. Well done, as usual.

Clips of NXT at the Louder than Life festival in Louisville.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Semi-Finals: Chad Gable/Jason Jordan vs. Baron Corbin/Rhyno

Corbin throws Jordan around with ease so for some reason Baron tags out to Rhyno. A quick suplex gets two on Rhyno and Gable gets the same off a slingshot sunset flip. The fans are entirely behind Gable here (complete with a Gable chant to the tune of Kurt Angle’s old music) as he starts on Rhyno’s arm. Jordan comes in to do the same and a double northern lights suplex gets two on Rhyno.

Rhyno tries to throw Gable over the top but Chad grabs the armbar over the ropes to put him in even more trouble. Corbin gets in a few shots on the floor so Rhyno can take over with a chinlock. It’s off to Corbin for a chinlock of his own (fans: “SAVE THE GABLES!”) before Rhyno misses a top rope splash.

Gable crawls over and makes the tag and it’s Jordan coming in to speed things up. Everything breaks down with Jordan cleaning house but he has to save Gable after the End of Days knocks him silly. Gable O’Connor rolls Corbin out of the corner into a German suplex (awesome) but Rhyno makes the save. There’s a Gore to Jordan and the second End of Days puts Gable away at 10:27.

Rating: B. I liked this one a lot with all the insanity at the end but the ending is a big surprise. I really would have bet on Gable/Jordan winning the whole thing and then they don’t even make it to the finals? It’s not the worst idea in the world but it was the last thing I was expecting. Maybe they don’t want to see Gable getting cheered on the same level as Balor but I’m still surprised at the ending.

Kevin Nash is here.

Video of Asuka.

Asuka vs. Dana Brooke

Brooke has Emma with her. Asuka comes to the ring with a long robe and a white mask for a cool visual. Dana has no interest in a handshake and they fight over a wristlock with Asuka moving at twice Dana’s speed. A slap to the face takes the taste out of Asuka’s mouth but she just smiles at Dana. Asuka comes back with a quick striking rush and Dana’s pose followed by a Fujiwara Armbar.

Emma finally helps her partner with a distraction and the handstand choke has Asuka in some trouble. Asuka comes right back with a snap German suplex and a cross armbreaker followed by a cross face chickenwing. There’s a spinning elbow to knock Emma off the apron. Fans: “ASUKA CITY!” Dana is almost done and gets caught in another cross face chickenwing with a bodyscissors (the Asuka Lock) for the tap at 5:30.

Rating: B-. Well that worked. Asuka picked Dana apart and destroyed her in very short order with every bit of offense you could want to see in five minutes. This was a great debut for Asuka who looks like a killer and blows away everyone else in the division at the moment. Now as long as they keep it going this way instead of going with Eva Marie, everything will be fine.

Asuka takes Dana down again and stares at Emma post match.

Breast cancer is bad.

We look at Balor injuring his knee again.

Nia Jax finally arrives next week.

Apollo Crews vs. Tyler Breeze

Crews powers him up against the ropes to start and knocks Tyler to the floor like he’s nothing. A delayed vertical suplex gets two for Crews but Breeze leverages him out to the floor to take over again. Back in and Breeze starts in on the back with some knees and a chinlock with a knee in the spine. A sideways Backstabber gets two and sets up a Sharpshooter of all things from Breeze.

Apollo makes the ropes and nails a jumping clothesline, followed by a BIG kick to the face to knock Tyler silly. The back gives out though and Breeze Supermodel Kicks him for two. Tyler dives into a powerslam for two and there’s the gorilla press but Breeze gets the knees up to block the standing moonsault. Breeze gets all fired up with forearms but Apollo kicks him square in the jaw. Crews loads up a belly to back suplex but spins him around into a powerbomb for the pin at 9:47.

Rating: C+. I like the idea of having Crews do something other than the standing moonsault for a finisher as that’s only going to take him so far. It’s also really nice to see him face some adversity and overcome it for a change because it makes him easier to get behind instead of just someone to marvel over.

Hideo Itami is here.

We look back at tonight’s first two tournament matches.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Finn Balor/Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin/Rhyno

Balor is limping to the ring. Finn and Rhyno get things going and Corey immediately declares this as a dumb idea. Rhyno shoves the champ around with ease and it’s off to Corbin for some feeling out. The knee starts to go out though so it’s off to Joe for the rapid fire strikes in the corner. Off to Rhyno who has some more luck with a knee to the ribs before Corbin comes in again to a chorus of booing.

A big boot gets two on Joe but he comes back with the enziguri in the corner. Joe tags off to Balor who uses Corbin as a launching pad into a dropkick to Rhyno. The knee seems fine at first but it gives out again when he charges into the corner. That’s fine with Balor though as he nails an enziguri, only to have Rhyno drill him in the knee again to take over. Balor’s comeback is stopped with a Boss Man Slam for two but he comes back again with a Sling Blade out of nowhere.

The second hot tag brings in Joe to take over on Rhyno with the Rock Bottom out of the corner and an STO to Corbin. A Gore gets two on Rhyno with Balor making the save, only to damage the knee again in the process. Another Gore is countered by a kick to the face and it’s the Muscle Buster into the Coup de Grace for the pin and the tournament at 11:09.

Rating: B-. No Dusty Finish? Other than that disappointment, I can’t find much to complain about here. The first two matches were better and the knee didn’t really play into the finish, but I’m sure this leads to Joe vs. Balor in some way. Rhyno and Corbin weren’t an option for winning the whole thing save for Balor and Joe imploding but at least they were an impressive looking opponent in the final. Also well done to have Rhyno take the fall instead of Corbin.

The Rhodes Family (with Stardust out of character) present Balor and Joe with the trophy. Cody talks about his dad being the oak of NXT and how his dad was beamed into homes around the world for over forty years. Tonight, we are all part of the Rhodes family. Dusty’s theme music plays with nothing from Joe or Balor.

Stephanie (of course), Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Lita are in the front row.

We recap Bayley taking the title in Brooklyn and Sasha wanting a rematch. The result is tonight’s 30 minute Iron Man match for the title. We also see some more of Bayley training in an awesome montage.

Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

Bayley is defending and this is an Iron Man match, meaning the most falls (pin, submission, countout or disqualification) in thirty minutes wins. We get the entrances following the girls to the ring, thankfully with no talking from the announcers. Bayley has a cape and Iron Man colors, meaning my life is complete. Fans: “WOMEN’S WRESTLING!”

They stare each other down and there’s no contact until a little over a minute in. A lockup gets us to Sasha holding a headlock, followed by some rollups for two. Bayley gets some rollups of her own for two each and a pinfall reversal sequence gives us even more near falls. Sasha gets in the first big move with a dropkick to knock the champ into the corner but Bayley comes back with a Japanese armdrag to drop Sasha on her head for two. That looked bad but Sasha seems to be ok.

We’re five minutes in and Sasha sends her into the corner with a top rope wristdrag. Both finishers are blocked and Sasha chills in the corner. Sasha suckers her in and pulls the hair to get a quick two but it ticks Bayley off. Some hard elbows and a clothesline put Sasha on the floor. Bayley keeps the pressure on with a dropkick under the bottom rope (ala Sami Zayn) and a bulldog back inside for two. Both of them nearly crush the referee in the corner but Sasha uses this to her advantage and pokes Bayley in the eye for the first fall at 8:32.

Bayley rams her face first into the buckle over and over but gets sent into them herself. Both of them are banged up as we’re ten minutes in. The double knees in the corner are countered into something like Snake Eyes and the Bayley to Belly ties it up at 10:55. Sasha bails to the floor so Bayley tries the sliding kick again. Banks catches her coming in this time though (I love psychology) and slams Bayley into the steps, right in front of her family and Izzy in a nice touch. Sasha throws her into the steps two more times and makes sure to talk trash to the family. Bayley kicks out at two and the fans are chanting for Izzy.

The champ is thrown to the floor and bangs her knee on the landing. Sasha whips her into the video board and it’s a countout to give Sasha a 2-1 lead at 14:12. Banks steals Izzy’s headband and throws it at her, making Izzy cry to get the fans entirely on Bayley’s side. Bayley beats the count back in at fifteen minutes to go but Banks starts right in on her back. Sasha is brimming with confidence as she slaps on a Liontamer and stomps on the bad hand for old times’ sake. Bayley makes the rope and grabs a fluke rollup to tie us up at 2-2 with 12:38 to go.

The double knees in the corner miss again and Bayley makes the comeback with ax handles to the face followed by an awkward looking spinning facebuster for two. The middle rope back elbow gets the same and Bayley’s hair is almost down. Bayley puts her in the Tree of Woe for a running springboard elbow as we have ten minutes left.

Banks crotches her on top and now the double knees hit (great job of building that move up) for two. Bayley kicks her to the floor as the fans think it’s better than Raw (time for Vince and Dunn to crush this show then). Now Bayley starts working on Sasha’s hand and the fans want Izzy to slap Banks. The arm gets snapped across the middle rope and Sasha falls out to the floor again.

Bayley starts setting up the steps and Izzy looks like she’s about to cry again. Sasha’s hand is slammed into the steps again and a clothesline off the steps puts her on the floor. She’s still able to kick Bayley into the steps though and the champ is in trouble again. Sasha’s suicide dive is caught and a Bayley to Belly on the floor knocks her silly. Somehow that only gets two back inside and we’ve got five minutes to go.

Bayley puts her on the middle rope and a running super Bayley to Belly gets….two as the cover sent Sasha’s feet into the ropes. Three minutes left and they’re both spent. Bayley loads up the reverse hurricanrana but Sasha lands on her feet and hits a Bayley to Belly of her own. There’s the Bank Statement and Sasha spins her away from the ropes. She can’t get the full hold on though due to the hand injury from earlier.

Sasha kicks away from the ropes and gets a better version on with a minute left. Bayley reaches up and bends the hand back for the break before slamming the bad hand into the mat to get out. Sasha hooks the backbreaker to set up another Bank Statement but Bayley rolls through into an armbar while cranking on the hand with ten seconds left. Bayley KICKS HER IN THE HEAD until Sasha taps with three seconds left to retain Bayley’s title at 30:00 by a score of 3-2.

Rating: A. It’s not as good as the Brooklyn match (I underrated that one horribly. If that wasn’t an A+, nothing is.) but my goodness they were feeling the drama and storytelling here. The back work from Banks worked perfectly but it made sense that Bayley didn’t give up because of Sasha’s hand injury. Bayley got WAY more aggressive than she ever has before here and it felt like a battle instead of just a match. Really good stuff here and I had a blast with it.

Bayley looks drained as the roster comes out to the entrance to help Sasha up. HHH presents Bayley with a bouquet and she soaks in the cheers. Bayley and Sasha smile at each other to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. I’m still trying to catch my breath about five minutes after the show ended. This was AWESOME with the main event stealing the show all over again. Those two are something special and they know they are. The rest of the show was all really good stuff too with the worst match probably being Asuka putting on a show against Brooke. I had a blast tonight and it blew away my expectations, as these things almost always do.

Results

Finn Balor/Samoa Joe b. Mechanics – Coup de Grace to Wilder

Rhyno/Baron Corbin b. Chad Gable/Jason Jorda – End of Days to Gable

Asuka b. Dana Brooke – Asuka Lock

Apollo Crews b. Tyler Breeze – Spinning powerbomb

Finn Balor/Samoa Joe b. Baron Corbin/Rhyno – Coup de Grace to Rhyno

Bayley b. Sasha Banks 3-2

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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For some reason I don’t think I’ve ever done one of these for a Takeover. These things are the NXT pay per views though so it’s definitely worth looking at a little bit closer. This one does feel like it’s slapped together and really not necessary, but at least you have a series of big matches that should eat up a lot of time. Let’s get to it.

Let’s get the smaller matches out of the way first.

I’ll take Asuka over Dana Brooke. Brooke has been built up as a threat but Asuka feels like something special. I’m not saying Asuka is going to be the next top challenger, but I’ll take her over Eva Marie’s comedy show any day.

Apollo Crews over Tyler Breeze, though Breeze really needs a big win at some point.

As for the main event, of course Bayley wins though Sasha is likely getting a fall here or there. I’m sure the ending will have a bunch of drama, likely with Bayley locked in the Bank Statement with time running out and wondering if she’ll give up or not. There’s no way they’re taking the belt off of her yet though. There has never been a repeat champion in NXT and I can’t picture it happening now with Sasha looking like she’s going after the Divas Title.

Now for the tournament, which could go more than one way. We’ll start with the only easy match in the field: Jordan/Gable beat Rhyno/Corbin. They’ve got something special with Gable and I think they know it. There’s no way they’re going to put Rhyno and Corbin over them and into a final they have no chance of winning.

That brings us to the more complicated match as Finn Balor/Samoa Joe face the Mechanics. It’s no secret that Balor and Joe are going to be feuding at some point in the future. However, the question becomes do they lose and argue over whose fault it was or do they win the whole thing and then fight over who was the more important member of the team? Or do they win the whole thing and then Joe gets a shot as a sign of respect? I’m not sure if they win the whole thing or not, but I do think they advance to the finals.

So that leaves Joe/Balor vs. Gable/Jordan for the title. I think I’m going with Gable/Jordan here as they’re a good choice for the next challengers to the titles and you can have Balor vs. Joe at the next Takeover. Or, they go with Gable/Jordan but a DUSTY FINISH gives it back to Joe/Balor. Seriously if they don’t go with a Dusty Finish at some point, I’m going to be disappointed.

Overall this show feels…..unnecessary. This feels like they’re giving Full Sail a Takeover to make up for Brooklyn because they’re afraid Full Sail will be offended. I have confidence in NXT to pull something off though and they’re guaranteed to have some entertaining matches along the way, but I’m hoping we don’t have another one of these for a good while. Like until London in late December.

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: September 30, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

This is the go home show for next week’s Takeover: Respect show and the main story tonight is finding out the final four in the Dusty Classic. The semifinals and finals are next week, meaning most of the card is already set. I’m sure we’ll also get the hard sell for Bayley vs. Sasha II. Let’s get to it.

We open with an update on the tournament. Here are the updated brackets:

Rhyno/Baron Corbin

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan

Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

Finn Balor/Samoa Joe or Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady

Opening sequence.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarter-Finals: Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Finn Balor/Samoa Joe

Enzo and Cass are classic guys and if you’re not a fan of Dusty Rhodes, you must be S-A-W-F-T! Balor now has a slightly altered entrance, a leather jacket and the BALOR CLUB sign for his tron video. Joe and Cass get things going and they slug it out onto the floor, only to have Enzo nail a suicide dive. Balor adds in a flip dive and we take a very early break. Back with Enzo hitting a middle rope DDT on the champ.

The hot (?) tag brings in Cass for some splashes to Joe and big boots to both guys. A big running elbow gets two on Joe and Cass plants him with a Boss Man Slam. The Rocket Launcher connects but Joe rolls over and lifts Enzo to the top for the Muscle Buster. Finn adds the Coup de Grace to advance at 7:12.

Rating: C-. Well that was short. Balor and Joe winning is the better choice as it’s going to make for a bigger impact when they either win the whole thing and fight over who earned the win or screw up and split as a result. Either way it’s a good idea for a story and a good way to set up what should be a really fun title match down the line.

Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano are disappointed by their loss but tonight it’s about moving forward against Apollo Crews. Tyler Breeze comes in and says he’d love to fight Ciampa later tonight.

Video on Asuka.

Johnny Gargano vs. Apollo Crews

Gargano flips out of a fireman’s carry to start and puts on something like an Anaconda Vice/Tarantula combo for a few moments. Four moments of course because he has until five. Crews dropkicks him out to the floor but Gargano comes back in with a slingshot spear through the ropes for two. Cool move. Some kicks get two more for Johnny but Crews shrugs them off and hits the gorilla press and standing moonsault for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: C. Crews is gathering up wins and it’s nice to see him beating people other than just jobbers. His match with Breeze should be a really good test for him as Breeze is known for putting on good matches in the big moments and both guys need a win on a big stage like this. Good enough match here and a good launching pad for Crews going into Takeover.

Regal brings Dana Brooke and Emma into his office to announce Dana vs. Asuka next week. Brooke is thrilled until Regal shows them an Asuka highlight reel. Emma: “Good luck with that.”

Nia Jax video.

Dana Brooke/Emma vs. Peyton Royce/Billie Kay

Peyton grabs some quick rollups for two each on Dana as the fans chant for the jobbers. It’s off to Billie vs. Emma with Kay getting two off a delayed suplex. Dana calls Kay a billy goat and the villains take over in the corner. Both of them put on a bodyscissors to keep Kay in trouble but she finally gets over for the tag to Peyton. Things go a bit better for Royce with a dropkick getting two on Dana but Emma grabs her leg, setting up the sitout Death Valley Driver for the pin on Peyton at 6:48. That move needs a name.

Rating: D+. This was pretty dull stuff but at least Brooke gets to look dominant before she gets destroyed by Asuka next week. Dana plays a good heel and the alliance with Emma works well enough. The bodyscissors dragged a lot of the life out of this one though and it could have been a good big shorter.

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan say they’re the favorites going into their match next week. Then it’s on to the finals where they probably won’t be facing Dawson/Wilder. That brings in Dawson/Wilder for some serious bickering.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Tyler Breeze

Ciampa’s video mostly says Johnny Gargano. Feeling out process to start as they trade rollups for no counts. Breeze winds up riding Ciampa like a short horse until Ciampa hits a running knee in the corner. Tyler comes right back with a neckbreaker and a front facelock as things slow down again. Ciampa fights up again and lifts Breeze up for a hanging downward spiral, only to block a rollup attempt that Breeze wasn’t trying.. These two are really not clicking so far. Tyler dropkicks him out of the air for two and hooks a Killswitch for the pin at 7:49.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t liking this one for the most part as they seemed like they were on different pages. Breeze has worked well with almost anyone he’s been out there with and I’m not the biggest Ciampa fan in the world. It was no secret that Breeze was going to win here but unlike Crews, he didn’t make it into a very entertaining match.

Baron Corbin and Rhyno say they’ll win the tournament.

We run down the Takeover card.

A long recap of Bayley winning the Women’s Title and the build to the Iron Woman rematch ends the show. Good stuff here with Bayley studying Iron Man matches and training to go half an hour.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t great here but they did a really good job of setting up next week’s show. This was quite the go home show, which is something you often get around here. Next week’s Takeover definitely feels like one of the lower level specials they’ve had but I could see the wrestling really making up for a lot of the lack of stories. Good enough this week as they made me want to see next week’s big show.

Results

Samoa Joe/Finn Balor b. Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore – Coup de Grace to Amore

Apollo Crews b. Johnny Gargano – Standing moonsault

Dana Brooke/Emma b. Peyton Royce/Billie Kay – Sitout Death Valley Driver to Royce

Tyler Breeze b. Tommaso Ciampa – Killswitch

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: September 16, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton

The Dusty Classic continues tonight as we have three weeks to go before Takeover: Respect. So far there isn’t much officially announced for the show but that is likely to change tonight with the main event being set up on this show. I’m sure we’ll also get some more tournament matches, including a few that might have taken place outside of Full Sail. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Tyler Breeze vs. Adam Rose

This is the debut of Adam’s new party pooper character where he wears glasses and shorts. Before the match can start, Bull Dempsey comes out with the fans getting behind the Bull Fit movement. Dempsey lays on the top rope ala Breeze and says this is no accident. Breeze thinks last week’s loss was an accident, just like the day that Bull was born. Tyler would be glad to beat up Bull right now but he has a match first. Dempsey asks Rose to step aside but beats him up instead. Breeze’s blind side attack doesn’t work and Bull clears the ring. No match.

After a break, Breeze accepts Bull’s challenge for a match next week.

Tye Dillinger vs. Danny Burch

Burch had been going by the name Martin Stone but the announcers are going with Burch here. Dillinger gives his early wristlock and cartwheel a ten so Danny grabs a top wristlock. Tye easily escapes and takes his pads down for a one knee Codebreaker and the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D+. Dillinger has a great idea with the perfect ten thing but he needs to be able to talk about it instead of just holing up a ten over and over. It’s cool to see him win a match like this though and the fans are way into the new character. Burch is a good example of what you can have when jobbers are allowed to be kept around. He’s been built up just enough that it’s not a total squash but he has no chance. That’s important to have.

Rhyno and Baron Corbin are ready for Ciampa and Gargano tonight.

Asuka (Kanna) is here next week.

Apollo Crews vs. Solomon Crowe

They shake hands to start and Crews takes him down with a headlock. Back up and Apollo offers another handshake but Crowe kicks the hand away. Crews takes him down with a big suplex and Solomon takes a breather on the floor. He catches Crews’ baseball slide and ties him up in the ring skirt to take over.

Back in and Crowe drives his forearm into the side of Crews’ head, followed by a clothesline for two. Crowe is finally starting to get something going for himself with this style but it’s too late for him. A jawbreaker stuns Solomon and Apollo starts speeding things up. An enziguri sets up the gorilla press and standing moonsault to give Crews the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C. Not bad here but Crowe needs to either have something changed or get rid of him because this character has been a wreck. He has something with the in ring style but it’s not working elsewhere. I wanted to see where he could take the hacker thing but that’s gone nowhere.

Ciampa and Gargano are ready for Corbin and Rhyno tonight.

Dana Brooke and Emma are tired of being disrespected and think it’s time to shake things up for a change. Play time is over.

Sasha Banks arrives.

We get some highlights of the first round of the Dusty Classic and a few second round matches announced, including the Hype Bros vs. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan and Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. the Vaudevillains.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Second Round: Rhyno/Baron Corbin vs. Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano

Gargano and Rhyno get things going but it’s off to Ciampa before there’s any contact. Ciampa runs the ropes and scores with a quick clothesline but the fans are busy arguing over whether or not they want Corbin. Baron comes in but gets low bridged to the floor, allowing Johnny to suicide dive both opponents. Ciampa’s top rope cross body puts both guys down again as this is completely one sided.

Back in and Rhyno clotheslines Ciampa down to take over and Baron comes in with a big swinging Boss Man Slam. We take a break and come back with Baron choking with a boot. Rhyno and Corbin take turns on Ciampa until Rhyno charges into a boot in the corner. Ciampa scores with a missile dropkick and it’s a double tag to Gargano and Corbin. Johnny starts cleaning house and everything breaks down until End of Days puts Gargano away at 11:06.

Rating: C+. This was fun stuff and more proof that Baron can hang in a longer match instead of just doing a quick squash. Rhyno and Corbin are a good choice for a power team and Rhyno is the kind of guy who can teach Baron a lot in the ring. Good match here though and that’s a good sign as we’re getting closer to the finals.

The Vaudevillains are looking forward to Wilder and Dawson next week in the Dusty Classic but Blake/Murphy/Bliss come in and invoke their rematch clause for next week.

Bayley vs. Sarah Dobson

Non-title and Bayley runs through the crowd before the match, including bringing her biggest fan Izzy into the ring to pose with her. There is no way this can’t be considered cool. Dobson hammers away to start and cartwheels into a kick to the back of the head for an early two. A guillotine choke has Bayley in trouble but she drives Dobson into the corner to break it up. The ax handles to the chest set up the Bayley to Belly for the pin at 2:29. I’m getting a Ricky Steamboat vibe off Bayley: as pure of a face as there can and she takes a beating before making a comeback to win with a basic move. That’s a very good path to follow.

Bayley gets the mic but Sasha Banks cuts her off. Sasha has been hearing about how their title match was the match of the year and the fans seem to agree. However, that’s not good enough for Sasha. She’s not here to please the fans because Bayley was only better than her for three seconds.

Bayley wants to start her own legacy and has no problem giving Sasha her rematch whenever she wants one. That’s not what Sasha wants though because she wants to beat Bayley over and over. Fans: “IRON WOMAN!” Cue Regal to give the fans exactly what they want in the main event of Takeover on October 7 in a thirty minute Iron Man match. Bayley and Sasha look a bit nervous but shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Now that’s how you use an hour of TV time. We have a main event for Takeover, a title match set for next week and advancement in the tournament. The fans ate up that announcement at the end and it’s another step forward for the women. Good show here and I had a lot of fun with it.

Results

Tye Dillinger b. Danny Burch – One knee Codebreaker

Apollo Crews b. Solomon Crowe – Standing moonsault

Baron Corbin/Rhyno b. Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano – End of Days to Gargano

Bayley b. Sarah Dobson – Bayley to Belly

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I 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: September 2, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves

The focus goes back on the tag teams tonight as we begin the Dusty Classic. This is a tag team tournament for a prize to be announced and with most of the participants to be announced as well. The idea is to have the past, present and future of NXT involved to honor the spirit of Dusty Rhodes. Let’s get to it.

The opening video hypes up the tournament and talks about paying tribute to the Dream.

Opening sequence.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Ascension vs. Rhyno/Baron Corbin

Rhyno runs Viktor over to start but Viktor rolls into a shoulder to put Rhyno down. Konor and Corbin come in but a quick double shoulder drops Baron. The double teaming doesn’t last long though and Viktor is sent shoulder first into the post, allowing Rhyno to get some shots in. Back to Corbin as it seems the Ascension are the faces here. Konor gets the hot tag and cleans house on Baron before avoiding a Gore. Corbin breaks up the Fall of Man though and Rhyno Gores Konor for the pin at 5:39.

Rating: D. This was an awkward match with both teams looking a bit off. It’s also very telling that the Ascension can’t even get a win over a thrown together team where the members don’t even get along down in NXT. They’ve just died since they got called up to the main roster and WWE has no issues with it.

Neville and Solomon Crowe are in the tournament. They’re both excited but Solomon freaks Neville out a bit.

Nia Jax is still coming.

Alexa Bliss vs. Blue Pants

Bliss takes Blue Pants down for a beating to start and throws her to the mat by the hair. Pants gets rammed into the buckle and a kick to the back sets up an armbar. Back up and Pants fires off some kicks and a northern lights suplex gets two. She misses a charge in the corner though and the Sparkle Splash gives Alexa the pin at 3:34.

Rating: C-. Total squash but that was exactly what it was supposed to be. Bliss is the evil mastermind and Blue Pants is nothing more than a cult favorite who can only win matches through interference. There’s no point in having her win here when she just shows up for goofy appearances so everyone is fine.

Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa are in Regal’s office when Tyler Breeze storms in. Tyler demands a spot in the tournament so Regal gives him Bull Dempsey to face Gargano and Ciampa next week.

Emma says the Divas Revolution isn’t happening without her.

Apollo Crews vs. Martin Stone

Apollo starts fast with an armdrag but Stone clotheslines him down to take over. Off to a chinlock for a bit before Crews comes back with a standing enziguri. The gorilla press and standing moonsault put Stone away at 2:57. Crews looked good but he needs to do something besides just being all athletic and awesome.

Chad Gable and Jason Jordan say they’ll get to write this tournament’s history after winning the whole thing.  Neville is flying too close to the sun and Crowe is going to be forgotten.  Jordan finally says the Ready Willing and Gable line. Gable is money.

Finn Balor is ready to defend his title in Texas, but first of all he’s in the Dusty Classic. His partner, Samoa Joe, comes in and says he wants to win it all. Balor shakes his hand and says he’s ready. So I guess Joe is going to be the next major challenger.

Eva Marie vs. Billie Kay

We get an Eva chant to start, which I don’t buy as legit for a second. Eva fires off some shoulders in the corner and grabs a suplex for two. A seated abdominal stretch is countered by a small package but Eva comes back with a backsplash (that’s WAY too common a move these days) for two more. Kay makes a quick comeback with a clothesline and suplex for two of her own, but the interesting part is the fans booing Eva out of the building for kicking out. That was awesome in a way. Back up and Sliced Red #2 beats Kay at 3:45.

Rating: D. Eva is gorgeous and looks great in her gear, has awesome presence, but above all else, she’s just not that good in the ring. If they try to push her as a star in the division, the heat is going to be out of this world. The NXT fans simply do not want her in their company and it’s not surprising in the slightest.

The Hype Bros and Enzo/Cass argued over what part of New York to celebrate in after winning last week.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Solomon Crowe/Neville vs. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan

Gable takes Crowe to the mat to start and easily rolls him around into a backslide for two. Back up and Crowe counters a leapfrog into a flapjack (nice move) before it’s off to Neville for a very nice welcome home reaction. Jordan takes Neville down to the mat with some nice amateur stuff but Neville flips out of a suplex and sends Jason to the floor as we take a break. Back with Jordan throwing Solomon down just like he did to Neville before a wicked overhead belly to belly drops Crowe again.

Gable comes back in and mocks Solomon, even having Jordan fan him off while Crowe is on the floor. Jordan throws on a chinlock for a bit before Solomon adds a bow and arrow of his own. The hold is finally broken and Crowe dives over for the tag, allowing Neville to come in for his usual fast paced stuff.

Gable pulls Jason to the floor to break up the Red Arrow. That’s fine with Neville as he dives on both of them with Crowe following with a dive of his own. Back in and Jordan catches Neville’s next dive and throws him face first onto the mat. Crowe tags himself in and gets suplexed again, setting up the Grand Amplitude (the announcers don’t know the name) for the pin at 12:48.

Rating: C+. Good match here and Crowe tagging himself in might lead to a heel turn for him, which probably won’t save him but it’s better than whatever it was he’s been doing for the last few weeks. Neville really does come off as a star here and you can see what they’re going for with the superhero idea.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show for the most part and they’re making the tournament feel like a huge deal. That’s exactly what something this important should be and I love the fact that they’ve made the whole promotion want to get involved with it. Good stuff here and what is hopefully the sign of good stuff to come.

Results

Baron Corbin/Rhyno b. Ascension – Gore to Konor

Alexa Bliss b. Blue Pants – Sparkle Splash

Apollo Crews b. Martin Stone – Standing moonsault

Eva Marie b. Billie Kay – Sliced Red #2

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan b. Neville/Solomon Crowe – Grand Amplitude to Crowe

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

So in addition to Summerslam, there was NXT’s biggest show of all time as they had roughly the same crowd as Summerslam in the same building for Takeover: Brooklyn. As usual I was way more excited for this than for whatever WWE was putting on as NXT actually knows how to build a full card. Let’s get to it.

We opened with HHH introducing us to the show and showing off the huge crowd. It never ceases to amaze me how much cooler HHH is on his own than when he’s on Raw. This feels like the closer thing to a real version of the guy and he’s a lot more enjoyable like this. Also his speech was like two minutes long, not twenty. Do that more on Raw.

The opening was a surprise as Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Tyler Breeze. I’ve been waiting for Breeze to be pushed towards the top of the promotion but Liger getting the win is far from the worst thing in the world. Above all here: I have full confidence in NXT’s ability to build Breeze back up. In WWE, or almost any other promotion for that matter, he would be finished for all intents and purposes. The match was good and Liger is a charisma machine so the fans ate this up.

The Vaudevillains brought in Blue Pants to help deal with Alexa Bliss and finally won the Tag Team Titles. As usual, Blue Pants was the perfect choice (save for maybe Lita) and the place was going insane for this. Bliss has a spot as the insanely petty and stuck up girl who can also be an evil mastermind so once you get her away from a dead end act like Blake and Murphy (they’re fine but this is almost guaranteed to be the peaks of their careers), she could do some awesome stuff.

My biggest takeaway from this match was how hot the crowd was. The match was just good instead of great but the people were all over the near falls. It’s what happens when they’re given a reason to care about something instead of being beaten over the head by the company saying how awesome it is. The Vaudevillains have earned the fans’ respect and they were rewarded for it with a great reaction here. It’s such a simple formula but almost no one gets it.

Apollo Crews debuted and beat Tye Dillinger. There isn’t much to say here but Crews looks like a shorter Ahmed Johnson but with more athletic ability. As long as he doesn’t get caught in bed with his goat lover while doing cocaine off an underage prostitute corpse, he’s going to be fine.

We’re going to have the Dusty Classic Tag Team Tournament. No idea what that is but I fully trust NXT to pull off something http://onhealthy.net/product-category/antivirals/ cool with it.

In what we’ll call the pleasant surprise of the night, Samoa Joe beat Baron Corbin with the Koquina Clutch. Joe is a likely candidate for the next title shot and this was a very good performance to get him there. This was two power guys beating each other up for ten minutes and it was all entertaining stuff.

I’m going to keep this separate from the next match: Stephanie came out to introduce the next match. Stephanie is officially the annoying mom who doesn’t get that her kids don’t want her around all the time because she’s going to make it all about herself instead of letting the kids have fun. Unfortunately there’s no way around her so we’re stuck with her ego and obsession with being there for every cool moment.

Next up was Bayley challenging Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title. This was good. Go watch it. Seriously what else do you want from me here? I’ll give them this: that sequence of the Bank Statement and the hand stomp is as good of a back and forth as I’ve seen since Benoit vs. Angle in 2003. The post match scene with the Four Horsewomen posing one last time was perfect too.

The main event saw Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Kevin Owens in a ladder match that shouldn’t have gone on last. It’s a really fun match and all, but there was no way these guys were going to match what we saw beforehand. I’ve heard a lot of people say it wasn’t very good, but I think those opinions might change with this match in a vacuum instead of right after the classic beforehand.

These two ran into the problem that so many have with ladder matches: what else can you do in them? There have been so many ladder matches over the years and it’s almost impossible to come up with something fresh. Still though, they did what they were supposed to do and the match was a success. It just shouldn’t have gone on last, though I understand the mentality behind it.

So yeah, Takeover rocked, because that’s all NXT knows how to do. It’s such a well build promotion with good to great wrestling, well done stories and an assembly line of fresh talent coming in to restock the shelves when these people are taking up to the main show and wasted because Kevin Dunn and company have to teach them how to be wrestlers because of some grudge with HHH or whatever. Awesome show, watch it again, it’s better than Summerslam.

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn
Date: August 22, 2015
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

It’s the biggest show in NXT history (so far) as NXT is on the road again. We have a double main event tonight with Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against former champion Kevin Owens in a ladder match and Bayley challenging for the Women’s Title against champion Sasha Banks. Let’s get to it.

HHH is in the ring to start and talks about how the NXT fans made this company unstoppable. They wanted something new and made it into a revolution. Because of that, the future is now. WE ARE NXT!

The arena looks amazing as this feels like a full on WWE pay per view.

Tyler Breeze vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

Breeze has a New York themed fashion show, complete with people dressed as the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. Jushin of course gets the legend’s pop that he deserves but he doesn’t have his signature music. Tyler scores with an early shoulder and lays over the top rope. Jushin takes him down and drops an elbow to the back before laying out just like Tyler.

We get a modified surfboard before the real version has Breeze in even more trouble. Liger is just going through his normal stuff here. A monkey flip sends Breeze face first into the mat before Liger steals the selfie stick for a quick picture. The Liger Bomb is countered and Breeze goes for the mask to make him the most evil man in the building. The Supermodel Kick gets two and the fans argue about levels of gorgeous. A modified backstabber gets two more for Tyler and the fans think Full Sail sucks.

Back up and the Liger Kick stuns Breeze but he gets the knees up to block a splash. Breeze takes too long yelling at the referee though and eats the palm strike. The threat of another dive sends him to the floor, only to have Liger hit a flip dive off the apron. Back in and the Liger Bomb finishes clean at 8:38.

Rating: B-. As cool as it is to see Liger in WWE, I’m really not sure about that ending. You brought Liger in to make Breeze look good and then Liger beats him in less than nine minutes? I don’t hate the result because Liger is indeed a legend, but I wanted to see Breeze go on as one of the top names in the company and now he’s losing here? To be fair though, Sami Zayn is the biggest star in NXT history and got big by losing over and over.

Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman are here.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte wish Bayley luck.

Nia Jax is coming. She’s not like other girls.

Tag Team Titles: Vaudevillains vs. Blake and Murphy

The Vaudevillains are challenging. They also have top hats, making them even more awesome. The question here is who the Vaudevillains have to counter Alexa, who calls them pathetic for coming out alone. Fans: “WE WANT BLUE PANTS!” And here’s Blue Pants. Gotch works on Blake’s (now in trunks instead of tights) to start as the fans chant BLUE PANTS CITY. English comes in with a big boot for two before cranking on an armbar of his own.

Murphy comes in and eats an armbar as well, which the fans declare as manly. Blake finally gets in a cheap shot and comes in for a chinlock. The champ switch off for another chinlock before Blake is sent out to the floor. He’s smart enough to pull Gotch off the apron though and the hot tag is prevented. That’s one of my favorite spots. Murphy throws Aiden into the air for a neckbreaker and a two count. Heel miscommunication finally allows English to dive over for the tag and Simon starts cleaning house.

A quick tag brings English back in but he’s quickly crotched on top. The superplex takes too long though and Gotch powerbombs both champions, setting up a high angle swanton from English for two. Blue Pants pulls Alexa down but they both wind up in the ring for a catfight. Murphy tries a rollup for a very hot near fall but walks into the Whirling Dervish for the pin and the titles at 10:16.

Rating: C+. If this is the worst match of the night, this show is going to rock. The Vaudevillains winning the titles is a long time coming and it makes sense that Blake and Murphy lose as soon as the odds are even. Good match here and the crowd was white hot on those near falls. I can’t imagine how the main events are going to be if this is an indication.

Neville and Cesaro wished Finn Balor luck earlier.

Tye Dillinger vs. Apollo Crews

Dillinger is the Perfect 10, which is cut into the back of his hair. Crews looks amazed to be here. Tye flips across the ring and declares it a 10. Crews cartwheels into a backflip and thinks it’s the same. A dropkick breaks up Crews’ springboard in a big crash and Tye pats himself on the back. Crews powers out of a chinlock but gets kicked in the face for two. An awesome standing enziguri smacks Tye in the head and a gorilla press drop into a standing moonsault is enough to put Dillinger away at 4:45.

Rating: C. Well that worked. Crews was incredibly impressive here and got to show off both the power and the athleticism here. This was an awesome debut and Crews looks like he’s going to be the next big thing in NXT. Dillinger looked good too and has something sweet with this Perfect 10 thing.

William Regal announces the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, starting on September 2 and ending at the next Takeover on October 7 (a Wednesday). No more details are given but Regal says it will make the American Dream very proud.

We recap Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe. Corbin talks about his amazing background with all of his success in everything he’s done. He’s heard all these stories about people going around the world but he’s never heard of any of them. All Corbin had to do to come here is make a phone call. Joe answered a challenge and says he didn’t have to make a phone call because NXT called him.

Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin

The announcers think Joe is going to kill him. Joe has the Clutch on in less than a minute but Baron makes it to the floor. Back in and an enziguri in the corner puts Corbin right back on the floor, only to have him blast Joe in the face to stop a suicide dive. Joe kicks him in the face though and does his rotating submissions spot until Corbin puts his foot on the ropes.

Baron grabs a heel hook but Joe makes the rope a few seconds later. Something like a Boss Man Slam gets two on Joe so Corbin superkicks him. That earns Baron a second enziguri though and both guys are down. Back up and they slug it out with Joe taking over. Corbin locks the Muscle Buster before hitting kind of a loose Jackhammer for two. The End of Days is broken up so Corbin lifts him up into a choke spinebuster. Joe flips the cover into the Koquina Clutch though and Corbin is out at 10:24.

Rating: B-. Easily both guys’ best match in NXT as Corbin looks like he can last through a long match. Having Joe as the submission master who can switch to striking if need be is fine and Corbin worked the power style just fine. I’m always a fan of having people hit each other really hard and that’s what we got here. Good stuff.

Corbin says he never gave up.

Sgt. Slaughter, Ric Flair, female Japanese wrestler Kana and Team BAD are here.

Here’s Stephanie (whose music says she’s SELF MADE. You can’t buy comedy like that, though I’m sure she would have a crack team of comedy writers who are smart and funny to make them up if she could) to say we’re all making history right here and right now. A few weeks ago she started the Divas Revolution but it started right here in NXT. Therefore, she’s going to introduce the first main event.

We recap Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, which is about the spirit of the women’s division and Bayley fighting for the right thing. Sasha knows she’s the best though and wants to prove to Bayley that fairy tales don’t have happy endings. Bayley has lost over and over but tonight she’s more fired up than ever and has been on a roll.

Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

Banks is defending. Bayley comes out with a yellow polka dot headband to honor Dusty in a very nice touch. Sasha on the other hand comes out in a Cadillac Escalade surrounded by a team of bodyguards. Sasha laughs off the Dusty wristbands and it’s a catfight to start. Bayley scores with a basement elbow for two and the fans are WAY into this. The champ sends her into the buckle over and over but Bayley shakes it off and ties Sasha in the Tree of Woe for a springboard elbow drop.

Banks goes outside for a breather so Bayley baseball slides her in the face. They fight into the corner where Bayley avoids the double knees, only to have a kick to the knee send her out to the floor. Sasha mocks the high fives to the fans before she hits Bayley’s running elbow to the back. The champ wins a slugout in the corner but still can’t hit the double knees. Instead she sends Bayley face first into the buckle and puts her on the top rope for the BIG double knees.

The kickout stuns Sasha so she tries some trash talk, only to be sent face first into the buckle. Bayley gets all aggressive with right hands but gets overzealous and sent outside. With desperation setting in, Sasha rips off the hand brace and sends the recently healed hand into the steps. That’s not enough so Sasha put the hand between the steps and the post and kicks them together to put Bayley on the floor and writhing in pain.

The referee takes too much time checking on her for Sasha’s liking though so Banks flips over him to land on Bayley. Back in and Sasha grabs the bad hand and walks the corner with it, snapping Bayley’s arm over the top. Sasha crashes hard on the floor though and seems to have banged herself up. The delay lets Bayley make her comeback with ax handles and the running corner elbow.

Sasha drops to her knees to block the Bayley to Belly and there’s the Bank Statement. Bayley crawls for the ropes but Sasha STOMPS ON THE BAND HAND to keep her away. Sasha tries to pull her back but Bayley rolls into a Bank Statement of her own. She cranks the heck out of that thing but Sasha rolls over to get her foot on the ropes. What a sequence. Bayley pulls her up to her feet for a Bayley to Belly but Sasha kicks out at a very close two.

With nothing else working, Bayley loads up the super Bayley to Belly but Sasha knocks her down. Bayley runs the corner for a forearm though and tries a super hurricanrana, only to have Sasha shove her away, sending Bayley crashing down onto her face. Sasha will have none of this waiting though and dives down onto Bayley for a VERY close two. They fight to the corner again and Bayley pulls off a super reverse hurricanrana. Sasha is DONE and the Bayley to Belly gives Bayley the title at 18:12.

Rating: A-. The wrestling and action have been topped before, but this was all about the story. Bayley showed all the heart in the world here and they managed to make me believe she actually might not get the title here. This felt like a war though and the fans carried it even higher than it was getting on its own. Awesome match here and I was right there with them every step of the way.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte come in to celebrate and it’s hugs all around, including one for Sasha. They all stand together and give the Four Horsewomen sign.

Seth Rollins is here.

Earlier tonight, HHH announced that NXT is taking over the UK in December.

We recap Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor. Balor took the title from Owens in Japan so tonight it’s a ladder match to show that Japan was just a fluke.

NXT Title: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens

Ladder match with Balor defending and he’s in full demon mode. Balor does his big entrance and when the lights come on, Owens is sitting in a chair at ringside, leaned back against the barricade. Owens talks trash and starts going after the ladder but Balor pulls him back in and hammers away. Kevin drops him with an elbow to the jaw and drops the senton but the fans look at what seems to be a fight in the crowd. Thankfully Owens is smart enough to slowly walk around and stomp Finn until they have the crowd back.

After the powerbomb is countered, Owens drills him with the Cannonball as the OLE chants begin. The announcers acknowledge that it’s after 11 but they’re going to keep going. Graves: “It’s our network.” The Slingblade puts Owens down but he rolls out of the corner and goes for the ladder, only to be decked from behind. Balor gets crushed between the ladder and the ring so Owens loads up something but stops running and punches Finn in the face instead.

They fight into the crowd but Balor has to backdrop Owens over the barricade to counter another powerbomb. Owens whips him all the way over the announcers’ table then throws the covering at Balor. It’s ladder time again but Balor runs off the table to dropkick it into Owens’ face. Balor climbs but Owens pulls him down and throws him out to the floor, into another ladder. Some slams onto the ladder followed by a senton crush the champ’s ribs but he’s still able to backdrop Owens onto an open ladder for a sick crash.

Another Cannonball hits the ladder and Balor scores with a Coup de Grace but Kevin is up fast enough to powerbomb Balor off the ladder. Balor makes a save of his own and sends the ladder into Owens’ ribs. The powerbomb onto the apron is countered but Owens avoids a Coup de Grace off the apron. Balor charges right into the apron powerbomb and both guys are down. Owens tries to climb but Balor makes the save, only to get punched in the face again. With nothing else keeping Balor down, Owens bridges a ladder into the one that is standing like a platform but can’t hit the fisherman’s superplex.

Instead Balor rams Owens into the ladder, knocking him down and into a huge crash. The ladder is off center though and Owens gets up, only to be kicked down again. Balor looks at the crowd, likes what he hears, and drops the Coup de Grace off the ladder. That is SO risky and Balor is holding his ankle. Not that it matters as he climbs up and gets the belt to retain at 21:40.

Rating: A-. I liked the violence better here but the storytelling wasn’t quite as good as the previous match. Still though, outstanding match here with Owens playing the ultimate bully until Balor kept fighting to get the win. This was all about the violence and there’s nothing better to do in a ladder match. Really good main event even though the ending was never in doubt.

Overall Rating: A. Another excellent show here and did you really expect anything else? This is what NXT does: take their time building up a major card with two matches they know are going to blow the roof off the place and then a totally solid undercard to carry the rest of the show. Awesome stuff here and it’s great to see the show nail it on this big of a stage.

Results

Jushin Thunder Liger b. Tyler Breeze – Liger Bomb

Vaudevillains b. Blake and Murphy – Whirling Dervish to Murphy

Apollo Crews b. Tye Dillinger – Standing moonsault

Samoa Joe b. Baron Corbin – Koquina Clutch

Bayley b. Sasha Banks – Bayley to Belly

Finn Balor b. Kevin Owens – Balor pulled down the title

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Finally, make sure to check out the Wrestling Bundle, which wraps up Sunday August 23 at midnight EST. Here are the details:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/08/16/the-wrestling-bundle/

It’s only a few hours away but there’s always time for a preview. This is going to be the biggest show in NXT history (so far) as they’re in the same arena as Summerslam with 13,000 people. Tonight is a double main event of Bayley challenging Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title and Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Kevin Owens in a ladder match. I’m way more excited for this show than Summerslam (which also looks like a good show) so let’s get to it.

First up we have the debut of Apollo Crews against Tye Dillinger (the Perfect 10 guy). NXT really likes the idea of debuting their next big thing on these shows and this is the latest example. Crews looks awesome in training and has spent years showing off in the indies, so this should be fun. The ending is obvious of course, but this would be a good choice for an opener to get the crowd going.

Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe has the potential to be a great power brawl, which can often steal a big piece of the show. The thing is though, I’m not sure who goes over here. They seem to be worried about pushing Joe huge due to his unique contract situation (a totally reasonable perspective) and I could see Corbin being the low level challenger to Balor after Takeover before they start building up to the next major challenger. I’ll take Joe winning here, but I could see Corbin getting the big upset here.

I’ll go with the Vaudevillains taking the Tag Team Titles. I actually had a line about the champions retaining and it felt so totally wrong that I had to erase it. Blake/Murphy are a great way to make Alexa look good (you know, because she has such an issue doing it on her own) and even though they feel like transitional champions, they’ve held those things since January. I’d love to see more of Bliss, but I could easily see her getting a new act and be like the old Sunny, jumping from team to team whenever the old team is done. But yeah, should be new champions here.

Breeze over Liger. As amazing as it is to see Liger in the WWE, Breeze is looking like a star at this point and has gone so far past where his character should have come to a screeching halt (in a good way) and a win over a legitimate legend could make him look even bigger. Remember where I said Corbin could be the mini-bad to get Balor on to his next major opponent? That next major opponent should be Breeze, and I wouldn’t have an issue with Breeze taking the title. He’s more than earned it and he isn’t going to be called up anytime soon. On top of that the fans are accepting him due to the hard work and great matches he’s put on, so why not take a shot on him when Balor goes up north?

I would say Balor retaining the title is the most obvious ending in the world, but then I read something that got me thinking. Obviously one of the big stories lately has been HHH vs. Kevin Dunn over the NXT guys. Would it really shock you to see HHH send Owens back down to NXT so Dunn can’t ruin him on the main roster? It would be a much better way for Owens to stay over than by being a midcarder who is on the bad end of fat jokes because WWE thinks like a nine year old at times, so why not do it for a bit to restore his image? I think Balor wins, but it’s not as sure as I thought it was.

Finally, we have the match that I’m looking forward to more than anything on Summerslam, this year’s Wrestlemania, the Royal Rumble, and probably all the way back to Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville II. Bayley is challenging Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title and there is no reason to believe we’re not getting a title change here. Bayley has been chasing the title for over a year now and this feels like the night.

The key thing here though is why this feels so important. While I’m expecting the match to be good, I’m not expecting it to be as good as some of the other NXT women have done. However, what I’m expecting is one of the most emotional moments in recent years, and that’s WAY more important than the wrestling. The fans want to see Bayley win the title and that’s where the money is.

It’s such a well done story of one of the last few innocent people in wrestling fighting the good fight against someone who, while not full on evil when you think about it, isn’t the nicest person in the world. I’ve gotten so into this story and I want to hear that place erupt when she wins the title, which I’m almost fully certain she will.

Overall….my goodness that’s a heck of a card. The worst match is probably the Tag Team Titles, which should be a fun match depending on who the Vaudevillains have to counter Alexa (if it’s Blue Pants, the reaction will not be of this world). Couple that with a Brooklyn crowd and 13,000 people and this has the potential to be something better than good; it has the potential to be special.

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Finally, make sure to check out the Wrestling Bundle, which wraps up Sunday August 23 at midnight EST. Here are the details:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/08/16/the-wrestling-bundle/