New Column: Draft Fallout
Everyone is doing one of these and it’s not like there’s anything bigger going on right now.
NXT – July 20, 2016: Those Final Shows
NXT
Date: July 20, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
We’re heading towards Brooklyn and it’s going to be a few weeks before we can really feel the differences from the Draft. There are three matches scheduled for tonight with the headliner of American Alpha vs. the Authors of Pain in the Authors’ first match on the show. Let’s get to it.
The opening video talks about all three big matches tonight: American Alpha vs. Authors of Pain, Bayley vs. Nia Jax and Rhyno vs. Samoa Joe.
Opening sequence.
Rhyno vs. Samoa Joe
Non-title. I love the fact that Rhyno is the exact same guy he was back in ECW. There’s something refreshing about having someone where you know exactly what you’re going to get and nothing more. Rhyno runs him over with a shoulder to start but Joe comes back with his corner charge and the enziguri. A hard whip across the ring puts Rhyno down again and it’s off to the nerve hold. The backsplash misses and Rhyno gets in his belly to belly. Joe blocks a Gore with some palm strikes and the Koquina Clutch puts Rhyno away at 6:23.
Rating: C+. Two big and thick guys beating on each other for a few minutes with Joe winning off his submission move. Like I said, you know exactly what to expect from someone like Rhyno and that’s exactly what you can get. The thing is he knows how to wrestle that style and make it work perfectly well.
Asuka would love to face either Bayley or Nia Jax.
We look at the NXT names being taken in the Draft.
American Alpha vs. Authors of Pain
The Authors jump them on the ramp and it’s not clear if we’re going to have a match. Back from a break with Alpha charging to the ring with a referee right behind them. The brawl is on and Alpha clears the ring as we’re still waiting on names for the Authors. Jordan starts with the bearded one (we’ll call him #1 though they’re pretty much interchangeable) and hits the running shoulder in the corner and a double northern lights suplex gets one.
It’s quickly off to #2 who catches a launched Gable in a bearhug so #1 can splash him from behind. #1 slaps on a bearhug but Chad quickly escapes and makes the hot tag off to Jordan for the house cleaning. A belly to back suplex gets one on #2 but Gable tags in again and runs over #2 before throwing him across the ring on a release suplex. The ankle lock has #1 in trouble and Jordan dives over the top to take out #2. Gable goes outside as well but gets swung into the LED board. Jordan is sent into the steps, leaving Gable to take the Russian legsweep/clothesline combo for the pin at 6:34.
Rating: B-. This was a good way to get rid of Alpha and let them go up to the main roster. Sure they went out on a loss but NXT was smart enough to not have it be clean. The Authors are another simple idea for a team but that doesn’t mean it’s an idea that can’t work. I liked the idea of Alpha being able to suplex these guys though as it prevents the match from being a squash, which makes it a lot more interesting.
Revival takes credit for the Authors’ win because they softened Alpha up. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa come in to say they’ve beaten Revival once and that the clock is ticking.
Austin Aries vs. Patrick Clark
Clark was on Tough Enough and I believe this is his TV debut. Aries gets caught in an early armbar but he forearms Clark in the face and gives him a flip belly to back suplex. The Last Chancery is good for the submission at 1:53.
No Way Jose comes out and beats on Aries post match.
Bayley vs. Nia Jax
Nia throws her into the corner to start and grabs an armbar of all things. Bayley swings away but walks into Snake Eyes. Some elbows and shoulders to the ribs before Nia just throws her outside as we take a break. Back with Bayley’s crossbody working as well as you would expect and Nia throwing her outside for nine.
Now it’s Nia being sent outside where she misses a charge into the steps for a near countout of her own. Well if it’s good enough for Bayley it’s good enough for Nia. Back in and Bayley slips out of an electric chair and into a victory roll for two before Nia just plows over her. A Jackhammer of all things gets two more but Nia stops short before trying the legdrop. Instead Nia goes to the middle rope, only to get pulled down into a super Bayley To Belly for the pin at 13:36.
Rating: B-. These two work well together and this was another good one with Bayley knowing how to play the underdog. That being said, I don’t think anyone really bought Nia as having much of a chance here. It’s a formula that’s always going to work but as is almost always the case, the more you do a match the less interesting it becomes.
Overall Rating: C+. You can really feel the Draft starting to take its toll here as two of these matches have been effected by the people being called up. You have to think that the next few weeks, at least until Takeover, are going to be the final shows for a lot of these people and it’s going to be a hard transition to fix things. Still good here though and that’s what matters for now.
Results
Samoa Joe b. Rhyno – Koquina Clutch
Authors of Pain b. American Alpha – Russian legsweep/clothesline combination
Austin Aries b. Patrick Clark – Last Chancery
Bayley b. Nia Jax – Super Bayley To Belly
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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NXT House Show – July 15, 2016
The wife and I took in the NXT house show in Highland Heights, Kentucky (ten minutes from downtown Cincinnati) on Friday night. I had wanted to go to one of these things for a long time and was almost more excited to see this than I was for Takeover: Dallas.
The arena held roughly 10,000 people but it was cut in half and the upper deck was tarped off, leaving only a few thousand seats. The place was just over half full as the floor seats were full but only the back section (as in facing the screen) was anywhere near fall. We were on the first row of our section (maybe three feet above the floor) with our tickets running about $33 each so it’s not like they were overly expensive.
Before the show we saw some WWE Top Ten videos and the fans were allowed to pick a classic NXT match with options of:
Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal
Sami Zayn vs. Neville
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley
The latter won by a landslide though it was only a highlight package, which really did make sense as you don’t want to get the crowd that fired up before the actual show starts.
No Way Jose vs. Hugo Knox
Knox is a very muscular British wrestler, meaning the fans were chanting various British swear words at him. Jose is a lot of fun live and a perfect choice to open the show. He did all of his baseball slide, including running around the ring and touching all of the buckles into a dropkick. A legdrop of all things put Knox away at 8:12 for a really fun opener that did everything it was supposed to. Knox was nothing great but he would be fine as a Chris Masters type midcarder.
Angelo Dawkins vs. Andrade Cien Almas
Dawkins is from Cincinnati, earning himself his only reaction ever. This was the exact same problem that Almas had in the Dillinger matches: putting him in a match where there was no way he was going to be the most over guy and it really dragged things down. Almas really isn’t the most exciting guy in the world though he played a subtle heel here, as was his only option. Dawkins won with a Sky High at 5:26 and they hugged after. This was nothing but the fans reacted to Dawkins for being the hometown guy.
Bayley vs. Billie Kay
This was a change in the card (which was shown on an old school wrestling poster which seems to be a normal thing for NXT house shows and were selling very well) as it was originally going to be Bayley/Asuka vs. Kay/Alexa Bliss. Billie did her closest thing to sexy in NXT stuff to start but Bayley laughed at her and stole some of her gear. Billie begged her not to so Bayley relented, only to point out to the crowd that Billie actually lost to Dana Brooke.
This started off as a comedy match with Bayley promising to hug her and then ambushing the referee with the hug instead. The match was your standard Bayley stuff with her having fun against the less talented Billie to start, getting beaten down and having her ribs worked over for a bit and then hitting the Bayley to Belly for the pin at 10:22. The fans LOVED Bayley and she received the pop of the night, save for maybe one name later. She’s a total superstar down there though and I’m really scared that they’re going to ruin her on the big shows.
Finn Balor vs. Bobby Roode
Roode’s music is really awesome and one of the better songs they’ve done in a good while. Before the match, Roode called all of us fat out of shape losers and said he was going to be the new star of NXT. Even with all this stuff and insulting fans ala Ric Flair, the fans just would not hate him. Balor on the other hand was as revered as you would expect and we got a strong SEE YOU TUESDAY chant to start things off.
This was actually a pretty short match with Balor never being in any real danger. The Sling Blade and Coup de Grace finished Roode in about seven minutes and Balor took a bow before leaving. It’s really clear that he’s going and it’s cool to see him getting a nice sendoff on the house show circuit after a great TV match.
Intermission.
Before we got back to the matches, the female host (who shared hosting duties with Tom Phillips for a very good pairing all night long) had a fan answer a question for a prize. The idea here was pretty simple: we saw a clip of something in WWE history and were given choices of what happened next. The clip was Vince walking down the hallway and getting into his car on Vince McMahon Appreciation Night and the next scene was him being blown up. One problem here: THE KID WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD!
As soon as the clip started you could hear the crowd gasping and almost panicking because an eight year old, as in someone who wasn’t alive when this aired, was playing a game involving attempted murder. Oh and to make matters even better, the fourth option was “The Undertaker takes Vince McMahon to” a very dark and scary place as the host put it, thankfully censoring the actual option.
So yes, since the WWE has NO OTHER CLIPS OF ANYTHING, an eight year old played a game involving seeing Vince McMahon blown up with the other option being Undertaker taking Vince to a place that had to be censored. This was so out of place and really felt like no one actually thought about it, which isn’t something you expect from NXT, or anyone with a brain for that matter.
Hideo Itami vs. Beautiful Blonde Blake
This is Blake’s new gimmick but there’s really nothing different about him. If he hadn’t been introduced under the new name, no one would have really noticed a difference. Blake also had a generic Titantron video with his name spinning around over a blue background, which is the same thing Dawkins and Knox had. They’re not much but it’s better than nothing. Itami got a pretty standard WELCOME BACK chant and is basically the same as when he left.
The match was comedy to start with Blake heading outside because he didn’t like all the kicks and strikes. That didn’t last long though as he called himself Black Belt Blake and tried to throw some kicks with a fairly obvious result. The fans got on Blake for his tasseled boots, saying that Bayley wanted her boots back. We also got a MURPHY’S BETTER/CENA SUCKS chant for a bit of a chuckle. Itami came back with his bunch of kicks and won with the shotgun kick at 10:07. This was longer than necessary and Itami still doesn’t show much fire.
Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss
Alexa had her hair pulled back here for a new look. This was actually one of the best matches of the night as Bliss has gotten way better in recent months and actually had a good match here. Asuka showed some personality here by dancing a lot when Bliss tried to get too fancy. The Asuka Lock retained the title at 12:14. This might have been the second best match of the night.
NXT Title: Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
I’ll give you two guesses who got the bigger pop than Bayley. Before the match Joe said he hated being here in Highland Heights and didn’t like NXT having to lie about being in Cincinnati because that town sucks too. This wasn’t going to be a title shot though because Nakamura beating Balor wasn’t enough to earn himself a title shot. As he was talking, the Revival ran in for the beatdown but American Alpha came out for the save. Nakamura wanted to make it a six man against Joe and…….Nakamura to Jordan: “What their names?”
Revival/Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura/American Alpha
This was exactly what you would expect with the good guys doing a big, fast paced cleaning of the ring to start with suplexes and strikes to set up a big pose for one of the loudest reactions of the night. Gable played Ricky Morton for a bit before Jordan did the same, setting up the hot tag to Nakamura. Everything broke down and Nakamura pinned Dash with Kinshasa at 14:00. This was a lot of fun but the crowd was starting to get a bit burned out. The winners all did Nakamura’s pose by the ropes to end the show.
Overall this was a very fun night with NXT knowing exactly how to give the fans a fun night. The faces won every match and you got to see every big name (Austin Aries being the biggest name missing and he’s hardly a main eventer) on the roster. With cheap tickets and not a bad seat in the house, this was definitely worth going to and really well organized for a much more fun feeling than a lot of WWE house shows. Check them out if they’re ever near you, in case you actually need that advice.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s WWE Grab Bag at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
NXT – July 6, 2016: Use Them While You Can
NXT
Date: July 6, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
We’re picking up where last week’s show left off with the tag team division getting the focus. Last week saw American Alpha saying they deserve a title shot so tonight it’s Alpha vs. the Revival in a 2/3 falls match. These teams have some of the best chemistry you’ll see in a long time so this has a lot of potential. Let’s get to it.
Quick video on Alpha vs. Revival.
Opening sequence.
Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss
The fans are already into their songs as Bayley gets in an elbow to the back. Apparently Bliss isn’t a music lover though as she catapults Bayley throat first into the bottom rope. Bliss stays on the throat with a clothesline and more choking. She skates on Bayley’s back for a bit but Bayley just stands up and buckle bombs her to take over. Some running elbows and knees in the corner get two on Alexa but she pops up with one heck of a right hand and we take a break.
Back with Bliss telling the referee that Bayley is fine before being pulled throat first into the middle rope. The psycho eyes leg sweep set up Bliss’ knees to the ribs but Bayley breaks up Twisted Bliss. A super Bayley to Belly is blocked but Alexa’s sunset bomb only gets two, meaning it’s time for Bliss to freak out. I don’t know why as she’s more than holding her own and giving Bayley a good match. Bayley goes to the middle rope but gets her legs pulled out to send her head into the buckle. Not that it matters as Bayley to Belly puts Bliss away at 11:54.
Rating: B-. Bliss has gotten a lot better in the ring in recent weeks and she’s actually closed the gap between herself and the top names in the division. Her offense looked a lot better this week and she even had Bayley in some trouble at times. I’m curious to see where this new Bayley road to redemption goes though as it would seem that she’s ready for the main roster but this could lead to another big title shot. Unless Asuka beats her again, which would be a bit of a surprise.
Post match Bayley says she’s still getting up but couldn’t stand seeing Nia Jax getting her title shot at the last Takeover.
Video on TM61.
Blake and Murphy vs. Hype Bros
The announcers agree with me that these Blake and Murphy reunions are just getting sad at this point. They argue over a tag ten seconds in but RHYNO comes out and Gores Blake for the DQ at 54 seconds.
Rhyno gores everyone not named Murphy (who got out of the way) and poses a lot.
Long video on Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Finn Balor with people talking about how huge of a match this is because both of them are such important names to NXT and wrestling around the world.
Alpha says the longer their match goes, the better they get.
Samoa Joe is back next week.
Rhyno has no comment.
Tag Team Titles: American Alpha vs. Revival
Revival is defending and this is 2/3 falls. Dash and Chad get things going and Dawson has to pull his partner away from an ankle lock in the first thirty seconds. It’s off to Dawson vs. Jordan with the latter spinning around Scott like he’s not even there. Dawson takes a swing at Gable and everything breaks down for a bit with Alpha easily cleaning house as we take a break.
Back with the champs working on Jordan’s leg with a knee to the hamstring and the leg being wrapped around the post. Gable gets lured in and Wilder gets in a few cheap shots on Jordan. I love old school tactics like that and they still work to this day. Jordan kicks away at the back to get out of a leg lock and the hot tag brings in Gable to take over with clotheslines and an exploder suplex for two on Dawson. Chad runs the ropes but Dash low bridges him to the floor for a nasty crash and we take another break.
Back with Dawson keeping Chad in trouble on the mat before he atomic drops Dash into a legdrop for two. The crowd loses some points with someone shouting “You can do it! You can do it all night long!” but Dawson makes it a bit better by sliding over to break up a hot tag to Jordan. Dawson’s strong spinebuster gets two and the fans keep begging with Chad to make the tag.
Gable grabs a sunset flip but Dash doesn’t let him get the tag again, which draws in Jordan so the champs can double team Chad in the corner. Again, classic old school tactics and they still work. The Trash Compactor gets two but Chad sends the champs into each other and crawls through the legs for the hot tag to Jordan. Of all the things Alpha excels at, the hot tag to Jordan is the best thing they do as he just goes nuts with right hands and suplexes for everyone.
Everything breaks down and Gable suplexes Dawson, setting up double ankle locks with Dash tapping for the first fall at 23:22. Dawson immediately tries a top rope sunset flip but Jordan drops down into a cradle for two. Scott’s DDT gets the same on Jordan and he grabs an inverted Figure Four to make Jason tap at 24:30. Dawson is smart enough to go for the same hold again but Jordan slips out and tags Gable back in for some near falls of his own. A blind tag brings in Jordan but the champs break up Grand Amplitude.
The Shatter Machine is broken up and Jordan’s sunset flip gets two on Dawson. Scott kicks off the ankle lock and gets the inverted Figure Four again, only to have Gable dive off the top for the save. The double tag brings in Gable and Dawson who slug it out on the apron with Chad trying the German suplex until Dash makes the save, setting up the Shatter Machine on the apron for the third fall at 28:14.
Rating: A. This was a nice one two punch as the first fall was the long form tag formula stuff but it took the third fall to have the drama. That’s part of the problem with these matches: the match isn’t ending in the first fall so it’s a little bit harder for the fans to get into the near falls.
It’s still the best tag team chemistry anyone has had in years and I’m actually surprised that Alpha wound up losing the big blowoff match. It frees them up for one more match against the Authors of Pain before they head to the main roster for good and thankfully this was a fun one to wrap up their title picture time. Awesome TV main event here and that’s all you could expect it to be.
Overall Rating: A. Great match tonight, set up another huge match for next week, have a good Bayley match to start it off and Rhyno is back. That’s how you use fifty five minutes of wrestling TV and there are still so many more stories they have going on at the same time that weren’t even covered tonight. They’ve turned on the jets again and are making the most out of this talent before it heads up to the main roster, which is all they can really do at this point. It’s another great show with the tag division leading the way again.
Results
Bayley b. Alexa Bliss – Bayley to Belly
Blake and Murphy b. Hype Bros via DQ when Rhyno interfered
Revival b. American Alpha – Shatter Machine to Gable
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
NXT – June 29, 2016: Compelling Wrestling Television
NXT
Date: June 29, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
We’re back to one of the things NXT does best as there’s a major match in a few weeks and a few things in between to tide us over. Tonight we have Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss, which has the potential to be something interesting and then be a bigger match down the line. The tag division is heating up again as well so let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss
Bliss takes over early on with a running shoulder but Carmella snaps off a headscissors. A bad looking snapmare puts Bliss on the floor and the fans aren’t sure who to cheer for. Back in and Carmella takes her down with a headlock, only to get stomped on as we take a break.
We come back with Carmella fighting back with right hands and running clotheslines, followed by a superkick. The Bronco Buster connects but Alexa rolls out with a sunset flip for another near fall. They’re not exactly lighting up the offense here. The Sparkle Splash is broken up and a Stratusphere gets two. A choke shovedown sets up the Sparkle Splash, now called Twisted Bliss, for the pin on Carmella at 13:08.
Rating: C. You really can see the line between the two levels of female wrestlers in NXT. Bayley, Asuka and Nia (to a lesser degree) are just on a different plain than these women, though the important thing is that these two have gotten better. The match was fine and they didn’t screw up, but more importantly they have characters and there’s a lot more to them than their looks. In other words, they’re developing, like they’re supposed to.
We see Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura’s initial segment from two weeks back.
Nakamura talks about traveling the roads with Balor and being very happy for him becoming an NXT star. But now Nakamura is here and he needs something to move him up to the next level. Before becoming a champion, he has to face the icons, including Finn Balor. He promises something special when they get in the ring. Nakamura’s English was fine here
Bayley is ready to go after the Women’s Title again but Alexa comes in and says she should get the next shot. If Bayley wants the shot, she can go through Alexa.
Noah Potjes vs. Andrade Cien Almas
Potjes is a somewhat creepy guy who we’ve seen before. Almas hits a quick dropkick to start and teases a pair of dives but stays in the ring both times, kind of annoying the crowd. Back in and Noah kicks him in the ribs and puts on a chinlock. Almas gets in some kicks of his own though and the running knees in the corner give him the pin at 2:54. Still not much to see here.
Austin Aries doesn’t like the idea that he isn’t getting the respect he deserves around here. Someone like No Way Jose comes out here without ever having beaten anyone, dances a bit, and gets cheered. The fans chant Austin sucks? No, because they suck. From now on, the fans are getting what they deserve from Aries.
Balor talks about going to Japan when he was twenty four and Nakamura was the first person to really show him how things went over there. They’re friends outside the ring and Balor was happy to help show him the way in this country. There’s no animosity between them but now they’re having to face each other. The fans are in for something special.
Bayley vs. Bliss is set for next week.
Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano vs. Hype Bros
Rawley sends Gargano into the corner to start and hits a three point stance tackle before bringing in Ryder, who eats a dropkick. Ciampa comes in, drawing a PSYCHO KILLER chant, and grabs a cravate. Johnny sends Ryder to the floor and hits a big old dive, only to have Rawley get in a hard clothesline as we take a break.
We come back with Rawley in control as we have dueling JOHNNY WRESTLING/HE AIN’T HYPED chants. Ryder adds a missile dropkick but Gargano breaks up the Hype Ryder. Tommaso gives Ryder a discus lariat for two but Ryder powerbombs both of them off the top. The Elbro gets two on Ciampa and Gargano’s rollup gets the same on Ryder. Ciampa breaks up the Broski Boot and the running knee/kick to the head combo puts Ryder away at 11:17.
Rating: B. Well that was a surprise. Who knew the Hype Bros had something like that in them? Just having them as a basic power/speed team is a fine idea and I could easily see them as gatekeepers for the Tag Team Titles. Gargano and Ciampa get better every single week and I could really go for a match between the two of them and Revival.
Post match Gargano and Ciampa say they beat the Revival a few weeks back. That sounds like they deserve a title shot but here’s American Alpha to disagree. Gable says they’re the former champions so if Gargano and Ciampa want a shot, it can be against them. They’ll deal with the Authors of Pain later but right now it’s time to take the titles back.
Cue the Revival to say they’re driving the car and calling the shots. I love how Dawson holds the folded up belt in his hand. Dawson tells “Garganzalla and Chimpy” that they haven’t earned a shot and American Alpha are more like the betas around here. This brings out William Regal and you can feel the fans smiling. Ciampa and Gargano will be getting a title shot soon, but first of all we need to decide who the best team is around here. Therefore, next week, it’s American Alpha vs. Revival in a 2/3 falls match.
Gargano/Ciampa and Alpha shake hands and the former leave but the Authors of Pain run in to beat down Alpha. Gargano and Ciampa try to make the save but get beaten down as well, leaving Alpha to come back in. Jordan gets in a suplex but the other guy takes his head off with a clothesline. Gable takes that clothesline/Russian legsweep combo (sweet goodness that’s underwhelming for two guys that big) and Paul Ellering comes out to watch to end the show.
Overall Rating: B+. The last twenty minutes, or nearly forty percent, of this show was about the tag team division and I’m more interested in that 2/3 falls match than I was for anything at the last Takeover. Above all else, the reason I love NXT so much is how they can take a story so basic (former champions want a rematch, other team that beat the champions want a shot, third team is running around attacking people) and turn it into such compelling TV.
On top of that though, the matches have been excellent with the Hype Bros getting in a good performance tonight. The rest of the show was strong as well but I was totally into that last match and the following segment. As is always the case, NXT is able to build up anything to such high levels. Bayley vs. Sasha was the top story for a long time, then it was back to the NXT Title and now it’s the Tag Team Titles with Balor vs. Nakamura coming just a week after that. NXT is starting to find its groove again and that’s a great thing.
Results
Alexa Bliss b. Carmella – Twisted Bliss
Andrade Cien Almas b. Noah Potjes – Running knees in the corner
Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa b. Hype Bros – Running knee/superkick combo to Ryder
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
NXT – June 22, 2016: The Greatest Dancing That Ever Lived
NXT
Date: June 22, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips
It’s a rare situation where we’re coming off a Takeover and already have another announced. In theory we have our first match set as Shinsuke Nakamura challenged Finn Balor to a match though a promo on Raw suggested that the match would be taking place tonight. For the life of me I can’t imagine NXT hot shotting a match like that so maybe it was just badly worded. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Nakamura challenging Balor last week.
Opening sequence.
Tye Dillinger vs. Oney Lorcan
And I thought Andrade Cien Almas was a bad name. Lorcan is the latest name for Biff Bushick, who takes Tye down to the mat by the leg. We hit a headlock takeover which earns Lorcan a ten. I mean it was from himself but at least he was trying. Back up and Lorcan flips over Tye and blasts him with a running uppercut for no count as Tye was under the ropes.
It seems to fire Dillinger up though as he fires Oney into the corner and starts in on some clotheslines. Oney nails a huge clothesline and another uppercut but runs into a superkick for two. That’s good for a perfect ten but Lorcan shoves him out out of the corner and hits a running Blockbuster for the pin at 5:55.
Rating: C+. They were beating the heck out of each other here but what are they doing with Dillinger? There’s a strong chance that they’re tearing him down to build him back up again though wins and losses mean something in NXT and you can only do the Sami/Bayley road to redemption so many times. Oney looked good but that name is just horrible.
Austin Aries is ready to keep going forward when No Way Jose of all people comes up to say you just say NO to adversity. That’s quite the fall for Aries or quite the upgrade for Jose. Or maybe either.
We look at Bayley’s leg injury.
Bayley is back tonight.
No Way Jose vs. Josh Woods
Jose dances out of a waistlock to start and hiptosses Woods down for two. Woods takes him down for a chinlock but walks into a double chop, followed by the swinging full nelson slam to keep Jose undefeated at 1:57.
Post match Austin Aries comes out to say Jose isn’t defined by wins or losses. Aries was defeated at Takeover but he doesn’t blame his bruised ribs. What Aries has learned from Jose is that wrestling is about having fun and he actually dances with Jose as Graves fights the urge to join in. Jose goes over to the announcers’ table and the dancing continues until Aries finally lays Jose out with a forearm to the jaw. Aries puts on the Last Chancery on the ramp with Jose slowly blacking out. If nothing else it’s nice to have Aries go full on heel.
Earlier today, General Manager William Regal makes Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for three weeks from tonight. Murphy of all people comes in to interrupt and gets Nakamura for later tonight as a punishment.
The announcers talk about Aries attacking Jose.
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Bayley
You can actually see the fans rise to their feet when Bayley’s music comes on. Bayley dances to her the fans singing before suplexing Purrazzo early on. The charge in the corner misses though and Purrazzo hits a running knee lift. Bayley shrugs off some rams into the buckle and hits a back elbow to the jaw. Bayley to Belly ends Purrazzo at 2:46.
Carmella says she wants to be Women’s Champion when Alexa Bliss comes in to say Carmella is nothing without Enzo and Cass. She left Blake and Murphy because she was the star of the team. Carmella gets in her face and dares Alexa to get in her way of the title. I can’t believe it but I’m getting into Carmella as a scrappy heroine.
Video on Samoa Joe.
Long video (as in the better part of four minutes) on Nia Jax vs. Asuka.
Nia Jax vs. Liv Morgan
Morgan grabs a headlock to start but is easily shoved away and pounded about the head and shoulders. Liv’s forearms to the head have no effect and it’s off to a very loose cobra clutch. An ankle scissors sends Nia into the buckle and a dropkick staggers her a bit. Not that it matters as Nia hits a great looking powerbomb for the pin at 2:11. That’s a WAY better finisher for her than the legdrop. Morgan was squashed here but she showed some really good fire which could get her somewhere.
Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss next week.
Buddy Murphy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
It’s kind of interesting that they put Nakamura out there almost every week. No one else gets this much exposure around here but they’ve done a great job of having him save the King of Strong Style stuff for the big matches and just let him have fun in matches like this one. Nakamura kicks him away to start and grabs a headlock before doing that head against Murphy’s chest.
Murphy misses a clothesline and Shinsuke tells him to bring it, setting up Good Vibrations. A counter sends Nakamura into the buckles and he just smiles at Buddy. It’s time for the hard kicks (“KING OF STRONG STYLE!”) and the running knee to the ribs makes it even worse. The reverse exploder sets up Kinshasa for the pin on Murphy at 4:35.
Rating: C-. Just a squash here to close things out but it’s always cool to see Nakamura flip that switch that makes you realize pain is imminent. Murphy is a good choice for a jobber to the stars as he’s a former champion, which actually means something around here. I’m not sure what Blake is going to do because having them in the same vein would be a waste of time. Balor vs. Nakamura should be awesome, albeit a bit predictable.
Overall Rating: C+. This was back to the NXT formula as they used some simple matches to set up the bigger stuff for the upcoming weeks. We have a firm date for Balor vs. Nakamura and a few other feuds set up down the line. It’s not a great show but that’s not what these things are supposed to be. Sometimes you just need an hour of TV that builds towards the big shows and that’s where NXT excels.
Results
Oney Lorcan b. Tye Dillinger – Running Blockbuster
No Way Jose b. Josh Woods – Swinging full nelson slam
Bayley b. Deonna Purrazzo – Bayley to Belly
Nia Jax b. Liv Morgan – Powerbomb
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Buddy Murphy – Kinshasa
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
New Column: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Looking at some of the potential perils of the new Brand Split.
http://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do/
New E-Book: NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II
I think it’s safe to say that you’ve heard a thing or two about NXT. Over the last few years the promotion, originally designed as little more than a dumping ground for the young talent brought into the company, has become the hottest promotion in the world. The weekly TV show has become a highlight and must see for most wrestling fans as new talent from all over the world shows up, almost making it an independent all-star promotion under the WWE banner. This isn’t even starting to look at the live specials on the WWE Network.
In this book, I’ll be taking a look at over one hundred and thirty NXT shows, including every live special they’ve aired to date. This ranges from the first live special in February 2014 with Arrival and goes all the way through Takeover: Dallas with every episode of the TV show included in between. I’ll be including play by play and analysis as we take a look at what helped make NXT the hottest thing in the world of professional wrestling. Also, all of the live specials have been redone with new reviews.
The book is the longest I’ve ever put together at over 580 pages on a Kindle and sells for $3.99 or the equivalent in other currencies. In case you don’t have a Kindle, there are plenty of FREE apps you can get from Amazon for pretty much any electronic device, all of which are available at this link.
You can pick up the book from Amazon here.
From the UK Amazon here.
From the Canadian Amazon here.
Or if you’re in another country with its own Amazon page, just search “NXT Full Sail II” and it should be the first thing to come up.
Also you can still get any of my previous books on the WWE Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, Monday Night Raw from 1997, 1998 and 2001, Monday Nitro from 1995-1998, In Your House, Summerslam, Starrcade, ECW Pay Per Views, Royal Rumble, Saturday Night’s Main Event, the WWF and WCW pay per views from 1998, Wrestlemania and Clash of the Champions at my author’s page here.
I hope you like it and shoot me any questions you might have.
KB
NXT – May 18, 2016: She Hurt Bayley
NXT
Date: May 18, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
We’re three weeks away from Takeover and the main event has been announced as Samoa Joe defending the NXT Title against Finn Balor, but this time it’s going to be taking place inside a steel cage. That’s never been done before in NXT and it should be interesting to see how NXT builds up to such a match. Let’s get to it.
We open with a video on Nia Jax vs. Bayley from London last year with Nia saying she would destroy Bayley in a rematch, which takes place tonight.
Opening sequence.
Blake and Murphy vs. Austin Aries/???
Aries has a mystery partner after Blake and Murphy interrupted him last week. The partner is……Shinsuke Nakamura. Alexa Bliss is certainly not happy with this development. Blake and Murphy aren’t sure who should start so Aries dropkicks Murphy in the corner for an early two. It’s off to Nakamura for the shaky choke in the corner (which Tom calls Good Vibrations) before he puts Murphy on his knees for a slingshot elbow from Aries. Shinsuke actually stares Blake off the apron before suplexing Murphy down. Aries reaches over for the tag but Nakamura intentionally doesn’t tag, setting up Kinshasa to end Murphy at 2:47.
Post match Alexa walks out on the team. Murphy walks out on Blake.
Bayley says she isn’t going to let Nia Jax bully her way into whatever she wants because it’s going to be a repeat of London. After that, it’s time to get the Women’s Title back.
Video on Asuka with a band playing a song. You don’t see that too often.
No Way Jose talks about how much he loves smiling and how much energy he has. Some people might not like him but it’s time for a fiesta. He’s here to fight, but first it’s time for some dancing.
Carmella misses Enzo and Cass but wants to be Women’s Champion.
Carmella vs. Peyton Royce
Peyton is definitely one of the more sexualized women around here as she does a very slow crawl over the ropes to get inside. Carmella is actually taken down to start for some elbows into the neck. We hit an early chinlock before Peyton sweeps the leg to keep control. Two Amigos into a PerfectPlex gets two on Carmella but a few elbows and a Thesz press take Peyton down. A hurricanrana sets up the Bronco Buster and the leg crossface makes Peyton tap at 3:36.
Rating: D+. Royce was fine here but I’m not sure how much Carmella is going to do other than win low level matches and then get squashed by Asuka or Nia. It’s a good sign that they’re setting up some fresh competition though as the division was really depleted over the last few months.
Clip of Finn Balor and Samoa Joe getting in a huge brawl at a house show on Saturday with the locker room having to break it up.
General Manager William Regal has made their match a steel cage match and we see the contract signing with both of them saying it ends at Takeover.
Blake and Murphy beg Alexa to take them back but she says it’s going to be easier to win the Women’s Title without 470lbs of weight on her back.
Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Rob Ryzin/Danny Burch
Gargano and Burch start things off as the fans chant TERRA-RYZIN. That’s the most interesting part of the beginning as it’s quickly off to Burch vs. Ciampa, one of whom is dubbed a “psycho killer”. Burch runs him over with a clothesline for two before Ciampa shrugs off both jobbers’ offense. Gargano comes in with some clotheslines of his own and slingshots through the ropes for a spear. A running knee from Ciampa and a superkick from Gargano put Ryzin away at 5:00.
Rating: C. I liked this more than I thought I would as Gargano and Ciampa are carving out a very nice little niche for themselves in the tag division. I’m not really a fan of either guy but it’s cool to see a new team getting somewhere and setting themselves up as potential challengers for American Alpha down the line.
Speaking of American Alpha, Regal say they’ll be facing the Revival at Takeover.
Bayley vs. Nia Jax
Nia easily shoves her away to start so Bayley gets on Na’s back for a choke. Bayley gets thrown around with ease with almost none of her offense having any effect. A few whips into the corner have Bayley reeling and she goes chest first into the middle turnbuckle as we take a break.
Back with Nia holding her in a reverse chinlock before going after Bayley’s arm. Off to a cobra clutch on Bayley, followed by a clothesline to the back of the head for two. Nia switches it up into an arm trap bearhug, only to have Bayley escape and avoid a charge in the corner.
Some kicks to the legs and another dodged charge sends Nia outside, followed by a hurricanrana off the apron. Back in and the Bayley to Belly doesn’t work so she settles for a DDT instead. Bayley grabs the guillotine but Nia shoves her off and Bayley comes up with a bad limp. The legdrop onto the leg sets up the regular legdrop for the pin on Bayley at 16:17.
Rating: B-. This was a weird one with Bayley being completely squashed. I’m not sure where they’re going with Bayley and the leg injury as it seems like something that they want to use to take her off TV, but maybe it’s to build her up for a big comeback to get back in the title hunt. It was also lacking all the drama of the London match and that really was the first match’s strong suit. Still though, pretty good here.
Bayley’s leg is checked on to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. This was a show to set up a bunch of stuff for later and there’s nothing wrong with that. Aries vs. Nakamura has the potential to be a blast and will finally give Nakamura an actual feud against a top level star. The rest of the show was nothing great but the wrestling was watchable and set up some stories for later on. In other words, it’s NXT doing what a wrestling company is supposed to do, just like always.
Results
Austin Aries/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Blake and Murphy – Kinshasa to Murphy
Carmella b. Peyton Royce – Leg crossface
Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa b. Danny Burch/Rob Ryzin – Running knee/superkick combination to Ryzin
Nia Jax b. Bayley – Legdrop
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4D3EGQ
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
NXT – May 11, 2016: This Is How They Do It
NXT
Date: May 11, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
Finn Balor is back tonight and it’s already time for him to go after his NXT Title again. Balor lost the belt a few weeks back at a house show to new champion Samoa Joe, meaning Finn’s target should be obvious. Other than that it’s time to really hit the gas on building towards the next Takeover which is scheduled for about a month from now. Let’s get to it.
We open with a video on Finn Balor, talking about how the title is his obsession before the loss to Joe. I believe this aired last week as well. Balor may have lost the title but it’s time to embrace the demon inside.
Here’s Finn to open things up. After a THANK YOU FINN chant, Balor thanks the fans and talks about how the matches with Joe could have gone either way but he won the first two. Before he can talk about what happened in the third match, Elias Samson comes out to sing about Balor’s masquerade being exposed. Samson says Finn is nothing without the title so Balor kicks him in the head to put Elias outside. The guitar goes flying but thankfully Samson makes the save. Jeff Jarrett is somewhere groaning at the guitar not being destroyed.
Last week, Eric Young called himself a world class maniac who is so glad to finally be here in NXT.
Balor wants Samson tonight.
American Alpha vs. Corey Hollis/John Skyler
Non-title. Chad takes Skyler to the mat to start and we get the Kurt Angle themed chant. Hollis comes in and gets headlocked down as well before we hit the seated armbar. It’s off to Jordan who easily throws Hollis into the air for a face first crash onto the mat. A double hiptoss puts Hollis down and there’s a double dropkick for Skyler as this is completely one sided so far.
Hollis finally realizes that he can cheat and the jobbers take over on Gable for the first time. Skyler drops a knee for two and we hit the chinlock. That works for all of five seconds before it’s off to Jordan as house is cleaned. Cue the Revival on the ramp for a distraction but Grand Amplitude puts Hollis away at 5:10.
Rating: C-. This was a nearly complete squash and that’s all it needed to be. Alpha is so far ahead of everyone else right now that it wouldn’t make sense to have them do anything but squash other teams. Revival vs. Alpha II should be a really solid brawl though and it would help to have something like No DQ involved. A regular match would be fine too though.
Shinsuke Nakamura is asked what he thinks about Alex Riley’s rage. Nakamura starts shaking, like he has rage you see.
Alex Riley vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Riley had been calling himself the white lion down in NXT, at least until he got released a few weeks after this. Riley goes right after him to start like he’s a guy about to be released going after one of the top stars in the promotion. Nakamura misses a knee though and Riley hammers away, earning himself a string of knees and forearms to the ribs and face. The running knee in the corner sets up the inverted exploder suplex, followed by Kinshasa to put Riley away at 2:38.
Austin Aries is in William Regal’s office to say he wants to prove he’s the best. Blake and Murphy come in to talk about being disrespected. Aries: “You don’t even have the decency to bring Alexa Bliss with you?” Bliss comes in and yelling ensues so Regal makes Blake/Murphy vs. Aries/a partner of his choice next week. Aries pulls out his phone and implies he knows someone.
Alexa Bliss vs. Rachel Ellering
That would be Paul’s daughter. Bliss starts on the arm by bouncing it off the mat and working on an armbar. A forearm gets two on Rachel and it’s back to the armbar. The comeback goes nowhere as Bliss does the psycho eyes choke to set up the Sparkle Splash for the pin at 3:52.
Rating: D. They’re doing a good job of setting up Bliss as the midcard heel though I can’t imagine her ever being a real threat to someone like Asuka. Ellering was really just there and didn’t show anything outside of being competent in the ring. Then again that’s been the case several times before, but she’s a long way behind Tessa Blanchard in terms of potential.
Bayley says she’s getting ready for her rematch when Nia Jax interrupts. She learned from the loss to Bayley but it’s clear that Bayley has learned nothing from losing the title. A challenge for a rematch is issued and Bayley says she can choke Nia out again. This was a really awkward, and likely WAY too scripted, exchange.
Bayley vs. Nia is official for next week.
Finn Balor vs. Elias Samson
Just regular Finn here and his shoulder is taped up. Feeling out process to start until Balor knocks him to the floor and takes us to a break. Back with Balor holding an armbar and the fans saying it NEEDS MORE COWBELL. Samson fires off some forearms but Balor just blasts him in the face a few times. Some running chops in the corner put Samson on the floor for a baseball slide. The Sling Blade sets up 1916 for the pin on Samson at 7:47.
Rating: C-. This was fine and did exactly what it was supposed to do. In theory this sets up another Balor vs. Joe match but I’m really not needing to see them fight for a third time out of four total major matchups. This is also where Samson is a good player. He’s not going to be a top heel anytime soon but those songs are enough to get the fans hating him every week and then he can take a beating and make someone else look good. That’s an important role to have and Samson is as good of an option as they have for it at the moment.
Balor says he wants his rematch for the title because it belongs to him. Now he’s possessed like a demon stalking his prey so here’s Samoa Joe to interrupt. Before it can get physical, Regal comes out to make Balor vs. Joe III for Takeover on June 8. That’s really rare for NXT as they almost never have feuds go on this long. Joe yells a lot so Balor dives over the top to take him out.
Overall Rating: C+. They’re finally starting to set up some stuff for the next Takeover, which is a good thing even though I’m not wild on the main event they’re going with. However, this was a step up over last week’s show and they’re setting up some stuff for the future, which is where NXT shines best. Aries’ partner could be interesting and you don’t know what they might pull off for that.
Results
American Alpha b. Corey Hollis/John Skyler – Grand Amplitude to Hollis
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Alex Riley – Kinshasa
Alexa Bliss b. Rachel Ellering – Sparkle Splash
Finn Balor b. Elias Samson – 1916
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4D3EGQ
And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at: