NXT Takeover: Rival
Date: February 10, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Jason Albert

It’s been less than two months since the last Takeover and NXT is starting to crank up the frequency of these specials. The main story coming in is fallout from last time as Kevin Owens is challenging former best friend Sami Zayn for the NXT Title after betraying new champion Zayn at the end of the last show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video gives us a quick background of every major match.

Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

This was set up late last week after Itami lost in the semi-finals of the #1 contenders tournament and was attacked by Breeze. A blonde woman jumps Breeze during his entrance and is quickly dragged away. She was too good looking to be a real fan. Hideo misses a running kick to start but nails a clothesline out of the corner. A forearm knocks Breeze to the floor and Hideo dropkicks him out of the air. Tyler wakes up and goes after the knee to take over by ramming it into the apron and dropping some elbows. The knee is wrapped around the post and Breeze slaps on the Figure Four around the post as well.

Back in and Breeze puts on a unique submission hold which is kind of a Texas Cloverleaf/Figure Four/Sharpshooter combination. Itami gets to the ropes and tries the GTS, only to have Breeze escape and hit the Supermodel Kick for two. I guess selling doesn’t translate to Japanese. Hideo starts Hulking Up and kicks Breeze in the head before firing off a series of them to the chest. He is nice enough to limp a bit after doing the offense with no issues. A running delayed dropkick in the corner and a running big boot to the face is enough to pin Breeze at 8:20.

Rating: B-. Entertaining match but the lack of selling got annoying in a hurry. It’s also not a good sign that Hideo was right back to kicks only offense. Yeah he varies them up a bit, but they’re all just kicks no matter how you look at it. Breeze is getting to the point where he puts over so many people that it’s not meaning as much. Itami needed a win though and this was his biggest in a singles match to date.

Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey

No DQ. Corbin charges at him to start and they fight on the floor with Dempsey hitting a suplex onto the ramp. He posts Baron as well and takes him inside, only to get caught in a spinebuster for two. Corbin charges him out to the floor where Bull runs him over again. Back in and the flying headbutt gets two on Corbin, sending a frustrated Dempsey outside for a chair. That takes a bit too long though and Corbin catches him in End of Days for the pin at 4:11.

Rating: C. Good brawl but my goodness let it be over now. These two didn’t need to fight again after the first two times but it kept going for the sake of having another match here. That’s unlike NXT and I really hope it’s nothing that becomes normal. At least the right guy won and they kept it short.

Tag Team Titles: Blake and Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons

Blake and Murphy beat the Dragons to win the belts a few weeks back and this is the rematch. They’ve also lost their first names during their title reign. Cara and Murphy get things going but it’s very quickly off to Blake, who eats a spinning cross body. The champs take over and Kalisto gets the tag, only to botch a dive over the top.

Instead a victory roll gets two out of the corner before Cara slams Kalisto onto Murphy for the same. This match is kind of all over the place so far. Back to Blake as the champs take over with some fast tags and quick offense. Kalisto gets another hot tag and cleans house with his rolling kick to the head and low hurricanrana but Murphy counters the Salida Del Sol. A powerbomb gets two on Kalisto and they hit a pinfall reversal sequence until both partners make saves at the same time.

Cara rolls Blake into a powerbomb for two but Murphy rolls out for two of his own. It’s quickly back to Murphy who can’t roll out of the powerbomb as everything breaks down again. Kalisto is knocked off the apron and Murphy hits a running suplex on Cara, setting up a great looking frog splash from Blake to retain the titles at 7:28.

Rating: C. This was entertaining but kind of sloppy. They didn’t really try for any kind of psychology but the champs looked smooth out there and the match worked well enough for what it was going for. Blake and Murphy are actually good champions and work well together, though I could use a big more to separate them. Still though, good enough stuff.

During the champs’ celebration, we get the longest Solomon hack to date, complete with “Next week” coming up on screen.

Recap of the #1 contenders tournament, which quickly turns into a video on Neville vs. Balor. Both of them have worked hard to get here and they’re ready to go through the other to get their shot at the title.

#1 Contenders Tournament Final: Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville

Balor does his full on painted, crawling entrance. Neville runs him over to start and grabs a headlock on the mat. That’s fine with Finn who rolls through and hits a basement dropkick to the face, sending Adrian rolling out to the floor. Back in and Finn runs him over again before slapping on a chinlock. Balor escapes and goes to the apron but gets dropkicked down while trying a springboard. This is a chess match so far. A delayed suplex gets two for Adrian and it’s another chinlock.

Finn is out quicker this time though and he kicks Neville out to the floor for a huge flip dive. After taking a few moments to get up, Balor slowly stalks around the ring and hits a running dropkick to send Neville through the barricade. Back in and a top rope stomps to the back of the head gets two more for Balor and frustration is setting in. Neville wins a kick off but Finn scores with a Pele to put both guys down again.

Adrian is up first and muscles Finn over for a German suplex and now it’s his turn to be frustrated. A middle rope Phoenix Splash gets two on Balor but he comes back with a Sling Blade to put Adrian down again. Finn’s running clothesline turns Neville inside out and a reverse implant DDT gets two more. Neville scores with a pair of kicks to the head but the Red Arrow hits knees, allowing Finn to hook a small package for a VERY close two. I totally bought that as the finish. Now it’s Balor going up for a top rope double stomp to the ribs for the pin and the title shot at 13:32.

Rating: A. Now THIS worked. Both guys were rocking the whole time and this was one heck of a back and forth showdown. Balor is being treated as the real deal and they’re doing a great job of rocketing him up the card. This was a great war with some white hot near falls with both guys looking great and topping each other until Neville just couldn’t get up anymore.

They shake hands post match.

Video on the four way Women’s Title match which is a pretty simple idea: Charlotte has the belt, all three other girls want it, and they’re willing to fight everyone to get it.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

Other than the main event, this is the match I’ve been looking forward to more than anything else, including Balor vs. Neville. It’s a basic title feud but they’ve executed it so well that I want to see it. Consider that this is the company that also has the Bellas being pushed to Mars and back and you’ll be even more astounded by that. It’s a big brawl to start with Charlotte knocking both villains to the floor but getting rolled up for two.

Now it’s Bayley getting double teamed with a double clothesline and then just being thrown into the corner. Banks and Lynch of course get into an argument over who should get the cover. Sasha turns her back on her partner though and gets launched with a kind of pumphandle throw. Lynch goes after Bayley’s bad knee and puts on a kind of reverse figure four but Banks makes the save. Becky hits a missile dropkick to put Sasha down for two but it’s Charlotte making the save.

The champ starts busting out neckbreakers for two each before getting in a slugout with Banks. Sasha gets the better of it and whips Charlotte into the ropes, only to have her spear Becky down. Bayley gets back in and catches Sasha in an assisted Codebreaker but Charlotte boots her in the face. Sasha sends Charlotte shoulder first into the post and drapes her over the middle rope. She puts Becky across the bottom rope for good measure and drives her knees into Charlotte’s ribs to send her into Lynch for two on both of them.

Bayley throws Banks down and it’s down to Bayley vs. Charlotte. A series of running elbows in the corner have Charlotte reeling and Bayley tightens the ponytail to make it serious. Bayley scores with a top rope hurricanrana and the Belly to Bayley but Becky pulls her out to the floor. That’s too much for Bayley as she snaps on Lynch, only to have Sasha dive through the ropes to take both girls down.

The champ has a breather but screw that because she dives onto all three to put everyone down. Back in and Lynch hits an exploder suplex for two on Charlotte. Bayley breaks up something out of the corner and German suplexes Becky, setting up a super Belly to Bayley on Charlotte but Sasha dives in for the save and a VERY closer near fall of her own. The Bank Statement goes on but Sasha lets go to kick Becky down. She slaps the hold on again before rolling Charlotte up in a crucifix for the pin and the title at 11:57.

Rating: A-. FOLLOW THAT BELLAS! I would have ended it with the stolen pin off the superplex but good grief these girls are awesome. These matches are always a highlight and it never ceases to amaze me how hard they blow the Divas out of the water. Actually check that. The NXT girls and the Divas don’t belong in the same water. Awesome stuff here and the NXT girls continue to get more and more amazing every time.

Charlotte hugs the new champ post match but gets shoved away by the Boss.

We recap Zayn vs. Owens, which is all about jealousy from Owens. Sami won the belt at the last Takeover and Owens turned on him during the celebration. Owens has been there with Zayn the whole time but Sami was called up first. That title means a better life for Kevin’s family and he’ll do whatever it takes to win it. Sami just wants to hurt Owens no matter what it takes.

NXT Title: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

We get the tracking shots of both guys coming to the ring, which is a trend I’d love to see come back. After the big match intros, they stare each other down as the fans are mostly behind the champ. Owens bails to the floor to get inside Sami’s head and we’re in full on Zbyszko mode. Sami finally just dives over the top to take Owens down before throwing him inside for a beating. A hot shot breaks up Sami’s momentum and the pro-dirty traitors strike up the FIGHT OWENS FIGHT chants.

Owens rips the skin off Sami’s chest with a chop and Sami quickly loses a slugout. We hit the chinlock on the champ to get a breather before Kevin just grinds his forearm into Sami’s jaw. Sami tries to fight up but gets dropped ribs first over the top rope for two. Back to the chinlock which makes sense as Kevin has been trying to grind Sami down. A hard belly to back suplex gets two and they head outside so Sami can be rammed into the apron.

The fans have switched up to KILL OWENS KILL as he takes the champ back inside to yell in his face. Owens also puts fists to his face before a gutbuster gets two. Sami jawbreaks out of the third chinlock as the announcers bring up Lesnar vs. Cena from Summerslam. That’s not the longest stretch in the world. Sami fights back with some clotheslines, including a big one to send Kevin to the floor.

Now it’s Owens going into the steps and getting his head taken off with a clothesline. Back in and Sami hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but the Helluva Kick is countered with a huge superkick. There’s the Cannonball for two and the pumphandle driver onto the knee gets an even closer near fall. The popup powerbomb is countered with a dropkick and the Half and Half suplex gets two for the champ.

Kevin snaps the throat over the top rope but gets caught on the same rope, only to knock Sami down. He spits at the champ but his Swanton Bomb hits knees. The Exploder Suplex into the corner looks to set up the Helluva Kick but Owens bails to the floor. Owens can’t hit the apron powerbomb so Sami hits the bouncing moonsault, only to have both guys bang their heads on the ramp. Sami can barely stand and staggers on the attempt at the Helluva Kick, allowing Owens to hit the popup powerbomb for an even closer two.

Owens just unloads with right hands to the head and the champ’s eyes are glazed over. He pounds away in the ropes and keeps getting dragged away by the referee. The trainer comes out to check on Sami but Owens powerbombs Sami again. A second powerbomb has Sami out cold but he slowly rolls his shoulder up to keep this going. The trainer gets in the ring now, earning Zayn two more powerbombs. Kevin loads up a fifth in a row and the referee finally pulls him off to stop the match at 23:12, giving Owens the title.

Rating: A-. This was absolutely brutal and a great way to get the title off Zayn. Owens looks like a killer, but the key thing here is he could not pin Sami. This sets up a big time gimmick rematch as well as writes Sami off TV while he on the international tour during the next TV tapings. In other words, NXT has come up with a way to avoid their champion not being around for over a month of TV, because they’re that much smarter than WWE. Excellent stuff here with Sami looking like a warrior and Owens looking like the most awesome monster this side of Brock Lesnar.

Oh and next up: Owens vs. Balor.

A smiling Owens stands over Sami to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. Good grief. I mean just good freaking grief. How in the world does NXT manage to keep blowing away every bit of wrestling WWE can put out time after time? I’m not sure if any of the three big matches here were as good as the triple threat from the Rumble (and they likely weren’t due to the stage the Rumble was on), but I’ll take three awesome matches over one incredible triple threat any day.

Another outstanding show here with the wrestlers working themselves to the bone to make the whole thing work. There are stories, character development, great matches and hard work all around and there’s no way that doesn’t equal an excellent show. NXT is still on fire and shows no signs of slowing down with even more names on the way, like Crowe and that trio of amateur guys that have been getting rave reviews. Great stuff here and again, if this doesn’t give you enough reason to buy the Network, I don’t know what more you could ask for.

Results

Hideo Itami b. Tyler Breeze – Big boot

Baron Corbin b. Bull Dempsey – End of Days

Blake and Murphy b. Lucha Dragons – Frog splash to Cara

Finn Balor b. Adrian Neville – Top rope double stomp

Sasha Banks b. Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Bayley – Rollup to Charlotte

Kevin Owens b. Sami Zayn via referee stoppage

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Saturday Night’s Main Event at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT
Date: February 4, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Alex Riley

It’s the go home show for Takeover next week and the main stories are the tournament to crown a new #1 contender and making Zayn vs. Owens a title match at Owens’ demand. Tonight we have two semi-final matches with Hideo Itami vs. Finn Balor and Adrian Neville vs. Baron Corbin with the winners facing each other next week. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Emma vs. Carmella

The fans want Blue Pants but Carmella says she’s back on the clearance rack. Enzo and Cass dance in the background while Carmella talks to a less than thrilled audience. Thankfully Cass does his spelling and the fans are right back. Carmella shouts at the guys and gets kicked down as we hit a brief catfight. Emma gets choked on the ropes and Carmella mocks her dancing while checking the nails. They fight out of the corner and the Dilemma has Carmella in even more trouble. Not that it matters as she trips Emma down and puts on that leg lock crossface for the submission at 1:52.

#1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Finals: Adrian Neville vs. Baron Corbin

Baron easily takes him back into the corner to start and Adrian looks at him with a realization that he might be in major trouble. A cross body doesn’t work but some kicks to the ribs work a bit better. Neville hits a running dropkick but gets his head taken off by a right hand. Adrian rolls outside with his bell rung but Baron throws him right back inside to stomp away in the corner.

A big slam gets two on Neville but he dropkicks the knee out to send Baron into the buckle. Neville scores with a springboard dropkick to knock Baron outside but the springboard plancha is caught with ease and Baron drops him on the barricade. With Neville going back inside, Bull Dempsey comes out and posts Baron, setting up the Red Arrow for the pin at 5:27.

Rating: C. For once, I really don’t like the booking here. They easily could have had the posting lead to a countout (Corbin barely beat the count back in) instead of a pin, but at least it wasn’t clean. That being said, does ANYONE want to see Corbin vs. Dempsey again? As Riley said, what does Corbin have left to prove against him? The match was a decent power display from Corbin but I didn’t like the ending and it hurt things a good bit.

Sami Zayn says Kevin Owens played this perfectly to get what he wants. Even Regal didn’t see this coming and Regal has seen it all. All that matters now is Takeover next week and Sami is bringing everything he has. Of note here: Sami said the date of the show. That’s such a lost little thing in WWE today. They always say “in X amount of weeks” or something other than just the date. Say the date of the show and get it in the fans’ heads instead of just the name of the show so they’ll know when it’s there.

Corbin vs. Dempsey next week in a No DQ match.

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

Bayley’s music is very, very catchy. The fans aren’t sure who they like better here but it seems to be Bayley with more support as she grabs an armbar. Becky goes after Bayley’s bad knee to take over and hits a nice snap suplex. Three straight legdrops get two but Bayley sends her outside.

Cue Sasha Banks as Bayley misses a charge into the post, allowing Lynch to kick at the knee again. A dragon screw leg whip looks to set up a leg lock but Bayley counters into a small package for two. I actually bought that as the pin. Bayley SNAPS and goes after Becky’s leg before throwing her into a half crab, sending Lynch into the ropes. Sasha throws Becky back inside and the Belly to Bayley is good for the pin at 4:18.

Rating: C-. Neither girl is all that great in the ring but they’re both capable of doing something passable enough to get through a ring. Lynch is far more attitude than in ring ability and there’s nothing wrong with that. The four way next week has a lot of potential and while Banks winning probably makes the most sense, all four are options and that’s one of the great things about NXT: it can be hard to predict sometimes, which is a very rare case in WWE.

Becky shoves Banks down as Charlotte comes out to watch.

Owens says of course it was a plan and Sami knew that’s what was happening. Now he’s going to take the NXT Title two months to the day of his debut.

We see a graphic for the next tournament match and the Solomon hacker screen comes up.

Blake and Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons for the Tag Team Titles next week.

Tyler Breeze is asked what his plans are now that he’s out of the tournament. After calling that a stupid question, he says he’s going to watch the rest of the tournament closely.

#1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Finals: Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami

Neville is on commentary, which isn’t something you see that often in NXT. The bell rings and the fans debut a new chant: “WE’RE NOT WORTHY!” They hit the mat to start for a nice wrestling sequence and the fans give the stalemate a big ovation. Fans: “BETTER THAN RAW!” Balor’s chinlock attempt is countered into an armbar as Graves brings up being Tag Team Champions with Neville for a nice bit of continuity. Finn scores with a dropkick and we take a break.

Back with Itami getting two and putting on a quickly broken chinlock. Balor rolls through into a hard basement dropkick for two before putting on an arm trap chinlock of his own. A pair of rollups get a pair of near falls on Itami before it’s off to a chinlock. The announcers are basically interviewing Neville about what it means to be champion again and getting inside his head instead of just asking him generic questions and plugging Twitter. Hideo fights up and goes up top, only to get kicked in the head for two as we take another break.

Back again with Balor taking the skin off Hideo’s chest with chops. A running knee in the corner has Balor in some quick trouble, followed by a top rope clothesline for two. The GTS is teased again but Balor escapes and they trade kicks to the head. They slug it out with Itami getting the better of it and hitting a running basement dropkick in the corner. Back up and Balor scores with a Sling Blade but he tweaked his knee on some of those kicks. It’s good enough to dropkick Itami hard into the corner and the top rope double stomp is good enough to send Balor to Takeover at 17:58.

Rating: B. The ending was a bit abrupt but this was the kind of match both guys needed. They both held their own for a long match and it never got boring. Balor still looks better but the second that GTS finally hits, it’s going to blow the roof off the place. The best part is you can’t even say it’s stealing anything because Punk took it from Itami in the first place. Really solid match here and Neville vs. Balor is going to rock.

Balor and Itami shake hands and Neville stares Finn down.

One last Owens vs. Zayn promo ends the show. Zayn should have seen this coming but Owens surprised him. They were the best of friends but then Owens got married and had a kid and things changed. Next week, Zayn is going to see what Owens is made of.

Overall Rating: B-. The earlier stuff hurt it a bit but the main event brought the show up a good deal. More than anything else though, I want to see Takeover next week. The card is stacked and they’ve done a great job of building up the show in just a few weeks as opposed to the multiple months they usually have. Next week feels like new stuff crossed with an R-Evolution sequel, which is actually a cool feeling.

There are two things I want to bring up here here that continue to make NXT feel special. First of all is of course the crowd. That BETTER THAN RAW chant they started tonight kept up the feeling that the fans are having a great time every week at this show. How many times do you feel that fans coming to Raw are naturally excited to be there? It’s like they show up and hope for a good show but don’t expect much. When the NXT fans show up, it’s time for a great show and they know it because NXT has earned that respect.

The other thing that stood out to me tonight is the commentary. Every week I have to spend the first half hour of the show figuring out who the commentary team is this week because they always rotate and it’s hard to pin them down given how similar their voices are (save for Albert and Renee of course). For a long time that got on my nerves because I had to listen for them to say their first names, but the more I think about it, the more that’s a good thing. The announcers are just faceless entities most of the time and that means the focus stays on the action and not on them. That’s the polar opposite of WWE and it’s so nice.

Results

Carmella b. Emma – Leg lock crossface

Adrian Neville b. Baron Corbin – Red Arrow

Bayley b. Becky Lynch – Belly to Bayley

Finn Balor b. Hideo Itami – Top rope double stomp

NXT
Date: January 28, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Alex Riley, Jason Albert, Tom Phillips

This is another big show as we’re two weeks out from Takeover and the showdown between Owens and Zayn. The contract signing is tonight and Owens has promised to say what he has to say to Zayn to his face. Also tonight the tournament to crown a new #1 contender continues with more first round matches. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Dragons vs. Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake

Blake and Murphy are challenging and have some new, loud entrance music. We even get big match intros before we get going. Cara and Blake get things going with Wesley slamming him down in the corner, only to have Cara come back with a double springboard wristdrag.

Murphy dropkicks him out of the air for two though as the challengers are staying aggressive. Blake puts on a chinlock for a bit until Cara fights up and makes the tag to Kalisto. Everything speeds up and a sunset bomb gets two on Buddy as everything breaks down. Blake counters Cara’s springboard and makes a blind tag. Kalisto hits Salida Del Sol on Murphy but the legal Buddy rolls him up for the clean pin and the titles at 4:00.

Rating: C. This is where NXT’s booking pays off for them in the end. Murphy and Blake haven’t won a bunch of matches over the months, but they’ve hung in enough of them that this isn’t the most shocking win in the world. In WWE, a team like Slater Gator has been crushed almost every time they go out there and would have almost no chance in a title match. Even if they won, it wouldn’t be accepted. On the other hand, this was fine and made sense, as well as giving us a fresh set of matches for the division.

We recap Bayley suplexing Charlotte last week and Regal making the fourway title match.

Charlotte yells at Bayley but Bayley says maybe she’s been too nice. She saw what Sami Zayn did when he got more serious and now it’s time for her to do it. Charlotte says if Bayley tries that again, she won’t make it to Takeover.

Tyler Breeze is going to be watching the rest of the tournament very closely.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd

The fans are split on who they like best. They hit the mat to start for a nice counter sequence leading to a standoff. Adrian starts cranking on the arm before he takes Tyson down with a hurricanrana, sending Kidd scrambling to the floor. Neville even teases him with a dive but pulls back with a Tajiri handspring flip. Kidd keeps sliding under the corner and out the other side of the ring to break the count, eventually drawing Adrian outside where he gets sent into the floor.

We take a break and come back with Kidd hitting a hard dropkick to the face and rubbing the same face into the mat. Neville sends him right back outside with a clothesline and hits a big old flip dive to take him down. A standing moonsault gets two for Neville as the referee is drenched in sweat.

The spinning fisherman’s neckbreaker snaps Adrian’s neck for two but he flips out of a release German suplex and grabs a Batista Bomb (crowd: “Better than Batista!”) for two. Neville heads outside but a hard dropkick sends him to the floor. Back in and Kidd can’t hook the Sharpshooter, allowing Neville to hit a running kick in the head (similar to the Helluva Kick), setting up the Red Arrow for the pin at 16:25.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the heck out of each other and it got better and better throughout the match. This is the basic idea of hitting each other really, really hard over and over again until one of them can’t get up and that’s a great way to enjoy a match. Really fun stuff here and worth checking out.

Neville says he’s ready to face either Corbin or Dempsey. The fans seem very interested in Neville vs. Corbin. I can’t say I disagree.

Becky Lynch implies she’d turn on Banks to win the title. Good, as I like her better than Sasha.

Murphy and Blake are thrilled to win the belts and would give the Lucha Dragons a rematch anytime anywhere. They’re still getting the hang of this talking thing.

Becky Lynch/Sasha Banks vs. Bayley/Charlotte

The fans aren’t as into Bayley as they used to be. Bayley and Banks get things going with Bayley hitting a springboard armdrag but botching a second attempt, allowing Banks to take over. Off to Lynch for a forearm to the back before it’s already back to Sasha. Charlotte comes in and snapmares Becky down before tagging Bayley right back in. In a smart move, Bayley thinks about going to the ropes but realizes http://onhealthy.net/product-category/stop-smoking/ Banks would nail her in the back and opts for a jumping clothesline to a seated Lynch instead.

The villains use some cheating to take over and Sasha gyrates a bit, drawing a Sasha’s ratchet/no she’s not dueling chant. Becky comes back in and goes for the knee, only to get suplexed down, allowing the hot tag to Charlotte. She quickly gets Banks in the bridging Figure Four but Becky breaks it up as everything breaks down. Sasha Bankrupts Charlotte and Bayley makes a save but hits her partner in the process. Charlotte and Bayley start fighting each other and the opponents come in, drawing a double DQ at 5:50.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t great but it was exactly the right booking. There was no need to have anyone get a pin here and it let Bayley show a lot more aggression. I’m still really high on Becky but she needs to show that she can do something in the ring as she’s barely had any ring time so far. The fourway could be awesome if they let these four go nuts.

Hideo Itami comes up to Finn Balor in the back and says he brought Finn into the company and will take him out if he has to in order to advance in the tournament.

The returning Emma says things haven’t gone as she planned since she left NXT so next week she’s coming back to face Carmella.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Bull Dempsey vs. Baron Corbin

Baron sends him into the corner to start and runs him over with a shoulder. Dempsey bails to the floor but Baron is right back on top of him to send him back inside. Back in and a corner splash has Bull in trouble and the End of Days is good for the pin at 1:31. Total squash here with Dempsey getting nothing. That almost has to end the feud.

Baron Corbin says he just took a step closer to becoming NXT Champion and next week Adrian Neville takes a step closer to being erased. Dempsey comes up and says he’ll knock Corbin’s teeth out. Baron just walks away. That would seem to be the way out of Baron losing clean next week.

It’s time for the contract signing. The champ comes out first but Regal is hesitant to bring out Owens. Kevin comes out and Sami looks sad as much as mad. Regal isn’t going to let this turn into every other contract signing in WWE because he’ll cancel the match if they make any contact. The fans chant OLE and Sami signs without saying anything. Owens looks at Sami instead of the contract. Sami asks if he’s just going to look at him or if Owens is going to explain why. Owens doesn’t move so Sami says he’ll talk about the last 12 years.

They fought with and against each other so maybe he should have seen this coming. The truth is he didn’t see it coming though and he never thought it would happen on a night like R-Evolution when both of them arrived. It doesn’t matter though because Sami is going to beat the heck out of him at Takeover. Owens still won’t sign because he doesn’t like it being a non-title match.

What Owens did at R-Evolution was business because he’ll fight anyone for the right prize. That title means more money and a better life for his family, so Owens isn’t doing this unless it’s a title match. Regal doesn’t like Owens’ last minute demands but Sami says wait a minute. Make it a title match because Owens really won’t do it if he doesn’t get what he wants. Regal writes something on the contract and Sami signs again. Owens eventually signs and throws the pen at Sami before leaving to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show was about moving things forward for Takeover and they’ve done a great job. The title change was a nice surprise as it was something you almost never get on TV but it made sense. That’s the tagline I would use for almost everything on this show: it made sense. It’s clear that someone is paying really close attention to these stories and has planned them out step by step. That’s such an important thing to do and the matches are almost always worth the payoff. Good show here and they’re doing a very good job of a short build to the next Takeover.

Results

Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake b. Lucha Dragons – Rollup to Kalisto

Adrian Neville b. Tyson Kidd – Red Arrow

Bayley/Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks/Becky Lynch went to a double DQ

Baron Corbin b. Bull Dempsey – End of Days

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NXT
Date: December 18, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan, Jason Albert

We’re past R-Evolution and it was one of the best shows of the year with some outstanding matches and a great ending. The main surprise was Kevin Owens turning on his best friend Sami Zayn after Zayn won the title. Owens ended the show by powerbombing the new champ on the apron and establishing himself as the next challenger for the belt. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the R-Evolution.

Here’s Adrian Neville to open the show. He talks about losing the title just a week ago at Takeover and the fans tell him that it was awesome. Neville can stand here a proud man and admit that the better man won a week ago. However, he saw someone attack Sami Zayn to end the show and he wants Kevin Owens out here right now.

Cue Owens to address what he did last week. Adrian immediately says shame on Owens for what he did last week, prompting a SHAME ON YOU chant. Owens doesn’t care what the fans or Neville think because he’s here to get to the highest level in the world. He’s willing to fight anyone that he has to in order to get there, and that includes Neville.

We look at Becky Lynch attacking Bayley last week on the pre-show.

Lynch says her attitude hasn’t changed. Her eyes have been opened though and it doesn’t matter if people are cheering for her when she’s losing every week. Now the only person she can rely on besides herself is Sasha Banks. Tonight, she’s ending Bayley’s career.

Tyler Breeze says he’s taking some time away from NXT to do some modeling in Europe. Don’t worry though because he’ll be keeping us informed on where in the world he is.

Becky Lynch vs. Bayley

Brennan slips up by saying the pre-show was yesterday. Bayley takes her down and hammers away to start before driving an elbow into the back for two. Back up and Becky kicks at the knee to take over but Bayley pops back up with a suplex. Lynch finally goes after the knee with a hard kick before putting on an overly complicated hold that winds up in a reverse figure four (as in Lynch on her back and Bayley facing down but the same positioning of the legs called the Figure Four Leaf Lock) to make Bayley tag at 3:35.

Rating: C-. I liked the logic here and Bayley being very aggressive but I’m not sold on that finisher. It’s not entirely clear if it would hurt or not and Becky’s legs looked very loose around Bayley’s. Lynch would seem to be the next challenger for the title, which has the potential to be really good.

Last week Charlotte said she proved she had a whirlwind week but she proved she’s the best.

In black and white, the Vaudevillains come in to show Regal a clip from the end of their match last week. The wrong man was pinned, meaning there’s going to be a rematch at some point in the future. Believe it or not, the show is already booked and there’s no room for another match.

Bull Dempsey vs. ???

The fans don’t count this time. It’s total dominance again with Bull throwing the unnamed guy all over the place and ending him with the headbutt at 1:08.

Baron Corbin comes out during Bull’s exit.

Baron Corbin b. ???

End of Days in 12 seconds.

Corbin tells Bull to bring it but Dempsey bails to the floor and backs off.

Recap of the major events of R-Evolution.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Ascension

Enzo and Cass give us a bit of the 12 Days of Christmas including 7 fists a swinging, 6 where it hurts, 5 golden rings (as sung very nicely by Cass), 4 letter words, 3 in the Benz, 2 tough guys and 1 one beating from the Certified G’s. Cass and Viktor slug it out to start with Cass actually getting the better of it. Enzo tags himself in but spends too much time looking at Carmella, allowing Viktor to nail an STO for the pin at 1:00.

Ascension says the war with Itami and Balor isn’t over.

Adrian Neville vs. Kevin Owens

Owens hides on the floor to start before walking into a jumping kick to the face. He goes back outside for another breather before knocking Adrian up against the ropes, only to eat a shot to the face. Adrian tries a baseball slide but gets slammed back into the barricade to give Owens his first real advantage. The beating continues and we take a break.

Back with Owens slowly stomping away and shouting that nothing he does makes him shameful. Neville was champion for almost a year and now look at what a joke Owens has made him into. Fans: “KEVIN’S BETTER! NO HE’S NOT!” Owens steps on him and gets two off a kind of reverse curb stomp. Back up and Neville finally starts getting in some offense with a few kicks putting Kevin down. A springboard dropkick gets two but Adrian dives one time too many and gets caught in a fireman’s carry gutbuster.

Owens drops a backsplash for two and an Elevated DDT out of the corner ala Randy Orton gets the same. The frustration is setting in on Owens and Adrian fights back by whipping him chest first into the ropes for a German suplex. Owens rolls outside but gets caught with a big plancha. Adrian can’t follow up though and Kevin sends him into the post for a double countout at 15:00.

Rating: B. I liked this more than I thought I would as they went in a different direction than I was expecting. Owens didn’t destroy him here but he did look like a killer. I really like that they didn’t have Neville lose the title and then fade away. He held the belt for nearly a year and lost in a classic so it’s not like he should just go away and then never be heard from again. Good stuff here and Owens can get away with not winning here as it’s more about punishing people and getting to Zayn than anything else.

Owens powerbombs Neville onto the apron like he did to Zayn last week. A stretcher is brought out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was the first part of the NXT fallout and I’m sure we’ll have some rematches in the coming weeks. We’ve had this after every Takeover show so far and there’s nothing wrong with it. Owens looks like the killer heel that we haven’t had in NXT in a good while and it’s a very nice change of pace. The show is still riding high after last week and it’s such a breath of air after the bloated and overbooked WWE shows.

Results

Becky Lynch b. Bayley – Figure Four Leaf Lock

Bull Dempsey b. ??? – Flying headbutt

Baron Corbin b. ??? – End of Days

Ascension b. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady – STO to Amore

Adrian Neville vs. Kevin Owens went to a double countout

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NXT
Date: November 27, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Renee Young, Jason Albert

The big story this week is Finn Balor facing Tyson Kidd in his first singles match in NXT. It’s going to be interesting to see how much more impressive he is than Itami, who hasn’t done much for me, though he needs a longer match than he’s had so far. Other than that we’re gearing up for Zayn vs. Neville II in two weeks and it should be glorious. Let’s get to it.

Marcus Louis vs. Tyler Breeze

Louis continues to be in a state of shock and potentially psychotic over losing his hair. He doesn’t take his towel off for a few moments as Tyler looks disgusted by Louis. Fans: “WHERE’S YOUR EYEBROWS???” Breeze says he can’t be asked to take on the uggo of all uggos and won’t be the precious to Louis’ Gollum. Marcus takes the towel off his head and Breeze is even more disturbed. Now he thinks Louis is an idiot and a freak. “NOBODY WILL EVER LOVE YOU!” Louis looks away and turns around into the Beauty Shot for the pin at 2:28. Breeze was as evil as I’ve ever seen him here and I LOVED IT.

Louis rolls out and screams as he leaves. I could go for more of this Louis Is Nuts thing as he’s selling the heck out of it. Marcus gets back in the ring and the fans think this is awkward. After a break, Louis very slowly walked out the front door of the arena.

Carmella vs. Blue Pants

Enzo says he has a surprise for Carmella (Fans: “BLUE PANTS! BLUE PANTS! BLUE PANTS!”) and of course it’s Blue Pants, complete with Big Cass humming a theme song for her. He does the entrances and the fans actually give her a standing ovation. Fans: “REMATCH! REMATCH! REMATCH!” Carmella runs her over to start and does it again with a dropkick. Off to the leg crossface from Carmella for the submission at 0:48.

Carmella laughs at Enzo post match. They better not split up Enzo and Cass.

Balor says Kidd should send a tape of their match tonight to Kidd’s uncle Bret.

Lucha Dragons vs. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan

Non-title. Cara and Dillinger get things going with Sin grabbing the arm and taking him back into the corner for a tag off to Kalisto. The champs keep taking turns on the arm until Dillinger takes Sin over to the corner for the tag off to Jordan. In something you don’t see all that often, Jason covers him for no count. Back to Dillinger for some stomps but we get heel miscommunication to frustrate Dillinger. The hot tag brings in Kalisto to speed things up with a very high springboard wristdrag to Tye. Cara’s suicide dive takes Tye out again and the Salida Del Sol pins Jordan at 3:35.

Rating: D+. Glorified squash here but the Dragons looked good going into their title match against the Vaudevillains at the next Takeover. The problem though is their reign hasn’t had the time to build yet, and when you’re coming off a year long title reigns, it’s kind of hard to get into one that has consisted of the rematch with the champs and potentially the feud where the titles change. At least there’s been a bit of build to the upcoming defense though.

We recap Sasha Banks costing Bayley a match against Becky Lynch last week and Charlotte making the save post match.

Kevin Owens, complete with a FIGHT t-shirt, is coming in two weeks.

Here’s Bayley with something to say. She doesn’t have a match tonight (“BOO!”) but she has to deal with something tonight. Charlotte may not be here, but she’s used to dealing with bullies like Lynch and Banks. When she was a kid she was bullied every day and when she came home from school crying, her mom told her to go back the next day and stand up to the bullies because they’re cowards. Cue Banks and Lynch to shove Bayley but she nails Sasha in the face. Becky nails her from behind though and they stomp away until the referees come out. Again, Lynch looks like a star here.

Natalya is excited for her husband to get to face Balor tonight. Tyson cuts her off (Natalya: “But I’m putting you over!”) and says Justin cost them that match because he has a knack for losing. Tyson has been working with Bret recently and is the new Hitman. Balor is a guy who can’t live up to his hype. Yeah he’s good, but he’s not THAT good. Natalya goes to hug him but Tyson has to go Facetime with the cats. She doesn’t seem too bothered by this.

Time for a silent movie starring the Vaudevillains. The Lucha Dragons are trying to rob a bank and it’s up to the Vaudevillains to stop them. But first, TRAINING MONTAGE! English does push-ups while Gotch gets in a fist fight WITH A BEAR. They go for a run before heading to the bank where they find a box of TNT. It’s the Mini Lucha Dragons behind it of course, and they wind up getting blow up, somehow making Gotch and English the NXT Tag Team Champions. Voiceover: “No Lucha Dragons were harmed in this production, but at NXT Takeover: R-Evolution, we make no such promises!” This was GREAT.

We run down the Takeover card and Sasha vs. Charlotte is confirmed.

Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd

Itami/Balor vs. Ascension is confirmed too. Technical sequence to start with Tyson grabbing a wristlock to take over but Balor spins him down to the mat in a nice counter. Kidd comes back with a chinlock as the fans call him Nattie’s Wife. It turns to a TYSON CHICKEN chant as Balor dropkicks him to the floor, only to have Kidd hide behind Natalya to avoid a dive.

We take a break and come back with Balor kicking Kidd from the apron but having his springboard broken up. Kidd knocks him out to the floor and follows up with a neckbreaker outside. Back in and Tyson hammers away in the corner before catapulting him face first into the bottom turnbuckle for two. Another chinlock doesn’t last that long but Kidd stops the comeback with a kick to the ribs. Tyson puts him in the Tree of Woe for some knees but stops to yell at Natalya for not helping him cheat.

There’s a running dropkick in the corner for two and we hit another chinlock. Kidd: “ASK HIM!” Referee: “He said no!” Kidd: “WELL ASK HIM IN IRISH!” Back up and Balor escapes a suplex and fires off some chops followed by a Pele. A spinning suplex gets two for Finn but he charges into a boot in the corner. Balor kicks him off the top but misses the top rope stomp. Tyson can’t hook the Sharpshooter so he sends Balor face first into the buckle again. The springboard elbow hits knees so Finn hits a running knee to the face. Up top again for the stomp but Ascension runs in for the DQ at 14:41.

Rating: B-. Good but not great match here as they were just getting going near the end. Balor continues to look like a much more well rounded guy than Itami, but again I need to see Itami in a long match like this one to get a better feel for him. Kidd is still the work horse of this show and I’m glad that he’s getting some shots on Raw as a reward.

Itami comes in for the save and a big pull apart brawl ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I want to see R-Evolution. That’s the key to TV shows like this and it’s worked like a charm here. They spent last week building up the main event and this week it was all about almost every other match on the card. This was a good, entertaining episode with more wrestling to balance out last week’s talking heavy show. Good stuff again and the big show looks like it could blow the roof off the place again.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. Marcus Louis – Beauty Shot

Carmella b. Blue Pants – Leg crossface

Lucha Dragons b. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan – Salida Del Sol to Jordan

Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd went to a no contest when the Ascension interfered

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NXT
Date: November 20, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Alex Riley, Rich Brennan

We’re getting close to the end of the year and ultimately the next Takeover special, but now the main event isn’t as clear. Last week Sami Zayn was tricked into losing his NXT Title shot against Adrian Neville, leaving his future up in the air. Other than that we have Itami/Balor getting ready for their showdown against the Ascension which will be the newcomers’ official welcome to the company. Let’s get to it.

We recap Sami’s loss last week.

Opening sequence.

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

Bayley is sent out to the apron to start and gets dragged right back in. A release northern lights suplex and legdrop give Becky two and we’re already in a chinlock. They get right back up with Bayley hitting some quick ax handles to the chest for two. Sasha offers a distraction from the floor though, allowing Lynch to pull the hair and grab a rollup and tights for the pin at 2:14.

Charlotte comes out to save Bayley from a post match beatdown.

Bayley thanks Charlotte for the help but warns her to stay away from Sasha. They hug and everything seems ok.

Here are the Vaudevillains with something to say. They’re patient gentlemen, but they deserve the title shot that they’ve earned. Cue two mini wrestlers dressed like the Lucha Dragons (Renee: “Kind of like Lucha-Loompas!”) and we’re actually having a match.

Mini Lucha Dragons vs. Vaudevillains

The full sized guys takes turns with airplane spins on #1, even handing him off between each other instead of dropping him. #2 gets tagged and doesn’t want to come in. A quick neckbreaker from English gets the pin at 1:29.

Kevin Owens (Steen) is coming on December 11, 2014.

Baron Corbin vs. Elias Sampson

End of Days, 22 seconds. The fans were counting again.

Bull Dempsey comes out for his match and stares Corbin down on the way.

Bull Dempsey vs. Steve Cutler

The fans start counting again. Fans: “21! 22! 23! BARON’S BETTER! BARON’S BETTER!” Bull destroys Cutler and no sells some right hands before the top rope headbutt ends this at 54 seconds.

Tyson Kidd vs. CJ Parker

It’s the rare heel vs. heel match here. Kidd grabs a hammerlock around the ropes as the fans chant TOTAL DIVAS. Parker nails a quick kick to the face for two but Kidd knocks him out to the floor. A dragon screw leg whip onto the ropes has Parker in even more trouble and the Sharpshooter ends him at 2:59.

Kidd offers to excellently execute Finn Balor next week.

Enzo takes credit for Carmella’s success but nothing comes of it.

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

Enzo and Cass aren’t the Parker Brothers, but they’ll scrabble your headpiece, monopolize you, connect your four eyes and never feel sorry for it. Enzo grabs a headlock on Dawson to start as Renee critiques Amore’s hair. Off to Cass to clean house before shouting “ENZO! I’M GONNA TAG YOU IN!” Cass kicks Dawson’s head off, giving Enzo the pin at 1:38.

Ascension runs in and destroys Wilder with the Fall of Man. Fans: “SEVEN MORE TIMES!” They’re going to kill Itami and Balor before they rise again.

Zayn thanks Regal for the chance to get something off his chest tonight. End of scene.

Here’s a serious looking Sami Zayn to talk about last week. He’s known he has what it takes to be a champion his entire life, but last week proves otherwise. We see a similar video to the opening montage of Neville pinning Sami in the title match last week. Fans: “YOU GOT ROBBED!” Sami asks Neville to come out so here’s a limping champion.

Sami talks about having no business being here if he can’t win the big one. Now Neville doesn’t owe him anything because he gave him a title match last week, but if their friendship means anything to him, Adrian will give him one more chance at the NXT Championship. If Zayn can’t win that one, then he’s done. Neville says he’d give him a rematch tonight but that’s not his decision.

Above all though they’re friends, and Neville thinks Sami has nothing left to prove. Zayn gets mad and says the only thing he has left to prove is on Adrian’s shoulder. If he can’t beat Neville for that title, then he doesn’t need to be here. Sami sounds like he’s on the verge of tears. Cue Regal who says Zayn is far from a failure.

Sami was part of NXT Arrival and Regal can’t think of any main event better than Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville. That rematch will take place at NXT Takeover: Our Evolution on December 11. Neville is pleased but he doesn’t want Sami’s career on the line because he won’t be responsible for ending Sami’s dream. Zayn again says he’s done if he loses and drops the mic to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a hard one to grade as everything went by so fast. I kind of like it that way though as the matches may have been short but they all did their jobs efficiently enough, especially when two of them were about winning as fast as they could. Sometimes you don’t need to keep a match going just for the sake of keeping it going and NXT was smart enough to realize that. Sami’s promo at the end was awesome but it kind of telegraphs the ending to the match. Still though, solid show tonight as NXT continues to destroy the main show in making the most out of their time.

Results

Becky Lynch b. Bayley – Rollup with a handful of tights

Vaudevillains b. Mini Lucha Dragons – Neckbreaker to #2

Baron Corbin b. Elias Sampson – End of Days

Bull Dempsey b. Steve Cutler – Top rope headbutt

Tyson Kidd b. CJ Parker – Sharpshooter

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady b. Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson – Big boot to Dawson

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

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NXT
Date: November 6, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Alex Riley, Rich Brennan

It’s a big night in NXT as we have two major stories to get to. First and foremost, Tyler Breeze is Sami Zayn’s latest obstacle on his road to redemption. Breeze is one of the only guys that Sami has never beaten and tonight they square off in what might be a #1 contenders match. Other than that we get to find out who Hideo Itami has found to help him in his war with the Ascension. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Zayn’s road to redemption. I like this story more every time I see it.

Opening sequence.

Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze

Feeling out process to start with Tyler getting two off an early backslide. Sami flips out of an armbar and nails an atomic drop before taking Breeze into the corner. Tyler comes right back with some stomps in the corner before bulldogging him face first onto the middle buckle for two. We take a break and come back with Sami fighting out of a chinlock but eating an elbow. Back to the chinlock as the fans are chanting for Breeze.

Zayn fights up again but Tyler fights out of the Blue Thunder Bomb and drops Sami with a neckbreaker for two. Sami shoves him off the top rope but Tyler dropkicks him out of the air. The Koji Clutch is quickly broken and neither guy can hook a German suplex. A HUGE Supermodel Kick gets two on Sami and frustration is setting in. Breeze takes him into the corner but walks into the exploder suplex, followed by the Helluva Kick to give Sami the pin at 14:43.

Rating: B-. It’s good but they weren’t going to be able to live up to their Takeover match with the time they had. Sami getting a clean pin over Breeze is a big step for him and he looked all fired up throughout the match. They’re doing a great job of making Sami look unstoppable leading up to the showdown but I’d like to see Adrian get in some big wins of his own. Good stuff here.

Neville isn’t afraid of Sami because he can’t win the big one.

Dash Wilder vs. Tyson Kidd

Wilder runs him over to start so Tyson begs off in the corner. Kidd unloads in the corner and catapults Wilder face first into the bottom turnbuckle. A kick to the back gets two and we hit the chinlock on Dash for awhile. Wilder finally gets up and nails a powerslam for two, only to get kicked in the head again. A Moss Covered Three Handled Family Credenza sets up the Sharpshooter to make Dash at 4:28.

Rating: D+. That chinlock took way up way too much time and it hurt whatever they were going to be able to do here. Wilder was being treated like a bigger deal than usual here, even though he only had limited offense. This is the kind of stuff I’d like to see on Raw: let some of the guys that don’t get much time show up on TV and have a quick match instead of doing star vs. star all the time.

Marcus Louis is completely insane and ranting like a crazy man. I didn’t recognize him at first.

Sami Zayn says he feels like the Count of Monte Cristo by beating all of these people in a row. The road to redemption is more than just a tag line and he wants his shot at Neville next week.

Becky Lynch/Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte/Bayley

Bayley and Becky get things going with Bayley driving Lynch into the corner with aggression to start. Off to Banks who gets dropped with a clothesline and knee dropped for two. Charlotte and Becky come back in with the champ taking Lynch down in a cravate. We take a break and come back with Charlotte taking her back down with another cravate.

Charlotte talks trash to Sasha on the apron before whipping Lynch into the corner to knock Sasha to the floor. She spends too much time yelling at Banks though and gets nailed for two. Banks comes in now for a few shots and immediately tags back out. Charlotte comes right back and drops a knee on Lynch’s head before bringing in Bayley. Lynch takes her into the corner and tags in Banks for some forearms to the back.

In an evil nod, Banks hooks Bayley in a figure four neck lock and drives her face first into the mat ala Charlotte. The heels take turns on Bayley until she finally suplexes Banks down for a breather. Sasha knocks Charlotte off the apron and gets rolled up, only to roll through on Bayley and grab the tights for the pin at 11:34.

Rating: C. This was about setting up two future matches and there’s nothing wrong with that. I like Banks being more of a cowardly heel now as it fits her personality to show that she can win on her own but want everyone else to do it for her. Lynch continues to look like the biggest star in forever though and seems more than ready for the main roster.

Regal confirms Neville vs. Zayn for the title next week.

Here’s the Ascension to call out Itami. They tried to be patient but Itami has done nothing but make threats. Get out here right now so we can finish this. Itami comes to the stage and is joined by…..FINN BALOR! I believe the screen was originally supposed to say Prince Devitt and then turn into the new name but it just said Finn Balor (pronounced like valor). They charge the ring and destroy Ascension with a variety of kicks and knee shots as the fans chant THIS IS AWESOME and DREAM TEAM. Finn goes to the top for a double stomp to Konor’s back to end the show. Finn looked AWESOME here and the fans ate him up.

Overall Rating: B. This show was a blast and proof of what you can get if you actually take your time to set something up. It has me wanting to see the next Takeover show because the card is going to be stacked with matches that are waiting for a blowoff. Something tells me we’re not going to get a clean finish to the title match next week and there’s nothing wrong with that. Really solid show this week Balor’s debut being a highlight.

Results

Sami Zayn b. Tyler Breeze – Helluva Kick

Tyson Kidd b. Dash Wilder – Sharpshooter

Becky Lynch/Sasha Banks b. Charlotte/Bayley – Rollup to Bayley with a handful of tights

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

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And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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NXT
Date: October 2, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Alex Riley, Jason Albert

Tonight we move one major step closer to Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville in the showdown for the NXT Title as Tyson Kidd has his FINAL title shot. Other than that we also have a rematch from Takeover as Bayley gets a Women’s Title shot at Charlotte, who seems to have turned face after their first match. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Takeover II and last week to set up both of tonight’s title matches.

Opening sequence.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Bayley

Feeling out process to start with the champ shoving Bayley down, only to have Bayley come out of the corner with an armdrag to send Charlotte out to the floor. Back in and Charlotte cranks on the leg as we get a LET’S GO BAYLEY/CENA SUCKS chant. Some backslides and rollups get two for Charlotte but she fights out of another backslide attempt and goes after Bayley’s ankle. The champ CRANKS on the leg and Bayley is in trouble as we go to a break.

Back with Charlotte still cranking on the leg in the corner before putting on the same leg hold. Charlotte tries to cannonball down onto the leg and gets rolled up for two. Bayley starts firing back but gets kicked in the leg to put her right back down. The leg is wrapped around the post and we hit the Figure Four with Charlotte bridging up ala Bray Wyatt’s spider walk for more pressure.

Bayley turns it over but Charlotte is right next to the ropes. Back up and Charlotte misses a knee drop and a charge into the corner and a middle rope back elbow gets two. Charlotte reverses a suplex into a neckbreaker and a bad looking Natural Selection (Charlotte shoved Bayley’s back to put her into the mat) retains the title at 11:38.

Rating: C+. I was getting into the story here of Bayley being in over her head with the wrestling skills but being able to get close by making Charlotte miss or trying a quick rollup. More importantly, the announcers SOLD THAT IDEA. They spent the entire match talking about the different styles and made me think Bayley could steal a quick win. Good stuff here.

Charlotte hugs Bayley post match.

Hideo Itami vs. Viktor

Ascension double teams Hideo down as the announcers mention that he has no friends in NXT. They destroy him with ease until referees come out to break it up. No match.

Earlier this week, Enzo and Big Cass trained Carmella at the Performance Center. Enzo puts her hand on his arm in a lockup. Carmella: “Sawft!” They do some basic stuff until Carmella dropkicks him out of the ring. He tells Cass not to post the video.

Baron Corbin vs. Troy McClain

A big elbow drops Troy, a clothesline stuns him in the corner and the End of Days gives Baron the pin at 53 seconds.

Kidd says he only needs one last chance and he’ll become NXT Champion. He walks away when asked about Natalya getting him the shot.

The Legionnaires want a rematch with Enzo and Cass next week.

Vaudevillains vs. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan

Aiden and Jason get things going with English being thrown into the corner. He takes a little bow but Jordan makes his chest dance in return. Off to Gotch vs. Dillinger with the pretty boys taking over in the corner. Back to English for a swinging neckbreaker for two on Jordan but Dillinger quickly comes in for some knees to the face. Fans: “YOU’RE NOT MANLY!” A rollup gets two for Aiden but the kickout sends him into the corner for a tag off to Gotch. We go old school with airplane spins to both pretty boys, setting up That’s A Wrap for the pin on Dillinger at 4:10.

Rating: C. The fans have basically turned the Vaudevillains face with the chants and calling things manly. They’re perfect challengers for Lucha Dragons and the match should go well enough. I’m surprised at how far the pretty boys have fallen as they looked like the next thing in the tag division. That’s probably better for everyone involved though.

Titus O’Neil is in the front row for the main event.

Itami is getting checked in the back (and speaking pretty clear English) when Funaki comes in to say he’ll have Itami’s back against Ascension.

Bayley says she isn’t done because there are girls that look up to her. Sasha Banks jumps her and says she’ll get the next shot at Charlotte.

NXT Title: Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd

Adrian is defending and this is Kidd’s last chance. The champ takes Tyson down by the arm to start and we can see the lights reflecting off Titus’ head. Back up and they slug it out with Kidd ripping the skin off with a chop in the corner. Neville backdrops him to the mat and a hard kick to the back gets two. He bails out to the floor for a breather, only to get kicked in the face from the apron as we take a break.

Back with Neville cranking on an armbar but getting choked on the ropes. Off to a figure four neck lock on the champion and the fans want him to tap. Neville turns around in the hold and lifts Tyson up for a powerbomb to escape. A series of kicks have Kidd in trouble but he nails a running big boot for two. Kidd nails another running kick before flipping Neville over with a snapmare and turning underneath him to make it a neckbreaker. Tyson goes up but gets kicked in the head, setting up a sitout powerbomb (“BETTER THAN BATISTA”) for two.

Neville bails out of a Shooting Star and tries a dropkick but gets caught in the Sharpshooter. He makes a rope though and heads to the apron to kick Kidd in the head. For some reason Adrian heads outside though and Titus gets in a cheap shot. Sami Zayn runs out and kicks Titus in the head as Neville dives back in at nine. Kidd loads up a superplex but gets kicked down, setting up the Red Arrow to retain at 13:07.

Rating: B-. Another good match between these two and the build to Zayn vs. Neville continues. Neville is still mostly good at this point but the big heel turn is probably looming. I’m not sure where Titus is going to fit in but I don’t think he’s going to be much more than a short term foil for someone.

Zayn salutes Adrian and says he’s coming for the title.

Kidd looks devastated and the announcer emphasizes that he’s out of chances to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was back to the standard for NXT, meaning it’s the best wrestling show on TV again. They had story development for some angles and set up stuff for the future while having some good action at the same time. As usual, NXT is as efficient of a wrestling show as you’ll find and a huge improvement over the usual waste of time that Raw feels like anymore.

Results

Charlotte b. Bayley – Natural Selection

Baron Corbin b. Troy McClain – End of Days

Vaudevillains b. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan – End of Days to Dillinger

Adrian Neville b. Tyson Kidd – Red Arrow

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

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NXT
Date: September 25, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Renee Young, Rich Brennan

The seeds are being planted for the big showdown of Neville vs. Zayn but they seem to be doing a very slow build. Tonight we get one of the roadblocks out of the way as Tyson Kidd is getting his FINAL title shot at Adrian Neville. Their first two matches have been solid so this one should be entertaining well. We’re also getting the Lucha Dragons defending against the Ascension. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Mojo Rawley vs. Bull Dempsey

The brawl starts in the aisle before Mojo hammers him into the ring for the opening bell. Dempsey runs him over and a top rope headbutt ends Mojo in 46 seconds.

Video on Baron Corbin, talking about being a different breed while getting on a motorcycle. Cool stuff.

Tyler Breeze comes to the ring as Mojo is leaving so Breeze beats him up too.

Tyler Breeze vs. Justin Gabriel

Justin gets stomped down in the corner to start but goes after Tyler’s knee. He slams Breeze face first into the mat for two but stops for a dance. A kick to the chest gets two but he has to bail out of the 450. Instead a STO and springboard splash get two for Justin but he misses the 450, allowing Breeze to finish him with the Beauty Shot at 3:58.

Rating: D+. There was a nice story to this one as the veteran Gabriel underestimated Breeze and got caught when Breeze took everything he had. Breeze has gotten way better than I ever thought he would and Gabriel is good enough to make anyone look good. The action wasn’t great but it told a good story.

Natalya asks Regal for one more shot for Kidd. Regal grants it but this is his LAST shot. I believe this was already advertised.

Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley

Bayley takes her into the corner to start but gets caught in a sunset flip for two. Bliss flips her down and Bayley is so impressed that she high fives Alexa. Bayley cranks on an armbar but Bliss tries to roll out, only to have Bayley roll with her in a nice counter. Back up and Bliss misses a standing moonsault before walking into the Belly to Bayley for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: C-. This was more fun from the NXT girls with Bliss having the perfect smile to go with the flips and Bayley being as adorable as is humanly possible. The wrestling wasn’t much again but this was more for an athletic display than anything else. Bayley getting a clean win should help bring her back up.

Post match Bayley calls out Charlotte and says she hasn’t been able to sleep since Takeover. Her mom was there to watch her lose. Bayley asks for one more match and the fans are WAY into the idea. Charlotte says Bayley earned her respect, but the second verse would be the same as the first. The rematch is on for next week.

Enzo, Cass and Carmella come to the Performance Center. Apparently she lied about being Enzo’s sister to get in the building which is ok with Enzo. She wants to get in the ring but Enzo says she has to get in shape first and start acting like a Diva. Carmella steps off camera while Enzo gets on the treadmill and clarifies that he and Carmella aren’t a couple. She comes back on camera in a sports bra and shorts, showing off quite the physique. Cass: “HOW YOU DOIN?” Enzo falls off the treadmill and might have hurt himself.

Marcus Louis vs. Enzo Amore

Louis is doing the Kurt Angle wig with wrestling headgear to hide being bald. Enzo talks about Louis eating pie and having a side effect. They list off possible types of pies and call Louis SAWFT. Louis hammers away to start and knocks Enzo to the apron, but Amore rips off the wig. Marcus is terrified and gets rolled up at 2:37.

Kidd says he’ll get his own title shot and says he has all the power in the title match.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Dragons vs. Ascension

Ascension is challenging. Konnor runs over Cara to start but Kalisto springboards in to take Konnor down. Off to Viktor who hammers Kalisto in the corner but gives up a tag to Cara. Sin headscissors Viktor down and powerbombs Kalisto into a moonsault for two. Back to Konnor for a hard headlock on Kalisto before throwing him around for two more. Viktor comes in and cranks on a chinlock as we take a break.

Back with Konnor launching Kalisto across the ring before putting on a chinlock. An over the shoulder backbreaker/middle rope elbow combo gets two on Kalisto and it’s back to the reverse chinlock. Konnor runs him over for two and puts on a bodyscissors to keep Kalisto in trouble. Back to Viktor for a hard uppercut but Kalisto slips over the back to escape a slam and there’s the hot tag to Cara. Ascension actually cleans house but here’s Hideo Itami for a distraction. Kalisto pops back up for the Salida Del Sol and the pin on Viktor at 10:23.

Rating: C+. This was the usual power vs. speed at this point but the announcers made it clear that Itami was coming in the entire time. I’m kind of glad they got rid of the rematch so we don’t have it hanging over us the entire time. That being said, do we really need Itami doing the WWE finish in NXT? Really?

Ascension chases Itami to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty basic episode of NXT here with all of the action working well enough and the stories all advancing. They’re getting good at the week to week booking again with stuff like the Kidd vs. Neville match coming at some point and the Women’s Title match next week. Good stuff again this week with the promotion getting back to the way it works best.

Results

Bull Dempsey b. Mojo Rawley – Top rope headbutt

Tyler Breeze b. Justin Gabriel – Beauty Shot

Bayley b. Alexa Bliss – Belly to Bayley

Enzo Amore b. Marcus Louis – Rollup

Lucha Dragons b. Ascension – Salida Del Sol to Viktor

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

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And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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Takeover: Fatal Four-Way
Date: September 11, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

For once I’m actually looking forward to a WWE special. This is the third two hour live event that NXT has run and the first two were knocked out of the park. The main event tonight is a four way with NXT Champion Adrian Neville defending against Tyson Kidd, Sami Zayn and Tyler Breeze in what should be a classic. Let’s get to it.

The regular WWE video plays but an NXT video hacks in. You might even say it takes over.

Opening sequence with only shots of people appearing tonight.

Tag Team Titles: Sin Cara/Kalisto vs. Ascension

Sin Cara and Kalisto won a tournament to get this show. They also now have their own music which starts with someone shouting LUCHA LUCHA LUCHA! Ascension has held the titles for nearly a year and have barely ever broken a sweat in a defense. Viktor knocks Sin Cara up against the ropes but gets caught by a standing Lionsault for two. That’s fine with Viktor though as he sends Cara out to the floor so Konnor can drive him back first into the apron.

Back to Viktor for a hard slam for two as the champions are already dominating. We hit a double chickenwing before Cara escapes a powerbomb. Konnor knocks Kalisto off the apron though and Cara can’t make the tag. An enziguri stops Konnor but he puts on a front facelock and just drives Cara back into the corner. That’s fine with Cara as he flips over and makes the tag to Kalisto.

Everything speeds up with a spinning slingshot plancha. A semi-botched sunset bomb gets two on Viktor as Cara dives on Konnor. Both champions go outside and catch Kalisto in mid air. Sin dives on both of them for a huge crash and the fans are WAY into this. Back inside they load up the Fall of Man but Cara trips up Konnor. Kalisto rolls out of the way and hits Salida Del Sol (standing sitout Sliced Bread #2) on Viktor for the pin and the titles at 7:48.

Rating: B-. Power vs. speed is something that is going to work no matter how many times you try it. They had to get the belts off of Ascension at some point and putting them on Lucha was as good of a way as they could have done it. This frees up Ascension to go after the Usos, which makes sense given that they already debuted on Main Event this week.

The new champions dub themselves the Lucha Dragons.

We get a quick pause in memory of 9/11.

Video on Adrian Neville about how tough a year it’s been for him but he hasn’t lost a single match. Everyone will remember that he’s the man that gravity forgot. He’s beaten all of his challengers and now he has to beat them at once.

CJ Parker vs. Baron Corbin

This is an added match. The much bigger Corbin shoves the Eco Warrior Parker into the corner….and then plants him with a very powerful one armed Downward Spiral for the pin at 32 seconds. He made it look even better by rocking Parker forward and then snapping him back. That’s a good way to start a push.

Video on Tyson Kidd where he lists off some of his facts, mainly talking about each man in the main event tonight. He will walk out as champion. Fact.

Enzo Amore vs. Sylvester LeFort

Enzo has new music which he might sing himself. This is Jersey Shore vs. France in a hair vs. hair match. Amore even has “hair cream” to get rid of Sylvester’s hair. Before the match, Enzo suggests a few hairstyles for LeFort, including a combover and a mushroom, complete with the fans shouting HOW YOU DOIN after every suggestion. According to Cass, after the match, Sylvester’s hair will be S-A-W-F-T.

Enzo grabs a headlock to start and ruffles LeFort’s hair to really mess with him. A shoulder puts Sylvester on the apron but he snaps Enzo across the top rope to take over. We hit the chinlock on Enzo followed by a hard kick between the shoulders. Amore fights back with some stiff punches but a Marcus Louis distraction lets Sylvester nail a clothesline for two. Cass takes out Louis, allowing Amore to grab a rollup (and tights) for the pin at 5:46.

Rating: D+. The wrestling was bad but what are you expecting from someone like Enzo? He’s a comedy character and has never had a match go more than a few minutes. This was a way to give the fans a good laugh and there’s nothing wrong with that. Cass and Amore are just a loveable team and they beat up the snobs. What more can you ask for?

Sylvester is being taken to the chair but Marcus makes a save. Amore and Cass get up though and LeFort runs off, leaving Marcus to take the cream on the head.

Tyler Breeze says the new champion will be gorgeous. Every outfit he wears goes with gold.

Here’s General Manager William Regal with something to say. He talks about how great it is in NXT right now and introduces the biggest international signing in NXT history. We get a video on Kenta, with various WWE wrestlers talking about how awesome he is. Kenta comes to the ring to a VERY strong reaction and he gives a brief welcome in English before going into Japanese. He says this is a dream come true and he’s starting over with a new name: Hideo Itami, a tribute to one of his heroes. His goal is to be NXT Champion….and here are the Ascension to interrupt.

Itami is thrown to the floor and Konnor demands a rematch for the titles. Hideo gets back in the ring and takes off his jacket. A kick and forearm put Ascension down and a double dropkick does it again. Itami gets a chair and stands….well not that tall actually but it’s a good debut.

Bull Dempsey vs. Mojo Rawley

Not much to this one as they were in the tag team tournament and lost, causing Dempsey to destroy Rawley. Dempsey hammers him into the corner to start as the fans want Kevin Steen. Mojo spears him down and hammers away but Dempsey runs him over with a splash. A top rope headbutt ends Mojo at 1:07. If Rawley wasn’t finished before, he certainly is now.

Dempsey adds another headbutt for good measure.

Enzo and Cass want to see someone bald. They see Marcus with a towel over his head and carry him into the arena for the big reveal. Enzo rips off the towel, revealing little bits of hair on Marcus’ head and no eyebrows. Nice touch. Enzo says he is B-A-W-L-D.

We recap Bayley vs. Charlotte. It’s another simple story with Charlotte being the girl that feels she’s here by birth and Bayley being the biggest fangirl in the history of wrestling who just loves to be here.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Bayley

Bayley now has streamers on her arms. Charlotte offers a handshake to start but Bayley drives her into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. A quick cross body gets two for Bayley but Charlotte counters a backslide with a neckbreaker. We hit the figure four headlock on Bayley and Charlotte even flips forward a few times and slam Bayley onto the mat. They trade a few rollups with Bayley countering a Figure Four attempt for two. Charlotte dropkicks her back down and nails a hard knee to the ribs.

Bayley comes back with a hard series of forearms, only to miss a charge into the corner and get slammed down onto the mat for two. Charlotte goes up top but gets caught in a top rope hurricanrana to put both girls down. The delayed cover only gets two but the Belly to Bayley is countered into a rollup. Charlotte nails her in the face, knocking Bayley head first into the bottom buckle. A moonsault doesn’t quite hit as Charlotte landed on her legs instead of on Bayley and only gets two. Natural Selection (the new name for Bow Down to the Queen) is enough to retain the title at 11:55.

Rating: C+. This was a far cry from Charlotte vs. Natalya but they had to have a heel win somewhere in there. I’ll give them this though: they had me wanting to see Bayley suplex Charlotte through the floor and take the title. The story was perfect here though and that’s as good as they could have hoped for. The match wasn’t bad at all either and that hurricanrana looked great.

Post match Sasha Banks comes out to beat on Bayley but Charlotte makes the save. Bayley is confused.

Sami Zayn talks about having to be ready for his opponents. He and Neville are friends, but he wants to beat Adrian to become champion.

Hideo Itami makes his in ring debut next week.

NXT Title: Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Adrian Neville

Neville is defending and this is one fall to a finish. After the big match intros, they have about half an hour for this if necessary. Kidd’s trunks now say FACT. The fans start their dueling chants and aren’t sure who they like best so far. After a minute of circling each other we’re ready to go with all four heading to the floor. That goes nowhere but they do tease Neville vs. Zayn to a BIG response. They head back to the floor with Neville kicking Kidd and Sami chopping Breeze.

Sami and Kidd go back inside with Zayn grabbing the Koji Clutch until Tyler makes a save. Now they head to the stage where Adrian’s knee is taken out and a double suplex plants him on the stage. Sami picks off Kidd but gets a double suplex of his own on the ramp. Back to the ring now with Sami getting double teamed by the villains. The fans tell Kidd that Nattie is better as Adrian gets knocked off the apron.

Sami gets stomped in the corner and Tyler covers after a suplex, triggering the brawl with Kidd. Tyson sends him to the floor and gets two off a neckbreaker to Zayn. Off to a chinlock on Sami but he quickly jawbreaks his way to freedom. Kidd puts him in the Tree of Woe though as Adrian is knocked to the floor again, followed by a kick to the face from Tyson.

Zayn tries to get back up but Kidd just pounds him down in the corner and puts on the chinlock again. Neville finally gets back in but Tyson sends him to the floor for about the fourth time. Adrian pops back in though and backdrops Kidd down. Breeze returns from the dead, only to get clotheslined down by Sami. Zayn loads up a dive to the heels but Adrian hits a HUGE top rope Asai moonsault to put them both down.

That leaves Neville vs. Zayn and the fans get even more into this all of a sudden. A big kick to the champion’s head gets two as Kidd is back in for the save. Kidd throws Neville into Sami to knock the champion to the floor and the Moss Covered Three Handled Family Credenza gets two on Sami. Tyson can’t get the Sharpshooter on Sami and the springboard elbow hits knees. Sami loads up the Helluva Kick but Tyler nails the Beauty Shot to knock him down. Neville tries to come in off the top but gets dropkicked out of the air for a VERY close two. Tyler gets two on Kidd as well and frustration is setting in.

Adrian goes up top but Breeze and Kidd load up a double superplex. That’s not enough for Sami as he makes it a HUGE Tower of Doom. Kidd somehow gets up at two and Breeze falls out to the floor. Sami punches Tyson into the corner and gets all fired up but charges into a boot from Neville. A Shooting Star from Adrian crushes Sami but Breeze comes in to steal a two count and make the fans gasp.

Tyler misses a Beauty Shot to Sami and gets caught in the Sharpshooter. Tyson drags him back to the center of the ring and Tyler loads up his hand to tap but Adrian grabs his hand to hold it up in a great move. Sami makes the save and the fans are very thankful. Sami and Adrian finally get to slug it out until Neville gets backdropped to the floor.

An exploder suplex puts Kidd in the corner and Zayn dives through the ropes to take out Adrian. In an even better move Sami dives from the floor, over the bottom rope and into a tornado DDT on Tyler on the floor. The Helluva Kick looks to finish Kidd but Adrian pulls the referee out of the way. A superkick drops Sami and the Red Arrow to Kidd retains the title at 23:58.

Rating: A-. If Sami had won the title there it’s even higher. I’m not wild on Adrian seemingly turning heel but in theory this sets up Neville vs. Zayn in the big showdown for the title. Thankfully Sami didn’t get pinned here and the huge spots worked really well, especially that Tower of Doom and the diving tornado DDT. This was more than worth the wait and now it looks like Sami is getting his chance very soon. Notice that they didn’t really let Sami and Adrian fight other than a brief exchange, even though the fans were begging for it. That’s a sign for the future.

Sami looks at Adrian with frustration on his face to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This wasn’t quite as good as Arrival and Takeover but these things are still as good as anything else you’re going to see in wrestling today. NXT has mastered this idea of setting something up and then executing it rather than meandering forever until they figure out what they want to do and expecting us to keep watching. I love this promotion and it holds up incredibly well week after week. Zayn vs. Neville is going to rock and the future looks bright with some major debuts on the horizon.

Results

Sin Cara/Kalisto b. Ascension – Salida Del Sol to Viktor

Baron Corbin b. CJ Parker – Downward Spiral

Enzo Amore b. Sylvester LeFort – Rollup

Bull Dempsey b. Mojo Rawley – Top rope headbutt

Charlotte b. Bayley – Natural Selection

Adrian Neville b. Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd – Red Arrow to Kidd

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

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