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:

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

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:

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

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:

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

Looking at some of the potential perils of the new Brand Split.

http://wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do/

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
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:

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

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:

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

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NXT
Date: April 20, 2016
Location: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re still down in Texas and it’s a big week tonight with Apollo Crews vs. Samoa Joe and American Alpha facing Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in a non-title match. It should be interesting to see how these now main roster stars are treated on NXT, though there’s a good chance that at least one of them wasn’t announced for the main roster when this was taped. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. American Alpha

Non-title. Before the match, Cass says he and Enzo have been doing this longer than anyone in NXT history. Tonight they’re going to find out if there’s just one word to describe them. The fans immediately declare this to be awesome as Gable and Amore get things going. Gable easily takes him to the mat and it’s off to Jordan to stay on the arm. The fans think this is wrestling though I could also accept a Bavarian checkers tournament.

Jordan works on a variety of armbars before it’s back to Chad for a hammerlock. After at least two minutes of working on Enzo’s arm, he dives over for a quick tag to Cass as we take a break. Back with Cass slamming Enzo onto Jordan for two before we hit the chinlock. Gable tags himself in though and snaps off an over the shoulder flip to keep Enzo in trouble. A collision allows the tag to bring in Cass though and Gable actually gets beaten down for a bit longer.

Cass hits a good looking Stinger Splash before working on the arm as well but Gable finally sends him into the corner and makes the tag off to Jordan. That means it’s time for the running right hands and the suplexes with Jordan ripping the straps down. Enzo gets sent into the corner for the running shoulder but Cass takes the bullet for him. Jordan puts the straps back up and takes them down again, setting up Grand Amplitude to put Enzo away at 13:30.

Rating: B-. Another good match from two teams who do little over than have good matches. Enzo and Cass have turned into one of the biggest surprises as far as in ring abilities go and it was cool to see them in one last big match before they left. Alpha is just so far ahead of everyone else though that I’m not sure who they could conceivably lose the titles to.

Apollo Crews is ready for Samoa Joe because he doesn’t like bullies.

No Way Jose vs. Alexander Wolf

Jose likes to dance a lot but Graves is much more concerned about why Jose is always being denied entrance into various places. Alexander gets caught in an airplane spin and a legdrop gets two, but he’s up with a chinlock on Jose because it was just a legdrop and it’s not 1987. Some baseball swings to the chest sets up a baseball style punch (as in he winds up for a pitch and punches the guy in the face) for the pin on Alexander at 2:59. Jose is fun but I really don’t see him lasting more than a few months without some big adjustments.

Austin Aries says he wasn’t lucky at Takeover and if Baron Corbin wants to fight him again, he’s not a hard man to find. There’s a lot of A-level talent in NXT but there’s only one man at the A-Double level.

Elias Samson is playing guitar when William Regal comes in to say Samson will be facing Shinsuke Nakamura soon.

Nia Jax vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Nia doesn’t waste time and grabs a shoulder breaker to start. A big elbow drop sets up a Samoan drop and the big leg ends Deonna at 1:35.

Bayley thinks Asuka will beat Eva Marie next week but she’ll be watching.

Apollo Crews vs. Samoa Joe

Fans: “PLEASE DON’T LEAVE!” I’m not sure who that’s directed at but it could apply to either. Feeling out process to start as Joe can’t quite get anywhere with his wristlock. Instead Apollo grabs a headlock as we actually get some NXT house show ads with the announcers saying Joe gets a title shot at a show in Massachusetts. I don’t think I’ve ever heard them do that before. Joe comes back with the snap jabs but Crews snaps off a great looking dropkick.

We take a break and come back with Joe hitting a big chop, followed by the corner enziguri. A hard running elbow drops Crews again and it’s off to the neck crank. Joe gets two more off the backsplash but gets caught in a snap suplex to give Apollo a breather. The running clothesline and really quick nipup set up Crews’ jumping enziguri but the standing moonsault gets two. Crews can’t quite get Joe up for the lifting powerbomb though and the Rock Bottom out of the corner plants Apollo. For some reason this draws a loud NXT chant, followed by the Koquina Clutch to make Crews tap at 13:33.

Rating: B-. This was a hard hitting back and forth match with Crews being an interesting opponent for Joe. Balor is the kind of guy who can get by Joe with pure skill but Crews is someone who can match the power, requiring Joe to just beat Crews even harder for the win. Fun stuff here and a good TV main event.

Overall Rating: B+. Two big matches that both worked, matches set up for next week and a debut. I’m really not sure what else you could ask for in a show that ran forty seven minutes without commercials. It’s going to be interesting when we get out of Dallas and see what’s coming up but of course NXT is capable of setting up a few things like the idea of Balor vs. Joe/Nakamura or Bayley/Jax vs. Asuka. Any combination could be entertaining and it’s not clear who it’s going to be, which gives you a reason to come back. Really efficient show here and that’s all you should expect from something like this.

Results

American Alpha b. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady – Grand Amplitude to Amore

No Way Jose b. Alexander Wolf – Baseball punch

Nia Jax b. Deonna Purrazzo – Legdrop

Samoa Joe b. Apollo Crews – Koquina Clutch

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

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

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

NXT
Date: April 13, 2016
Location: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips

We’re back to normal now after Takeover: Dallas but we’ll be seeing some the action from Wrestlemania Axxess where about four weeks of shows were taped. This is going to include some TV debuts and potentially the fallout from the big show, though there’s a good chance a lot of that will be included in backstage segments. Let’s get to it.

Commissioner William Regal runs down some of tonight’s big events, including Shinsuke Nakamura’s TV debut.

Opening sequence.

The camera is a little different here as the hard camera is opposite the entrance. Other than that it looks like a regular setup, despite Axxess taking place just a few feet away.

Austin Aries vs. Angelo Dawkins

The fans are behind Aries here of course. Dawkins quickly takes off his headband but gets taken to the mat and ridden a bit. A hard shoulder puts the much smaller Aries down but he snaps off some armdrags to take over. Dawkins throws him down and stomps away before slapping on a front facelock. This sets up a lot of yelling about Dawkins’ Island, the meaning of which I’m sure will be covered later. Back up and Dawkins misses a charge in the corner, allowing Aries to start in with those hard forearms. The neckbreaker over the middle rope sets up a roaring elbow for the pin on Dawkins at 4:15.

Rating: C-. Standard debut here and there’s nothing wrong with that. Aries looked fine here and beat up a jobber that we’ve seen before, though none of that really matters as we’re still waiting to see his next big match. Given that Corbin is gone, maybe he could challenge Balor as there’s no point in seeing Balor vs. Joe III.

Samoa Joe says nothing has changed and now he wants Apollo Crews next week.

No Way Jose is coming next week.

Alexa Bliss vs. Tessa Blanchard

Tessa is of course the daughter of Tully. Bliss takes her down to the mat to start but gets kneed in the face for two. Back up and Alexa drops her again, allowing Bliss to stand on her back for Graves calls a Tony Hawk. We hit the cravate for a bit before Bliss loads up a slap. Tessa blocks it though and shouts I DON’T THINK SO in a Stephanie style screech. Alexa is done with this though and grabs Blanchard by the throat while giving us the best crazy eyes I’ve seen since Edge retired. A shove Tessa down and a standing moonsault into knees to the chest gives Alexa the pin at 3:52.

Rating: C+. Bliss’ best match ever and a lot of it is due to those eyes. I know she gets a lot of compliments for her looks but that was one of the best visuals I’ve seen in a very long time. At the same time though, Tessa clearly has that it factor and knows what she’s doing in the ring. Give her some experience and a bit of a character and she’s ready to be one of the top women in NXT. Really nice surprise here and I’m very pleased.

Finn Balor is ready for any challenger as the new #1 contender. He’ll be sticking around for Nakamura’s in ring debut. That’s really the only option right now but it still seems a little soon.

Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano vs. Vaudevillains

Gargano armdrags Gotch into an armbar to start before it’s quickly off to Ciampa who takes English’s head off for two. Everything breaks down for a bit and Gargano gets double teamed on the floor to give the Vaudevillains their first real advantage. Gotch works on the arm and tags in English, who comes in between the bottom and middle rope. I’ve never seen a male wrestler come in that way unless he was injured.

Gargano knees Gotch off the apron and quickly crawls over to Tommaso for the hot tag. A hanging downward spiral (think Randy Orton) gets two on English but Gotch makes a blind tag to come in. The rollup doesn’t work though and the flip over armbar makes Simon tap at 5:03 in a big upset.

Rating: C+. This picked up near the end but above that it was a big surprise. You really don’t expect a main roster team (and they were acknowledged as such) to lose to a team that hasn’t had a ton of success even in NXT. Still though, well done on a clean win and maybe Ciampa and Gargano are going to be the next challengers.

Tye Dillinger says Nakamura is great but tonight Nakamura is competing against him, not the other way around. Tonight Nakamura is being sent back to Japan. Dillinger leaves but comes back to give interviewer Rich Brennan a 3.

Baron Corbin vs. Tucker Knight

Corbin takes him into the corner for some right hands to start but Knight gets in a nice dropkick and a Thesz press. Back up and End of Days puts Knight away at 1:57. Nothing to see here.

American Alpha stood in the empty convention center wearing their new titles earlier today when Enzo and Cass showed up to praise the new champions. They’d also like a match, which doesn’t even need to be for the titles. Jordan and Gable seem to agree with the idea.

Bayley vs. Liv Morgan

Wristlocks are exchanged to start as the fans sing the HEY WE WANT SOME BAYLEY song. Morgan does a Matrix move to avoid a clothesline, only to get elbowed in the back. The fans think Bayley is going to hug her but Morgan grabs an ankle scissors to take over. A bulldog sets up a monkey flip, only to have Bayley counter a whip into the Bayley to Belly for the pin at 3:24.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match to get Bayley back on her feet but Morgan looked good out there at the same time. It’s clear that they’re planting the seeds for the next batch of women and with Sara Del Ray coaching them, there’s little doubt that they’ll all work out. Remember how nothing Bayley and Sasha were back in the day and then look at where they were just a year or so later.

Post match Bayley says she was beaten by a better woman but the fans make her want to keep standing and be champion again.

Tye Dillinger vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

The chants are almost split to start but Nakamura’s fans cut off Tye’s with a HE’S ELEVEN chant. Tye armdrags him down and holds up the ten fingers, which fascinate Nakamura for some reason. He even asks the referee about it but Tye tells him to bring it, which you just don’t do to this guy. Back up and Nakamura takes him to the ropes before casually putting his head on Tye’s chest. That gets a ten from Shinsuke and an offer to bring it.

The fans already say it’s awesome and while I get the sentiment, could you save that for more than two minutes into a glorified squash? Tye gets two off a good looking superkick and we hit the chinlock. Graves has to mock the fans for failing to chant ELEVEN in rhythm as Shinsuke starts his comeback. We get the kicks to the chest and head, including the shaking stomp in the corner. The Kinshasa puts Dillinger away at 5:14.

Rating: C. Dillinger is a great example of someone who has skills and talent but is rarely ever going to win a big match. However, as soon as you get the TEN thing going, everyone forgets about that because he’s got enough charisma to carry him wherever he needs to go, even if that’s normally to a loss. I don’t think Nakamura needs much more explanation.

Overall Rating: C+. This was back to basics for NXT and that’s what they do best. It was a night of quick/nothing matches but we got some storyline advancement and potential matches set up for down the road. It also helps that they announced two matches for next week (American Alpha vs. Enzo/Cass and Joe vs. Crews) to give us something to look forward to. As usual, NXT knows how to book week to week and sets the standard for doing so.

Results

Austin Aries b. Angelo Dawkins – Roaring elbow

Alexa Bliss b. Tessa Blanchard – Moonsault knees to the chest

Johnny Gargano/Tommasso Ciampa b. Vaudevillains – Flip over armbar to Gotch

Baron Corbin b. Tucker Knight – End of Days

Bayley b. Liv Morgan – Bayley to Belly

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Tye Dillinger – Kinshasa

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4D3EGQ

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

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

NXT
Date: April 6, 2016
Location: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips

This is the first of a series of special shows from Wrestlemania weekend with most of the matches taped from Axxess weekend. It should be interesting to see how things go with a very different style audience. Also it’s not clear whether or not we’ll get much advancement in the major angles as everything needs to reset after Takeover: Dallas. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Takeover as you might guess.

Phillips and Graves welcome us, clearly from Takeover.

New correspondent Catherine Kelly tells us what we can expect, including Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson, which was a dark match at Takeover.

We see a video on American Alpha winning the Tag Team Titles, followed by Jordan (nearly in tears) and Gable talking about what it means to win the titles on the biggest weekend of the year.

Video on Asuka winning the Women’s Title from Bayley.

Bayley says congratulations to Asuka and admits that Asuka is just on another level. A champion is made by how many times they get back up and get better so she’ll rise to the occasion again.

We recap Elias Samson getting pinned by Johnny Gargano a few weeks back. Post match Samson beat him down until Apollo Crews made the save.

Recap video of Aries vs. Corbin.

Aries calls himself the most polarizing man in wrestling and that’s just fine. He’s not out there to prove anything to the people though because he’s out there to prove something to himself. Talent and passion can’t be measured with a ruler and a scale but he proved everything he needed to prove to Baron Corbin and isn’t going anywhere soon.

We see Finn Balor retaining the NXT Title over Samoa Joe.

Balor says he escaped and survived Joe again.

Joe has nothing to say.

We see Samson singing a song to Crews but backing away from a fight.

No Way Jose is coming.

Elias Samson vs. Apollo Crews

Samson comes out with his guitar and has something to say but we have a lot of booing to get through first. The fans say that they want wrestling but thankfully Crews cuts it off to get things going. Crews throws him into the corner to start so Samson hides behind the guitar. A headlock doesn’t get Elias anywhere and it’s an armbar to put him on the mat. The armbar even goes to the floor so they head back inside for yet another armbar.

Back from a break with Samson getting in a shot to the back of the head and putting on a chinlock. Another chinlock doesn’t go anywhere and it’s Crews getting up and hammering away to a surprisingly strong reaction. Samson bails to the floor and gets taken down with an apron moonsault, only to have the standing version hit knees back inside. Elias gets in a jumping knee to the head but asks for silence, allowing Apollo to kick him in the face. The toss powerbomb puts Samson away at 14:46.

Rating: D. This really wasn’t very good and that’s probably it for Samson for a little while. Crews moving to Raw is still a surprise but at least he went out on a win unlike Corbin. Unfortunately it wasn’t a good match as most of it was spent on armbars and chinlocks. Samson is much more of a character than a wrestler but I’m not sure how far he can get on that alone.

Video on Zayn vs. Nakamura.

Sami can’t put all of his emotions into words.

Nakamura says strong style has arrived.

Overall Rating: D+. This is a tricky one as the show should have been white hot coming off Wrestlemania weekend and the awesome Takeover but instead it’s a recap and dark match. Maybe you can argue that this is a breather from all the action and a fear of burnout but I was looking forward to something entertaining here and wound up seeing a bunch of stuff all over again. It’s not often that I get to say this but I was disappointed here.

Results

Apollo Crews b. Elias Samson – Toss powerbomb

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4D3EGQ

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

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