NXT
Date: October 9, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Renee Young, Rich Brennan

We’re getting closer to the next live special and you can see the card starting to form from here. It’s pretty clear that we’re going to get Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville in the big showdown for the title and maybe Lucha Dragons vs. the Vaudevillains. That’s not the worst card in the world with the NXT Title match sounding excellent. Let’s get to it.

Tyler Breeze vs. Mojo Rawley

This is the result of Tyler attacking Mojo a few weeks ago when Rawley interrupted his walk. Breeze hides in the ropes to start and then lays on the corner to keep ticking Mojo off. Mojo charges into a boot to the shoulder and Breeze stomps on the arm before putting on a Fujiwara Armbar for the submission at 1:15. This quick losing thing has to become a story soon right?

Brennan thinks the referee stopped the match instead of hearing a submission.

Enzo and Cass try to get Regal to give Carmella a job. He isn’t interested but they get him to watch her working out in the ring. She makes some girl tap and Regal says bring her next Thursday.

We recap Hideo Itami vs. the Ascension over the last few weeks.

Viktor vs. Hideo Itami

Konor isn’t anywhere in sight which probably doesn’t spell anything good for Itami. Vikto takes some punches and kicks to start but rips the skin off Hideo’s chest with a chop. A snap suplex gets two on Itami and Viktor hammers away even more. Some kicks give Hideo a breather and a missile dropkick puts Viktor down. Hideo seems staggered by the dropkick but he goes up again, only to be distracted by Konor on the stage with an unconscisous Funaki. Not that it matters as Itami dropkicks Viktor for the pin at 3:11.

Rating: D+. Hideo looked better here but I still want to see some different offense. The dropkicks were at least a different kind of kick to keep things a little fresher and he threw some right hands, but throw in something other than strikes. Again though, it was just a three minute match so it’s way too early to pass judgment. The crowd was oddly silent during this match too.

Post match Konor comes in and Hideo gets tied in the ropes. Funaki tries to make a save and gets beaten down even worse.

Vaudevillains vs. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady

I’m not feeling the Vaudevillains’ new music. Enzo wants the Villains to get back in their Delorean and go back to the future. They want to go back to Pumping Iron to flex like Arnold, but it’s more like Hey Arnold because they never should have got off the stoop. WOW does that line make me feel old. Gotch drives knees into Enzo’s ribs in the corner and Aiden’s legdrop gets two. Enzo finally rolls away and makes the tag to Cass for a big boot. Everything breaks down and Cass suplexes Enzo onto Gotch for two. Cass gets knocked outside to leave Amore all alone and That’s A Wrap at 2:52.

Sami Zayn understands that Titus O’Neil is having issues with a bunny but that doesn’t mean he can come down here to make himself feel better.

Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

Becky is out of the green and into plaid. Sasha insults Becky’s hair to start so Becky whips her hair into Banks’ face. A Majistral cradle gets two for Lynch and she nips up for good measure. Some forearms to the face get two for Sasha and we’re off to a double arm crank. Becky comes back with some clotheslines for two and a springboard kick to the face in the corner. Not that it matters as Sasha hits a quick Backstabber into the Bank Statement (Crossface) for the submission at 4:02.

Rating: C. This wasn’t bad and Lynch clearly has the it factor to her. The fact that she’s very good looking and can clearly go in the ring will make things even easier for her. I was hoping she won here but the Banks vs. Charlotte match is probably going to take place at the next live show. Good showing by Lynch here who looked more complete than Banks, though Sasha has better charisma.

Sami Zayn vs. Titus O’Neil

Sami fires off some forearms to stagger the big guy but charges into a slam. More forearms don’t have much effect as Titus slowly hammers him down again. O’Neil pounds away in the corner and another slam gets two. Sami gets thrown outside and we take a break. Back with Sami caught in a bearhug and being swung around like a rag doll. A third slam gets two as Titus really doesn’t seem to have the most extensive offense.

Zayn gets beaten down in the corner again and has to confirm he can keep going. Off to a waistlock from Titus but Sami fights out and low bridges Titus to the floor. A big flip dive puts O’Neil down and finally wakes up the crowd a bit. Back in and the Helluva Kick is countered by a big boot for two. A second attempt at the Helluva Kick connects but Titus’ foot is under the ropes. Sami tries to walk the corner but gets crotched down and planted with the Clash of the Titus for the pin at 13:14.

Rating: D. Seriously? We have to sit through Titus having one of the most boring offenses this side of Big John Studd and he gets to pin Zayn in the middle of the ring? The bad parts of this match are all on Titus as he just didn’t have anything but slams, clotheslines and forearms. You would think a guy that has been around that many years would have something better than this but he was just dull. I see no need to have him win here though and it really made things worse.

Titus tries to go after Sami again but Neville makes the save.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t their best effort and the main event has a lot to do with it. I see no reason why Sami couldn’t win here and then do the exact same ending. The rest of the show was fine but it’s almost all about setting up stuff for down the road. The different with NXT though is they’re capable of pulling off something like that later on. Not a great show here but there’s good stuff coming.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. Mojo Rawley – Fujiwara Armbar

Hideo Itami b. Viktor – Dropkick

Vaudevillains b. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady – That’s A Wrap to Amore

Sasha Banks b. Becky Lynch – Crossface

Titus O’Neil b. Sami Zayn – Clash of the Titus

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NXT
Date: August 21, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

The show has changed timeslots for the first time ever and is now airing at 4pm EST on Thursdays. Things picked up for the first time in a good while last week with an awesome Tyler Breeze vs. Adrian Neville title match, ruined by Tyson Kidd interfering. Sami Zayn made the save and in theory it’s time for a big tag match. Let’s get to it.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Finals: Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Vaudevillains

Cass throws English around to start and nails him with a big boot to the jaw. Off to Simon vs. Enzo with Amore nailing some fast punches to the ribs for two. Cass throws Amore into the corner to crash into Gotch but Simon catches Enzo’s cross body and That’s A Wrap sends the Vaudevillains to the finals at 1:47. That was really quick.

The Legionnaires attack Cass post match and shave half of Amore’s beard.

Here’s HHH to make an announcement. He talks about how important NXT is to the WWE Network and thinks it’s time for NXT to take over again. On September 11, it’s Takeover II, airing live with all three titles on the line. In addition, there will be a new NXT General Manager named next week.

We look back at Kidd costing Breeze his title match last week.

Breeze is ticked off at Tyson Kidd and says Tyson Kidd is going to find out why Prince Pretty is more than just a pretty face.

Tyson Kidd vs. Tyler Breeze

Breeze is much more aggressive this week and goes off on Tyson in the corner. Kidd comes back with forearms and a hard kick to the back. A suplex into a neckbreaker puts Tyler down and there’s a hard dropkick to the side of the head. Breeze gets to the ropes to avoid the Sharpshooter and bails to the floor, walking out for the countout at 1:46.

Breeze says he’s fine with walking out because his attention is on the title match at Takeover.

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

Non-title. Becky has no green in her attire anymore. Charlotte takes her down into a front facelock but Becky takes her down by the leg. They stay on the mat with Becky getting a few rollups for two each but Charlotte kicks the redhead into the corner. Charlotte hooks the figure four neck lock for a bit before getting two by just shoving Lynch to the mat. Back up and Lynch nails some clotheslines but walks into a kind of t-bone suplex. Bow Down to the Queen gets the pin at 4:10.

Rating: C-. Not much of a match here for the most part with Lynch not looking all that comfortable on the mat but trying her best. Charlotte continues to look good in the ring and has a good finisher to go with the attitude. That puts her way ahead of a lot of female wrestlers so she’s got the first major steps down.

Amore and Cass come out and make Star Wars references while challenging the Legionnaires to a hair vs. hair match. If they don’t accept, they must be S-A-W-F-T!

We look back at Bull Dempsey beating up Mojo Rawley.

Mojo Rawley vs. Steve Cutler

Mojo takes him into the corner to start and gets two off a shoulder block. Cutler is sent into the corner and crushed by a few splashes. Hyperdrive gets the pin for Mojo at 1:34. This is what he should have been doing for since he debuted.

Post match Rawley says he’s still standing here and can take everything Bull can throw at him.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Finals: Sami Zayn/Adam Rose vs. Sin Cara/Kalisto

Rose and Kalisto get things going and we’re already prancing. They trade wristlocks until Adam tags in Sami to a very nice ovation. Sin Cara comes in and they hit the mat with Sin grabbing a headscissors. Cara quickly sends Sami out to the floor and the luchadores tease dives as we go to a break. Back with Kalisto headlocking Rose for two. Adam powers up and tags in Sami as things speed up. Kalisto avoids a clothesline, lands on his fingers and crawls across the ring without using his feet.

Sami is rightfully freaked out and it’s off to Cara for a kick to the chest. A hiptoss gets two on Zayn and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Sami nails a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two of his own. Rose comes in again and puts on a chinlock of his own. Kalisto gets the tag and walks into a powerbomb for two. It’s quickly back to Cara who cleans house and nails a Tajiri elbow for two on Rose. Everything breaks down and Cara dives out onto Sami. Rose gets all fired up but walks into the sitout Sliced Bread #2, followed by Cara’s Swanton Bomb for the pin at 10:10 shown.

Rating: C. This was just a step above a squash with the luchadores running circles around Rose and Zayn. This is the kind of win that they need to establish themselves as a big tag team. Sami not taking the pin was a good idea and he didn’t look horrible throughout the match. Nothing all that interesting but it sets up a good match in the finals.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the matches ending so fast but they kept this show moving. A lot of stuff has been set up for the coming weeks and we finally have something to build to at Takeover II. The three title matches and presumably a hair vs. hair match should make for a good card with a few other surprises through in. Good but not great show this week.

Results
Vaudevillains b. Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore – That’s A Wrap to Amore
Tyson Kidd b. Tyler Breeze via countout
Charlotte b. Becky Lynch – Bow Down to the Queen
Mojo Rawley b. Steve Cutler – Hyperdrive
Sin Cara/Kalisto b. Sami Zayn/Adam Rose – Swanton Bomb to Rose

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