Last week’s show saw some new names rise up on the NXT roster with the Vaudevillians providing as much entertaining as you could ask for from a single act. Other than that we’re getting ready for some new stories to get going this week, which usually makes for a good show. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Colin Cassady vs. Sylvester LeFort

Big Cass says that Pepe Le Pew is about to get dissed. First he’s going to get disfigured, then he’s going to get dismissed. LeFort continues to look better than half of the roster and can talk better than most of them as well. Big Cass starts in a hurry and it’s the East River Crossing and the Empire Elbow for the in at 55 seconds.

Adrian Neville says it was an honor to beat Rob Van Dam. Tyler Breeze comes in and says he’s impressed that Neville could focus that well with Breeze just twenty feet away. It must be killing Neville not knowing when Tyler is cashing in his title shot. “Just like your uggo face is killing me.” Neville offers to give Breeze a title shot tonight but Breeze claims a finger injury during a hand modeling session.

Video on Bull Dempsey, the last of a dying breed and the last real man in professional wrestling.

Charlotte/Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch/Bayley

Bayley says Becky is her BFF: Bayley Friend Forever. Sasha and Bayley get things going with Bayley taking her down by the arm. Off to Becky, drawing a great Irish accent from Regal. Charlotte comes in and gets caught in an armbar before Bayley comes in to work over the arm as well. A double suplex drops Charlotte and a double clothesline does the same to Sasha as we take a break.

Back with Bayley getting sent into the apron before Charlotte works her over in the ring. The BFFs double team Bayley in the corner and Charlotte gets two off a knee drop. Sasha works on a chinlock before it’s back to the champ for a choke in the corner. Bayley finally kicks Sasha into Charlotte and Becky gets the hot tag. A series of legdrops get two on Sasha and everything breaks down. Bayley is sent to the floor and Charlotte comes in legally for Bow Down to the Queen on Becky for the pin at 9:06.

Rating: C. Basic formula match here and there’s nothing wrong with that. The BFFs aren’t likely to be around much longer as Charlotte doesn’t need Sasha at this point. Sasha isn’t holding her down but there’s just no need for her. Becky was much like over the top Irish here and that’s a good thing for her.

Bayley shoves Sasha to the floor to prevent an attack on Becky.

Justin Gabriel is ready for Sami Zayn tonight when Tyson Kidd comes in. Tyson tries to get him to turn to the dark side but Gabriel says Tyson is wrong, and he’ll prove it tonight.

Sasha yells at Charlotte for not having her back after the match. Charlotte says the team is done because she’s the champion. Sasha implies that she’s coming for the belt.

CJ Parker vs. Steve Cutler

Parker’s sign now has the word Woods crossed out. He runs over Cutler to start and says that Steve is ruining the world, just like all of them. Parker hammers away and hits a side kick for the pin at 1:30.

Parker rants about Xavier Woods being so educated but doing nothing on the main roster. If he had Woods’ chances, he’d win titles and change the world along the way.

We get a sitdown interview with Tyson Kidd who says he wasn’t in a mood to do the fallout show at Takeover and left before he said something stupid. He didn’t know Natayla was there and didn’t blow her off on purpose. Interviewer Renee Young asks what was up with freaking out on Natayla for telling the referee that Neville had his foot on the ropes. He went nuts during the match and is glad Natalya calmed him down. Tyson goes on in a calm manner about not wanting to win the titles that way but walks off when Renee asks about possible marital problems.

Summer Rae vs. Bayley next week for the #1 contendership.

Sami Zayn vs. Justin Gabriel

Tyson Kidd is at ringside, drawing a Nattie’s Husband chant. They trade wristlocks to start as Regal thinks Kidd and Natayla are having issues. Justin wrenches on the arm to escape a chinlock. Sami cranks on one of his own but Justin makes it to the ropes. They’re still in first gear here. Gabriel runs him over with a clothesline for the first hard move of the match. He hammers away at Sami’s head and we take a break.

Back with Gabriel getting two off a kick to the head and putting on a double arm crank. Gabriel gets another two and seems to be getting frustrated. He hammers at Sami’s head but Zayn fights back with dropkicks and a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. The Helluva Kick misses though and Justin hits a middle rope kick to the chest for two. Sami blocks a German suplex but gets caught in an over the shoulder backbreaker for two. A huge moonsault gets two and Justin can’t believe this. He loads up the 450 but Sami rolls out of the way. A downward spiral into a Koji Clutch makes Justin tap at 13:00.

Rating: B-. My goodness it’s nice to see Sami get a win for a change. It’s not a great match or against a top level opponent but Sami did his underdog thing and then came back to get the win. That’s a nice change for him and the best thing is he hasn’t lose his heat with all the losing.

Tyson jumps Sami post match and Justin turns heel and joins in. Adrian Neville comes in for the save and I’m sure we’ve got a tag match coming up.

Overall Rating: B. The main event scene has gone from nothing to awesome in a single hour. We have the tag match coming up which could spin off into some more matches and Tyler Breeze looming over the whole thing. This was a really solid episode for storytelling and we had a solid main event to cap it off. As usual, NXT knows how to run a wrestling show.

Results
Colin Cassady b. Sylvester LeFort – Empire Elbow
Charlotte/Sasha Banks b. Bayley/Becky Lynch – Bow Down to the Queen to Lynch
CJ Parker b. Steve Cutler – Side kick
Sami Zayn b. Justin Gabriel – Koji Clutch

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NXT is coming in off a bad show which isn’t something I have to say all that often. Last week’s show was pretty boring with Tyler Breeze having one of the least interesting matches I’ve ever seen from the promotion and the main event being an angle instead of a match. Things down here have a habit of turning around quickly though so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

T. Perkins/Matt Sugarman vs. Vaudevillians

The Vaudevillians are introduced at a combined height of 12’7. Renee says Sugarman is a Bastion Booger fan because that’s how awesome she is. Gotch takes Sugarman down with an armbar before putting on a headscissors so he can do clap pushups. A slam puts Sugerman down and the top rope Swanton (That’s A Wrap) from English gets the pin at 2:45.

We recap the main event from last week. Zayn says Tyson is a weird kind of cat because he never learned how to lose. They’ll be hearing from each other again.

Xavier Woods vs. Bull Dempsey

CJ Parker’s crusade in the crowd continues. Dempsey gets a full entrance and has a theme song with the word BULL being shouted over and over. Dempsey grabs a headlock to start and hammers Woods down with pure power. A headbutt gets two before Dempsey just drills Woods with forearms to the chest. Dempsey is in a short singlet, earning him a PUT SOME PANTS ON chant from the lively crowd. Woods fights out of a chinlock with a jawbreaker but jumps into a right hand to the face. A sitout slam (the Bulldozer) gets Bull the pin at 4:40.

Rating: D+. Total squash here and Dempsey looked good the whole way. There’s nothing wrong with a powerful brute like this and the match worked well. His music is really catchy too and was stuck in my head the entire time. That’s a good sign as it’s just his name over and over, set to music.

Bull says the children have run NXT for too long and he’s the last of a dying breed.

Summer Rae vs. Becky Lynch

Becky is an Irish redhead in green. The fans chant for her to start and Lynch does a jig. Becky takes her down with an armbar but she gets kicked in the face for two. Charlotte tries to interfere but Summer shouts that it’s her match, allowing Lynch to get a VERY close two off a rollup. Lynch hits three straight legdrops for two followed by a capture suplex for the pin at 2:59.

Sawyer Fulton vs. Colin Cassady

They circle each other for a bit as the announcers hype Cassady up as a future NXT Champion. Fulton shoves Cassady to start but walks into a big boot and the S-A-W-F-T Elbow gets the pin at 1:26.

The Legionnaires come out to go after Colin but Enzo Amore runs out for the save. Catchphrases are spoken.

Adrian Neville vs. Rob Van Dam

Tyler Breeze is on commentary. Non-title and set up as RVD wanted to face the best NXT had to offer. Neville takes over with a headscissors on the mat and an armdrag sends Van Dam out to the floor. Back in and a rollup gets two for Adrian as Renee says Van Dam is Neville’s idol. Van Dam kicks Adrian to the floor and nails a shot off the apron to put both guys down. Adrian is back up first for a big moonsault to take Rob down again.

We take a break and come back with Adrian holding a front facelock but getting caught in an atomic drop. Renee asks Tyler about a potential full length album but Breeze says his one hit will last for awhile. Van Dam kicks Neville in the face and does it again in the corner. Neville’s sunset flip is countered for two and he gets tied up in the Tree of Woe. A running kick to the ribs has Neville in even more trouble but he escapes a German suplex.

Adrian’s springboard clothesline gets two on Van Dam but he comes back with a jawbreaker. The split legged moonsault only hits mat and a small package gets two for the champion. Van Dam throws Adrian into the air for a kick to the chest to take over again. The Five Star misses though and Neville comes back with a running DDT, followed by the Red Arrow for the pin at 13:56 shown of 16:26.

Rating: C+. There was a nice story here with Neville knowing Van Dam so well due to being a fan for so many years. I’m not the biggest Van Dam fan in the world but it’s nice to see him putting people over clean like this. I expected Van Dam to get the pin so this was a very nice surprise.

They shake hands post match and the announcers don’t treat this like a big upset.

Overall Rating: C+. And of course NXT bounces back with a good show this week. This was about bringing in some new stars and giving some new people pushes, which is necessary when WWE brings people up so often. Neville is reaching a point where losing the title is going to be a big deal and that’s a very good thing. Solid show this week.

Results
Vaudevillians b. T. Perkins/Matt Sugarman – That’s A Wrap to Sugerman
Bull Dempsey b. Xavier Woods – Bulldozer
Becky Lynch b. Summer Rae – Capture suplex
Colin Cassady b. Sawyer Fulton – S-A-W-F-T Elbow
Adrian Neville b. Rob Van Dam – Red Arrow

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We don’t have a ton of stories coming into this week as a lot of stuff was wrapped up last week. There’s a chance we’ll get more from Mr. NXT Bo Dallas as his comedic antics to get back into the NXT Arena continue. Other than that there’s fallout from Tyson Kidd seemingly turning heel last week. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event.

On Raw, Natalya appealed to JBL to let Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd form a tag team. JBL likes the idea but doesn’t sign off on it.

Opening sequence.

Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss

Set up via a challenge from Bliss last week. Summer won’t do the snap during the entrance and looks annoyed. Banks slaps on a headlock to start before running Bliss over. Bliss flips around a lot and armdrags Sasha down before a small package gets two. A backbreaker gets two on Bliss as Summer continues to look like she would rather be anywhere else. Sasha puts on a surfboard but Charlotte and Summer get in an argument, allowing Bliss to grab a quick rollup for the pin at 3:38.

Rating: C-. It didn’t have time to go anywhere but this worked well enough. Bliss is tiny but cute and has good facials during her match. She was just backdrop for the real story though and there’s nothing wrong with that. The BFF’s splitting up is going to be a big deal when it happens and it’s clearly coming soon.

Natalya and Tyson are in the back and Kidd doesn’t seem pleased that Natalya got him and Sami a Tag Team Title shot tonight. Kidd says he could have gotten it on his own and leaves to talk strategy.

Simon Gotch and Aiden English, collectively known as the Vaudevillians, want the titles. Their speech is in black and white and looks like a silent comedy (minus the silent) from the 1920s, complete with overdone laughs and EXCELSIOR! These two should be great together.

Mojo Rawley vs. Garrett Dylan

Mojo grabs a headlock to start and shoves Garrett into the corner, only to be kicked in the ribs to give Dylan control. Garrett keeps stomping away and puts on a long abdominal stretch to slow things down even more. Not a bad idea against someone that moves so fast. Mojo makes an easy comeback with some shoulders and a corner splash, followed by Hyperdrive for the pin at 3:41.

Rating: D. Same formula for Mojo who is the exact same character that he was when he debuted. That’s the problem with him in a nutshell: there’s nowhere for his character to go and once you see his entrance a few times, the interest just isn’t there anymore. There’s enough energy there for potential but he needs something more than what he’s giving us so far.

Sami and Tyson are ready for their match and call it the restart.

CJ Parker’s crusade for the environment continues. Regal: “I want to run him over with my SUV.”

Vaudevillians vs. Angelo Dawkins/Travis Tyler

The entrance is straight out of the 1920s, complete with a big horn to shout though. Gotch, the strongman, easily takes Jordan does one arm pushups on the pretty boy’s back. The fans are chanting YES at the Vaudevillians. Aiden comes in with a legdrop and it’s back to Gotch for exercising and more shots to the head. Off to Dillinger who takes a rolling fireman’s carry from Gotch (complete with exercises) and a middle rope Swanton Bomb from Aiden for the pin at 3:30.

Rating: C. The team is hilarious but I’m surprised they jobbed out the pretty boys this fast. I can’t imagine the Vaudevillians being a success on the main roster anytime soon as the announcers would laugh them out of the building, unlike Regal who LOVED them and told stories about working on the carnival circuit.

Colin Cassidy sings about the moon hitting your eye like a big pizza pie but stops before the last line (that’s amore), hinting that Enzo is back soon.

Rob Van Dam wants to face Adrian Neville. That should be interesting.

Tyler Breeze vs. Kalisto

They circle each other to start until Kalisto tries to speed things up. Breeze slows him down with a headlock onto the mat and keeps it on for over two minutes straight. Kalisto finally fights up and hits a springboard corkscrew dive followed by a headscissors to send Tyler to the floor as we take a break. The break lasts all of two seconds and we come back with Breeze sending him into the corner but having to adjust the leg tassels.

Off to a front facelock on Kalisto for a good while before Breeze just hammers away. Back to the front facelock as this match has somehow been going eight minutes already. Kalisto fights out and hits a top rope cross body but both guys are down. The masked man finally covers for two before walking into the Beauty Shot to finally end this at 10:33 shown of 14:03..

Rating: D. What in the world was that? Breeze literally had on facelocks or headlocks for over five minutes and did nothing with them at all. Kalisto is capable of having a decent match out there but for some reason they just let them lay around and do nothing for the whole time. I have no idea what they were going for here but it didn’t work.

Tag Team Titles: Ascension vs. Tyson Kidd/Sami Zayn

Viktor pounds on Sami to start and Zayn is taken into the corner for a double beating. The fans are way into the beating from Ascension and chant along with the stomps in the corner. Sami rolls away and tries to get a tag but Viktor pulls him back. Kidd gets down on the floor and says if Sami wants to do the whole thing on his own then he can. Zayn finally hits a top rope cross body and looks for a tag but it’s just an empty corner. Konnor comes in and crushes Sami with a splash, setting up the Fall of Man to retain the titles at 4:00.

Rating: D+. This was an angle instead of a match. Tyson vs. Sami will be good but the Ascension really needs challengers. They’ve held the titles for eight months now and cleaned out the division about six months ago. This loss is much more acceptable for Sami as losing a handicap match to the Ascension is hardly a shame.

Overall Rating: C-. Not their best effort as the matches were pretty lame but the angle advancement worked. The Vaudevillians look like they could have some hysterical stuff in the future and the fans are going to cheer for them no matter what. If that’s what we need to give the Ascension challengers then so be it. Not a great show but other than the WAY too long front facelocks from Tyler there was nothing too bad.

Results
Alexa Bliss b. Sasha Banks – Rollup
Mojo Rawley b. Garrett Dylan – Hyperdrive
Vaudevillians b. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan – Middle rope Swanton Bomb to Dillinger
Tyler Breeze b. Kalisto – Beauty Shot
Ascension b. Sami Zayn/Tyson Kidd – Fall of Man to Zayn

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The opening video sets up Rusev vs. Woods and talks about Dallas vs. Neville II coming soon.

Theme song.

Jason Albert is Tensai under a less bizarre name.

Paige vs. Sasha Banks

Post match Charlotte goes after Paige but Natalya makes the save.

We look at Corey Graves vs. Sami Zayn from last week.

Stills of Mojo Rawley destroying CJ Parker at Arrival.

Rawley is of course hyped in the back and says Arrival was just the start.

Ascension vs. Travis Tyler/Cal Bishop

Rating: D+. Total and complete dominance here as you would expect. Much like Paige, Ascension has cleaned out the division and they need someone else to fight. Either that or send some WWE guys down there to give them some important wins. Ascension continues to look awesome but they need something new to do.

Mason Ryan vs. Wesley Blake

Alexander Rusev vs. Xavier Woods

Sheamus will be here next week.

Adrian Neville is about to talk about his rematch with Bo Dallas in two weeks when Bo comes in and says the nightmare ends two weeks. The Bo-Lievers have been the wind bo-neath his wings through this trying time. The fans are sick of Adrian and his flips and big ears. Adrian slaps him and they breathe heavily for a bit.

Colin Cassady vs. Bo Dallas

Results

Paige b. Sasha Banks – Scorpion cross lock

Ascension b. Travis Tyler/Cal Bishop – Fall of Man to Tyler

Mason Ryan b. Wesley Blake – Spinebuster

Alexander Rusev b. Xavier Woods – Accolade

Bo Dallas b. Colin Cassady – Inverted DDT

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Welcome Home.

Back to Summer for some stretching and choking on the apron until Bayley finally counters a suplex to get a breather. The hot tag brings in Emma who cleans house until Alicia kicks her in the face. Sasha, Summer and Charlotte walk out on Alicia, allowing Emma to hook the Emma Lock for the submission from Fox at 7:28 shown of 10:58.

Aiden English vs. Colin Cassady

CJ Parker vs. Tye Dillinger

Wyatt Family vs. Jason Jordan/Marcus Louis

Results

CJ Parker b. Tye Dillinger – Third Eye

Wyatt Family b. Jason Jordan/Marcus Louis – Discus lariat to Louis

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