NXT Date: December 25, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Rich Brennan, Alex Riley
Hosts: Renee Young, Corey Graves
Back in the 1980s, Fritz Von Erich had a great insight about Christmas: Once you open the presents, what else is there to do? Well apparently we can watch NXT, which is on a roll as of late. The main story coming out of last week was Kevin Owens destroying Adrian Neville just like he did to Sami Zayn the week before. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
And we have an empty arena with only Renee Young and Corey Graves in the ring, meaning we have a Best Of show. There will however be a new match with Charlotte defending the Women’s Title against Sasha Banks in an R-Evolution rematch.
We start by looking at some of the stars who came from NXT up to the main roster, including Paige, Bo Dallas, Lana and Rusev. There’s nothing to say here as they’re just saying the names and showing maybe a ten second clip.
Video on NXT: Arrival. That feels so long ago even though it was only February.
This leads to a package of Adrian Neville going home to Newcastle, England. Wearing glasses, which is an odd look on a wrestler for some reason, he goes to see his mom and talks about soccer for awhile. His original plans were to play soccer for Newcastle United but then he saw something called WWF and things changed. We get some clips of his training and developing the high spots, which we then see in NXT. He even got to wear a Newcastle jersey to his match in the Newcastle arena for a very cool moment.
Tyler Breeze is still off modeling but wants to tell all the Wannabreeze that he’ll be adding gold to his ensemble in 2015.
We see the last six or so minutes of Zayn vs. Neville, plus the entire post match celebration and Owens’ heel turn to end the show.
Curtis Axel comes in to see Regal and thinks he needs to recharge his career. He wants in on this NXT thing but Regal tells him to make an appointment.
Lucha Dragons video. Sin Cara still hates to do the pre-match pose.
Vaudevillains video, of course in black and white.
We get about four minutes of the Lucha Dragons vs. Vaudevillians match from R-Evolution. There will be a rematch due to Kalisto pinning the wrong man.
Next week we’ll have Finn Balor/Hideo Itami vs. Ascension II.
Itami and Balor promise to destroy the Ascension. Itami’s English is improving by leaps and bounds.
We look at some NXT debuts this year, including Baron Corbin, Bull Dempsey, Hideo Itami, Finn Balor and of course Kevin Owens.
Owens says he’s sent the former champion and the new champion to the hospital in the span of seven days. If he’s done that to people he considers friends, what is he going to do to people he doesn’t care about? He’ll fight anyone and everyone until he’s the only one standing. “Why don’t you put that on a t-shirt?”
Time to look at NXT people making splashes on the main roster: Paige, Bo Dallas, Emma, Summer Rae, Adam Rose, Rusev and Lana.
Earlier this week, Bayley was watching the HHH DVD to see how he came back from his knee injury. It motivates her to come back bigger, better and stronger, just like HHH. So she’s gaining 40lbs of unnecessary muscle, slowing down and stopping everything that made her awesome in the first place?
Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
Sasha is challenging and this is a rematch from R-Evolution. She has Becky Lynch with her, so Charlotte comes out with her dad, Ric Flair. Ric looks sober tonight so this should be good. He says that he has two Hall of Fame rings (only wearing one here) but his daughter took the torch from him. Two weeks ago Sasha and Charlotte had one of the best matches ever (to Sasha: “Yeah I’m talking about you. You were great.”) and tonight they’re going to do it again.
They slug it out to start with Sasha diving at the champ, only to get caught in something like a spinebuster. Charlotte goes after the knee by wrapping it around the post, only to get pulled face first into the steel. We take a break and come back with Sasha in control and slapping Charlotte on the back. That’s not exactly the best offense. The announcers actually mention the “internet wrestling community” sending HHH a fruit basket as a thank you for R-Evolution. That’s such a cool story.
Banks drives two knees into Charlotte’s ribs and puts on Bankrupt, only to have Charlotte fight to her feet and escape with something like a jawbreaker. She’s really good at using her athleticism to get out of things like that, which really isn’t something most of the other women can do. Charlotte fires off some chops and a neckbreaker but gets caught in a double arm neckbreaker (Regal Cutter) for two more.
The Banks Statement goes on but it’s right next to the ropes. Another thing I like about NXT: heels feel like they could win a big match by submission. That’s what always annoyed me about heel Del Rio: he wasn’t going to make anyone big tap and the armbreaker felt like a waste of time. They fight up top with Banks nailing a nice superplex (Riley: “She’s straight gangsta!”), only to get caught in the Figure Four with the bridge to retain Charlotte’s title at 10:45.
Rating: C+. While it was nowhere near as good as the R-Evolution match, it was still another solid effort from the NXT girls. Banks is impressing me in the ring for the first time as she’s very feisty in there. She has the attitude down and the matches are getting better every week. I still think Lynch is the star of the team, but Banks is nailing it in NXT.
Overall Rating: C+. These are always hard to grade so I’ll just go with the same rating I gave the match. I really liked the Neville video as it’s the kind of personalized profile that you just do not get in WWE anymore. I would have liked to see more Sami here as he only won the title at the end of the year but he was still a huge part of NXT all year. The attention to detail in this promotion blows away everything else and it’s my favorite wrestling show to watch every week. If next year is as good as this one was, everything will be fine.
Results
Charlotte b. Sasha Banks – Figure Four
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First up is the suddenly dominant Lashley. This was what WWE should have done with him for years: find the guy a mouthpiece and let him just hurt people. He’s a genetic freak that can wrestle on the mat, so let him do that instead of trying to make him a superhero. I never got why WWE wanted him to be a face when he has the personality of a turnip, but ever since he became a monster heel, he was one of the highlights of show.
Ethan Carter III is the same thing but as an intellectual heel instead of a monster. The guy went from being nothing in WWE to one of the best acts in TNA, very much in the same vein as Rick Rude back in 1991. Carter is going to be a player in TNA going forward and I could easily see him winning the World Title in the coming year.
The Dusts have gone from eh to one of the top teams in the company, though that’s not really saying much.
Seth Rollins started the year as the forgotten member of the Shield and became a strong contender for Wrestler of the Year. You couple that with more than holding his own on the mic and it’s hard to argue that he’s shot through the roof this year.
Tyson Kidd….the more I think about this one the less I buy into it. It’s not so much that he got better but more along the lines of his got pushed. He’s basically the same wrestler but with facts and cats. I like what I’m seeing out of him, but it’s not like he’s gotten insanely good overnight or anything.
We’ll give the Divas a shot and include Charlotte. She went from a borderline disaster to the woman who can actually look down on the rest of the NXT girls. I have no idea where this came from but suddenly her title defenses are one of the highlights of the big NXT shows, which I don’t think anyone was expecting. That’s definitely worth a nomination.
Finally, you have to mention Tyler Breeze. The guy went from a goon to tearing the house down every time he was in a big match. That match he had against Zayn at Takeover was outstanding and he’s nailed so much of the character all year long. This is one of the best surprises all year and he’s gone through the roof.
At the end of the day though, I have to go with Rollins. I would have bet on him being Kofi Kingston but he’s looking more like a Randy Orton every day. He’s always had talent, but there are a dozen guys on the roster who have untapped skills. To go from the potential he had to realizing that potential is a huge improvement and worthy of the award.
NXT – December 18, 2014 – This Is Falling Back To Earth For NXT
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 Takeover: R-Evolution: Yo Adrian! This Show Is Awesome!
NXT Takeover: R-Evolution Date: December 11, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Alex Riley, Rich Brennan, Corey Graves
We’re at the latest major show for NXT and the main event is a pick em at this point. We have Sami Zayn putting his NXT career on the line for one more shot at Adrian Neville’s NXT Championship. Other than that we have Hideo Itami/Finn Balor teaming up to take on the Ascension and the debut of Kevin (Steen) Owens. The card is stacked so let’s get to it.
The opening video focuses on the main event but also gets in a bit of Kevin Owens.
Kevin Owens vs. CJ Parker
Owens hits two straight running clotheslines in the corner at the bell and the Cannonball crushes Parker in less than fifteen seconds. He rips up Parker’s My Fight Matters sign and hits a HUGE flip dive over the top to take Parker out. Back in and Owens hammers away, only to eat a boot to the jaw.
Parker misses a running backsplash but the Third Eye gets a VERY close two. Back up and Owens no sells a charge in the corner and takes CJ’s head off with a clothesline. Owens is bleeding from the eye as he picks up Parker for a kind of pumphandle shoulder breaker. He throws Parker up and powerbombs him in half for the pin at 3:22.
Rating: B. WHOA. Yeah the rating is high but this was one of the most impressive debuts I’ve seen in a very long time. Owens looked like a killer out there and just destroyed Parker. I even dug that they gave Parker some offense and a near fall to add some drama. Owens is the kind of insane guy that they haven’t had in awhile and seemed a lot like what they were shooting for with Dean Ambrose. Excellent stuff.
Neville is ready.
Lucha Dragons video.
Tag Team Titles: Vaudevillains vs. Lucha Dragons
The Dragons are defending and beat the Vaudevillains in the #1 contenders tag team tournament a few months back to give the Vaulevillains a reason for revenge. Gotch and Cara get things going with a standing Lionsault getting two for the champ. A headscissors/armdrag combo takes both Vaudevillains down before it’s off to Kalisto for a front facelock. Back to Sin for a dropkick as the fans are entirely behind the challengers. English comes if off a blind tag and low bridges Cara out to the floor. Fans: “THAT WAS MANLY!”
They head back inside with Gotch cranking on the neck before getting two off a crucifix. English sends him outside for a baseball slide, earning him a chant of his own. The villains keep taking turns on Cara with Aiden cranking on a chinlock. Sin finally pops up and flips over English to make the tag off to Kalisto. Things immediately speed up and everything breaks down. The Dragons send them to the floor for a big double dive, only to have English shove Gotch out of the way to take the shot himself. Fans: “CHIVALRY!” Back in and the Salida Del Sol on Gotch retains the titles at 6:50.
Rating: C. The match was pretty standard but the ending was really a surprise as I would have bet on the Vaudevillians to pick up the belts here. That being said, it’s not the worst idea in the world as the Vaudevillians are being turned face by the audience reactions alone so it’s only a matter of time anyway. Still a surprise though.
Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin
As usual the fans count the time of Corbin’s match, ending at a far higher than usual 39 seconds with End of Days. The match was so short that I didn’t have time to mention Bull Dempsey watching from ringside.
Sami is in the locker room and turns down Cass and Enzo’s offer of milk. He looks over and sees Owens looking back at him. We can’t hear anything said (if anything was) as we’re listening to an inset interview from yesterday with Sami saying he’s ready.
We recap Hideo Itami/Finn Balor vs. Ascension. Itami is a hotshot rookie and Ascension are bullies. Balor debuted to help Itami in his war and this is the showdown.
Hideo Itami/Finn Balor vs. Ascension
Balor has an insane entrance now with a pounding red light that sounds like a heartbeat, a ton of smoke and face paint that looks like a cross between Delirious, Great Muta and Ultimate Warrior. Ascension looks stunned as the fans are bowing to Finn. It’s a brawl to start before the bell with Ascension getting pounded down in the corner. Stereo corner dropkicks send them out to the floor and we get the opening bell.
Itami dropkicks Viktor down to start and it’s off to Finn for a slingshot stomp. Balor charges into a knee in the corner to change control and it’s off to Konnor. Back to Itami who hammers away but eats a flapjack as Ascension keeps control. Viktor breaks up a hot tag attempt with a hard elbow drop to the back for two. Off to a reverse chinlock followed by a fist to the head and yet another chinlock. Ascension keeps up the double beatdown as Viktor puts on another chinlock. Hideo finally kicks Konnor to the floor and dives for a tag, only to have Konnor knock Finn off the apron.
The hot tag comes a few seconds later and Finn cleans house with enziguris. Viktor avoids the top rope double stomp but eats a reverse Impaler. Konnor makes the save but Itami takes him to the floor, only to have to save Finn from an STO. Itami loads up GTS (his invention) and the fans go NUTS, but Konnor makes the save. Hideo breaks up the Fall of Man and the super team goes up for double foot stomps for the pin on Ascension at 11:45.
Rating: C+. This was better than I was expecting but the ending was never in doubt. I can’t get over that ROAR for the GTS attempt though. It’s a good sign that Itami can do more than kick because he really hasn’t shown me much yet. Ascension is ready for WWE and has been for like a year, so this is probably their swan song.
Roman Reigns is in the back and says he’s here to see an awesome main event. His goal is to be the first NXT alumni to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion, which creates some continuity issues as that would be Daniel Bryan. I know it’s a different version of NXT but it’s a bit confusing.
Ric Flair is here and gives Charlotte a hug for luck.
We recap Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks. They used to be friends but Charlotte won the Women’s Title. Banks says that belongs to hear and tonight is the showdown.
Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
Sasha throws her modified Charlotte shirt (Charlotte: “Do it with some Flair!” Banks: “Do it like a Boss!”) and the champ chases her to the ropes. They trade chops in the corner with Charlotte getting the better of it (of course) but Banks gets in a quick kick to the head to take over. She sends Charlotte hard into the steps for two back inside but stops to yell at Little Naitch.
Banks drives her into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs before a double knee to the ribs has Charlotte in even more trouble. She mocks the strut though and Charlotte gets all fired up. The champ is so fired up that they mess up a spot, followed by a Backstabber into a double arm stretch from Banks. She pulls Charlotte down by the hair out of the corner and puts on a Figure Four neck lock, complete with a WOO. Charlotte finally lifts her up for an electric chair drop to put both girls down.
A series of forearms puts Banks down and a suplex into a neckbreaker gets two on Banks. Charlotte misses a charge though and falls out to the floor, setting up a pretty bad looking suicide dive from Sasha. They slug it out with Banks getting the better of it but eating a big spear to give Charlotte control again. She charges into a boot but counters the Bank Statement.
The Figure Four is countered into a small package for two and Banks gets two off a neckbreaker. A big suplex sends Banks flying and the fans think THIS IS WRESTLING. Charlotte tries a moonsault but has to land on her feet, only to flip forward for a backsplash for two as Banks gets her feet on the ropes. Sasha sends her hard face first into the middle buckle but Charlotte throws her off to block a superplex. A top rope Natural Selection is enough to retain the title at 12:06.
Rating: B. The Women’s Title match has become a highlight on all these shows and Banks just had her best match ever by about a million miles. Much like Ascension, Charlotte has been ready for the next level for months now and really should be on Raw like tomorrow. Well Monday but you get the idea. Really solid match here and a great match that happened to have women in it rather than a good women’s match if that makes sense.
Long recap of Zayn vs. Neville. The short version is Zayn has never won the big one but has to win the title here or leave NXT.
NXT Title: Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville
Neville is defending and they have over thirty five minutes for this. After the big match intros, we’re finally ready to go. Feeling out process to start with no one able to get an early advantage. Neville cranks on a wristlock but Sami takes over with one of his own. They head back to the mat with Adrian working on a hammerlock before grabbing a chinlock. The champ grabs an armbar and another OLE chant starts up.
Sami spins out and grabs a wristlock of his own but Neville flips over to land on his feet instead of on the mat. Adrian says bring it but gets caught in the armbar again. Neville flips into the corner again but walks into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to give Sami his first real advantage. The champ rolls outside and takes the bouncing moonsault as Sami is in full control. Neville takes his time getting back in and gets rolled up for two. He sends Sami into the buckle to take over and a dropkick to the back of his head gets another near fall.
We hit the chinlock for a bit before a big uppercut gets two for Adrian. Neville drops a series of knees to the chest for two more and we hit another chinlock. A nice middle rope dropkick gets the same result and Neville is slowly getting frustrated. Neville kicks him in the face a few times but eats a hard clothesline and dropkick to give Sami an opening. Back to the floor but Adrian rolls back inside to avoid the dive and snaps off a hurricanrana to send Zayn to the floor. Sami does the exact same thing to avoid a dive and backdrops him to the floor, setting up the signature flip dive to take over again. Sweet sequence.
Back in again and the high cross body gets two for Sami. Neville tries to cartwheel at Sami but winds up on Neville’s shoudlers for a spinning Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Now the real pressure is starting to get to Sami but a jawbreaker brings him back to reality. A running boot to the face and a bridging German suplex get two for Neville and both guys are getting winded. Sami runs the corner but gets caught in a sitout powerbomb, landing HARD on the back of his head for two.
Back up and Neville fires off some hard forearms to the head but Sami gets right in his face and they slug it out until Zayn takes his head off with a clothesline. Neville takes him right back down with an enziguri out of the corner. Fans: “NO! NO! NO!” The Red Arrow hits knees and there’s the Koji Clutch but Adrian gets his foot on the ropes, nearly sending Sami to tears. Neville counters the suplex into the corner with a rollup but the referee gets bumped off the kickout.
He’s back up quickly though but aloud superkick and a reverse hurricanrana (Sami landing on his head again) gets a VERY close two on Sami after he checked on the referee. Back up and Sami charges into a forearm but starts rolling Germans, capped off by a half nelson/chicken wing suplex. Neville bails before Sami can try the Helluva Kick but Sami follows him out for the dive through the ropes into the tornado DDT. Back in again and the Helluva Kick connects but the referee goes down again with Adrian possibly pulling him into the path of the kick.
Neville throws in the title belt but a big boot knocks him down. Sami looks at the belt and picks it up, drops some F Bombs, but can’t bring himself to cheat. Neville grabs a rollup for two but walks into the exploder in the corner. The Helluva Kick connects and Sami FINALLY wins the title at 23:55.
Rating: A. Oh yeah it rocked. This was exactly what it should have been with Sami finally exorcising his demons and winning the belt. I loved that section near the end where he wanted to cheat but finally threw it down and won with what brought him to the dance. This was the outstanding showdown main event and exactly how they should have done it. Adrian comes off looking like a warrior who might have cheated (it wasn’t clear) to try to keep the title. Great stuff here with some very close near falls and incredible drama.
You can hear the fans thanking Neville during the replay package.
The locker room comes out to celebrate and Owens hugs his friend. Even Pat Patterson is here to celebrate. Neville gets back up and stares Sami down. The new champ extends a hand but Neville kicks it away and pulls him in for a hug. Everyone clears out and Sami gets to do a victory dance. One more hug from Owens looks to end the show….BUT HE BLASTS SAMI WITH A RIGHT HAND AND POWERBOMBS HIM ON THE APRON! What a perfect fake out as everything looked finished and then they throw that curve.
Overall Rating: A. As usual, this show blew the roof off the place and continues to be the show I look forward to more than almost anything else. The worst match on the show was a totally fine tag match and Owens was about a thousand times more awesome than I was expecting. Couple that with a Match of the Year candidate with the perfect ending and there’s almost nothing bad here. Outstanding show and again worth checking out.
Results
Kevin Owens b. CJ Parker – Powerbomb
Lucha Dragons b. Vaudevillians – Salida Del Sol to Gotch
Baron Corbin b. Tye Dillinger – End of Days
Hideo Itami/Finn Balor b. Ascension – Double pin after top rope foot stomps
Charlotte b. Sasha Banks – Top rope Natural Selection
Sami Zayn b. Adrian Neville – Helluva Kick
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
NXT Date: December 4, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Alex Riley, Rich Brennan
It’s the last show before R-Evolution and I’d assume tonight is just going to be about firming up matches for next week. I’m really hoping we don’t get a rushed heel turn from Neville as the match would be far more entertaining with both guys staying on the paths that got them here. Other than that we might have some fallout from Bayley calling out Lynch and Banks last week. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Charlotte vs. Mia Yim
Non-title. Charlotte starts with a WOO before sending Mia into the corner for a slap to the back. Natural Selection is good for the pin at 51 seconds.
Post match Sasha Banks, in a Charlotte shirt, comes out and says just give her the title now. Charlotte tells her to bring it and starts a ratchet chant. Sasha says she has more flair than Charlotte and her daddy. She’s going to beat Charlotte so badly that she’ll be a bigger loser than her old man. This brings out Bayley in a big leg brace and on crutches to tell Sasha to shut her ratchet face. Banks kicks her in the knee and runs off when Charlotte comes up the ramp. Sasha tries to get a cheap shot but Charlotte drags her to the ring and says get a ref out here. Becky Lynch sneaks in from behind though and Banks lays out the champ.
Time for another silent movie from the Vaudevillains! This time the police commissioner calls them to say the Lucha Dragons are dropping water balloons off the roof of city hall. After a training montage (complete with Gotch fighting a video of a tiger), the Vaudevillains attach an anvil to the Dragons, sending them down…..into a mushroom cloud? Gotch is glad that they took the belts away because they would have just weighed the Dragons down even more. Keep in mind though that no Lucha Dragons were harmed in the filming of this motion picture, but that won’t be the case next week. These things are brilliant.
Vaudevillians vs. Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake
English jumps over Blake to start but dives into a powerslam for two. A snapmare sends Wesley into the ropes though in a nice idea. It’s off to Murphy as the fans sound like they’re sighing for some reason. Off to Gotch for some Hindu Squats while holding Buddy in an Indian Deathlock. English comes back in for some elbows to the leg before it’s back to Gotch to stay on the leg. Murphy finally rolls away and makes the tag as everything breaks down. Blake is sent to the floor for a big crash and the Whirling Dervish ends Murphy at 4:15.
Rating: D+. Not much to see here but the Vaudevillains are getting better in the ring. Those vignettes are as good as anything I’ve seen in a long time. Murphy and Blake are decent in the ring but they really need to stop losing every time if they’re supposed to have a future.
Regal is in the back with Tyler Breeze, who hasn’t seen Marcus Louis since he wandered off last week. Tyson Kidd comes in and says he wants a rematch with Balor, but Regal makes it a tag with Itami/Balor vs. Kidd/Breeze. This took less than a minute and covered two stories. Why does it take Raw twenty minutes to cover one?
Bull Dempsey vs. Elias Samson
The fans count until the flying headbutt ends Samson at 22 seconds.
Baron Corbin vs. ???
End of Days, 11 seconds. Of course Bull was watching from the stage.
Kevin Owens video, talking about how he’s fought and teamed with Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Adrian Neville, and Sami Zayn (called Owens’ best friend), but WWE called all of them first. Now it’s his turn.
Tyler Breeze/Tyson Kidd vs. Hideo Itami/Finn Balor
Kidd holds the ropes open for Natalya and offers to do the same for Breeze in a funny bit. Itami and Kidd get things going but it’s quickly off to Breeze, whose arm is quickly yanked. Balor comes in with a slingshot stomp for no count but Kidd makes a blind tag and decks Finn to take over as we go to a break. Back with Breeze coming in to stomp Finn in the corner before it’s quickly back to Kidd for even faster stomping.
A neckbreaker gets two for Tyson and we hit a bow and arrow. Balor fights up but misses a dropkick to put him right back down. Breeze grabs a neckbreaker of his own for two before Kidd comes back in for a hard kick to the leg. A slingshot legdrop to the back of the head gets two for Kidd but he eats a Pele (now called a soccer kick), allowing Finn to tag Hideo. Itami fires off a series of kicks to destroy Breeze before hitting a delayed running dropkick in the corner to a sitting Tyler. Everything breaks down and Balor hits Shadows Over Hell, setting up Itami’s kick to the back of the head for the pin at 11:30.
Rating: C. Pretty standard tag match here but Itami continues to look totally one dimensional. I know he isn’t the biggest guy in the world but he needs to do something more than just kick a lot. Daniel Bryan has proven that a smaller guy can do more than just strike while still having it be a major part of his offense so it certainly can be done.
Post match Finn tells Ascension to bring everything they have because he’s going to show them something they’ve never seen before.
Here’s Adrian Neville for the final speech before the title match. A lot of people have said he should be conflicted by this match, but his goal is the same as always: to win at all cost. Some people say that he should be ashamed of what he did to retain the title at Fatal Four Way and every other title match. If he had it his way, it would have gone completely differently, but that’s the fundamental difference between himself and Sami: Zayn doesn’t have the killer instinct and that’s why he’ll never be NXT Champion.
This brings out Sami who says he’s been listening to everything Neville has been saying and it’s ticking him off. Who is Neville to act like Sami’s babysitter and tell him how he should live? Whatever Sami decides to do after the match is up to him and his actions, not Neville’s. Adrian backs off a bit and says he respects Sami more than anyone else and next week it’s going to be an honor to face Sami in the match of their careers.
Adrian offers a handshake but Sami says no. This is where he goes wrong every single time but he won’t do it here. This isn’t about respect and he slaps Adrian in the face. Neville doesn’t get to end him because it’s going to be Sami ending Adrian’s story and taking that title. This wasn’t a heel turn for either guy but rather Sami just being more intense this time around.
Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling wasn’t great here but I’m wanting to see Takeover a lot more than I did coming in. That main event has me drooling because you know those two are going to tear the house down with the near falls. The only match that doesn’t do much for me is Ascension vs. Itami/Balor as there doesn’t seem to be a ton of drama there, but whatever gets Ascension onto the main roster is a good thing at this point. This show did exactly what it was supposed to do and sets up a good looking card for next week.
Results
Charlotte b. Mia Yim – Natural Selection
Vaudevillians b. Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy – Whirling Dervish to Murphy
Bull Dempsey b. Elias Samson – Flying headbutt
Baron Corbin b. ??? – End of Days
Finn Balor/Hideo Itami b. Tyler Breeze/Tyson Kidd – Kick to Breeze’s head
NXT – November 20, 2014: The Fastest Show In Wrestling
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:
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:
NXT Date: October 16, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Alex Riley, Renee Young
The road to whatever the next big show is called continues and apparently we’re now in the land of Titus O’Neil, who pinned Sami Zayn in last week’s main event. Adrian Neville made the save and is likely going to be Titus’ next opponent. It’s always hard to guess where things are going with NXT week to week so it’s likely something totally unrelated to last week. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Baron Corbin vs. Elias Sampson
End of Days, 18 seconds.
Here’s Sami Zayn with something to say. Last week he lost to Titus O’Neil and that’s not ok because he’s better than that. It’s time to refocus and go after the NXT Title (crowd ERUPTS for that) but Tyson Kidd has other thoughts. Tyson says it’s time to face facts and is wearing an InZayn shirt for some reason. He talks about how Sami is lying to the people because everyone knows he’s going to blow it like he always does.
Sami cuts him off at the knees by asking if Kidd has Natalya’s permission to be out here. Crowd: “YOU GOT SERVED!” Kidd laughs him off but Sami says it’s the start of his road to redemption. He’s good enough to be here and he’s good enough to beat Kidd, which he’ll prove tonight. Sami suggests to go find Breeze’s phone and call Nattie to make sure it’s ok. Kidd: “Why would Breeze have Natalya’s number?” Anyway the match is on for later.
Lucha Dragons vs. Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy
Non-title. Murphy and Blake are now known as Team Thick. Cara backdrops Blake down and it’s off to Murphy early on. Sin tries a springboard DDT but gets muscled up into a suplex for two. Cool counter. The Thick guys take over on Cara with some power stuff, including a slam and chinlock from Murphy. Cara kicks away and makes the tag so Kalisto can clean house. Everything breaks down and Cara takes Murphy to the top for a superplex but jumps up for a victory roll and the pin at 3:21.
Rating: D+. The Dragons are a good high flying team and that’s all they need to be. I can’t imagine they’re a long term option with the belts, but the NXT Tag Team Titles have always beel dominated by big power teams instead of guys like the Dragons. Still though, they’re fine for a change of pace and this worked fine.
We see Tyler Breeze beating Mojo last week.
Rawley says he’s out for awhile because of the shoulder but it’s just taking one step back to take several forward. He tries to make this serious and intense and it just doesn’t work. The time off is a good thing for him though as he really needs to be repackaged.
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte
Non-title. Becky takes her down with a quick armdrag and keeps Charlotte in trouble on the mat, only to charge into a backbreaker out of the corner. Charlotte puts on a figure four headlock and drives Becky’s face into the mat a few times for good measure. A double clothesline puts both girls down but it’s Lynch up first and in control. Some legdrops get two for Lynch but Charlotte comes back with a suplex for two of her own. Charlotte gets in a shot to the ribs and Natural Selection is good for the pin at 4:07.
Rating: C+. Good back and forth match here as Lynch continues to look like a star in the making. They’re playing up the idea that she has natural skills but she doesn’t have the experience to put it all together yet. It’s amazing how deep the division is with different characters, especially when you look at how generic most of the WWE Divas are.
We see Itami and Funaki getting beaten down last week.
Ascension says Itami is in for the same treatment as Funaki if he doesn’t back off.
Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Legionnaires
Cass throws Sylvester around to start and it’s off to Marcus, who goes nuts on LeFort over his bald head. We’ll call it a no contest at 30 seconds.
Carmella vs. Old Blue Pants
The fans and announcers have no idea who the jobber is so they name her after her pants. Carmella takes her down and puts on something like a Crossface with her legs for the submission at 32 seconds. I believe Blue Pants was a girl who wrestles under the name Leva Bates.
Sasha Banks and Becky argue over who is going to be the next Women’s Champion. Banks asks her what she’ll do to make it to the top.
Neville is defending against Titus O’Neil next week and is tired of all these Raw and Smackdown guys coming after his title.
Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd
Sami talks a lot of trash to start before cranking on a headlock. He throws Kidd’s coat at him in the corner and you know it’s on now. Tyson tries to speed things up into a monkey flip but Zayn rolls to the side and is staring at Kidd when he gets up. Some more armdrags put Kidd on the floor and Sami teases a dive to mess with him. Kidd stalls on the floor and gets Zayn to chase him, only to jump to the apron for a kick to the face as we take a break.
Back with Kidd choking in the corner and driving an elbow into Sami’s head. A neckbreaker gets two and we hit the chinlock. Zayn fights up and nails a dropkick but misses the Helluva Kick. Instead a cross body is good for two and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same. Kidd comes back with a hard elbow to the face and a Moss Covered Three Handled Family Credenza for two of his own. The Sharpshooter goes on but Sami crawls over to the ropes. Sami suplexes him into the corner and the Helluva Kick is good for the pin at 10:30.
Rating: C+. These two are part of what is becoming the NXT version of the Smackdown Six (or four in this case). You can throw any combination of these two, Neville and Breeze out there and you’re going to have a good match. That’s a really valuable asset to have, but hopefully NXT doesn’t just let the same guys have the same matches over and over again to water down the matchups. Sami’s road to the title is clear, and man alive is that arena going to explode when he wins.
Overall Rating: C+. You can see the end for a lot of these stories, but we still have about six weeks to go to get there. This December special is going to be awesome with some long stories getting blown off and the winners that people want to see. It’s amazing how easy it is to have these stories with in depth characters but no major company seems capable of pulling it off. Good show this week as NXT is back on track.
Results
Baron Corbin b. Elias Sampson – End of Days
Lucha Dragons b. Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy – Victory Roll to Murphy
Charlotte b. Becky Lynch – Natural Selection
Carmella b. Old Blue Pants – Leg choke
Sami Zayn b. Tyson Kidd – Helluva Kick
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:
NXT – October 2, 2014: The Best Thing Going Today. Fact.
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:
Bram is married to Charlotte of NXT. Tommy Dreamer mentioned this on Austin’s podcast and my mind exploded. Granted that might have been because he implied making the promotion like ECW was what was going to turn the corner.