NXT Takeover: Unstoppable
Date: May 20, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s another live two hour special with a rare rematch for the main event. Tonight it’s Zayn vs. Owens II as Sami tries to get the NXT Title back from the man who beat him by referee stoppage back at Takeover: Rival. These shows are always worth checking out and there’s no reason to think this won’t be the same so let’s get to it.

The opening video features a bunch of fans talking about why they love NXT and thanking the promotion for giving them wrestling back. It transitions into a regular opening video with clips of every match and soundbytes from the wrestlers.

Four models, wearing fur and talking pictures of themselves, walk the aisle like a runway and I think you know where this is going.

Tyler Breeze vs. Finn Balor

This was supposed to be a triple threat but we get a clip of Hideo Itami being attacked in the parking lot as he arrived. Kevin Owens is there and says that’s a shame. THANK YOU! This is one of those things you never get anymore in wrestling and it drives me crazy. Itami is injured, so why not give Owens (or anyone) credit for it instead of just saying “yeah he’s hurt. Too bad.” It’s so nice to see. It’s also nice to see the full on Irish demon entrance for Balor again, complete with dreadlocks, paint, the dragon style cape and spikes down his back. He even has a huge yellow eye on his back.

Feeling out process to start with Breeze looking disturbed (rightfully so) by Balor’s appearance. Tyler finally nails a big kick to put Balor on the floor before choking with the boot in the corner. We hit the chinlock on Balor and Tyler seems to have his own group of fans tonight. Balor rolls up and tries a sunset flip but rolls through into a basement dropkick. Another dropkick to the side of the head sends Breeze outside and Balor hits a running double stomp to the back from the apron.

Back in and Balor kicks him in the head for two more. The Sling Blade gets the same but Breeze stops a charge with a Supermodel Kick for a very close two. Tyler unhooks a buckle pad but misses the Beauty Shot. Balor misses a double stomp and gets rolled up for two before being sent into the exposed buckle, setting up a Beauty Shot for two.

Balor rolls outside and walks a bit (Fans to the referee: “YOU’RE NOT COUNTING!”) before surprising Breeze with a running forearm. Finn goes up to the bottom of the Titantron (Fans: “PLEASE DON’T DIE!”) for a big dive to take Breeze down again. Back in and the Coup de Grace makes Balor #1 contender at 11:05.

Rating: B. Great choice for an opener here and Breeze continues his hot streak. Balor was just too much for him here though and that’s the right thought process. It’s hard to go with Breeze, who has gone from a comedy character to a serious wrestler, over someone who is one of the best packages in all of NXT. Balor vs. Zayn or Owens should rock the house too.

Owens watches from the back.

Someone from Game of Thrones and Stephanie McMahon are in the front row.

Clips of the northeast tour.

Dana Brooke/Emma vs. Bayley/Charlotte

That place is going to erupt when Bayley finally wins the title. Bayley catapults Dana into a clothesline from Charlotte to start and chases Emma to the floor. Emma hides behind her partner on the floor but eats a dropkick from around the corner. Back in and Emma gets in a blind shot to take over on Bayley, setting up a neck crank. The Emma Sandwich gets two and Emma mocks the Bayley high five. That earns her a suplex and it’s off to Charlotte who comes in with a double DDT. Emma’s cross body is countered into the Figure Eight but Dana makes a save, only to walk into the Belly to Bayley. Natural Selection ends Emma at 6:38.

Rating: C+. This was fine but a bit short. It’s a good move to not have Brooke take the fall as they’re probably setting her up for something bigger down the line. Bayley not getting the pin keeps Bayley vs. Emma ready for later on and hopefully then on to the title pursuit again. Nice little match here but the time hurt it.

We look at Sami injuring his shoulder on Raw a few weeks back. I’m still not sure how legit that injury is and I love that I can’t tell.

Some NXT rookies are here, headlined by the still yet to be named Uhaa Nation.

Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno

Just a power brawl here. Rhyno looks almost the same as he did back in ECW. Baron gets sidestepped and clotheslined to the floor to start and Corbin is in early trouble. Back in and Corbin knocks him off the top and out to the floor as the fans think Cor-Bin Sucks. Rhyno tries to fight back but gets thrown into the corner and stomped down until the referee pulls him off. We hit the chinlock and the fans aren’t sure who they like more. Rhyno fights up and wins a slugout but Baron headbutts out of a belly to belly. Instead it’s a spinebuster for two on Corbin but he blocks a Gore with a clothesline, setting up End of Days for the pin at 7:13.

Rating: C. Take two guys, let them beat each other up for seven minutes, soak in the cheers. There isn’t much more to this one than that as Rhyno was brought in exactly for this purpose: make other people look good and do the job at the end, because he’s an established veteran who is going to bounce back from whatever losses he has. Good power match.

We look at Owens beating up Cena on Raw.

Owens is asked about his busy week, which he breaks down in detail. The NXT Title is a real prize, unlike the US Title. He has a bit of veteran advice for Sami: don’t show up tonight, because it’s the last time anyone will ever see (insert You Can’t See Me) him.

Tag Team Titles: Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Blake/Murphy

Enzo and Cass are challenging with Carmella in their corner, who may or may not have turned on them. Enzo says Team Cottonelle is taking an L tonight because there’s a bounty on their head. In a nice touch, Cass spells out the word and we cut to a SAWFT sign in the crowd with the camera panning over each letter in time.

Enzo takes Blake (with his hair in ponytails) down to start and it’s off to Big Cass, sending the champs hiding in the corner. Murphy’s chop has no effect on Cass so he throws Murphy hard into the corner for two. Enzo adds a high cross body for the same but the champs cheat a bit to take over, setting up Murphy for a backbreaker. Enzo gets stomped down in the corner and caught in a powerbomb into a Codebreaker for two more.

Back to Murphy for a superplex but Amore fights him off and hits a tornado DDT to set up the double tag. Cass cleans house and gets two off the Empire Elbow before tagging a very banged up Enzo for the Rocket Launcher. Cue Alexa Bliss to jump Carmella, drawing Cass out before he can throw his partner. Bliss crotches Enzo to give Blake the pin to retain at 8:48.

Rating: C. Nice swerve here as Bliss going after Carmella was teased a bit last week but it wasn’t enough to make you think it was going to happen. People were waiting on Carmella to turn and then you get a nice surprise instead. Enzo and Cass probably aren’t taking the titles anytime soon and it might be time to send them to the main roster.

Eva Marie is here and is met with indifference.

We look back at Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch.  Banks took Lynch under her wing and used her to retain the title.  Becky shook her off and has become #1 contender, saying it’s her time to prove that her career has all been worth it by becoming Women’s Champion.

Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

Becky is challenging and sporting a new look with orange hair, a black coat, goggles and shorts. The ring gear is similar to Lita’s look when she returned from her broken neck. Becky cranks on the arm to start and trips Sasha down into a rollup for two. We hit a pinfall reversal sequence for some near falls each until Sasha bails from an armbar attempt. Sasha crawls away from a stomp on the apron and twists Becky’s arm into a faceplant on the apron. Fans: “LIKE A BOSS! LIKE A BOSS!”

Now it’s Sasha going for the arm and posing on the apron to mock Lynch’s entrance. We hit the chinlock from the champ before she switches to a double arm choke with her foot in Becky’s back. Sasha’s double stomp in the corner lands on the arm for two and Banks steps on the arm, bending it all the way back to the mat with her boot on the wrist. Off to a short arm scissors for a bit before Becky rolls over and does her Backlund/Bulldog lift into a slam to break the hold.

Becky makes the one armed comeback and gets two off a missile dropkick but Banks goes back to the arm for two. Sasha goes for the arm again but they both wind up on the floor. It’s Becky going after the arm this time before throwing it back inside for a suplex onto the arm. An armbar with the feet has Banks in trouble and another suplex gets two. Fans: “SUPLEX CITY!”

Sasha flips out of a pumphandle suplex but gets pulled down into the seated armbar, sending her crawling to the ropes for the break. Becky gets kicked out to the floor again for a suicide dive but Lynch catches her (mostly) on the fly and drives the champ into the steps. Back in and Becky gets knocked off the top, setting up the Bank Statement (with an additional arm trap) for the tap out at 15:30.

Rating: A-. I know I say this every time, but I can’t remember the last time I was this into a women’s match or most matches for that matter. These two were beating the tar out of each other with the arm work going back and forth making for a great story throughout. These girls somehow get better and better every single time and they’re stealing all of the Takeovers. Great match.

Becky gets a standing ovation.

We recap Owens vs. Zayn. They were friends for years but Owens attacked Zayn after Sami won the title at Takeover: R-Evolution. Owens said he wanted to provide a better life for his family but has been using that as an excuse to be an evil jerk. He beat Zayn for the title last time but now Sami is coming in with a bad shoulder.

NXT Title: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

Sami is challenging. Owens comes out wearing a John Cena The Champ Is Here shirt. After the Big Match Intros, Owens bails to the floor as is his custom. Sami gets tired of waiting and goes after him by sending Owens into the steps and hammering away. He throws Owens into the barricade before they spill into the crowd. Owens tries a powerbomb on the concrete but Sami grabs a barricade to escape.

Sami knocks him onto the concrete to take over again and they head inside with the Blue Thunder Bomb connecting for two. The half nelson/chicken wing suplex gets the same and Sami loads up a tornado DDT, only to have Owens block it with a raised knee to the back for a unique counter. The Cannonball misses though and the t-bone into the corner rocks Owens again. He’s able to roll away from the Helluva Kick though and it’s back to the floor. Another exploder suplex staggers Owens but he catches a running boot and powerbombs Sami onto the apron.

Cue the referees to check on Sami but Owens keeps hammering away. Owens stomps away as the fans want to let them fight. Kevin throws Sami against the steps and punches him down again as the doctor keeps trying to check on him. They actually get back in the ring and I’m not sure if this match is still going.

GM William Regal comes out and calls Owens off, eventually ripping at Owens’ face, earning Regal a headbutt. Kevin gets the title and a chair (the same weapon that started their feud in ROH) but we’ve got music. Cue SAMOA JOE (with that name on his shirt and called that name by Brennan) and the fans are stunned. Joe gets right in Owens’ face and the champ runs. We’ll call the match a no contest at about 12:00.

Rating: B+. Heck of a fight while it lasted but that’s twice in a row now that Owens has knocked Zayn out to beat him. It’s one heck of a rub for Owens and the beauty of it is that Zayn is going to be right back on top through pure charisma. Joe vs. Owens is going to be a war and that’s quite the way to have him debut, even if it was spoiled.

Owens comes back out but says he’s done his job to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Somehow, this is a downgrade over their previous shows. Really fun show this time with the girls making up for the angle disguised as a main event. Joe debuting is a great moment as he’s such a huge name on the indy scene that the NXT fans are going to accept him with open arms. This was another great Takeover and the future continues to shine so brightly for this company’s future.

Results

Finn Balor b. Tyler Breeze – Coup de Grace

Charlotte/Bayley b. Dana Brooke/Emma – Natural Selection to Emma

Baron Corbin b. Rhyno – End of Days

Blake/Murphy b. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady – Blake pinned Amore after Bliss crotched him on the top rope

Sasha Banks b. Becky Lynch – Bank Statement

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn went to a no contest

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I finally sat down and watched the E:60 documentary on WWE and I’m not entirely sure what I think of it. Therefore, it’s time to ramble until I find a conclusion.

First of all, I certainly liked it. They had an interesting take by going with people who weren’t the best known, but the more I thought about it, the more that makes sense. How would a Sami Zayn section have gone here? “My name is Sami Zayn and I was one of the top independent wrestlers in the world. Now I’m headlining NXT while I wait for the inevitable call up where I’ll blow the doors off the main roster.” That’s not exactly a thrilling piece.

This show was much more for people who haven’t seen NXT and aren’t familiar with it, as they don’t mention the fact that of the three guys, Woods is by far the biggest star and he’s really nothing special. That’s the right call though as you can only get so invested in people who are lower level talent.

That being said, it’s a very entertaining look at some of what happens when the cameras aren’t on. I know we can recite what happens in every match, but a lot of the time we forget what happens when the cameras aren’t on. It’s a good look at what happens behind the curtain (I see what they did there), which isn’t something we get very often. I would have loved for this to be longer, but what we got was really fun. Check out the deleted scenes about Colin Cassady and Tyler Breeze too as they’re both entertaining.

It’s the standard level of awesome that WWE 24 has always been.  These thirty minute short form documentaries are awesome stuff (if not kayfabe destroying) as when else are you going to get to see something like this without waiting a few years for the three disc version?  Check this show out as it’s just over half an hour and lets you relate a bit more to Reigns.

As a side note, I recorded the E:60 documentary but haven’t watched it yet.  The extras on Colin Cassady and Tyler Breeze are great previews though and this has the potential to be amazing.

NXT
Date: April 29, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton

We’re at the start of the new taping cycle this week, meaning it’s time to get ready for the build to the next Takeover special. Sami Zayn made his big return last week to go after NXT Champion Kevin Owens, which almost has to be the next big main event. Other than that, most of the card is pretty clear at this point. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the end of last week’s show with Kevin Owens beating Alex Riley again, only to have Sami Zayn return and start a pull apart brawl with Owens.

Here’s Kevin Owens for a chat to get things going. He talks about having everything in hand last week and giving Alex Riley what he deserved, but then Sami Zayn had to play hero again. Owens wants Sami out here right now but gets Commissioner William Regal again. The fans start chanting for one more match but Regal says Owens won’t be using this place for his own agendas.

That’s not good enough for Owens who still wants Sami right now. Cue Zayn to fire the fans up even more but Regal stops him on the steps and says this isn’t happening. Regal looks at both of them and says this is the easiest thing he’s had to do in weeks. Obviously these two want to fight each other, so let’s do it on May 20 at Takeover. Owens chuckles but says it’s a non-title match because Zayn hasn’t earned a shot in the last month. Sami thinks Owens needs this match. It has nothing to do with last week, but over the last twelve years, Owens hasn’t done a thing without having Sami’s name right next to it.

Even now as NXT Champion, the fans are only talking about what Owens did to him. You could say that Kevin Owens has been living in Sami Zayn’s shadow. That one gets to Owens and the fans tells him he got told. Sami fights for a prize, and Owens is no prize. That’s enough for Kevin to put the title on the line and the fans strike up their OLEs. Notice how they got to this point in a totally logical way without using the phrase “contractually obligated rematch” and in less than ten minutes on screen. It can be done and all it takes is a single promo.

Enzo, Cass and Carmella are jabbering about the jewelry Blake and Murphy gave her but she says she can handle herself. The guys leave and Blake and Murphy come up and insult Enzo and Cass, which isn’t cool with Carmella. They step back so Alexa Bliss comes up, only to get shoved away. Blake and Murphy come up to Bliss but she doesn’t seem interested in hearing from them. This was kind of an odd segment and I’m not entirely sure what they were shooting for.

Sami signs his contract when Alex Riley comes up and asks for one more match with Owens. Regal snaps about giving Riley so many opportunities but Sami says don’t let Owens get to you. Riley doesn’t want to hear that from Sami so Zayn offers to fight Alex for a warmup.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Blake/Murphy

Non-title. Before the match, Enzo calls the champs Frosted Flake Wesley Blake and the Sugar Cube Dude. You know there’s just one word to describe them. Blake and Enzo get things going but the champs quickly get Amore into the corner for some stomping. A clothesline gets two for Blake as the fans chant LET’S GO ZO.

Enzo breaks free with a jawbreaker and it’s a double tag to bring in Murphy and Cass. The big man cleans house and hits a splash in the corner before Enzo misses a high cross body. That’s so appropriate for him for some reason. Carmella distracts Blake and it’s a big boot to the face, followed by a Rocket Launcher for the pin on Blake at 3:18.

Rating: D+. I’m not wild on having champions lose as you could pretty much do the same match with any combination here. The interesting part here is Carmella, who I’m hoping joins the champs but gets dumped by them too, leaving her all alone since no one likes her in the first place.

Becky Lynch talks about traveling the world to become the best in the world. She’s here to become the best in the NXT women’s division and won’t just be another face in the crowd.

Bayley can’t find her gear and is freaking out. Emma is show with Bayley’s headbands and shirt.

Video on Baron Corbin, talking about wanting to crush the dreams of everyone in NXT. Rules don’t apply to him and that’s not his problem. This is yet another example of character development and telling us more about a character in twenty seconds than we’ve known about him in four months.

Bayley vs. Dana Brooke

Bayley looks a bit off without her stuff but of course she has a huge smile on her face. Bayley grabs a headlock to start but Dana throws her down and flexes. The fans want Blue Pants but get Bayley taking Dana to the mat and rolling around on her back. Dana goes nuts and slams Bayley’s head into the mat a few times before doing her headstand foot choke. Wasteland gets two for Dana and we hit a half crab with a knee in Bayley’s back. Bayley gets up and gets all aggressive with elbows in the corner but cue Emma in a Bayley shirt to Bayley’s music and full entrance, allowing Dana to hit a Whiplash for the pin at 4:16.

Rating: D+. So yeah, Dana isn’t quite there yet but this was a match designed to advance Emma vs. Bayley instead of Dana’s push. Right now Dana just needs ring time and she’s got the core base figured out. Emma stealing Bayley’s stuff, which is almost Bayley’s identity, is an interesting idea and could work out well for a short feud. If nothing else it means I get to hear more of Bayley’s infectious theme song.

Regal announces a triple threat for Takeover for the #1 contendership between Finn Balor, Tyler Breeze and Hideo Itami.

Hideo Itami vs. Adam Rose

Itami looks so insulted by the Rosebuds and Adam’s entrance. This is billed as fallout from the Andre battle royal. Rose rolls around to start and eats a chop, followed by a running kick to the face for two. A quick trip lets Rose have a breather and he drops a fist for two. Rose’s chinlock doesn’t go anywhere so Hideo hits his array of kicks, capped off by the Shotgun Kick for the pin at 2:52. Just a step above a squash.

Becky Lynch vs. Sarah Dawson

Dawson is a pretty generic looking girl but she gets half of a dueling chant. A quick rollup gets two for Sarah but Becky takes her into the corner for a good stomping. Lynch drives her down into a Fujiwara armbar before sitting up to crank even harder, drawing the submission at 2:12.

Rhyno has heard what Baron Corbin is all about but Rhyno isn’t the past. Methinks we have our power match for Takeover.

Alex Riley vs. Sami Zayn

Owens is in on commentary. Feeling out process to start as Owens asks if Riley being let out of a cage means he can’t take a shower. Riley cranks on an armbar and gets two off a dropkick. We’re in a chinlock less than three minutes in until Sami fights up, only to get caught in a TKO for two. Riley misses a charge and falls to the floor, setting up the big flip dive. That’s enough for Owens as he gets up and decks Sami for the DQ at 4:40.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but they were trying to set up a match instead of doing anything interesting here. Owens going nuts and attacking everyone in sight is a good idea as it’s in his nature to be insane. Riley still looks decent in the ring but it might have gotten ugly had he tried to hang in there with Sami.

Kevin powerbombs Riley on the apron and smiles to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Yes, I’m aware that’s higher than all of the matches and you should be aware by now that there’s a lot more to a wrestling show than just the wrestling. Owens vs. Sami is going to blow the roof off the place and the triple threat and Women’s Title matches should both be great. It’s not a great show, but the energy is back after going missing for the last month or so. That’s what NXT thrives on and it’s still working here.

Results

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Blake/Murphy – Rocket Launcher to Blake

Dana Brooke b. Bayley – Whiplash

Hideo Itami b. Adam Rose – Shotgun Kick

Becky Lynch b. Sarah Dawson – Armbar

Sami Zayn b. Alex Riley via DQ when Kevin Owens interfered

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NXT
Date: April 15, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves

NXT is back home tonight after last week’s show took us to Axxess weekend. Things are starting to get back to normal around here and there are some interesting stories at the moment. Kevin Owens needs a new opponent for the NXT Title, Blake and Murphy are on a collision course with Enzo and Cass, Dana Brooke debuts tonight and we have Sami Zayn vs. Rhyno. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

CJ Parker vs. Solomon Crowe

I’m pretty sure this is Parker’s last appearance. The fans are behind Crowe as Parker hammers on him in the corner. I love that Crowe has said he wants to be NXT Champion. Even if that’s not a realistic option (at least not yet), it’s what a wrestler in NXT should want to be. Crowe takes Parker down in the corner and threatens a charge, sending Parker out to the floor. He settles for a suicide dive and Parker is in pain on the ramp.

Back in and Crowe charges into a pair of boots in the corner to put him down for the first time. A backsplash gets two for CJ and we hit the chinlock, completely with a few LET’S GO CJ chants. Crowe fights up with some right hands but gets turned inside out by a clothesline. A side kick gets a near fall on Solomon but another backsplash hits feet. Crowe goes up for a splash onto the leg, setting up an old Brock Lock (bending Parker’s knee around his neck) for the submission at 5:09.

Rating: C-. I’m not sold on Crowe yet but I like the idea of him using a submission instead of a pin. He’s built a bit like Taz and it’s kind of hard to buy him throwing punches and coming off the top as a result. This worked well enough though as he wrestled a scrappy style and found an opening to win. I’d like to see more development from him though as there’s something in that hacker character. If this is Parker’s last appearance, I’m going to miss him. You need jobbers like him who are over with the fans no matter how many times he loses.

Post match, Crowe says the show is just beginning.

Baron Corbin vs. Steve Cutler

I had been wondering what happened to Corbin. He was one of the hottest things on the show and then he was jobbing in a highlight package. Cutler eats an early clothesline but gets his days ended at 25 seconds.

Sami Zayn isn’t surprised that he still has a target on his back. Kevin Owens used him to get to the top but Rhyno isn’t going to do the same.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Sawyer Fulton/Angelo Dawkins

Carmella is back and still loathed by the fans. Enzo says he has a spectacular vernacular and the Michael Jordan of Jargon. Cass says they are who they say they are and they aren’t gonna fake it. Blake and Murphy have something they want so they’re just gonna take it. Enzo grabs a headlock on Fulton to start and takes him down for a walk over his back. Fulton gets hold of Enzo’s wrist though and hooks a fireman’s carry takeover. That’s fine with Enzo who brings in Big Cass for a beating.

It’s quickly back to Enzo but Fulton crotches him on top. Cue Blake and Murphy with flowers for Carmella, who seems impressed despite the NO chants from the fans. Back inside, Fulton goes old school with an abdominal stretch to Enzo. He’s too close to the ropes though and Amore escapes, followed by a Downward Spiral Stunner to get a breather. The hot tag brings in Cass to clean house with the East River Crossing, setting up a Rocket Launcher to pin Dawkins at 3:48.

Rating: C. This is one of the things that I love about NXT: they take a really basic idea for a feud like this one but execute it well enough with characters that the crowd cares about that it’s easy to get into. There’s nothing revolutionary here but the fans love Cass and Enzo so they’re easy underdog challengers. Carmella turning heel seems to be the next step, but maybe the champs are just using her and both teams dump her?

Cass and Enzo aren’t happy with Carmella taking the flowers.

Alex Riley says he isn’t going away that easily. Not after all those years of fighting for every inch, because Owens has painted a bullseye on his back for the rest of his career. He has nowhere else to go, so he’ll be waiting for Owens in the ring next week.

Blue Pants vs. Dana Brooke

Blue Pants has a recorded version of Cass’ da-da-duh da-da entrance and is introduced from the clearance aisle. The fans still love her too and it’s one of those things that can only work here in NXT. Brooke is a former bodybuilder with a decent rock song for her entrance. She shoves Blue Pants down and hammers in some slow right hands.

The fans don’t seem to like Dana, but it might have something to do with her being billed as the Total Diva. Graves sounds like he has a big crush on her for a bit of flavor. Brooke sends Blue Pants into the corner and stands on her head to choke Pants with her boot. Blue Pants comes back with some jobber offense but walks into a forearm, setting up a Whiplash for the pin at 2:04. Total squash.

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley in a #1 contenders match next week.

Sami Zayn vs. Rhyno

Sami dodges a bit to start but gets caught with a right hand to the face. A headlock works a bit better for Zayn until Rhyno shoves him away and shoulders him out to the floor. The fans are split about 60/40 in Sami’s favor but the Rhyno cheers are certainly there. Back in and Sami grabs a headscissors to send Rhyno outside for a second. It just seems to make Rhyno angrier though so he pounds Sami into the corner and chokes with the boot.

A stiff SHUT UP to the fans get the cheers more in Sami’s favor (at least they’re obedient) and Rhyno chokes on the ropes. Sami comes back with forearms and a dropkick but Rhyno takes his head off with a clothesline. Back from a break with Sami fighting out of a chinlock and bobbing and weaving to stay in a slugout. That’s fine until Rhyno plants him with a spinebuster for two.

Sami can barely get to his feet as Rhyno hits him with a running shoulder in the corner. Fans: “BETTER THAN ROMAN!/NO IT’S NOT!” With the wrestling not working, Sami gets up and starts firing off right hands before the Blue Thunder Bomb gets a close two. Rhyno catches the high cross body and muscles Sami up into a TKO for a near fall of his own.

Barely on his feet, Sami slaps Rhyno in the face, earning him a bunch of right hands to the head. Rhyno goes up for some reason and gets punched in the jaw, knocking him down to the floor. There’s the big flip dive from Sami but Rhyno throws him down with a belly to belly inside. The Gore misses though and the Helluva Kick gives Sami the come from behind win at 15:16.

Rating: B. They had the right idea here by having Sami get a warmup for Owens by facing someone who wrestles a very similar style and with a similar body type. Sami is back to form here and the fans are going to be ready for his rematch. That being said, hats off to Rhyno here, who hasn’t been around the big leagues in a while but he put on a solid performance here. Getting veterans here who can put over people like Zayn while still looking good in the ring is invaluable for a place like NXT, or any wrestling organization actually.

Overall Rating: C+. This was back to form for NXT as they have a solid show with a good main event and story advancement coupled with some quick matches to help fill things out. The key to this show is that it doesn’t do a lot of stupid things that drag the product down. They let the wrestling do the talking and the stories tell themselves naturally. In other words, they don’t shove things down your throat and beat you over the head with them. Those key differences are why NXT work so well and I hope they don’t change anytime soon.

Results

Solomon Crowe b. CJ Parker – Brock Lock

Baron Corbin b. Steve Cutler – End of Days

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady b. Sawyer Fulton/Angelo Dawkins – Rocket Launcher to Dawkins

Dana Brooke b. Blue Pants – Whiplash

Sami Zayn b. Rhyno – Helluva Kick

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NXT
Date: March 25, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves

We’re back home in Florida tonight with the main event being Kevin Owens defending the NXT Title against Finn Balor. This is the lower level main event that still has the potential to tear the house down if they’re given enough time, which NXT is usually really good about doing. In addition to that, we have Sasha Banks defending the Women’s Title against Alexa Bliss. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s road trip to Columbus for the first episode out of Florida.

Opening sequence.

Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss

Sasha is defending after losing a non-title match via countout last week. Bliss grabs a quick rollup for two and a crucifix gets the same. More rollups get more near falls and Sasha is having trouble keeping up with Sasha early on. Bliss tries to jump over her in the corner but gets kicked in the ribs to finally slow things down. A running slap to a seated Bliss gets two and the double knees to the ribs in the corner get the same. Sasha shouts that Bliss isn’t in her league but Bliss escapes the straitjacket choke into a small package for two.

The champ gets thrown out to the floor for a big crash. Back in and Bliss lands a slap of her own followed by some forearms before the Glitz Flip (moonsault into two knees to the chest) gets two more. The fans are WAY behind Bliss now which really does show both how good she is as a plucky face and how awesome Sasha is as a heel. Bliss takes time going up and gets slammed down, setting up the Bank Statement for the submission at 5:38.

Rating: C+. I seem to be the last person to notice it, but Sasha has gotten AWESOME in the last few months and is looking like the next big star of the Women’s Division. I believe Sara Del Ray is training the girls down there and it might be time to bring her up to train the Divas, because I don’t remember the last time these girls had a bad match. That’s unthinkable for the main roster Divas.

Kevin Owens says Finn Balor made his mark by dressing up like a demon. Owens made his mark by debuting and becoming NXT Champion in two months. Bring the demon tonight because it won’t matter. No one is taking this title from him and his family.

Video on Owens’ short time in NXT and his quick rise to the top.

Emma comes up to Bayley in the back and says she told Bayley so. Bayley has been being too nice with the hugs and then she went out and lost to Becky Lynch. She needs to find her inner aggression because the NXT Universe will lie to her. Bayley doesn’t but it and stands up to Emma, so the Aussie slaps her HARD in the face. Emma as the disenchanted main roster failure is an interesting new character and a logical progression for her.

Tyler Breeze doesn’t like being asked what his next move is because it’s a stupid question. After beating “Hideous” Itami last week, he wants to get the NXT Title and make it gorgeous. Itami comes up and says he beat Breeze too, so he wants 2/3 falls next week.

Wrestlemania card rundown.

Finn Balor video, showing him taking NXT by storm.

We look at Alex Riley getting beaten up by Owens last week.

Enzo, Cass and Carmella are in the back when Murphy and Blake come up to apologize to her. They bring her jewelry but the guys aren’t impressed. Carmella wants to know why they never get her jewelry.

NXT Title: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens

Owens is defending and Balor isn’t in the demon paint. We’re ready to go after some Big Match Intros and they have well over twenty minutes for the match not counting commercials. Kevin bails to the floor to start before getting back into the corner. It’s a trap though as Balor shoves him back but eats a hard shot to the face. A headlock slows Balor down a bit and Kevin wants to know where the demon is now. He’s a Dale Torborg fan? Finn gets up and scores with a nice dropkick as we take a break.

Back with Balor holding an armbar before a basement dropkick gets two. Owens drives him into the corner but uses the weakened arm to drive a shoulder into the ribs, only to further damage it. A Stunner over the top rope puts Balor down and Owens puts his boot on Finn’s jaw. We hit the chinlock as this is clearly going like a long match instead of just running through the motions. Back up and Owens levels him with an elbow to the face but is good enough to hold the arm after, making it easier for Balor to kick out. Off to another chinlock as we take a second break.

Back with Owens driving his boot into Balor’s ribs before putting on another chinlock with his knee in the back. This one doesn’t last as long as Owens throws him to the floor and has an evil look on his face. The powerbomb onto the apron is countered with a backdrop and they head back inside with Owens catching him in something resembling White Noise for two. The backsplash gets the same and we hit the chinlock again. That’s getting a bit repetitive which isn’t something you often see in NXT.

Owens asks if Balor wants to stand back up and whips him hard into the buckle. A nice overhead belly to belly (with an even better face from Balor) gets two and we’re back to the chinlock, earning a big ovation from the crowd. They’re nothing if not perceptive. Back from another break with Finn making his comeback with forearms and a backdrop to put the champ on the floor. He follows Kevin out with a big flip dive and the top rope double stomp to the back for two in the ring.

The Pele drops Kevin again but Finn can’t follow up. The Sling Blade sets up the reverse Impaler for two more and Balor is STUNNED. Owens avoids the running corner dropkick and Finn comes up holding his knee. The champ goes right after the injury with kicks and chop blocks before ramming it into the apron. A backsplash on the knee sets up a half crab but Balor crawls over for the rope. Balor escapes a powerbomb attempt and hits the jumping double stomps to put both guys down.

Owens goes up but gets kicked in the head, only to counter Finn’s superplex attempt into a spinning release fisherman’s superplex (freaking SWEET) for two. Kevin can barely move so Finn kicks him in the head again, only to have the champ chop block him again. The Cannonball connects and Finn is almost out of it.

Owens wraps the bad leg around the ropes and hits a Cannonball onto the leg, but his third attempt only hits buckle. Finn hits a running dropkick (he really shouldn’t be able to do that) and the Coup de Grace but his knee is too hurt to cover. That’s more like it. Owens gets up and hits the pop up powerbomb to retain at 30:37.

Rating: B+. This took its time getting going and the first half had too much chinlockery, but once they got in a grove and had Balor messing up his leg, this was all gravy. Owens is ready for the main roster and Balor has been ready since before he set foot in NXT, but I’m very glad they’re sticking around here and getting to put on awesome matches like this one. That arena is going to come unglued when Sami comes back to fight Owens again.

Overall Rating: B. Good episode this week as we wrap up the first half of this cycle and can move on to the next big batch of matches, perhaps with the next Takeover coming soon. This was a really fun night though and Balor showed how ready he is for the main roster. I wasn’t completely thrilled with the main event at first but they made me care about it. That’s one of the hardest things to do in wrestling and those two nailed it. Finally, I continue to love this crowd as they acknowledged the amount of chinlocks and applauded to let the guys know to mix it up a bit. How awesome is that?

Results

Sasha Banks b. Alexa Bliss – Bank Statement

Kevin Owens b. Finn Balor – Pop up powerbomb

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NXT
Date: March 18, 2015
Location: LC Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Jason Albert, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

This is a very interesting show as we have matches from outside the NXT Arena for the first time. A few weeks back, NXT held some shows in Columbus, Ohio as part of the Arnold Sports Festival and the matches were recorded for TV. Other than that we also have Owens vs. Riley in a showdown over Owens being a bully. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about being in Columbus and previews the major events tonight.

Opening video.

The arena looks similar but there are a lot more seats opposite the Titantron. The wrestlers have to come down some steps off to the side instead of a ramp as well. Finally the cameras are facing the Titantron instead of having it on the right.

Kalisto vs. Tyler Breeze

Breeze main events one week and jerks the curtain the next? Kalisto takes him to the mat but Breeze bails to the ropes like a heel should. Fans: “WATCH THE FACE!” It’s a really good sign if the fans are just as hot on the road. They trade leapfrogs until Kalisto does his hand want into a headscissors, followed by a big flipping wrist drag. He tries to fly a bit too much though and gets dropkicked out of the air for a delayed two.

Breeze rips at the mask and puts on a chinlock as we take a break. Back with Kalisto fighting back but not being able to hit the Salida Del Sol. Instead he dives into the Supermodel Kick for two and Breeze is getting frustrated. Kalisto knocks him down again and nails a 450 but Breeze is right next to the ropes. Salida Del Sol is countered again and the Beauty Shot is good for the pin at 10:07.

Rating: C+. Breeze has been on a roll lately and I’m digging his matches more and more every time. I wouldn’t mind seeing him move up a bit higher on the card, but I don’t see him fighting Owens or anything like that. Kalisto is great as a high flier and could be something special if he’s put on the main roster.

We recap Owens vs. Riley, which is entirely built around Owens being a bully and Riley wanting to stand up to him. Riley has come out of retirement to fight Owens and proved himself against CJ Parker last week.

Hometown girl Alexa Bliss promises to show Sasha Banks what she’s made of.

Video on the WWE Experience at the Arnold Sports Festival as well as their visit to a children’s hospital and HHH being inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame. Also includes are clips of Hogan and Flair appearing. Hulk Hogan showed up and thought being NXT Champion sounded good.

Finn Balor tells Alex Riley he’ll be watching tonight. Riley is ready for Owens but Balor tells him not to take Owens lightly. We haven’t seen Zayn or Neville since Owens hut them and Riley could be next.

Video of HHH talking about what it means to expand and the potential of NXT as a touring brand.

Colin Cassady vs. Wesley Blake

Carmella is with Enzo and Cass and is booed out of the building. Cass says they’re at Arnold Sports Festival where people like to pump weights, but Cass and Enzo like to pump fists. “As for the Australian guy, why don’t you didgeridoo yourself a favor a skedaddle?” Cass sends him into the corner to start and the fans declare Blake SAWFT. Wesley runs the ropes but charges into a knee to the ribs as the fans want Blue Pants. I can’t say I blame them.

A springboard spinning forearm gets two for Blake and we hit the chinlock. Colin fights up and stomps away in the corner, setting up a side slam. Murphy gets up on the apron and Carmella gets up to yell at him, only to have Cass boot him down. Carmella goes down at the same time though, allowing Blake to roll Cass up and grab the trunks for the pin at 3:55.

Rating: D+. This was nothing special but it advanced the stories. If nothing else it might be a step towards getting Carmella away from the guys, which would be better for everyone involved. There’s potential in Carmella, but not as a face and not with Enzo and Cass. Thankfully this isn’t WWE where they would just take her off TV and blame her for what happened.

Video on bodybuilder Dana Brooke who has signed with NXT.

Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

Non-title. Sasha is nailing the charisma at this point and is ready to be on the main show. Sasha goes after the nose, which she broke to put Bliss on the shelf for months. The double knees out of the corner gets two and we hit the chinlock. Alexa fights up and moonsaults into a double knee of her own before the Booker T. spinning sunset flip out of the corner gets two. Sasha bails to the floor so Alexa dives out onto her, only to be sent into the apron. Bliss quickly posts her though and wins by countout at 3:18.

Rating: C-. Bliss has gotten a lot better in a hurry and seems to be the next project of the division. I still think Bayley is the one to take the title off of Banks (if nothing else because I want to see the fans lose their collective minds) but Bliss is a good choice for a lower level challenger for now. Also, points for not jobbing her in her hometown or having the champ get pinned.

Kevin Owens is ready for Riley but is looking forward to facing Balor as well.

Alexa is happy with her win but Sasha comes in to say that wasn’t a pin. Regal pops up and makes the title match for next week.

Alex Riley vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. The fans chant for Owens to start as they shove each other around. The champ knocks him down and hammers Riley in the back and the fans call Owens Mr. Wrestling. Riley nails a dropkick but gets sent hard into the corner. There’s the Cannonball for two before Owens puts on the chinlock. Riley gets up though and blasts Owens with a right hand, sending him out to the apron.

Another right hand puts him on the floor but Owens is ticked off. Back in and Owens misses another Cannonball, setting up a spinebuster for two. Riley hits the ropes on a missed crossbody, setting up three straight backsplashes. Instead of covering though, Owens sends him back out to the floor. Back in again and the pop up powerbomb gives Kevin the pin at 6:00.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what it should have been with Owens getting rocked a few times but never being in any serious danger. Riley got to try but gets beaten up in the end and Owens gets to look like a killer all over again. Good stuff here and nothing great, which was pretty much exactly the idea.

Owens goes after Riley post match but Finn Balor comes out to stare him down. Kevin reaches for Riley again but Balor dives off the stage (nothing that great as it’s not a high stage) take him down. They head inside but Owens bails before Balor can hit the top rope double stomp. The champ bails but makes sure to get in a cheap shot on Riley because he’s a great villain.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t a spectacular episode, but it was a very successful experiment. The crowd was great on their first trip outside of Florida and that’s the best news NXT could have. As for the actual content, this was little more than a preview for next week, but it still worked well enough. Balor vs. Owens could be a lot of fun if they let them beat on each other for fifteen minutes. Good show here and hopefully the first of many road trips.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. Kalisto – Beauty Shot

Buddy Murphy b. Wesley Blake – Rollup with a handful of trunks

Alexa Bliss b. Sasha Banks via countout

Kevin Owens b. Alex Riley – Pop up powerbomb

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

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NXT
Date: March 11, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Jason Albert

Things are starting to pick up again in NXT as commentator Alex Riley is coming after NXT Champion Kevin Owens for bullying him on commentary recently. First up for Riley is CJ Parker, as Alex has to earn a shot at the champ. Other than that we’re waiting on the return of Sami Zayn and the Finn Balor showdown with Owens for the title. In other words, no one likes Owens except the audience. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Lucha Dragons

No Carmella this week. Enzo thinks the Dragons are more like the Geico Lizards. Cass: “Either save us 15% or more or get out of our way!” When I grow up, I want to be Enzo’s beard. Enzo and Kalisto get things going as the fans duel between “GEICO LIZARDS!” and “FIFTEEN PERCENT!” Kalisto grabs an armbar to take Enzo down and it’s quickly off to Cara, who slams his partner into a senton on Amore for two. The tag brings in Big Cass who shows Cara how to throw your partner around.

Enzo comes back in but gets kicked away, allowing the hot tag to Kalisto as things speed up. The Dragons take over again as this is going longer than your average opening match on this show. Everything breaks down with Enzo and Cass going outside. Cass shoves his buddy away to take the double dive but is still able to break up the swanton from Cara. He does the smart thing by dragging Enzo over for the tag and the East River Crossing plants Kalisto, setting up a Rocket Launcher from Amore for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C-. The match dragged a bit but you have to give Amore and Cass a win or two here and there to set up their title program down the line. Cass is big and strong enough to make up for Amore and they have great comedic chemistry together. Also, notice how much more into them the fans were without Carmella at ringside. NXT gets that logical thinking thing while it’s totally lost on WWE.

Next week we see matches from NXT at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Video on Alex Riley.

Video on Kevin Owens’ dominance.

Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella

Carmella throws her away from a headlock to start but Bliss grabs the arm to take over. Alexa misses a charge into the corner so Carmella just hammers her in the face. The fans aren’t exactly interested in having Carmella out there. We hit the body scissors on Bliss before Carmella drives her back into the corner. This really isn’t much to see so far. Bliss comes back with some forearms and a flip splash for two, followed by a spinning splash from the top (the Sparkle Splash) for the pin at 5:03.

Rating: D+. These two aren’t exactly on Charlotte and Banks’ level. The fans flat out do not like Carmella and it’s definitely good to keep her apart from Enzo and Cass. Bliss isn’t great but she’s adorable and can carry herself well enough in the ring. To be fair though, I never thought much of Sasha or Charlotte at first and they’ve turned out great.

Alex Riley gives a very serious speech about being stuck in a cage for two years and constantly being told “maybe next week kid.” Owens talks about having a wife and kids but Riley’s family is in that arena. It’s time to fight for his family. Really good stuff from Riley here and I’ve always been a fan of his. I always thought it was a waste of his talents to put him behind a mic for so long but at least he’s getting back in the ring now.

Breeze says this didn’t have to get ugly with Itami. “Well you were involved so maybe it did have to get ugly.”

CJ Parker vs. Alex Riley

Riley’s entrance cuts off Parker complaining about the world. Riley is still in shape but his face makes him look a bit homeless. Parker’s headlock doesn’t get him very far as Riley comes back with a nice dropkick. The TKO is countered though and Parker lays in some left hands. The Third Eye is countered with a backdrop and Riley nails a hard clothesline. Something like John Morrison’s flip neckbreaker puts Parker down again and a Blockbuster is good for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: C-. Not terrible here but Riley had some ring rust. That’s the point of something like developmental but he needs to do some more before he’s ready to make it onto the main roster. I’m hoping he uses the TKO again instead of a Blockbuster as a few people are using that one already.

Post match Kevin Owens comes out and calls Alex Riley the dumbest man in NXT. Riley gave up his commentary career just so Riley can destroy his in ring career too. Owens hasn’t forgotten about Finn Balor either.

Tyler Breeze vs. Hideo Itami

Rematch from Rival. Breeze heads to the floor to start and says this won’t be like last time. He does it a second time and the fans keep booing. Old style heat still works. Back in and Breeze drives Itami into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs but Itami kicks him right to the floor. Itami throws him back inside for a running knee in the corner and the tornado DDT into a guillotine. He goes back up but gets crotched this time, giving Tyler his first real advantage.

The fans think Itami is gorgeous as Breeze drops a leg and puts on a chinlock. Back from a break with Itami punching Breeze away and hitting a top rope dropkick to put both guys down. A leg trip sends Breeze to the floor and a big kick gets two. Itami kicks him in the face but walks into the Supermodel Kick for two.

Breeze gets pulled face first into the post while trying to crotch Itami, setting up a top rope knee to the back of the head. Breeze gets up again though and Itami is getting mad. The fans call for the GTS but have to settle for a hard series of strikes instead. Itami misses a running dropkick in the corner though and the Beauty Shot is good for the pin on Hideo at 11:25.

Rating: B-. That’s a surprising ending but I like it better than just giving Itami the pin. The problem with Breeze was that he kept putting people over and it stops meaning anything after so many times. This win gives him some credibility back and makes future wins over him mean more. In other words, it’s trading in the short term for the long term, and that’s rarely a bad thing.

Overall Rating: C+. This was solid enough for the most part and I really like that we’re getting the short term stories instead of the major stuff every week. Riley vs. Owens isn’t the biggest feud in the world, but it lets the anticipation for Owens vs. Balor and eventually Owens vs. Zayn build up instead of just blowing through them immediately. Another thing that NXT understands better than WWE is you don’t have to get everything in by a certain date, at least not most of the time. Take the extra time, because as HHH said on Austin’s podcast, there’s always next week.

Results

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady b. Lucha Dragons – Rocket Launcher to Kalisto

Alexa Bliss b. Carmella – Sparkle Splash

Alex Riley b. CJ Parker – Blockbuster

Tyler Breeze b. Hideo Itami – Beauty Shot

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

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NXT
Date: March 4, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Rich Brennan, Alex Riley

Tonight it’s time to get back to the serious business around NXT as Sami Zayn is making his first appearance after losing the NXT Title to Kevin Owens by referee’s decision. Owens is currently gearing up to defend against #1 contender Finn Balor, but it’s clear that another showdown with Sami is coming. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Owens saying he’ll fight anyone anywhere, which leads to his feud with Balor. This includes Owens being insulted by Alex Riley on commentary and beating Riley up as a result.

Riley demanded that William Regal give him a match with Owens. However, Regal says no because of what happened to him when he tried to be a competitor and commentator at the same time. That’s not good enough for Riley as he wants the match, but Regal says he has to pick. Riley seems to be thinking about it.

Opening sequence.

Adam Rose vs. Tyler Breeze

The Trust Fall works this time and Rose seems to be a good guy here. The fans chant for Rose’s ninja turtle before he chases Breeze around the ring. An armdrag sends Rose down and Breeze lounges across the top rope. They pose at each other a bit more until Rose grabs an atomic drop, giving us the Honky Tonk Man sell job.

Rose dives into one from Breeze though and both guys are in pain. Breeze nails him in the face a few times but Adam leans back in the ropes and raises his feet to fend Tyler off. With a raise of the roof (as we flash back to 1998), Rose hits a running corner clothesline, only to walk into the Beauty Shot for the pin at 2:35. Again, who in the world thought making Rose a heel was a good idea? He’s one of the easiest acts to cheer for in years so they turned him heel. Main roster brilliance personified.

Breeze fends off the Rosebuds with the selfie stick in a funny moment.

Enzo, Cass and Carmella don’t like what Murphy and Blake have been saying. No one talks to Carmella like that and she thinks Cass and Amore need to take care of them. Enzo promises to beat the bacon off their backs and bring that bacon home. Do whatever you want with the bacon. Just drop Carmella already.

Alexa Bliss has been off recovering from an injury but she’s back and better than ever. She’s coming for Sasha, whether she keeps the title or not.

Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake vs. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton

Non-title. I keep thinking the champs’ record scratch music is Solomon Crowe hacking the feed. Dawkins and Fulton are part of a trio of amateur wrestlers with Fulton rocking the Rick Steiner head gear. He takes Murphy down to start and cranks on an armbar. Murphy makes a blind tag though and a double elbow gets two.

It’s off to Blake for a chinlock but Fulton flips him over and nails a nice uppercut. Dawkins comes in to speed things up and hammers Murphy down, but makes the mistake of going after Blake. Murphy gets in a cheap shot and suplexes Dawkins down, setting up the frog splash from Blake for the pin at 2:27. That was one heck of a leap for the splash. The losers looked good while they were in there but they need more ring time to get the gimmick over.

Bayley offers Charlotte good luck on the title shot tonight but Charlotte says Banks needs the luck. Charlotte leaves and Emma comes in and brings up Bayley lost at Takeover. She tried being nice like Bayley and look where it got her on Raw: right back here to NXT. Just something to think about for Bayley.

Rhyno return video.

Baron Corbin vs. Tony Briggs

Briggs says bring it on so Baron hits him in the face and plants him with End of Days at 54 seconds. Kevin Owens was shown standing behind Alex Riley but didn’t touch him.

Riley turns around to look at Owens but doesn’t do anything. Owens pours water over him and Riley snaps. Albert holds him back and reminds Riley that he has a job. Kevin turns his back on him and leaves with no physicality. Owens is nailing this evil bully character to perfection.

Sami Zayn was in Montreal earlier this week but he can’t help but feel that the NXT landscape is changing. You have guys like Rhyno and Kendrick back and new faces like Solomon Crowe with Kevin Owens on top. This is filmed on March 1, 2015, meaning he’s been a wrestler for thirteen years to the day. For the first time though, Zayn doesn’t feel like he’s mentally ready to be in the ring. That’s why he’s here in Montreal, where it all started for both he and Owens. He still hasn’t watched the Takeover match, but maybe that’s what he needs to get his mind right.

Riley storms into Regal’s office and quits being a commentator so he can get his hands on Owens. Regal says he’ll get Owens when he (Regal) thinks he’s ready. CJ Parker is in the office too and laughs at the idea of Riley fighting Owens, so Riley wants Parker next week.

Bull Dempsey vs. Solomon Crowe

Crowe comes into the ring with a bunch of energy and nearly slides under the ropes upon entry. He goes right after Dempsey and gets stomped down, setting up a stiff headbutt. All Dempsey so far and he mounts Crowe for some right hands. Solomon fights back but can’t slam the big man. Instead Dempsey just pounds him in the chest with forearms for one. Solomon fights up and now the slam works. Dempsey runs him over again but misses the top rope headbutt. A running knee and running elbow drop Bull and a slingshot headbutt to the rips is enough to give Solomon the pin at 3:01.

Rating: D+. Solomon comes off as a guy where the character is going to drive the development instead of the in ring action. I was getting something like a Kevin Sullivan vibe off his in ring style, as he’s much more of a scrappy brawler than a polished wrestler. He basically just stuck around and waited for an opening to take Bull down, but it worked well enough. I need to see more of him though.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks

Banks is defending in a one on one rematch from Takeover: Rival’s fourway where Charlotte lost the title. This gets big match intros, which is actually deserves over Nikki vs. Paige on Monday. The fans are split, as you would expect. Banks hides in the corner to start so Charlotte asks if she’s here to fight or not. Some chops have the champ in early trouble but she bails to the floor for another breather.

Sasha grabs her title and says count her out but that doesn’t work for Charlotte, who chases her down and rams the champ’s back into the apron. Now the fans are almost all behind Charlotte as she slaps on an early figure four. Banks is way too close to the ropes though and bails to the floor one more time as we take a break. Back with Banks hitting a running slap to a seated Charlotte before busting out La Mistica into the crossface.

Charlotte powers up and hits a running backpack Stunner. The moonsault misses but Charlotte lands on her feet, only to have her front flip hit Sasha’s knees. That’s a nice bit of psychology there as they learn each other’s spots and build on the sequences. Sasha chokes and WOOs in the corner as the fans argue (YES SHE IS/NO SHE’S NOT) over Sasha’s level of ratchetness.

Double knees to the back have Charlotte in trouble and Sasha bends her ribs around the post to stay on the injury. The Backstabber into the double arm choke has Charlotte in even more trouble but she refuses to give up. That’s fine with Sasha who rolls into the Bank Statement, only to have Charlotte right next to the ropes for the escape. A big spear gets two for Charlotte and she puts on a Hartbreaker (figure four around the post). Back in and Natural Selection off the top is countered and Sasha puts her feet on the ropes (ala Ric Flair) for a rollup pin at 15:00.

Rating: B-. Not quite a classic but still a very good TV main event. The girls are so far ahead of Nikki and Brie that it’s unreal, but they can’t afford the same plastic surgery or whatever. This was a solid match in the same vein of Orton vs. Christian from 2011 as they built on previously established sequences and made logical progressions. Well done indeed.

Overall Rating: C+. Much better than last week which seems to have been an aberration. It’s amazing what happens when you do stuff that matters instead of just filler for an hour. Sami holding off on his return is an interesting idea as it allows them to go through Riley and Balor before we get back to the big time feud that a lot of people really want to see. This is the fallout period from Rival before we start building to the next Takeover, which means we should be coming up on some big shows soon.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. Adam Rose – Beauty Shot

Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake b. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton – Frog splash to Dawkins

Baron Corbin b. Tony Briggs – End of Days

Solomon Crowe b. Bull Dempsey – Slingshot headbutt

Sasha Banks b. Charlotte – Rollup with feet on the ropes

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

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NXT
Date: February 18, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Jason Albert

Last week, evil won. Kevin Owens destroyed NXT Champion Sami Zayn and powerbombed him into oblivion over and over until he just couldn’t get up again, leading to the referee stopping the match and awarding the title to Owens. The question now is what is he going to do with the title, because Zayn can’t possibly be back that soon. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Rival, mainly focusing on the title change.

Commissioner Regal says the title can change hand by referee’s decision so the title change stands. However, Owens doesn’t have authority here because he’s won the title. Therefore, tonight Owens will face Adrian Neville in a non-title match as Neville hasn’t earned a title match. However he has earned the right to get revenge on the man that put him in the hospital. A new era begins tonight.

Opening sequence.

Here’s the new champ with something to say. The fans are almost completely divided on their opinion of him. Some people may have issues with how he won the title, which draws a WIN OWENS WIN chant. Those people who are upset have no right to be angry at anything. He hasn’t lied or pretended to be anything he isn’t. He said he would fight anyone and everyone to make things better for his family and that’s exactly what he did.

Who he beat and how he beat them is irrelevant because Sami Zayn is now the past. That means it’s time to look to the future, and that is Finn Balor. Owens is well aware that Balor is the #1 contender for the NXT Title, so go to Regal and pick whatever date you want. However, what happened to Sami at Takeover is what’s going to happen to Balor, because no one is taking this title from him. It takes a lot to instantly make me care about a new champion like this but I’m digging the heck out of this already. Hearing him say Balor is next gave me a big smile.

Rhyno vs. Elias Samson

Yes THAT Rhyno, who wins with the Gore in 33 seconds. The only note here is that the announcers said Rhyno invented the spear, which is completely inaccurate but his version has enough impact that it works like a charm. I can also totally get behind the idea of people like Rhyno showing up for short stories or even one night cameos like this for a surprise.

Finn Balor says he has a high opinion of himself too. Owens calls himself a prize fighter, but Balor fights for a prize too. Before he can finish what that is (the NXT Title), Rhyno comes in for a staredown. The fans REALLY like that idea.

Vaudevillains vs. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady

Enzo and Cass get a great reaction but Carmella isn’t exactly beloved by the fans. Amore now has a blond beard to go with his black handlebar mustache. Cass say they wan the titles. Gotch grabs Amore’s foot to start but English gets in a cheap shot to give the Vaudevillains early control. Aiden stomps away but Enzo ducks a clothesline and dives over for the tag. The big man cleans house and throws English into the corner. Enzo is thrown onto him for good measure and Cass’ big boot is good for the pin at 2:03.

Blake and Murphy pop up on screen and say that’s not enough for a title shot before hitting on Carmella.

Adrian Neville says he can be the hunter tonight and he wants revenge for Owens putting him on a stretcher.

Bayley says her night is coming.

Becky Lynch gave it her all last week but Bayley cost her the title. At least Charlotte lost.

Here’s a ticked off CJ Parker to rant about not being on the show last week. He’s ending this show by taking it hostage, meaning he starts tying caution tape across the ring. Cue the long awaited debut of Solomon Crowe who quickly destroys Parker and returns us to our regularly scheduled broadcast. As usual with NXT debuts, this worked.

Sasha Banks vs. Blue Pants

Non-title and Blue Pants is billed from the clearance rack. Sasha offers her the chance to leave but Blue knocks her out to the floor. A rollup gets two on the Boss but she cranks on Blue’s arms to take her down. Sasha plants her down and the Bank Statement is good for the tap out at 2:30. Just a feel good moment before the squash.

Sasha says its her time.

A doctor looked at Sami and says he’ll be back strong.

Kevin Owens vs. Adrian Neville

Non-title. Owens bails to the floor at the bell but Neville is right there with him to hammer away. Back in and Neville takes him down with a kick, only to walk into a gutbuster. He hammers on Adrian with big right hands as this is starting similar to last week’s title match. The fans tell Owens to fight but another faction is behind Neville. We hit the chinlock for a good while before Kevin throws Neville to the floor and us to a break.

Back with Owens stepping on Neville’s head (such a simple yet effective heel move) before kicking him in the back. Another chinlock has Adrian in trouble but he fights up with more kicks and hits a springboard dropkick for two. That sends Owens outside again but this time Neville dropkicks him through the ropes, followed by a 450 from the apron. Back in and Adrian rolls some Germans for a very close two.

Owens just takes his head off with a clothesline, but the Cannonball is broken up with a superkick. A reverse hurricanrana gets two and the fans are WAY into this. The Red Arrow has to be canceled in mid air, setting up the popup powerbomb to give Owens the pin at 15:34.

Rating: B. This is the kind of stuff that that NXT excels at: take two guys, give them some time and let them beat each other up. Owens looked great as always and a win over Neville still means quite a bit since no one could pin him for so long. The match with Balor could tear the house down and hopefully they get a lot of time to do so.

Overall Rating: B+. Tonight was about setting up new stuff for NXT and they did a great job of doing so. Sami being gone opens up some room at the top of the card, but his return for revenge is still going to rock. As usual, the future looks incredibly bright in WWE and it looks even brighter for the next few months down here. Really solid show this week and a good followup to last week’s classic show.

Results

Rhyno b. Elias Samson – Gore

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady b. Vaudevillains – Big boot to English

Sasha Banks b. Blue Pants – Bank Statement

Kevin Owens b. Adrian Neville – Popup powerbomb

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SATPVKW

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

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