NXT Date: December 23, 2015
Location: Wembley Arena, London, England
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
We’re past Takeover: London now and the big question is where do things go from here. Before we can get to the next major shows though, we have a few matches taped at the Takeover show to get through here, including a four way tag and the return of someone you might remember. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap/highlight package from Takeover. I might be looking forward to Takeover more than Wrestlemania.
Opening sequence.
Vaudevillains vs. Hype Bros vs. Blake and Murphy vs. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan
One fall to a finish. The Vaudevillains are dressed as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Hype Bros aren’t the most beloved but Gable and Jordan’s eruption makes up for it. Gable and English get things going with Chad easily taking him to the mat. It’s off to Gotch for a wristlock but Chad easily takes him down to the delight of the crowd. Mojo tags himself in but Gable and Jordan clean house, leading to a four way staredown.
Back from a break with English having issues getting out of another Gable wristlock. Blake comes in and walks into a headscissors, followed by a dropkick. It’s off to Murphy who is caught in an armbreaker across the top rope, only to have Blake make a save (thanks to Bliss) with a stomp to the ribs for two. Blake starts in on Chad’s leg until English tags himself in to take over.
Gotch works on the leg as well but Gable gets the knees up to give himself a breather. Murphy breaks up the hot tag, only to have Gable backflip out of a double suplex and make the hot tag to Jordan. Everything breaks down and it’s suplex city on everyone, including one to Murphy onto the pile, setting up Grand Amplitude to Blake for the pin at 12:46.
Rating: C+. Fun match here as you would expect with this many people in the ring at once. Gable and Jordan are something special and there’s almost no way we’re not getting them vs. Dawson and Wilder for the titles sooner than later. I can’t imagine they’ll stretch the chase all the way out to Dallas as they’re too hot right now.
Dana Brooke yells at Emma for losing to Asuka. Asuka comes in and smiles so Dana turns around and asks Emma if Asuka left yet.
Sami Zayn is back tonight.
Video on the European tour.
Clips of Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe from Takeover.
Tye Dillinger is tired of people talking about Sami Zayn, who is not a perfect ten.
More from the song man, who debuts next.
Next week (and perhaps the week after) will be the Best of 2015.
Clips of Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin.
Corbin brags about his win and declares himself #1 contender.
Bull Dempsey vs. Elias Samson
Sampson is confirmed as the drifting guitar player. Bull starts with some clotheslines so Samson stomps him down into the corner. The snap jabs and a shoulder put Elias down but he comes back with a quick knockdown. That gives us a creepy smile from Elias, followed by a top rope elbow to pin Bull at 1:37. Well that was quick. Not very impressive but quick.
After some clips of their title defense, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder say they’re awesome.
Clips of Bayley retaining over Nia Jax.
Tye Dillinger vs. Sami Zayn
We have to pause the start of the match due to some extended OLE chants. Tye starts going after the arm to start but Sami reverses into a wristlock of his own and we get a standoff. A pair of armdrags send Ty to the floor but he bails away from a dive, leaving Sami to flip back into the ring. They head outside with Sami being sent shoulder first into the post, taking us to our first break.
Back with Dillinger working on the arm and firing off some left hands to the head. Sami fights out of another armbar and clotheslines Tye a few times, followed by a fisherman’s suplex. Now we get the big flip dive and the fans are very happy to have Sami back. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two but the Helluva kick is countered into a rollup for two (with a handful of tights). Tye starts fighting back but gets suplex into the corner, setting up the Helluva kick for the pin at 12:47.
Rating: C. This was little more than “hey Sami’s back”. He had a bit of ring rust but it’s a good idea to give him a relatively easy match like this to allow him to get his timing back. Sami is at his best when he’s fighting uphill, but it’s going to be interesting to see him as the returning hero instead of an underdog again. He looked fine here and that’s all that matters.
Sami says he’s back and soaks in some OLE’s. The trend in his career has been every time a dream comes true, it quickly turns into a nightmare. It happened when he won the NXT Title and it happened when he showed up on Raw but tonight broke the trend. This is just the beginning and 2016 will be even better for NXT and Sami Zayn.
Overall Rating: C+. These shows are always tricky as they’re really more WCW Saturday Night (in the Nitro era) than Monday Night Raw. It’s still a fun show and a really easy sit though and that’s all NXT needs to be. What makes it even better is how they make me want to keep coming back. I believed Sami when he said it’s going to get even better, which is mainly lip service most of the time. Another fun show here and the Best of shows coming up should be a nice flashback.
Results
Chad Gable/Jason Jordan b. Hype Bros, Blake and Murphy and Vaudevillains – Grand Amplitude to Blake
Elias Samson b. Bull Dempsey – Top rope elbow
Sami Zayn b. Tye Dillinger – Helluva kick
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NXT Date: December 9, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan
It’s the go home show for Takeover: London and that means it’s time for all the hard pushes before the next major show. The bit match for tonight is the always useful combining of two matches into a tag as Finn Balor and Apollo Crews face Baron Corbin and Samoa Joe. The card for next week’s show looks good though and that’s all that matters. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore vs. Corey Hollis/John Skyler
Enzo and Cass are totally serious for once. Hollis and Skyler actually get an entrance. Cass pounds Hollis into the corner for some hard elbows to start before easily tossing him across the ring. Enzo comes in for some trash talk and a nice dropkick before it’s back to Cass, who throws his partner at Hollis in the corner. The East River Crossing sets up the Rocket Launcher for the pin on Hollis at 2:40.
Enzo says that’s how they feed their family and Dawson/Wilder aren’t messing with that. They’ve been doing this longer than any team in NXT and the champs had the nerve to try and take out Cass. That jeopardized their futures and the only people who get to determine their futures are in this ring right now. Cass isn’t standing for those two taking them out either and they’re getting retribution and the titles in London. Where in the world did that come from? For their first ever serious promo, this was excellent and I was loving it.
Dana Brooke and Emma are ready for Asuka and want her to remember that this isn’t Japan. Emma was the one that paved the way for the Divas Revolution (can we PLEASE find a new plot device for the Divas?) and they imply interference in Asuka’s match tonight. Dana is annoyed at Tom Phillips for being too tall to pat on the head.
Video on Tye Dillinger.
Asuka vs. Deonna Purrazzo
They circle each other for a bit until Asuka grabs the hammerlock. After going over to a wristlock, Asuka snaps on an armbar to send Deonna into the ropes. A hip strike drops Deonna again and here are Emma and Dana on the stage. Deonna tries to use the distraction and gets KICKED IN THE FACE for a knockout win at 2:55. The gasp from Emma and Dana made the whole thing even better.
Mojo Rawley talks about Blake and Murphy not being successful in the club and Zack Ryder has no idea what he’s talking about. They’re sure they’ll win tonight though.
Alexa Bliss yells at Blake and Murphy for losing recently but they promise that the Hype Bros will be broken.
Another long song by who appears to be Elias Sampson.
Hype Bros vs. Blake and Murphy
Blake, Murphy and Bliss are wearing what look like Freddie Kruger shirts that were run over by lawnmowers. Even the fans call then Freddie Kruger. Mojo dances a lot to start and Ryder facepalms on the apron. Blake works on a wristlock to start as Graves wants to go to prison instead of watching the Hype Bros. Blake and Murphy are sent to the floor, leaving Mojo to declare that none of them are hyped. Ryder baseball slides both of them and drops Blake with a flapjack to set up the Broski Boot.
Murphy comes in for the first time and takes Ryder down before it’s back to Blake for a chinlock. That goes nowhere so it’s Murphy coming in with a chinlock of his own. Ryder fights up and kicks them into each other before diving over to tag in Mojo. Rawley cleans house (Corey: “It’s like someone shaved a Tasmanian devil.”) and everything breaks down. Blake’s superkick only gets two and it’s the Hype Ryder for the pin on Blake at 6:24.
Rating: C. Totally fine match here between two teams that aren’t the most interesting in the world. Blake and Murphy don’t seem to have much of a future aside from being a midcard team here in NXT while the Bros look like they’ve been thrown together for the sake of giving them something to do. Still though, not a bad little match here.
Baron Corbin doesn’t like Apollo Crews because he’s a rookie who doesn’t deserve anything. Joe is still mad about Finn Balor not giving him the title shot he deserved. Tonight, Crews and Balor get their warmup beatings.
Peyton Royce vs. Bayley
Non-title. Royce is clearly a heel here as she’s a sexier character than the majority of the roster. Peyton starts with an armdrag (Fans: “BETTER THAN EVA!”) and Bayley doesn’t look to be 100% coming in. A running knee gets two for Royce and there’s that annoying Bayley chant again. We hit the chinlock on Bayley but she comes back with some right hands, only to walk into a spin kick for two. The middle rope elbow staggers Royce though and the Bayley to Belly is good for the pin at 4:07.
Rating: C+. Not a great match or anything but this is the kind of match that Royce needed to look like a future player in the division. If there’s one thing NXT is great at, it’s setting up someone as a threat after they start off looking like any other wrestler. She might not go anywhere, but this was a really good performance from someone who hadn’t shown much potential otherwise.
Post match Eva Marie and Nia Jax come out. Eve is booed out of the building until Jax takes the mic and says she doesn’t need Eva to do the talking for her. Bayley is lucky that Nia didn’t get here earlier because Bayley has been lucky so far but that ends in London. I still see no reason why Nia has Eva with her.
Apollo has been trying to get in touch with Balor all week but Finn hasn’t answered. Balor says he’s ready and that’s all that matters. Crews is fine with that but promises to come for the title after London. Balor doesn’t seem cool with that.
Video on Sami Zayn getting hurt back in May and his return next week.
Finn Balor/Apollo Crews vs. Samoa Joe/Baron Corbin
Joe immediately tags out to avoid fighting Balor. Finn tries to bring in Apollo so Corbin tags out as well. Apollo slams Joe down and we take a way too early break. Back with Crews in the wrong corner and Corbin flipping him to the mat for two. Joe comes in for an armbar and a big elbow to the jaw. It’s back to Corbin but he misses a charge and hits the post, allowing the hot tag to bring in Balor.
The champ hammers away on Joe in the corner but Joe reverses him and tries the Muscle Buster. Finn reverses into a sunset flip for two, followed by the Sling Blade. Baron shoves Balor off the top and into a Death Valley Driver (I haven’t seen one of those in a long time), setting up the Koquina Clutch to knock Balor out at 9:46.
Rating: C+. Again this wasn’t great but it set up the two matches quite well. I could have gone for more interaction between Crews and Corbin here as their match isn’t the most interesting in the world but it’s good enough so far. Joe vs. Balor has gone from what felt like a filler feud to a match I want to see so they’re certainly clicking there. Good stuff here and it accomplished its goal.
Joe poses with the title over the unconscious Balor to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. Above all else a go home show is supposed to make me want to see the big show more than I did coming in and that goal was accomplished here. Other than that we had some good wrestling and a solid promo from Enzo and Cass, but I’m not as hyped up for London as I’ve been for recent Takeovers. The show is going to be awesome because that’s how Takeovers work but I’m not as interested as I could be. Still though, another good show this week as you should expect.
Results
Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady b. Corey Hollis/John Skyler – Rocket Launcher to Hollis
Asuka b. Deonna Purrazzo via knockout – Kick to the face
Hype Bros b. Blake and Murphy – Hype Ryder to Blake
Bayley b. Peyton Royce – Bayley to belly
Samoa Joe/Baron Corbin b. Finn Balor/Apollo Crews – Koquina Clutch to Balor
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
NXT Date: November 25, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Rich Brennan, Corey Graves
It’s another title match week with Bayley defending against Eva Marie in a match that has the potential to burn the place to the ground. The Full Sail fans just do not like Eva no matter what she does and it’s going to be quite the moment if she takes the title from the most popular act in NXT. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Michael Cole of all people is in the ring to open the show, though unfortunately we don’t get his sweet theme song about how awesome his life is. Cole says he’s in charge while Regal is out recovering from neck surgery. First up tonight: a contract signing for Takeover: London (finally not the week before the match) between Finn Balor and Samoa Joe. Cole goes to introduce Joe but Balor comes out first and promises to take Joe out in London. This brings out Joe who walks into the ring, signs the contract and walks out without saying a word or even looking at Finn. The champ goes to leave but Joe attacks and chokes Finn out.
Tag Team Titles: Vaudevillains vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder
Dawson and Wilder are defending and this is the Vaudevillains’ rematch. Dawson starts on Gotch’s leg to start but can’t get very far, meaning it’s off to English vs. Wilder. Aiden takes over for all of fifteen seconds before the champs go after his arm and take us to an early break. Back with Aiden in an armbar but he easily fights up and makes the hot tag to Gotch. Now it’s the Vaudevillains taking over but Dawson trips up Gotch to stop the Whirling Dervish. Everything breaks down and the Shatter Machine to English retains the titles at 8:05.
Rating: C. These teams really don’t have great chemistry together and a lot of that is due to the champs being the kind of guys that like to slow a match down. The Vaudevillains are a unique team as they don’t have a particular style and that makes it hard to find interesting matchups for them. It’s not bad, but these are really forgettable matches so it’s probably best that they’re done here.
Post match Enzo and Big Cass come out to beat up the champs for hurting Cass’ leg a few weeks back.
Eva has taken over Regal’s office because she needed a bigger place to get ready. Bayley is a swell girl but it’s time for a woman to become champion. She knows the fans have her back too and there are a bunch of gifts waiting for the celebration. Nia Jax comes in with a present of her own.
We recap Asuka dismantling Dana Brooke at Takeover.
Someone whose face we can’t see sings a song about needing liberators. Elias Sampson had a guitar a few months back so maybe it was him.
Dana Brooke vs. Asuka
Maybe not as Dana talks from the stage and Emma jumps Asuka from behind and puts her in the Emma Lock. No match.
Bayley understands why WWE wants Eva Marie to be the Women’s Champion but there’s one difference between them: Bayley is a wrestler. I know it wasn’t meant to be one, but that was one of the best insults I’ve heard in a long time.
Sami Zayn is coming back.
Apollo Crews vs. Jesse Sorensen
This would be the former TNA guy Jesse Sorensen, who left because they didn’t want him to wrestle any more after breaking his neck and decided to release him instead. Crews starts fast with a delayed vertical as the fans count the “time”. Just to show off, Crews waves them on and holds Jesse up even longer. A big running clothesline sets up a throw into a powerbomb (called an Alley Oop into a powerbomb) to end Jesse at 2:06. Total squash.
Crews accepts Baron Corbin’s challenge for London.
Corbin says Crews is going to be the answer to a trivia question for doing one thing once. He’s going down in London.
Charles Robinson has been sent to referee the main event.
Women’s Title: Eva Marie vs. Bayley
Eva is challenging so let the nuclear heat (and wolf whistles) begin. Nia Jax is here with Eva to make sure things aren’t fair. Robinson is the outside referee here so something might be afoot. They trade headlocks to start and a suplex gets two on Bayley, who comes right back with the Bayley to Belly for two as Jax pulls the referee out. Robinson comes in to count two on Bayley off a rollup and Jax adds a headbutt to keep Bayley in trouble.
Eva covers several times for two but Bayley takes her down with a running clothesline. Robinson breaks up the running elbow in the corner and Sliced Red gets a very close two. Another try at Sliced Red results in a ref bump and Eva goes up. Bayley stops her again though and, after dealing with Nia, grabs a super Bayley to Belly with another referee coming in for the count at 6:38.
Rating: B. This was one of the best done segments that NXT has done in a long time. It’s just a six minute match and nothing great in terms of wrestling, but sweet goodness they nailed the story here. The idea of the fix being in had the fans freaking out on every near fall and going nuts when Bayley survived. Bayley is the most over thing in NXT since Sami Zayn and it’s awesome to watch her mature into this hero instead of just being an underdog.
Nia Jax lays out Bayley post match and holds up the belt to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. This was a show that did a lot of good to set up the London show in three weeks while also throwing in two title matches with a really well done moment in the main event. Thankfully Cole wasn’t the star of the show and felt like a regular NXT commissioner. That’s the key to this whole promotion: find the formula that works and keep plugging people in and out when necessary. It’s worked for years and it’s working here, which makes this the most consistent show around.
Results
Scott Dawson’/Dash Wilder b. Vaudevillains – Shatter Machine to English
Apollo Crews b. Jesse Sorensen – Throw into a powerbomb
Bayley b. Eva Marie – Super Bayley to Belly
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I don’t know why I don’t do these for every Takeover since they’re NXT pay per views. This felt like a show that was thrown together for the sake of having another Takeover on the calendar, but this is NXT where you can actually have faith in your wrestling product for a change. Let’s get to it.
We’re going to do this one a little differently as there are four matches that matter so let’s get the filler out of the way first.
Asuka squashed Dana Brooke in her debut. This was exactly what it needed to be as Asuka destroyed Brooke like she was nothing and even got in a few shots on Emma for good measure. I’m not sure what Brooke and Emma do now but it’s pretty clear that Asuka needs to be pushed as something important. Save for Nia Jax, there’s really no one left to challenge Bayley so it almost has to be Asuka.
As bad as the reason is, I’m hoping that Eva injuring Carmella at that house show might show WWE that she’s just not ready to compete at this level. With Asuka right there and whatever Jax has (she’s an Anoa’i so you know she’s got a good Samoan drop), Eva really would stick out even worse than she did before. Anyway this was an awesome debut for Asuka as she showed a bunch of striking and submission abilities as well as some awesome presence. What more can you ask for in less than six minutes?
Apollo Crews beat Tyler Breeze in the featured non-main event level match. This was a match where I really didn’t know who was going to win going in, but it became pretty clear that Crews is a major deal in NXT. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with Breeze, but NXT is the kind of place where they can rebuild you after some losses. Breeze has earned the fans’ and my respect already by taking what should have been a nothing comedy gimmick and turned it into one of the most consistent characters on the roster.
Breeze could become one heck of a face who wins with last minute superkicks but right now he’s great as a gatekeeper heel who has good matches against anyone. Crews still needs a character but the same could be said of Finn Balor back in June and he turned out fine. I like that powerbomb better than the standing moonsault as you can only get so far on a move like that. It doesn’t seem like someone kicking out of it would mean that much, but the powerbomb is an upgrade.
That leaves us with just the tournament and main event to go so let’s look at the three tag matches in a row.
First up we had Finn Balor/Samoa Joe vs. the Mechanics. This was an old school work the body part, which makes perfect sense given that the Mechanics are basically Anderson tribute wrestlers. Balor tweaked his knee during the match which seemed to be the most logical idea going forward into the finals. That being said, Balor and Joe won anyway after a Muscle Buster into the Coup de Grace which hurt the knee even worse. This was old fashioned tag team work and amazingly enough it still worked just fine despite people saying that those old styles don’t work anymore.
In the surprise of the night (at least going on) Rhyno/Baron Corbin beat Jason Jordan/Chad Gable. I was really stunned when Corbin pinned Jordan, but the more I think about how huge of a reaction Gable received the more sense it makes. You really don’t want to divide the audience with something like Balor vs. Jordan and miss the reaction that you want with Finn. Gable is something really special and could be a big deal going forward in NXT.
As for the match, they changed up the formula here and went with a fast paced tag match with a ton of saves. This is another one of the many things that I love about NXT: they know how mix up a card and not be repetitive. That’s one of the things that drives me crazy about WWE. How many times do you see the same finish or the same kind of match either on the same card or in a row? Stop doing the same stuff and mix it up a little.
That takes us to the final which was the most disappointing match of the night. Balor/Joe won the tournament in a good enough match over Rhyno/Corbin, but Balor’s knee injury never went anywhere. Yeah the heels worked it over for a good chunk of the match but the injury never went anywhere. I kept waiting on the injury to cost Balor something and it just never came. I’m assuming it sets up Balor vs. Joe in the future and the match wasn’t bad but it didn’t do anything for me.
The Rhodes Family presented the winners with a trophy. Nothing came of this but it was a nice moment.
Oh and no Dusty Finish? Really? Not once in the whole thing?
And then there’s the main event. Sweet goodness how awesome are Bayley and Sasha together? This was one of the best put together matches I’ve seen in years as every single thing set up the next move. I’m having trouble picking the first thing to rave about in this. We’ll start with Sasha torturing Izzy.
This is one of the most inspired ideas I’ve seen in a long time as they took something so basic and simple as a major fan and turned it into a plot device. It’s thinking outside the box, which would probably get them protested on Raw because a bunch of stupid groups who claim they’re doing the best thing for children don’t understand the concept that kids can handle being sad if something good happens in the end.
Bayley wound up winning and Izzy was happy, but instead of experiencing joy, there are people out there who would rather kids never have any problems in their lives because that’s how things will work in the real world right? I’ll cut myself off there and stick with using Izzy was awesome and made the match.
Another awesome moment was Bayley stomping on Sasha’s head to make her tap in a callback to Sasha stomping on Bayley’s hand in Brooklyn in a failed attempt to make her give up. It makes Bayley look like the tougher of the two and the one who deserves to be champion for never quitting in the end.
I can’t praise this match enough and somehow it’s just a step behind their classic in Brooklyn. This is in the running for feud of the year and this is their second great match in six weeks. Those aren’t numbers you see very often and it more than lived up to the hype as the first time two women main evented a pay per view.
This show more than exceeded expectations and was carried by the wrestling instead of the storytelling, though the main event delivered on both. For a show that felt like it was there for the sake of having a show and to give a tournament a big stage, this worked incredibly well and I had a blast watching it. As usual, NXT doesn’t know how to fail at a major show. London should be outstanding, as almost everything they put on is.
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NXT Takeover: Respect Date: October 7, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan
This is one of the weaker looking Takeovers on paper as it’s only been about six weeks since the last special. However, there are four major matches taking place tonight with a thirty minute women’s Iron Man match for the Women’s Title and the final three matches in the inaugural Dusty Classic Tag Team Tournament. Let’s get to it.
The opening video talks about Bayley having the title but now it’s about earning respect.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-Finals: Finn Balor/Samoa Joe vs. Mechanics
There’s no stage this time but just the screen and a flat aisle. Balor gets knocked outside to start so Joe pounds on Wilder. Dawson pulls his partner out of the way of a corner charge though and the villains take over. Balor finally gets back on the apron as his partner is getting beaten down but an enziguri allows for the tag to the champ. A pair of kicks put the Mechanics on the floor and Balor unleashes the big flip dive to get the crowd even more fired up.
Wilder saves Dawson from the Coup de Grace and Dawson chop blocks Balor to put the champ in trouble. The Mechanics start taking turns working on the knee, including wrapping it around the post and a half crab from Dawson. Balor avoids an elbow drop but Wilder takes Joe off the apron to keep Balor in trouble. This is classic tag team formula stuff so far and it still works. Wilder doesn’t have as much luck though as Balor dives over and makes the tag to Joe for some house cleaning. There’s the Muscle Buster to Wilder and Balor adds the Coup de Grace for the pin at 9:08 but Balor wrenched his knee again.
Rating: B. This is what NXT does best: simple, basic storytelling that accomplishes everything they needed to take care of. Balor’s knee is messed up going into the finals and you had a good match to get to the point. They didn’t just do a three minute match to set up the long final but rather took their time and gave us something entertaining in the less important match. Well done, as usual.
Clips of NXT at the Louder than Life festival in Louisville.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Semi-Finals: Chad Gable/Jason Jordan vs. Baron Corbin/Rhyno
Corbin throws Jordan around with ease so for some reason Baron tags out to Rhyno. A quick suplex gets two on Rhyno and Gable gets the same off a slingshot sunset flip. The fans are entirely behind Gable here (complete with a Gable chant to the tune of Kurt Angle’s old music) as he starts on Rhyno’s arm. Jordan comes in to do the same and a double northern lights suplex gets two on Rhyno.
Rhyno tries to throw Gable over the top but Chad grabs the armbar over the ropes to put him in even more trouble. Corbin gets in a few shots on the floor so Rhyno can take over with a chinlock. It’s off to Corbin for a chinlock of his own (fans: “SAVE THE GABLES!”) before Rhyno misses a top rope splash.
Gable crawls over and makes the tag and it’s Jordan coming in to speed things up. Everything breaks down with Jordan cleaning house but he has to save Gable after the End of Days knocks him silly. Gable O’Connor rolls Corbin out of the corner into a German suplex (awesome) but Rhyno makes the save. There’s a Gore to Jordan and the second End of Days puts Gable away at 10:27.
Rating: B. I liked this one a lot with all the insanity at the end but the ending is a big surprise. I really would have bet on Gable/Jordan winning the whole thing and then they don’t even make it to the finals? It’s not the worst idea in the world but it was the last thing I was expecting. Maybe they don’t want to see Gable getting cheered on the same level as Balor but I’m still surprised at the ending.
Kevin Nash is here.
Video of Asuka.
Asuka vs. Dana Brooke
Brooke has Emma with her. Asuka comes to the ring with a long robe and a white mask for a cool visual. Dana has no interest in a handshake and they fight over a wristlock with Asuka moving at twice Dana’s speed. A slap to the face takes the taste out of Asuka’s mouth but she just smiles at Dana. Asuka comes back with a quick striking rush and Dana’s pose followed by a Fujiwara Armbar.
Emma finally helps her partner with a distraction and the handstand choke has Asuka in some trouble. Asuka comes right back with a snap German suplex and a cross armbreaker followed by a cross face chickenwing. There’s a spinning elbow to knock Emma off the apron. Fans: “ASUKA CITY!” Dana is almost done and gets caught in another cross face chickenwing with a bodyscissors (the Asuka Lock) for the tap at 5:30.
Rating: B-. Well that worked. Asuka picked Dana apart and destroyed her in very short order with every bit of offense you could want to see in five minutes. This was a great debut for Asuka who looks like a killer and blows away everyone else in the division at the moment. Now as long as they keep it going this way instead of going with Eva Marie, everything will be fine.
Asuka takes Dana down again and stares at Emma post match.
Breast cancer is bad.
We look at Balor injuring his knee again.
Nia Jax finally arrives next week.
Apollo Crews vs. Tyler Breeze
Crews powers him up against the ropes to start and knocks Tyler to the floor like he’s nothing. A delayed vertical suplex gets two for Crews but Breeze leverages him out to the floor to take over again. Back in and Breeze starts in on the back with some knees and a chinlock with a knee in the spine. A sideways Backstabber gets two and sets up a Sharpshooter of all things from Breeze.
Apollo makes the ropes and nails a jumping clothesline, followed by a BIG kick to the face to knock Tyler silly. The back gives out though and Breeze Supermodel Kicks him for two. Tyler dives into a powerslam for two and there’s the gorilla press but Breeze gets the knees up to block the standing moonsault. Breeze gets all fired up with forearms but Apollo kicks him square in the jaw. Crews loads up a belly to back suplex but spins him around into a powerbomb for the pin at 9:47.
Rating: C+. I like the idea of having Crews do something other than the standing moonsault for a finisher as that’s only going to take him so far. It’s also really nice to see him face some adversity and overcome it for a change because it makes him easier to get behind instead of just someone to marvel over.
Hideo Itami is here.
We look back at tonight’s first two tournament matches.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Finn Balor/Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin/Rhyno
Balor is limping to the ring. Finn and Rhyno get things going and Corey immediately declares this as a dumb idea. Rhyno shoves the champ around with ease and it’s off to Corbin for some feeling out. The knee starts to go out though so it’s off to Joe for the rapid fire strikes in the corner. Off to Rhyno who has some more luck with a knee to the ribs before Corbin comes in again to a chorus of booing.
A big boot gets two on Joe but he comes back with the enziguri in the corner. Joe tags off to Balor who uses Corbin as a launching pad into a dropkick to Rhyno. The knee seems fine at first but it gives out again when he charges into the corner. That’s fine with Balor though as he nails an enziguri, only to have Rhyno drill him in the knee again to take over. Balor’s comeback is stopped with a Boss Man Slam for two but he comes back again with a Sling Blade out of nowhere.
The second hot tag brings in Joe to take over on Rhyno with the Rock Bottom out of the corner and an STO to Corbin. A Gore gets two on Rhyno with Balor making the save, only to damage the knee again in the process. Another Gore is countered by a kick to the face and it’s the Muscle Buster into the Coup de Grace for the pin and the tournament at 11:09.
Rating: B-. No Dusty Finish? Other than that disappointment, I can’t find much to complain about here. The first two matches were better and the knee didn’t really play into the finish, but I’m sure this leads to Joe vs. Balor in some way. Rhyno and Corbin weren’t an option for winning the whole thing save for Balor and Joe imploding but at least they were an impressive looking opponent in the final. Also well done to have Rhyno take the fall instead of Corbin.
The Rhodes Family (with Stardust out of character) present Balor and Joe with the trophy. Cody talks about his dad being the oak of NXT and how his dad was beamed into homes around the world for over forty years. Tonight, we are all part of the Rhodes family. Dusty’s theme music plays with nothing from Joe or Balor.
Stephanie (of course), Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Lita are in the front row.
We recap Bayley taking the title in Brooklyn and Sasha wanting a rematch. The result is tonight’s 30 minute Iron Man match for the title. We also see some more of Bayley training in an awesome montage.
Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks
Bayley is defending and this is an Iron Man match, meaning the most falls (pin, submission, countout or disqualification) in thirty minutes wins. We get the entrances following the girls to the ring, thankfully with no talking from the announcers. Bayley has a cape and Iron Man colors, meaning my life is complete. Fans: “WOMEN’S WRESTLING!”
They stare each other down and there’s no contact until a little over a minute in. A lockup gets us to Sasha holding a headlock, followed by some rollups for two. Bayley gets some rollups of her own for two each and a pinfall reversal sequence gives us even more near falls. Sasha gets in the first big move with a dropkick to knock the champ into the corner but Bayley comes back with a Japanese armdrag to drop Sasha on her head for two. That looked bad but Sasha seems to be ok.
We’re five minutes in and Sasha sends her into the corner with a top rope wristdrag. Both finishers are blocked and Sasha chills in the corner. Sasha suckers her in and pulls the hair to get a quick two but it ticks Bayley off. Some hard elbows and a clothesline put Sasha on the floor. Bayley keeps the pressure on with a dropkick under the bottom rope (ala Sami Zayn) and a bulldog back inside for two. Both of them nearly crush the referee in the corner but Sasha uses this to her advantage and pokes Bayley in the eye for the first fall at 8:32.
Bayley rams her face first into the buckle over and over but gets sent into them herself. Both of them are banged up as we’re ten minutes in. The double knees in the corner are countered into something like Snake Eyes and the Bayley to Belly ties it up at 10:55. Sasha bails to the floor so Bayley tries the sliding kick again. Banks catches her coming in this time though (I love psychology) and slams Bayley into the steps, right in front of her family and Izzy in a nice touch. Sasha throws her into the steps two more times and makes sure to talk trash to the family. Bayley kicks out at two and the fans are chanting for Izzy.
The champ is thrown to the floor and bangs her knee on the landing. Sasha whips her into the video board and it’s a countout to give Sasha a 2-1 lead at 14:12. Banks steals Izzy’s headband and throws it at her, making Izzy cry to get the fans entirely on Bayley’s side. Bayley beats the count back in at fifteen minutes to go but Banks starts right in on her back. Sasha is brimming with confidence as she slaps on a Liontamer and stomps on the bad hand for old times’ sake. Bayley makes the rope and grabs a fluke rollup to tie us up at 2-2 with 12:38 to go.
The double knees in the corner miss again and Bayley makes the comeback with ax handles to the face followed by an awkward looking spinning facebuster for two. The middle rope back elbow gets the same and Bayley’s hair is almost down. Bayley puts her in the Tree of Woe for a running springboard elbow as we have ten minutes left.
Banks crotches her on top and now the double knees hit (great job of building that move up) for two. Bayley kicks her to the floor as the fans think it’s better than Raw (time for Vince and Dunn to crush this show then). Now Bayley starts working on Sasha’s hand and the fans want Izzy to slap Banks. The arm gets snapped across the middle rope and Sasha falls out to the floor again.
Bayley starts setting up the steps and Izzy looks like she’s about to cry again. Sasha’s hand is slammed into the steps again and a clothesline off the steps puts her on the floor. She’s still able to kick Bayley into the steps though and the champ is in trouble again. Sasha’s suicide dive is caught and a Bayley to Belly on the floor knocks her silly. Somehow that only gets two back inside and we’ve got five minutes to go.
Bayley puts her on the middle rope and a running super Bayley to Belly gets….two as the cover sent Sasha’s feet into the ropes. Three minutes left and they’re both spent. Bayley loads up the reverse hurricanrana but Sasha lands on her feet and hits a Bayley to Belly of her own. There’s the Bank Statement and Sasha spins her away from the ropes. She can’t get the full hold on though due to the hand injury from earlier.
Sasha kicks away from the ropes and gets a better version on with a minute left. Bayley reaches up and bends the hand back for the break before slamming the bad hand into the mat to get out. Sasha hooks the backbreaker to set up another Bank Statement but Bayley rolls through into an armbar while cranking on the hand with ten seconds left. Bayley KICKS HER IN THE HEAD until Sasha taps with three seconds left to retain Bayley’s title at 30:00 by a score of 3-2.
Rating: A. It’s not as good as the Brooklyn match (I underrated that one horribly. If that wasn’t an A+, nothing is.) but my goodness they were feeling the drama and storytelling here. The back work from Banks worked perfectly but it made sense that Bayley didn’t give up because of Sasha’s hand injury. Bayley got WAY more aggressive than she ever has before here and it felt like a battle instead of just a match. Really good stuff here and I had a blast with it.
Bayley looks drained as the roster comes out to the entrance to help Sasha up. HHH presents Bayley with a bouquet and she soaks in the cheers. Bayley and Sasha smile at each other to end the show.
Overall Rating: A. I’m still trying to catch my breath about five minutes after the show ended. This was AWESOME with the main event stealing the show all over again. Those two are something special and they know they are. The rest of the show was all really good stuff too with the worst match probably being Asuka putting on a show against Brooke. I had a blast tonight and it blew away my expectations, as these things almost always do.
Results
Finn Balor/Samoa Joe b. Mechanics – Coup de Grace to Wilder
Rhyno/Baron Corbin b. Chad Gable/Jason Jorda – End of Days to Gable
Asuka b. Dana Brooke – Asuka Lock
Apollo Crews b. Tyler Breeze – Spinning powerbomb
Finn Balor/Samoa Joe b. Baron Corbin/Rhyno – Coup de Grace to Rhyno
Bayley b. Sasha Banks 3-2
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For some reason I don’t think I’ve ever done one of these for a Takeover. These things are the NXT pay per views though so it’s definitely worth looking at a little bit closer. This one does feel like it’s slapped together and really not necessary, but at least you have a series of big matches that should eat up a lot of time. Let’s get to it.
Let’s get the smaller matches out of the way first.
I’ll take Asuka over Dana Brooke. Brooke has been built up as a threat but Asuka feels like something special. I’m not saying Asuka is going to be the next top challenger, but I’ll take her over Eva Marie’s comedy show any day.
Apollo Crews over Tyler Breeze, though Breeze really needs a big win at some point.
As for the main event, of course Bayley wins though Sasha is likely getting a fall here or there. I’m sure the ending will have a bunch of drama, likely with Bayley locked in the Bank Statement with time running out and wondering if she’ll give up or not. There’s no way they’re taking the belt off of her yet though. There has never been a repeat champion in NXT and I can’t picture it happening now with Sasha looking like she’s going after the Divas Title.
Now for the tournament, which could go more than one way. We’ll start with the only easy match in the field: Jordan/Gable beat Rhyno/Corbin. They’ve got something special with Gable and I think they know it. There’s no way they’re going to put Rhyno and Corbin over them and into a final they have no chance of winning.
That brings us to the more complicated match as Finn Balor/Samoa Joe face the Mechanics. It’s no secret that Balor and Joe are going to be feuding at some point in the future. However, the question becomes do they lose and argue over whose fault it was or do they win the whole thing and then fight over who was the more important member of the team? Or do they win the whole thing and then Joe gets a shot as a sign of respect? I’m not sure if they win the whole thing or not, but I do think they advance to the finals.
So that leaves Joe/Balor vs. Gable/Jordan for the title. I think I’m going with Gable/Jordan here as they’re a good choice for the next challengers to the titles and you can have Balor vs. Joe at the next Takeover. Or, they go with Gable/Jordan but a DUSTY FINISH gives it back to Joe/Balor. Seriously if they don’t go with a Dusty Finish at some point, I’m going to be disappointed.
Overall this show feels…..unnecessary. This feels like they’re giving Full Sail a Takeover to make up for Brooklyn because they’re afraid Full Sail will be offended. I have confidence in NXT to pull something off though and they’re guaranteed to have some entertaining matches along the way, but I’m hoping we don’t have another one of these for a good while. Like until London in late December.
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NXT Date: September 30, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
This is the go home show for next week’s Takeover: Respect show and the main story tonight is finding out the final four in the Dusty Classic. The semifinals and finals are next week, meaning most of the card is already set. I’m sure we’ll also get the hard sell for Bayley vs. Sasha II. Let’s get to it.
We open with an update on the tournament. Here are the updated brackets:
Rhyno/Baron Corbin
Chad Gable/Jason Jordan
Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder
Finn Balor/Samoa Joe or Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady
Opening sequence.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarter-Finals: Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Finn Balor/Samoa Joe
Enzo and Cass are classic guys and if you’re not a fan of Dusty Rhodes, you must be S-A-W-F-T! Balor now has a slightly altered entrance, a leather jacket and the BALOR CLUB sign for his tron video. Joe and Cass get things going and they slug it out onto the floor, only to have Enzo nail a suicide dive. Balor adds in a flip dive and we take a very early break. Back with Enzo hitting a middle rope DDT on the champ.
The hot (?) tag brings in Cass for some splashes to Joe and big boots to both guys. A big running elbow gets two on Joe and Cass plants him with a Boss Man Slam. The Rocket Launcher connects but Joe rolls over and lifts Enzo to the top for the Muscle Buster. Finn adds the Coup de Grace to advance at 7:12.
Rating: C-. Well that was short. Balor and Joe winning is the better choice as it’s going to make for a bigger impact when they either win the whole thing and fight over who earned the win or screw up and split as a result. Either way it’s a good idea for a story and a good way to set up what should be a really fun title match down the line.
Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano are disappointed by their loss but tonight it’s about moving forward against Apollo Crews. Tyler Breeze comes in and says he’d love to fight Ciampa later tonight.
Video on Asuka.
Johnny Gargano vs. Apollo Crews
Gargano flips out of a fireman’s carry to start and puts on something like an Anaconda Vice/Tarantula combo for a few moments. Four moments of course because he has until five. Crews dropkicks him out to the floor but Gargano comes back in with a slingshot spear through the ropes for two. Cool move. Some kicks get two more for Johnny but Crews shrugs them off and hits the gorilla press and standing moonsault for the pin at 4:05.
Rating: C. Crews is gathering up wins and it’s nice to see him beating people other than just jobbers. His match with Breeze should be a really good test for him as Breeze is known for putting on good matches in the big moments and both guys need a win on a big stage like this. Good enough match here and a good launching pad for Crews going into Takeover.
Regal brings Dana Brooke and Emma into his office to announce Dana vs. Asuka next week. Brooke is thrilled until Regal shows them an Asuka highlight reel. Emma: “Good luck with that.”
Nia Jax video.
Dana Brooke/Emma vs. Peyton Royce/Billie Kay
Peyton grabs some quick rollups for two each on Dana as the fans chant for the jobbers. It’s off to Billie vs. Emma with Kay getting two off a delayed suplex. Dana calls Kay a billy goat and the villains take over in the corner. Both of them put on a bodyscissors to keep Kay in trouble but she finally gets over for the tag to Peyton. Things go a bit better for Royce with a dropkick getting two on Dana but Emma grabs her leg, setting up the sitout Death Valley Driver for the pin on Peyton at 6:48. That move needs a name.
Rating: D+. This was pretty dull stuff but at least Brooke gets to look dominant before she gets destroyed by Asuka next week. Dana plays a good heel and the alliance with Emma works well enough. The bodyscissors dragged a lot of the life out of this one though and it could have been a good big shorter.
Chad Gable/Jason Jordan say they’re the favorites going into their match next week. Then it’s on to the finals where they probably won’t be facing Dawson/Wilder. That brings in Dawson/Wilder for some serious bickering.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Tyler Breeze
Ciampa’s video mostly says Johnny Gargano. Feeling out process to start as they trade rollups for no counts. Breeze winds up riding Ciampa like a short horse until Ciampa hits a running knee in the corner. Tyler comes right back with a neckbreaker and a front facelock as things slow down again. Ciampa fights up again and lifts Breeze up for a hanging downward spiral, only to block a rollup attempt that Breeze wasn’t trying.. These two are really not clicking so far. Tyler dropkicks him out of the air for two and hooks a Killswitch for the pin at 7:49.
Rating: D+. I wasn’t liking this one for the most part as they seemed like they were on different pages. Breeze has worked well with almost anyone he’s been out there with and I’m not the biggest Ciampa fan in the world. It was no secret that Breeze was going to win here but unlike Crews, he didn’t make it into a very entertaining match.
Baron Corbin and Rhyno say they’ll win the tournament.
We run down the Takeover card.
A long recap of Bayley winning the Women’s Title and the build to the Iron Woman rematch ends the show. Good stuff here with Bayley studying Iron Man matches and training to go half an hour.
Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t great here but they did a really good job of setting up next week’s show. This was quite the go home show, which is something you often get around here. Next week’s Takeover definitely feels like one of the lower level specials they’ve had but I could see the wrestling really making up for a lot of the lack of stories. Good enough this week as they made me want to see next week’s big show.
Results
Samoa Joe/Finn Balor b. Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore – Coup de Grace to Amore
Apollo Crews b. Johnny Gargano – Standing moonsault
Dana Brooke/Emma b. Peyton Royce/Billie Kay – Sitout Death Valley Driver to Royce
Tyler Breeze b. Tommaso Ciampa – Killswitch
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NXT Date: September 23, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves
It’s another night in the Dusty Classic as we’re moving towards Takeover: Respect with the semi-finals and finals of the tournament as well as a thirty minute Iron Woman match for the Women’s Title. Tonight is likely to be about the tournament and filling in the rest of the card for the show on October 7. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Eva Marie vs. Carmella
Oh this one could hurt. Carmella shoulders her into the corner to start and throws Eva to the floor so we can get a Moonwalk inside. Back in and Eva’s suplex is booed out of the building as the announcers talk about Eva not being accepted for her improvements. A big boot drops Carmella for two (fans: “THAT’S A KICKOUT!”) and we hit a bow and arrow hold. Fans: “ALL BOTCH EVERYTHING!” Carmella fights back and starts dancing around like Enzo before ramming Emma into the buckle for two. Eva comes back by throwing Carmella to the floor for a big crash and a countout win at 5:10.
Rating: D. So here’s the thing: the story makes sense and yeah Eva is going to get a ton of heat when she probably takes the title from Bayley, but a lot of people, myself included, are going to get annoyed at sacrificing everything the women in NXT have built up for the sake of pushing someone because she’s occasionally on a reality show that doesn’t even draw a million people a week. Yeah that match that sold the Brooklyn show and was all successful and good, but now let’s get rid of it for a woman getting on the job training to be the next Nikki Bella. That’s life in WWE and it’s something we just have to live with.
Nia Jax is still coming. Nothing has changed since Takeover.
Recap of the announcement of the Iron Woman match.
Tyler Breeze vs. Bull Dempsey
Their tag team was a failure and Bull is getting in better shape. Tyler uses the referee as a shield to start and is thrown around like a doll. Bull messes with the hair to really get under Breeze’s skin, causing Tyler to send him out to the floor. Unlike Carmella though, Bull is able to get back in off a whip to the floor. Must be the Bull Fit. Fans: “BULL FIT WORKS!”
Back from a break with Tyler ripping at Bull’s face before opting for a regular headlock. Graves: “Now going down into the trapezius. I learned my anatomy from Gorilla Monsoon.” Bull throws him off and gets all fired up as Breeze punches him. Some left jabs drop Breeze but he’s able to roll to the ropes before Bull can drop the headbutt. Bull goes up again for some reason, only to have Tyler pull him off for the pin with his feet on the ropes at 10:19.
Rating: C. Bull Fit is a nice idea but Breeze winning here was the right idea. Breeze has the potential to really go somewhere in NXT and winning matches and feuds like this are a good sign for him. Dempsey needs to drop some more weight but the fans are getting into the gimmick which is the most important sign.
Clips of the Texas tour.
William Regal brings out Japanese star Kana, whose Titantron video says Asuka. Regal pronounces the new name as “Aska” and asks if there’s anything she’d like to say. Asuka says she’s happy to be here and wants to be NXT Women’s Champion. They sign the contract but here are Dana Brooke and Emma to interrupt. Regal chides them for their rudeness and it gets even worse as they mock Asuka’s English. They’re the ones who ran Charlotte and Becky Lynch off so Asuka better play nice. A dejected Asuka starts to leave but the fans chant her name. Azuka turns back and smiles before slowly leaving.
Tyler Breeze doesn’t have much to say about his match with Apollo Crews at Takeover. Crews comes up and is far more excited about the match than Tyler is.
Feature on the Dusty Classic. Here are the updated brackets:
Samoa Joe/Finn Balor vs. Colin Cassidy/Enzo Amore
Dash/Dawson
Hype Bros vs. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan
Baron Corbin/Rhyno
The Hype Bros and Gable/Jordan are both ready for next week.
Tag Team Titles: Vaudevillains vs. Blake and Murphy
Vaudevillains are defending in the rematch from Takeover: Brooklyn. Gotch shoulders Blake down for two to start and here’s Blue Pants to chase Alexa into the ring for a brawl. Both of them head to the back and English slaps a chinlock on Blake. Blake comes right back with a headlock of his own but Aiden armdrags both challengers down with ease. Murphy back suplexes English onto the apron and we take a break.
Back with English still in trouble off a kick to the face and a chinlock from Blake. Murphy’s chinlock keeps the match slow until English comes back with a hard slap to the face. Gotch and Blake come in with Simon’s screwy offense taking over. Everything breaks down and Blake gets his knees up to stop Aiden’s middle rope senton. English gets two off a rollup and sends Murphy to the floor, allowing Simon to come back in for the Whirling Dervish to retain at 12:17.
Rating: C-. That was certainly chinlocky. It was much more boring than bad though as there was almost no chance of the titles changing back here. I’m assuming the winners of the tournament, likely Gable/Jordan, are the next challengers, which makes more sense than anything else.
Enzo and Big Cass are thankful for everything Dusty did for them and want to win the tournament in his honor. They respect Balor and Joe as well, but respect goes out the window next week.
Balor and Joe say Cass and Enzo might be the realest guys in the room but they’re the toughest guys on the block and you can’t teach that.
Overall Rating: C. Not the worst show in the world here but it was much more about setting stuff up for later shows. The tournament is mostly set up now and we have a good chunk of Takeover set with the Iron Woman match guaranteed to take up thirty minutes and the tournament matches filling in most of the rest of the card. Fun enough show here but it was much more of a building episode than anything else.
Results
Eva Marie b. Carmella via countout
Tyler Breeze b. Bull Dempsey – Pin with feet on the ropes
Vaudevillains b. Blake and Murphy – Whirling Dervish to Blake
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NXT – September 9, 2015: Not Everyone Can Be A Horsewoman
NXT Date: September 9, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves
The Dusty Classic continues this week as we get to see a few more first round matches tonight. The tournament has taken the promotion by storm and it’s already more interesting than I was hoping for it to be. We’re also just about a month away from the next Takeover, which needs a card built up in a hurry. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Peyton Royce vs. Carmella
Royce used to be K.C. Cassidy but this is billed as her debut. Feeling out process to start as they trade rollups, followed by Carmella busting out a moonwalk. A suplex gets two more on Carmella and we hit the chinlock. Carmella fights back up an elbows Royce in the jaw before slapping on a chinlock of her own. Back up and Royce fires off some nice kicks in the corner, followed by a middle rope cross body for two. They’re already showing more energy than the Bellas have displayed in a long time. Carmella comes right back with that crossface with her legs for the submission at 5:03.
Rating: D. That’s one of the lower ratings I’ve given an NXT match in a long time but this didn’t work. A five minute match doesn’t need two extended chinlocks. The sudden finish didn’t do it any favors either as this felt like they jumped to the ending instead of building there like a normal match. Royce has some good potential but needs more molding.
Samoa Joe asked Finn Balor if he’s ready. The champ certainly is but Joe tells him not to forget his belt. Joe hands him the title, after staring at it a bit first.
In other first round matches, Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady beat Sawyer Fulton/Angelo Dawkins and Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder beat Elias Sampson/Tucker Knight. It’s really smart to not air the whole thing on TV as we don’t need to every single first round match.
Nia Jax is still coming.
Dusty Classic First Round: Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano vs. Bull Dempsey/Tyler Breeze
Ciampa and Breeze get things going with Tommaso getting in a great slap to the jaw. It’s off to Bull, who is dubbed as gorgeous by the crowd. Ciampa takes him down to the mat so it’s quickly back to Breeze, who is taken into the corner and rolled up for two by Gargano. Tyler is trying to recover in the corner and tags out to the big man, who gets kicked in the head upon arrival. Ciampa’s running knee to the head gets two and we hit the chinlock.
Back from a break with Ciampa on Bull’s back in a sleeper, so Dempsey just falls backwards for the break. Use the natural assets man. Gargano comes in and knocks Breeze off the apron, meaning there’s no one there for Bull to tag. Bull fights back on his own with a Bionic Elbow but knocks his partner off the apron again. Gargano grabs a sunset flip and Ciampa makes it a jackknife rollup to pin Dempsey at 8:44.
Rating: C-. This was more of a story than a match though it’s always cool to see some indy stars brought in to NXT. Dempsey vs. Breeze could be an interesting match if they have Bull act like his old self, though I’m not sure how far the Bull Fit gimmick can really go. Ciampa and Gargano were fine here but there’s only so much you can get out of a short match like this.
The Lucha Dragons are ready for their match and warn Joe/Balor to not overlook them because these dragons breathe fire.
Dana Brooke is mad (though not because she hasn’t patted Devon on the head recently) for having to see Bayley win that Women’s Title. She turned down a spot in the Arnold Classic in Spain to be here and now she wants her title.
Video on Tye Dillinger.
Dana Brooke vs. Billie Kay
They trade headlocks to start with Billie taking it down to the mat. A headscissors messes Brooke up even more as a weak Total Diva chant breaks out. Brooke slams her into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs as the confidence is back. The handstand choke sets up a chinlock on Kay which quickly switches to a headscissors choke. Brooke stops a comeback with an enziguri and the fireman’s carry driver is good for the pin at 5:23.
Rating: D+. These new girls are a far cry from the Four Horsewomen but Brooke is probably the furthest along of all of them and one of the best options to face Bayley. Billie is another one where we can’t really tell what’s going on in such a short performance, especially when most of it was spent on the mat.
Apollo Crews calls the fans the Apollo Nation. They’re ready to take over NXT. Can we please stop calling everything a nation or a team? You can come up with something more creative than that.
Bayley’s biggest fan Izzy was at the WWE Performance Center to meet Bayley in person. That’s always cool.
Bayley is back next week.
Dusty Classic First Round: Samoa Joe/Finn Balor vs. Lucha Dragons
This is from a Smackdown taping in Providence, Rhode Island with Tom Phillips and Jimmy Uso on commentary. Balor and Cara get things going and a loud NXT chant starts up. The champ tries to slow things down with an armbar but gets caught in a headlock instead. Jimmy is asked advice on how to win the tournament. Jimmy: “Don’t get kicked in the face like that!” Balor sends Cara to the floor and dives on both guys and we take a break.
Back with Joe tagging Balor in and the champion being slammed down in the corner. Kalisto gets two off a flipping splash and puts on a waistlock. Finn fights up and gets in enough shots to make the tag to Joe. The Dragons are thrown all over the ring but Cara comes back with a sloppy tornado DDT for two. Cara tries to charge at Joe in the corner and has to slip out of the Muscle Buster. Kalisto tags himself in and gets two off a quick hurricanrana, only to charge into the release Rock Bottom. The Muscle Buster into the Coup de Grace eliminate the Dragons at 11:16.
Rating: C+. This got a lot better as it went on and the last two minutes or so were really good. The best part here is either team winning would have made sense as the Dragons have been successful in NXT and it’s pretty clear that Balor vs. Joe is coming in the near future. It wasn’t a great match or anything, but it picked up a pretty lame show otherwise.
Overall Rating: C-. Definitely not their best show but the tournament kept it from being dull. They’re rapidly approaching the next Takeover and you can see some of the card, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the semi-finals and finals at the show to fill in some time. The wrestling wasn’t great tonight though and the new featured women need some work. Then again, I said the same thing about Sasha and Bayley about a year ago and they’ve turned out very well.
Results
Carmella b. Peyton Royce – Crossface leg lock
Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano b. Tyler Breeze/Bull Dempsey – Jackknife rollup to Dempsey
Dana Brooke b. Billie Kay – Fireman’s carry driver
Samoa Joe/Finn Balor b. Lucha Dragons – Coup de Grace to Kalisto
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
NXT – August 26, 2015: They Do Know It’s On The Same Network Right?
NXT Date: August 26, 2015
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan
This is an interesting show as we have the matches that were taped prior to this past weekend’s Takeover special. I can’t imagine we’ll see anything that gives away show results aside from highlights for the sake of the live crowd, meaning this could be a different looking show. This episode is also ninety minutes long. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Takeover, as you might expect.
Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady/Hype Bros vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder/Chad Gable/Jason Jordan
Enzo and Cass are over with the live crowd to put it mildly. They keep it simple this week though and just call their opponents sawft. Mojo drives Dash into the corner to start and hands it off to Ryder for a quick clothesline. The fans want Enzo but have to settle for Ryder’s missile rope dropkick instead.
Now they get Enzo who does a little dance and punches Dawson in the face, setting up a big eight man staredown. Everything breaks down and the heels are sent to the floor for a HUGE dive from Enzo (with an assist from Cass) to take them down again. Back from a break with Jordan getting two on Enzo and the fans cheering for their diminutive hero. Gable bends the arm over the top rope before it’s back to Dash to keep Amore in trouble.
The villains take turns on the arm and Gable monkey flips him into the corner to prevent a hot tag. Now the fans want Cass and a tornado DDT almost gives them what they want but it’s Jordan breaking up the tag this time. Enzo sends him into the corner and NOW the hot tag brings in Cass. The big man comes in to clean house and it’s time for the parade of finishers, capped off by the Rocket Launcher to pin Gable at 13:12.
Rating: C. Totally fine eight man here as the whole point was to get Enzo and Cass out there to fire up the crowd. That’s the kind of act you always need to have on the card as they can set the pace for a show and keep everything hot. Enzo playing Ricky Morton is such a simple formula and it worked just fine here.
Regal hypes up the Dusty Classic when Neville comes in and asks for a spot in the field. The boss makes it happen.
After his title defense Saturday, Balor says he proved Japan wasn’t a fluke. The future is now.
Video on Emma.
Video on Becky Lynch.
Carmella vs. Eva Marie
Remember how much the fans liked Enzo and Cass? Reverse it here for Eva. The fans tell Eva that she can’t wrestle as she shoulders Carmella down, only to take a bad looking dropkick. Some running forearms stagger Carmella again and a backsplash gets two. We hit the seated arm crank and Eva mocks Cass’ chants. Carmella comes back with some Thesz presses but walks into a jawbreaker and the Kendrick gives Eva the pin at 4:12.
Rating: D. If Eva is supposed to be the next big thing in this division, they’re in trouble. She was adequate in there but it’s adequate in the Bellas’ fashion: if she has time and can think about every move she makes she can look passable, but if anything goes slightly wrong, it looks like her head would explode. Also good luck on getting the fans to not boo her out of the building every week. It’s forcing a peg into a hole in NXT and that’s not a good idea.
Quick look at Liger beating Breeze.
Breeze says he has a bigger idea for Regal.
Dana Brooke (with her very nasal voice) and Emma are ready.
More Takeover clips.
Video on Dana Brooke.
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks clips.
Bayley can barely speak after her match so her family comes in to hug her.
Regal puts Rhyno and Baron Corbin in the Dusty Classic against the Ascension next week.
Kevin Owens promised to break Cesaro at Summerslam and won’t talk about his loss.
Bull Dempsey vs. Elias Sampson
Dempsey has a new look, including a big robe which makes him look like Steve Williams in a way. Sampson on the other hand has a guitar and calls himself the drifter. Dempsey looks to have lost a few pounds. He headlocks Sampson down to a nice reaction but Elias punches him in the ribs to take over. A chinlock doesn’t get him very far though as Bull Hulks Up and slugs away. Bull’s top rope seated senton puts Sampson away at 4:34.
Rating: D+. This was little more than a way to showcase Bull’s new look and style and it worked more than well enough. Bull as a face is going to take some getting used to but at least the first match could have been worse. The finisher looks good if nothing else and you can’t have too many characters to throw out there if you need one someday.
Samoa Joe say the win over Corbin was just the beginning and now he wants the title.
Nia Jax is coming.
Apollo Crews loved the energy out there.
Blake, Murphy and Bliss say they were robbed, not beaten. Bliss wants Blue Pants.
Video on Charlotte.
Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Emma vs. Dana Brooke
One fall to a finish. Emma and Brooke back into each other to start and are thrown to the floor, giving us Becky vs. Charlotte. It’s a double dropkick into a double nipup before Becky takes her down with an armbar. The villains come back in to break it up as this is going to be one of those tag matches disguised as a four way for most of the match. Charlotte gets knocked outside to keep up the double teaming, including a hard slam into the barricade as we take a break.
Back with Becky getting double teamed in the corner but Dana and Emma argue over who should get the cover. They actually don’t fight but instead go after a different opponent each. The peace lasts all of ten seconds though as both of them go after Charlotte, leading to a brawl. Dana yells at Emma but they shake hands, only to have Dana take Emma’s head off. Charlotte comes back in and chops away before DDTing Emma and Dana at the same time.
It’s Becky sneaking in with a missile dropkick though and it’s time to clean even more house. A series of suplexes get Becky two on Dana but Emma comes back with some Emma Sandwiches….for the pin on Becky at 12:38. That was a confusing ending as no one seemed ready for that to be the three. Even Emma looked up at the referee with a stunned look on her face.
Rating: C+. I liked the story here but the ending took so much out of this. Emma winning couldn’t have been the original plan, at least not like that. I was really digging the idea here as it was a glorified tag match with some little twists to keep things interesting. Well done here and it’s kind of good that Emma won to potentially move her up the card.
Charlotte and Becky put on their submissions to end the show.
Overall Rating: C-. There was no need for this to be half an hour longer than a usual episode. The only reason it lasted that long was because we saw a highlight of every single thing that happened on Saturday. If you’re watching NXT here, odds are you saw Saturday’s show, so why would I need to see them all again? The wrestling was fine on the other hand, especially considering it was just a collection of dark matches. Back to normal next week and I’m sure things will be fine.
Results
Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady/Hype Bros b. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder/Chad Gable/Jason Jordan – Rocket Launcher to Gable
Eva Marie b. Carmella – Kendrick
Bull Dempsey b. Elias Sampson – Top rope seated senton
Emma b. Dana Brooke, Charlotte and Becky Lynch – Emma Sandwich to Lynch
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at: