NXT
Date: November 2, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips

We’re down to three shows before heading north to Toronto and that means it’s time to start hammering out the rest of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The quarterfinals begin tonight and we’ll need to get down to the finals in the next three weeks. Some of the matches have been taped at house shows so it might be time to take a field trip. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We’re going straight to San Jose, California for the first quarterfinal match.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Roderick Strong/Austin Aries vs. TM61

So here’s the thing: Austin Aries has a fractured orbital bone and is unable to compete so Austin suggests we have a singles match to determine who advances (assuming that’s not made really obvious by the stipulations). Regal comes out to say that’s cool with him and TM61 agrees.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Roderick Strong vs. Shane Thorn

At least I don’t have to remember which is which. Shane does a very complicated spin out of a wristlock before kicking Strong in the face. A standing moonsault gets two but Strong’s first backbreaker puts Thorn down on the top turnbuckle as we take a break. Back with Thorn hitting a good looking dropkick to put both guys down. We hit an Australian uppercut train until another backbreaker gives Strong two. He really can hit those things from everywhere and he makes them look different enough to keep it fresh.

Strong tries a superplex but gets knocked down for Alberto Del Rio’s top rope double stomp (Fans: “SI SI SI!”). A Falcon Arrow gets two on Strong, followed by a sitout powerbomb to bring Aries up to the apron. Strong kicks Miller down but walks into a small package to send TM61 to the final four at 10:45.

Rating: B-. This was just about all it needed to be with Thorn sending the team on, as you kind of had to know they would given Aries’ injury. Strong continues to look good and this is more of a storyline loss than anything else. TM61 making a strong run in this tournament would do a lot for them as they haven’t really set themselves apart yet so this could be their big moment.

Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura will sign the contract next week.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: DIY vs. Revival

Non-title. Actually hang on a second as Scott Dawson is on crutches. Dawson has hurt everything in his knee and it would cripple a normal man (Dawson: “Like you two.”) but a little rest will make a man like him just fine. Therefore, the Revival is sitting this one out and DIY can have a pass to the next round. I like this much better than A, wasting another edition of a great series and B, having either team lose a match. No match.

Gargano and Ciampa are ready for whoever they face next.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Rich Swann/No Way Jose vs. Authors of Pain

Back to San Jose. Akum and Jose start things off with No Way being driven straight into the corner. Some dancing sends the bull charging through the ropes and a big right hand actually staggers him a bit. Swann comes in for an assisted hurricanrana which really just annoys Akum. Instead it’s off to Razar but Swann keeps the speed up with a dropkick to stagger him. For some reason Rich decides to dive onto both Authors at the same time but it takes Jose diving onto all three to put them down.

Back in and the beating begins with Akum throwing Rich into the corner for a running splash from Razar. Paul Ellering even gets in a little choking of his own on the bottom rope like the good old school manager he is. A spinning kick to Razar’s face gives Rich a breather and an enziguri to Akum allows the hot tag to Jose (BIG pop for that). A TKO drops Akum for two but Razar sends Swann into the steps. The lack of a partner means Jose gets caught in the Last Chapter for the pin at 8:06.

Rating: C. The more I see of the Authors, the more I like them. They don’t need to be anything more than a pair of big guys who can beat the heck out of people. More importantly though, they get in just enough trouble to make you believe they could be in danger before taking someone’s head off. That leaves the opening of the right team being able to outlast them and then beat them, which makes them more interesting.

Video on Mickie James.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Sanity vs. TJ Perkins vs. Kota Ibushi

Wolfe and Ibushi start things off with a headlock slowing Kota down so much that it’s off to TJ for the always broken up first kneebar. Fulton comes in and gets kneebarred as well with Wolfe’s save not working. Back from a break with the crusierweights starting up their dives until TJ gets pulled out of the air. A slam sends him onto Wolfe’s knees and it’s off to the chinlock.

That’s switched up to a bearhug to keep Perkins in trouble for a big longer. A shot to the face allows the tag to Kota and it’s time for the kicks. The Gold Star Bomb gets two on Wolfe but Eric Young and Nikki Cross get the referee’s attention. A suplex/powerslam combo puts Kota away at 12:15.

Rating: C-. This didn’t do much for me but I’m starting to dig Sanity a lot more than I ever expected to. Kota wasn’t likely going to get very far in this thing due to his lack of a contract but at least the Full Sail fans got a nice treat by seeing him live. I like the idea of regular teams going forward though and that’s what we have for the semifinals.

The final four:

Sanity

TM61

DIY

Authors of Pain

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was fine here and they moved through an entire round of the tournament in one night with some smart booking decisions. The rest of Toronto’s card is mostly set so it’s ok to dedicate a full show to one concept like this. I’m looking forward to the final four and that’s a big step forward for a tournament that hadn’t taken much shape yet.

Results

Shane Thorn b. Roderick Strong – Small package

Authors of Pain b. Rich Swann/No Way Jose – Last Chapter to Jose

Sanity b. Kota Ibushi/TJ Perkins – Suplex/powerslam combination to Ibushi

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete 2014 Raw and Smackdown Reviews Part I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY6766K#nav-subnav

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

NXT
Date: October 26, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s the final night for the first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. We’re also less than a month away from Takeover: Toronto and that means it’s time to start firming up a lot of the card. We already know a few of the matches so there won’t be many surprises but NXT is great at putting pepper on the steak. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: DIY vs. Hoho Lun/Tian Bing

Bing is the recently signed Chinese wrestler Bin Wang. Ciampa and Bing get things going with Wang looking good as he runs Ciampa over to start. A PSYCHO KILLER chant breaks out but switches to a Johnny Wrestling version as Gargano comes in to kick Lun in the head. Hoho gets in a dropkick and brings Tian back in for some strikes to the chest. A chinlock doesn’t last long as Gargano kicks Bing’s head off and brings Ciampa right back in. Johnny tags himself back in though and cuts Lun in half with the spear through the ropes. The double strike puts Lun away at 4:15.

Rating: B-. Lun and Bing were just speed bumps on the way to DIY (I really hope that doesn’t catch on) vs. Revival III and that’s the kind of thing that makes this tournament awesome. Bing looked good here and certainly has some experience. I don’t know if he’s ready for a full NXT run but I’ve seen far worse.

Kota Ibushi and TJ Perkins are ready for their first round match. Perkins says if this was high school, the cool table would be Ibushi times five. Ibushi thinks his overall rating is a 99. I don’t understand what Ibushi just said. Can I get that translated to stars?

Recap of Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura.

Joe sees a scared man in Nakamura because he knows Joe could knock him out at any time. Nakamura knows the next NXT Champion is coming for him.

Aliyah vs. Billie Kay

Kay goes right after her to start and Aliyah’s early jawbreaker has almost no effect. A seated Blockbuster works a bit better though and an enziguri staggers Billie. Kay comes right back with a discus forearm but here’s Liv Morgan for a distraction, allowing Aliyah to grab a rollup for the pin at 1:48.

Post match the brawl is on and the Aussies leave both of them laying.

Tye Dillinger vs. Noah Potjes

Tye snapmares him down to start and that’s a ten. That’s not cool with Noah, who takes Tye into the corner for some kicks to the ribs. Tye turns it on and stomps Noah down, setting up the Tyebreaker for the pin at 1:38.

Post match, Tye says his opportunity is to get his hands on Bobby Roode, who jumps him from behind. The inverted DDT sends Tye head first into the stage.

TM61 is ready for their match with Austin Aries/Roderick Strong because they trust each other. They’re also mighty and the mighty don’t kneel.

Asuka vs. Thea Trinidad

Non-title. Asuka doesn’t waste time and starts kicking at the legs before stopping for a little dance. Thea makes the mistake of hitting Asuka with a forearm and the champ is ticked off. A kick to the chest is easily caught and a German suplex into a Fujiwara armbar makes Trinidad tap at 1:45.

William Regal comes out post match and says he’s found Asuka’s latest opponent: MICKIE JAMES! You can hear the fans gasp when she comes on screen to cut a fairly lame promo about coming to face the next star in the Women’s Revolution. Asuka is very pleased with this announcement. Mickie was a last minute replacement for Trish Stratus, who had to back out due to announcing she was pregnant, hence why Mickie wasn’t in the building.

Paul Ellering and the Authors of Pain think No Way Jose and Rich Swann will have fine futures in NXT but those futures will have to wait until after their destruction in the second round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. That match is next week.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Mustafa Ali/Lince Dorado vs. TJ Perkins/Kota Ibushi

The winners face Sanity in the second round. Perkins is announced as the Cruiserweight Champion but doesn’t have his belt for some reason. Dorado and Perkins kick us off and it’s time to flip around the ring without making much contact. A standoff gets us nowhere as Graves offers the following Michael Cole style gem: “Most of the teams that have been successful so far have been tag teams.”

Ibushi and Ali come in and the fans give Kota the kind of welcome you would expect. Ali is taken down in a test of strength but Kota can’t break his bridge. They trade some kicks to the face with Ibushi getting the better of it as we take a break. Back with Perkins rolling suplexes on Ali and grabbing the kneebar. As is custom though, the first kneebar only results in the grabbing of a rope.

Perkins heads outside and that means a big flip dive from Dorado. Back in and Ali gets two off a neckbreaker but a faceplant allows the tag off to Ibushi so things can speed up. A moonsault from Kota and a frog splash from TJ combine for two. TJ dropkicks Dorado into the ropes to set up the Wrecking Ball dropkick. The kneebar makes Ali tap at 11:39.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that you don’t see on Raw because they have to cram in so much other stuff that there’s no time for the cruiserweights to do their thing. Well that and the Raw crowds don’t care for this stuff like the NXT fans do (just a different style of audience). Kota and Perkins are good for a dream team but I’m not sure they’re getting by Sanity.

Overall Rating: B. Of everything NXT does, this is my favorite kind of show: an hour of getting things done. This wrapped up the first round of the tournament, advanced some stories and set up some matches for next week. There’s no wasted time and everything goes so smoothly from one segment to the next. Good show here and Toronto is looking better every week.

Results

DIY b. Hoho Lun/Tian Bing – Superkick/running knee combination to Lun

Aliyah b. Billie Kay – Rollup

Tye Dillinger b. Noah Potjes – Tyebreaker

Asuka b. Thea Trinidad – Fujiwara armbar

Kota Ibushi/TJ Perkins b. Mustafa Ali/Lince Dorado – Kneebar to Ali

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete 2014 Raw and Smackdown Reviews Part I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY6766K#nav-subnav

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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