NXT
Date: March 30, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips

It’s the go home show for Friday’s Takeover: Dallas and the card is set in stone. Therefore tonight is all about the final push towards Texas, meaning all six matches are going to get some solid TV time. Announced for tonight is Bull Dempsey vs. Samoa Joe in what should be a good slaughtering. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

American Alpha vs. Corey Hollis/John Skylar

Jordan powers Hollis into the corner to start, easily lifting him up like a small child. Gable comes in and rides Hollis on the mat for a bit before cranking on a hammerlock. Fans: “BREAK IT OFF GABLE, BREAK IT OFF!” It’s off to Skylar for a wristlock of his own, only to be taken down with ease. A slingshot armdrag doesn’t do much damage but looks very cool, much like a lot of Gable’s offense. The jobbers actually get in a swinging slam on Gable, only to tick him off and earn Hollis and Skylar an overhead belly to belly each. Grand Amplitude puts Hollis away at 4:40.

Rating: C-. Standard squash here with American Alpha looking awesome, just like they were supposed to. The title match on Friday should be a lot more entertaining as the Revival should be a really solid opposition for Gable and Jordan, though I can’t imagine anything but new champions.

Finn Balor is tired of hearing about Samoa Joe’s obsession with being NXT Champion because he has an obsession of his own. That obsession is the reason that he beat Kevin Owens to become NXT Champion and the way he defeated Samoa Joe the first time back in London. Two more days Joe.

Video on Baron Corbin attacking Austin Aries a few weeks back.

Baron Corbin vs. Mike Culori

Mike actually gets in a dropkick to knock Corbin into the corner to start but it only earns him Deep Six for the pin at 1:17.

Culori gets the End of Days post match.

Video on Shinsuke Nakamura with people talking about how amazing he is.

No Way Jose video.

Revival vs. Tucker Knight/Steve Cutler

Non-title. Dawson takes Cutler into the corner to start and it’s quickly off to Wilder, who kicks Cutler in the face to keep control. The slow beating continues with Dawson getting two off a gordbuster. Cutler finally escapes a suplex and it’s off to the much bigger Knight to clean house. The champs get Knight to chase them though and it’s the Shatter Machine for the pin at 4:45.

Rating: C-. Slow and steady here as is always the case with the Revival. They really do work an old school style and it really does still work, though the fun part is going to be seeing them get knocked off by a more energetic act. It’s still cool to see the known jobbers in NXT and it’s even better that they still get in enough offense to make them look credible.

We look at Joe choking Dempsey out last week.

Bull Dempsey thinks Joe is jealous of Dempsey’s physique. Tonight though, Joe gets a cheat meal in the form of these two fists.

Apollo Crews vs. Alex Riley

Riley hammers away to start and is looking aggressive like he has in recent appearances. Crews fights up and starts getting athletic though with a jumping clothesline into a nipup, followed by the toss into the Batista Bomb for the pin at 1:58.

Post match here’s Elias Samson to sing a song for Crews, warning him to take his time and avoid the danger. Graves: “With a voice like that, no wonder he’s homeless.” Samson backs away from a challenge though.

Baron Corbin finds it interesting that Austin Aries hasn’t showed up since the beatdown a few weeks ago. After Dallas, Aries can “go sit next to Virgil at one of those conventions and beg people to remember him.” Oh man that was glorious.

Video on Bayley vs. Asuka, focusing on Bayley growing up in front of our eyes and becoming a role model for all fans from men to women to children. Then Asuka debuted and was immediately the most dangerous woman in NXT. As Graves put it: “Don’t disrespect Asuka or she’ll kick you in the skull.” The women aren’t sure who to pick because Bayley will never quit but Asuka is like nothing anyone has ever faced before. This was the only match they could have gone with and it’s going to be awesome.

Sami Zayn is ready for Nakamura, even though he has an Intercontinental Title match of his own two days later. He knows a thing or two about making a name for yourself in NXT and doesn’t think he would be here if he hadn’t beaten Cesaro three years back. Yeah he may face Nakamura again down the line but there’s only one chance to make a first impression at the biggest NXT show ever on the biggest wrestling weekend ever. Sami isn’t about to step aside and let Nakamura make his name that easily.

Samoa Joe vs. Bull Dempsey

Dempsey runs him over to start and fires off some heavy right hands in the corner. Joe gets bored being on defense though and kicks Bull in the head, followed by an STO and the Koquina Clutch for the submission at 1:31.

William Regal has to send wrestlers down to break the Clutch but Joe beats them up as well. The hold goes on again until Finn Balor runs in for the real save. Balor dropkicks him into the barricade but Joe drags him to the announcers’ table as this turns into a fight. Security holds them apart until Balor dives off the table with an AJ Styles forearm. They’re finally separated to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a show where the wrestling meant nothing. Instead this was all about hyping up Takeover and that’s exactly what they did. Every match got some time or some kind of a buildup package and I want to see Takeover more than I did coming into tonight. Friday looks like a great night of wrestling matches and that’s exactly what Takeover has become: two hours of entertaining wrestling, which is all it needs to be.

Results

American Alpha b. Corey Hollis/John Skylar – Grand Amplitude to Hollis

Baron Corbin b. Mike Culori – Deep Six

Revival b. Tucker Knight/Steve Cutler – Shatter Machine to Knight

Apollo Crews b. Alex Riley – Toss sitout powerbomb

Samoa Joe b. Bull Dempsey – Koquina Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT
Date: March 23, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re getting very close to Takeover: Dallas with just two shows to go before perhaps the biggest show in the history of the promotion. The card is almost entirely set now and it should be interesting to see how they final building process goes. NXT tends to be good at this so hopefully the trend continues. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Elias Samson vs. Johnny Gargano

Samson is still undefeated and starts fast by pounding Johnny down in the corner. I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into a squash as Gargano deserves better for the Johnny Wrestling name alone. With Johnny down, Samson gets a bit distracted by going into something like a trance. Samson charges into a boot in the corner and eats a kick to the head, only to catch a charging Johnny with a knee to the ribs. Another jumping knee is countered with a quick rollup to give Gargano the pin at 2:18. Well that was sudden.

Samson lays Gargano out with the neckbreaker post match and sends him into the post for good measure. He loads up another neckbreaker on the ramp but Apollo Crews comes out for the save.

Takeover video.

Rich Swann vs. Finn Balor

Non-title of course. Balor takes him to the mat with a wristlock to start and Rich can’t get to his feet. Instead it’s off to a headlock before the champ easily takes it down to a hammerlock. Back up and a good looking dropkick staggers Balor, followed by a spinning kick to the face. Another dropkick puts Balor on the floor and the fans are behind Swann here. Balor is all fired up now though and sends Swann outside on the other side for a hard kick to the head. The Coup de Grace sets up Bloody Sunday for the pin on Swann at 5:22.

Rating: C+. I can always go for a quick match where a big name actually has to break a sweat to beat someone a few levels beneath him. It’s also a good idea to get Balor out there every now and then to make sure that people don’t forget how good he really is. They’re doing a nice job with Swann in his first two matches as he’s gotten to show off in losing efforts.

Emma and Dana Brooke are ready for Emma’s rematch with Asuka. Dana has been helping her train and tonight Emma is going to do the job. She also confirms that she’s been out due to injury.

Sarah Dobson vs. Alexa Bliss

Bliss is back in the old pink attire. Dobson takes her into the corner to start but misses a charge to give Bliss a quick two. We hit an armbar on Dobson as the announcers argue over how big a star Bliss really is. Bliss misses a charge in the corner and Dobson gets two off a high cross body. This brings Blake and Murphy to the apron for a distraction and cheap shot, setting up the Sparkle Splash to give Bliss the pin at 4:12.

Rating: D. Much like on the main roster, you can really see the line between the wrestlers and the Divas. Bliss is really just out there because of her looks instead of her ring skills, though she’s awesome as the evil heel manager. Dobson wasn’t bad from what I can see here and I know she’s done some good stuff out on the indies.

Samoa Joe has nothing to say.

Bull Dempsey vs. Danny Burch

Well this is a bit more awkward. No match though as Samoa Joe comes out and destroys both guys before shouting about how he’s coming for Balor and the title.

Video on the awesomeness that is American Alpha with the two of them talking about their paths through the amateur ranks towards NXT. None of that matters unless they win the NXT Tag Team Titles though.

Jose No Way is coming.

Emma vs. Asuka

Emma actually takes over with a headlock to start but Asuka reverses into one of her own. A jumping cross armbreaker has Emma in major trouble and the flying hip attack gets two for Asuka as we take a break. Back with Asuka working on a hammerlock until she gets bored and switches over to an ankle lock.

Emma finally kicks her to the floor and starts pounding away before putting her feet on Asuka’s shoulders and pulling at the arms. It’s off to a regular chinlock with Emma putting her knee in the back. As has been the case all match, the hold is quickly broken so Emma can put her in the Tree of Woe for some shots to the ribs.

Asuka is up at two though and the frustration is starting to set in. They run the ropes a few times until another hip attack drops Emma as the comeback begins. Emma dropkicks her into the ropes but Asuka bounces off for another hip attack. A good looking German suplex sends Emma flying and it’s the Asuka Lock for the tap out at 15:14.

Rating: B. This was a very nice change of pace as these two still have some nice chemistry together. They were going with an enhanced version of the same formula from Balor vs. Swann here as the bigger name had to work harder than expected with a challenger. They’ve done an awesome job of setting up Bayley and Asuka as unstoppable, meaning the match is going to have some awesome buzz going on.

Overall Rating: C+. Nothing great here but the build towards the big show has been awesome so far. The card is mostly set at this point and there’s only so much that a few more TV shows are going to be able to do. They’re doing a good job of going around the card and giving everything a good build so I actually have some faith in what they might be able to pull off in Dallas.

Results

Johnny Gargano b. Elias Samson – Rollup

Finn Balor b. Rich Swann – Bloody Sunday

Alexa Bliss b. Sarah Dobson – Sparkle Splash

Asuka b. Emma – Asuka Lock

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT
Date: March 2, 2016
Location: CFE Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s a big night for NXT as we have a past great name coming in to face off with NXT Champion Finn Balor on the finale of the Orlando tapings with Neville coming back for one night only. In addition to that we’re getting closer to the big showdown in a 2/3 falls match next week with Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe for the #1 contendership. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick video on Balor vs. Neville later tonight.

Opening sequence.

Hugo Knox/Tucker Knight vs. Vaudevillains

Knox is rather tattooed which I don’t remember about him last time he got squashed. A dropkick puts Aiden in the corner but he quickly takes over and brings in Gotch for a chinlock. The announcers mention the Vaudevillains being up to their old ways to confirm their heel turn, which is probably the best move for a team called the VILLAINS. English kicks away and it’s back to Gotch for another chinlock on Knox. Everything breaks down and the Whirling Dervish pins Knight at 3:33.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here with the Vaudevillains being back as the heels they should have been all along. I don’t think they have much of a chance of getting back to the title picture but a feud with the Hype Bros feels like an older feud where the announcers just start talking about how they’re having issues, setting up a big match later. Yeah they fought once but it was hardly anything huge. We don’t need to have them come out here and fight or stare at each other every week. It worked back then so let’s try it again today. It just might work better than having them fight over and over until people get sick of them.

Emma and Dana Brooke aren’t impressed with women like Deonna Purrazzo and promise to win tonight.

Finn Balor video.

We look back at Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson attacking Enzo Amore outside the Performance Center until Big Cass made the save.

Enzo and Cass promise to stand over Dawson and Wilder as Tag Team Champions.

Dawson and Wilder (now collectively known as the Revival) blame Enzo and Cass for the attack.

Enzo/Cass vs. Revival for the Tag Team Titles at Roadblock.

Emma vs. Santana Garrett

Garrett used to be Brittany in TNA. Emma sends her into the buckle to start and pounds her into a butterfly suplex. There’s a move you don’t see very often anymore. Some kicks to the back (there’s a more popular one) has Santana in trouble and another big kick stops a comeback bid. We hit the double arm crank as this has been one sided so far. Now we get the real comeback as Santana gets in a Russian legsweep, only to have Emma crotch her on top. Something like a curb stomp sets up the Emma Lock for the tap out at 5:38.

Rating: D+. Another glorified squash here with Emma getting to look good, even if there’s little for someone on her level to do. Asuka vs. Bayley is going to be the big feud for the next month and I don’t see anyone outside of Nia Jax being the next big challenger for whoever survives there. Emma has gotten better in the ring but I’d rather she be on her own as Brooke really doesn’t add all that much.

William Regal tells Eva Marie and Nia Jax that they’ll be facing Bayley and Asuka at some point in the near future.

Regal is in the ring after a break and introduces the latest talent acquisition: Austin Aries. The fans and announcers are WAY into this but Baron Corbin jumps Aries during his entrance and lays him out with the End of Days on the floor. Corbin to Regal: “AN EYE FOR AN EYE!”

Elias Samson vs. Steve Cutler

Cutler seems to annoy Samson for some reason and gets punched in the face for his efforts. Maybe he didn’t drop a dollar in the guitar case. A suplex and some elbow drops have Steve crawling on the mat but Samson stops for some air guitar. Samson’s quick neckbreaker is enough for the pin at 3:03.

Rating: D+. I could go for something other than a squash at this point as they haven’t been filling up the extra time with good promos like in the old NWA formula. Samson is turning into more than I was expecting but he still needs a big win over someone to take that next step. I don’t know how well he’s going to do and I’d call him a longshot at the moment but anything is better than jobbing like he did for all those months.

The Hype Bros are glad they lost the first match to the Vaudevillains and think they should take them out early. The Vaudevillains are listening and smile.

Neville video.

Finn Balor vs. Neville

Non-title and they have a ton of time here. It’s a battle of the wristlocks to start with neither guy being able to get very far. Finn’s headlock only works for a few moments and it’s Neville smacking him in the face with a dropkick. Now it’s Neville working on the headlock until he drops Finn with a hard kick to the ribs. Neville doesn’t seem to know what to do against Balor so he kicks Finn down another time and we take a break.

Back with the fans getting behind Finn to get him out of a chinlock as Neville is the default heel here. Finn gets up again and catches a charging Neville with a backdrop over the top, sending him head first onto the steps to really wake up the crowd. Neville pops to his feet though and sends Balor outside for a great looking moonsault. It’s time for another chinlock but Balor gets up with a great looking Pele to stagger Neville.

Some kicks (hard ones too) get near falls on Neville but he comes right back with the rapid fire kicks and a pair of German suplexes. The Red Arrow is broken up with a running enziguri and Balor hits the big flip dive to put Neville down on the floor. That’s still not enough for the Coup de Grace though as Neville crotches him again.

Neville has to bail out of the Red Arrow though and gets caught in a Sling Blade for a VERY close two. They’re trading bombs here and the fans are getting more and more into it every time. Balor dropkicks him into the corner and nails the Coup de Grace, followed by Bloody Sunday for the pin at 18:40.

Rating: B+. This was a great chess game as Neville was way too cocky to start until he got serious and had to trade big shots with Balor, who he seemed to underestimate early on. People forget how good Neville can be when he’s doing stuff besides high spots and that’s what we got here: a long wrestling match built around high spots but still with enough wrestling and storytelling to keep the fans hooked from bell to bell.

They shake hands and applaud each other post match.

Joe says next week should be easy and calls Sami Zayn ungrateful. Sami thinks Joe is trying to come in here and take whatever he wants at Sami’s expense. Joe gets in his face and brings up saving Sami from Kevin Owens. That was Joe saving his career but next week he’s taking it away. I’m really digging this stuff with the interviews hyping up a match from next week to close out the show. So many times Raw is wrapped up to end the week and it gets annoying.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s really hard to have a single match save a show but that’s what they did here. This was a bunch of nothing until two guys got to spend nearly a third of the show beating each other up and showing how great the in ring product around here really can be. Really fun main event here and it actually makes up for the uninteresting stuff that got us here.

Results

Vaudevillains b. Hugh Knox/Tucker Knight – Whirling Dervish to Knight

Emma b. Santana Garrett – Emma Lock

Elias Samson b. Steve Cutler – Neckbreaker

Finn Balor b. Neville – Bloody Sunday

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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

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NXT
Date: February 3, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s a big week here on NXT as we have a non-title match between NXT Champion Finn Balor and Apollo Crews, who had a shot at the title late last year which was interrupted with the match pretty much even. In addition to that we should be getting some updates on the ending to last week’s triple threat match which ended in a double submission. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick preview of Crews vs. Balor.

Opening sequence.

Vaudevillains vs. Hype Bros

The Bros have quite the long entrance with smoke coming down from the ceiling while they pose on the buckles. Mojo rolls English up for two to start as Corey talks about Alf. It’s off to Ryder for a running seated Blockbuster (think a Hennig Necksnap from the other way) but Gotch grabs Zack’s feet to take over.

Simon comes in legally to put on a chinlock as the announcers try to figure out when the Vaudevillains fell off track, which sounds like code for starting their heel turn. Ryder kicks both villains away and makes the tag off to Mojo so Graves can make Ghostbusters jokes due to the bright green gear. Everything breaks down and Ryder misses the Broski Boot, setting up the Whirling Dervish to pin Zack at 4:16.

Rating: C. Totally fine match here though I’m really not sure about either of these teams going anywhere. The Bros are going to stay over no matter what they do based on their incredible energy alone so let them have a few wins here and there to give them a bit of credibility. The Vaudevillains on the other hand……I’m not sure how much further they’re really going to go.

We look back at Carmella winning the battle royal to become #1 contender a few weeks back.

It’s time for a sitdown interview with Carmella where she talks about her dad being a wrestler in the 90s (albeit a jobber) who taught her a bunch of submission grappling. Carmella can’t wait for her title shot next week because she and Bayley are going to be friends no matter what. Tonight she’s going to prove how she deserves to be champion when she defeats Emma. This was a VERY toned down Carmella and showed a completely different side of her which worked better than I was expecting.

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder are tired of hearing the same things from Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady because they’ve demanded shot after shot. Not that it matters because they’re never going to win any of them since they’re just not that good. They’re fine with giving them one more shot because it’s not going to work.

Carmella vs. Emma

They trade headlocks to start until Emma takes her down and pounds in right hands. A twisting wristlock keeps Carmella on the mat and Emma pulls on both arms at the same time. Carmella fights up but gets pulled down by the hair in a hurry. Emma loads up a butterfly suplex but gets countered into a backslide of all things for the pin at 4:16.

Rating: D+. Well it wasn’t the most interesting thing in the world but it did exactly what it was designed to do. Carmella gets a clean win over someone with some credibility around here, which is really necessary with just a week to go before the title shot against Bayley next week. It’s probably just a one off match so do what you can in the limited time you have.

We look at the end of last week’s triple threat.

Sami Zayn has looked at the video multiple times and thinks he should win because he had the Sharpshooter on longer. He has faith in the outcome.

Joe has nothing to say.

Video on American Alpha.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. ???/???

Before the match, Enzo reiterates that if he and Cass had a dime for every time they were knocked down and didn’t get back up, they would have zero dimes. They are hard bodies and there’s only ONE WORD to describe people who try to knock them down. Enzo easily takes Jobber #1 down to start and does a little dance before scoring off a big knee lift. Cass comes in and throws his partner into Jobber #1 as the announcers have no idea what to call these guys. #2 is LAUNCHED to the floor and the Rocket Launcher ends this in a hurry at 2:14.

Apollo Crews says he gets to prove himself tonight after having that taken away in his first shot at Finn Balor.

William Regal has made his decision on the #1 contendership but Baron Corbin comes into his office to interrupt. There will be a rematch but Corbin isn’t going to be involved. Instead, it’s going to be Zayn vs. Joe for the title shot at some point in the future.

Asuka vs. Santana Garrett

Garrett is quickly sent into the ropes for the running hip attack, followed by a HARD shot to the face. Asuka misses a running knee to the face though and gets rolled up for two. Something like a leapfrog into a cross armbreaker has Garrett in trouble and the Asuka Lock is good for the submission at 2:26.

Finn Balor is looking forward to seeing Zayn vs. Joe but tonight he’s going to prove to Crews that he may be good but he’s not the best.

Apollo Crews vs. Finn Balor

Non-title and non-Demon for Balor. They shake hands to start and Balor starts cranking on an armbar. A headlock keeps Crews in trouble and they’re certainly taking their time here. Crews is stuck in the hold for a full minute but he does keep making Finn work with some rollups. Apollo nips up and scores with a dropkick, which seems to make the announcers think everything is even.

We take a break and come back with Balor caught in a chinlock. Finn rolls through a sunset flip to dropkick a seated Crews before going back to the armbar. Crews gets up one more time for another escape and the champ is getting frustrated. It’s very short lived though as Balor takes him right back down into another armbar as the slow pace continues. Another counter is broken up so Finn knocks him to the floor for a BIG flip dive.

A top rope double stomp to the back (not the Coup de Grace) gets two on Crews and now the shock is setting in. Crews throws him into the air for two off a big Samoan Drop, only to get caught in a Sling Blade. That’s fine with Crews who blocks the basement dropkick and gets two more off the gorilla press/standing moonsault. Balor kicks him in the head and scores with a second Sling Blade, followed by the Coup de Grace for no cover. Instead it’s the Bloody Sunday (not named) for the pin at 15:03.

Rating: B-. This was an interesting one with a nice story of Balor controlling because he’s just flat out better but Crews getting back into things when the match was wrestled in his style. Balor winning in the end with the bigger finisher worked, though the announcers and crowd really didn’t seem to get as into this as they were shooting for. Balor certainly has the stuff but Crews hasn’t really shown that he can do anything more than be athletic.

Balor helps him to his feet post match and they shake hands again. The announcers confirm that it’s Zayn vs. Joe in two weeks to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, they’re building up the big TV shows (taped in a bigger arena to make things feel more special) by using every bit of the TV time they have. Not only are they setting up stuff for the coming weeks, they’re also planting seeds for what’s coming at Takeover in Dallas. Watching this show is like watching your kid succeed in school and doing everything you want them to do. It’s such a nice feeling and they never let me down.

Results

Vaudevillains b. Hype Bros – Whirling Dervish to Ryder

Carmella b. Emma – Backslide

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady b. ???/??? – Rocket Launcher

Asuka b. Santana Garrett – Asuka Lock

Finn Balor b. Apollo Crews – Bloody Sunday

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AXP08DK

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

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NXT
Date: January 20, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re in a bit of a weird point in NXT as it’s still a few months before the next announced Takeover and we’re just starting to set up the big feuds before we get to the really big feuds. Next week it’s Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn for the #1 contendership so odds are they’ll get some focus tonight. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Sami Zayn vs. Adam Rose

Sami works on a wristlock to start and spins around into an armbar. We’re already well into the OLE chants but Rose cuts them off with a kick to the head. Some elbow drops set up a chinlock on Sami but he’s quickly on his feet. Rose chops him right back down though and drops a top rope headbutt for two before choking on the ropes. Sami shrugs those off as well though and grabs a Koji Clutch out of nowhere for the submission at 5:27.

Rating: D+. If there’s one thing Sami Zayn does better than almost anyone, it’s taking a beating and making a quick comeback to win while keeping it realistic. Bringing Rose back for a loss like this is the right way to use veterans here because having the big stars come down and treating them like a bigger deal than the NXT roster isn’t going to be accepted. That and Sami is a bigger deal than Rose anyway.

Johnny Gargano says he isn’t intimidated by a bully like Samoa Joe. His solution: punch Joe in the mouth. As long as his heart is beating, Johnny Wrestling will not back down.

Chad Gable and Jason Jordan talk about not being nominated for Tag Team of the Year while Blake and Murphy were on the list. They know they’re getting better and they’re going to the top. Another word for top is alpha and they’re both Americans, so they might as well be called American Alpha.

Tye Dillinger vs. Apollo Crews

Dillinger’s entrance is even more energetic than usual here. They circle each other a bit to start until Dillinger takes him down with a wristlock. A headlock puts Crews on the mat and it’s time for a quick victory lap with Tye giving himself a ten. That earns him a delayed vertical suplex with Crews only slipping a bit as Dillinger knees him in the head. It’s a bit more impressive than when Lashley does it. Dillinger rolls outside but slide back in to hit a dive on Crews. Something like a Codebreaker gets two on Apollo but he pops back up and hits his lifting sitout powerbomb for the pin at 4:35.

Rating: C+. Better match than I was expecting here with Dillinger putting in more effort than I’ve seen from him in a long time. Crews continues to be an amazing athlete but I still haven’t found a reason to connect with him yet. He’s just a guy out there doing a bunch of cool looking stuff with nothing more to him. Talented for sure, but he needs some fine tuning.

Post match Crews says he’s had something on his mind for a few weeks now. He isn’t one to have a match end in a disqualification. Now he knows he hasn’t earned a title shot, but he’d love to face Finn Balor one more time, even in a non-title match.

Alexa Bliss isn’t happy with Blake and Murphy losing in London but she’s going to lead by example tonight when she teams with Emma and beats up Bayley and Carmella.

We get a Vaudevillains vignette with the two of them looking very angry.

Stills of Kevin Owens appearing at the NXT Milwaukee house show.

Baron Corbin vs. Rich Swann

Swann is a longtime indy talent who recently signed with NXT. Corbin throws him into the corner to start and backdrops him into a 450. Off to something like a Tazmission from Corbin before Rich starts using some speed to avoids a few charges. A spinning kick to the face gets two on Corbin but Rich misses something off the top and charges into a big swinging Rock Bottom (called Deep Six) for the pin at 3:14.

Rating: C. Again a better match than I was expecting here with Swann looking solid in his debut. This isn’t a match to judge him off though as he didn’t have a character or anything like that. Then again that’s how a lot of people have started down in NXT and turned out just fine so I wouldn’t be worried. Corbin having a secondary finisher is a good idea as End of Days only works so well.

Bayley and Carmella are ready for their tag match tonight when Dawson and Wilder come in to say Carmella is a loser just like Enzo and Cass. Carmella is so upset that she’s being driven bananas (her words) but Bayley says save it for the match.

Carmella/Bayley vs. Emma/Alexa Bliss

Dana is here with Emma/Bliss. Emma gets in a cheap shot on Bayley and the champ’s ribs are damaged before the opening bell. Bayley starts anyway but is quickly dragged into the corner and stomped in the corner with the villains staying on the bad ribs. We take an early break and come back with Bliss holding Bayley in an armbar. Bayley gets up and hits a quick middle rope dropkick which only hurts her ribs even more. Emma breaks up the hot tag attempt and gets suplexed as a result, only to have Dana offer a distraction to prevent another tag attempt.

The Emma Sandwich (called a cross body in the corner) stays on the ribs and it’s back to Bliss for another armbar, even though Bayley’s hand is grabbing the ropes. Bliss drags her away and that’s good enough for the referee for some reason. Bayley fights out of the corner though and tags in Carmella to take over on Bliss as things speed up. Carmella’s little dance sets up a Bronco Buster and the leg crossface makes Bliss tap at 9:26.

Rating: C+. Standard formula tag match here with Bayley playing the perfect face in peril until Carmella gets to make the comeback for the win. It makes a lot more sense to have Carmella get the win here as she needs to be built up before the title match and what better way to do that than by beating one of the many midcard heels?

Balor agrees to give Crews a non-title match.

Johnny Gargano vs. Samoa Joe

The fans start a JOHNNY WRESTLING chant which is such an awesome name. Joe drives him into the corner to start and grinds his forearm over Johnny’s face before elbowing him in the jaw. Gargano snaps off a quick enziguri to put Joe on the floor, only to have him kick Johnny’s leg out to take over again. The snap jabs have Gargano in trouble again and Joe kicks the leg out one more time, sending Gargano into a near 360.

Another kick puts Gargano on the floor but he dives in at nine with Graves ripping on him for going back to the beating. Back in and a quick enziguri and DDT stagger Joe but he kicks Gargano out of the air on a slingshot attempt. Gargano is already knocked silly so the Koquina Clutch puts him out of his misery at 4:30.

Rating: C+. Joe is the kind of guy who can work this physical ROH style and make it look good in short bursts. The Ciampa match was better but this was another hard hitting match where both guys came out looking good, even though this was pretty one sided for the most part. Gargano is another name that should be fine.

Overall Rating: B. This is where NXT continues to amaze me. They can have a week of nothing but storytelling and then the next week they do almost nothing but solid wrestling. The triple threat is looking better and you have another big match to build towards with Crews vs. Balor, even though it’s non-title. As usual, they set up a goal and then they accomplish it, usually in the span of just a week. That’s unheard of in today’s wrestling and NXT does it nearly every single time. Well done, as usual.

Results

Sami Zayn b. Adam Rose – Koji Clutch

Apollo Crews b. Tye Dillinger – Lifting sitout powerbomb

Baron Corbin b. Rich Swann – Deep Six

Carmella/Bayley b. Emma/Alexa Bliss – Leg crossface to Bliss

Samoa Joe b. Johnny Gargano – Koquina Clutch

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:

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NXT
Date: January 13, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

It’s the first regular show of the new year and we’re at the start of a new taping cycle. We’ve got a few months to go before we get to the next Takeover, assuming there isn’t another one before Wrestlemania weekend. In addition to that, we’re getting something like the NXT Slammy Awards tonight with the end of the year awards. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The announcers welcome us to the show for a change.

Here’s General Manager William Regal to announce tonight’s main event: a battle royal for the #1 contendership to the Women’s Title. With that out of the way, Regal introduces someone who hasn’t been here in a long time: Sami Zayn.

Sami thinks the fans remember him but gets cut off by OLE and WELCOME BACK chants. In case you don’t know him, he’s the lead singer of a band and that OLE chant is their lead single. He’s also a man responsible for building NXT and making what it is today. They just sold out a UK tour but it’s nice to be back home at Full Sail University. Sami is back for a reason though, and that is to become the first ever two time NXT Champion.

This brings out Samoa Joe who doesn’t seem to think much of Sami’s plans. Joe doesn’t know why Sami thinks he deserves another shot because the last time he had a title shot, it was Joe who had to come out here and save him. Finn Balor barely survived against Joe in London so if Sami wants to keep his shoulder in one piece, he better walk away right now.

Now it’s Baron Corbin interrupting to say that he actually won at Takeover. While Sami was gone, he was surpassed by someone more durable so Sami needs to go to the back of the line. Joe brings up choking Corbin out and tells Sami to mind his place in his ring. The ring is Sami’s place but Corbin jumps him from behind, only to get kicked in the face and knocked to the floor. Joe backs off from Sami who is left standing alone.

Bayley says she survived against Nia Jax instead of actually winning. Tonight she’s looking forward to seeing who survives in the battle royal and she might even give the winner a hug. She actually does hug Rich Brennan.

It’s time for the End of the Year Award winners, announced in a video package. The trophies are golden ring bells.

Tag Team of the Year: Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady

Female Competitor of the Year: Bayley

Male Competitor of the Year: Finn Balor

NXT Takeover of the Year: Takeover: Brooklyn

Match of the Year: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks – Takeover: Brooklyn

Overall Competitor of the Year: Finn Balor

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Danny Burch

Ciampa takes him down by the arm to start but Burch gets up and scores with a middle rope dropkick to take over. That just ticks Ciampa off so he blasts Burch in the face with a forearm. Something like a hanging Downward Spiral off the top rope gets two for Ciampa but Burch pops him in the jaw for the same. They slug it out until Ciampa takes him down and grabs a flip over armbar (picture Becky Lynch’s Disarm-Her but with Ciampa laying over Burch’s back instead of sitting on the shoulder) for the tap out at 3:42.

Rating: C. This was a hard hitting brawl while it lasted but I’m not entirely sold on Ciampa. The armbar was a nice finisher but it seems like almost everyone is using a submission hold these days. As usual though, NXT does a great job of using jobbers to set up bigger stars, which is almost unheard of on the main roster for the last several years.

Enzo and Cass say they haven’t forgotten about Dash and Dawson taking them out. The champs hid behind a woman like chicken tenders and next time business will be finished.

Billie Kay, Deonna Purrazzo and Emma all say they’ll win the battle royal.

Two weeks from tonight, Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin for the #1 contendership.

Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Ascension

Non-title. Wilder gets in Viktor’s face to start but gets pounded into the corner for his efforts. Ascension is the clear crowd favorite here which is really strange to see. It’s off to Dawson, who has a bit more luck by taking Viktor to the mat for two. The champs beat Viktor down in the corner and we hit the chinlock for a bit. Viktor fights up and catches Dawson in an STO, allowing for the hot tag off to Konnor. The flapjack drops Wilder and everything breaks down, allowing a blind tag to set up the Shatter Machine on Konnor for the pin at 4:10.

Rating: C+. I liked this a bit better and it’s probably due to the false hope that Ascension might actually start being booked like a power team instead of the goofs they’ve been since their Raw debut. Or maybe it was the Shatter Machine which is a really awesome looking finisher for such a slow paced team.

Nia Jax isn’t medically cleared for the battle royal. Eva Marie says she has this.

Carmella, Peyton Royce and Alexa Bliss say they’ll win.

Elias Samson vs. Corey Hollis

Samson forearms him down to start and stomps away in the corner. A throw sends Hollis flying and Samson stop to laugh. Samson looks down at him before grabbing a hard swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 2:20.

Samson says what this place needs is what he is.

Finn Balor says the match against Samoa Joe was the most draining match of his career but he faces every challenger head to head. Now he’s just going to wait to find out his next opponent. Corbin thinks he’s the uncrowned champion, Sami is a friend and Joe is the one that will never go away.

Cameron, Aliyah, Asuka and Liv Morgan promise to win. Well Cameron promises to win the battle royal to become #1 contender to the Women’s battle royal but you get the idea.

Battle Royal

Carmella, Peyton Royce, Alexa Bliss, Aliyah, Cameron, Liv Morgan, Billie Kay, Deonna Purrazzo, Emma, Eva Marie, Asuka

Eva gets right in Asuka’s face to start and is quickly dropped with a shot to the face. The other nine all circle Asuka with Emma jumping her, starting everyone else into a brawl. Eva is out on the floor but not eliminated, likely to reduce her chances of severely injuring someone during the match.

We take an early break and come back with no eliminations but Cameron throws Aliyah out a few seconds later. Cameron gets rid of Purrazzo as well, followed by Morgan botching something that looked like a powerbomb. She tries it again but Bliss comes up from behind and tosses Morgan and Cameron at the same time. Emma gets Carmella in the Dilemma to send her underneath the ropes and out to the floor, meaning no elimination. Bliss chokes Emma, only to be put on the apron and punched off for an elimination.

We’re down to Emma, Royce, Kay, Asuka, Eva and Carmella, with the final two on the floor. Emma has to kick away the other two Australians, only to have Asuka kick her out of the corner for an elimination. Billie and Peyton put Asuka on the apron but of course start fighting over who gets to eliminate her. Asuka puts them both on the apron and hip attacks both of them to the floor to get us down to three. Eva sneaks in and eliminates Asuka, freaking out the crowd until Carmella throws Eva out for the win at 10:45.

Rating: C-. These things are always hard to rate but the false finish was a nice way to tease the crowd. It says a lot that they had to have two people on the floor until the end for the double false finish. The other good thing here though is they kept Asuka safe, likely for a big showdown in Texas against Bayley.

Carmella celebrates until Bayley comes out for a hug. Asuka gives them an evil smile to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show was much more about setting stuff up instead the show itself which is good long term but not the most interesting hour on its own. The triple threat in two weeks should be really good and they’re already doing a good job of setting up the women’s division with the new names. I mean, they’re not the Four Horsewomen but at least they’re trying and should be filling things in quite well. Good enough show here but again it’s about setting stuff up later on.

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:

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

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NXT
Date: January 6, 2016
Hosts: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves

This is part two of the Best of 2015, meaning we’ll be seeing another hour of great stuff from last year. There’s still a lot of awesome matches they haven’t touched on yet which is really amazing given how much we saw last week. I’d assume a lot of this will be Finn Balor focused and there’s nothing wrong with that. Let’s get to it.

Again: these are the full reviews of matches even though the clipped versions are airing on the show.

We open with a package on Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens from Tokyo at Beast in the East.

Brennan and Graves welcome us to the show. That’s kind of backwards no?

From Beast in the East.

NXT Title: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens

We get the Demon entrance and oh yes it’s still glorious. For a bonus, the camera changes to an arena shot at the crescendos of the music. To make it feel even more special, we get the full on flower presentation from geisha girls (Owens throws his into the crowd of course) and streamers for both guys. Get this through your head ROH: doing the same thing for every match doesn’t make it feel more special. Hideo Itami is shown in the front row and we’re ready to start. Balor has more paint than ever with his face, torso and left leg covered.

Balor charges at the bell and loads up the Coup de Grace in the first ten seconds. Owens rolls outside so Balor nails a big dive as the NXT chants start up. He tries to bail again and eats a baseball slide as Balor is all over him. Back in and Owens hammers away to take over for the first time. Owens: “AND THAT’S WHY I’M THE CHAMP!” We hear more of Balor’s accomplishments in New Japan as Owens takes some bows.

It’s off to Chinlock City before a forearm breaks up Balor’s springboard. The slow pace is working for Kevin here and it fits him very well. Finn beats the count back in but takes the backsplash for two. Back in and Owens snapmares him down and runs the ropes….before stopping for a chinlock. Owens: “Are you not impressed? I don’t care. I hate this country and all its stupid people!” Balor fights back again with a middle rope forearm for two so Owens does Cena’s finishing sequence, complete with an attempted AA.

Balor is afraid of a lawsuit over gimmick infringement (only Kurt Angle can steal that many finishers) and slips out twice in a row. Bloody Sunday is teased (and the fans gasp) but it’s a Pele Kick to put Owens down instead. Owens takes a big flip dive and a top rope double stomp to the back, followed by a reverse Bloody Sunday (not called that of course) for a VERY close two. The Coup de Grace misses though and Owens’ Cannonball gets two. The package piledriver slam gets the same but Balor hits a quick Sling Blade.

Another Coup de Grace is countered so Balor kicks him in the head and FINALLY connects with the stomp….for two. Dang I thought that was it. Owens can’t hit the swinging fisherman’s superplex so he settles for a middle rope Regal Roll for two. That looked great. Kevin’s Swanton hits knees and the real Bloody Sunday gets an even closer two. They’re trading bombs here and it’s getting awesome. Owens makes the eternal mistake of slapping a hero in the face and saying the hero can’t beat him. Balor dropkicks him into the corner, hits a running corner dropkick and a second Coup de Grace for the title at 19:30.

Rating: B+. Was there ever any doubt that this was going to be awesome? Owens is one of the best heels that I’ve seen in years and he does everything he can do to make you hate him. The fact that he can go as well as he does in the ring makes him even better, which is saying quite a bit as he’s that good as a character.

Here’s one of Elias Sampson’s songs.

We see the last few minutes of Tye Dillinger vs. Apollo Crews from the Wrestlemania XXXII ticket sale kickoff at AT&T Stadium on November 5. Joined in progress with Dillinger putting on a chinlock. After nearly a minute and a half, Crews finally breaks out and throws Dillinger to the side, followed by some right hands and clotheslines. Dillinger gets two off a superkick and both guys are down again. Back up and Crews kicks him in the head, setting up the gorilla press into the standing moonsault for the pin. What was the point of showing this? It’s barely three minutes long and nearly half was in a chinlock.

Video on the women’s division.

Video on Dusty Rhodes, leading to a recap of the Dusty Classic.

We look at some people going from NXT to the main roster.

From August 29.

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.

We recap Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor.

From Takeover: London.

NXT Title: Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor

Balor is defending and we get the full demon entrance with Balor as Jack the Ripper from the vignette they’ve been running for a few weeks now. Feeling out process to start and the fans are split. Balor sends him outside for a kick to the face and a dropkick into the steps. The double stomp from the apron misses though and Joe plants him with the release Rock Bottom.

Back in and a corner enziguri gets two, followed by a knee drop for the same. There’s the Facewash but Balor nails an enziguri (WAY too common of a move as well) from the apron. His springboard is broken up though and Joe does his 300lb flying monster out of control suicide dive to take him out again. Back in and Joe puts on a Boston crab into a Crossface into a modified Rings of Saturn.

Balor gets his foot onto the ropes for the save and spins over into a DDT for a breather. It’s time for the chops from Finn but he runs into an elbow. Joe goes up but takes another enziguri to send him outside again. There’s the big flip dive to the floor, followed by a top rope double stomp for two back inside. The Sling Blade has Joe reeling but he sidesteps a dropkick and drops the backsplash. Balor counters the Muscle Buster into a sunset flip for two, followed by a Pele to put both guys down.

They slug it out again and Joe grabs the standing Clutch, only to have Balor send him into the buckle. Another enziguri is blocked (thank you) and Joe drags him back in by the throat. He can’t get Balor on the mat with the Clutch though as the champ rolls out and hits a quick double stomp. Another Sling Blade and some running dropkicks just tick Joe off so Finn dropkicks him down one more time. Balor has to shove him off the top to set up the Coup de Grace to retain at 18:20.

Rating: A. This was the heavyweight slugfest that everyone was wanting to see from these two. They beat each other up for nearly twenty minutes and had me believing that the title was in jeopardy a few times. I’m not sure who goes after Balor next but there’s a long list of people who could be up for a shot, which makes things that much more interesting.

Rich and Corey wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s really hard to not enjoy a show that packs in so much of a great year from a great show. NXT continues to be probably the most entertaining wrestling show every single week and it’s cool to look back at what worked so well. This show was much more about Finn Balor and it’s hard to imagine him not making a huge impact in 2016 as well. This was a very fun look back and it worked quite well.

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:

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

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

NXT Takeover: London
Date: December 16, 2015
Location: Wembley Arena, London, England
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

Takeover goes outside the US for the first time as the show hits England. This isn’t the most stacked card in the world but almost all of the matches could go either way. The main event is Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Samoa Joe while Bayley defends the Women’s Title against the monster Nia Jax. Let’s get to it.

As is the custom, we open with HHH in the ring saying the beating he took on Sunday night was one of the worst he’s ever had but he would have had to be dead to not be here tonight. This is your brand and this is your time because WE ARE NXT.

The opening video recaps all of the matches on the card in rapid fashion.

Asuka vs. Emma

Asuka likes the “ASUKA’S GONNA KILL YOU!” chants and is moving at about double Emma’s speed. Emma’s hammerlock goes nowhere with Asuka quickly spinning out of it over and over. A Fujiwara armbar has Emma in trouble but she gets her foot on the ropes. Emma tries to bail to the floor but takes a running hip attack (thankfully not called the Rear View) from the apron. Brennan: “Asuka is just having fun out there!” Oh for the love of all things good and holy don’t let that nonsense creep into NXT’s commentary.

Dana gets in a distraction so Emma can pound away a bit, causing the fans to cheer for Asuka even more. Emma pulls on both arms with her feet on Asuka’s shoulders before trying a full nelson on the mat. Dana: “Don’t give up Emma!” A hard whip into the corner lets Dana talk even more trash but Asuka comes back with a quick middle rope dropkick. Emma tries those forearms to the back that people use when they’re desperate but it’s time for Asuka’s rapid strikes.

Some spinning back fists set up another running hip attack for two but Emma grabs a quick Dilemma to come back again. A butterfly suplex into the corner gets two (Referee: “Please kick out.”) and Emma rubs her face into the mat. Emma loads up the Emma Lock but takes too much time and gets countered into an ankle lock. Asuka cranks her over with a German suplex followed by a hard knee to the jaw.

The Asuka Lock goes on but Emma drives them into the corner for a ref bump. Dana throws in what looks like a belt but Asuka grabs it as the referee gets up. That’s almost a DQ but Emma tries a rollup, only to get caught in the Asuka Lock. Dana distracts the referee as Emma taps, meaning Asuka breaks the hold. That’s fine with Asuka as she kicks Emma’s head off for the pin at 14:54.

Rating: B+. This was WAY better than I was expecting and is pretty easily Emma’s best match ever. The women’s matches continue to be star making performances and this was no exception. I’d be stunned if Emma doesn’t have the title before Takeover: Dallas is over and she could have a great match against Jax or Bayley to get there.

We recap Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder. The champs hurt Cass’ knee so he and Enzo got serious for the first time ever, vowing revenge. The video treats this like their last shot at the titles.

Tag Team Titles: Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

Dash and Dawson are defending. Enzo says there will be pieces of he and Cass in this ring when this is over. The difference between them is that if Enzo had a pound for every time they got knocked down and didn’t get up, he would have zero pounds. Dawson and Dash have old school Brainbusters style jackets. We start with a loud HOW YOU DOIN chant as Dawson powers Enzo into the corner.

Dash comes in and gets punched in the face before it’s off to Cass to give Dash a corner beating of his own. They head outside for a bit with Dash clotheslining the post by mistake. Back in and Cass starts in on the arm as the fans chant what sounds like Hey Jude. Dash gets thrown at his partner but it’s too early for the Rocket Launcher.

Instead, Cass just picks Enzo up and throws him over the top to take out Dash and Dawson in a huge crash. Enzo can barely get up and it’s time to start on the arm. Wilder puts him on the apron for some kicks to the ribs followed by a slingshot suplex (Tully Blanchard’s old finisher) for two. The champs switch without a tag behind the referee’s back, meaning he won’t count a cover off a gordbuster (Arn Anderson’s old finisher). That’s something you almost never see.

Enzo grabs a DDT and makes the hot tag to Cass as everything breaks down. The East River Crossing gets two on Dawson with Dash making the save. A chop block takes out Cass’ knee and Dash grabs a leg lock. Enzo gets turned inside out trying to make a save but Cass crawls over and makes the rope anyway.

The champs load up the same move that took out Cass’ knee in the first place but Enzo makes the save. A big boot sets up the Rocket Launcher for a VERY hot two as Dawson pulls the referee out. Dawson goes after Carmella but she slaps him in the face to save herself. Enzo goes up, only to get caught in a super Shatter Machine for the pin at 14:58.

Rating: B. Another match that was way better than I was expecting with a bit of a surprise ending. They had me believing that they were going to change the titles here but after that I’m pretty sure Enzo and Cass are never getting the belts. There comes a point where it’s time to send them to the main roster and let them trade hilarious promos with New Day and I think we’ve reached that time.

Nia Jax video.

We recap Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin. Crews beat Corbin to become #1 contender so Corbin broke up Crews’ title shot. Apollo got far more aggressive, setting up this showdown.

Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews

Corbin shoves him around to start so Crews drives him right back across the ring in a nice power display. Apollo slugs away but Corbin backdrops him over the top and face first onto the steps. Corbin: “YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN RING OF HONOR!” He didn’t actually wrestle there but it was a good line. The fans swear at Corbin as he gets two off a boot to the face.

A small package just seems to annoy Baron so he bends Crews’ back over his knee. It spills out to the floor and Crews actually gets the better of it, sending Corbin hard into the barricade, followed by an apron moonsault. Back in and Corbin takes him down with a spinning slam (called Deep Six apparently) for two more. Crews spins out of End of Days and kicks Baron in the head, setting up the standing moonsault for two of his own. Back up and End of Days out of nowhere gives Baron the pin at 11:22.

Rating: C+. I just couldn’t get into this one but it’s cool to see Baron getting a big win like this for a change. I’m not sure where this leaves Crews and I’m pretty surprised to see him lose here. The match was good but Crews is still having issues connecting with the crowd. I’m assuming it’s Corbin vs. Balor coming up then.

Sami Zayn video.

Nia Jax says she’s going to do to Bayley what she’s done to everyone else. Asuka interrupts and gives Nia the creepy smile.

We recap Bayley vs. Nia Jax, which is mostly about Bayley defying all expectations and proving she can hang with anyone. Nia is a whole different animal though.

Women’s Title: Nia Jax vs. Bayley

Bayley is defending and there’s no Eva in sight. I’ve seen it for months now and I’m continually amazed at how over Bayley is. She’s the biggest star in NXT and only Finn Balor is even close to her level. Bayley ducks a clothesline to start and fires off the elbows in the corner, only to get thrown down like a doll. We hit an early cobra clutch with Nia swinging Bayley around like she’s nothing.

Bayley gets out and kicks her in the face, followed by back to back middle rope elbows. Nia is staggered but shoves Bayley out of the air on the third attempt. With nothing else working, Bayley tries a triangle choke of all things, only to be lifted up for a powerbomb. Bayley fights back again and gets two off a Swanton with Nia launching her to the floor on the kickout. Three straight Samoan drops and the legdrop get two and Jax is stunned. She throws Bayley around by the head and drops a leg on the arm.

Three more legdrops to the back of the head only get two and Nia can’t believe it. Saxton: “Wow. Just wow.” Nia puts her on top and Bayley looks mostly dead. A super Samoan drop is countered into a guillotine choke of all things but she just slams Bayley down for another break. Bayley grabs it again and Jax goes down to her back. She sits up with Bayley pulling as hard as she can for the tap out at 13:28.

Rating: A-. That was straight out of Sting vs. Vader with Bayley taking the worst beating of her career but never quitting no matter what. I didn’t believe they would actually go with the guillotine for the finish but it’s always cool to see them change things up, especially when the Bayley to Belly would have looked pretty bad here. Another awesome match here on a night of them.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe. They won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic together and Joe wanted a title shot. Balor was fine with that but Commissioner Regal said it had to be in a battle royal. Joe didn’t win and blamed Balor for not putting enough weight behind giving Joe the title shot. This sent Joe over the edge and he’s choked Balor out a few times now.

NXT Title: Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor

Balor is defending and we get the full demon entrance with Balor as Jack the Ripper from the vignette they’ve been running for a few weeks now. Feeling out process to start and the fans are split. Balor sends him outside for a kick to the face and a dropkick into the steps. The double stomp from the apron misses though and Joe plants him with the release Rock Bottom.

Back in and a corner enziguri gets two, followed by a knee drop for the same. There’s the Facewash but Balor nails an enziguri (WAY too common of a move as well) from the apron. His springboard is broken up though and Joe does his 300lb flying monster out of control suicide dive to take him out again. Back in and Joe puts on a Boston crab into a Crossface into a modified Rings of Saturn.

Balor gets his foot onto the ropes for the save and spins over into a DDT for a breather. It’s time for the chops from Finn but he runs into an elbow. Joe goes up but takes another enziguri to send him outside again. There’s the big flip dive to the floor, followed by a top rope double stomp for two back inside. The Sling Blade has Joe reeling but he sidesteps a dropkick and drops the backsplash. Balor counters the Muscle Buster into a sunset flip for two, followed by a Pele to put both guys down.

They slug it out again and Joe grabs the standing Clutch, only to have Balor send him into the buckle. Another enziguri is blocked (thank you) and Joe drags him back in by the throat. He can’t get Balor on the mat with the Clutch though as the champ rolls out and hits a quick double stomp. Another Sling Blade and some running dropkicks just tick Joe off so Finn dropkicks him down one more time. Balor has to shove him off the top to set up the Coup de Grace to retain at 18:20.

Rating: A. This was the heavyweight slugfest that everyone was wanting to see from these two. They beat each other up for nearly twenty minutes and had me believing that the title was in jeopardy a few times. I’m not sure who goes after Balor next but there’s a long list of people who could be up for a shot, which makes things that much more interesting.

Balor is checked out by the trainer before posing to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. What a great night of wrestling matches. The worst match on the show was Corbin vs. Crews and that was more than fine. Takeover continues to be one of the most entertaining shows of the year every time they run this thing because NXT puts in the effort coming into the specials every week on TV. Awesome show here and one of the strongest cards I’ve seen top to bottom in a long time.

Results

Asuka b. Emma – Spinning kick to the face

Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder b. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady – Super Shatter Machine to Amore

Baron Corbin b. Apollo Crews – End of Days

Bayley b. Nia Jax – Guillotine choke

Finn Balor b. Samoa Joe – Coup de Grace

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These things are pay per views for all intents and purposes so it deserves a preview of its own. That being said, I’m not sure how long this is going to be as there are only five matches and one of them is almost guaranteed to be a squash. However, since it’s NXT, you can almost guarantee a good show. Given that there hasn’t been a bad Takeover yet, I’d say you can indeed guarantee some awesome stuff. Let’s get to it.

We’ll start with the squash as Asuka demolishes Emma to end this short feud. Any debate on that? Yeah I’m thinking no too.

With that out of the way, we’re left with four matches that could go either way.

First up we have the Tag Team Titles as the Mechanics (Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder since I don’t think Mechanics has ever been made official) defend against Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady. I’m going to go with the champions retaining because Enzo and Cass would seem to be primed to go to the main roster and feud with the New Day, but it would be nice to see them get just a quick token reign with the titles. Still though, I think they’re going with Gable and Jordan as the team to take the belts off the Mechanics down the line, meaning the titles don’t change here.

Perhaps the most confusing match for me is the Women’s Title as Bayley defends against the monster Nia Jax. I still don’t know how Nia and Eva actually fit together because Nia has no real reason to keep Eva around, but I could see the title changing here. At the same time though, I could see them sticking with Bayley even longer because she’s the most over person in the promotion and it hasn’t been a very long reign for her yet. I think I’m going to go with Bayley retaining and eventually dropping the title to Asuka, but it could easily be the other way. I’ll go with Bayley and very little confidence.

As much as I want to see Corbin rise up and feud against Balor for the title, I think they’ll go with Crews and set up the rematch down the line as the two of them have some unfinished business. You would think Corbin would win a big match at some point but I don’t think it happens here. Crews wins and sets up the BIG showdown with Balor, maybe in Dallas.

That leaves us with the main event of Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe. As clear as it seems to be that Balor retains the title, they have me believing that the title could change here. Joe wouldn’t seem to be in NXT for long and it would probably be a short term title reigns, but I think they’ll keep the title on Balor here in a match that could be a classic.

Overall there isn’t a lot to say here because the stories are all so well put together yet still being simple. There’s enough potential good on this show for it to be another classic and I’d assume we get a bonus match to make things even better. Takeovers are always some of the best shows of the year and I have no reason to believe that’s not going to happen here again.

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:

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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:

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

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