NXT
Date: April 5, 2017
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 14,975
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Tom Phillips

This is the FINAL show from Wrestlemania week as this week’s episode consists of the dark matches from before Takeover: Orlando. You can expect a lot of recaps and quick comments from most of the people on Saturday’s show, meaning this is kind of a breather before we get going again. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the upper deck and looking down at the hard cameras to my very slight right with the Titantron on my left.

A long recap of Takeover gets us going, of course.

Opening sequence.

The announcers chat about Takeover, which hadn’t happened as they talk.

Peyton Royce vs. Aliyah

Nigel has a rather creepy sounding crush on Peyton and Billie Kay. Peyton sends her face first into the mat to start and looks over to Billie for approval. Aliyah takes Peyton down so Billie grabs her hands, starting a tug of war. Back up and Peyton pulls Aliyah’s arms while bending backwards over the ropes for an impressive looking hold. Aliyah comes back with a few Japanese armdrags, only to get kneed in the face. A fisherman’s suplex ends Aliyah at 2:50. Royce looked good but Aliyah still needs a lot of polish.

Quick look at Takeover’s eight person tag.

Quick look at the Women’s Title match.

Asuka asks who is left for her. This sounded much more heelish than her usual.

Quick look at Aleister Black’s debut. Andrade Cien Almas was as a club just a few hours after the loss. The announcers make this sound like a big problem for him.

Heavy Machinery vs. Bollywood Boyz

This was taped first and I actually missed it as the taping started before the scheduled time on the tickets. I hope it’s just due to the size of the arena but the Boyz come out to SILENCE. They’ve also turned heel and now don’t care what people think of them because they’re doing it their way. Harv and Tucker start things off and an early jumping bearhug has Harv in trouble.

Otis comes in so Tucker throws Harv from one bearhug into another. Gurv comes in and tries to dance at Otis, earning himself a double splash from the big guys. The Boyz take Otis into the corner until a double suplex cuts off anything they had going. The hot tag brings Tucker back in and Otis lifts Harv up for a slam with Tucker diving onto his partner’s back for added weight. Whatever is left of Harv is pinned at 3:20.

Rating: C. I know they’re not great and that they don’t have a long shelf life but I’m having a lot of fun with Heavy Machinery. They’re not trying to be anything more than what they are: two big guys doing big guy offense but in a very entertaining way. That finisher looks good and they’ve kept the matches short so nothing is overexposed. It’s just a good performance of a simple idea, which is a great way to get an act over.

Oney Lorcan isn’t worried about facing a mystery opponent.

Quick look at the Tag Team Title match.

Paul Ellering and the Authors of Pain are ready for whatever is next.

Long look at the NXT Title match. This runs nearly four minutes.

Quick look at Shinsuke Nakamura’s NXT debut.

Bobby Roode says he did what he promised to do. The Glorious Era will continue.

We get a listen to the FOURTH official theme song of Takeover. The show was two and a half hours long and had as many official songs as Wrestlemania.

Video on Drew McIntyre returning. McIntyre says he’s won everywhere and now he’s coming here to do the same. He’ll debut next week.

Oney Lorcan vs. ???

Lorcan has a mystery opponent and it’s……EL VAGABUNDO, a masked man (with a big beard sticking out) who happens to have a guitar. He says he has a song for us and is instantly the coolest thing the crowd has ever seen. The VAGABUNDO chants start off as Nigel says he’s heard a lot of great things about the newcomer. He’s even got a question for us: WHO WANTS TO WALK WITH EL VAGABUNDO?

The “SI” chants break out and he just happens to have a song for us. Lorcan grabs the guitar and says he knows Vagabundo is the Drifter. Fans: “NO! NO! NO!” Lorcan wants him to drift away but gets stomped down in the corner before the opening bell. Oney is quickly sent to the floor and we take a break with Vagabundo having to adjust his mask.

Back with Vagabundo sending him into the corner for a running clothesline as Nigel talks about the prestige of a luchador’s mask. Lorcan fights back with about seven straight running hip attacks in the corner (earning himself some boos ala WarZone and Attitude for the N64). Vagabundo tries a slam but loses his mask, somehow revealing Elias Samson (Nigel: “I KNEW IT!”). Lorcan gets a running Blockbuster for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C+. This was a lot of fun with the joke being out of the Juan Cena playbook. The fans ate it up and Lorcan somehow came off as a heel in the whole thing. I really hope this continues as the Drifter character was a big waste of time but him doing anything he could to stay in NXT is a great idea.

Post match Samson says he belongs here but a female security guard cranks on his arm and forces him out.

Overall Rating: D+. I’m not entirely sure how to grade this one as the show ran 51 minutes (counting commercials) and there was only about nine minutes of televised wrestling, almost none of which had any long term value. The matches were fun though and the recaps were a great way to catch people up on Takeover. There’s only so much you can do with NXT’s taping schedule so this was about all you could expect.

Results

Peyton Royce b. Aliyah – Fisherman’s suplex

Heavy Machinery b. Bollywood Boyz – Double World’s Strongest Slam to Harv

Oney Lorcan b. El Vagabundo – Running Blockbuster

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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

NXT
Date: March 29, 2017
Location: University Area CDC Gymnasium, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips

It’s the final show before Takeover: Orlando and that means most of the card is set, though you can probably guarantee one more match that we’ll get to later. The show has been starting to look better in recent weeks though I’m not entirely sold yet. Tonight we’ll have a Loser Leaves NXT match between Kassius Ohno and Elias Samson so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Akam vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Dash Wilder

Preview for Saturday’s triple threat for the Tag Team Titles. Akam goes after Wilder so Johnny jumps on the big man’s back, because that’s always worked so well over the years. Double teaming works a bit better though as Dawson dropkicks him to the floor before turning on Gargano almost immediately. Akam gets back in but he has to snarl at Scott Dawson for some attempted interference as we take a break.

Back with the Revival nowhere to be seen (apparently they just left instead of merely backing away before the break), leaving Akam to put Gargano in a torture rack. Johnny escapes and slugs away to limited avail before the slingshot spear is good for two. Unfortunately he decides to look away for a second and turns back into a boot to the face.

Johnny comes right back with three straight superkicks but Ra’zar pulls Gargano out at two. That earns Ciampa a beating on the floor and Johnny’s slingshot DDT is caught in mid-air. One heck of a powerbomb plants Gargano but here’s Dawson to grab Akam’s leg. Naturally that means Wilder can slide back in and steal the pin on Gargano at 10:11.

Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t anything spectacular here but I love the booking. The Revival is smart enough to not try and go head to head with the Authors, as well as knowing better than to stay out there and waste energy before the title match. I can always go with smart wrestling and it worked very well here.

Video on Aleister Black vs. Andrade Cien Almas.

Heavy Machinery vs. Jonathan Ordegen/Mike Marshall

That would be Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight as your standard big guy tag team, though they’re not huge enough to make them immobile blobs. Tucker and I think Jonathan start things off and we’re already in a bearhug. Otis tags himself in so Tucker throws Ordegen into another bearhug for a cool spot. Now it’s Marshall being pulled in for a double shoulder and a double chest bump to send the jobbers outside.

Ordegen offers a distraction so Marshall can get in a shot from behind on Knight, which pretty much wraps up the team’s offense. Otis comes back in and cleans house with clotheslines and elbows, including one to put Jonathan back outside. Dozovic picks up Marshall for a slam but doesn’t put him down, allowing Tucker to crash into Mike’s back. Otis picks Knight up and slams him down onto Marshall for the pin at 3:37.

Rating: C+. I had a lot of fun with this one and Heavy Machinery worked well together out there. I’m not sure how far they can go but they’re certainly good for stuff like this. They fought the Authors of Pain at a house show in January and it was rather entertaining so they can definitely hang with the bigger names.

We go to William Regal’s office for the contract signing between Asuka and Ember Moon. Asuka snickers at Ember’s name but Ember says Asuka has let the success go to her head. Ember signs and Asuka does the same with Moon saying she’s been ready for a long time. Regal says good luck and we’re done in maybe two minutes.

Long video on Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. The video presents a battle for the future of NXT with Roode being out for himself while Nakamura does what the fans want. That’s about as basic of a heel vs. face feud as you’re going to get and that’s just fine.

Paul Ellering and the Authors of Pain think DIY’s fairy tale ends soon and the Revival just wants to be them.

Sanity vs. Ruby Riot/No Way Jose/Tye Dillinger/Roderick Strong is confirmed for Takeover.

Kassius Ohno vs. Elias Samson

Loser leaves NXT. They trade rollups to start before taking turns on the arm. Ohno gets the better of it, though sadly that means we have to look at his rather disturbing looking thighs. A backsplash gets two on Samson but they head to the apron where Ohno is sent into the post for a big crash onto the steps.

Back from a break with Samson working on the injured back with some kicks and knees. He switches gears with a Crossface though and Ohno has to roll over three times before making the ropes. Ohno blasts him in the jaw with some hard strikes, including a jumping knee to the face. A big boot gets two but a neckbreaker is countered into a backslide for two. Samson’s swinging neckbreaker gets the same, only to have Ohno blast him with the discus forearm to get rid of Samson at 12:47.

Rating: C. The only word I can think of is eh. Ohno has never really done it for me in NXT and that continues here. The match was fine but absolutely nothing I’ll remember in about an hour. It doesn’t help that the story felt slapped together for the sake of getting Samson on to the main roster (I have no idea why as it’s not like he’s been a huge deal in NXT) and giving Ohno a win. That being said, while it accomplished those goals, it certainly wasn’t exciting in the least.

Samson is dragged away by security but agrees to go quietly if he’s given his guitar back. Ohno offers to hand it back before stomping on it instead. So to recap: Samson is a drifter who FINALLY found a home in NXT and is being forced to leave. On top of that, his most prized possession is destroyed in front of his eyes by the person who forced him out of NXT. Why am I supposed to boo him again?

One last Takeover promo wraps up the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This is a good example of a shot where the wrestling wasn’t the point. Tonight helped build towards Takeover: Orlando with every match getting some focus and another match added to the card. It’s a perfectly fine show and it accomplished everything it needed to do. This was fine for a go home show, though the main event still felt forced in, which isn’t a good thing.

Results

Dash Wilder b. Johnny Gargano and Akam – Powerbomb to Gargano

Heavy Machinery b. Jonathan Ordegen/Mike Marshall – Dozovic slammed Knight onto Marshall

Kassius Ohno b. Elias Samson – Discus forearm

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/03/24/kbs-history-of-nxt-volumes-1-and-2-now-available-in-paperback/

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

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