The opening video hypes up the tournament and talks about paying tribute to the Dream.

Opening sequence.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Ascension vs. Rhyno/Baron Corbin

Nia Jax is still coming.

Alexa Bliss vs. Blue Pants

Bliss takes Blue Pants down for a beating to start and throws her to the mat by the hair. Pants gets rammed into the buckle and a kick to the back sets up an armbar. Back up and Pants fires off some kicks and a northern lights suplex gets two. She misses a charge in the corner though and the Sparkle Splash gives Alexa the pin at 3:34.

Apollo Crews vs. Martin Stone

Apollo starts fast with an armdrag but Stone clotheslines him down to take over. Off to a chinlock for a bit before Crews comes back with a standing enziguri. The gorilla press and standing moonsault put Stone away at 2:57. Crews looked good but he needs to do something besides just being all athletic and awesome.

Eva Marie vs. Billie Kay

The Hype Bros and Enzo/Cass argued over what part of New York to celebrate in after winning last week.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Solomon Crowe/Neville vs. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan

Gable comes back in and mocks Solomon, even having Jordan fan him off while Crowe is on the floor. Jordan throws on a chinlock for a bit before Solomon adds a bow and arrow of his own. The hold is finally broken and Crowe dives over for the tag, allowing Neville to come in for his usual fast paced stuff.

Results

Baron Corbin/Rhyno b. Ascension – Gore to Konor

Alexa Bliss b. Blue Pants – Sparkle Splash

Apollo Crews b. Martin Stone – Standing moonsault

Eva Marie b. Billie Kay – Sliced Red #2

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan b. Neville/Solomon Crowe – Grand Amplitude to Crowe

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Opening sequence.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

We recap Charlotte vs. Dana Brooke, which is over Charlotte being in the Tap Out commercial, because Dana says Charlotte has been given all of her chances because of her last name. Dana wants a match to show her abilities and gets her chance tonight.

Baron Corbin vs. Jesse Sorensen

Jason Jordan/Chad Gable vs. Elias Samson/Levis Valenzuela Jr.

Charlotte vs. Dana Brooke

Kevin Owens vs. Martin Stone

Stone is a British wrestler who looks like a shorter Luke Gallows. Owens nails a clothesline to start and the backsplash. Stone runs into a release German suplex, followed by the Cannonball, a swanton bomb and the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 1:48. Total squash.

Owens gives Stone an apron powerbomb post match.

Tag Team Titles: Blake/Murphy vs. Vaudevillains

Blake and Murphy are defending. Fans: “DOWN WITH DUBSTEP!” Blake and Gotch fight over a top wristlock to start until Simon grabs a monkey flip into a cross armbreaker, followed by a dropkick for two. English comes in and stays right on Blake with a top wristlock of his own. Murphy comes in but both champions take Japanese armdrags as this is all Vaudevillains so far.

Results

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

Baron Corbin b. Jesse Sorensen – End of Days

Jason Jordan/Chad Gable b. Levis Valenzuela Jr./Elias Samson – Grand Amplitude to Valenzuela

Charlotte b. Dana Brooke – Natural Selection

Kevin Owens b. Martin Stone – Pop Up Powerbomb

Blake/Murphy b. Vaudevillains – Rollup to English with a handful of tights

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Chad Gable/Jason Jordan vs. Steve Cutler/Elias Samson

Clip of the NXT girls debuting on Raw and cleaning house. No sign of Stephanie and suddenly this is WAY better. That triple submission is an awesome visual.

Samoa Joe vs. Axel Tischer

Blake/Murphy vs. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton

Non-title. Blake and Murphy start by taking turns on Dawkins with Blake slapping on a chinlock. Murphy comes in for a chinlock of his own as the announcers talk about sandwiches for no apparent reason. Dawkins fights up but Blake is smart enough to pull Fulton to the floor. The brainbuster and frog splash are enough for the pin on Angelo at 3:03.

The champs beat Dawkins down post match and flip Alexa into the air for the Sparkle Splash. Again, that looked cool.

We look back at Charlotte being granted a title match.

Clip of Owens losing the NXT Title to Finn Balor in Japan.

Sasha is defending. Charlotte starts slowly by shoving Sasha into the corner (too common a move) and throwing in a little Flair strut. The champ is sent down into the ropes and Charlotte nips up just because she can. A knee to the face and the double knees in the corner put Charlotte down for two as the momentum swing takes us to a break. Back with Charlotte getting choked in the corner (because where else would it be?), allowing Sasha to bust out the Flair strut.

They shake hands and hug for a cool moment to end the show.

Results

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan b. Steve Cutler/Elias Samson – Bridging belly to back suplex to Samson

Samoa Joe b. Axel Tischer – Koquina Clutch

Blake/Murphy b. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton – Frog splash to Dawkins

Sasha Banks b. Charlotte – Bank Statement

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We open with the roster on the stage and HHH talking about the loss of Dusty Rhodes. Dusty was family to everyone on this stage because he thought they were his kids. HHH, barely able to keep his voice together, asks for a moment of silence as the bell rings ten times.

Opening sequence.

Balor vs. Rhyno later tonight.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Jason Jordan/Sylvester LeFort

Dana Brooke vs. Cassie

Hype Bros vs. Sawyer Fulton/Angelo Dawkins

Eva Marie wants a match but Regal needs proof that she has more than charm.

Finn Balor vs. Rhyno

Owens is annoyed at all the questions Brennan is asking him as Balor gets two off a dropkick to the side of the head. That earns him a northern lights suplex but Balor staggers him with a Pele Kick. The Coup de Grace is loaded up but Owens comes down for a distraction, allowing Rhyno to hit the belly to belly. The Gore is countered by a kick to the face though and the Sling Blade sets up the Coup de Grace for the pin at 11:40.

Owens comes in and double teams Balor until Samoa Joe comes in for the save, likely setting up a tag match next week.

Overall Rating: C. Not their best show this week but they did a good job of setting up Balor vs. Owens in less than two weeks. Other than that they have enough feuds and stories going on to set up a big non-Takeover show before we get to the REALLY big stuff down the line. Good effort this week, even though it was mainly a placeholder outside of the main story.

Results

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady b. Jason Jordan/Sylvester LeFort – Rollup to Jordan

Dana Brooke b. Cassie – Whiplash

Hype Bros b. Sawyer Fulton/Angelo Dawkins – Middle rope Rough Ryder to Dawkins

Finn Balor b. Rhyno – Coup de Grace

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The opening video is all about Owens beating Cena at Elimination Chamber.

General Manager William Regal has an announcement tonight.

Tyler Breeze vs. Adam Rose

Fans: “WE WANT KRUGER!” Rose takes him into the corner to start and nails some loud chops, followed by a headlock takeover: rest hold. Back up and Breeze nails a great dropkick to put Rose on the floor. That goes nowhere as Rose backdrops him to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Rose putting on a sleeper for a good while until Breeze fights out and kicks him in the chest. Breeze, wrestling like a face here, nails some running forearms in the corner but gets caught in a spinebuster, which Rose transitions into a Boston crab for a nice spot. Breeze crawls over to the ropes and comes back with the Beauty Shot for the pin at 12:01.

Solomon Crowe is glad Joe was there last week and promises to be back and better than ever.

Dana Brooke has been at the Arnold Classic and will be back soon.

Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss

Carmella goes right at her with three straight takedowns and right hands every time. Bliss manages to drop her face first onto the buckle for two before cranking on a cravate. Back up and Carmella hits some running forearms, only to get caught in a rollup with a hand grabbing the ropes to give Bliss the pin at 3:34.

Vaudevillains vs. Jason Jordan/Marcus Louis

Video on Sasha Banks being all Bossy.

Finn Balor is ready for Rhyno.

Finn Balor vs. Rhyno

That goes nowhere as Finn comes back with a middle rope forearm but the reverse lifting DDT is countered into a spinebuster for two. Frustration is setting in for Rhyno and the Pele makes it even worse. The Sling Blade connects but the Coup de Grace misses. The Gore misses as well though and Balor grabs a quick rollup for the surprise pin at 12:10.

Rhyno Gores Balor on the stage to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show would best be summed up as recharging. You have the Vaudevillains returning and Breeze acting more like a face, along with setting up some feuds for the future. This is something you come to expect from NXT as they hit Takeover, have a week off, and then start getting back on track to the middle of the road feuds. Owens vs. Balor in Tokyo should be awesome and the fans are going to eat it up.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. Adam Rose – Beauty Shot

Alexa Bliss b. Carmella – Rollup while holding the ropes

Vaudevillains b. Jason Jordan/Marcus Louis – Whirling Dervish to Louis

Finn Balor b. Rhyno – Rollup

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Opening sequence.

Rhyno vs. ???

Rhyno throws him across the ring with a belly to belly and the Gore is good for the pin at 25 seconds.

Former bodybuilder Dana Brooke is here in two weeks.

Last week after the match, Kevin Owens says it only matters that he won because no one is taking his title away.

Bayley vs. Emma

Rating: D+. The wrestling was nothing special here but it felt much more like a story being told than anything else. Emma as the jaded wrestler who has been burned by the main roster and not wanting Bayley to make the same mistakes is an interesting story but the matches need to be a bit better than this.

Emma smiles as Bayley leaves.

Blake and Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons

Solomon Crowe video.

Tye Dillinger vs. Jason Jordan

Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

2/3 falls. The selfie stick gets a chant before the bell rings. The chants change to a debate over whether Breeze is gorgeous or ratchet. Breeze drives him into the corner to start for some shoulders to the ribs but Hideo comes back with a running clothesline and a kick to the chest. A running dropkick and a running boot to the face give Itami the first fall at 2:21. Well that was fast.

Results

Rhyno b. ??? – Gore

Bayley b. Emma – Sunset flip

Blake and Murphy b. Lucha Dragons – Frog splash to Cara

Jason Jordan b. Tye Dillinger – T-bone suplex

Tyler Breeze b. Hideo Itami – Beauty Shot

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Opening sequence.

Hideo Itami vs. Bull Dempsey

Tyler Breeze superkicks Itami as he leaves. He stops to take a picture though and Itami gets up to chase him away.

Video on The Brian Kendrick, who is making a return tonight like Rhyno did last week.

Lucha Dragons vs. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan

Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger

End of Days, 17 seconds. Corbin needs to move up the ladder a bit now. Give him a feud against someone not named Dempsey.

Charlotte says the title is coming back where it belongs next week.

Breeze says Itami will soon be squashed in his trap.

Quick video on Sami Zayn in Abu Dhabi.

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

Back in and the aggression comes out of Bayley with some running corner elbows, complete with the tightening of the hair band (as usual, far more adorable than it should be). Bayley tweaks her arm but shoves Becky away and keeps going. A middle rope back elbow to the jaw gets two on Lynch. The Belly to Bayley is countered into a seated armbar out of nowhere and Bayley taps at 4:30.

Rhyno is back because he loves the intensity he sees here in NXT. It reminds him of the energy he has when he Gores people in half.

Jason Jordan did what he did and will give an explanation when he wants to.

Finn Balor vs. The Brian Kendrick

Back from a break with Balor hitting a running forearm to the jaw to put Kendrick down. Finn charges into a boot to the jaw though and eats a tornado DDT for two. A kick to the chest drops Kendrick again though and the Sling Blade does the same. The top rope double stomp is good for the pin on Kendrick at 11:32.

Results

Hideo Itami b. Bull Dempsey – Running boot to the face

Lucha Dragons b. Jason Jordan/Tye Dillinger – Swanton Bomb to Dillinger

Baron Corbin b. Tye Dillinger – End of Days

Becky Lynch b. Bayley – Seated armbar

Finn Balor b. The Brian Kendrick – Top rope double stomp

The main story at the moment is Brodus Clay wanting a piece of the NXT Title and going after Adrian Neville to get there. Other than that we’re looking forward to seeing Sami Zayn get his hands on Corey Graves after Graves injured him a few weeks back. The Divas division is also getting more and more awesome so let’s get to it.

Colin Cassady vs. Aiden English

English kicks him in the ribs to start as Regal is already sucking up to Aiden. Big Cass hammers away as we hear about Aiden declaring himself an upper echelon talent in NXT. The SAWFT Boot to the face gets two but Aiden just hammers him down to take over again. A hard elbow to the head keeps Cass in trouble as Regal talks about how to throw the hardest punches. The Director’s Cut is countered but Cass’ spinning Rock Bottom is countered into a rollup with a handful of trunks for the pin at 4:10.

Rating: D+. English winning is always a good thing as he’s ready to move up the ladder in NXT. I’m not saying he’s ready for the main roster but English would be a great opponent for Neville once he’s done with Brodus. The singing gimmick is just about perfect though and that’s the important part.

Tyler Breeze has Devin read his names off a phone. He has nothing to say and just wanted her to read so he could make a gorgeous cameo. Awesome indeed.

We look at Paige winning the Divas Title on Raw.

Paige, holding both belts, doesn’t buy the other Divas’ congratulations on Raw. She’s also ready for the BFFs here in NXT. Paige has studied every Diva on both rosters and will never get comfortable. This is the most she’s ever talked and it wasn’t half bad.

Camacho vs. Oliver Grey

This is Grey’s return match after being gone forever with a knee injury. The fans chant KING HAKU at Camacho (Haku’s son) in a cool moment. A dropkick and wristlock give Oliver early control but Camacho runs him over with a hard elbow. Some forearms to the back set up a Samoan drop for the pin on Grey at 2:00. This was just a squash, but to be fair did anyone care that Grey was back anyway?

Bo Dallas says his fans are law abiding citizens so they didn’t do anything illegal last week. However the Bo Dallas Hotline is running wild so he knows the Bo Lievers will never stop Bo Lieving in him to get the NXT Title back.

Ascension vs. Wesley Blake/Cal Bishop

Blake tries some shots to the ribs but Konnor just ENDS him with a clothesline. A shoulder does the same and it’s off to Viktor for some HARD chops on the floor. Back in and Konnor stomps away in the corner before the Fall of Man ends Blake at 2:19. Can we please move them to WWE, because they’re basically Paige with slightly worse legs.

Charlotte talks over Sasha in the back and takes over the BFFs.

CJ Parker vs. Great Khali

Before the match, Parker says he can’t sleep at night because he’s wondering what this planet would be like without the NXT Universe. There would be no litter in his street or animals in his zoos. Parker wants to know how people can boo a man that wants to change the world for the better but Khali’s music cuts him off. They trade chops to start and I believe you can guess who wins.

We get the loud chops in the corner and a clothesline puts Parker on the floor. Back in and Parker gets in a shot to the knee to take over, drawing what might be the greatest chant in history. Parker: “I JUST WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD!” Fans: “GLOBAL WARMING! GLOBAL WARMING!” Khali fights back and the Plunge is good for the pin at 2:33. The fans’ hatred of Parker is glorious.

Emma might have a partner to face the BFFs next week.

Sami Zayn insists that he’s fine and says he’ll be taking care of Graves soon.

Jason Jordan/Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin/Sawyer Fulton

Jordan and Dillinger get an entrance and have similar trunks. I’ll take it over the random pairings we usually get around here. The good guys use some decent double teaming on Corbin for two before it’s Dillinger with some hard chops in the corner. Corbin comes back with a hard clothesline of his own before it’s off to Fulton for some elbow drops for two. A suplex gets the same but Corbin goes to the middle rope, only to save himself from diving into Tye’s boot. Baron misses an elbow drop though and it’s hot tag to Jordan. House is cleaned and the MNM Snapshot is good for the pin on Baron at 4:27.

Rating: C-. Standard speed vs. power formula match here so it was really hard to screw up. Jordan and Dillinger aren’t anything special but they’re something new so points for trying at least. The Snapshot is a good finisher to bring back as well and makes for a good double team move. Nice little match here to debut the team.

Adrian Neville vs. Brodus Clay

Non-title. Adrian goes right at him and fires off kicks to the legs. Renee: “I’d run around him like Mario around Koopa!” A sleeper doesn’t get Neville anywhere and he dives into a release fisherman’s suplex for two. Brodus goes old school with a heart punch for two and we hit the nerve hold.

We also get the second and third versions of the hold before Neville fights out of a powerbomb attempt. Some kicks to the head have no effect on Brodus but an AJ Styles springboard forearm put him down. Neville rolls through a 450 but Brodus runs him over with a headbutt. They head outside where Clay misses a splash off the steps, allowing Neville to get a quick countout win at 6:23.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but the ending leaves the door open for future matches. However, I’m not sure why we need a second match as the first one would have been a good enough win for Neville. The match not being for the title fits what Adrian said and we’ll likely get an attack from Clay to set up a rematch.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was moving out there and it worked far better than the previous few episodes. A few things are set up for the next few weeks and we had some decent matches to get there. I like the idea of fast matches instead of long drawn out ones for a change as it’s a breath of fresh air. Nice show this week and again I have hopes for NXT’s future.

Results
Aiden English b. Colin Cassady – Rollup
Camacho b. Oliver Grey – Samoan drop
Ascension b. Wesley Blake/Cal Bishop – Fall of Man to Blake
Great Khali b. CJ Parker – Punjabi Plunge
Jason Jordan/Tye Dillinger b. Baron Corbin/Sawyer Fulton
Adrian Neville b. Brodus Clay via countout

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