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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As you would expect, this show is dedicated to the American Dream Dusty Rhodes.

We open with the Dusty tribute video, which is still awesome stuff.

Opening sequence.

Blake/Murphy/Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella/Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady

Back from a break with Enzo slugging Blake down but getting dropped from behind by Murphy. We hit the headlock on the mat for a good while before Cass gets dropped off the apron. Enzo avoids a charge in the corner though and makes the tag off to Carmella, meaning Alexa has to come in. Carmella dominates in a hurry as everything breaks down again. Cass plants Blake with the side slam, setting up the Rocket Launcher for the pin at 10:22.

Stills of Cena vs. Owens II and the aftermath.

We get the first part of a look at Finn Balor, mainly due to a sitdown interview. First question: who is Fergal Devitt? Balor talks about growing up in Ireland and how his dad built his way up from a cleaner to a train engineer in a cool story. One day a show called Superstars came on his TV and he was instantly hooked. We get some really cool clips of him in some tiny independents as well as Insane Championship Wrestling (Scotland) and Revolution Pro Wrestling UK.

Becky Lynch cries talking about how Fergal (her word) opened a wrestling school in Ireland and got her into the business as a result. She lied about her age to get into the school and so that Fergal might ask her out, which apparently he did. There are some really cool pictures of the two of them going through school and starting their careers, including stuff like being in the ring or just listening to music together so you could tell they were close.

Charlotte vs. K.C. Cassidy

Rating: D+. Just a squash here to remind us that Charlotte is awesome before she gets back into it with Barrett and Emma for the big feud. That spear looked good and could be a good power finisher for her as Charlotte is tall and strong enough to make it work well. Cassidy has potential but is clearly not that experienced.

Kevin Owens vs. Samoa Joe

They do the big brawl with security not being able to hold them back post match. Owens shouts that the champ is here to end the show.

Results

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady/Carmella b. Blake/Murphy/Alexa Bliss – Rocket Launcher to Blake

Charlotte b. K.C. Cassidy – Figure Eight

Kevin Owens vs. Samoa Joe went to a double DQ when they both shoved the referee

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So the story is that the Divas on the main roster aren’t willing to help Paige out against the Bellas.  Therefore, Paige is in need of someone to help her out.  Maybe she goes back to her roots.  Back to where she started.  Back down to NXT.  Not for a fresh start or anything, but for reinforcements.  Like……Sasha Banks, Bayley, Charlotte and Becky Lynch.

I know you hear about these invasion storylines all the time, but in this case I dig the idea.  Why not use this opportunity to bring some of them up and breathe some much needed life into that division?  Is anyone going to miss Layla or Tamina or Eva Marie or even Natalya?  Bring in some fresh blood and cut some of these girls that never do anything.

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

The opening video is all about Joe debuting in NXT and setting his sights on the title.

Opening sequence.

Zack Ryder/Mojo Rawley vs. Mike Rallis/Elias Samson

Ryder is WAY over here and the fans even seem happy to see Rawley. Mojo shoves Rallis down, slams Samson, but then stop, HAMMER TIME. Ryder comes in and takes some shoulders in the ribs, only to raise his knees in the corner to stop a charge. The middle rope dropkick sets up the Broski Boot but Samson offers a distraction to take over.

We hit the chinlock but a GET HYPED chant brings Ryder to his feet for the hot tag to Rawley. Mojo cleans house with some very fast paced offense, including a big running punch and capped off by a middle rope Hart Attack with the Rough Ryder instead of the clothesline for the pin on Samson at 3:55.

Emma vs. Blue Pants

Tyler Breeze vs. Bull Dempsey

Becky Lynch vs. Jesse McKay

Baron Corbin vs. Angelo Dawkins

Corbin throws him around to start and walks him around the ring before a slam. A bulldog attempt is countered by a huge clothesline and End of Days gives Baron the pin at 2:29.

Samoa Joe vs. Scott Dawson

Results

Zack Ryder/Mojo Rawley b. Elias Samson/Mike Rallis – Middle rope Rough Ryder to Samson

Emma b. Blue Pants – Emma Lock

Tyler Breeze b. Bull Dempsey – Beauty Shot

Becky Lynch b. Jesse McKay – Disgoosted Armbar

Baron Corbin b. Angelo Dawkins – End of Days

Samoa Joe b. Scott Dawson – Muscle Buster

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This should rock, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they changed Lesnar’s opponent to Jericho.

On top of that, how awesome is the Network?  WWE can just throw this kind of thing on there as a special with no clearance or anything like that.  They’re doing it because they can and we get a cool show.  That’s so awesome.

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

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

Opening sequence.

We get an interview from last week with Zack Ryder, who was interrupted by Mojo Rawley, who freaked Zack out a little bit.

Emma vs. Bayley

Emma is flanked by Dana Brooke. Bayley gets stomped down in the corner to start and Emma cranks on an armbar, only to have Bayley throw her to the mat and just pound away with right hands. A kick to the face gets two near falls for Emma as the fans are of course completely behind Bayley. Emma throws her down by the hair a few times and grabs a leg drag, followed by the Emma Lock for the clean submission at 4:13.

Charlotte comes out for the post match save but gets beaten down as well.

Recap of Baron Corbin beating Rhyno last week.

Baron was being interviewed after his win last week when Rhyno came up and said they should do it again soon.

Elias Samson/Mike Rallis vs. Blake/Murphy

Samson takes a Sparkle Splash for some insult to injury.

Tye Dillinger vs. Finn Balor

Dillinger scores with a quick elbow to the face but Balor smiles at him. Some choking with a boot in the corner has some more effect on Finn and we hit the chinlock. Balor comes back with a running forearm and basement dropkick, followed by the Sling Blade. The Coup de Grace completes the squash for Finn at 2:45.

Kevin Owens vs. Solomon Crowe

Non-title. Owens bails to the floor so Solomon goes after him, only to eat some right hands to the face. Back in and Owens throws him outside again and we take a break. We come back with Owens putting on a chinlock. That gets boring in a hurry so Owens just hammers him down and tosses Solomon back to the floor. The pop-up powerbomb finally ends Crowe at 9:24.

Owens loads up the apron powerbomb but Samoa Joe comes out big staredown, sending Kevin running to end the show.

Results

Emma b. Bayley – Emma Lock

Blake/Murphy b. Elias Samson/Mike Rallis – Frog splash to Samson

Finn Balor b. Tye Dillinger – Coup de Grace

Kevin Owens b. Solomon Crowe – Pop up powerbomb

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