NXT
Date: September 9, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves

The Dusty Classic continues this week as we get to see a few more first round matches tonight. The tournament has taken the promotion by storm and it’s already more interesting than I was hoping for it to be. We’re also just about a month away from the next Takeover, which needs a card built up in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Peyton Royce vs. Carmella

Royce used to be K.C. Cassidy but this is billed as her debut. Feeling out process to start as they trade rollups, followed by Carmella busting out a moonwalk. A suplex gets two more on Carmella and we hit the chinlock. Carmella fights back up an elbows Royce in the jaw before slapping on a chinlock of her own. Back up and Royce fires off some nice kicks in the corner, followed by a middle rope cross body for two. They’re already showing more energy than the Bellas have displayed in a long time. Carmella comes right back with that crossface with her legs for the submission at 5:03.

Rating: D. That’s one of the lower ratings I’ve given an NXT match in a long time but this didn’t work. A five minute match doesn’t need two extended chinlocks. The sudden finish didn’t do it any favors either as this felt like they jumped to the ending instead of building there like a normal match. Royce has some good potential but needs more molding.

Samoa Joe asked Finn Balor if he’s ready. The champ certainly is but Joe tells him not to forget his belt. Joe hands him the title, after staring at it a bit first.

In other first round matches, Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady beat Sawyer Fulton/Angelo Dawkins and Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder beat Elias Sampson/Tucker Knight. It’s really smart to not air the whole thing on TV as we don’t need to every single first round match.

Nia Jax is still coming.

Dusty Classic First Round: Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano vs. Bull Dempsey/Tyler Breeze

Ciampa and Breeze get things going with Tommaso getting in a great slap to the jaw. It’s off to Bull, who is dubbed as gorgeous by the crowd. Ciampa takes him down to the mat so it’s quickly back to Breeze, who is taken into the corner and rolled up for two by Gargano. Tyler is trying to recover in the corner and tags out to the big man, who gets kicked in the head upon arrival. Ciampa’s running knee to the head gets two and we hit the chinlock.

Back from a break with Ciampa on Bull’s back in a sleeper, so Dempsey just falls backwards for the break. Use the natural assets man. Gargano comes in and knocks Breeze off the apron, meaning there’s no one there for Bull to tag. Bull fights back on his own with a Bionic Elbow but knocks his partner off the apron again. Gargano grabs a sunset flip and Ciampa makes it a jackknife rollup to pin Dempsey at 8:44.

Rating: C-. This was more of a story than a match though it’s always cool to see some indy stars brought in to NXT. Dempsey vs. Breeze could be an interesting match if they have Bull act like his old self, though I’m not sure how far the Bull Fit gimmick can really go. Ciampa and Gargano were fine here but there’s only so much you can get out of a short match like this.

The Lucha Dragons are ready for their match and warn Joe/Balor to not overlook them because these dragons breathe fire.

Dana Brooke is mad (though not because she hasn’t patted Devon on the head recently) for having to see Bayley win that Women’s Title. She turned down a spot in the Arnold Classic in Spain to be here and now she wants her title.

Video on Tye Dillinger.

Dana Brooke vs. Billie Kay

They trade headlocks to start with Billie taking it down to the mat. A headscissors messes Brooke up even more as a weak Total Diva chant breaks out. Brooke slams her into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs as the confidence is back. The handstand choke sets up a chinlock on Kay which quickly switches to a headscissors choke. Brooke stops a comeback with an enziguri and the fireman’s carry driver is good for the pin at 5:23.

Rating: D+. These new girls are a far cry from the Four Horsewomen but Brooke is probably the furthest along of all of them and one of the best options to face Bayley. Billie is another one where we can’t really tell what’s going on in such a short performance, especially when most of it was spent on the mat.

Apollo Crews calls the fans the Apollo Nation. They’re ready to take over NXT. Can we please stop calling everything a nation or a team? You can come up with something more creative than that.

Bayley’s biggest fan Izzy was at the WWE Performance Center to meet Bayley in person. That’s always cool.

Bayley is back next week.

Dusty Classic First Round: Samoa Joe/Finn Balor vs. Lucha Dragons

This is from a Smackdown taping in Providence, Rhode Island with Tom Phillips and Jimmy Uso on commentary. Balor and Cara get things going and a loud NXT chant starts up. The champ tries to slow things down with an armbar but gets caught in a headlock instead. Jimmy is asked advice on how to win the tournament. Jimmy: “Don’t get kicked in the face like that!” Balor sends Cara to the floor and dives on both guys and we take a break.

Back with Joe tagging Balor in and the champion being slammed down in the corner. Kalisto gets two off a flipping splash and puts on a waistlock. Finn fights up and gets in enough shots to make the tag to Joe. The Dragons are thrown all over the ring but Cara comes back with a sloppy tornado DDT for two. Cara tries to charge at Joe in the corner and has to slip out of the Muscle Buster. Kalisto tags himself in and gets two off a quick hurricanrana, only to charge into the release Rock Bottom. The Muscle Buster into the Coup de Grace eliminate the Dragons at 11:16.

Rating: C+. This got a lot better as it went on and the last two minutes or so were really good. The best part here is either team winning would have made sense as the Dragons have been successful in NXT and it’s pretty clear that Balor vs. Joe is coming in the near future. It wasn’t a great match or anything, but it picked up a pretty lame show otherwise.

Overall Rating: C-. Definitely not their best show but the tournament kept it from being dull. They’re rapidly approaching the next Takeover and you can see some of the card, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the semi-finals and finals at the show to fill in some time. The wrestling wasn’t great tonight though and the new featured women need some work. Then again, I said the same thing about Sasha and Bayley about a year ago and they’ve turned out very well.

Results

Carmella b. Peyton Royce – Crossface leg lock

Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano b. Tyler Breeze/Bull Dempsey – Jackknife rollup to Dempsey

Dana Brooke b. Billie Kay – Fireman’s carry driver

Samoa Joe/Finn Balor b. Lucha Dragons – Coup de Grace to Kalisto

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

So in addition to Summerslam, there was NXT’s biggest show of all time as they had roughly the same crowd as Summerslam in the same building for Takeover: Brooklyn. As usual I was way more excited for this than for whatever WWE was putting on as NXT actually knows how to build a full card. Let’s get to it.

We opened with HHH introducing us to the show and showing off the huge crowd. It never ceases to amaze me how much cooler HHH is on his own than when he’s on Raw. This feels like the closer thing to a real version of the guy and he’s a lot more enjoyable like this. Also his speech was like two minutes long, not twenty. Do that more on Raw.

The opening was a surprise as Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Tyler Breeze. I’ve been waiting for Breeze to be pushed towards the top of the promotion but Liger getting the win is far from the worst thing in the world. Above all here: I have full confidence in NXT’s ability to build Breeze back up. In WWE, or almost any other promotion for that matter, he would be finished for all intents and purposes. The match was good and Liger is a charisma machine so the fans ate this up.

The Vaudevillains brought in Blue Pants to help deal with Alexa Bliss and finally won the Tag Team Titles. As usual, Blue Pants was the perfect choice (save for maybe Lita) and the place was going insane for this. Bliss has a spot as the insanely petty and stuck up girl who can also be an evil mastermind so once you get her away from a dead end act like Blake and Murphy (they’re fine but this is almost guaranteed to be the peaks of their careers), she could do some awesome stuff.

My biggest takeaway from this match was how hot the crowd was. The match was just good instead of great but the people were all over the near falls. It’s what happens when they’re given a reason to care about something instead of being beaten over the head by the company saying how awesome it is. The Vaudevillains have earned the fans’ respect and they were rewarded for it with a great reaction here. It’s such a simple formula but almost no one gets it.

Apollo Crews debuted and beat Tye Dillinger. There isn’t much to say here but Crews looks like a shorter Ahmed Johnson but with more athletic ability. As long as he doesn’t get caught in bed with his goat lover while doing cocaine off an underage prostitute corpse, he’s going to be fine.

We’re going to have the Dusty Classic Tag Team Tournament. No idea what that is but I fully trust NXT to pull off something http://onhealthy.net/product-category/antivirals/ cool with it.

In what we’ll call the pleasant surprise of the night, Samoa Joe beat Baron Corbin with the Koquina Clutch. Joe is a likely candidate for the next title shot and this was a very good performance to get him there. This was two power guys beating each other up for ten minutes and it was all entertaining stuff.

I’m going to keep this separate from the next match: Stephanie came out to introduce the next match. Stephanie is officially the annoying mom who doesn’t get that her kids don’t want her around all the time because she’s going to make it all about herself instead of letting the kids have fun. Unfortunately there’s no way around her so we’re stuck with her ego and obsession with being there for every cool moment.

Next up was Bayley challenging Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title. This was good. Go watch it. Seriously what else do you want from me here? I’ll give them this: that sequence of the Bank Statement and the hand stomp is as good of a back and forth as I’ve seen since Benoit vs. Angle in 2003. The post match scene with the Four Horsewomen posing one last time was perfect too.

The main event saw Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Kevin Owens in a ladder match that shouldn’t have gone on last. It’s a really fun match and all, but there was no way these guys were going to match what we saw beforehand. I’ve heard a lot of people say it wasn’t very good, but I think those opinions might change with this match in a vacuum instead of right after the classic beforehand.

These two ran into the problem that so many have with ladder matches: what else can you do in them? There have been so many ladder matches over the years and it’s almost impossible to come up with something fresh. Still though, they did what they were supposed to do and the match was a success. It just shouldn’t have gone on last, though I understand the mentality behind it.

So yeah, Takeover rocked, because that’s all NXT knows how to do. It’s such a well build promotion with good to great wrestling, well done stories and an assembly line of fresh talent coming in to restock the shelves when these people are taking up to the main show and wasted because Kevin Dunn and company have to teach them how to be wrestlers because of some grudge with HHH or whatever. Awesome show, watch it again, it’s better than Summerslam.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

The first month of this great offer is wrapping up tonight at midnight EST (about an hour after Summerslam goes off the air if your time zone knowledge isn’t so strong) and after midnight, this is GONE. It’s not for sale again and next month’s edition won’t have the same stuff so it’s more than worth your time to pick this up while you can. Here are the details in case you haven’t heard about this before.

The Wrestling Bundle is a tiered set of packages of wrestling digital (as in no shipping or addresses. You just get this stuff on your device) that you can get for really cheap. The key here though is you can pay what you want and get stuff for it.

Here’s the short version of what you’re about to see:

www.thewrestlingbundle.com/gotommy

There are four levels and if you move up, you get all the previous levels included.

Level 0 – Sign up for updates. As in no money whatsoever.

30 minute Matt Hardy Water Cooler Talk.

This is a thirty minute chat with Matt Hardy, where he talks about a variety of things, including some stuff outside of wrestling. It’s much more laid back and again: free.

Level 1 – Pay whatever you want. As in you could pay $1 and get this.

Previous level stuff

Shoot interview with JTG

Indy tag match with Angel Williams (Angelina Love) and Daizee Haze

The History of Summerslam Volume I

Indy tag match with Daniel Bryan

Matt Hardy vs. Jason Styles

Free month to CZWStudios.com (normally 9.99)

Level 2 – Pay more than the average paid (the amount changes but is usually around $10-11. The amount at the time will be listed)

Previous levels stuff

90 minute Matt Hardy shoot interview

Indy six man tag with CM Punk/Samoa Joe/BJ Whitmer vs. Chris Hero/Homicide/B-Boy (Lucha Underground’s Bael)

Team 3D vs. Abyss/Rhino

3 months free to Wrestlingnewsworld.com (normally $23)

Jeff Hardy vs. Wild Storm

WXW Women’s Tag Team Title four way match

Level 3 – $16. As in for $16 you get everything offered. That’s like lunch and dinner.

Previous levels stuff

New Age Outlaws shoot documentary

The Raw Files: 1998 (this is like my History of Raw 1998 e-book but by someone who knows what he’s doing)

PWS Supercard 2013 Nights 1 and 2 (two full shows from Pro Wrestling Syndicate, featuring names such as Trent Barreta, Kevin Steen (Owens), Tommy Dreamer, Hurricane, John Morrison (Johnny Mundo), Elijah Burke (D’Angelo Dinero), Rock N Roll Express, Briscoe Brothers, Vader and Jushin Thunder Liger

That’s INSANE. Like, seriously, that’s a ton of stuff for $16. Where else are you getting two full shows for that much plus everything else? Pick this thing up as it’s really, really cool stuff.

Also remember that next month will have a totally different batch of stuff, including one of my e-books included.

www.thewrestlingbundle.com/gotommy

It’s only a few hours away but there’s always time for a preview. This is going to be the biggest show in NXT history (so far) as they’re in the same arena as Summerslam with 13,000 people. Tonight is a double main event of Bayley challenging Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title and Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Kevin Owens in a ladder match. I’m way more excited for this show than Summerslam (which also looks like a good show) so let’s get to it.

First up we have the debut of Apollo Crews against Tye Dillinger (the Perfect 10 guy). NXT really likes the idea of debuting their next big thing on these shows and this is the latest example. Crews looks awesome in training and has spent years showing off in the indies, so this should be fun. The ending is obvious of course, but this would be a good choice for an opener to get the crowd going.

Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe has the potential to be a great power brawl, which can often steal a big piece of the show. The thing is though, I’m not sure who goes over here. They seem to be worried about pushing Joe huge due to his unique contract situation (a totally reasonable perspective) and I could see Corbin being the low level challenger to Balor after Takeover before they start building up to the next major challenger. I’ll take Joe winning here, but I could see Corbin getting the big upset here.

I’ll go with the Vaudevillains taking the Tag Team Titles. I actually had a line about the champions retaining and it felt so totally wrong that I had to erase it. Blake/Murphy are a great way to make Alexa look good (you know, because she has such an issue doing it on her own) and even though they feel like transitional champions, they’ve held those things since January. I’d love to see more of Bliss, but I could easily see her getting a new act and be like the old Sunny, jumping from team to team whenever the old team is done. But yeah, should be new champions here.

Breeze over Liger. As amazing as it is to see Liger in the WWE, Breeze is looking like a star at this point and has gone so far past where his character should have come to a screeching halt (in a good way) and a win over a legitimate legend could make him look even bigger. Remember where I said Corbin could be the mini-bad to get Balor on to his next major opponent? That next major opponent should be Breeze, and I wouldn’t have an issue with Breeze taking the title. He’s more than earned it and he isn’t going to be called up anytime soon. On top of that the fans are accepting him due to the hard work and great matches he’s put on, so why not take a shot on him when Balor goes up north?

I would say Balor retaining the title is the most obvious ending in the world, but then I read something that got me thinking. Obviously one of the big stories lately has been HHH vs. Kevin Dunn over the NXT guys. Would it really shock you to see HHH send Owens back down to NXT so Dunn can’t ruin him on the main roster? It would be a much better way for Owens to stay over than by being a midcarder who is on the bad end of fat jokes because WWE thinks like a nine year old at times, so why not do it for a bit to restore his image? I think Balor wins, but it’s not as sure as I thought it was.

Finally, we have the match that I’m looking forward to more than anything on Summerslam, this year’s Wrestlemania, the Royal Rumble, and probably all the way back to Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville II. Bayley is challenging Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title and there is no reason to believe we’re not getting a title change here. Bayley has been chasing the title for over a year now and this feels like the night.

The key thing here though is why this feels so important. While I’m expecting the match to be good, I’m not expecting it to be as good as some of the other NXT women have done. However, what I’m expecting is one of the most emotional moments in recent years, and that’s WAY more important than the wrestling. The fans want to see Bayley win the title and that’s where the money is.

It’s such a well done story of one of the last few innocent people in wrestling fighting the good fight against someone who, while not full on evil when you think about it, isn’t the nicest person in the world. I’ve gotten so into this story and I want to hear that place erupt when she wins the title, which I’m almost fully certain she will.

Overall….my goodness that’s a heck of a card. The worst match is probably the Tag Team Titles, which should be a fun match depending on who the Vaudevillains have to counter Alexa (if it’s Blue Pants, the reaction will not be of this world). Couple that with a Brooklyn crowd and 13,000 people and this has the potential to be something better than good; it has the potential to be special.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Finally, make sure to check out the Wrestling Bundle, which wraps up Sunday August 23 at midnight EST. Here are the details:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/08/16/the-wrestling-bundle/

NXT
Date: August 19, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Brooklyn and the card is pretty much set in stone, meaning tonight is all about the final build. This Saturday is going to be the biggest show in NXT history with 13,000 fans in attendance, so hopefully this show sets the stage in a very big way. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Finn Balor destroying Marcus Louis last week but getting attacked by Kevin Owens, including the Pop Up Powerbomb to leave the champion laying.

The recaps continue with a look at Bayley pinning Becky Lynch last week to earn a shot at Women’s Champion Sasha Banks. The staredown with Sasha made me want to see the match even more than I already did. Assuming Bayley wins the title (and Heaven help them if she doesn’t), the eruption is going to be off the charts.

Opening sequence.

Here’s NXT GM William Regal to open things up with a good old fashioned contract signing. It’s Bayley out first with Regal pointing out that she defeated Emma, Charlotte and Becky Lynch to earn the shot. Imagine that: earning a title shot because you beat all the contenders. Banks comes out and sees the girl Bayley hugged in the front row, who she promises to make cry. Now THAT is a heel.

Bayley thanks the fans and says she couldn’t be here without them. She’s had these title matches before but she’s let it slip through her fingers. Fan: “NOT THIS TIME!” Bayley: “Yeah that’s right.” She knows the people can feel it, she knows Regal can feel it and she thinks Sasha can feel it too. Bayley signs but Sasha mocks her for having such a big moment. Fans: “Let’s go Bayley!” Sasha: “There’s a reason the show is in Brooklyn and not here.” That earns her some of the loudest booing in her career.

Sasha promises to show Bayley why she’s the boss and stamps her signature on the contract. The champ goes to leave but Bayley says she’s watched a lot of WWE and this isn’t how contract signings end. Sasha isn’t scared because she isn’t Becky or Charlotte. Bayley really thinks she’s a role model to all the little girls in the audience? Sasha is the real role model because she’s going to teach them that fairy tales don’t have happy endings.

It’s not worth her time to fight Bayley tonight because Bayley is just not worth it. Banks leaves and Bayley looks like she’s about to cry but goes after Banks on the ramp until referees break it up. I haven’t wanted to see a match like this in a long time, probably all the way back to the first Shield vs. Wyatt Family match. As they always do, NXT knows how to take their time to build up a match, but more importantly they know how to build to a moment. I’m to the point where I have to see Bayley win the title and it’s going to be one of the best moments in a long time, even if it seems so obvious. Hopefully it’s not too obvious.

Apollo Crews video.

Tyler Breeze vs. ???

Breeze has a Liger mask to hang on the corner. The jobber doesn’t even have a name and the Supermodel Kick takes him out at 35 seconds.

Breeze puts the Liger mask on the guy post match and says he’s heard great things about Liger but he really isn’t impressed. Everyone here wants a little preview of what they can expect, so there’s a Beauty Shot to the jobber with Breeze counting his own pin.

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

Cass thinks that any Joe Schmo who wants to go toe to toe with him, Zo, Mojo and the Bro can only be described in one word. Mojo cranks on one of the nameless jobber’s wrists before it’s off to Ryder to send him into the buckle. Even the announcers aren’t naming these guys. A middle rope dropkick with Ryder landing on top for a cover connects before it’s off to Enzo to stay on the arm.

The first jobber brings Enzo to the corner for a tag to the guy in a shirt like Rollins used to wear for a kick to the head. Jobber #3’s chinlock doesn’t last long and the hot tag brings in Big Cass to clean house. Everything breaks down and the first jobber takes the Broski Boot, followed by #4 getting Cass’ side slam and the Rocket Launcher for the pin at 3:08.

Rating: C-. Total squash here and I kind of like the idea of the newcomers not even being named because it’s not worth the time. The announcers spent the entire time hyping up next week’s eight man tag with the winners facing Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson/Chad Gable/Jason Jordan.

Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson/Chad Gable/Jason Jordan say it’s going to be a bit more difficult for the Hype Bros/Enzo/Cass next week. Gable does his ready, willing and Gable line and his teammates groan.

Samoa Joe vs. Steve Cutler

The Rock Bottom out of the corner and the Koquina Clutch end Cutler in 33 seconds.

Corbin jumps Joe from behind and throws him back in the ring for End of Days.

The new and improved Bull Dempsey is here next week.

Blake/Murphy vs. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton

Non-title. Fans: “Come on Blakey let’s go party.” I hate that song but good night that’s brilliant. Dawkins armdrags Blake down to start and dropkicks both champions down. Blake gets in a few shots but a shoulder puts him down and it’s off to Fulton to clean house. A swinging gutwrench suplex plants Murphy but he pops back up for the running suplex into Blake’s frog splash for the pin at 3:39.

Rating: C. It was to have this not be a squash but there was never any doubt as to who was winning here. Unfortunately we didn’t get enough Bliss here as she’s clearly the star of the team and by far the most interesting thing out there. Blake and Murphy are little more than passable but they have a gorgeous manager with attitude so they’re going to be fine.

Post match the Vaudevillains come out to introduce their counter to Bliss. Before they can say anything though, Bliss comes up and slaps them both twice. Fans: “WE WANT BLUE PANTS!”

Next week it’s Carmella vs. Eva Marie, which is one of the matches being taped before Takeover. Also next week, the eight man tag mentioned earlier and Charlotte vs. Emma vs. Becky Lynch vs. Dana Brooke.

Here’s Kevin Owens with a ladder for his last speech before the title match. After annoying the fans by bringing up Brooklyn, Owens calls the fans hypocrites for hating Takeover not being here in Florida. These are the same fans who chant FIGHT OWENS FIGHT, unless he’s laying a finger on Sami Zayn or mentioning John Cena, which makes them boo. If he talks about beating John Cena though, everyone cheers. The NXT fans are the John Cena of wrestling fans because nothing genuine comes out of their mouths.

They talk about wanting NXT to succeed and grow but then they boo when it’s selling out a 13,000 seat arena (“which only sold out once I was in the main event”) because it’s being taken away from then. He’s sick of coming here and performing in front of trash like this. However, it’s going to make him feel better to beat a clown like Balor in front of a crowd worthy of seeing him. As for Balor, he needs to understand that Japan was a fluke.

What Owens has done to guys like Sami Zayn is nothing because now he needs the NXT Title to shove it in the faces of these stupid fans. Saturday is going to be destroy Owens destroy and climb Owens climb. Fans: “FALL OWENS FALL!” Owens is on top of the ladder and there go the lights.

Balor is sitting on the top rope so Owens wisely climbs back down. They don’t wait for the brawl and Owens is knocked to the floor with a big ladder shot to the face. Fans: “RUN OWENS RUN!” Balor climbs the ladder and says he’s retaining the title and shutting Owens’ mouth on Saturday.

Overall Rating: B. This is a good example of a show where the wrestling is the least important thing on the card. Tonight did an outstanding job of building the card for Saturday with Owens showing why he’s a master on the microphone by pointing out everyone’s hypocrisy and then losing the fight. I’m far more excited for Takeover than I am for Summerslam, which is the case with almost all of the NXT shows these days. Excellent go home show here that did everything it was supposed to do.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. ??? – Supermodel Kick

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

Samoa Joe b. Steve Cutler – Koquina Clutch

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

Finally, make sure to check out the Wrestling Bundle, which wraps up Sunday August 23 at midnight EST. Here are the details:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/08/16/the-wrestling-bundle/

This is a project that I’m getting involved with and it’s a rather cool concept.

What we have here is a package of cool stuff, ranging from e-books to matches to shoot interviews, some of which you can pick up for whatever you deem is the right price. The maximum price is going to be around $15, so this is hardly something ridiculously expensive.

Here’s the site, with a preview of some but not all of the stuff you get:

http://www.thewrestlingbundle.com/gotommy 

It’s a tiered system, with four different levels. Here are what you get at the basic levels that will be finalized very soon:

Free – 30 minute Water Cooler Talk with Matt Hardy. Yes free. All you have to do is enter your email to get updates on when the newest versions of this come out and you get this at zero cost.

First tier – You pay whatever you feel is right (includes everything in the previous tier):

An exclusive JTG shoot interview

“Feel the Heat: The History of SummerSlam” Vol. 1

A free one-month membership to CZWStudios.com

Mercedes Martinez & Angel Williams vs. Daizee Haze & Mickie Knuckles

Daniel Bryan & James Choi vs Robert Thompson & Chad Collyer

Jeff Hardy vs Wild Storm

Second tier – A price in the middle of free and the top price (to be determined, includes everything in the previous tiers):

An exclusive Matt Hardy Shoot Interview

Free three-month membership to Wrestling News World

CM Punk, Samoa Joe and BJ Whitmer vs Chris Hero, Homicide & B-Boy

A four way tag match

Team 3D vs Rhino & Abyss

The final tier – Somewhere around $15, includes everything above plus:

“Oh You Didn’t Know” shoot documentary on The New Age Outlaws

“The Raw Files: 1998” book

A surprise video feature that we will reveal a few days into the sale (you get this whether you buy before or after it’s released)

The key though is this is only available for one week. It’s going to be released tonight (August 16, 2015) at midnight and will only be available for seven days. There will be a new package available once a month with different things each time.

Starting next month, I’ll be throwing in one of my e-books into the package.

Let me know if you have any questions about it and spread the word around for this, though make sure you include the /gotommy part of the address. It’s similar to the Amazon links you hear about on the Steve Austin Show, as some of these sales kick back to me to keep me going around here.

KB

NXT
Date: August 12, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Rich Brennan

It’s time for another show built around a #1 contenders match as Bayley is facing Becky Lynch for the right to go to Brooklyn and challenge Sasha Banks for the Women’s Title. The Takeover card is mostly set and it’s time to firm things up, which can often lead to the best shows in a cycle. Let’s get to it.

After last week’s show, Regal confirmed that Owens vs. Balor will indeed be a ladder match. This was a long speech from Regal, clocking in at about 90 seconds.

Opening sequence.

Solomon Crowe vs. Tye Dillinger

It’s the debut of Dillinger’s Perfect 10 gimmick, which has been tearing up the NXT house shows lately. This is a simple one: Dillinger does moves and then holds up cards with scores on them. They fight over wrist and arm control to start before some nice standing switches set up a snapmare from Ty. Dillinger: “10!” A cartwheel gets the same score and there are 10 signs in the crowd. Oh yeah the gimmick is over.

Solomon trips Tye down and backflips into a headscissors, only to kick Dillinger in the head. Crowe charges into a boot in the corner though, setting up a stomp on the ear for 10. We hit a chinlock on Solomon before a single right hand puts him down. That’s fine with Solomon who starts slugging away and hits a Twist of Fate for no cover. Crowe gets kicked to the floor but pops back in, only to walk into a one knee Codebreaker for the pin at 4:36.

Rating: C. This was all about getting the gimmick over and that certainly was a success. Dillinger plays the new character to perfection and there’s a solid midcard future for him. Crowe on the other hand……yeah this isn’t working. I’d love to see the hacker gimmick come back as it has potential, but this little monster thing is going nowhere.

Mojo Rawley has been calling Zack Ryder since 3am and is already in his gear even though they’re not having a match tonight. He has to be ready you see. Mojo claims that he met ten chicks at the club last night but Ryder says no way. After some counting, Rawley says it was twelve. These two work well together.

Axel Tischer vs. Baron Corbin

The fans boo Baron out of the building, referring to him as boring. Baron slowly stomps away to play up the idea before End of Days takes care of Axel in 34 seconds. I love that Baron is one of the only things out there every week. It’s a nice way to build him up as a monster.

Post match Baron says he needs better competition because no one gets up from End of Days. Cue Steve Cutler, who gets laid out as well. This brings out Samoa Joe, who offers to exchange fisticuffs with Corbin at the present moment. Baron declines, but agrees to a confrontation at a time to be determined. This is a mere ruse of course, as Corbin uses his pugilistic skills but End of Days is countered into the Koquina Clutch to put Corbin out. The fans are very pleased with Joe.

Bull Dempsey is still training and continues to look like Bray Wyatt’s fat brother.

Tyler Breeze thinks his match with Liger is the perfect fit. Regal has brought in “Yushin” Thunder Liger. That’s what Regal did with Hideo Itami and that went well for Tyler, so domo arigato Mr. Liger, and thank you for making Breeze the new face of Japan.

Marcus Louis vs. Finn Balor

Non-title and non-demon here. I believe this is Balor’s first match on TV since winning the title. Balor cranks on a headlock to start and easily takes Marcus down to the mat. Marcus yells in his face a lot and gets two off a Rock Bottom before ripping at the champ’s face. That earns Marcus a chop in the corner, followed by the Sling Blade. A running corner dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace to give Finn the three count at 2:44.

Owens runs out and decks Balor from behind as Finn poses on the stage. The champ escapes a powerbomb to the apron though and dropkicks Owens through the barricade. They head inside and Kevin scores with the Pop Up Powerbomb before posing with the title.

The Vaudevillains have a plan to deal with Alexa Bliss in Brooklyn. Bliss comes in and mocks them for needing a way around her. Both guys get slapped, but Bliss is nice enough to wish them good luck. Well that’s nice of her.

Apollo Crews is coming at Takeover. His training video shows off some very impressive athleticism.

We run down the Takeover card, including Joe vs. Corbin. This looks awesome actually and is one of the better shows they’ve had in a long time. Of note: the Women’s Title match is listed after Owens vs. Balor.

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

The winner gets Sasha Banks, out for commentary here, for the title at Takeover. Bayley even does a little dance and motions having the title around her waist. Could she get any more adorable? Feeling out process to start as the fans are way behind Bayley, which says a lot as Becky is very popular around here. Becky rolls over Bayley and hits a pair of very nice armdrags into an armbar.

The fans are split now as Becky takes her into the corner for a knee to the ribs. A bulldog gets two for Bayley but Becky comes back with a freaky hammerlock northern lights suplex for two of her own. I love the psychology behind that as Lynch focuses almost exclusively on the arm to set up the Disarm-Her. Byron and Sasha talk about the victory party after Takeover as Becky puts one foot on Bayley’s forearm and the other foot behind her triceps to push and pull at the same time. Well that’s different.

Sasha thinks Becky should be going after Bayley’s bad hand but Becky just isn’t smart enough for that. Sasha talks about Jay-Z showing up in Brooklyn. Saxton: “Is Darius Rucker (a country singer) going to be there?” Becky cranks on a chinlock while trapping the arm at the same time as we take a break. Back with Bayley escaping a pumphandle slam and rolling Becky up for some near falls. The arm starts giving out on her though and a pumphandle suplex gives Becky two more.

The running legdrop misses though and Bayley starts busting out her variety of back elbows. Bayley comes up favoring her hand but is still able to catch Lynch on top, pulling her down with a nice powerslam. The Disarm-Her goes on out of nowhere but Bayley is right next to the ropes. Another pumphandle is countered into a snap suplex but Becky grabs an armbar to break up the Bayley to Belly, only to have Bayley slip around into a rollup for the pin and the title shot at 16:15.

Rating: A-. I don’t know if it’s me being a Bayley fan or what but I haven’t been as excited to see a match as I am to see this title match than I’ve been in a very long time. It’s been such a well built story and the reaction if (more likely when) Bayley wins the title is going to be insane. This is another good example of women being able to tear the house down better than the men can as they built up the arm work throughout the match and then played it into the ending. You can’t beat that.

Banks stands on the table and stares Bayley down to wrap this up.

Overall Rating: A. Just when NXT seems to be slowing down, they throw out something like this. They’ve taken a character as silly and innocent as Bayley and turned her into one of the most over acts in all of NXT, to the point where I want to see her win the Women’s Title more than I wanted to see Sami Zayn win the NXT Title. The rest of the show was awesome too, as we saw a new gimmick, made a match for Takeover, and built up almost everything else on the card. This was a great wrestling hour and that’s where NXT excels.

Results

Tye Dillinger b. Solomon Crowe – Codebreaker

Baron Corbin b. Axel Tischer – End of Days

Finn Balor b. Marcus Louis – Coup de Grace

Bayley b. Becky Lynch – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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NXT
Date: August 5, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re on the road to Brooklyn and most of the card can be seen from here. With just three shows left, it’s time to add some build to a lot of the midcard matches as the main event is pretty much set. There’s a good chance we’ll be seeing more of Charlotte vs. Bayley tonight as Bayley is aiming for the Women’s Title again. Let’s get to it.

In memory of Roddy Piper.

Opening sequence.

Charlotte vs. Bayley

They’re starting fast this week as the bell rings less than three minutes into the show. After a handshake, Bayley grabs a headlock and takes Charlotte over, only to have Charlotte nip up to her feet. A hammerlock and headscissors earn similar results for Bayley but Charlotte comes back with the rolling figure four headscissors to put Bayley down hard. Things get a bit more aggressive as Bayley scores with some ax handles to the chest, only to get kneed in the face for two.

Back from a break with Bayley countering the Figure Eight into a small package for two of her own, followed by the middle rope elbow to the jaw. Bayley lifts her up onto the top rope for a hurricanrana (that’s a new one), dubbed awesome by the fans. They slug it out (fans: “WOMEN’S WRESTLING!”) and a spear gets two for Charlotte. The young Bayley fan in the crowd freaking out on these near falls is great to see. Charlotte gets the Figure Eight but Bayley is too close to the ropes.

They fight over a backslide with Bayley climbing the ropes and flipping over Charlotte into the Bayley to belly for……two? That’s a very rare kickout. Now a German gets two more on Charlotte so she rolls Bayley up, sending Bayley head first into the middle buckle for a cool move. Charlotte goes up but Bayley grabs a super Bayley to belly for the upset pin at 12:22. The same fan that freaked out on the kickout is shown crying.

Rating: B. This was a really fun back and forth match with both of them working hard to one up the other. The big spot to end the match makes more sense as Bayley had to bust out something big to finally beat Charlotte and prove she’s worthy of getting a shot. Above all else though, the young girl being happy tells you all you need to know about Bayley. Wrestling has rarely had a character girls her age can look up to and Bayley is nailing the role to perfection.

Post match Bayley gives the girl her headband. That’s awesome.

We get a sitdown interview with Kevin Owens, who doesn’t like Michael Cole implying that his apology for jumping Finn Balor and William Regal wasn’t sincere. Regal said he wanted to see Owens lose and it takes a real man to say that behind someone’s back. “Or a real man’s man should I say.”

Owens needs the NXT Title back, not just because it’s worth more money, but because it reminds him of what he did to Sami Zayn and he likes that feeling. However, he’s scared of Regal screwing him like Montreal, which is where Owens is from after all. Therefore, why not make the rematch a ladder match? Cole asks if Owens can beat Balor and Kevin walks off. I like making it a ladder match as we’ve covered a regular match so why bother doing it again?

Bull Dempsey doesn’t like the video of him trying to get in shape last week and wants to do it right. This doesn’t go well either but it’s to be continued.

Baron Corbin vs. Steve Cutler

I’m starting to recognize these jobbers. The jobber would be the guy losing to Corbin via End of Days at 22 seconds.

Bayley comes in to see William Regal and nervously asks him for a Women’s Title match. Regal thinks she deserves one, but so does Becky Lynch. Therefore, next week it’s Bayley vs. Becky for the shot at Sasha in Brooklyn. Regal throws in that Bayley is his niece’s favorite wrestler. I’m getting into this story more and more every week. I want to see Bayley win the Women’s Title and it’s going to be an awesome moment when she finally does.

Tyler Breeze vs. Aaron Solo

We haven’t see Tyler in the ring in awhile. Breeze stomps Solo down in the corner to start, then pounds him down on the mat, then hits the Beauty Shot for the pin at 52 seconds. Well that worked.

Post match here’s Regal to announce Tyler’s opponent: Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger. The fans are STUNNED and we get a Liger video, which is one of those things you never expected to see in WWE.

Uhaa Nation video, who is now known as Apollo Crews. His debut is in Brooklyn.

Finn Balor gets a sitdown interview of his own and talks about what an honor it is to be NXT Champion. He’s known Kevin Owens for about a year now and after getting to know him, he really isn’t surprised by what happened at the contract signing. Owens may be a man of words, but Balor is a man of actions, and Owens’ actions don’t back up his words. Sami Zayn has been helping Balor get ready for the title match and Finn doesn’t care if it’s a ladder match, a cage match or a street fight, because he’s going to prove that Tokyo wasn’t a fluke. When asked if the Demon will appear, Balor gives a vague “we’ll see.”

Dash and Dawson vs. Hype Bros

Mojo and Dawson get things going with Rawley cranking on a wristlock and bringing in Ryder for the double knees in the corner. We get a WOO WOO WOO chant to the New Day rhythm but a Dash distraction lets Dawson pull Ryder off the middle rope and take over. Ryder takes a quick double teaming before slipping over for the hot tag to Mojo. Rawley cleans house and holds up Dash for the elevated Rough Ryder and the pin at 3:33.

Rating: C. This tag division continues to have depth and I’m so glad that Ryder is getting some TV time out of the deal. I’ve never liked how WWE wasted him and it’s nice to see him getting something other than a jobber’s treatment. Mojo and Ryder compliment each other in a weird way and should be fine as a meal for some big heel team.

Dash and Dawson beat up Ryder post match and lay him out with the Shatter Machine.

The Vaudevillains are given a rematch for the NXT Tag Team Titles in Brooklyn. Regal advises them to come up with a way to counter Alexa Bliss.

Bull Dempsey has some more success with his training and seems to be making progress, even being able to turn over a big tire.

Rhyno vs. Samoa Joe

This should be a hard hitting ending to a pretty nothing feud. Joe fires off right hands to start but Rhyno rams him face first into the buckle. That’s fine with Joe who sends Rhyno outside and scores with the suicide dive. Back in and the corner enziguri drops Rhyno again but he comes back with a spinebuster as we take a break.

After the commercial it’s Joe coming back with an STO, earning him a TKO for two. Joe’s middle rope boot to the face puts Rhyno down but he grabs a belly to belly. The Gore hits a boot so Rhyno settles for a clothesline for two instead. Rhyno makes the mistake of going to the middle rope, earning himself another enziguri and the Muscle Buster for the pin at 12:57.

Rating: C-. It’s a good enough power brawl but Joe is still “Samoa Joe: that guy you’ve seen elsewhere”. He hasn’t been wasted but after a big debut, Joe has just been a midcarder doing nothing of note since. I could see him being the opponent for Corbin in Brooklyn though, followed by a run higher up on the NXT ladder.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, NXT provides a great blueprint for how to build up a big show. They didn’t have much of a midcard set for Brooklyn but in an hour they set up a Women’s Title match, a Tag Team Title match and a match with a legend, along with (for all intents and purposes) adding a stipulation for the title match. I had a good time with this show, but swapping the opener and main event would have been a good idea.

Results

Bayley b. Charlotte – Super Bayley to belly

Baron Corbin b. Steve Culter – End of Days

Tyler Breeze b. Aaron Solo – Beauty Shot

Hype Bros b. Dash and Dawson – Middle rope Rough Ryder to Dash

Samoa Joe b. Rhyno – Muscle Buster

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

NXT
Date: July 22, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton

We’re officially on the way to the next Takeover in Brooklyn with an announced main event of new NXT Champion Finn Balor defending against former champion Kevin Owens. This makes for an interesting match as Owens has kind of outgrown NXT despite only being there about seven months so far. It should be interesting how they get to the show so let’s get to it.

A quick opening video shows us Balor returning to Japan to win the title.

We open with the champ, holding the title in his hand instead of around his waist, which is something I’ve always been a fan of. After a quick YOU DESERVE IT chant, Balor talks about all the places he’s wrestled and how hard of a decision it really was to come to NXT. However, the moment he was handed the NXT Title, he knew it was all worth it so he could hold this title up. As for Owens, yeah he’s done a lot, but there’s one thing he couldn’t do: pin Finn Balor. He couldn’t do it in Tokyo and he won’t do it again in Brooklyn. This was a nice, to the point debut promo for the title reign and Balor looks like a star.

Eva Marie is very thankful for an opportunity tonight and is taking it so seriously. There’s a misconception about her but she’s ready to show what she has so open your eyes.

Eva Marie vs. Cassie

First sign of trouble: Graves tells the other commentators to pick their jaws up off the floor during Eva’s entrance. The NXT girls’ looks are almost never mentioned and it sets them apart from the Divas and it’s the first thing mentioned about Eva. The LET’S GO EVA/EVA SUCKS chants start up almost immediately as Eva cranks on a wristlock followed by a decent suplex for two. We hit the armbar on the mat for a good while before Cassie kicks her in the face for two of her own. Eva grabs a quick Sliced Bread #2 for the pin at 3:52.

Rating: D+. Well, she didn’t bomb. The problem though is that’s the only standard Eva had to reach here. She didn’t have to be anything great and while she could be good in the ring one day, there’s always going to be a mark on her due to how she got into WWE. This could have been far worse, but it’s like watching a Tough Enough rookie having their debut: after all this time, she’s only up to average. It’s a step up, but she had nowhere to go but up.

Tyler Breeze is in Regal’s office and wants something good for Takeover.

Baron Corbin vs. ???

I don’t even have time to look up the jobber’s name before End of Days wraps this up in 12 seconds. I believe it was Jesus de Leon, who has appeared on a TNA One Night Only show and some indy shows.

Samoa Joe vs. Mike Rallis

Joe has new, far more sinister music which takes out the stupid upbeat sound of his original. That’s one of my favorite things in NXT: they actually fix big problems like that instead of just waiting for fans to go numb to them. Mike goes right at Joe to start and pounds away with some forearms, only to have Joe stomp him into the corner. The Rock Bottom out of the corner sets up the Muscle Buster to end Rallis at 2:05.

Emma and Dana Brooke aren’t worried about Bayley.

Bayley vs. Emma

This is about revenge after Emma broke Bayley’s hand about two months ago. I know it’s goofy and aimed at kids, but there is something so goofily innocent about Bayley that I can’t help but smile every time she does anything. I’ve said she’s the purest face in wrestling right now and the more I see her the more right I think I am. Emma slaps her in the bad hand (still in a brace) to start and takes over for a few moments, only to have Bayley send Emma face first into the buckle a few times.

A bulldog gets two but Dana offers a distraction so Emma can post the bad hand. Emma pulls on the fingers so hard you would think she was trying to steal them (but I’m sure she meant to pay for them). She cranks on both arms for a choke but Bayley comes back with ax handles to the chest. A pull of the hair tie sets up a middle rope elbow to the jaw for two and the fans are right back with the BAYLEY chants. Dana tries to interfere again but gets ejected, setting up the Bayley to Belly (didn’t it used to be the other way around?) for the pin at 5:37.

Rating: C-. This was about revenge and Bayley did exactly what she should have done here. Now, assuming this ends Bayley vs. Emma, there’s almost no reason not to send Bayley after the Women’s Title. It’s been a very long time coming and the fans would erupt when she finally wins it. Bayley is as close to a female Sami Zayn as you can get and the win would be a great main event for a Takeover if they want to roll the dice.

Post match Bayley says she wants the title and wants to beat the best to get there. Therefore, she wants a match with Charlotte.

We get a clip of the NXT girls making their in ring debut at Battleground.

Charlotte is thankful for the opportunity when Dana Brooke comes in. Dana is tired of everyone getting a chance because of their last name when she has never gotten a single shot. Charlotte likes the sound of that and says Bayley can wait a week.

Vaudevillains vs. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton

Gotch and Dawkins get things going but it’s quickly off to Fulton to lay a beating down on Simon. Something like a Hart Attack with a dropkick instead of a running clothesline gets two on Gotch and it’s off to an abdominal stretch. Gotch picks up his own boot and kicks Angelo in the face to escape (that’s just cool) and makes the tag off to English. The Whirling Dervish puts Dawkins away at 2:47.

Blake/Murphy/Alexa aren’t impressed by the Vaudevillains and think Gotch and English are from the old days of 1999. The title match is next week and Bliss guarantees they retain the belts. That could open some doors for a new team at Takeover, such as some hometown boys.

It’s time for Balor and Owens to sign the contract for Takeover with Regal moderating. He talks about the largest audience in NXT history but Owens comes out to cut him off. Before he can say or do anything though, here’s Finn Balor to look like a star again, offering a very nice visual compared to Owens’ brawler look. Balor goes to sign but Owens asks him how it feels to be champion. How does it feel to defend the title in the biggest main event in NXT history (“which takes place in BROOKLYN!”)? And how does it feel to go in as the underdog.

Balor was exactly right earlier in the night when he talked about all the things Owens did, such as beating up Rusev, sending Neville out of NXT, crippling Sami Zayn twice and beating John Cena. All that was in his first six months, so now he gets to show the fans that Japan was just a fluke. Balor can’t wait to make Owens eat those words and both guys sign. There goes the table and Regal gets punched in the face. Balor forearms Owens to the floor and dropkicks him for good measure to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a good time with this show and I was amazed by how fast it went by. This was about setting up Takeover as they have five weeks and most of the card isn’t set already. The wrestling wasn’t the point here and it covered a lot of the stuff it needed to get to. They’ll be fine going forward and the Brooklyn crowd is going to help the show a lot. Fun, well done show this week.

Results

Eva Marie b. Cassie – Sliced Bread #2

Baron Corbin b. Jesus de Leon – End of Days

Samoa Joe b. Mike Rallis – Muscle Buster

Bayley b. Emma – Bayley to Belly

Vaudevillains b. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton – Whirling Dervish to Dawkins

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

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

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

NXT
Date: July 15, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton

It’s a title show as Charlotte came out last week to help Sasha Banks, in exchange for a title match tonight. These two have had some big showdowns in the past and this should be the same, especially after their debuts this past week on Raw. The other major story will be the return of Sami Zayn for an update on his injury. Let’s get to it.

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

This is Gable/Jordan’s debut as a team after Jordan spent weeks trying to find a partner and Gable saying they would work perfectly together. Gable quickly takes Cutler down for two and shows off some very nice technical stuff for some rollups. Cutler finally drives Chad into the corner and tags off to Samson for some right hands in the corner.

It doesn’t last long though as Gable drives him into the corner for a tag to Jordan, who powers Cutler down with ease. In a very unique looking double team, Jordan lifts Cutler up in a belly to back but drops him into a bridging belly to back from Gable for the pin at 2:47. Cool finisher at least and Gable looked good.

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

Axel is German. Joe peppers him with strikes in the corner to start, kicks Tischer in the face and hits the backsplash, followed by the Rock Bottom out of the corner and the Muscle Buster into the Koquina Clutch for the tap out at 2:59. Total squash and that’s a good idea for Joe at this point.

Video on Baron Corbin’s athletic background. He boxed, did judo, won conference titles in college football and played in the NFL. At least he’s accomplished something though, because most of the guys in NXT are popular on the internet after being paid in hot dogs and chips. Corbin is in NXT to destroy the internet’s heroes. Well that came out of nowhere and tells us about 1.9 million times more about Corbin than we ever knew. Nice job there, as is always the case with these videos.

Here’s Eva Marie to talk about how awesome she is and announce her in ring debut next week. Get your little signs ready! There’s a chance that could be good, but oh man it’s not going to be well received.

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.

Rating: D+. Total squash in a night of them with the champions looking great. They’re a pretty generic team but at least Alexa is nailing her role as the manipulative, stuck up boss. They should have a fun match against the Vaudevillains too and have made solid champions after looking like filler coming in.

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

Here’s Sami, with his arm in a sling, for his big update. After the OLE chants finally die down, Sami talks about how great it is to hear that the fans haven’t forgotten about him. It’s been a rough patch for him because he’s gone from the best year of his career in 2014 to the worst year of his career in 2015 because he isn’t likely back to close out the year.

He isn’t finished by a long shot though because he has goals. Like being able to find a comfortable position to sleep in or come back and regain his NXT Championship. There’s no greater motivator than revenge and Kevin Owens’ career is going to be linked to his career forever. Owens better watch, because Sami is coming for him. Not much to be heard here, but Sami’s charisma carried it everywhere it needed to go.

We look back at Charlotte being granted a title match.

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

At Comic Con, William Regal announced Owens’ rematch for Takeover: Brooklyn. Both guys traded some shots at the press conference.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks

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.

We hit the chinlock with Banks’ boots in the back, followed by a figure four neck lock. The fans misfire pretty badly here with a Sasha Banks chant to the New Day rhythm. It doesn’t work for everything guys. Charlotte powers up into a powerbomb but both of them are down for a count of seven. It’s Charlotte up first with a backslide, but instead of trying a pretty obvious failure, she drops to her knees for a backbreaker instead. That’s a new one on me.

Banks gets two off a regular backslide but makes the mistake of ranting about how much better she is, thereby earning her a boot to the face. The Figure Eight is countered into a VERY close rollup, only to have the hold go on with Charlotte losing some hair extensions in the process. Sasha makes the ropes but Charlotte rolls under the ropes with the hold still on in a cool visual. Back up and Charlotte’s slam is countered into the Bank Statement. The hold stays on longer than it ever has before but Charlotte finally taps at 16:30.

Rating: B. This division is really becoming its own worst enemy as they’re getting caught in their own success. With their classics at Takeover, even a really good match like this is considered a letdown. Banks and Charlotte are going to be great additions to the Divas’ division and could easily carry the whole thing on their backs, assuming we can get the Bellas out of the way first.

Above all else though, this showed the difference between the Divas and the NXT girls. All night long, this match was treated as a major deal and as big as any showdown you’ll see on Raw. The fans bought what the promotion was sending them though and that makes it seem like something special. I don’t remember the last time any Diva has hooked the fans in, but this is proof it can be done if set up right.

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

Overall Rating: C+. This was an interesting show as they started setting up Takeover: Brooklyn and reminded us that some people are around, followed by a good main event to cap things off. That’s NXT in a nutshell: a big match and setting up stuff for the future. Good show here and the main event is worth checking out for some of the cool and unique offense.

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

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:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOUNBEA

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

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