NXT
Date: November 18, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

It’s another title defense this week as Bayley is already defending the Women’s Title against Alexa Bliss. This was expected to be one of the big Takeover matches so it should be interesting to see where they go for the title at the show in London. Eva Marie and Nia Jax are hanging around as well. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Nia Jax vs. Carmella

Carmella goes right after her with forearms to the face but gets caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Nia: “Hi Carmella, how you doing?” A bearhug has Carmella in trouble but she counters with a quick guillotine choke. Some dropkicks stagger Jax but she counters a hurricanrana into a spinebuster, followed by the legdrop to put Carmella away at 2:48.

Alexa Bliss says her hands are fine from carrying around Bayley’s Women’s Title but now her ears are hurting from hearing about that Iron Man match. Yeah Bayley won now stop talking about it. It’s her time now, but her rant is cut off by a referee who says Blake and Murphy will be banned from ringside.

Ascension vs. Jason Jordan/Chad Gable

Viktor and Gable start but all four quickly come in for a standoff. We settle down to Jordan vs. Konnor for the power battle. Jordan gets him into the corner and it’s a series of rotating shoulders to Konnor’s ribs, followed by a double northern lights suplex for two. Konnor comes right back by powering Gable into the corner for a bunch of hard stomps.

A chinlock keeps Gable in trouble but he fights up and backdrops Viktor to the floor, allowing for the tag off to Jordan. House is quickly cleaned and the straps come down for a suplex on Viktor. Everything breaks down and Viktor’s middle rope knee gets two on Jason as Chad and Konnor fight on the floor. Gable drops Konnor with a flip dive off the apron and the Grand Amplitude (such an awesome name) puts Viktor away at 6:12.

Rating: B-. Gable and Jordan are getting close to that rocket push up the ladder and you can see a showdown in London for the Tag Team Titles. The fans are eating them up and they can more than back it up in the ring. It’s the idea of finding a hot act and running with it, which is one of the most important things a wrestling promotion can do.

Video on Bayley vs. Bliss, showcasing the basic difference in their personalities.

Bayley says keeping the title is just as hard as winning it in the first place. Tonight Bliss is learning a wrestling lesson from the last Horsewoman. Bliss is going to find out what it means to respect this title and Bayley herself.

Emma vs. Mary Kate

Mary Kate used to be known as Rosie Lottalove but has dropped probably 120lbs to get down to a much more reasonable look. She runs Emma over to start but Emma trips her up and stands on the hair. Some choking on the ropes and rams into the buckle have Mary Kate in more trouble and the Emma Lock is good for the submission at 3:12.

Rating: C-. This was your standard new Diva gets beaten up in a few minutes before she has a character or personality. It also helped set up Emma looking more dangerous but Asuka crushes her, likely on TV before London. I could see Emma and Dana vs. Asuka in a handicap match with Asuka pulling off the upset, assuming you still consider that an upset.

We recap Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews.

Corbin challenges Crews for a match at Takeover.

Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Corey Hollis/John Skylar

Non-title. The Vaudevillains will be getting their rematch next week. Hollis gets caught in the wrong corner to start and the champs go after his knee. Dawson takes him down with a dragon screw leg whip and it’s off to Dawson to crank on the knee even more. There’s a knee crusher and the champs pull on the leg to continue their Andersons style. Graves gets in a great line about Dawson and Wilder: “No flips, just fists.” The third knee crusher of the match keeps Hollis in trouble but he kicks Dawson away and makes the tag to Skylar who walks right into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 5:08.

Rating: D+. There’s something so fun about watching these two rip someone’s leg apart. It’s a style that is going to work no matter what changes in wrestling because it’s so simple but makes perfect sense. The ending was amusing too as Skylar was all fired up and didn’t walk four steps before he got caught for the pin.

Dana Brooke interrupts an Asuka interview to challenge for a rematch. Asuka takes off her mask and gives a disturbing yes. The interviewer and Asuka leave and Emma comes in to be all evil about some plan they have.

Samoa Joe isn’t here tonight because William Regal is worried that Finn Balor is going to screw up the London main event. Next week they sign the contract.

Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley

Bayley is defending and the “HEY! WE WANT SOME BAYLEY!” chants start during the big match intros. Bayley throws her into the corner and stomps Bliss down to start, sending Bliss outside for a breather. A quick bulldog gets two for the champ and she cranks on Bliss’ arms a bit. The fans try some dueling chants but Bliss’ support isn’t the strongest. They head outside with Bayley going face first into the apron as we take a break.

Back with Bliss working on the arm and the fans chanting BOO/YAY with nothing really happening. Bliss starts going after the hand (which really should be better by now) but Bayley fights up with running ax handles. Alexa takes her right back down and moonsaults into double knees to the ribs. The Sparkle Splash is broken up with a powerslam for two but Bayley’s arm is starting to give out again. The running elbows in the corner stagger Alexa until she comes out with a sunset flip for two. Frustration sets in for Bliss, allowing Bayley to grab the Bayley to Belly for the pin at 11:47.

Rating: C. This was better than I was expecting as Bliss didn’t seem to have any chance of winning coming in. The arm work was fine for a story and the ending worked perfectly with Bayley staying calm and waiting for Bliss to get frustrated to finish her. Good little match here and that’s all it needed to be.

Post match here’s Eva Marie and my goodness this crowd hates her. She has to tell them to stop booing over and over to get her challenge out. I can’t wait to see how they word this on Total Divas to make Eva out to be some innocent victim. The title match seems to be next week, giving us a rare double title defense.

Overall Rating: B-. Another totally acceptable show with Bayley retaining the title in a big TV main event and a lot more stuff being set up for London. This is the NXT formula working to perfection and it still makes me want to see the big shows while giving me entertaining TV week to week. Good show here, but were you expecting anything else?

Results

Nia Jax b. Carmella – Legdrop

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan b. Ascension – Grand Amplitude to Viktor

Emma b. Mary Kate – Emma Lock

Bayley b. Alexa Bliss – Bayley to Belly

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NXT
Date: November 11, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

We’re on the road to London at the moment and the big story is Samoa Joe turning on Finn Balor last week after Balor’s title defense against Apollo Crews. This likely sets up the main event at the next Takeover, though there’s a chance Crews and Baron Corbin could be added in to make it a four way. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the end of last week’s show.

Opening sequence.

Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin

Never mind as Apollo Crews hits the ring and destroys Corbin, sending him running off. Crews shouts at Corbin to come back but he’s long gone.

The announcers preview the rest of the show.

Bayley/Hype Bros vs. Blake and Murphy/Alexa Bliss

Ryder and Murphy get us going but it’s off to Bliss a few seconds in. Bayley is more than happy to come in and, after Alexa takes off her bracelet, the champ takes her down with a headlock. Fans: “SHE AIN’T HYPED! BAYLEY’S HYPED!” Bayley sends her into the corner for a running elbow but the threat of a Bayley to Belly sends Bliss out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Mojo clotheslining Blake and bringing in Ryder as Graves psychoanalyzes his colleagues. Ryder gets caught in the wrong corner and stomped down, followed by a backbreaker as the fans continue to chant what sounds like “HEY WE WANT SOME BAYLEY!” Murphy’s reverse chinlock doesn’t get very far so he drives Zack back into the corner for a slingshot hilo from Blake.

Back up and Zack dives over for the tag to Mojo, in his neon green gear (Byron: “SLIMER IS ON THE LOOSE!”). Everything breaks down and Bliss gets knocked to the floor but she grabs the title and runs off. Bayley is ticked off so she Bayley to Bellys Murphy and chases Bliss off. Hyperdrive puts Murphy away at 12:11.

Rating: C. I don’t usually get annoyed with the NXT fans but that HEY WE WANT SOME BAYLEY chant was driving me crazy here. The match itself was just a formula match but it sets up Bliss vs. Bayley for the new champ’s first fresh title match. Good enough here but most importantly it got the job done, which is where NXT shines.

Ascension accepts Gable and Jordan’s challenge.

Nia Jax runs into Eva Marie and they walk off together.

Deonna vs. Nia Jax

No Eva in sight. A quick Samoan drop plants Deonna early on and we’re already in the slow squash. Jax throws her into the corner and plants her with a release spinebuster. A legdrop puts Deonna away at 1:49.

Clip of Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson beating the Vaudevillains in the Dusty Classic to set up tonight’s title match.

William Regal underwent successful neck surgery. No word on how long he’s out.

Bayley is looking for Bliss and finds her Women’s Title. Nia Jax jumps her from behind and scares Bliss off for trying to get the title. Jax looks at the title and drops it next to Bayley before leaving.

Tag Team Titles: Vaudevillains vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

Vaudevillains are defending. English and Dawson get things going but it’s quickly off to Wilder with the champs taking over in the corner. Some kicks to the chest put Wilder down so it’s off to Scott who gets caught in an armbar. Wilder offers a distraction from the apron though and Dawson takes out the knee as we go to a break. Back with English’s knee in trouble as Wilder cranks away. Dawson wraps it around the post because he wrestle like a modern day Anderson.

More shots to the leg set up a slingshot suplex (so he’s an Anderson and Blanchard hybrid) for two. English’s leg is wrapped around the post again but he pulls Dawson’s face into the post, allowing for the hot tag to Gotch. Everything breaks down with Simon cleaning house, only to have English tag back in for no logical reason. Gotch is sent into the steps and English’s knee is crushed the same was Cass’ was a few weeks back. Wilder’s reverse Figure Four gives us new champions at 12:00.

Rating: C+. This was an old school psychology driven match with the leg work being the story running throughout the whole thing. The Vaudevillains felt like transitional champions so this was a better idea than letting them hang around while the titles got weaker. Wilder and Dawson will have more opponents anyway and can lead to a showdown with Gable and Jordan.

The new champs can’t believe it.

Bayley vs. Bliss for the title next week.

Here’s Samoa Joe for his big explanation. When the Dusty Classic was announced, Finn Balor came to him and asked Joe to be his partner. They won that tournament and Joe wanted an NXT Title match. Now to Balor’s credit, he agreed to the match but did nothing when Regal put him in the #1 contenders battle royal.

That lack of action drove Joe to do what he did last week because he doesn’t deserve to wait for a title shot. The day he walked in to NXT he was owed a shot because he’s Samoa Joe. This brings out Balor but the referees break it up. Joe says good choices and grabs the Koquina Clutch to choke Balor out. Joe holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a moving day show for NXT as they got a lot more stuff set up for down the road but it didn’t really like anything big happened here, including a title change. The good thing about NXT though is they’re capable of taking something that doesn’t feel huge and turning it into something bigger later. You can see most of the London show from here and it’s going to be a fun night because NXT takes the time to set up their big shows instead of just throwing them together.

Results

Bayley/Hype Bros b. Blake and Murphy/Alexa Bliss – Hyperdrive to Murphy

Nia Jax b. Deonna – Legdrop

Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder b. Vaudevillains – Reverse Figure Four to English

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT
Date: November 4, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s a big show this week as Finn Balor is defending his NXT Title against #1 contender Apollo Crews. NXT has spent the last few weeks building up Crews and giving us a person to care about but there aren’t any real personal issues between the two other than the title itself. That could make for a good match but it might not be the most interesting. Let’s get to it.

The opening video recaps Crews winning the battle royal and becoming #1 contender.

Opening sequence.

Asuka vs. Cameron

This could be interesting. Fans: “ASUKA’S GONNA KILL YOU!” Cameron tries a slap to start but gets caught in a cross armbreaker for an early submission attempt. A running kick into the splits drops Asuka but she comes back with a hip attack and mocks Cameron’s pose. Askua grabs a Fujiwara armbar before just smashing Cameron in the face. Fans: “REST IN PEACE!” The Asuka Lock is good for the submission at 3:41.

Rating: D+. I kind of feel sorry for Cameron as she has a horrible character and there is no way she’s going to be accepted no matter how good she gets in the ring. Some of the gymnastics and flexibility stuff worked for her here but the screeching makes people hate her more than anything. Asuka’s path of destruction continues to be awesome and her facial expressions make the squashes that much more entertaining.

We recap Big Cass’ leg injury from last week.

Dawson and Wilder laugh at Carmella for injuring her friends. They get their title shot next week and then they’ll be the baddest guys in the room. Wilder even brings in a wheelchair as a gift for the Vaudevillains.

Chad Gable and Jason Jordan want to keep moving up the card and one day they’ll be the world’s greatest tag team. Jordan: “Whoa whoa whoa I told you about that.” Their next idea is to wrestle the greatest tag team in NXT history. Gable: “We can’t wrestle ourselves.” This winds up being a challenge to the Ascension.

Bull Dempsey vs. Angelo Dawkins

Dawkins has a Sawyer Fulton with him. The threat of a right hand makes Dawkins duck, allowing a knee lift to the head. Dawkins kicks him down and puts on a front facelock but Dempsey Bulls up. Bull punches one of the headbands off and a top rope seated senton gives Dempsey the pin at 2:53.

Fulton walks away from Dawkins post match.

The Vaudevillains are impressed with Dash and Dawson but they’re ready to add their names to the pantheon of NXT greats. They sent the wheelchair rolling away. Simple promo here but it was fine.

Crews looks at the NXT Title.

Bayley has the Hype Bros as her partners against Alexa Bliss/Blake/Murphy for a six person tag next week.

Eva Marie vs. Marley

Marley is a blonde in half of a football jersey. Eva armdrags her down and dances to celebrate before starting on the arm. The fans debate if Eva is rachet before she stops a comeback with a boot to the face. Fans: “WHAT WAS THAT???” Marley is on her hands and knees so Eva runs in for a very low downward spiral and the pin at 2:48. If that’s her finisher, she’s in an even worse place than I thought.

Dana Brooke and Emma respect Asuka but want to give her a better welcome to NXT. It’s Emma’s turn soon.

NXT Title: Apollo Crews vs. Finn Balor

Balor is defending and there’s no Demon this time. We get a spotlight and a staredown for the big match intros. That’s a really cool idea that I haven’t seen before. Feeling out process to start with neither guy’s headlock getting them anywhere. Back from a way too early break with Crews holding a headlock. Finn fights up and grabs a front facelock but Crews lifts him up into a delayed vertical suplex for two. Fans: “THAT’S TOO EASY!”

Off to something like a cobra clutch from the champ but Crews tries a sunset flip. That’s fine with Finn who rolls through and takes Apollo’s face off with a basement dropkick. Crews kicks him back down and goes to the middle rope, only to take an enziguri to put him on the floor. Finn nails a BIG flip dive to take us to our second break. Back with Balor firing off some running chops in the corner, followed by a clothesline for two.

Crews shrugs it off again and hits a fall away slam into a Samoan drop for two more. The fans are still split as Apollo nails a jumping enziguri, only to get caught in the Sling Blade. There’s the gorilla press but the moonsault hits knees. REVERSE BLOODY SUNDAY of all things gets two but the Coup de Grace misses. They trade kicks to the head and both guys are down until Baron Corbin runs in for the DQ at 15:09.

Rating: B. Give this a finish and it’s a borderline classic. These guys beat each other up for fifteen minutes and the shots were getting bigger and bigger every time. I’m sure we’ll see them fight again at some point and it’s going to be one heck of a war whenever they do. Really good stuff here but the ending was the right call as you don’t want either one losing.

Post match Corbin beats both guys down until Samoa Joe makes the save. Joe stars Corbin down but then takes Balor out to turn heel. Fans: “WHY JOE WHY?” A Muscle Buster lays Finn out and Joe holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Another week, another great use of an hour to advance a bunch of stories and give you a reason to come back next week. Balor needed a new top heel and Joe is going to be a great opponent when they probably fight in London. As usual, another good hour of wrestling TV this week as they set up matches and stories so smoothly that it’s like one big, long story that just keeps going, which is so much better than the start and stop style that you get elsewhere.

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NXT
Date: August 28, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

After last week’s great match between Zayn and Cesaro we’re needing a new #1 contender. We’ve seen a showdown teased between Sami and Dallas for awhile now so that might be the best possible option. Either way NXT is capable of coming up with some good programs out of nowhere and odds are they can do it again here. Let’s get to it.

We open with Corey Graves in the back when Rick Victor of the Ascension comes up. Victor talks about how Ascension will rise when Conor O’Brian jumps Graves and crushes his ribs with a piece of the metal set. It’s about time Ascension went after the tag belts.

Welcome Home.

Tyler Breeze vs. CJ Parker

Breeze stands in the corner tonight while CJ Parker dances at him. The fans chant that Breeze is gorgeous and there’s no contact in the first minute. Parker goes after Tyler’s phone, drawing Breeze in to attack him. Tyler dives to the floor to avoid a kick to the gorgeous face and draws in Parker for some shots to the back.

A knee drop gets one for Tyler and it’s time for a picture. Parker picks him up in an airplane spin of all things and a backsplash keeps Tyler in trouble. Two running knees in the chest stagger Breeze but he drops to the mat to avoid another punch. While down there he gets the phone to knock out Parker for the pin at 3:19.

Rating: D. Nothing match as nearly a third was spent in the opening standoff. Breeze continues to amuse me but I don’t care for Parker at all. He’s not a bad idea but he’s done nothing to interest me in the few appearances he’s made so far. Also I wanted to see Breeze’s spin kick again.

Emma says her guaranteed title shot is going to have to wait because she wants to beat up Summer Rae. Then she’s going to blow some bubbles and play some Dance Dance Emmalution. Renee Young: “That’s not a thing.” Emma: “Sure it is you silly rabbit.” Emma is rapidly reaching the too cute for words level.

Tyler Breeze has LEFT the building.

Summer Rae vs. Emma

Emma brings the bubble juice to the ring with her because she’s awesome like that. Emma takes her down by the leg to start but Summer rolls her to the ground and rams Emma’s head into the mat. Emma slips out and slams Summer down for some dancing and a two count. Summer’s face is rammed into the mat a few times but she kicks away from the Dilemma (Tarantula) and takes over.

Rae gets in a kick to Emma’s shoulder and splashes the arm for two. Summer puts on a full nelson with her legs (cool move) but Emma leans back into a near fall for two. Back up and Emma avoids a charge in the corner and puts on the Dilemma (minor ECW chant) followed by a low running cross body for two. Summer is catapulted out of the corner as we go back to the 80s, setting up the Emma Lock (Bridging Indian Deathlock) for the tap out at 4:26.

Rating: C+. I really liked this with a lot of the interesting spots such as the leg nelson and of course the Tarantula always looks cool. The other aspect I like here is how simplistic these characters are yet how well they work. WWE Divas have years on TV and many of them have no defined characters at all. It’s amazing how easy it is to make characters that work yet it’s nearly impossible on WWE TV.

Post match Summer jumps Emma and pours the bubble juice in her eyes for a good old fashioned blinding angle.

Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady get in an argument with Scott Dawson and Sylvester LeFort over who is going to get revenge on Mason Ryan. Dawson asks LeFort when he gets paid again. LeFort: “When you win a match.” Dawson: “…..oh.” Anyway it looks like we’re getting Dawson against Enzo later.

Sasha Banks gets on Summer for what she just did but Summer does her stuck up thing, saying Summerslam was named after her and that she’s a Raw and Smackdown Diva. Sasha can’t even get on NXT so she should be following Summer. Rae brags about how awesome it is to be in the WWE and laughs at Sasha for being stuck down here. Sasha needs to get it together before her match with Paige in two weeks. This sounded like Summer was leaving and a tease of a heel turn for Banks.

Enzo Amore vs. Scott Dawson

Enzo continues his awesome over the top heel schtick by saying he and Cassady got a dime every time they were beaten up as kids, meaning they have ZERO dimes. And they are NOT S-A-W-F-T! The fans of course eat it up with a spoon. Enzo grabs a quick headlock to start but a LeFort distraction allows Dawson to take him down by the hair. Scott drapes him over the top rope and drops a knee for two. Enzo escapes a slam and headscissors Dawson down as Alexander Rusev comes down to jump Cassady. Dawson uses the distraction to hit a quick belly to back suplex (almost an Angle Slam) for the pin at 3:11.

Rating: D. Not much here but Amore continues to be entertaining. For the first time I’m liking the idea of LeFort as a heel manager as a group of clients could work better than similar guys like Dylan and Dawson. I like Rusev too as they don’t veer from the big foreign monster motif with him.

Recap of Zayn vs. Cesaro from last week.

Here’s Sami with something to say. He thanks the fans for chanting Match of the Year but Sami is conflicted about the match because it was great but he lost. The fans want one more match but Renee wants to know what’s next for Zayn. Sami flirts with Renee a bit before saying he wants to be NXT Champion. Cue Bo Dallas who says that a few fans on the internet liking a match doesn’t mean he’s title worthy.

Zayn says he’ll take it from here and wants to know why Bo is out here. Dallas says Sami injured him at Summerslam Axxess because Sami is just so green. Sami calls Bo delusional but Dallas says everyone loves him. Zayn: “They’re booing you out of the building.” Bo: “They’re chanting Bo!” Now the fans chant Boo and Sami accuses Bo of being scared. This brings out Colter, who accuses Zayn of being a border jumper. Swagger runs in from the other side of the arena and beats Sami down. I love Zayn’s presence out there and you can easily tell the difference between rookies and people who know how to handle themselves.

We get a video on the NXT guys at Summerslam Axxess. John Cena praises Adrian Neville.

Adrian Neville vs. Conor O’Brian

Neville is in the match due to the attack on Graves earlier tonight. O’Brian shoves him into the corner to start so Adrian tries to speed things up a bit, hitting a spinning cross body out of the corner for two. Conor slugs him down with ease and Neville is in trouble as we take a break. Back with Conor missing a charge into the corner, allowing Neville to get in some strikes to stagger him. Neville clotheslines him on the top rope but his cross body is caught in a slam for two. O’Brian misses another charge in the corner and Adrian gets two off a belly to back. Neville goes up and hits a 450 for the completely clean pin at 5:25.

Rating: D+. O’Brian went to a draw against Big E. Langston but gets pinned clean in five and a half minutes by Neville? If nothing else Neville gets a good rub here and continues to show he’s more than just a spot monkey. The match wasn’t much but power vs. speed is almost always worth a look.

Post match Victor comes in for the beatdown until Graves comes out with taped ribs, only to be beaten down as well. Ascension stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. As always, this is an hour of really entertaining wrestling. One of the good things on this show is each story has a clear idea. Nothing feels like it’s tacked on to fill in time which is a nice change of pace from the filler matches we get on Raw or Smackdown. Fun show here with NXT looking strong going forward.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. CJ Parker – Pin after a phone shot to the head

Emma b. Summer Rae – Emma Lock

Scott Dawson b. Enzo Amore – Belly to back suplex

Adrian Neville b. Conor O’Brian – 450 Splash

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NXT
Date: June 26, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tom Phillips

The focus shifts back to the titles tonight as Bo Dallas and Big E. Langston both return to the NXT Arena after their title match two weeks ago. We also have Dawson’Dylan vs. Ohno/Graves for a future title shot against the Wyatt Family. This is a pretty stacked show by NXT standards so let’s get to it.

Big E. Langston vs. Aiden English

Langston slams him down twice and the Big Ending finishes English in 42 seconds.

Another Big Ending is good for the five count. Langston goes to leave but comes back in and hits a third Big Ending for a second five count.

Emma is blowing bubbles in the back and says her plan for the match tonight is to win. She says Renee can’t have her bubbles but can hold them while Emma has her match.

NXT Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Emma vs. Aksana

Aksana takes her to the mat to start and gets two off a backbreaker. Emma avoids a charge in the corner and slides into a sunset flip for two. Aksana works on the arm but the match turns into a catfight with neither being able to take over. Off to a headscissors on Emma before Aksana takes her into the corner for some gyrating. Emma kicks her to the mat and hooks a bridging Indian deathlock called the Dilemma for the tap out at 3:38.

Rating: D. Aksana looks great in her outfits but the girl is a disaster in the ring. Thankfully they don’t treat her like anything serious and she’s just there to fill in a spot when needed. Emma continues to be entertaining by being so goofy that it’s hard not to chuckle at her. She’s getting better and better in the ring as well.

Emma brings some kids in the ring to dance with her.

Leo Kruger is hard to understand. Everything changes next.

Dante Dash vs. Leo Kruger

Dash takes him to the corner to start as we hear about Kruger being a mercenary. Leo pulls him down to the mat and drives some knees into Dash’s shoulder to take over. Back up and Kruger bends Dash’s arm over the shoulder before sending him into the post. The shoulder goes into the post again and a big clothesline puts Dash down. Kruger’s GC3 (seated arm/triceps pull) gets the submission at 2:46. Squash.

The Ascension will rise. Again.

Mickey Keegan vs. Bo Dallas

Dallas takes him down with an armdrag for two as the crowd is SILENT. A pair of atomic drops and a dropkick put Keegan down again and some forearms set up a climbing the corner bulldog. Dallas hits the belly to belly for the pin at 1:47. The fans do not care at all.

Post match Leo Kruger comes in and lays out Keegan before reaching for the title.

Kassius Ohno/Corey Graves vs. Scott Dawson/Garrett Dylan

The winners get a shot at the Wyatt Family at some point to be announced. Ohno starts with Dawson with Kassius cranking on the arm. Off to Graves for more arm cranking before Ohno takes him down with a headlock. Graves comes back in to work on the arm as Phillips inaccurately says the Wyatt Family is undefeated as a tag team. Dawson finally escapes and takes Graves down to bring in Dylan for a neckbreaker for two.

We take a break and come back with Graves still in trouble as Dawson and Dylan continue to cut the ring in half. Dylan hooks a chinlock before a clothesline gets two for Dawson. A jawbreaker gets Graves out of trouble and it’s back to Ohno to clean the lower half of the house. A kind of spinning release suplex gets two for Kassius but Dylan makes a blind tag and the trailer boys hit Southern Pride for two. Now it’s Ohno in trouble with Dawson getting two off another clothesline.

Dylan comes in to crank on the neck as Regal actually acknowledges a YOU CAN’T WRESTLE chant. Ohno fights up but can’t make the tag after sunset flipping Dylan. An elbow to the jaw is enough for the tag to Graves and the fans aren’t all that interested. A knee to the face gets two for Graves as everything breaks down. Corey ties Garrett’s legs up in the ropes to pound away even more before getting two off a fireman’s carry into a backbreaker. Dawson and Ohno go to the floor as Graves takes out Dylan’s leg and the Lucky 13 leg lock gets the submission at 9:34 shown of 13:04.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t terrible but like the live crowd I couldn’t get into it. Given the story going on with the Wyatt Family the ending was never in doubt whatsoever which makes the match less interesting to sit through. Add in the fact that Dawson and Dylan are a black hole of charisma and this was long and not very interesting.

Post match the Wyatt Family hits the ring to beat down their #1 contenders but Adrian Neville comes out for the save. He loads up the Red Arrow but Dawson and Dylan break it up. William Regal of all people runs in for the save but the heels have too much of a numbers advantage. Bray splashes Regal in the corner and the Family’s music plays to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was one of those shows that builds for later instead of being entertaining in its own right. A ticked off and serious Langston is interesting as is Kruger going after the title, but Dallas seemingly as a face and Dawson/Dylan in general do nothing for me or the live crowd it seems. The post main event stuff helped as the Wyatt Family are far more interesting heels than the trailer boys.

Results

Big E. Langston b. Aiden English – Big Ending

Emma b. Aksana – Dilemma

Leo Kruger b. Dante Dash – GC3

Bo Dallas b. Mickey Keegan – Belly to belly suplex

Corey Graves/Kassius Ohno b. Scott Dawson/Garrett Dylan – Lucky 13 to Dylan

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