NXT
Date: May 25, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re two weeks out from Takeover and after last week, most of the card is set. The big story is the announcement of the first ever steel cage match around these parts as NXT Champion Samoa Joe is defending against former champion Finn Balor. Other than that it looks like we’ll be getting Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries as well. Let’s get to it.

William Regal tells us that Bayley is injured and unable to face Asuka for the Women’s Title. Therefore tonight there will be a triple threat for the #1 contendership between Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss and Carmella.

Opening sequence.

Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. TM61

TM61 is the recently signed The Mighty Don’t Kneel, comprised of Shane Thorn and Nick Miller. In a quick pre-match inset promo, TM61 says they’re here for the titles because they’re mighty and don’t kneel. Miller and Ciampa hit the mat to start before it’s off to Thorn, who gyrates and sticks his chest out as he walks around. Gargano gets pulled down in the corner for a double wishbone as things settle down a bit. Johnny crawls through Nick’s legs for the hot tag, only to have Ciampa eat a double elbow to the jaw. TM61 actually stands tall as we go to a break.

Back with Miller holding Ciampa in a headlock until an elbow to the jaw allows Gargano to get the tag and spear Miller through the ropes. Thorn comes in but gets caught in something like an Anaconda Vice with Gargano using his legs as a crucifix. Ciampa is back in and elbows Thorn again, only to eat a dropkick for the tag off to Miller. Nick comes in and starts cleaning house, capped off by a delayed backdrop into a neckbreaker from Thorn. Gargano dives onto Miller, leaving Thorn to take the knee to the head/superkick combo for the pin at 13:13.

Rating: B. This was a different kind of tag match with all four working hard and far less of a formula as all four are faces for a change. TM61 looked very polished here and should be ready for a big push once they get in a few wins over teams like the Hype Bros and the Revival. Really solid, long match here and that’s how you debut a team like this.

Gargano and Ciampa applaud TM61.

Video on Samoa Joe winning the title and his new found aggression.

Bayley is upset that she can’t compete when Nia Jax comes in to say that she’s broken Bayley, who will never be the same again. Carmella runs in to defend her friend but Nia laughs it off. Alexa Bliss comes in and gets the same treatment.

Andrade “Cien” Almas takes off his mask while watching old lucha libre.

Here’s Austin Aries with something to say. Aries is tired of hearing people talk about how someone is the best. You’re only the best until someone better comes along, so he’s always called himself great. But how do you define greatness? Maybe by proving your talent over ten years? Or by having great matches everywhere you go? Or by being a champion in every promotion you’ve ever been? See, he’s done all those things but he’s tired of being overlooked. The fans chant for Nakamura but Aries wants a shot at the winner of the cage match. There go the lights and here comes Nakamura.

Shinsuke starts in Japanese then corrects himself because Aries doesn’t understand. Nakamura: “You don’t speak Japanese?” Aries: “I don’t understand you.” Nakamura: “Yeah me either.” Shinsuke says the title isn’t coming to greatness because it’s coming to the King of Strong Style. Cue Regal, which draws a TAKEOVER chant. The match is made though nothing is mentioned about being #1 contender.

American Alpha is ready for the Revival because there’s more to wrestling than punching people in the face. It doesn’t matter if it’s in Dallas or at Full Sail, they’ll be ready, willing and Gable.

No Way Jose vs. Jonathan Ortagun

Jose dances out of a waistlock to start and it’s already time for an airplane spin, which goes both ways for a little extra fun. A clothesline in the corner just annoys Jose and things get serious, including an atomic drop and the baseball punch. The cobra clutch slam gives Jose the pin at 3:21.

Rating: D+. Jose is fun but he’s basically a new version of Adam Rose. If they keep him in that style of a character everything will be fine, but given WWE’s track record with characters like him, I really wouldn’t give him a great chance long term. The dancing is fun though and he serves his purpose just fine.

Jose dances with the announcers post match.

Video on Finn Balor, who wants the title back.

Asuka doesn’t care who she faces at Takeover because she will defeat them.

Carmella vs. Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss

For the #1 contendership at Takeover. Bayley hugs Carmella before her entrance. Nia has a new entrance where the camera cuts to an extreme closeup of her eyes before she starts walking. Bliss bails to the floor to start so Carmella, the fan favorite, tries and fails at a headlock. Alexa’s attempt at coming in off the top goes horribly as Nia is waiting on her and it’s time for a break.

Back with Carmella headscissoring Nia into the post, which brings Alexa back in to slam Carmella’s head off the mat for two. Bliss yells a lot and knocks Nia outside, followed by a Vader Bomb for two. The backflip into the knees to the chest get two on Carmella and Bliss drives two knees into Nia for good measure. The Sparkle Splash gets two on Jax with Bliss making the save. Nia has had enough of this being in trouble and gets up to shove both of them down like they’re nothing.

The blondes send a charging Nia out to the floor but Carmella’s dive is easily caught by the monster. Bliss makes the save though and it’s Carmella diving onto Nia again with a lot more success this time. Back in and Carmella snapmares Bliss into the corner for the Bronco Buster. The leg crossface brings Nia back in for the save, only to have Carmella get two off a middle rope Thesz press. Graves actually says he’s never seen that before. Nia breaks up the Bronco Buster though and drops the leg on Carmella for the pin at 12:30.

Rating: B. This was MUCH better than I was expecting as you can really see the long strides that Carmella has made in her abilities. She’s certainly the most complete performer of these three as you have Bliss and Jax as more role players (Bliss as the calculating one who steals shots where she can and Jax as the monster), which are fine for both of them. This was a lot of fun though and a far better match than I would have thought.

Post match Asuka comes out to stare Nia down. The champ comes down to the ring and Nia threatens to drop her where she stands to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. In less than an hour, NXT has hyped up the two matches already set for Takeover and added two more, including a title match. This upcoming show doesn’t have the best buzz around it, but if there’s one thing NXT is great at it’s making you believe that something is a lot better than it probably should be. This show did a great job of building that show and making me want to see it, which is exactly what they were shooting for here.

Results

Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa b. TM61 – Running knee/superkick to Thorn

No Way Jose b. Jonathan Ortagun – Cobra clutch slam

Nia Jax b. Carmella and Alexa Bliss – Legdrop to Carmella

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

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NXT
Date: May 18, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

We’re three weeks away from Takeover and the main event has been announced as Samoa Joe defending the NXT Title against Finn Balor, but this time it’s going to be taking place inside a steel cage. That’s never been done before in NXT and it should be interesting to see how NXT builds up to such a match. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video on Nia Jax vs. Bayley from London last year with Nia saying she would destroy Bayley in a rematch, which takes place tonight.

Opening sequence.

Blake and Murphy vs. Austin Aries/???

Aries has a mystery partner after Blake and Murphy interrupted him last week. The partner is……Shinsuke Nakamura. Alexa Bliss is certainly not happy with this development. Blake and Murphy aren’t sure who should start so Aries dropkicks Murphy in the corner for an early two. It’s off to Nakamura for the shaky choke in the corner (which Tom calls Good Vibrations) before he puts Murphy on his knees for a slingshot elbow from Aries. Shinsuke actually stares Blake off the apron before suplexing Murphy down. Aries reaches over for the tag but Nakamura intentionally doesn’t tag, setting up Kinshasa to end Murphy at 2:47.

Post match Alexa walks out on the team. Murphy walks out on Blake.

Bayley says she isn’t going to let Nia Jax bully her way into whatever she wants because it’s going to be a repeat of London. After that, it’s time to get the Women’s Title back.

Video on Asuka with a band playing a song. You don’t see that too often.

No Way Jose talks about how much he loves smiling and how much energy he has. Some people might not like him but it’s time for a fiesta. He’s here to fight, but first it’s time for some dancing.

Carmella misses Enzo and Cass but wants to be Women’s Champion.

Carmella vs. Peyton Royce

Peyton is definitely one of the more sexualized women around here as she does a very slow crawl over the ropes to get inside. Carmella is actually taken down to start for some elbows into the neck. We hit an early chinlock before Peyton sweeps the leg to keep control. Two Amigos into a PerfectPlex gets two on Carmella but a few elbows and a Thesz press take Peyton down. A hurricanrana sets up the Bronco Buster and the leg crossface makes Peyton tap at 3:36.

Rating: D+. Royce was fine here but I’m not sure how much Carmella is going to do other than win low level matches and then get squashed by Asuka or Nia. It’s a good sign that they’re setting up some fresh competition though as the division was really depleted over the last few months.

Clip of Finn Balor and Samoa Joe getting in a huge brawl at a house show on Saturday with the locker room having to break it up.

General Manager William Regal has made their match a steel cage match and we see the contract signing with both of them saying it ends at Takeover.

Blake and Murphy beg Alexa to take them back but she says it’s going to be easier to win the Women’s Title without 470lbs of weight on her back.

Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Rob Ryzin/Danny Burch

Gargano and Burch start things off as the fans chant TERRA-RYZIN. That’s the most interesting part of the beginning as it’s quickly off to Burch vs. Ciampa, one of whom is dubbed a “psycho killer”. Burch runs him over with a clothesline for two before Ciampa shrugs off both jobbers’ offense. Gargano comes in with some clotheslines of his own and slingshots through the ropes for a spear. A running knee from Ciampa and a superkick from Gargano put Ryzin away at 5:00.

Rating: C. I liked this more than I thought I would as Gargano and Ciampa are carving out a very nice little niche for themselves in the tag division. I’m not really a fan of either guy but it’s cool to see a new team getting somewhere and setting themselves up as potential challengers for American Alpha down the line.

Speaking of American Alpha, Regal say they’ll be facing the Revival at Takeover.

Bayley vs. Nia Jax

Nia easily shoves her away to start so Bayley gets on Na’s back for a choke. Bayley gets thrown around with ease with almost none of her offense having any effect. A few whips into the corner have Bayley reeling and she goes chest first into the middle turnbuckle as we take a break.

Back with Nia holding her in a reverse chinlock before going after Bayley’s arm. Off to a cobra clutch on Bayley, followed by a clothesline to the back of the head for two. Nia switches it up into an arm trap bearhug, only to have Bayley escape and avoid a charge in the corner.

Some kicks to the legs and another dodged charge sends Nia outside, followed by a hurricanrana off the apron. Back in and the Bayley to Belly doesn’t work so she settles for a DDT instead. Bayley grabs the guillotine but Nia shoves her off and Bayley comes up with a bad limp. The legdrop onto the leg sets up the regular legdrop for the pin on Bayley at 16:17.

Rating: B-. This was a weird one with Bayley being completely squashed. I’m not sure where they’re going with Bayley and the leg injury as it seems like something that they want to use to take her off TV, but maybe it’s to build her up for a big comeback to get back in the title hunt. It was also lacking all the drama of the London match and that really was the first match’s strong suit. Still though, pretty good here.

Bayley’s leg is checked on to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show to set up a bunch of stuff for later and there’s nothing wrong with that. Aries vs. Nakamura has the potential to be a blast and will finally give Nakamura an actual feud against a top level star. The rest of the show was nothing great but the wrestling was watchable and set up some stories for later on. In other words, it’s NXT doing what a wrestling company is supposed to do, just like always.

Results

Austin Aries/Shinsuke Nakamura b. Blake and Murphy – Kinshasa to Murphy

Carmella b. Peyton Royce – Leg crossface

Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa b. Danny Burch/Rob Ryzin – Running knee/superkick combination to Ryzin

Nia Jax b. Bayley – Legdrop

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT
Date: April 13, 2016
Location: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips

We’re back to normal now after Takeover: Dallas but we’ll be seeing some the action from Wrestlemania Axxess where about four weeks of shows were taped. This is going to include some TV debuts and potentially the fallout from the big show, though there’s a good chance a lot of that will be included in backstage segments. Let’s get to it.

Commissioner William Regal runs down some of tonight’s big events, including Shinsuke Nakamura’s TV debut.

Opening sequence.

The camera is a little different here as the hard camera is opposite the entrance. Other than that it looks like a regular setup, despite Axxess taking place just a few feet away.

Austin Aries vs. Angelo Dawkins

The fans are behind Aries here of course. Dawkins quickly takes off his headband but gets taken to the mat and ridden a bit. A hard shoulder puts the much smaller Aries down but he snaps off some armdrags to take over. Dawkins throws him down and stomps away before slapping on a front facelock. This sets up a lot of yelling about Dawkins’ Island, the meaning of which I’m sure will be covered later. Back up and Dawkins misses a charge in the corner, allowing Aries to start in with those hard forearms. The neckbreaker over the middle rope sets up a roaring elbow for the pin on Dawkins at 4:15.

Rating: C-. Standard debut here and there’s nothing wrong with that. Aries looked fine here and beat up a jobber that we’ve seen before, though none of that really matters as we’re still waiting to see his next big match. Given that Corbin is gone, maybe he could challenge Balor as there’s no point in seeing Balor vs. Joe III.

Samoa Joe says nothing has changed and now he wants Apollo Crews next week.

No Way Jose is coming next week.

Alexa Bliss vs. Tessa Blanchard

Tessa is of course the daughter of Tully. Bliss takes her down to the mat to start but gets kneed in the face for two. Back up and Alexa drops her again, allowing Bliss to stand on her back for Graves calls a Tony Hawk. We hit the cravate for a bit before Bliss loads up a slap. Tessa blocks it though and shouts I DON’T THINK SO in a Stephanie style screech. Alexa is done with this though and grabs Blanchard by the throat while giving us the best crazy eyes I’ve seen since Edge retired. A shove Tessa down and a standing moonsault into knees to the chest gives Alexa the pin at 3:52.

Rating: C+. Bliss’ best match ever and a lot of it is due to those eyes. I know she gets a lot of compliments for her looks but that was one of the best visuals I’ve seen in a very long time. At the same time though, Tessa clearly has that it factor and knows what she’s doing in the ring. Give her some experience and a bit of a character and she’s ready to be one of the top women in NXT. Really nice surprise here and I’m very pleased.

Finn Balor is ready for any challenger as the new #1 contender. He’ll be sticking around for Nakamura’s in ring debut. That’s really the only option right now but it still seems a little soon.

Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano vs. Vaudevillains

Gargano armdrags Gotch into an armbar to start before it’s quickly off to Ciampa who takes English’s head off for two. Everything breaks down for a bit and Gargano gets double teamed on the floor to give the Vaudevillains their first real advantage. Gotch works on the arm and tags in English, who comes in between the bottom and middle rope. I’ve never seen a male wrestler come in that way unless he was injured.

Gargano knees Gotch off the apron and quickly crawls over to Tommaso for the hot tag. A hanging downward spiral (think Randy Orton) gets two on English but Gotch makes a blind tag to come in. The rollup doesn’t work though and the flip over armbar makes Simon tap at 5:03 in a big upset.

Rating: C+. This picked up near the end but above that it was a big surprise. You really don’t expect a main roster team (and they were acknowledged as such) to lose to a team that hasn’t had a ton of success even in NXT. Still though, well done on a clean win and maybe Ciampa and Gargano are going to be the next challengers.

Tye Dillinger says Nakamura is great but tonight Nakamura is competing against him, not the other way around. Tonight Nakamura is being sent back to Japan. Dillinger leaves but comes back to give interviewer Rich Brennan a 3.

Baron Corbin vs. Tucker Knight

Corbin takes him into the corner for some right hands to start but Knight gets in a nice dropkick and a Thesz press. Back up and End of Days puts Knight away at 1:57. Nothing to see here.

American Alpha stood in the empty convention center wearing their new titles earlier today when Enzo and Cass showed up to praise the new champions. They’d also like a match, which doesn’t even need to be for the titles. Jordan and Gable seem to agree with the idea.

Bayley vs. Liv Morgan

Wristlocks are exchanged to start as the fans sing the HEY WE WANT SOME BAYLEY song. Morgan does a Matrix move to avoid a clothesline, only to get elbowed in the back. The fans think Bayley is going to hug her but Morgan grabs an ankle scissors to take over. A bulldog sets up a monkey flip, only to have Bayley counter a whip into the Bayley to Belly for the pin at 3:24.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match to get Bayley back on her feet but Morgan looked good out there at the same time. It’s clear that they’re planting the seeds for the next batch of women and with Sara Del Ray coaching them, there’s little doubt that they’ll all work out. Remember how nothing Bayley and Sasha were back in the day and then look at where they were just a year or so later.

Post match Bayley says she was beaten by a better woman but the fans make her want to keep standing and be champion again.

Tye Dillinger vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

The chants are almost split to start but Nakamura’s fans cut off Tye’s with a HE’S ELEVEN chant. Tye armdrags him down and holds up the ten fingers, which fascinate Nakamura for some reason. He even asks the referee about it but Tye tells him to bring it, which you just don’t do to this guy. Back up and Nakamura takes him to the ropes before casually putting his head on Tye’s chest. That gets a ten from Shinsuke and an offer to bring it.

The fans already say it’s awesome and while I get the sentiment, could you save that for more than two minutes into a glorified squash? Tye gets two off a good looking superkick and we hit the chinlock. Graves has to mock the fans for failing to chant ELEVEN in rhythm as Shinsuke starts his comeback. We get the kicks to the chest and head, including the shaking stomp in the corner. The Kinshasa puts Dillinger away at 5:14.

Rating: C. Dillinger is a great example of someone who has skills and talent but is rarely ever going to win a big match. However, as soon as you get the TEN thing going, everyone forgets about that because he’s got enough charisma to carry him wherever he needs to go, even if that’s normally to a loss. I don’t think Nakamura needs much more explanation.

Overall Rating: C+. This was back to basics for NXT and that’s what they do best. It was a night of quick/nothing matches but we got some storyline advancement and potential matches set up for down the road. It also helps that they announced two matches for next week (American Alpha vs. Enzo/Cass and Joe vs. Crews) to give us something to look forward to. As usual, NXT knows how to book week to week and sets the standard for doing so.

Results

Austin Aries b. Angelo Dawkins – Roaring elbow

Alexa Bliss b. Tessa Blanchard – Moonsault knees to the chest

Johnny Gargano/Tommasso Ciampa b. Vaudevillains – Flip over armbar to Gotch

Baron Corbin b. Tucker Knight – End of Days

Bayley b. Liv Morgan – Bayley to Belly

Shinsuke Nakamura b. Tye Dillinger – Kinshasa

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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NXT
Date: March 16, 2016
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

Takeover is looming and we finally have a main event for the show. Last week Samoa Joe beat Sami Zayn in a two out of three falls match to earn the title shot against NXT Champion Finn Balor in just over two weeks. The rest of the card is mostly set as well and it should be interesting to see where things go from here. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Joe beating Zayn last week.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Sami Zayn to get things going. Last week he went to war against a 300lb Samoan and for those of you who have never done that, it’s really not that fun. Sami isn’t the slightest bit ashamed of what happened last week and if he had fingers just a few inches longer, he might be going to Takeover for the title shot.

Either way though, Sami wants to do something special in Dallas and here’s Commissioner William Regal with an announcement. Sami does indeed deserve something special in Dallas so here’s his opponent: SHINSUKE NAKAMURA, who pops up on screen to say that he’s coming to NXT. As you might expect, the fans go INSANE.

Hype Bros vs. Angelo Dawkins/Kenneth Crawford

Rawley is a big crowd favorite to start and shoves Crawford around the ring early on. Dawkins comes in so Mojo starts doing some football drills to keep him in the corner. A big shot drops Dawkins and Mojo declares that both of them ain’t hyped. Ryder comes in for some of his signature stuff before bringing Rawley back in to clean house. A discus punch from Rawley sets up the Hype Ryder to put Crawford away at 3:24.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here as the Hype Bros continue to be an entertaining act and get to build themselves up before being fed to some other team who can beat them on their way to a title shot. Not bad or anything here and it’s a really good sign that there are jobbers who you recognize instead of bigger names losing all the time.

Video on NXT at the Arnold Classic, complete with a cameo by Arnold himself.

Emma and Dana Brooke run into Deonna Purrazzo and laugh about her loss a few weeks back. Deonna is ready for Emma tonight and trash is spoken. Dana promises that Emma will take it seriously but pats Deonna on the head anyway.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Emma

Emma takes her down to start and stands on Deonna’s hair like only a villain can. Some choking sets up the former Emma Sandwich for two before it’s off to the chinlock. Deonna fights back with a few elbows to the chin but misses a charge into the corner, setting up the Dilemma. Dana is very pleased as the Emma Lock makes Deonna tap at 3:49.

Rating: D+. Emma and Dana are similar to the Hype Bros as they’re not likely to ever get the title on their own but defeating them could look like a big deal for the right opponent. Assuming Asuka takes the title from Bayley in Texas, Emma (or Dana if she’s ever healthy) could be a good choice for a TV challenger before Asuka fights a refocused Nia Jax.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jesse Sorensen

Ciampa is very aggressive to start and pounds Jesse into the corner, including a hard running knee to the head. A discus lariat gets two but Jesse actually makes a comeback with a good looking dropkick. Sorensen gets caught on top though, allowing Ciampa to drive a knee through Jesse’s legs into the chest for a unique looking move. That floatover armbar makes Jesse tap at 2:30. Ciampa looked good here, maybe as good as he has aside from that match against Joe.

We look at Asuka saving Bayley from Nia Jax and Eva Marie.

Nia Jax/Eva Marie vs. Bayley/Asuka

Bayley and Nia get things going and the champ is thrown into the corner for the tag off to Eva. That’s just fine with Bayley as she easily takes Eva to the mat and brings in Asuka. The rapid knees and kicks have Eva looking….well moderately annoyed because she doesn’t know how to sell anything. It’s back to Bayley but Nia gets a blind tag and plants her with a Samoan drop. Eva comes in again to crank on both arms but Bayley pops up because she’s Bayley and it’s Eva Marie. Nia comes in and accidentally drops a leg on Eva, allowing the Bayley to Belly to put Eva away at 4:01.

Rating: C. There’s something about that charisma that Bayley brings to any arena that always makes me smile. She’s just hard not to like and it helps that she’s wrestling like a main event star now instead of a goofy comedy wrestler. Hopefully this wraps up Eva and Nia for now and they’ll split soon like they should have before they got together in the first place.

Post match Bayley and Asuka stand next to each other, allowing Regal to come out and make Asuka #1 contender for Dallas.

We look back at Baron Corbin beating up Austin Aries two weeks ago.

Aries is at his home for a satellite interview. He received a lot of offers to wrestle around the world but NXT was where he wanted to go. After the attack, Regal came and apologized to him but there was nothing to be sorry for. Corbin should have attacked him at his face because Aries has been a champion everywhere he’s gone. Aries hasn’t been handed anything because he earned his NXT contract. It wasn’t because he’s 6’6 and 300lbs but because he’s earned it over the last ten years. In Dallas on April 1, Corbin is going to learn that it’s a great day to be great but a bad day to be Baron Corbin.

American Alpha vs. Vaudevillains

For the #1 contendership. Gable takes Gotch to the mat to start but Gotch kicks his hands away and does something like an enziguri from the mat. Jordan comes in for a double dropkick and a double clothesline to put the Vaudevillains on the floor. Back from a break with English holding Gable in a chinlock before it’s off to Gotch for a chinlock of his own. Those dastardly villains.

Gable finally sends Gotch throat first into the ropes and makes the tag off to Jordan. Everything breaks down and Gotch has to break up Grand Amplitude (“their finisher”) according to Graves. A BIG German suplex drops English with Gotch diving in for a save. Gotch and Jordan go to the floor as English gets two on Gable off a sitout powerbomb. Not that it matters as Jordan comes back in for Grand Amplitude and the pin on English at 10:25.

Rating: C+. It’s getting more and more clear every single week that American Alpha is just flat out better than any other team on the roster right now. Dash and Dawson are talented but they’re much more of a niche team than anything else. Alpha continues to look awesome all the time and they’re so much fun to watch in the same vein as Haas and Benjamin used to be.

Overall Rating: C. This was a building show instead of anything worth watching and there’s nothing wrong with that so close to probably the biggest NXT show of all time. There were three matches set up tonight and each one of them should be something fun to see. This was more of an important show than a good one and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially since NXT continues to know how to build a card at a much higher level than WWE.

Results

Hype Bros b. Angelo Dawkins/Kenneth Crawford – Hype Ryder to Crawford

Emma b. Deonna Purrazzo – Emma Lock

Tommaso Ciampa b. Jesse Sorensen – Floatover armbar

Bayley/Asuka b. Nia Jax/Eva Marie – Bayley to Belly to Marie

American Alpha b. Vaudevillains – Grand Amplitude to English

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

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NXT
Date: February 24, 2016
Location: CFE Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves

As has been the case recently, this is going to be about fallout from last week and the main event in particular. Last week, Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn went to a double pin in a match for the #1 contendership, meaning we don’t have a challenger for Finn Balor. Odds are that won’t be established tonight either but odds are we’ll get a fun show out of it anyway. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

American Alpha vs. Blake and Murphy

Gable and Murphy get things going with Chad easily taking him down into a leg lock. The good guys start in on the arm as Corey talks about Chad being able to dribble a bowling ball. Blake comes in and is quickly ridden down to the mat. Some rapid fire dropkicks (and a Ricky Morton reference) has the bad guys in trouble as Chad waits in the middle. A double dropkick puts Blake on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Jordan staying on the arm and Gable doing the same. You don’t often see the good guys in control this long. Blake’s slam doesn’t get him away from the armbar but the heels FINALLY get him into the corner to take over. We hit a chinlock on Gable for a bit before it’s back to Blake for forearms to the head.

A double arm crank keeps things slow and the heels keep pulling Gable away from the hot tag. You can only do that so many times before it stops working though and the hot tag brings in Jordan for the series of suplexes. Murphy’s dropkick is swatted away and the Grand Amplitude puts Blake away at 13:37. That’s a long match for a non-main event in NXT.

Rating: C+. Nice match here even though it was a glorified squash until the ending. American Alpha is clearly the real deal and ready to give the titles some much needed energy. Blake and Murphy on the other hand have smacked their heads against the glass ceiling and I’m really not sure where they’re supposed to go from here.

We look back at the ending to last week’s show.

Regal says we’ll be seeing Sami vs. Joe in a 2/3 falls match in two weeks. As for next week though, there’s a new talent debuting.

Elias Samson song.

Christopher Girard vs. Apollo Crews

Girard is indy star Biff Busick in his NXT debut. Crews punches him into the corner to start and scores with a quick dropkick. Busick comes back with a running European uppercut (From an indy wrestler? You don’t say.) and a chinlock, which he flips backwards to keep Crews in trouble. Another elbow to the face sets up another chinlock as this is starting to drag. Crews gets up with a spear and a running corner splash, followed by the toss into the helicopter bomb for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: D+. You shouldn’t need two extended chinlocks in a five minute match. Girard has a really good look and a lot of intensity but the offense isn’t exactly working so far. He seems similar to Tommaso Ciampa, which makes you wonder why they bothered signing two people who seem so much alike. Then again, you certainly can’t tell how a career is going to go based off one match and it wasn’t a disaster.

We look back at Carmella vs. Bayley from two weeks ago with Eva Marie and Nia Jax attacking until Asuka made the save.

Carmella and Bayley are ready for Eva and Nia tonight. They’re friends now but Carmella wants another shot at the title. Bayley isn’t worried about Asuka, even though she’s going to be a threat down the line.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bull Dempsey

Bull takes 40 seconds to get his shirt off and we get some jumping jacks before any contact. Ciampa wants a test of strength but is quickly run over, setting up a rolling backsplash from Bull. Back up and Ciampa easily drops him with some hard shots and he rips at Bull’s face. Ciampa starts cranking on the arm but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Bull to fire off the left hands. Not that it matters as a Fujiwara Armbar with Ciampa flipping over onto Bull’s back is good for the submission at 4:18.

Rating: D+. I’m pretty sure this is it for Dempsey in NXT and it’s not like he’s going to be that missed. He’s just a comedy jobber and you can put almost anyone into that spot. Ciampa was fine and it’s nice to see him win a match instead of put up a good fight and then lose in the end.

Joe says the announcement means Sami has to suffer twice and that’s just fine with him.

Sami sounds a bit nervous about the two out of three falls match but this is why he came back from the shoulder injury. He’s ready though because his goal is to be the first ever two time NXT Champion.

Carmella/Bayley vs. Nia Jax/Eva Marie

Carmella starts with some Thesz Presses and left hands to Eva, followed by a double suplex to give Bayley a quick two. That means it’s time for Nia to throw Bayley around and easily block a rollup attempt. Eva comes back in and is booed out of the arena, only to have Bayley take her down like the easy target that she is.

We take a break and come back with Carmella holding Eva in a headlock on the mat. Eva gets up and makes the tag off to Nia, who plants Carmella with a shoulder breaker. It’s back to Eva for her grunting based offense, including a choke in the corner. Something like a cobra clutch from Nia keeps the villains in control and she swings Carmella around with ease.

Nia misses a charge and falls out to the floor though, allowing the hot tag to Bayley. The running elbows in the corner have Eva in trouble (like, more trouble than her trying to work a match) but Nia breaks up the cover off the Bayley to Belly. Carmella comes back in for her leg crossface with Nia making another save. Jax drops three straight legs on Carmella, allowing Eva to get the pin at 11:34.

Rating: C-. Nothing to see here but I hope that doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing more of Nia and Eva as a one and a fourth headed monster. Carmella clearly wasn’t going anywhere near the title for a long time so having her take the fall here makes the most sense. Eva is still doing well in this heel role but the heat isn’t what it was before.

Regal and Balor are in the back with the boss talking about how Balor is approaching the longest reign in NXT Title history. Therefore, next week he’ll be facing Neville. No word on if that’s a title match or not.

Overall Rating: C. Not their strongest episode but it set up stuff for the next few weeks as well as helped to confirm a lot of what we’re likely to see down in Dallas. This was your usual breezy episode of NXT and it’s nice to not come into a show dreading how bad it might be on any given week.

Results

American Alpha b. Blake and Murphy – Grand Amplitude to Blake

Apollo Crews b. Christopher Girard – Helicopter Bomb

Tommaso Ciampa b. Bull Dempsey – Fujiwara Armbar

Eva Marie/Nia Jax b. Bayley/Carmella – Eva pinned Carmella after three legdrops from Jax

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NXT
Date: December 2, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Rich Brennan

Takeover: London is in two weeks and the card is mostly set. That leaves us with two shows to firm up the build, which means we could be in for some entertaining nights leading up to the next big show. The cliffhanger from last week saw Nia Jax throw her had in to the ring for the Women’s Title shot and Bayley doesn’t have an opponent for London yet. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger

Some chops earn Dillinger a throw across the ring and Corbin chokes on the mat. Corbin is in his full slow mode here and it’s working as always. Dillinger comes back with a clothesline and a superkick for two, only to come off the middle rope and right into the End of Days for the pin at 2:52.

Apollo Crews is ready for Corbin at Takeover and is ready to team up with Finn Balor to face Corbin and Samoa Joe next week.

Tommaso Ciampa says Joe is dangerous, but Ciampa is even more dangerous because he has nothing to lose. When he pins Joe tonight, everything changes.

Nia Jax vs. Blue Pants

Pants has a modified version of the Price is Right theme. Jax takes her down by the arm to start and stomps on the hand. A toss by the head keeps Blue in trouble and her kicks have no effect. Some elbow drops and a Samoan drop set up the big leg to squash Pants for the pin at 2:10.

Dash and Dawson don’t want to talk about Enzo and Cass because they’d rather just hurt people. If the consequences of hurting people are the Tag Team Titles, they don’t have much to worry about. Last week Enzo and Cass jumped them because those two can just talk the talk instead of walking the way. Dash really doesn’t get why Enzo and Cass are getting the title shot in London when they haven’t beaten anyone. That’s fine with them because Cass has a good leg that they haven’t broken yet.

Adam Rose vs. James Storm

Rose orders his music cut off because this is serious business. Storm starts with a shoulder but Rose gets in some shots to the back to take over. A chinlock doesn’t get Adam anywhere as Storm comes back with his forearms and running neckbreaker, followed by the Last Call for the quick pin at 2:38.

The Vaudevillains are disappointed that they lost last week but they’re going to win here tonight. Cue Jason Jordan and Chad Gable to disagree. Really quick and to the point promos here.

Video on Sami Zayn winning the NXT Title last year at Takeover: R-Evolution.

Vaudevillains vs. Jason Jordan/Chad Gable

Gable takes Gotch to the mat to start but Simon grabs the arm, only to have Chad easily flip out. It’s off to Jordan to take English to the mat with ease and Aiden’s leapfrog is countered into an atomic drop. The fans say this is wrestling as English counters an Irish whip into the corner by standing on the middle rope and posing. Gable comes back in and goes after English’s bad leg but gets backdropped out to the floor for a big crash. Not that it matters as Chad slides over and makes the tag off to Jason for a bunch of dropkicks. The Grand Amplitude puts Gotch away at 5:28.

Rating: C. This was just a step ahead of a squash as Gable was barely in trouble for a minute before making the comeback for the hot tag. Those two could be something special in the future as Gable is getting quicker every week. Jordan has come out of his shell by bouncing off Gable, which has been the big trick they’ve needed for over a year now.

Gable and Jordan offer a handshake but the Vaudevillains walk away. Well it fits their name a lot better.

Emma and Dana Brooke are ready for Asuka in London.

We get another song from what seems to be Elias Sampson.

Liv Morgan vs. Emma

Morgan is formerly known as Marley and Gionna Daddio. Emma doesn’t seem impressed and grabs the Dilemma followed by the Emma Sandwich. Morgan comes back with a quick guillotine choke and a dropkick. That’s it for the jobber offense as Emma drops her again and gets the win with the Emma Lock at 3:48.

Rating: D+. Morgan has some good charisma and the fans like her but she’s still in the early stages of her NXT run, meaning these losses don’t mean much. This was clearly just a warmup for Emma before she gets ripped into 14 evenly divided pieces by Asuka in London. At least it wasn’t a total squash.

Emma is in the ring when Asuka pops up on screen, beating the fire out of a punching bag. She’ll see Emma in London.

Bayley says she’s ready for all challengers, including Nia Jax. This brings up Nia, who stares at the title. Bayley says she’ll accept anyone who comes at her, so Jax knocks her through a door.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Samoa Joe

Ciampa isn’t scared as Joe drives him into the corner and works on a wristlock before no selling a chop. Joe stays on the arm until Ciampa tries another chop. That just ticks Joe off so he forearms Ciampa’s head half off. They start slapping the taste out of each others’ mouths with Joe getting the better of it until Ciampa grabs a rollup and stomps on Joe’s arm.

More hard strikes stagger Joe and a guillotine choke has him in even more trouble. Make that a Kimura but Joe drives him into the corner again for the break. The enziguri knocks Ciampa half cold and a scoop powerslam makes it even worse. Joe Facewashes him in the corner and the release Rock Bottom drops Ciampa again. The fans are behind Joe until the Muscle Buster and Koquina Clutch end Ciampa at 6:37.

Rating: B. That might be a bit high but dang these two were beating the tar out of each other. Those were some incredibly hard strikes with Joe absorbing everything Ciampa threw at him and looking like a real killer for the first time with London looming. This has me even more ready for the title match and was a really, really fun surprise. Good stuff.

Overall Rating: B+. NXT is getting in six matches an hour. Can you imagine most other wrestling shows pulling that off? This is straight out of the old school WCW shows as they’re flying through squash matches to set up the big show with the showdowns you want to see. Awesome show this week and one of the best they’ve done in a while.

Results

Baron Corbin b. Tye Dillinger – End of Days

Nia Jax b. Blue Pants – Legdrop

James Storm b. Adam Rose – Last Call

Jason Jordan/Chad Gable b. Vaudevillains – Grand Amplitude to Gotch

Emma b. Liv Morgan – Emma Lock

Samoa Joe b. Tommaso Ciampa – Koquina Clutch

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NXT
Date: October 28, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

Things are still picking up around here and we have what should be a good featured match tonight with Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Breeze. Tyler eliminated Joe from the battle royal a few weeks back and has been laughing at Joe for costing him a shot at the title. Other than that we also get part two of Apollo Crews’ sitdown interview which should set up a good title match against NXT Champion Finn Balor next week.

Opening sequence.

Emma vs. Shazza

Two Australians here. Fans: “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OY OY OY!” They stare at each other to start until Emma dropkicks her down against the ropes and stomps away. Dana: “BREAK HER!” After Emma has to kick out of a quick rollup we hit the neck crank on Shazza. Back up and Emma charges into some boots in the corner but Emma comes right back with the Emma Lock for the submission at 4:21.

Rating: D+. This was your traditional “here’s a new Diva now watch her get squashed” match and that’s fine all around. It’s a formula that works perfectly well in NXT so why mess with the plan? Building Emma back up before she gets squashed by Asuka is a fine move as it extends the feud for a few more weeks. That’s an area where NXT shines and it’s a shame so few companies can pull it off.

We look back at James Storm’s debut last week.

Storm quotes his old TNA to sum up his character and says he loved to hear the fans tell him he deserves to be here. If anyone has a problem with that, sorry about their luck.

Video on Finn Balor with fans talking about how cool he is and clips of his time in New Japan.

Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano vs. Jason Jordan/Chad Gable

The fans are behind Gable again and he starts with Ciampa. They fight over a test of strength with Gable not being able to break it with a monkey flip. The grip continues as they’re on the mat for a string of near falls. Gable finally takes over with an armbar and the fans are eating this guy up. Jordan comes in (Fans: “THIS IS WRESTLING!”) but can’t stop the tag off to Gargano who helps with some double team strikes to the face.

Gargano’s front facelock doesn’t go anywhere so Jordan picks him up and drives Johnny into the corner. It’s back to Gable and the fans are right back at their chanting. Chad’s armbreaker over the rope has Gargano in even more trouble but it’s quickly back to Ciampa who has even worse luck. The fans think this is awesome and are even happier when Gargano slingshots in with a spear for two on Gable as we take a break.

Back with the fans wanting the Gable to be saved but Ciampa puts a knee into Chad’s ribs. Ciampa and Gargano take turns on an abdominal stretch with Gargano adding a running dropkick to the back of the head. Gable finally comes back with a judo throw and makes the tag to Jordan for some dropkicks.

There go the straps (I didn’t know we were in Memphis) and it’s time for a bunch of suplexes (I didn’t know Memphis was next to Pittsburgh). Everything breaks down and Gargano slingshots in with a DDT for two on Jordan. Jason slips out of a double suplex and brings in Chad for the Grand Amplitude for the pin on Ciampa at 14:53.

Rating: B. The length surprised me here but they barely stopped the whole time out there. I’m really glad they just turned Gable and Jordan face because the fans were going to cheer for someone like Chad no matter what he did. Really fun and long match here with a ton of energy that you don’t usually see on TV.

Bayley loves the fact that she’s the Women’s Champion and has no idea why Alexa Bliss has so many problems with her.

Eva Marie is in front of the Moulin Rouge. She’s coming back very soon though. Sweet goodness they’re embracing this one full boar.

Nia Jax vs. Kay Lee Ray

Nia throws her into the corner to start, rag dolls her a bit and puts her in a Canadian backbreaker. That’s actually not the submission though and Ray rolls Jax up for two. Kay tries a springboard though and gets caught in a spinebuster. A big legdrop (with an even bigger smile) give Jax the pin at 2:38. That smile runs in the family.

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

Dawson and Wilder jump them during the entrance and crush Cassady’s leg against the video board. I knew those things were going to get someone hurt someday. They work over the leg as Enzo is down and that’s how Cass will be written off TV for a legitimate leg injury. No match.

Alexa Bliss challenges Bayley to find a team for a six person tag at some point in the future.

It’s time for part two of the Apollo Crews video. He can’t believe he’s here and that he wrestled in front of 16,000 people in Brooklyn on his birthday. Crews’ sister can’t believe he’s been this successful because she sees him as her little brother. The battle royal was another way for him to prove that he can hang with anyone in NXT and now he wants his chance at his friend’s NXT Title.

Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Breeze

Breeze bails to the floor to start and the threat of a stomping keeps him on the floor. Back in and Tyler gets in a few shots to the back and poses on the ropes. That’s enough for Joe and he hammers away in the corner to send Tyler back outside. A suicide dive crushes Breeze and takes us to a break. Back with Joe hammering away with the usual including the corner enziguri.

Tyler grabs a quick backstabber for one and a dropkick gets two. A chinlock doesn’t get Breeze anywhere as Joe fights up with his variety of strikes and the backsplash for two. The Rock Bottom out of the corner sets up the Muscle Buster but Tyler escapes into a rollup for two more. Breeze nails a quick Supermodel Kick for two and both guys are down. It’s time to slug it out with Breeze trying an O’Connor Roll, only to get flipped into the Koquina Clutch (Normally I would ask if he had ever watched a TNA match but that’s a very stupid question.) for the tap out at 12:08.

Rating: B-. As usual Breeze is good for a solid performance against anyone he gets in the ring with and is still an awesome gatekeeper to get into the NXT main event. This wasn’t a classic or anything but for a quick match to further establish Joe as a player in NXT, this did everything it needed to.

Finn Balor is ready for Apollo Crews, who has beaten everyone he’s fought. He hasn’t fought Finn Balor though, and Crews isn’t becoming champion next week.

Overall Rating: B. Another week and another efficient use of NXT’s time. They did everything they needed to do this week and set up the non-Takeover big show next week with Crews getting his title shot. It’s probably too early for him to have a major shot at Balor but it’s still cool to see the champ in action. Good show here, as is definitely the standard for this promotion.

Results

Emma b. Shazza – Emma Lock

Jason Jordan/Chad Gable b. Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano – Grand Amplitude to Ciampa

Nix Jax b. Kay Lee Ray – Legdrop

Samoa Joe b. Tyler Breeze – Koquina Clutch

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: September 30, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

This is the go home show for next week’s Takeover: Respect show and the main story tonight is finding out the final four in the Dusty Classic. The semifinals and finals are next week, meaning most of the card is already set. I’m sure we’ll also get the hard sell for Bayley vs. Sasha II. Let’s get to it.

We open with an update on the tournament. Here are the updated brackets:

Rhyno/Baron Corbin

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan

Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder

Finn Balor/Samoa Joe or Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady

Opening sequence.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarter-Finals: Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Finn Balor/Samoa Joe

Enzo and Cass are classic guys and if you’re not a fan of Dusty Rhodes, you must be S-A-W-F-T! Balor now has a slightly altered entrance, a leather jacket and the BALOR CLUB sign for his tron video. Joe and Cass get things going and they slug it out onto the floor, only to have Enzo nail a suicide dive. Balor adds in a flip dive and we take a very early break. Back with Enzo hitting a middle rope DDT on the champ.

The hot (?) tag brings in Cass for some splashes to Joe and big boots to both guys. A big running elbow gets two on Joe and Cass plants him with a Boss Man Slam. The Rocket Launcher connects but Joe rolls over and lifts Enzo to the top for the Muscle Buster. Finn adds the Coup de Grace to advance at 7:12.

Rating: C-. Well that was short. Balor and Joe winning is the better choice as it’s going to make for a bigger impact when they either win the whole thing and fight over who earned the win or screw up and split as a result. Either way it’s a good idea for a story and a good way to set up what should be a really fun title match down the line.

Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano are disappointed by their loss but tonight it’s about moving forward against Apollo Crews. Tyler Breeze comes in and says he’d love to fight Ciampa later tonight.

Video on Asuka.

Johnny Gargano vs. Apollo Crews

Gargano flips out of a fireman’s carry to start and puts on something like an Anaconda Vice/Tarantula combo for a few moments. Four moments of course because he has until five. Crews dropkicks him out to the floor but Gargano comes back in with a slingshot spear through the ropes for two. Cool move. Some kicks get two more for Johnny but Crews shrugs them off and hits the gorilla press and standing moonsault for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: C. Crews is gathering up wins and it’s nice to see him beating people other than just jobbers. His match with Breeze should be a really good test for him as Breeze is known for putting on good matches in the big moments and both guys need a win on a big stage like this. Good enough match here and a good launching pad for Crews going into Takeover.

Regal brings Dana Brooke and Emma into his office to announce Dana vs. Asuka next week. Brooke is thrilled until Regal shows them an Asuka highlight reel. Emma: “Good luck with that.”

Nia Jax video.

Dana Brooke/Emma vs. Peyton Royce/Billie Kay

Peyton grabs some quick rollups for two each on Dana as the fans chant for the jobbers. It’s off to Billie vs. Emma with Kay getting two off a delayed suplex. Dana calls Kay a billy goat and the villains take over in the corner. Both of them put on a bodyscissors to keep Kay in trouble but she finally gets over for the tag to Peyton. Things go a bit better for Royce with a dropkick getting two on Dana but Emma grabs her leg, setting up the sitout Death Valley Driver for the pin on Peyton at 6:48. That move needs a name.

Rating: D+. This was pretty dull stuff but at least Brooke gets to look dominant before she gets destroyed by Asuka next week. Dana plays a good heel and the alliance with Emma works well enough. The bodyscissors dragged a lot of the life out of this one though and it could have been a good big shorter.

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan say they’re the favorites going into their match next week. Then it’s on to the finals where they probably won’t be facing Dawson/Wilder. That brings in Dawson/Wilder for some serious bickering.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Tyler Breeze

Ciampa’s video mostly says Johnny Gargano. Feeling out process to start as they trade rollups for no counts. Breeze winds up riding Ciampa like a short horse until Ciampa hits a running knee in the corner. Tyler comes right back with a neckbreaker and a front facelock as things slow down again. Ciampa fights up again and lifts Breeze up for a hanging downward spiral, only to block a rollup attempt that Breeze wasn’t trying.. These two are really not clicking so far. Tyler dropkicks him out of the air for two and hooks a Killswitch for the pin at 7:49.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t liking this one for the most part as they seemed like they were on different pages. Breeze has worked well with almost anyone he’s been out there with and I’m not the biggest Ciampa fan in the world. It was no secret that Breeze was going to win here but unlike Crews, he didn’t make it into a very entertaining match.

Baron Corbin and Rhyno say they’ll win the tournament.

We run down the Takeover card.

A long recap of Bayley winning the Women’s Title and the build to the Iron Woman rematch ends the show. Good stuff here with Bayley studying Iron Man matches and training to go half an hour.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t great here but they did a really good job of setting up next week’s show. This was quite the go home show, which is something you often get around here. Next week’s Takeover definitely feels like one of the lower level specials they’ve had but I could see the wrestling really making up for a lot of the lack of stories. Good enough this week as they made me want to see next week’s big show.

Results

Samoa Joe/Finn Balor b. Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore – Coup de Grace to Amore

Apollo Crews b. Johnny Gargano – Standing moonsault

Dana Brooke/Emma b. Peyton Royce/Billie Kay – Sitout Death Valley Driver to Royce

Tyler Breeze b. Tommaso Ciampa – Killswitch

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: September 16, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton

The Dusty Classic continues tonight as we have three weeks to go before Takeover: Respect. So far there isn’t much officially announced for the show but that is likely to change tonight with the main event being set up on this show. I’m sure we’ll also get some more tournament matches, including a few that might have taken place outside of Full Sail. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Tyler Breeze vs. Adam Rose

This is the debut of Adam’s new party pooper character where he wears glasses and shorts. Before the match can start, Bull Dempsey comes out with the fans getting behind the Bull Fit movement. Dempsey lays on the top rope ala Breeze and says this is no accident. Breeze thinks last week’s loss was an accident, just like the day that Bull was born. Tyler would be glad to beat up Bull right now but he has a match first. Dempsey asks Rose to step aside but beats him up instead. Breeze’s blind side attack doesn’t work and Bull clears the ring. No match.

After a break, Breeze accepts Bull’s challenge for a match next week.

Tye Dillinger vs. Danny Burch

Burch had been going by the name Martin Stone but the announcers are going with Burch here. Dillinger gives his early wristlock and cartwheel a ten so Danny grabs a top wristlock. Tye easily escapes and takes his pads down for a one knee Codebreaker and the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D+. Dillinger has a great idea with the perfect ten thing but he needs to be able to talk about it instead of just holing up a ten over and over. It’s cool to see him win a match like this though and the fans are way into the new character. Burch is a good example of what you can have when jobbers are allowed to be kept around. He’s been built up just enough that it’s not a total squash but he has no chance. That’s important to have.

Rhyno and Baron Corbin are ready for Ciampa and Gargano tonight.

Asuka (Kanna) is here next week.

Apollo Crews vs. Solomon Crowe

They shake hands to start and Crews takes him down with a headlock. Back up and Apollo offers another handshake but Crowe kicks the hand away. Crews takes him down with a big suplex and Solomon takes a breather on the floor. He catches Crews’ baseball slide and ties him up in the ring skirt to take over.

Back in and Crowe drives his forearm into the side of Crews’ head, followed by a clothesline for two. Crowe is finally starting to get something going for himself with this style but it’s too late for him. A jawbreaker stuns Solomon and Apollo starts speeding things up. An enziguri sets up the gorilla press and standing moonsault to give Crews the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C. Not bad here but Crowe needs to either have something changed or get rid of him because this character has been a wreck. He has something with the in ring style but it’s not working elsewhere. I wanted to see where he could take the hacker thing but that’s gone nowhere.

Ciampa and Gargano are ready for Corbin and Rhyno tonight.

Dana Brooke and Emma are tired of being disrespected and think it’s time to shake things up for a change. Play time is over.

Sasha Banks arrives.

We get some highlights of the first round of the Dusty Classic and a few second round matches announced, including the Hype Bros vs. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan and Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. the Vaudevillains.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Second Round: Rhyno/Baron Corbin vs. Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano

Gargano and Rhyno get things going but it’s off to Ciampa before there’s any contact. Ciampa runs the ropes and scores with a quick clothesline but the fans are busy arguing over whether or not they want Corbin. Baron comes in but gets low bridged to the floor, allowing Johnny to suicide dive both opponents. Ciampa’s top rope cross body puts both guys down again as this is completely one sided.

Back in and Rhyno clotheslines Ciampa down to take over and Baron comes in with a big swinging Boss Man Slam. We take a break and come back with Baron choking with a boot. Rhyno and Corbin take turns on Ciampa until Rhyno charges into a boot in the corner. Ciampa scores with a missile dropkick and it’s a double tag to Gargano and Corbin. Johnny starts cleaning house and everything breaks down until End of Days puts Gargano away at 11:06.

Rating: C+. This was fun stuff and more proof that Baron can hang in a longer match instead of just doing a quick squash. Rhyno and Corbin are a good choice for a power team and Rhyno is the kind of guy who can teach Baron a lot in the ring. Good match here though and that’s a good sign as we’re getting closer to the finals.

The Vaudevillains are looking forward to Wilder and Dawson next week in the Dusty Classic but Blake/Murphy/Bliss come in and invoke their rematch clause for next week.

Bayley vs. Sarah Dobson

Non-title and Bayley runs through the crowd before the match, including bringing her biggest fan Izzy into the ring to pose with her. There is no way this can’t be considered cool. Dobson hammers away to start and cartwheels into a kick to the back of the head for an early two. A guillotine choke has Bayley in trouble but she drives Dobson into the corner to break it up. The ax handles to the chest set up the Bayley to Belly for the pin at 2:29. I’m getting a Ricky Steamboat vibe off Bayley: as pure of a face as there can and she takes a beating before making a comeback to win with a basic move. That’s a very good path to follow.

Bayley gets the mic but Sasha Banks cuts her off. Sasha has been hearing about how their title match was the match of the year and the fans seem to agree. However, that’s not good enough for Sasha. She’s not here to please the fans because Bayley was only better than her for three seconds.

Bayley wants to start her own legacy and has no problem giving Sasha her rematch whenever she wants one. That’s not what Sasha wants though because she wants to beat Bayley over and over. Fans: “IRON WOMAN!” Cue Regal to give the fans exactly what they want in the main event of Takeover on October 7 in a thirty minute Iron Man match. Bayley and Sasha look a bit nervous but shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Now that’s how you use an hour of TV time. We have a main event for Takeover, a title match set for next week and advancement in the tournament. The fans ate up that announcement at the end and it’s another step forward for the women. Good show here and I had a lot of fun with it.

Results

Tye Dillinger b. Danny Burch – One knee Codebreaker

Apollo Crews b. Solomon Crowe – Standing moonsault

Baron Corbin/Rhyno b. Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano – End of Days to Gargano

Bayley b. Sarah Dobson – Bayley to Belly

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: 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