NXT Date: March 11, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Jason Albert
Things are starting to pick up again in NXT as commentator Alex Riley is coming after NXT Champion Kevin Owens for bullying him on commentary recently. First up for Riley is CJ Parker, as Alex has to earn a shot at the champ. Other than that we’re waiting on the return of Sami Zayn and the Finn Balor showdown with Owens for the title. In other words, no one likes Owens except the audience. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Lucha Dragons
No Carmella this week. Enzo thinks the Dragons are more like the Geico Lizards. Cass: “Either save us 15% or more or get out of our way!” When I grow up, I want to be Enzo’s beard. Enzo and Kalisto get things going as the fans duel between “GEICO LIZARDS!” and “FIFTEEN PERCENT!” Kalisto grabs an armbar to take Enzo down and it’s quickly off to Cara, who slams his partner into a senton on Amore for two. The tag brings in Big Cass who shows Cara how to throw your partner around.
Enzo comes back in but gets kicked away, allowing the hot tag to Kalisto as things speed up. The Dragons take over again as this is going longer than your average opening match on this show. Everything breaks down with Enzo and Cass going outside. Cass shoves his buddy away to take the double dive but is still able to break up the swanton from Cara. He does the smart thing by dragging Enzo over for the tag and the East River Crossing plants Kalisto, setting up a Rocket Launcher from Amore for the pin at 5:40.
Rating: C-. The match dragged a bit but you have to give Amore and Cass a win or two here and there to set up their title program down the line. Cass is big and strong enough to make up for Amore and they have great comedic chemistry together. Also, notice how much more into them the fans were without Carmella at ringside. NXT gets that logical thinking thing while it’s totally lost on WWE.
Next week we see matches from NXT at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.
Video on Alex Riley.
Video on Kevin Owens’ dominance.
Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella
Carmella throws her away from a headlock to start but Bliss grabs the arm to take over. Alexa misses a charge into the corner so Carmella just hammers her in the face. The fans aren’t exactly interested in having Carmella out there. We hit the body scissors on Bliss before Carmella drives her back into the corner. This really isn’t much to see so far. Bliss comes back with some forearms and a flip splash for two, followed by a spinning splash from the top (the Sparkle Splash) for the pin at 5:03.
Rating: D+. These two aren’t exactly on Charlotte and Banks’ level. The fans flat out do not like Carmella and it’s definitely good to keep her apart from Enzo and Cass. Bliss isn’t great but she’s adorable and can carry herself well enough in the ring. To be fair though, I never thought much of Sasha or Charlotte at first and they’ve turned out great.
Alex Riley gives a very serious speech about being stuck in a cage for two years and constantly being told “maybe next week kid.” Owens talks about having a wife and kids but Riley’s family is in that arena. It’s time to fight for his family. Really good stuff from Riley here and I’ve always been a fan of his. I always thought it was a waste of his talents to put him behind a mic for so long but at least he’s getting back in the ring now.
Breeze says this didn’t have to get ugly with Itami. “Well you were involved so maybe it did have to get ugly.”
CJ Parker vs. Alex Riley
Riley’s entrance cuts off Parker complaining about the world. Riley is still in shape but his face makes him look a bit homeless. Parker’s headlock doesn’t get him very far as Riley comes back with a nice dropkick. The TKO is countered though and Parker lays in some left hands. The Third Eye is countered with a backdrop and Riley nails a hard clothesline. Something like John Morrison’s flip neckbreaker puts Parker down again and a Blockbuster is good for the pin at 3:20.
Rating: C-. Not terrible here but Riley had some ring rust. That’s the point of something like developmental but he needs to do some more before he’s ready to make it onto the main roster. I’m hoping he uses the TKO again instead of a Blockbuster as a few people are using that one already.
Post match Kevin Owens comes out and calls Alex Riley the dumbest man in NXT. Riley gave up his commentary career just so Riley can destroy his in ring career too. Owens hasn’t forgotten about Finn Balor either.
Tyler Breeze vs. Hideo Itami
Rematch from Rival. Breeze heads to the floor to start and says this won’t be like last time. He does it a second time and the fans keep booing. Old style heat still works. Back in and Breeze drives Itami into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs but Itami kicks him right to the floor. Itami throws him back inside for a running knee in the corner and the tornado DDT into a guillotine. He goes back up but gets crotched this time, giving Tyler his first real advantage.
The fans think Itami is gorgeous as Breeze drops a leg and puts on a chinlock. Back from a break with Itami punching Breeze away and hitting a top rope dropkick to put both guys down. A leg trip sends Breeze to the floor and a big kick gets two. Itami kicks him in the face but walks into the Supermodel Kick for two.
Breeze gets pulled face first into the post while trying to crotch Itami, setting up a top rope knee to the back of the head. Breeze gets up again though and Itami is getting mad. The fans call for the GTS but have to settle for a hard series of strikes instead. Itami misses a running dropkick in the corner though and the Beauty Shot is good for the pin on Hideo at 11:25.
Rating: B-. That’s a surprising ending but I like it better than just giving Itami the pin. The problem with Breeze was that he kept putting people over and it stops meaning anything after so many times. This win gives him some credibility back and makes future wins over him mean more. In other words, it’s trading in the short term for the long term, and that’s rarely a bad thing.
Overall Rating: C+. This was solid enough for the most part and I really like that we’re getting the short term stories instead of the major stuff every week. Riley vs. Owens isn’t the biggest feud in the world, but it lets the anticipation for Owens vs. Balor and eventually Owens vs. Zayn build up instead of just blowing through them immediately. Another thing that NXT understands better than WWE is you don’t have to get everything in by a certain date, at least not most of the time. Take the extra time, because as HHH said on Austin’s podcast, there’s always next week.
Results
Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady b. Lucha Dragons – Rocket Launcher to Kalisto
Alexa Bliss b. Carmella – Sparkle Splash
Alex Riley b. CJ Parker – Blockbuster
Tyler Breeze b. Hideo Itami – Beauty Shot
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Saturday Night’s Main Event at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
NXT Date: March 4, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Rich Brennan, Alex Riley
Tonight it’s time to get back to the serious business around NXT as Sami Zayn is making his first appearance after losing the NXT Title to Kevin Owens by referee’s decision. Owens is currently gearing up to defend against #1 contender Finn Balor, but it’s clear that another showdown with Sami is coming. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Owens saying he’ll fight anyone anywhere, which leads to his feud with Balor. This includes Owens being insulted by Alex Riley on commentary and beating Riley up as a result.
Riley demanded that William Regal give him a match with Owens. However, Regal says no because of what happened to him when he tried to be a competitor and commentator at the same time. That’s not good enough for Riley as he wants the match, but Regal says he has to pick. Riley seems to be thinking about it.
Opening sequence.
Adam Rose vs. Tyler Breeze
The Trust Fall works this time and Rose seems to be a good guy here. The fans chant for Rose’s ninja turtle before he chases Breeze around the ring. An armdrag sends Rose down and Breeze lounges across the top rope. They pose at each other a bit more until Rose grabs an atomic drop, giving us the Honky Tonk Man sell job.
Rose dives into one from Breeze though and both guys are in pain. Breeze nails him in the face a few times but Adam leans back in the ropes and raises his feet to fend Tyler off. With a raise of the roof (as we flash back to 1998), Rose hits a running corner clothesline, only to walk into the Beauty Shot for the pin at 2:35. Again, who in the world thought making Rose a heel was a good idea? He’s one of the easiest acts to cheer for in years so they turned him heel. Main roster brilliance personified.
Breeze fends off the Rosebuds with the selfie stick in a funny moment.
Enzo, Cass and Carmella don’t like what Murphy and Blake have been saying. No one talks to Carmella like that and she thinks Cass and Amore need to take care of them. Enzo promises to beat the bacon off their backs and bring that bacon home. Do whatever you want with the bacon. Just drop Carmella already.
Alexa Bliss has been off recovering from an injury but she’s back and better than ever. She’s coming for Sasha, whether she keeps the title or not.
Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake vs. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton
Non-title. I keep thinking the champs’ record scratch music is Solomon Crowe hacking the feed. Dawkins and Fulton are part of a trio of amateur wrestlers with Fulton rocking the Rick Steiner head gear. He takes Murphy down to start and cranks on an armbar. Murphy makes a blind tag though and a double elbow gets two.
It’s off to Blake for a chinlock but Fulton flips him over and nails a nice uppercut. Dawkins comes in to speed things up and hammers Murphy down, but makes the mistake of going after Blake. Murphy gets in a cheap shot and suplexes Dawkins down, setting up the frog splash from Blake for the pin at 2:27. That was one heck of a leap for the splash. The losers looked good while they were in there but they need more ring time to get the gimmick over.
Bayley offers Charlotte good luck on the title shot tonight but Charlotte says Banks needs the luck. Charlotte leaves and Emma comes in and brings up Bayley lost at Takeover. She tried being nice like Bayley and look where it got her on Raw: right back here to NXT. Just something to think about for Bayley.
Rhyno return video.
Baron Corbin vs. Tony Briggs
Briggs says bring it on so Baron hits him in the face and plants him with End of Days at 54 seconds. Kevin Owens was shown standing behind Alex Riley but didn’t touch him.
Riley turns around to look at Owens but doesn’t do anything. Owens pours water over him and Riley snaps. Albert holds him back and reminds Riley that he has a job. Kevin turns his back on him and leaves with no physicality. Owens is nailing this evil bully character to perfection.
Sami Zayn was in Montreal earlier this week but he can’t help but feel that the NXT landscape is changing. You have guys like Rhyno and Kendrick back and new faces like Solomon Crowe with Kevin Owens on top. This is filmed on March 1, 2015, meaning he’s been a wrestler for thirteen years to the day. For the first time though, Zayn doesn’t feel like he’s mentally ready to be in the ring. That’s why he’s here in Montreal, where it all started for both he and Owens. He still hasn’t watched the Takeover match, but maybe that’s what he needs to get his mind right.
Riley storms into Regal’s office and quits being a commentator so he can get his hands on Owens. Regal says he’ll get Owens when he (Regal) thinks he’s ready. CJ Parker is in the office too and laughs at the idea of Riley fighting Owens, so Riley wants Parker next week.
Bull Dempsey vs. Solomon Crowe
Crowe comes into the ring with a bunch of energy and nearly slides under the ropes upon entry. He goes right after Dempsey and gets stomped down, setting up a stiff headbutt. All Dempsey so far and he mounts Crowe for some right hands. Solomon fights back but can’t slam the big man. Instead Dempsey just pounds him in the chest with forearms for one. Solomon fights up and now the slam works. Dempsey runs him over again but misses the top rope headbutt. A running knee and running elbow drop Bull and a slingshot headbutt to the rips is enough to give Solomon the pin at 3:01.
Rating: D+. Solomon comes off as a guy where the character is going to drive the development instead of the in ring action. I was getting something like a Kevin Sullivan vibe off his in ring style, as he’s much more of a scrappy brawler than a polished wrestler. He basically just stuck around and waited for an opening to take Bull down, but it worked well enough. I need to see more of him though.
Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks
Banks is defending in a one on one rematch from Takeover: Rival’s fourway where Charlotte lost the title. This gets big match intros, which is actually deserves over Nikki vs. Paige on Monday. The fans are split, as you would expect. Banks hides in the corner to start so Charlotte asks if she’s here to fight or not. Some chops have the champ in early trouble but she bails to the floor for another breather.
Sasha grabs her title and says count her out but that doesn’t work for Charlotte, who chases her down and rams the champ’s back into the apron. Now the fans are almost all behind Charlotte as she slaps on an early figure four. Banks is way too close to the ropes though and bails to the floor one more time as we take a break. Back with Banks hitting a running slap to a seated Charlotte before busting out La Mistica into the crossface.
Charlotte powers up and hits a running backpack Stunner. The moonsault misses but Charlotte lands on her feet, only to have her front flip hit Sasha’s knees. That’s a nice bit of psychology there as they learn each other’s spots and build on the sequences. Sasha chokes and WOOs in the corner as the fans argue (YES SHE IS/NO SHE’S NOT) over Sasha’s level of ratchetness.
Double knees to the back have Charlotte in trouble and Sasha bends her ribs around the post to stay on the injury. The Backstabber into the double arm choke has Charlotte in even more trouble but she refuses to give up. That’s fine with Sasha who rolls into the Bank Statement, only to have Charlotte right next to the ropes for the escape. A big spear gets two for Charlotte and she puts on a Hartbreaker (figure four around the post). Back in and Natural Selection off the top is countered and Sasha puts her feet on the ropes (ala Ric Flair) for a rollup pin at 15:00.
Rating: B-. Not quite a classic but still a very good TV main event. The girls are so far ahead of Nikki and Brie that it’s unreal, but they can’t afford the same plastic surgery or whatever. This was a solid match in the same vein of Orton vs. Christian from 2011 as they built on previously established sequences and made logical progressions. Well done indeed.
Overall Rating: C+. Much better than last week which seems to have been an aberration. It’s amazing what happens when you do stuff that matters instead of just filler for an hour. Sami holding off on his return is an interesting idea as it allows them to go through Riley and Balor before we get back to the big time feud that a lot of people really want to see. This is the fallout period from Rival before we start building to the next Takeover, which means we should be coming up on some big shows soon.
Results
Tyler Breeze b. Adam Rose – Beauty Shot
Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake b. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton – Frog splash to Dawkins
Baron Corbin b. Tony Briggs – End of Days
Solomon Crowe b. Bull Dempsey – Slingshot headbutt
Sasha Banks b. Charlotte – Rollup with feet on the ropes
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Saturday Night’s Main Event at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
NXT – February 25, 2015: It Had To Happen Eventually
NXT Date: February 25, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Alex Riley, Tom Phillips
We’re still living in Kevin Owens’ NXT as he shows no sign of letting up soon. Last week he ran through former NXT Champion Adrian Neville, clearing more of the path to get to his showdown with Finn Balor. Other than that, we have the potential split of Carmella from Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, which might be well received by the NXT fans. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Hideo Itami vs. Bull Dempsey
Dempsey elbows him in the face to start and drives another into Hideo’s chest. A chinlock doesn’t last long as Itami fires off elbows of his own, followed by kicks to the leg. That’s fine with Dempsey who hits a running Vader style splash for two to regain control. When all else fails, just have the big guy run someone over. Itami comes back with a quick series of strike and a running basement dropkick in the corner. A running kick to the face is enough to pin Dempsey at 2:50.
Tyler Breeze superkicks Itami as he leaves. He stops to take a picture though and Itami gets up to chase him away.
Video on The Brian Kendrick, who is making a return tonight like Rhyno did last week.
Lucha Dragons vs. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan
During Dillinger/Jordan’s entrances, Solomon Crowe hacks the feed and says he’ll be NXT Champion. Jordan drags Sin Cara into the corner but Kalisto is pulled in, only to get face planted for his efforts. Off to Dillinger for a mocking bow to Cara as the fans chant NO ME GUSTA (“I don’t like it!”) and a slam to Kalisto.
It’s quickly back to Cara who quickly takes Dillinger into the Dragons’ corner for a tag back to Kalisto. That’s quite the fast exchange. Dillinger and Jordan (thank goodness for those letters on the trunks. To be fair I couldn’t tell the Hardy Boys apart for years either) don’t seem to agree on a tag so Tye tells him to relax. Cara slips over for a tag to Kalisto as things speed way up. Jordan drops to the floor and walks out on the match, allowing the Salida Del Sol and Swanton Bomb to pin Dillinger at 3:31.
Rating: D+. This was angle advancement but I’m getting a little bored with the Dragons. We saw them win and lose the titles and they’re still basically the same team. Those belts have always been defined by heel teams so the Dragons never did much for me with the titles. Nothing much to see here, especially considering Jordan and Dillinger haven’t meant anything in months.
Finn Balor is ready for Kendrick tonight and isn’t looking ahead to Owens.
After a break, Dillinger demands Jordan come out here. He doesn’t care whose match is next because he can whip that man too.
Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger
End of Days, 17 seconds. Corbin needs to move up the ladder a bit now. Give him a feud against someone not named Dempsey.
Charlotte says the title is coming back where it belongs next week.
Breeze says Itami will soon be squashed in his trap.
Quick video on Sami Zayn in Abu Dhabi.
Bayley vs. Becky Lynch
The fans are split on who to cheer for but the Bayley fans boo at the Becky fans. Becky charges into an elbow in the corner but avoids a splash, setting up a pumphandle suplex for two on Bayley. A hair whip legdrop gets the same and we hit the chinlock. Bayley fights up and takes Becky outside for a baseball slide through the corner ala Sami’s running DDT.
Back in and the aggression comes out of Bayley with some running corner elbows, complete with the tightening of the hair band (as usual, far more adorable than it should be). Bayley tweaks her arm but shoves Becky away and keeps going. A middle rope back elbow to the jaw gets two on Lynch. The Belly to Bayley is countered into a seated armbar out of nowhere and Bayley taps at 4:30.
Rating: C. As usual, this is miles ahead of the messes that the Divas usually put on. The Divas seem impressed when they manage a suplex. This was a four and a half minute match with different stages and even some psychology with the arm. It’s so much better than listening to BRIE MODE or someone putting on lip gloss. You can still be a heel without makeup if that’s believable.
Rhyno is back because he loves the intensity he sees here in NXT. It reminds him of the energy he has when he Gores people in half.
Jason Jordan did what he did and will give an explanation when he wants to.
Finn Balor vs. The Brian Kendrick
Owens is on commentary and says he’d love to face Balor anytime he’d like. Kendrick grabs a headlock to start but gets thrown off and dropkicked down. Brian claims an ankle injury but goldbricks to grab a small package for two. Back to the headlock on the mat but Balor kicks him off, sending Kendrick crawling away. It’s even more goldbricking though as he grabs a hammerlock. Owens doesn’t like something Riley says and leaves as Kendrick grabs another headlock.
Back from a break with Balor hitting a running forearm to the jaw to put Kendrick down. Finn charges into a boot to the jaw though and eats a tornado DDT for two. A kick to the chest drops Kendrick again though and the Sling Blade does the same. The top rope double stomp is good for the pin on Kendrick at 11:32.
Rating: C-. I like seeing Balor having a bit simpler match for a change but I’ve never been a fan of Kendrick. He’s much more interesting on the mic than in the ring but it’s continuing a cool idea of having people return to the show like this. Owens vs. Balor has real potential to tear the house down though and this was more build to that.
Post match Owens comes out and stares at Balor before throwing Riley over the announcers’ desk. Balor stares him down from the ring and invites Owens to come fight him. The champ walks away to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. This really didn’t do it for me and was one of the weaker shows they’ve had in a long time. They’re in a holding pattern until we get to Balor vs. Owens and then the big rematch with Owens vs. Zayn. Tonight’s show felt like a filler episode but next week there’s going to be a title match which NXT almost always does well. Not a bad show this week, but not one of their better episodes.
Results
Hideo Itami b. Bull Dempsey – Running boot to the face
Lucha Dragons b. Jason Jordan/Tye Dillinger – Swanton Bomb to Dillinger
Baron Corbin b. Tye Dillinger – End of Days
Becky Lynch b. Bayley – Seated armbar
Finn Balor b. The Brian Kendrick – Top rope double stomp
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Saturday Night’s Main Event at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
NXT Takeover: Rival Date: February 10, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Jason Albert
It’s been less than two months since the last Takeover and NXT is starting to crank up the frequency of these specials. The main story coming in is fallout from last time as Kevin Owens is challenging former best friend Sami Zayn for the NXT Title after betraying new champion Zayn at the end of the last show. Let’s get to it.
The opening video gives us a quick background of every major match.
Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze
This was set up late last week after Itami lost in the semi-finals of the #1 contenders tournament and was attacked by Breeze. A blonde woman jumps Breeze during his entrance and is quickly dragged away. She was too good looking to be a real fan. Hideo misses a running kick to start but nails a clothesline out of the corner. A forearm knocks Breeze to the floor and Hideo dropkicks him out of the air. Tyler wakes up and goes after the knee to take over by ramming it into the apron and dropping some elbows. The knee is wrapped around the post and Breeze slaps on the Figure Four around the post as well.
Back in and Breeze puts on a unique submission hold which is kind of a Texas Cloverleaf/Figure Four/Sharpshooter combination. Itami gets to the ropes and tries the GTS, only to have Breeze escape and hit the Supermodel Kick for two. I guess selling doesn’t translate to Japanese. Hideo starts Hulking Up and kicks Breeze in the head before firing off a series of them to the chest. He is nice enough to limp a bit after doing the offense with no issues. A running delayed dropkick in the corner and a running big boot to the face is enough to pin Breeze at 8:20.
Rating: B-. Entertaining match but the lack of selling got annoying in a hurry. It’s also not a good sign that Hideo was right back to kicks only offense. Yeah he varies them up a bit, but they’re all just kicks no matter how you look at it. Breeze is getting to the point where he puts over so many people that it’s not meaning as much. Itami needed a win though and this was his biggest in a singles match to date.
Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey
No DQ. Corbin charges at him to start and they fight on the floor with Dempsey hitting a suplex onto the ramp. He posts Baron as well and takes him inside, only to get caught in a spinebuster for two. Corbin charges him out to the floor where Bull runs him over again. Back in and the flying headbutt gets two on Corbin, sending a frustrated Dempsey outside for a chair. That takes a bit too long though and Corbin catches him in End of Days for the pin at 4:11.
Rating: C. Good brawl but my goodness let it be over now. These two didn’t need to fight again after the first two times but it kept going for the sake of having another match here. That’s unlike NXT and I really hope it’s nothing that becomes normal. At least the right guy won and they kept it short.
Tag Team Titles: Blake and Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons
Blake and Murphy beat the Dragons to win the belts a few weeks back and this is the rematch. They’ve also lost their first names during their title reign. Cara and Murphy get things going but it’s very quickly off to Blake, who eats a spinning cross body. The champs take over and Kalisto gets the tag, only to botch a dive over the top.
Instead a victory roll gets two out of the corner before Cara slams Kalisto onto Murphy for the same. This match is kind of all over the place so far. Back to Blake as the champs take over with some fast tags and quick offense. Kalisto gets another hot tag and cleans house with his rolling kick to the head and low hurricanrana but Murphy counters the Salida Del Sol. A powerbomb gets two on Kalisto and they hit a pinfall reversal sequence until both partners make saves at the same time.
Cara rolls Blake into a powerbomb for two but Murphy rolls out for two of his own. It’s quickly back to Murphy who can’t roll out of the powerbomb as everything breaks down again. Kalisto is knocked off the apron and Murphy hits a running suplex on Cara, setting up a great looking frog splash from Blake to retain the titles at 7:28.
Rating: C. This was entertaining but kind of sloppy. They didn’t really try for any kind of psychology but the champs looked smooth out there and the match worked well enough for what it was going for. Blake and Murphy are actually good champions and work well together, though I could use a big more to separate them. Still though, good enough stuff.
During the champs’ celebration, we get the longest Solomon hack to date, complete with “Next week” coming up on screen.
Recap of the #1 contenders tournament, which quickly turns into a video on Neville vs. Balor. Both of them have worked hard to get here and they’re ready to go through the other to get their shot at the title.
#1 Contenders Tournament Final: Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville
Balor does his full on painted, crawling entrance. Neville runs him over to start and grabs a headlock on the mat. That’s fine with Finn who rolls through and hits a basement dropkick to the face, sending Adrian rolling out to the floor. Back in and Finn runs him over again before slapping on a chinlock. Balor escapes and goes to the apron but gets dropkicked down while trying a springboard. This is a chess match so far. A delayed suplex gets two for Adrian and it’s another chinlock.
Finn is out quicker this time though and he kicks Neville out to the floor for a huge flip dive. After taking a few moments to get up, Balor slowly stalks around the ring and hits a running dropkick to send Neville through the barricade. Back in and a top rope stomps to the back of the head gets two more for Balor and frustration is setting in. Neville wins a kick off but Finn scores with a Pele to put both guys down again.
Adrian is up first and muscles Finn over for a German suplex and now it’s his turn to be frustrated. A middle rope Phoenix Splash gets two on Balor but he comes back with a Sling Blade to put Adrian down again. Finn’s running clothesline turns Neville inside out and a reverse implant DDT gets two more. Neville scores with a pair of kicks to the head but the Red Arrow hits knees, allowing Finn to hook a small package for a VERY close two. I totally bought that as the finish. Now it’s Balor going up for a top rope double stomp to the ribs for the pin and the title shot at 13:32.
Rating: A. Now THIS worked. Both guys were rocking the whole time and this was one heck of a back and forth showdown. Balor is being treated as the real deal and they’re doing a great job of rocketing him up the card. This was a great war with some white hot near falls with both guys looking great and topping each other until Neville just couldn’t get up anymore.
They shake hands post match.
Video on the four way Women’s Title match which is a pretty simple idea: Charlotte has the belt, all three other girls want it, and they’re willing to fight everyone to get it.
Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks
Other than the main event, this is the match I’ve been looking forward to more than anything else, including Balor vs. Neville. It’s a basic title feud but they’ve executed it so well that I want to see it. Consider that this is the company that also has the Bellas being pushed to Mars and back and you’ll be even more astounded by that. It’s a big brawl to start with Charlotte knocking both villains to the floor but getting rolled up for two.
Now it’s Bayley getting double teamed with a double clothesline and then just being thrown into the corner. Banks and Lynch of course get into an argument over who should get the cover. Sasha turns her back on her partner though and gets launched with a kind of pumphandle throw. Lynch goes after Bayley’s bad knee and puts on a kind of reverse figure four but Banks makes the save. Becky hits a missile dropkick to put Sasha down for two but it’s Charlotte making the save.
The champ starts busting out neckbreakers for two each before getting in a slugout with Banks. Sasha gets the better of it and whips Charlotte into the ropes, only to have her spear Becky down. Bayley gets back in and catches Sasha in an assisted Codebreaker but Charlotte boots her in the face. Sasha sends Charlotte shoulder first into the post and drapes her over the middle rope. She puts Becky across the bottom rope for good measure and drives her knees into Charlotte’s ribs to send her into Lynch for two on both of them.
Bayley throws Banks down and it’s down to Bayley vs. Charlotte. A series of running elbows in the corner have Charlotte reeling and Bayley tightens the ponytail to make it serious. Bayley scores with a top rope hurricanrana and the Belly to Bayley but Becky pulls her out to the floor. That’s too much for Bayley as she snaps on Lynch, only to have Sasha dive through the ropes to take both girls down.
The champ has a breather but screw that because she dives onto all three to put everyone down. Back in and Lynch hits an exploder suplex for two on Charlotte. Bayley breaks up something out of the corner and German suplexes Becky, setting up a super Belly to Bayley on Charlotte but Sasha dives in for the save and a VERY closer near fall of her own. The Bank Statement goes on but Sasha lets go to kick Becky down. She slaps the hold on again before rolling Charlotte up in a crucifix for the pin and the title at 11:57.
Rating: A-. FOLLOW THAT BELLAS! I would have ended it with the stolen pin off the superplex but good grief these girls are awesome. These matches are always a highlight and it never ceases to amaze me how hard they blow the Divas out of the water. Actually check that. The NXT girls and the Divas don’t belong in the same water. Awesome stuff here and the NXT girls continue to get more and more amazing every time.
Charlotte hugs the new champ post match but gets shoved away by the Boss.
We recap Zayn vs. Owens, which is all about jealousy from Owens. Sami won the belt at the last Takeover and Owens turned on him during the celebration. Owens has been there with Zayn the whole time but Sami was called up first. That title means a better life for Kevin’s family and he’ll do whatever it takes to win it. Sami just wants to hurt Owens no matter what it takes.
NXT Title: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
We get the tracking shots of both guys coming to the ring, which is a trend I’d love to see come back. After the big match intros, they stare each other down as the fans are mostly behind the champ. Owens bails to the floor to get inside Sami’s head and we’re in full on Zbyszko mode. Sami finally just dives over the top to take Owens down before throwing him inside for a beating. A hot shot breaks up Sami’s momentum and the pro-dirty traitors strike up the FIGHT OWENS FIGHT chants.
Owens rips the skin off Sami’s chest with a chop and Sami quickly loses a slugout. We hit the chinlock on the champ to get a breather before Kevin just grinds his forearm into Sami’s jaw. Sami tries to fight up but gets dropped ribs first over the top rope for two. Back to the chinlock which makes sense as Kevin has been trying to grind Sami down. A hard belly to back suplex gets two and they head outside so Sami can be rammed into the apron.
The fans have switched up to KILL OWENS KILL as he takes the champ back inside to yell in his face. Owens also puts fists to his face before a gutbuster gets two. Sami jawbreaks out of the third chinlock as the announcers bring up Lesnar vs. Cena from Summerslam. That’s not the longest stretch in the world. Sami fights back with some clotheslines, including a big one to send Kevin to the floor.
Now it’s Owens going into the steps and getting his head taken off with a clothesline. Back in and Sami hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but the Helluva Kick is countered with a huge superkick. There’s the Cannonball for two and the pumphandle driver onto the knee gets an even closer near fall. The popup powerbomb is countered with a dropkick and the Half and Half suplex gets two for the champ.
Kevin snaps the throat over the top rope but gets caught on the same rope, only to knock Sami down. He spits at the champ but his Swanton Bomb hits knees. The Exploder Suplex into the corner looks to set up the Helluva Kick but Owens bails to the floor. Owens can’t hit the apron powerbomb so Sami hits the bouncing moonsault, only to have both guys bang their heads on the ramp. Sami can barely stand and staggers on the attempt at the Helluva Kick, allowing Owens to hit the popup powerbomb for an even closer two.
Owens just unloads with right hands to the head and the champ’s eyes are glazed over. He pounds away in the ropes and keeps getting dragged away by the referee. The trainer comes out to check on Sami but Owens powerbombs Sami again. A second powerbomb has Sami out cold but he slowly rolls his shoulder up to keep this going. The trainer gets in the ring now, earning Zayn two more powerbombs. Kevin loads up a fifth in a row and the referee finally pulls him off to stop the match at 23:12, giving Owens the title.
Rating: A-. This was absolutely brutal and a great way to get the title off Zayn. Owens looks like a killer, but the key thing here is he could not pin Sami. This sets up a big time gimmick rematch as well as writes Sami off TV while he on the international tour during the next TV tapings. In other words, NXT has come up with a way to avoid their champion not being around for over a month of TV, because they’re that much smarter than WWE. Excellent stuff here with Sami looking like a warrior and Owens looking like the most awesome monster this side of Brock Lesnar.
Oh and next up: Owens vs. Balor.
A smiling Owens stands over Sami to end the show.
Overall Rating: A. Good grief. I mean just good freaking grief. How in the world does NXT manage to keep blowing away every bit of wrestling WWE can put out time after time? I’m not sure if any of the three big matches here were as good as the triple threat from the Rumble (and they likely weren’t due to the stage the Rumble was on), but I’ll take three awesome matches over one incredible triple threat any day.
Another outstanding show here with the wrestlers working themselves to the bone to make the whole thing work. There are stories, character development, great matches and hard work all around and there’s no way that doesn’t equal an excellent show. NXT is still on fire and shows no signs of slowing down with even more names on the way, like Crowe and that trio of amateur guys that have been getting rave reviews. Great stuff here and again, if this doesn’t give you enough reason to buy the Network, I don’t know what more you could ask for.
Results
Hideo Itami b. Tyler Breeze – Big boot
Baron Corbin b. Bull Dempsey – End of Days
Blake and Murphy b. Lucha Dragons – Frog splash to Cara
Finn Balor b. Adrian Neville – Top rope double stomp
Sasha Banks b. Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Bayley – Rollup to Charlotte
Kevin Owens b. Sami Zayn via referee stoppage
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Saturday Night’s Main Event at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
NXT Date: January 8, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Alex Riley
One of the many things I like about this show is they set up something for next week almost every time. In this case, we have three things, ranging from Itami vs. Curtis Axel to the Vaudevillains getting their rematch from R-Evolution to the return of Sami Zayn for the first time since he was laid out by Owens. That sounds like a stacked show so let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Here’s the champ to get things going. Sami gets ready to talk but leaves the ring to go be with the crowd and hold up the title. A YOU DESERVE IT chant stops him again before he gets to talk about what this title means. In anyone else’s hands, it means you’re the best. In his hands though, it means you can do it your way and keep doing it how you want because the proof is right here.
He’s going to hate himself for saying this, but this title isn’t his. It belongs to both him and the fans. Everyone here is part of a band called Sami Zayn and the Zaniacs. The fans start the OLE chant and Sami loves that song. Takeover was the best night of his life, but it didn’t end like he wanted it to. Owens cried on his shirt that night and then hurt Sami really bad. He may have hurt Sami, but the champ is right back here, ready to defend the title.
This brings out Adrian Neville who says they tore each other to pieces last time and Zayn was the better man. Neville saw a new Sami and he’s now the champion so congratulations. Sami appreciates it and is pretty sure Neville is entitled to a rematch. This brings out William Regal to congratulate them on having such a great match at R-Evolution. There will indeed be a rematch and it takes place next week on the first Wednesday show.
The Vaudevillains can’t wait to right the wrong from Takeover and prove their manliness.
Hideo Itami vs. Curtis Axel
Axel is trying to be the last real man in wrestling. At this point point there are almost enough of those to make a stable. Itami scores with the early kicks but Axel takes him into the corner and hits a series of clotheslines to the back of the head. A chinlock doesn’t get Curtis anywhere but a knee to the jaw gets two. Axel throws Hideo down and asks who cares about Itami.
Curtis slaps on an armbar out of nowhere (no arm work so far into the match so let’s ignore the neck work and go after the arm) but Hideo fights out and nails a clothesline of his own. Itami loads up a tornado DDT but instead jumps to the apron to snap Axel’s throat across the top rope. The top rope clothesline is good for two but Axel tries the PerfectPlex. That goes nowhere so Itami snapmares him down and hits something like Trouble in Paradise to a kneeling Axel for the pin at 5:45.
Rating: C-. Not bad here and Hideo is starting to round into form as a singles guy. The clotheslines are a nice alternative to the kicks and it really opens up his offense quite a bit. It’s also nice to see him finally have a finisher, even if it’s the same move he does more often than any other. Axel as the new version of Tyson Kidd would be a fine role for him as he’s talented in the ring but needs to reestablish himself after the last few years.
Tyson Kidd is getting ready in the back so Natalya tries to intercept Byron Saxton. A Total Divas interview is cut off by Kidd asking if she’s taken care of the cats. Natalya goes off to feed them so Kidd can talk about how important it is to become NXT Champion. That means he can be the new face of NXT, right before he replaces Sarah McLachlan as the face of the ASPCA. Kidd loves all cats, except Grumpy Cat. Fact.
Video on Bull Dempsey vs. Baron Corbin, based on who can squash jobbers faster. They face off for the first time next week.
Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss
This is due to Banks breaking Bliss’ nose a few weeks back. Alexa grabs a quick sunset flip for two but has her headscissors countered into a faceplant. Banks takes her time trash talking but stops to blast Alexa with right hands to the face. She lays Bliss across the middle rope for a double knee to the ribs, setting up the Bank Statement for the submission at 2:06.
Quick package on Neville vs. Zayn from R-Evolution.
Tyler Breeze vs. Chad Gable
Gable is an Olympic wrestler who has gotten rave reviews so far. Gable easily takes Breeze down to start and rides him with a front facelock. The fans are WAY into Chad to start as Graves won’t confirm or deny that he runs Breeze’s fan club. Breeze fights up and takes him down for a chinlock while throwing in some trash talk to the Uggo. Gable gets to his feet and throws on an armbar over the top rope ala Alberto Del Rio. He breaks at four and Breeze is TICKED, setting up the Beauty Shot for the pin at 2:37. Gable looked good out there in the limited time he had.
Finn Balor is looking forward to facing Tyson Kidd next week, but Kidd is going to need more than nine lives to survive. Fact. Simple, yet effective. Why is that so lost on the main show writers?
We see a still from Breeze’s post match celebration, showing an ominous face peeking out from the curtain to look at him. It’s not clear whose face it is.
Tag Team Titles: Lucha Dragons vs. Vaudevillains
Vaudevillains are challenging again after the Dragons pinned the illegal man at R-Evolution. Kalisto quickly springboards onto Gotch and pounds away with right hands before it’s already off to Cara. Some kind of modified Gory Stretch has Gotch in trouble as Graves says these two might be equally strong. English comes in and says the titles are coming home with them tonight. He school boys Cara through the ropes and out to the floor for a nice move, but Kalisto sends both Vaudevillains to the floor for a big double dive.
We take a break and come back (after an announcement that Daniel Bryan will be in action on the first Thursday Smackdown) with Kalisto trying the big spinning wristlock, only to have English hold the ropes to send the masked man crashing down. Gotch gets two off a big belly to back before a double chop puts Kalisto down again.
English comes back in but gets rolled up for two, only to slap on a chinlock. Back up and Kalisto finally rolls over for the hot tag to Cara. Everything breaks down and Gotch kicks Cara in the head, only to be low bridged out to the floor. In what looked to be a botched finish, Cara lifts English up for a powerbomb and Kalisto adds a spinning clothesline to the back of the head to retain at 11:45.
Rating: C+. The match was fine but the ending really didn’t look good. In theory it was supposed to be a clothesline to the front but it looked awkward instead of devastating. The Dragons need new opponents now, and thankfully NXT actually has some teams they could quickly build up into contenders. I’m not sure where the Vaudevillains go, but a refocus on the comedic stuff could be in order.
Overall Rating: C+. Not one of their stronger episodes here but they did a great job of setting up next week to look like something special. Sami’s opening promo was excellent with a ton of emotion and it set up the rematch next week. I really like how NXT is able to wait things out and tease the big stuff, such as Owens showdown with Zayn. Not the match mind you but just those two in the same place at the same time. Instead of hot shotting to that, we’re getting what should be a great match out of the way, instead of just jumping straight to it. WWE could learn from that, but the circumstances are a bit different up top.
Results
Hideo Itami b. Curtis Axel – Spinning kick to the head
Sasha Banks b. Alexa Bliss – Bank Statement
Tyler Breeze b. Chad Gable – Beauty Shot
Lucha Dragons b. Vaudevillains – Powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination to English
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
I’m keeping this one quick because there just aren’t enough options there.
Sami Zayn’s Road to Redemption worked like a charm with the blowoff making it worth the journey. You could argue this story started back when Sami debuted and started his feud with Cesaro. Over the last few months, Sami has gone back and defeated everyone that has given him a loss before finally capping it off with a title win over NXT Champion Adrian Neville. It’s a classic story and the matches working like a charm made it even better. Yet another reason to love NXT.
Shield breaks up, which ties into a bunch of singles feuds. You had the Shield as perhaps the greatest three man combination ever and there was only one way to get out of that: someone had to turn. In this case it seems to have been the best option, as Rollins turned on his brothers and joined the Authority as the new ace heel. He has since become the top heel in the company and looks ready for the heel push towards the stars. It was a shocking moment and kicked off one of the best set of stories all year.
That leaves us with one option and this really shouldn’t surprise anyone paying attention: Daniel Bryan’s Road to Wrestlemania. Bryan going from the tag team guy to the champ to being screwed over to a Wyatt for a little while to being the people’s choice to the WWE World Heavyweight Champion was one heck of a rollercoaster and the blowoff was in the main event of Wrestlemania. I really don’t think I can give it more praise than that and this might be the easiest winner of the awards all year.
2014 Awards: Most Improved
This one is always up for some debate.
We’ll start by just listing off some contenders.
First up is the suddenly dominant Lashley. This was what WWE should have done with him for years: find the guy a mouthpiece and let him just hurt people. He’s a genetic freak that can wrestle on the mat, so let him do that instead of trying to make him a superhero. I never got why WWE wanted him to be a face when he has the personality of a turnip, but ever since he became a monster heel, he was one of the highlights of show.
Ethan Carter III is the same thing but as an intellectual heel instead of a monster. The guy went from being nothing in WWE to one of the best acts in TNA, very much in the same vein as Rick Rude back in 1991. Carter is going to be a player in TNA going forward and I could easily see him winning the World Title in the coming year.
The Dusts have gone from eh to one of the top teams in the company, though that’s not really saying much.
Seth Rollins started the year as the forgotten member of the Shield and became a strong contender for Wrestler of the Year. You couple that with more than holding his own on the mic and it’s hard to argue that he’s shot through the roof this year.
Tyson Kidd….the more I think about this one the less I buy into it. It’s not so much that he got better but more along the lines of his got pushed. He’s basically the same wrestler but with facts and cats. I like what I’m seeing out of him, but it’s not like he’s gotten insanely good overnight or anything.
We’ll give the Divas a shot and include Charlotte. She went from a borderline disaster to the woman who can actually look down on the rest of the NXT girls. I have no idea where this came from but suddenly her title defenses are one of the highlights of the big NXT shows, which I don’t think anyone was expecting. That’s definitely worth a nomination.
Finally, you have to mention Tyler Breeze. The guy went from a goon to tearing the house down every time he was in a big match. That match he had against Zayn at Takeover was outstanding and he’s nailed so much of the character all year long. This is one of the best surprises all year and he’s gone through the roof.
At the end of the day though, I have to go with Rollins. I would have bet on him being Kofi Kingston but he’s looking more like a Randy Orton every day. He’s always had talent, but there are a dozen guys on the roster who have untapped skills. To go from the potential he had to realizing that potential is a huge improvement and worthy of the award.
NXT – December 4, 2014: Inzayn Intensity
NXT Date: December 4, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Alex Riley, Rich Brennan
It’s the last show before R-Evolution and I’d assume tonight is just going to be about firming up matches for next week. I’m really hoping we don’t get a rushed heel turn from Neville as the match would be far more entertaining with both guys staying on the paths that got them here. Other than that we might have some fallout from Bayley calling out Lynch and Banks last week. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Charlotte vs. Mia Yim
Non-title. Charlotte starts with a WOO before sending Mia into the corner for a slap to the back. Natural Selection is good for the pin at 51 seconds.
Post match Sasha Banks, in a Charlotte shirt, comes out and says just give her the title now. Charlotte tells her to bring it and starts a ratchet chant. Sasha says she has more flair than Charlotte and her daddy. She’s going to beat Charlotte so badly that she’ll be a bigger loser than her old man. This brings out Bayley in a big leg brace and on crutches to tell Sasha to shut her ratchet face. Banks kicks her in the knee and runs off when Charlotte comes up the ramp. Sasha tries to get a cheap shot but Charlotte drags her to the ring and says get a ref out here. Becky Lynch sneaks in from behind though and Banks lays out the champ.
Time for another silent movie from the Vaudevillains! This time the police commissioner calls them to say the Lucha Dragons are dropping water balloons off the roof of city hall. After a training montage (complete with Gotch fighting a video of a tiger), the Vaudevillains attach an anvil to the Dragons, sending them down…..into a mushroom cloud? Gotch is glad that they took the belts away because they would have just weighed the Dragons down even more. Keep in mind though that no Lucha Dragons were harmed in the filming of this motion picture, but that won’t be the case next week. These things are brilliant.
Vaudevillians vs. Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake
English jumps over Blake to start but dives into a powerslam for two. A snapmare sends Wesley into the ropes though in a nice idea. It’s off to Murphy as the fans sound like they’re sighing for some reason. Off to Gotch for some Hindu Squats while holding Buddy in an Indian Deathlock. English comes back in for some elbows to the leg before it’s back to Gotch to stay on the leg. Murphy finally rolls away and makes the tag as everything breaks down. Blake is sent to the floor for a big crash and the Whirling Dervish ends Murphy at 4:15.
Rating: D+. Not much to see here but the Vaudevillains are getting better in the ring. Those vignettes are as good as anything I’ve seen in a long time. Murphy and Blake are decent in the ring but they really need to stop losing every time if they’re supposed to have a future.
Regal is in the back with Tyler Breeze, who hasn’t seen Marcus Louis since he wandered off last week. Tyson Kidd comes in and says he wants a rematch with Balor, but Regal makes it a tag with Itami/Balor vs. Kidd/Breeze. This took less than a minute and covered two stories. Why does it take Raw twenty minutes to cover one?
Bull Dempsey vs. Elias Samson
The fans count until the flying headbutt ends Samson at 22 seconds.
Baron Corbin vs. ???
End of Days, 11 seconds. Of course Bull was watching from the stage.
Kevin Owens video, talking about how he’s fought and teamed with Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Adrian Neville, and Sami Zayn (called Owens’ best friend), but WWE called all of them first. Now it’s his turn.
Tyler Breeze/Tyson Kidd vs. Hideo Itami/Finn Balor
Kidd holds the ropes open for Natalya and offers to do the same for Breeze in a funny bit. Itami and Kidd get things going but it’s quickly off to Breeze, whose arm is quickly yanked. Balor comes in with a slingshot stomp for no count but Kidd makes a blind tag and decks Finn to take over as we go to a break. Back with Breeze coming in to stomp Finn in the corner before it’s quickly back to Kidd for even faster stomping.
A neckbreaker gets two for Tyson and we hit a bow and arrow. Balor fights up but misses a dropkick to put him right back down. Breeze grabs a neckbreaker of his own for two before Kidd comes back in for a hard kick to the leg. A slingshot legdrop to the back of the head gets two for Kidd but he eats a Pele (now called a soccer kick), allowing Finn to tag Hideo. Itami fires off a series of kicks to destroy Breeze before hitting a delayed running dropkick in the corner to a sitting Tyler. Everything breaks down and Balor hits Shadows Over Hell, setting up Itami’s kick to the back of the head for the pin at 11:30.
Rating: C. Pretty standard tag match here but Itami continues to look totally one dimensional. I know he isn’t the biggest guy in the world but he needs to do something more than just kick a lot. Daniel Bryan has proven that a smaller guy can do more than just strike while still having it be a major part of his offense so it certainly can be done.
Post match Finn tells Ascension to bring everything they have because he’s going to show them something they’ve never seen before.
Here’s Adrian Neville for the final speech before the title match. A lot of people have said he should be conflicted by this match, but his goal is the same as always: to win at all cost. Some people say that he should be ashamed of what he did to retain the title at Fatal Four Way and every other title match. If he had it his way, it would have gone completely differently, but that’s the fundamental difference between himself and Sami: Zayn doesn’t have the killer instinct and that’s why he’ll never be NXT Champion.
This brings out Sami who says he’s been listening to everything Neville has been saying and it’s ticking him off. Who is Neville to act like Sami’s babysitter and tell him how he should live? Whatever Sami decides to do after the match is up to him and his actions, not Neville’s. Adrian backs off a bit and says he respects Sami more than anyone else and next week it’s going to be an honor to face Sami in the match of their careers.
Adrian offers a handshake but Sami says no. This is where he goes wrong every single time but he won’t do it here. This isn’t about respect and he slaps Adrian in the face. Neville doesn’t get to end him because it’s going to be Sami ending Adrian’s story and taking that title. This wasn’t a heel turn for either guy but rather Sami just being more intense this time around.
Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling wasn’t great here but I’m wanting to see Takeover a lot more than I did coming in. That main event has me drooling because you know those two are going to tear the house down with the near falls. The only match that doesn’t do much for me is Ascension vs. Itami/Balor as there doesn’t seem to be a ton of drama there, but whatever gets Ascension onto the main roster is a good thing at this point. This show did exactly what it was supposed to do and sets up a good looking card for next week.
Results
Charlotte b. Mia Yim – Natural Selection
Vaudevillians b. Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy – Whirling Dervish to Murphy
Bull Dempsey b. Elias Samson – Flying headbutt
Baron Corbin b. ??? – End of Days
Finn Balor/Hideo Itami b. Tyler Breeze/Tyson Kidd – Kick to Breeze’s head
NXT – November 27, 2014: Thank You NXT Fans
NXT Date: November 27, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Renee Young, Jason Albert
The big story this week is Finn Balor facing Tyson Kidd in his first singles match in NXT. It’s going to be interesting to see how much more impressive he is than Itami, who hasn’t done much for me, though he needs a longer match than he’s had so far. Other than that we’re gearing up for Zayn vs. Neville II in two weeks and it should be glorious. Let’s get to it.
Marcus Louis vs. Tyler Breeze
Louis continues to be in a state of shock and potentially psychotic over losing his hair. He doesn’t take his towel off for a few moments as Tyler looks disgusted by Louis. Fans: “WHERE’S YOUR EYEBROWS???” Breeze says he can’t be asked to take on the uggo of all uggos and won’t be the precious to Louis’ Gollum. Marcus takes the towel off his head and Breeze is even more disturbed. Now he thinks Louis is an idiot and a freak. “NOBODY WILL EVER LOVE YOU!” Louis looks away and turns around into the Beauty Shot for the pin at 2:28. Breeze was as evil as I’ve ever seen him here and I LOVED IT.
Louis rolls out and screams as he leaves. I could go for more of this Louis Is Nuts thing as he’s selling the heck out of it. Marcus gets back in the ring and the fans think this is awkward. After a break, Louis very slowly walked out the front door of the arena.
Carmella vs. Blue Pants
Enzo says he has a surprise for Carmella (Fans: “BLUE PANTS! BLUE PANTS! BLUE PANTS!”) and of course it’s Blue Pants, complete with Big Cass humming a theme song for her. He does the entrances and the fans actually give her a standing ovation. Fans: “REMATCH! REMATCH! REMATCH!” Carmella runs her over to start and does it again with a dropkick. Off to the leg crossface from Carmella for the submission at 0:48.
Carmella laughs at Enzo post match. They better not split up Enzo and Cass.
Balor says Kidd should send a tape of their match tonight to Kidd’s uncle Bret.
Lucha Dragons vs. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan
Non-title. Cara and Dillinger get things going with Sin grabbing the arm and taking him back into the corner for a tag off to Kalisto. The champs keep taking turns on the arm until Dillinger takes Sin over to the corner for the tag off to Jordan. In something you don’t see all that often, Jason covers him for no count. Back to Dillinger for some stomps but we get heel miscommunication to frustrate Dillinger. The hot tag brings in Kalisto to speed things up with a very high springboard wristdrag to Tye. Cara’s suicide dive takes Tye out again and the Salida Del Sol pins Jordan at 3:35.
Rating: D+. Glorified squash here but the Dragons looked good going into their title match against the Vaudevillains at the next Takeover. The problem though is their reign hasn’t had the time to build yet, and when you’re coming off a year long title reigns, it’s kind of hard to get into one that has consisted of the rematch with the champs and potentially the feud where the titles change. At least there’s been a bit of build to the upcoming defense though.
We recap Sasha Banks costing Bayley a match against Becky Lynch last week and Charlotte making the save post match.
Kevin Owens, complete with a FIGHT t-shirt, is coming in two weeks.
Here’s Bayley with something to say. She doesn’t have a match tonight (“BOO!”) but she has to deal with something tonight. Charlotte may not be here, but she’s used to dealing with bullies like Lynch and Banks. When she was a kid she was bullied every day and when she came home from school crying, her mom told her to go back the next day and stand up to the bullies because they’re cowards. Cue Banks and Lynch to shove Bayley but she nails Sasha in the face. Becky nails her from behind though and they stomp away until the referees come out. Again, Lynch looks like a star here.
Natalya is excited for her husband to get to face Balor tonight. Tyson cuts her off (Natalya: “But I’m putting you over!”) and says Justin cost them that match because he has a knack for losing. Tyson has been working with Bret recently and is the new Hitman. Balor is a guy who can’t live up to his hype. Yeah he’s good, but he’s not THAT good. Natalya goes to hug him but Tyson has to go Facetime with the cats. She doesn’t seem too bothered by this.
Time for a silent movie starring the Vaudevillains. The Lucha Dragons are trying to rob a bank and it’s up to the Vaudevillains to stop them. But first, TRAINING MONTAGE! English does push-ups while Gotch gets in a fist fight WITH A BEAR. They go for a run before heading to the bank where they find a box of TNT. It’s the Mini Lucha Dragons behind it of course, and they wind up getting blow up, somehow making Gotch and English the NXT Tag Team Champions. Voiceover: “No Lucha Dragons were harmed in this production, but at NXT Takeover: R-Evolution, we make no such promises!” This was GREAT.
We run down the Takeover card and Sasha vs. Charlotte is confirmed.
Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd
Itami/Balor vs. Ascension is confirmed too. Technical sequence to start with Tyson grabbing a wristlock to take over but Balor spins him down to the mat in a nice counter. Kidd comes back with a chinlock as the fans call him Nattie’s Wife. It turns to a TYSON CHICKEN chant as Balor dropkicks him to the floor, only to have Kidd hide behind Natalya to avoid a dive.
We take a break and come back with Balor kicking Kidd from the apron but having his springboard broken up. Kidd knocks him out to the floor and follows up with a neckbreaker outside. Back in and Tyson hammers away in the corner before catapulting him face first into the bottom turnbuckle for two. Another chinlock doesn’t last that long but Kidd stops the comeback with a kick to the ribs. Tyson puts him in the Tree of Woe for some knees but stops to yell at Natalya for not helping him cheat.
There’s a running dropkick in the corner for two and we hit another chinlock. Kidd: “ASK HIM!” Referee: “He said no!” Kidd: “WELL ASK HIM IN IRISH!” Back up and Balor escapes a suplex and fires off some chops followed by a Pele. A spinning suplex gets two for Finn but he charges into a boot in the corner. Balor kicks him off the top but misses the top rope stomp. Tyson can’t hook the Sharpshooter so he sends Balor face first into the buckle again. The springboard elbow hits knees so Finn hits a running knee to the face. Up top again for the stomp but Ascension runs in for the DQ at 14:41.
Rating: B-. Good but not great match here as they were just getting going near the end. Balor continues to look like a much more well rounded guy than Itami, but again I need to see Itami in a long match like this one to get a better feel for him. Kidd is still the work horse of this show and I’m glad that he’s getting some shots on Raw as a reward.
Itami comes in for the save and a big pull apart brawl ends the show.
Overall Rating: B-. I want to see R-Evolution. That’s the key to TV shows like this and it’s worked like a charm here. They spent last week building up the main event and this week it was all about almost every other match on the card. This was a good, entertaining episode with more wrestling to balance out last week’s talking heavy show. Good stuff again and the big show looks like it could blow the roof off the place again.
Results
Tyler Breeze b. Marcus Louis – Beauty Shot
Carmella b. Blue Pants – Leg crossface
Lucha Dragons b. Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan – Salida Del Sol to Jordan
Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd went to a no contest when the Ascension interfered
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
NXT Date: October 9, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Renee Young, Rich Brennan
We’re getting closer to the next live special and you can see the card starting to form from here. It’s pretty clear that we’re going to get Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville in the big showdown for the title and maybe Lucha Dragons vs. the Vaudevillains. That’s not the worst card in the world with the NXT Title match sounding excellent. Let’s get to it.
Tyler Breeze vs. Mojo Rawley
This is the result of Tyler attacking Mojo a few weeks ago when Rawley interrupted his walk. Breeze hides in the ropes to start and then lays on the corner to keep ticking Mojo off. Mojo charges into a boot to the shoulder and Breeze stomps on the arm before putting on a Fujiwara Armbar for the submission at 1:15. This quick losing thing has to become a story soon right?
Brennan thinks the referee stopped the match instead of hearing a submission.
Enzo and Cass try to get Regal to give Carmella a job. He isn’t interested but they get him to watch her working out in the ring. She makes some girl tap and Regal says bring her next Thursday.
We recap Hideo Itami vs. the Ascension over the last few weeks.
Viktor vs. Hideo Itami
Konor isn’t anywhere in sight which probably doesn’t spell anything good for Itami. Vikto takes some punches and kicks to start but rips the skin off Hideo’s chest with a chop. A snap suplex gets two on Itami and Viktor hammers away even more. Some kicks give Hideo a breather and a missile dropkick puts Viktor down. Hideo seems staggered by the dropkick but he goes up again, only to be distracted by Konor on the stage with an unconscisous Funaki. Not that it matters as Itami dropkicks Viktor for the pin at 3:11.
Rating: D+. Hideo looked better here but I still want to see some different offense. The dropkicks were at least a different kind of kick to keep things a little fresher and he threw some right hands, but throw in something other than strikes. Again though, it was just a three minute match so it’s way too early to pass judgment. The crowd was oddly silent during this match too.
Post match Konor comes in and Hideo gets tied in the ropes. Funaki tries to make a save and gets beaten down even worse.
Vaudevillains vs. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady
I’m not feeling the Vaudevillains’ new music. Enzo wants the Villains to get back in their Delorean and go back to the future. They want to go back to Pumping Iron to flex like Arnold, but it’s more like Hey Arnold because they never should have got off the stoop. WOW does that line make me feel old. Gotch drives knees into Enzo’s ribs in the corner and Aiden’s legdrop gets two. Enzo finally rolls away and makes the tag to Cass for a big boot. Everything breaks down and Cass suplexes Enzo onto Gotch for two. Cass gets knocked outside to leave Amore all alone and That’s A Wrap at 2:52.
Sami Zayn understands that Titus O’Neil is having issues with a bunny but that doesn’t mean he can come down here to make himself feel better.
Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks
Becky is out of the green and into plaid. Sasha insults Becky’s hair to start so Becky whips her hair into Banks’ face. A Majistral cradle gets two for Lynch and she nips up for good measure. Some forearms to the face get two for Sasha and we’re off to a double arm crank. Becky comes back with some clotheslines for two and a springboard kick to the face in the corner. Not that it matters as Sasha hits a quick Backstabber into the Bank Statement (Crossface) for the submission at 4:02.
Rating: C. This wasn’t bad and Lynch clearly has the it factor to her. The fact that she’s very good looking and can clearly go in the ring will make things even easier for her. I was hoping she won here but the Banks vs. Charlotte match is probably going to take place at the next live show. Good showing by Lynch here who looked more complete than Banks, though Sasha has better charisma.
Sami Zayn vs. Titus O’Neil
Sami fires off some forearms to stagger the big guy but charges into a slam. More forearms don’t have much effect as Titus slowly hammers him down again. O’Neil pounds away in the corner and another slam gets two. Sami gets thrown outside and we take a break. Back with Sami caught in a bearhug and being swung around like a rag doll. A third slam gets two as Titus really doesn’t seem to have the most extensive offense.
Zayn gets beaten down in the corner again and has to confirm he can keep going. Off to a waistlock from Titus but Sami fights out and low bridges Titus to the floor. A big flip dive puts O’Neil down and finally wakes up the crowd a bit. Back in and the Helluva Kick is countered by a big boot for two. A second attempt at the Helluva Kick connects but Titus’ foot is under the ropes. Sami tries to walk the corner but gets crotched down and planted with the Clash of the Titus for the pin at 13:14.
Rating: D. Seriously? We have to sit through Titus having one of the most boring offenses this side of Big John Studd and he gets to pin Zayn in the middle of the ring? The bad parts of this match are all on Titus as he just didn’t have anything but slams, clotheslines and forearms. You would think a guy that has been around that many years would have something better than this but he was just dull. I see no need to have him win here though and it really made things worse.
Titus tries to go after Sami again but Neville makes the save.
Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t their best effort and the main event has a lot to do with it. I see no reason why Sami couldn’t win here and then do the exact same ending. The rest of the show was fine but it’s almost all about setting up stuff for down the road. The different with NXT though is they’re capable of pulling off something like that later on. Not a great show here but there’s good stuff coming.
Results
Tyler Breeze b. Mojo Rawley – Fujiwara Armbar
Hideo Itami b. Viktor – Dropkick
Vaudevillains b. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady – That’s A Wrap to Amore
Sasha Banks b. Becky Lynch – Crossface
Titus O’Neil b. Sami Zayn – Clash of the Titus
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at: