Things really need to pick up around here soon. I can’t believe I’m saying that but it’s the absolute truth right now. The lack of anything to build towards is hurting things, as we’re just spinning in circles instead of actually setting up a show or a match. Last week Breeze implied that he was cashing in soon but I didn’t hear a date. Let’s get to it.

Clip from Takeover of Tyler Breeze beating Sami Zayn to become #1 contender and Tyler taunting NXT Champion Adrian Neville ever since.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Mojo Rawley/Bull Dempsey vs. Vaudevillains

Big ovation for the Vaudevillains. Mojo cranks on English’s head to start but Aiden comes back with an uppercut for two. Off to a hammerlock from English, including a bow down into a tag to Gotch. Simon puts on a hammerlock of his own and does Hindu Squats to crank on the arm. Dempsey comes in and pounds Gotch to the mat but it’s quickly back to Mojo as he tags himself back in. This doesn’t go well for the makeshift team as Gotch catches him in a rolling fireman’s carry, followed by a middle rope Swanton Bomb from English for the pin at 3:07.

Rating: D+. That was far shorter than I was expecting. I’m glad they pulled the plug on the makeshift team before it went on forever, given that this was the obvious ending. Mojo has fallen through the floor in NXT and to be fair I can’t say I disagree with the way his push has gone. Ever since that beating from Rusev it was almost impossible for him to get back up.

Post match Bull destroys Mojo, drawing a big THANK YOU BULL chant.

Sasha Banks doesn’t like Bayley thinking she’ll be the next Women’s Champion. Bayley says Sasha doesn’t get a hug tonight.

Breeze is cashing in tonight. They didn’t do a great job of making that clear last week.

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

#1 contenders match. They trade headlocks to start with Sasha taking over with a knee to the ribs for two. Bayley takes her down with some rollups for the same as they trade near falls. They stay on the mat with Bayley grabbing a headlock, only to have Sasha fight up and nail a dropkick. Back up and Bayley gets aggressive, sending Sasha out to the floor for a breather.

We take a break and come back with Sasha getting two before putting on a chinlock. She stretches Bayley across the knees before ramming her face first into the mat. Back to a double arm choke on Bayley but the happy one fights up and nails some forearms, only to get her throat snapped across the top rope. A slap to the face looks to set up Belly to Bayley but Sasha counters into a Backstabber. Sasha puts on a Crossface but cranks on it too much, allowing Bayley to roll on top for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C-. The match was pretty dull stuff but Bayley got to be a bit more aggressive which is a nice change of pace for her. Bayley vs. Charlotte will be a better option than Sasha getting the shot as you can only do Charlotte vs. BFFs for so long until it gets really old in a hurry.

Tag Team Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Kalisto/Sin Cara vs. Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy

Cara and Blake get things going for some fast paced running before it’s off to the partners for some hard shots from Kalisto. Cara launches Kalisto into a backsplash onto Murphy for two. Murphy is sent to the floor and Blake gets taken down by a top rope cross body from Cara. A dropkick from Kalisto sends Murphy into a Cara powerbomb. Sin takes out Blake and Kalisto hits a standing sitout sliced bread #2 for the pin at 2:42. This was a fast paced squash and the masked guys looked really good.

The Legionnaires don’t like Enzo and Big Cass making the semifinals and speak a lot of French.

NXT Title: Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze

Adrian is defending and takes Tyler down to the mat to start. Some kicks to the ribs have Breeze in early trouble but he sends Adrian out to the floor in a big crash. Tyson Kidd comes out to commentary as Neville gets back in. We take a break and come back with Breeze still in control and Kidd not saying a word. Breeze puts on a front facelock before sending Neville out to the floor again.

A whip into the steps gets two for the challenger and it’s back to the front facelock. Adrian finally shoves him off to escape and hammers away in the corner. There’s a running boot to the face and a standing shooting star for two. Neville goes to the corner but dives into a dropkick to change momentum again. Breeze misses a charge into the corner and gets superkicked for a very close near fall. Both guys are spent but Breeze is able to break up the Red Arrow.

A sunset bomb plants Tyler but he rolls away before the Red Arrow can be launched. Breeze comes back with an INSANE tornado DDT to plant Neville for two. Neville counters a German suplex into one of his own for two more and both guys are down. Breeze rolls outside and takes a big suicide dive, which finally draws Kidd out to the ring. Fans: “NO! NO! NO!” Neville blasts him in the face with a superkick before Tyson can do anything. He kicks Breeze in the head as well and goes up for the Red Arrow, only to have Tyson break it up for the DQ at 14:46.

Rating: B. This was getting really good in the middle but took a breather and toned down a bit near the end. It seemed like a way to set up another match and that might be the best possible option. Breeze wasn’t the best option to take the title but he’s FAR better in the ring than anyone would have given him credit for.

Breeze goes after Kidd but eventually they team up on Neville. Sami Zayn runs in for the save and checks on Neville to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was much better than what they had been doing in recent weeks but it’s still not as good as the show had been for weeks now. You can see the fourway coming from here but that’s not the worst idea in the world given how insane a match between these four could be. Good show here and a lot of stuff is set for the future, which is NXT’s specialty.

Results
Vaudevillains b. Mojo Rawley/Bull Dempsey – Middle rope Swanton Bomb to Rawley
Bayley b. Sasha Banks – Rollup
Sin Cara/Kalisto b. Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy – Standing sitout sliced bread #2 to Murphy
Adrian Neville b. Tyler Breeze via DQ when Tyson Kidd interfered

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As usual with NXT, there are a few matches already set for this week. Tonight we’re getting Summer Rae vs. Charlotte for the Women’s Title to likely blow off the BFFs once and for all as well as Kalisto finding a partner to help him fight off the Vaudevillains. That’s one of the things I like best about NXT: they don’t have to start from scratch every week and it saves them so much time. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the collapse of the BFFs and Charlotte’s rise to the Women’s Title.

Opening sequence.

Ascension vs. ???/???

Viktor destroys Jobber #1 to start and throws him into Jobber #2 in the corner. Konnor comes in and Jobber #2’s chop just ticks him off. Jobber #2 gets destroyed for a bit and Fall of Man ends Jobber #2 at 2:37.

Tyler Breeze vs. Mojo Rawley

Beauty Shot ends this at 30 seconds in the only move of the match. So much for Rawley.

Women’s Title: Summer Rae vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is defending. Heaven help me but Summer’s theme song is growing on me. They get in each others’ faces to start before Charlotte shoves Summer down. She mocks Summer’s dancing and we go into the catfight. Charlotte takes over with some knees to the back and a Figure Four Neck Lock. We take a break and come back with Summer in the same hold and shouting about her beautiful face.

Charlotte flips her forward but gets sent to the floor to give Summer control. She slams Charlotte face first into the mat for two and puts on a bodyscissors. We get the very rare BORING chant in NXT as Charlotte gets caught in a half crab. Charlotte bites her way out and now the fans are doing the wave. A double clothesline puts both girls down but it’s Charlotte up first and taking control. She grabs a quick Bow Down to the Queen to retain at 9:50.

Rating: D+. Summer is no Natalya for sure. This was a really dull match and thankfully they kept this a lot shorter than the Takeover match. Both girls are almost all character, but it’s nice to see them trying to have a match instead of doing the stupid catfight stuff. Summer needs a lot more work though.

Video on Alexa Bliss.

Sin Cara/Kalisto vs. Vaudevillains

Not a huge surprise but it’s the right choice for a partner. English and Kalisto get things going with the masked man taking him down in a headlock. Off to Sin Cara for a loud chop and a cross body into a series of right hands to the head. Aiden dropkicks a springboard cross body out of the air for two and it’s off to Gotch. Renee: “Gotch isn’t allowed in England for trying to capture the Loch Ness Monster but getting Giant Haystacks.”

Gotch hammers away and gets two off a sunset flip before it’s back to English for a hard stomping. English gets caught in an armdrag into a powerbomb and it’s off to Kalisto to speed things up. Everything breaks down and Sin dives out onto English and Kalisto hits a standing Sliced Bread #2 for the pin on Gotch at 6:00.

Rating: C-. This was fine and the match made the new team look good. The Vaudevillains are going to be over because of how zany they are and a loss really doesn’t hurt them all that much. Also adding in a new face team that could eventually challenge the Ascension is a good thing.

Rusev vs. Adrian Neville

Non-title. Lana does her thing and talks about America’s obsessions with stars before the match. Rusev even speaks some English and talks about being the super athlete. Neville moves around as much as he can to start but gets caught in the corner and the beating begins.

The champion gets up some boots in the corner to stop a charge but the rest of his kicks don’t have much of an effect. Rusev grabs the leg and gets choked in the air. Neville comes back with a springboard missile dropkick. Tyler Breeze comes out for a distraction though and Rusev runs Neville over. Adrian escapes the fall away slam and nails a big kick. He loads up the Red Arrow but Breeze shoves him off for the DQ at 4:02.

Rating: D+. This was an angle instead of a match. They’ve done a REALLY good job at making Neville look like a superhero in the NXT Arena though and that’s going to make his title loss look like a big deal. Breeze is still a really good choice for #1 contender and I’m actually buying him as a possible champion.

Rusev puts him in the Accolade and makes Neville tap after the bell.

Overall Rating: C-. Not a very good episode this week as it felt like a placeholder. It’s still very acceptable for an hour long show but it wasn’t very entertaining. I’m glad Rusev didn’t beat Neville and it’s nice to see him coming off as a treat for the fans. Breeze vs. Neville is going to be a clash when it finally happens.

Results
Ascension b. ???/??? – Fall of Man to ???
Tyler Breeze b. Mojo Rawley – Beauty Shot
Charlotte b. Summer Rae – Bow Down to the Queen
Sin Cara/Kalisto b. Vaudevillains – Standing Sliced Bread #2 to Gotch
Adrian Neville b. Rusev via DQ when Tyler Breeze interfered

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