NXT
Date: June 3, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

This is an interesting time for NXT as one of their biggest stories isn’t taking place on NXT. Instead, NXT Champion Kevin Owens has been called up to the main roster and even defeated John Cena clean on pay per view in his debut match. It doesn’t help that he’s feuding with a bunch of people here in NXT as well. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is all about Owens beating Cena at Elimination Chamber.

General Manager William Regal has an announcement tonight.

Tyler Breeze vs. Adam Rose

Fans: “WE WANT KRUGER!” Rose takes him into the corner to start and nails some loud chops, followed by a headlock takeover: rest hold. Back up and Breeze nails a great dropkick to put Rose on the floor. That goes nowhere as Rose backdrops him to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Rose putting on a sleeper for a good while until Breeze fights out and kicks him in the chest. Breeze, wrestling like a face here, nails some running forearms in the corner but gets caught in a spinebuster, which Rose transitions into a Boston crab for a nice spot. Breeze crawls over to the ropes and comes back with the Beauty Shot for the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C+. Breeze is one of those characters who is going to be turned face just due to how well he works in the ring and there isn’t much NXT can do to stop it. This was a much better match than I was expecting, especially considering Rose is way past his expiration date at this point.

Solomon Crowe is glad Joe was there last week and promises to be back and better than ever.

Dana Brooke has been at the Arnold Classic and will be back soon.

Eva Marie is brought to the stage for a chat and MY GOODNESS the fans do not want to see her. The YOU CAN’T WRESTLE chants stop her cold but she says she’ll wait. Eva was at Takeover to watch the great women’s wrestling and that’s why she’s here now. She wants to compete with the best and they’re right here in NXT. I know she’s been training more, but she has a huge hill to overcome to get anywhere.

Regal’s announcement is that on the big 4^th of July show with Brock Lesnar in action, Balor will challenge Kevin Owens for the NXT Title in Japan, and it will air live on the WWE Network. Oh man that could be awesome if they air the whole show but it sounds like just the NXT Title match.

Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss

Carmella goes right at her with three straight takedowns and right hands every time. Bliss manages to drop her face first onto the buckle for two before cranking on a cravate. Back up and Carmella hits some running forearms, only to get caught in a rollup with a hand grabbing the ropes to give Bliss the pin at 3:34.

Rating: D+. This is where NXT’s logical booking shines. It’s clear that they’re setting up a six person tag and what better way to set it up than to have the girls getting there for a bit? Bliss has transitioned into this new role perfectly and the character change is so jarring that it works very well.

Rhyno says he’s back to go after the top contender in Finn Balor. Tonight he’s a Gore away from being one step closer to being NXT Champion.

Video on Sami Zayn’s shoulder surgery, which fixed a torn rotator cuff.

Vaudevillains vs. Jason Jordan/Marcus Louis

I had been wondering what happened to Louis. The crazy Louis starts with Gotch as the fans are very happy to have the Vaudevillains back. It’s quickly off to English for a manly knee to the ribs (Fans: “THAT WAS MANLY!”) but Jordan comes in for a suplex to take over. We hit the reverse chinlock on English to slow things down. Louis tags himself in, much to Jordan’s annoyance, and puts on a chinlock of his own. English fights up and makes the hot tag to Gotch for a quick Whirling Dervish and the pin on Marcus at 5:16.

Rating: D+. So the Vaudevillains seem to be faces as well. That’s not the worst idea in the world as you can put them against Blake and Murphy when Enzo and Cass are done with them. That’s one of the places where NXT shines: they set something up for when the current feud is done and they can transition right into the new feud. I miss that kind of well done and planned out booking. The match was nothing special and was mostly spent in a chinlock. I’m assuming Jordan will go partner hunting for the next few weeks.

Video on Sasha Banks being all Bossy.

Finn Balor is ready for Rhyno.

Finn Balor vs. Rhyno

Feeling out process to start until Rhyno just runs Balor over with a shoulder. Rhyno goes up top but gets kicked out to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Rhyno putting on a body scissors to slow Balor down. Rhyno mocks Balor’s signature pose before putting on a chinlock.

That goes nowhere as Finn comes back with a middle rope forearm but the reverse lifting DDT is countered into a spinebuster for two. Frustration is setting in for Rhyno and the Pele makes it even worse. The Sling Blade connects but the Coup de Grace misses. The Gore misses as well though and Balor grabs a quick rollup for the surprise pin at 12:10.

Rating: C+. I liked this better than I was expecting to with Balor being able to adapt to Rhyno’s simple yet effective power style. That’s the perk of having someone like Rhyno around: he can work well with anyone and you can easily build him back up by having him squash jobbers, only to lose again to someone like Balor. Nice little match here.

Rhyno Gores Balor on the stage to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show would best be summed up as recharging. You have the Vaudevillains returning and Breeze acting more like a face, along with setting up some feuds for the future. This is something you come to expect from NXT as they hit Takeover, have a week off, and then start getting back on track to the middle of the road feuds. Owens vs. Balor in Tokyo should be awesome and the fans are going to eat it up.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. Adam Rose – Beauty Shot

Alexa Bliss b. Carmella – Rollup while holding the ropes

Vaudevillains b. Jason Jordan/Marcus Louis – Whirling Dervish to Louis

Finn Balor b. Rhyno – Rollup

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

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

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

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Checked it out today and while I won’t go through it step by step, there was one thing that caught my attention.Near the end where Austin and Heyman teased a match against Lesnar next year at Wrestlemania (no I don’t think it’s happening but there’s always a chance), Austin turned into the Rattlesnake in the blink of an eye.  That sort of thing always amazes me as they just morph into a character like it’s nothing.  Foley is great at this sort of thing too and it goes along with what you hear old timers talk about: you’re not playing a character.  You ARE that character.  It’s a very different way of portraying someone and the old way is almost always the most effective.

NXT
Date: May 27, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Rich Brennan

It’s the week after Takeover: Unstoppable and the main story seems to be Kevin Owens fights everyone at once. After challenging John Cena on Raw, sending Sami Zayn away to get shoulder surgery, possibly putting Hideo Itami on the shelf, attacking Commissioner William Regal and getting a new #1 contender with Samoa Joe, Owens now has to deal with the debuting Samoa Joe. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week, complete with a quick interview with Joe where he says he’s coming for the title.

Opening sequence.

Sami Zayn’s music opens the show but we get Kevin Owens instead. He was going to issue an NXT Title Open Challenge, but he isn’t insecure enough to have to defend his title against anyone every week. The fans sing JOHN CENA SUCKS, but Owens finds it odd that they never say that about Sami Zayn and he sucks too. We won’t be seeing Sami again anyway because Owens did exactly what he said he would do at Takeover. The only reason he did that was so he could keep the NXT Title and keep providing for his family, because that’s what a good man does.

Another thing a good man did was to let Samoa Joe live last week. A lot of people have said that Joe is gonna kill him, but that’s as ridiculous as the colors of John Cena’s merchandise. If Joe ever steps in the same ring as Owens again, he’ll drop Joe just like that. Speaking of dropping people, that’s what he’s going to do at Elimination Chamber when he shows John Cena that the champ is here.

This brings out General Manager William Regal, who says Owens is walking a thin line. Owens says Regal put his hands on Owens first, which Regal considers the only reason Owens still works here. Regal lists off all the people who have been taken out on a stretcher since Owens arrived, but Kevin denies being behind Itami’s injury. Also, Sami’s injuries are on Sami for asking for it and on Regal for making the match.

This brings out…..Solomon Crowe? Solomon heard Owens talking about how he isn’t going to fight anyone unless they earn it and that means Kevin is scared. Kevin thinks Solomon has just earned an opportunity, so Regal makes the match. That means you can add Solomon to the list of people he’s sent out of here on a stretcher (“Riley, Sami, Sami, Sami, and now him.”).

Look back at Hideo’s arm injury last week.

Hideo says he’s had surgery and when he comes back, there will be no stopping him.

We get an interview from last week with Zack Ryder, who was interrupted by Mojo Rawley, who freaked Zack out a little bit.

Emma vs. Bayley

Emma is flanked by Dana Brooke. Bayley gets stomped down in the corner to start and Emma cranks on an armbar, only to have Bayley throw her to the mat and just pound away with right hands. A kick to the face gets two near falls for Emma as the fans are of course completely behind Bayley. Emma throws her down by the hair a few times and grabs a leg drag, followed by the Emma Lock for the clean submission at 4:13.

Rating: D+. This was a glorified squash for Emma, which isn’t something you often see in this division. Emma being more aggressive is a good change of character for her, but I’m not sure where Bayley goes from here. She’s so ridiculously over that it’s kind of a strange choice to have her lose like this.

Charlotte comes out for the post match save but gets beaten down as well.

Recap of Baron Corbin beating Rhyno last week.

Baron was being interviewed after his win last week when Rhyno came up and said they should do it again soon.

We see Becky Lynch’s career retrospective from last week with new footage of her match with Sasha last week.

Elias Samson/Mike Rallis vs. Blake/Murphy

Non-title and Alexa Bliss is with the champs. Blake and Rallis get things going with Mike taking a quick beating. It’s off to Murphy for a slingshot hilo and a chinlock as the champs continue to dismantle Rallis. Mike finally rolls over for a hot tag, bringing in Elias for some dropkicks. That lasts all of ten seconds before the running brainbuster into the frog splash is enough for the pin on Samson at 3:15.

Rating: D+. Another squash here to establish the new trio. The new look works very, very well for Bliss and she’s very fitting as a woman who looks down on everyone around her. Blake and Murphy are good in these roles but I’m really not sure how far they can go after they lose the belts.

Samson takes a Sparkle Splash for some insult to injury.

Post break, Bliss says she gravitated to the team because they’re all winners. Compare this to Carmella, who is famous for being from a garbage dump like Long Island. Next week, that’s where Bliss is sending her.

Tye Dillinger vs. Finn Balor

Dillinger scores with a quick elbow to the face but Balor smiles at him. Some choking with a boot in the corner has some more effect on Finn and we hit the chinlock. Balor comes back with a running forearm and basement dropkick, followed by the Sling Blade. The Coup de Grace completes the squash for Finn at 2:45.

Jason Jordan says he’s found the perfect partner when Chad Gable comes up, saying it has to be him. Gable lists off his qualifications but Jordan says he already has a partner. He also says the wrong name so Gable throws him a towel with his name on it.

Kevin Owens vs. Solomon Crowe

Non-title. Owens bails to the floor so Solomon goes after him, only to eat some right hands to the face. Back in and Owens throws him outside again and we take a break. We come back with Owens putting on a chinlock. That gets boring in a hurry so Owens just hammers him down and tosses Solomon back to the floor. The pop-up powerbomb finally ends Crowe at 9:24.

Rating: D+. Another dull squash but did anyone expect anything else? There was no need for this to be anything other than Owens crushing Crowe and it’s not like you lose anything. Crowe is the definition of a guy who is just there and not doing a thing despite being a fairly big signing back in the day. Nothing to see here.

Owens loads up the apron powerbomb but Samoa Joe comes out big staredown, sending Kevin running to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This just wasn’t very good. It’s a big fallout show from Takeover, but unfortunately that meant little more than airing clips from the show and having the winners in squash matches. It wasn’t the worst because not a lot happened, but this was one of the flatter shows they’ve done in a long time. Things should pick up when they start the big stories again soon.

Results

Emma b. Bayley – Emma Lock

Blake/Murphy b. Elias Samson/Mike Rallis – Frog splash to Samson

Finn Balor b. Tye Dillinger – Coup de Grace

Kevin Owens b. Solomon Crowe – Pop up powerbomb

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

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

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

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

The Network really has changed things.  On Amazon.com, the Summerslam Anthology DVD collection (through 2008): $40.  Regular price: $250.

NXT
Date: May 13, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

It’s the go home show for Unstoppable, but it’s been clear that one of the only things that can stop NXT is the injury bug. Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami have jacked up their shoulders. Sami’s time on the shelf (if he’ll be out at all) has yet to be determined but Itami is looking at six to eight months. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Takeover card changes as a result of the injuries. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long recap of Sami Zayn answering John Cena’s Open Challenge for the US Title. Sami is still going to be here tonight to go face to face with Owens, but this was taped before the injury.

Opening sequence.

Solomon Crowe vs. Baron Corbin

Crowe goes right after him to start but gets shoved across the ring. Baron slowly hammers him down and the fans chant either BORING or CORBIN. It turns into BARON’S GONNA BORE YOU but Solomon kicks him into the corner. I’m digging this spunky fighter character but I still want the hacker gimmick instead. Not that it matters as Crowe charges into the End of Days for the pin at 2:07.

Post match Rhyno comes out to start the brawl until security breaks it up. Well it’s better than Bull Dempsey. Rhyno Gores down some of the guards.

Finn Balor says he isn’t underestimating Tyler Breeze because he knows how awesome Breeze is. As for who he’d rather face for the title, Sami is one of the best in the world but he’s still bothered that he didn’t beat Owens. Either is fine with him though.

Tyler Breeze says he’s winning the triple threat and getting back where he belongs. He doesn’t care who he faces for the title.

Sasha Banks vs. ???

Before the match, Sasha says she made Becky Lynch and next week she’ll prove that she’s the Boss. A small package and backslide get two each for the unnamed one (the fans dub her Black Shorts) and Banks bails to the floor. Back in and a cross body gets two on Sasha. I love how the announcers manage to avoid saying they have no idea what the other girl’s name is. Sasha drives two knees into the ribs in the corner and Black Shorts is in trouble. The Bank Statement is good for the submission at 2:31.

Charlotte and Bayley want a tag match with Emma and Dana Brooke at Takeover. Nothing wrong with combining feuds into one match.

We get the same Uhaa Nation vignette from last week.

Nation comes in and sees…..someone I don’t recognize but it might have been Crowe. They seem friendly. Nation still doesn’t have a name.

Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella

Feeling out process to start with Bliss grabbing some rollups for two each. Carmella takes her down into a body scissors but here come the Tag Team Champions. Bliss gets caught in a full nelson with Carmella’s legs as the fans tell the champs that they look stupid. We get an awkward sequence of Bliss wrist dragging Carmella off the top but pausing once she hits the mat. She pops up into a standing moonsault but it’s called double knees to the ribs. Carmella grabs her headscissors crossface but Blake and Murphy distract her, allowing Bliss to slam her down and hit the Sparkle Splash for the in at 3:40.

Rating: D+. This was missing most of the time as Bliss looked a few steps off. Then again it could have been Carmella not being in place for the spots. Not that it matters though as Bliss could have been any given girl out there as this was all about Carmella, who now seems to be against the champs. Granted that’s changed almost every week so it shouldn’t be a surprise.

Murphy and Blake get in the ring and the fans chant NO MEANS NO. Carmella says her boys will be here next week and prove that Blake and Murphy are SAWFT. The fans were actually behind here here.

Itami says he wants to fight Owens after he wins the triple threat to beat some respect into Kevin.

Emma and Dana Brooke are on for the tag match. They leave but Brooke comes back to pat Devin on the head.

Hideo Itami/Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze/Adam Rose

No Rosebuds this week. Remember that Itami accidentally kicks Balor in the face last week during his match with Breeze. Balor does an extended entrance (no paint) and the fans think it’s awesome. Itami chops Rose to start and brings Balor in for a slingshot stomp to the chest and two. A big clothesline puts Rose on the floor and we take a break. Back with Balor dropkicking Adam for two before Breeze comes in and takes over. It’s Balor in trouble in the corner as Rose and Breeze start taking turns stomping on Finn.

Breeze stays in for a chinlock before Rose gets two off a spinebuster, which transitions into a Boston crab. When is the last time anyone not named Jericho used that move? A rope is grabbed so Rose switches over to a sleeper. Balor finally jawbreaks his way to freedom and nails a Pele, setting up the hot tag to Itami. The fans quickly get into Hideo as he fires off his strikes on Breeze. Balor tags himself in though and hits the Sling Blade on Rose, but Itami tags himself in to break up the Coup de Grace. The fans cheer for Hideo, only to have Breeze roll him up for the pin at 11:52.

Rating: C. This was a by the book WWE tag team match and that’s not the most entertaining thing in the world. I like that they’re setting up Itami vs. Balor, but it would have been nice if they hadn’t had Rose in there to kill off a bit of the suck. It’s interesting that the fans cheered Itami more than Balor as I don’t think I’ve heard that before.

Breeze kicks Balor and Itami down and gets cheered on by some of the crowd. Rose congratulates him but eats a Supermodel Kick.

Another package on Sami vs. Cena.

From after the match, Sami says he’s tweaked his shoulder and made it even worse in the match. He doesn’t know the results of the injury yet but he’s too high off the match to worry about it. No word on if he’ll be able to go for Takeover but the announcers don’t say he won’t be there.

It’s time for the face to face hard sell between Zayn and Owens. Sami says they’re not here to fight and we go to a long shot of Owens as what is clearly a recorded voiceover from Sami where he says his shoulder is hurt but the match is still happening. Back to live audio with Sami asking Owens to tell him why he did this. Just one time, tell him the truth. Was Owens jealous because Sami got here first?

Maybe it’s about Kevin’s son wanting to wear a Sami Zayn shirt instead of a KO shirt. That finally gets under Owens’ skin but he walks out without saying a word. Sami asks if that’s it, but Owens, with his back to Sami, says everything Sami just said is irrelevant. After Owens took the title from him, Zayn left to “clear his head”, but it was because Sami was hurt. He’s still hurt, and it was Owens that hurt him in the first place. At Takeover, he’s going to do it again. This time though, Sami isn’t coming back. Owens is so awesome at being evil and the lack of emotion in his voice as he talked about hurting Sami was great.

Overall Rating: C+. This show felt…..uneven. I’m looking forward to Takeover but it’s lacking that big, emotional feeling to it. Now that being said, NXT is the one place where I have the faith that they can pull off something special, but I’m just not sure what’s going to do that next week. Zayn being able to go is obviously a good thing, but the question is what happens to him after that. Decent enough show this week but it feels like we already had the big moments to build the matches.

Results

Baron Corbin b. Solomon Crowe – End of Days

Sasha Banks b. ??? – Bank Statement

Alexa Bliss b. Carmella – Sparkle Splash

Tyler Breeze/Adam Rose b. Hideo Itami/Finn Balor – Small package to Itami

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYAMB8U

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

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Well that’s certainly different.  I can’t wait for them to use the obvious six people for the Intercontinental Title match though, making sure we’re never getting any elevation and with the title winding up on Ziggler or Barrett.  Again.

The Tag Team Title match could be fun though.

As a Network exclusive.  I guess the discussion went something like this.“We need to get people to pay for the cool stuff on the Network. Ideas?”

“LET’S GIVE THEM ALL THE COOL STUFF IN THE FREE MONTHS AND THEN NOTHING SPECIAL IN THE PAYING MONTHS!”

Because…..yeah why not.

NXT
Date: May 6, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re two weeks away from Takeover: Unstoppable where Sami Zayn (shoulder permitting) will be challenging Kevin Owens for the NXT Title. Other than that, we’re closing in on the showdown between Blake/Murphy and Enzo/Big Cass, which hinges around Carmella’s possibly changing allegiances. As usual there’s a lot of other good stuff going on in NXT so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Emma vs. Charlotte

Emma still has Bayley’s I’m A Hugger shirt and headbands, which she won’t throw to the crowd. Charlotte gets caught in a headlock to start but gets taken down into a headscissors. A cravate with some knee lifts has Emma in even more trouble until she nails Charlotte in the knee to break up something off the middle rope. The knee gets driven into the apron and wrapped around the ropes as Emma seems to have been watching some Flair film.

Back in and something like a standing Curb Stomp to the back draws a BAN THAT MOVE chant and it’s right back to the knee with a knee drop from Emma to Charlotte’s knee. Off to a half crab for a bit before Emma tries to drive the knee into the mat, only to have Charlotte land on her feet. A spear (BETTER THAN REIGNS!) gets two for Charlotte and Natural Selection connects for the pin at 5:45.

Rating: C+. This match is a good example of the difference between the NXT girls and the WWE Divas: these girls know how to work a match instead of just doing moves in some order. This felt like it had a logical flow to it instead of going from beginning to end and filling in the gaps here and there. Good little match here, though the knee work didn’t mean much.

Bayley comes out post match and helps Emma up. They hug…..but Bayley doesn’t let go. The Belly to Bayley puts Emma down and Bayley hammers away until Charlotte breaks it up. Bayley gets her stuff back.

Video on Becky Lynch, who talks about going around the world and wrestling everywhere.  She wound up here in green and dancing a jig because she’s Irish.  That’s not the real Becky Lynch and she’s not going to stand for it.

We get a sitdown interview with Michael Cole talking to Kevin Owens. What he did to Sami Zayn was personal, but because Sami wants the NXT Title back. The title means a better life for his family and that’s all that matters. Cole presses him on this and Owens repeats himself but Cole still doesn’t buy it. He asks if Owens would have done the same to anyone other than Zayn. That brings Owens back to the night he won the title, when Renee Young asked him about Sami instead of winning the title.

Cole hasn’t even congratulated him on winning the title in the last two months, so Cole does just that, but asks for some respect in return. How could Kevin do what he did to someone who was close enough to him to be family? Cole asks about Sami being Owens’ best man, but Owens won’t get caught by a journalist’s question. The truth is that Owens can’t give him what he wants, but he’s a good father who provides for his family. Oh and follow him on Twitter. This was a very different kind of Cole and I can’t say I disliked him.

Bull Dempsey vs. Rhyno

This could be fun if they keep it short. The fans are behind Rhyno as the guys slug it out, followed by a quick belly to belly from Rhyno, followed by the Gore for the pin at 1:10. Smart choice there.

Post match, Rhyno says he wants Baron Corbin. That would be the next logical step.

Sasha Banks looks at a picture of Fabulous Moolah and says Moolah was the best until she came along. Becky Lynch is trying to use her to make a name for herself, but don’t forget who made Lynch in the first place.

The man formerly known as Uhaa Nation signs his contract.

We get a video on Nation, where he talks about everyone coming here and wanting to be a champion. He’s studied the great ones’ history, but now its time to begin his history. No new name is given.

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

Enzo and Cass are nowhere in sight. Fans: “WHERE IS ENZO???” We cut to the back where Enzo and Cass are destroyed by Blake and Murphy as Carmella shouts at them to stop.

Sami has his own sitdown interview with Cole where he says Owens is lying about it not being personal. It drives Sami nuts that Owens has to keep playing these games with him. Next week, Sami will be waiting in the ring so how about they look each other in the eyes and have Owens explain why he did it. If Owens is some family man, set an example for his son and say why he did it.

We get a clip from Cena vs. Sami on Raw but it’s not clear if Sami will be ready to go for Takeover.

William Regal is in the ring for the contract signing between Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. Before signing, Becky lists off the countries she’s wrestled in over the years and still can’t believe she’s here. She’s made mistakes and sacrifices along the way but they were all worth it to get here, because she’s ready to take over. Becky signs but Sasha drops the pen and pulls out a stamp for her signature instead. Fans: “LIKE A BOSS!” Sasha strikes the first blow and puts Lynch’s face on the table with her foot on Becky’s head. The table is finally turned over and Lynch slaps on her seated armbar to make Banks tap.

Clip of Owens destroying Alex Riley after breaking up Riley’s match against Sami last week.

Riley says he’s having his second knee operation in two years. It’s a big risk, but that’s how his career has gone from leaving the Miz to leaving his commentary job to get back in the ring to demanding another match against Kevin Owens. However, last week when he was laid out, he heard a THANK YOU OWENS chant. That’s what the fans want? The last shot of last week’s show was Sami Zayn. That’s what Commissioner Regal wants? Well he saw the last time Sami fought Owens and it didn’t go well for Zayn. We’re not going to be seeing Alex Riley for a long time, because that’s what the people want.

Dana Brooke says she’s been on a role since she was born. She’s seen the new Tapout commercial and can’t believe Charlotte is in there instead of the Total Diva. She’ll run circles around Charlotte the next time she sees her. Deal with it.

Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

Finn Balor is at ringside. They circle each other to start until a wristlock sends Breeze running to the floor. Back in and Breeze bails again at the threat of a big kick. Hideo talks to the referee for some reason and gets kicked in the ribs (by Breeze, not the referee), but he nails Breeze in the ribs with a knee to take over. Breeze takes a break on the floor and we take a regular one. Back with Itami dropping some knees to the head and taking his kneepad off for a big one, only to kick Breeze in the jaw instead. Fans: “Hideo’s gorgeous!/No he’s not!”

Tyler comes back with a variety of stomps and a legdrop for two before we hit the chinlock. A big dropkick puts Itami down again but he punches Breeze out of the air. The top rope clothesline gets two for Itami and the fans want the GTS. They fight to the floor and Itami’s Shotgun Kick hits Balor by mistake. Back in and the second Shotgun Kick puts Breeze down for the pin at 12:10.

Rating: C. Itami is getting there but it’s some of the slowest progression I’ve ever seen. Breeze didn’t seem to have his same fire tonight, but at least they did a really good job of setting up the triple threat with the misplaced kick. The false finishes in that match should be great and this was hardly torture to get through.

Breeze goes after Itami post match but Balor makes the save. That earns Balor a Supermodel Kick and Itami gets a Beauty Shot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was all about setting up the Takeover show and that was done nearly to perfection. The Title match is already set up perfectly, the Tag Title match should be fine and there’s another awesome build towards the Women’s Title match, which has become the standard in NXT. Good show here, even without a focus on the wrestling.

Results

Charlotte b. Emma – Natural Selection

Rhyno b. Bull Dempsey – Gore

Hideo Itami b. Tyler Breeze – Shotgun Kick

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYAMB8U

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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

It’s the standard level of awesome that WWE 24 has always been.  These thirty minute short form documentaries are awesome stuff (if not kayfabe destroying) as when else are you going to get to see something like this without waiting a few years for the three disc version?  Check this show out as it’s just over half an hour and lets you relate a bit more to Reigns.

As a side note, I recorded the E:60 documentary but haven’t watched it yet.  The extras on Colin Cassady and Tyler Breeze are great previews though and this has the potential to be amazing.

I’m not a financial guy so these are just highlights.

The Network now has 1.3 million paid subscribers worldwide. Naturally, they’re airing May as the second straight free month because screw you fans that paid since day one.

Wrestlemania drew 259,000 buys on regular pay per view, which will help offset some of the Network costs.

Live event revenue was up big due to Wrestlemania taking place in the first quarter this time.

WWE Studios is down. I’m as shocked as you are.