http://www.cheap-heat.com WWE, TNA, ROH, NJPW - Blogs, Reviews, Top Lists, Indy News & Results Thu, 14 May 2015 17:15:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.1

http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-mvp-of-nxt-5615/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-mvp-of-nxt-5615/#comments Tue, 12 May 2015 20:15:13 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Reviews WWE Network Reviews Finn Balor Hideo Itami Kevin Owens NJPW NXT NXT Superstars Professional Wrestling ROH TNA Tyler Breeze wrestling WWE WWE Network http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=11671 The MVP of NXT Written by Mark Adam Haggerty Wednesday has become the number one night for professional wrestling; NXT has gone head-to-head with Lucha Underground since the latter debuted at the tail-end of the summer. Twenty-six weeks later and neither show has lost momentum, in fact, they’ve only gotten better! Not since the Monday […]

The MVP of NXT
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty

Wednesday has become the number one night for professional wrestling; NXT has gone head-to-head with Lucha Underground since the latter debuted at the tail-end of the summer. Twenty-six weeks later and neither show has lost momentum, in fact, they’ve only gotten better! Not since the Monday Night Wars have we had two top-notch sports entertainment programs to choose from, and thanks to DVR, we don’t have to. This week’s episode of NXT was another home run that carefully set the stage for what’s to come at Takeover on May 20th. My name is Mark Adam Haggerty, with you on a weekly basis to present—”The MVP of NXT.”

Kevin Owens is not the "MVP of NXT" for the first time in over two weeks. He was thoroughly entertaining during his interview with Michael Cole, but I wouldn't feel right awarding him the honor for the third week in a row, especially if he didn’t have a match. I already did that last week. So who, pray tell, did I consider the number one performer on this week’s episode? There were quite a few contenders including Uhaa Nation who didn’t do anything aside from sign a contract, and he still made an intense impact. But rather than the newest face on the roster, I decided to go with one of the NXT veterans. A man who has challenged for the NXT championship on multiple occasions, and on May 20th will enter a triple threat wherein he hopes to become number one contender again. Of course I’m referring to the one and only “Prince Pretty,” Tyler Breeze.

Tyler has been a staple of NXT since the debut of the WWE Network in February 2014 and has been featured as a prominent part of every subsequent Takeover special. I would dare say Tyler Breeze may be the most talented member of the developmental roster that wasn’t already established on the independent circuit beforehand. Tyler was trained by the record-setting Lance Storm, who at one time held three different championships while part of WCW. It would certainly seem that Tyler has picked up quite a few interesting nuances from the “Perfect Storm,” which make for an interesting dynamic when paired against the Japanese “Strong-Style” employed by Hideo Itami and Finn Balor. While Tyler definitely deserves recognition for his previous contributions to the overall product, I have decided to declare him the "MVP of NXT" because of his actions on tonight’s broadcast.

Tyler went one on one with Hideo Itami, as a preview for their upcoming triple threat with Finn Balor at Takeover. The match was exciting from start to finish with both men gaining the upper hand on the other, and Tyler coming within mere inches of victory. An ill-timed running offensive maneuver from Hideo to Finn Balor, who was seated at ringside, and the former
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion was unwittingly involved in the action. Hideo eventually conquered the cocky “King of Cuteville,” earning the 1-2-3 and the psychological advantage over Breeze going into their next encounter. After the match however, Breeze was afforded a moment to gain retribution, when he Super Kicked Finn Balor square in the jaw, and delivered a debilitating "Beauty Shot" to Hideo Itami. He might have lost the battle, but Tyler Breeze has his sights set on winning the war.

The question now relates to where Tyler goes from here. Of course the short answer is: "Takeover, to see who will become the number one contender." But does Breeze really stand any chance against the lights of Hideo Itami AKA KENTA and Finn Balor AKA Prince Devitt? One has to wonder who will be wearing the NXT strap at the end of May 20th, and this humble wrestling pundit is quick to predict Kevin Owens to retain. I think Sami Zayn is a bit fragile at the moment, and might require time off to recuperate from various nagging injuries. If there's going to be a heel title holder, can we really expect Tyler Breeze to challenge for his championship? Perhaps Kevin Owens is enough of a "character babyface" to contend with the tremendously bold Tyler Breeze. That remains to be seen, but I look forward to the day that Tyler Breeze is able to retrieve the title from all of the "uggos" and return it to "Cuteville" where it belongs.

Thank you for stopping by for another edition of “The MVP of NXT.” Remember to keep checking out Cheap-Heat and Daily Wrestling News for all of my latest work; follow me through social media via TapeTraderz and on Facebook at “The B+ Players” ; and be sure to catch my tri-weekly podcasts available exclusively at Cheap-Heat.com!

http://www.cheap-heat.com/superstars-really-its-still-around-may-1-2015/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/superstars-really-its-still-around-may-1-2015/#comments Sun, 03 May 2015 20:09:57 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Reviews WWE Network Reviews Superstars WWE http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=11505 Superstars: Really, It’s Still Around May 1, 2015 Written by Mark Adam Haggerty Oh what a night! Why’d it take so long to see the light? Seemed so wrong, but now it seems so right! WWE Superstars is one of those programs you completely forget about until you’re actually watching it. Even if you’ve seen […]

Superstars: Really, It’s Still Around
May 1, 2015
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty

Oh what a night! Why’d it take so long to see the light? Seemed so wrong, but now it seems so right! WWE Superstars is one of those programs you completely forget about until you’re actually watching it. Even if you’ve seen it before, odds are you’re not watching it on a weekly basis. There’s even a chance somebody saw the title of my column and asked, “Really? Superstars is still around?” My name is Mark Adam Haggerty, back again to answer to your question: “Really, It’s Still Around.”

Superstars is a little easier to watch than Main Event, as the former is available on the WWE Network each and every week. Main Event however, is currently on a one-month delay, and only available in the United States through a Hulu Plus subscription. Tonight's episode of Friday Night Superstars kicks off with Byron Saxon and Rich Brennan at ringside, and tag team action inside the squared circle.

The opening bout pits the Primetime Players—Titus O’Neil and Darren Young—in two on two competition against the familial duo of Los Matadores. Titus begins against Diego, and the big man earns the upper hand through a powerful onslaught of power slams and back breakers. Los Matadores turn the tables through a rousing round of trickery, punctuated with a high angle drop kick to Titus O’Neil. Fernando tags into the match and works on Titus’s left leg with stiff shots, and by grape-vining it to the point of nearly snapping. The Matadores double team the big man, but Titus is finally able to get to Darren Young. Young enters the match like a house of fire—whatever that means—and hits Los Matadores with hard right hands, a big clothesline, and a phenomenal suplex. The end came for Los Matadores when Darren Young lifted one unnamed masked Matador and dropped him across his knees for an inverted backstabber. The Prime Time Players pick up the victory, much to the dismay of Los Matadores and El Torito.

We get an enormity of advertisements for upcoming WWE Network shows, as well as past programs that we might very well have missed. After that is a King of the Ring recap, with clips from each round, leading to the moment Bad News Barrett became the first King of the Ring in five years. Then we get some John Cena; I’ve noticed that no matter the show—Superstars or Main Event—there’s always a segment featuring Cena. I guess it’s true what they say: “Brock sells, but Cena draws.” This week, it’s John’s altercation with Alexander Rusev from Monday Night Raw where they began laying the seeds for a Lana-face-turn and the emergence of “CJ.” I often times ponder the kayfabe lengths that Rusev and Lana would really have to go to, in order to hang the Russian flag above the ring in an adversarial fashion.

В

The main event of Superstars is always around seven minutes long, but begins about 20 minute before the end of the program. That’s because the show is never allowed to end with an original match, such as tonight’s “main event” between the Lucha Dragons and the Ascension. It’s peculiar how this show only features two matches, and both are tag team bouts. But given the recent state of the WWE tag team division, I certainly can’t complain about an abundance of viable undercard teams on the roster. We saw four tag teams tonight, none of whom are holding championship gold or even in contention for a title. This main roster wrestling match between the Lucha Dragons and the Ascension is interesting, because it was the Lucha Dragons who defeated the Ascension for their titles down in developmental, after Konnor and Viktor established a record setting reign. The ‘Dragons have been arguably more successful since arriving on the main roster, but the Ascension can still be seen a hell of a lot more than some solo acts. Where is Zack Ryder you guys? He’s GOT to be hurt. The action is intense as the Ascension throws power and might at a team known for their fast pace and highflying acumen.В

There’s a quick commercial for the WWE app—IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING MATCH ON THE NETWORK— and when we return, Konnor of the Ascension is in control. Kalisto manages to get away from the domineering brawlers, but to no avail as Konnor and Victor begin to double-team the smaller-statured Superstars. Sin Cara enters the match and sends both members of the Ascension flying over the top rope. Sin Cara and Kalisto follow up with a double dive through the ropes and onto their opponents. The ‘Dragons brought the action back inside the squared circle, where they finished their rivals with a modified powerbomb by Sin Cara and a Senton Bomb by Kalisto.

I really enjoy Superstars and Main Event, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy whatever the next C-String series happens to be. The action on Superstars doesn’t get bogged down by hideously nonsensical story lines, and the outcomes are far less predictable than more visible bouts on Raw or Smackdown. A solid two matches from the “Revolutionary Force in Sports Entertainment.” Until next time this has been Mark Adam Haggerty, thanking you for continuing to read my work both here at Cheap-Heat and at Daily Wrestling News. Please follow me on Twitter and LIKE me on Facebook . And be sure to check out my weekly podcasts available every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday—exclusively at Cheap-Heat.com.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/main-event-micromanagement-darren-youngs-equality-trunks/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/main-event-micromanagement-darren-youngs-equality-trunks/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2015 23:44:02 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Other Reviews Reviews WWE Network Reviews Hulu Main Event WWE WWE Network http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=11444 Main Event Micromanagement: Darren Young's Equality Trunks Written by Mark Adam Haggerty Welcome to the debut edition of "Main Event Micromanagement," the once-weekly column where I pick one aspect of an hour-long broadcast for intense over-analysis. I'm not talking about the "Match of the Night," or Most Valuable Player—those reviews are reserved for other days […]

Main Event Micromanagement:
Darren Young's Equality Trunks
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty

Welcome to the debut edition of "Main Event Micromanagement," the once-weekly column where I pick one aspect of an hour-long broadcast for intense over-analysis. I'm not talking about the "Match of the Night," or Most Valuable Player—those reviews are reserved for other days of the week. Instead we'll be covering one-liners provided by color commentators, notes on wardrobe, ridiculous fans at ringside, and other SEEMINGLY nonsensical nuances of what is perhaps the WWE's least visible show. Let's get into the very first installment of "Main Event Micromanagement," where our topic of the day is…

Darren Young's Equality Trunks

For the Record, I couldn't find a photo of his tights, but it's the same logo that he has on his t-shirt.

I've said before how much I admire Darren Young, for an enormity of reasons, but none more so than his willingness to be himself regardless of the circumstances. When Darren came out to the world as the first openly gay member of the WWE roster, he did so on his own terms and never turned away. Instead he faced forward and held his partner's hand as a proud display of true love in its purest form. And for the record—I'm not talking about his tag team partner Titus O'Neil—I'm referring to Nick, his boyfriend of four years.

When the WWE's tour of the United Arab Emirates and similar locales kept the openly homosexual Darren state-side, he didn't stew about it behind closed doors. He took to social media, where he pushed the WWE's message of "Anti-Bullying" a step further by Tweeting his heartfelt dissatisfaction with the WWE's decision to tour an area of the world that doesn't respect women or gays. Darren has become a vocal advocate for equality and—in my humble opinion—an asset to World Wrestling Entertainment. That brings us to the "Equality Trunks."

Superstars have long since adorned their tights with logos and phrases that add to their character, and help them stand out in a ring full of my wrestlers. When I was really young, I watched the first three Wrestlemania's on repeat, because that's all the wrestling I had. While most of the combatants—such as Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and Billy Jack Hayes—wore solid-colored trunks, other wrestlers, like Mr. Wonderful, had text embroidered on the backside of their gear. As years would go on, wrestlers like "Ravishing" Rick Rude and Rob Van Dam took the art to an extreme by creating real works of art on their tights. Bret Hart had hearts—Shawn Michaels had BROKEN hearts, which seems sort of foreboding in retrospect. But few wrestlers have ever used their high-profile in-ring presence to open a dialogue about real issues facing this country, and nations around the world.

Darren Young's trunks feature two muscular arms—perhaps his own—printed one over the other, just like the EQUAL SIGN that represents equality among people, regardless of whom they choose to love. We've all seen that pink and red symbol from time to time, perhaps on Facebook or Twitter, and a lot of people never knew what it meant. I am a heterosexual 28-year old guy, but I live on Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach, California. For those of you who don't know, Long Beach has a considerable gay population, and Ocean Boulevard is the home of Gay Pride each year. Any of my neighbors will tell you that the equal sign is NOT meant to represent gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals alone, but ALL human beings and their equal right to be happy.

Darren certainly takes a chance when he heads down to the ring wearing a symbol that's familiar to some as a "Gay Pride" logo, especially in some of the less progressive cities in this "Great" Nation of ours. I wonder if the WWE keeps him out of certain cities all together, the way promotors in the 70s and 80s would have to hold off on their African American talent. Regardless of how others might react, Darren takes the chance night after night and is greeted with a generally favorable response every time. I think it helps some of the less educated members of the WWE Universe to embrace a gay wrestler, when they see him pal around with Titus O'Neill doing—for lack of a better word—"guy stuff."

When you strip Darren Young of his unique personality and flashy persona, you've still got a solid professional wrestler, trained by the very talented Kevin Knight at the Independent Wrestling Federation. Darren hasn't seen much success in terms of singles wrestling since debuting with the WWE, but was part of the Nexus angle, which earned him a Slammy Award in 2010. I'm of the belief that Darren Young will have a job with the WWE for as long as he wants, provided he keeps his nose clean, and continues to work hard between the ropes. There's not a racist, or redneck, or bigot in the world that can say Darren Young doesn't deserve to be where he is, based on his athletic ability alone.

I think it would behoove the WWE to utilize Darren in a more prominent way as an ambassador for their brand. Today is April 30, 2015 and just hours ago, Cyndi Lauper—close friend to the WWE—appeared before the Senate to advocate on behalf of the teenage LGBT community that is currently homeless. She asked that parents not kick their kids out on the street, and rather than pray for their child to change, pray that they themselves might learn acceptance. It was powerful, to say the least. And I feel that the WWE has its own advocate for human rights in one half of the "Prime Time Players." Darren Young has had no reservations about speaking his mind, and judging by the trunks he wears to the ring—is ready to start a conversation.

Thank you for joining me and until next time, this has been Mark Adam Haggerty reminding you to check out all of my work at Cheap-Heat and Daily Wrestling News; follow me on Twitter via @TapeTraderz and on Facebook by LIKING "The B+ Players"; and listen to my weekly podcasts available every single Friday, Saturday and Sunday—exclusively at Cheap-Heat.com.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-nxt-review-april-29th-2015/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-nxt-review-april-29th-2015/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2015 02:34:28 +0000 Scott Hayes Reviews WWE Network Reviews http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=11406 Good day for many an NXT Fan, like your humble re-cap-viewer. Not only do we get a fresh episode of NXT? But Pre-sales hit for NXT tour dates. So I got my NXT Philly tickets! (which with 2 days of War of the Worlds, means this guy is gonna have quite the week of WRESTLING […]

Good day for many an NXT Fan, like your humble re-cap-viewer. Not only do we get a fresh episode of NXT? But Pre-sales hit for NXT tour dates. So I got my NXT Philly tickets! (which with 2 days of War of the Worlds, means this guy is gonna have quite the week of WRESTLING in 2 weeks!)

RECAP!

Last week Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens brawled. What's gonna happen THIS week?

IN RING!

Kevin Owens is on his way out. Full Sail boos and chants "Fight Owens Fight" and sings "OLE" and Kevin stands there. Calls the OLE's "Cute". Says he was about to take care of Riley for good, but Sami had to play hero. So now Kev has his fists taped up and he says it won't be a sneak attack. But instead of Sami's music? Its William Regal's. Regal says Owens doesn't get to come out and further his own agenda. Owens says "With all Due respect…" (18 times outta 20 this is gonna be followed with some disrespect…) – Owens doesn't remember asking Regal to come out the ring. Sami's music hits. Regal says this is the easiest thing he's done in weeks. Owens/Zayn at Takeover for the NXT Championship. Owens is like "NUH… UH! He hasn't earned a title shot. He points out that Sami went home for a month, and snuck attacked him last week! So Sami says Owens NEEDS this match, because everything Owens has ever done in his career is attached to Sami Zayn. And Sami is willing to give Owens the chance to expunge him from his history and step out of "Sami Zayn's Shadow". But Sami fights for a PRIZE! (YAY! CONTINUITY!) – And Owens isn't that prize. The NXT Championship is that prize. Owens caves. We have our match for Takeover.

BACKSTAGE!

Mic stand is letting us know NXT is hitting the road. Dates scrolling on the bottom and he's interrupted by the bickering of the 5 boroughs crew. Cass and Enzo playing the big brothers, and Carmella lets them know she's a big girl and can take care of herself. They exit, she sits and Blake and Murphy walk in. They try to kick game. She shoots them down. They get coffee. Alexa Bliss walks in and she and Carmella mix it up. Carmella gives a slap-pie face and walks off. Blake and Murphy slide back in to console Alexa Bliss.

IN RING!

HOW. YOU. DOIN! Out come Enzo, Cass, and Carmella. Amazing how over they are with crowds. Its great. Blake and Murphy music hits, and my ears bleed, and now its produced with crazy spastic camera work that adds to my nausea. BaM dominate early on Enzo. Crowd rallying Enzo as he hits a sit down jaw breaker before making the hot tag to Cass. Cass clobbers and is wrecking house. Running splash and a sidewalk slam gets a two. Enzo air balls a crossbody. Murphy gets distracted, and Murphy gets got by a big boot. Cass assisted big splash by Enzo and the #1 Contenders just pinned the tag champs.

DEEP THOUGHTS!

Solid match. Crowd eats up everything Enzo with a spoon. Makes Enzo and Cass look even stronger and sets things up nicely. Whatever they're doing with Carmella in regards to this feud tonight was a great switch up. She was more anti-Blake and Murphy tonight than she has been.

BACKSTAGE!

Becky Lynch doing a sit-down interview. Giving us her history and her desire to become NXT Women's Champion.

BACKSTAGE!

Cut to Bayley. She blows off the interview because she can't find her stuff. Her t-shirt and headbands. Emma walks in all jerky miss-jerkface-y. Wearing the shirt and headbands. Sarcastically asks "Doesn't she need these?"

HYPE!

Baron Corbin hype piece. Comes of a little heelish here. Tag line is "You can't fight fate", not too bad.

IN RING!

Bayley is out! She has a couple slap bracelets, but clearly doesn't have all her gear. Full Sail very pleased to see NXT's Hugger. Dana Brooke is out next. She's athletic and impressive. Lets see how her 2nd TV match goes. Early standing exchange of arm holds. Dana going with some violent hair pulls to get the upper hand. Does her hand stand corner choke. Abuses Bayley on the ropes. Does a decent version of the Wasteland, and locks in a nasty single leg crab. Bayley fights out of it. Gets mean. Running axe handles. Corner elbow. Bayley goes to the top rope, and Bayley's music hits?! Out walks Emma in the Bayley gear. Emma taunts Bayley with her own stuff. This ends poorly for the Hugger. Huge running knee lift. The fireman's sit out driver for the 1..2..3! Bayley looks hurt. Emma taunts.

DEEP THOUGHTS!

Brooke gets a cheap win over the most popular woman on the roster. Emma and Bayley take the next logical step in their on going feud. Works for both. Dana Brooke looked a Lot better tonight than she did on her TV debut. I'm sure Bayley helps, but so does however many weeks of work she's had since that debut.

Backstage!

William Regal – Triple threat match at Takeover for #1 contendership. that match will be Balor, Breeze, and Itami. SSSUUUHHHHWWWEEEEEET!

IN RING!
Hideo Itami is on his way. Already a GTS chant. Hahahaha silly Full Sail. I'm guessing we don't see that until Takeover. Adam Rose is out next. Itami is almost confused by the crowd singing Rose's theme. Rose is all "SEE? THEY LIKE ME!" But then a huge "HIDEO" chant answers and Itami is like "Nope, they like ME!". Rose rolls around the ring and eats a chop and a nice stiff kick. Rose cheats to get an advantage. Works Itami over until Hideo can fight his way out. Hits a series of kicks. Strikes galore. Stalling corner dropkick. Shotgun kick. 1..2..3! No GTS for you Florida.

DEEP THOUGHTS!

Nice little spotlight match for Itami. I assume when we see Breeze and Balor fight in the next couple weeks they too will be victorious. Having the GTS in his back pocket is priceless. That triple threat probably stealing the show at Takeover.

BACKSTAGE!

Bayley is looking for Emma, and is none too pleased. She thought it was squashed (its not) … thinks she's getting her stuff back (she's not… at least not yet)

IN RING!

Becky Lynch is out. Sarah Dawson is in the ring. Awkward exchange to start. Rolls up, but Becky bridges out and hits a series of dropkicks. Becky being very aggressive and breaking some rules. Becky locks in a nasty armbar and wins by submission.

BACKSTAGE!

Rhyno addresses the Corbin hype piece. Says he isn't just the past. He's the present and the future. That's gonna be a SLOBBERKNOCKER! (Thanks JR)

IN RING!

RAGE! RILEY RAGE! OLE! SAMI OLE! Set up earlier tonight. Our Main Event is Riley and Zayn with Owens at the commentary table. Owens wants to see a nice competition. Owens also doesn't want the commentators to talk about Riley and Zayn. Owens doesn't like the Sami talk. Owens put on his jerk-pants for this bit of commentary work. Making the announce crew squirm. In the ring, After a little back and forth to start, Riley gets the upper hand. Hits a neck breaker for a two count. Owens likes Byron cuz Byron agrees with him all the time. In ring Zayn hits a kick. They exchange standing gut wrenches. Riley hits a Fireman's Carry Cutter, Marc Mero's TKO. Riley really working Zayn. Owens asking the announce team why they aren't calling the action. Okay we need to send Owens to Raw to talk smack! Zayn gets some offense. Hits the somersault to the outside and we hear a headset ruckus. And Owens ATTACKS. Slams Sami back first onto the ramp. Stands over him and as the crowd chants "Powerbomb" he runs and destroys Riley. The angle of the power bomb into the apron was nasty. Owens LAUGHS maniacally. Stands over Zayn. Backs up the ramp holding the title high

And… credits.

DEEP THOUGHTS!

Decent match that served to further the story for Zayn and Owens. The selling by the announcers was good. They came off legit scared of Owens, and considering what he did to Riley? It made perfect sense. The attack was well done too as Owens continues to be a wonderful jerk. That match will be excellent at Takeover.

TOO LONG! DIDN'T READ?

Overall NXT hit the ground running as we are only 3 weeks out from Takeover. The matches were solid, but this show was all about keeping the storylines moving. Two Takeover matches made officially official tonight: Owens/Zayn, and #1 Contender's Triple Threat. Assuming the Tag and Women's titles get defended. So that makes four. I think we might get Emma and Bayley… possibly Corbin and Rhyno. Takeover gonna be all kinds of fun.

See you seven for our next step down the highway to takeover.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-extreme-rules-2015-review/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-extreme-rules-2015-review/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2015 06:55:39 +0000 Dario Rivera Reviews WWE Network Reviews Extreme Rules WWE WWE Network http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=11349 The Outsider's Edge: Extreme Rules Review Written by Dario Rivera   Extreme Rules Coverage This Chicago crowd is very hot going into this event. The Allstate Arena isn’t even full 45 minutes before the show and there are already “Lets Go Cena/Cena Sucks” chants. During the Preshow, the crowd erupted at the sight of Dean […]

The Outsider's Edge:
Extreme Rules Review
Written by Dario Rivera

В

Extreme Rules Coverage

This Chicago crowd is very hot going into this event. The Allstate Arena isn’t even full 45 minutes before the show and there are already “Lets Go Cena/Cena Sucks” chants.

During the Preshow, the crowd erupted at the sight of Dean Ambrose. Ambrose came to the set and kicked Byron Saxton off to let everyone know that he wasn’t in Chicago for a Hot Dog or for a Deep Dish Pizza – he was there for a Chicago Street Fight. He told Booker T, Renee Young and Corey Graves that he did not forget the Powerbomb on the ladder at Wrestlemania 31.

Here we’re at the 7:34 mark and we’ve been given a Bray Wyatt promo! “A man cannot become a god, but a god can walk amongst men.” I feel like every promo he does has at least one terrific quote given.

We’re now taken to ringside with JBL, Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler. “Bad News” Barrett cuts a “Bad News” promo on Daniel Bryan to mixed reactions. Barrett claims that Daniel Bryan will not be performing tonight and that is because he is afraid of Barrett. Barrett claims to be the “English Version of Michael Jordan”, minus the horrible gambling addiction. This is awesome. He offers the crowd a “bonus” and invites Neville to the ring for a match, to a great reaction from the Chicago crowd. These two hookup and it’s entertaining from the opening bell.

Commercial. There’s a commercial, during a match, on a PPV event. Can’t they do this AFTER the match?

We’re back in the ring where Barrett is in control of Neville. These two Englishmen are putting on one hell of an entertaining match for this crowd. After a bit of back and forth, Barrett hits Neville with Wasteland and Neville kicks out after a 2 count. A few counters between the two men and we see Neville land the Red Arrow on Barrett for the 3 count and the win for the biggest win of his young career.

Winner: Neville by Pinfall

The official event has begun and we are kicking off this show with a recap of all of the recent feuds leading into tonight’s event. WWE is really recap heavy. Like, bad. At least they’re consistent, right?

This is the one night where things can get messy, things become extreme. The opening match is no different, as the Chicago Street Fight is next. Dean Ambrose is out first, looking as goofy and crazy as ever. The guy really is entertaining. Luke Harper who is equally out there and weird, is met by Ambrose on the ramp and these two are immediately beating the hell out of one another. Steel Chairs, Kendo Sticks, and Tables are already making appearances as Ambrose is beating Harper. Harper gets up with Ambrose looking for a vertical suplex on an open and standing chair but Harper counters and suplexes Ambrose, followed by a pin where Ambrose kicks out at 2. Harper has now taken control and is displaying his power game on Ambrose. Ambrose begins coming back through in this one and the match ends up in the backstage area. I miss these days. When trying to evade Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper gets into a Chevy Tahoe (Not a Dodge Ram, Michael Cole) and drives away with Dean Ambrose hanging on the outside of the passenger side door. This isn’t over.

We go to a backstage segment between Triple H and Kane, when Trips asks Kane to look for Ambrose and Harper. Seth Rollins joins them and complains about Kane throwing Rollins into a Spear from Roman Reigns. The crowd is chanting “Boring”, I couldn’t agree more. WWE hears this and makes the sound on the segment louder. Ugh.

Next up, we have the “Kiss My Arse” match and these two are nose to nose, while Sheamus is shoving Ziggler’s face. This starts out as a brawl which is something Dolph Ziggler DOES NOT want to do. This fight makes it to the outside of the ring and sheamus whips Ziggler to the steps, but Ziggler counters with a DDT. Sheamus makes it to his feet and sends Ziggler inside where things turn physical. Sheamus definitely is working stiff in this one. These punches are connecting, harshly.

A “Lets Go Ziggler” chant begins which makes Sheamus smile. A few Short Arm Clotheslines and some smack talk to Ziggler follows a comeback from Ziggler who sparks some offense but Sheamus takes over again and puts Ziggler into a Texas Cloverleaf. Ziggler counters but can barely affect Sheamus. Sheamus is really just powering Ziggler and throwing him around. Sheamus goes for a Vertical Suplex and Ziggler counters with an inside cradle for the pin and the win. Sheamus is IRATE; he refuses to honor the stipulation and is told by the referee that he needs to get in the ring. After a LOT of pushing Sheamus to do this, he gets down on his knees and gives Ziggler a low blow and then a Brogue Kick. Sheamus tells Dolph that he’d never “kiss his arse” and that he promised everyone that Ziggler would kiss his arse, so he bent down and forced Ziggler’s face into his “arse”.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

The New Day’s music hits and the clapping begins, so do the boos. Time for the first title match of the night as The New Day will take on Cesaro and Tyson Kidd with Natalya for the WWE Tag Team Championships. This should be good.

Kidd and Kofi Kingston have started this one and its a bit of fast paced action until Kofi tags in Big E, which follows with Tyson Kidd tagging in Cesaro. These two are extremely powerful individuals. These two teams are evenly matched and it makes it that much more competitive. This is already stealing the show as the participants are absolutely killing it. Kofi tried to hit trouble in paradise but Kidd countered into the Sharpshooter with Big E making the save. Cesaro starts the Big Swing with Tyson Kidd making the low dropkick mid way. Cesaro tries to make the pin, but Xavier Woods distracts the referee, so Kofi Kingston rolls up Cesaro to win the Tag Team Titles. It most certainly is a “New Day”.

Winners: The New Day

A backstage interview featuring a celebrating New Day is suddenly interrupted by the returning Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper!

They’re back and they’re as crazy as ever. These two battle all the way back to the ring. The two of them, on opposite sides of the ring, begin launching every chair under the ring, into the ring! Harper grabs Ambrose after taking a chair to the face and drops Ambrose with a Powerbomb onto a chair. Two count. Harper then covers Ambrose with chairs and goes to the top rope. Ambrose then gets up, runs to the corner where Harper is and throws him off the top and onto the litter of chairs and then sets him up for “Dirty Deeds” and makes the pin. “The Lunatic Fringe” wins this wacky “kickoff” to Extreme Rules.

Winner: Dean Ambrose

Next up, we have the Russian Chain Match between John Cena and Rusev for the United States Championship. Let’s have ANOTHER recap, shall we? The only thing that makes this tolerable is the Fall Out Boy song accompanying it. I’ll go on record and say now that I hope John Cena wins this match as I find the John Cena Open Invitational every Monday night very entertaining.

Rusev comes out with his own “Russian Chain”. What the hell is a “Russian Chain”? Lana looks naked without the United States Championship with her. Wait, I take that back, she’s definitely not naked. Enough. John Cena comes out and is immediately booed. I don’t know that he’s ever been popular in Chicago. This one should be hard-hitting. Rusev looks like an absolute beast. The winner will be the first man to touch all four corners of the ring in succession. If you are stopped, you will need to start over. The crowd is very into this one. I’m not sure if they’re pro-Rusev or anti-Cena. Right off the bat, Rusev splashes Cena in the corner and begins touching the corners, only to be cutoff from Cena. Cena now tries the same after a scoop slam and Rusev cuts him off at three corners. Rusev then jumps on the attack. This will not be an easy match for either man. The chain is now becoming a weapon and a tool for either Superstar. A bit of ups and downs for each guy, with both men gaining an advantage throughout. Cena being a veteran stands out a few times in this match as he rolls to the outside when Rusev is up trying to touch each corner. At another point, Rusev went to the top rope (which is something he never does) and was pulled off by Cena. During this match, the crowd began chanting “We Want Lana” and Lana actually jumped on the ring apron and began smiling and waving to everyone in attendance which only upset the Former US Champion, as he forced her to return to the locker room. Could this be a Rusev/Lana split in the works? Back to the action, Rusev locks on the Accolade Lock on Cena and Cena rises to his feet running backwards with Rusev on his back, which only turns on the lights for Rusev. Cena needs to stop him to not lose the title. These two now get in a battle over control of the chain and it results with them both touching three corners, setting up a sprint to the final corner, which Rusev attempts but Cena cuts him off and delivers the Attitiude Adjustment. Cena walks over to the corner and taps it for the win.

Winner: John Cena

Renee Young begins an interview with Roman Reigns who reminded us all what the Big Show did to him at Raw from London a few weeks ago. He said that after all that, he got back up and he’ll always get back up. Believe that!

The next match is the Divas Title match between Naomi and Divas Champion, Nikki Bella. We are reminded of Paige getting beaten up by Naomi after winning a #1 contenders Battle Royal.

Nikki and Naomi tie up and Naomi forces Nikki into the ropes to which the referee breaks it up. These two have been jostling for weeks about who the better athlete is, frankly, who cares? Just get in the ring and wrestle. It’s been a LONG time, since Naomi has even gotten a chance to compete for the Divas Championship. She’ll give a great performance. Naomi is all over Nikki, this change of attitude for Naomi is really big. She’s extremely physical tonight. Both of these girls are, as Nikki Bella herself looks mighty impressive. When down, Naomi was holding onto the bottom rope and fighting off Nikki. When the referee could finally pull Nikki off Naomi, Brie Bella kicked Naomi directly in the face. Nikki grabbed hold of Naomi and executed her “Rack Attack” and pinned Naomi. Nikki Bella retains and celebrates with her sister, Brie. As long as these two are on the same page, Nikki Bella will be WWE Divas Champion.

Winner: Nikki Bella

This next match will be extremely physical. WWE can’t put on gruesome, violent matches anymore so their current idea is to just be rougher with talent. The Big Show and Roman Reigns in a Last Man Standing match? This should definitely be interesting. Big Show comes out first and does the Andre the Giant pose, in reference to his Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal win at Wrestlemania 31. Roman comes out to a pretty strong positive reaction from the crowd. From the second the bell rings, these two begin throwing punches. Roman is trying to use power and brawling with the Big Show. He obviously has no idea that the Big Show is bigger than him. Reigns hits Show with a running clothesline to the outside and pulls out a table from beneath the ring. Big Show puts back the table and tries to drive Reigns, head first, into the ring post. Reigns has different plans and counters. Reigns pulls the table out again and Big Show stops him and breaks the table with his bare hands. Reigns grabs a kendostick and starts beating the Big Show. Big Show takes back control and breaks the stick in half, then yells to the crowd “I’M A GIANT!” He’s certainly proving it in this one. Reigns gets hold of a steel chair and finally cuts down Big Show enough to earn a count of 7. Still not enough, Reigns goes back to the outside and pulls out MULTIPLE tables, to which Big Show answers with a KO punch that lays out Reigns for a count of 8. Big Show begins setting up the table and looks to chokeslam Roman through the table. Reigns counters and hits Show with a Samoan Drop through the table. Big Show rolled out of the ring and back in after about 7 or 8 seconds and hit Reigns with a spear while Roman was setting up the other table. Big Show gets up onto the middle rope ala Vader Bomb style and drops himself onto Reigns. Reigns answers the count while Show is going to the top rope and drops Big Show where Big Show falls and straddles the turnbuckle (OUCH). Reigns grabs ANOTHER TWO TABLES and sets them up outside. Reigns goes back into the ring and tries to throw Show through those aforementioned tables. Show counters and throws Reigns off him, when Reigns comes back and suplexes Show off the top rope. Show gets up and Reigns is on the attack with Superman punches. Big Show sees a third one coming and Chokeslams Roman Reigns from the ring to the outside through the tables! Roman answers the call at 9 and Big Show is incensed. Big Show begins setting up the ring steps near the announcer’s table and meets Reigns in the ring. Big Show mocks Reigns and tries to spear Reigns through the table postioned vertically in the corner, to which Roman just sidestepped. Big Show got up again, rolls to the outside. Reigns stalks him and spears him through the ring side barrier. Big Show got up again. Big Show tries to chokeslam Reigns through the announcers table and Reigns countered with a spear through the Spanish Announcers table and Big Show got up AGAIN. Roman then, flips the announcers table onto Big Show and stands on it for the count of 10. This was Reigns’ coming out party. Great match between two guys not known for great matches. Huge surprise.

Winner: Roman Reigns

While walking around backstage, Kane runs into Randy Orton who reminds him that he knows who he used to be. He knows what it feels like to be used by The Authority and they both know that after Kane serves his purpose, they will let him go.

Yes! Bo Dallas has graced us with his presence! Bo cuts a promo on Chicago being the “Second City”, but to him they’re #1! They’re #1 at not showering before coming to the arena! Classic. All they have to do is BO-LIEVE! Ryback comes out and just runs through Bo Dallas. I really thought we’d see Bray Wyatt come out and begin the program they’ve been reported to start.

We find out during a backstage interview with Rusev conducted by Byron Saxton, that Rusev will face John Cena for the United States Championship in an “I Quit” match. Lana went to The Authority to make this happen. Rusev laughs and says, “How fitting? America was once a nation of fighters, now it is a country of quitters.”

We now have arrived at the main event: Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins in a Steel Cage Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Kane will be the “Gatekeeper” for this match, as anyone who wants to get inside the cage will have to go through him. Another stipulation for this match tonight is that Randy Orton cannot use the RKO. Silliness.

It’s weird seeing Seth Rollins WITHOUT J&J Security or the rest of The Authority.

First thing Rollins tries to do is escape. Randy jumps on him and unloads. Rollins is going to need incapacitate Orton, because there is no way in hell he will escape Orton in this one. Orton attempts a catapult into the corner, but Rollins being into parkour scales the cage and tries to get out of the cage again. These two are going at it in this one, as both men really are quite underrated in-ring workers. This is a bit more personal than their match at Wrestlemania 31, but they’re both still working each other over pretty well. Both men using the cage as a weapon as Rollins is climbing to use more of an aerial attack during this bout. Seth sends Orton down with a flying knee and then climbs the cage where Orton meets him at the top and the two engage fists while straddling the cage. The two men ended up back in the ring and the fight continues. Once Seth grounds Orton, Seth takes another turn at climbing the cage to the outside but Orton stops him once again and J&J Security comes out to try and help Rollins but are thwarted by Orton. Orton begins throwing Rollins into the cage where Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury were climbing. Randy then did something that no one saw coming: with a smile on his face, Orton applied the Pedigree to Rollins as a definite message to The Authority sent right to Triple H. Orton tries to leave the cage and Kane will not let him. Rollins tries to dropkick Orton and misses, sending the cage door into the face of Kane. Kane loses it and gets involved in the match giving Chokeslams to everyone involved but the ref. Kane then draped Rollins’ arm over Orton and Randy kicked out. Kane went for a Tombstone Piledriver and Randy countered with an RKO. Seth Rollins then immediately hits Orton with his own RKO and escaped the cage. Rollins retains the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Winner: Seth Rollins

All in all, this was a better show than I expected. This event had a few surprises and great action throughout. Now I’m waiting for the return of the King of the Ring on Tuesday night. Thanks for reading, Nerdfeathers! Be sure to check out “The Outsider’s Edge” Podcast which airs Sunday nights as well as the “B+Players Podcast” which airs on Monday nights!

http://www.cheap-heat.com/superstars-really-its-still-around-april-24-2015/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/superstars-really-its-still-around-april-24-2015/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2015 05:38:57 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Reviews WWE Network Reviews http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=11339 Superstars: Really, It’s Still Around April 24, 2015 Written by Mark Adam Haggerty What’s going down friends—it's your pal Mark Adam Haggerty, with a whole hell of a lot of time on my hands if I’m going out of my way to review this week’s episode of SUPERSTARS. I was speaking with one of my […]

Superstars: Really, It’s Still Around
April 24, 2015
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty

What’s going down friends—it's your pal Mark Adam Haggerty, with a whole hell of a lot of time on my hands if I’m going out of my way to review this week’s episode of SUPERSTARS. I was speaking with one of my Cheap-Heat colleagues and we were having trouble discerning Superstars from Main Event. When I was a kid, Superstars was THE show, without question. I would get home from soccer practice on Saturday—and later Sunday—mornings, eager to see what sort of action the Superstars of the New Generation would get into. Superstars was the show I remember watching most often with my dad; when Goldust debuted in 1995, I told my dad that he was my FAVORITE wrestler. Then we were watching one day and Goldust had tattooed “Razor” on his chest and was making sexual advances toward Scott Hall. I can still remember the way my dad said: “He shouldn’t be your favorite.”

Well Superstars certainly has changed since the early 1990s, but it’s still a part of the WWE family of television shows. So if nobody else is going to bite the bullet, then I will volunteer myself to review WWE Superstars in this new weekly column entitled: “Superstars: Really, It’s Still Around.”

I will be the first to admit that I had absolutely no idea what I’d get out of this show going in; I’ve heard good things in the past, but didn’t expect much more than a standard 45 minutes of undercard action.

Things kick off with our announce team, comprised of play-by-play analyst Rich Brennan and color commentator Byron Saxton. Our opening contest pits the “British Bull Hammer” against the “Real American American.” It’s currently unclear what Wade Barrett will get into this Sunday now that Daniel Bryan has been benched through Payback. But tonight Bad News has to worry about Jack Swagger. The crowd battles chant-for-chant with the warring rhythm of “Bad News Barrett” squaring off against “We the People.” Both individuals look phenomenal in the opening moments of this match, with Jack Swagger taking the lead early on. Both of these men are about the same size and are clearly capable inside the ring—I wonder if something might come of their rivalry down the road. Rich Brennan mentions that Jack Swagger said Zeb Coulter will be returning to television soon, and has something “pretty big planned.” The contest see-saws from side to side and Jack Swagger lands his mean and very lean variation on the Vader Bomb, but Barrett kicks out at two. Barrett removes his elbow pad, signifying the end of the match for Swagger. Jack reversed the incomparable Englishman, and hooked him in the “Patriot Lock” AKA the “Ankle Lock.” Bad News Barrett squirmed for safety and reached the ropes, dumping Swagger to the outside in the process. Upon reentry, Swagger fell victim to the Bull Hammer elbow out of nowhere. Bad News Barrett gets the win going into unforeseen circumstances this Sunday night. I’m thoroughly impressed thus far with this Superstars program. Perhaps my lighthearted jokes at the start of this column were a little premature.

After a vignette highlighting the Big Show’s battle with Roman Reigns two weeks ago, we  get a clip from Monday Night Raw wherein Roman addresses the situation head-on. Of course the exchange with Bo Dallas was hilarious, but I already reviewed Raw—well, one of my colleagues filled in this week—and I’m far more interested in what’s going down on Superstars. Long story short: Bo Dallas called “The Phantom Menace” the BEST Star Wars film of all time and referred to Roman Reigns as the Tim Tebow of the WWE. Then Roman gave him a Superman Punch and told the audience that they “can BO-LIEVE THAT!”

Kid and Cesaro say that it is a treat to have them compete on Superstars; not only do they consider themselves better than Los Matadores, but they say Natalya is better than El Torito. I don’t think anyone would argue that.

So after the Roman Reign recap from Raw, we get another segment from Monday in its entirety. This time it’s the United States Championship match between John Cena and the WWE Director of Operations Kane. The WWE does a fine job of circumventing the “you can’t put Raw on the WWE Network” rule, by featuring entire matches on a number of Network exclusive programs throughout the week. They just don’t put the entire show up for a month. For the record, the Cena-Kane match was pretty good. I also think it’s very interesting how Rusev always wraps the chain around his opponents face, and is sure not to choke anyone.В

It’s time for the main event, which is good because it appears we’ll get a solid fifteen minute match. But at the same time, I would have preferred more original content on a show I’ve just decided to start reviewing. Two matches? Plus Kane versus John Cena from Raw? I guess you can’t complain; the opening bout was good and the main event was outstanding, and as far as filler, you can’t argue with the top moments from Raw. I would have liked another match—is all I’m saying. I never really liked Cesaro's siren theme song, as I don't think it fit his character. But it certainly seems to fit his tag team with Tyson Kidd.

Los Matadores have been looking phenomenal as of late, but that shouldn’t come as any surprise. The only hindrance on the Colon Brothers is the Mexican Bullfighting gimmick that they—as Puerto Rican second generation wrestlers—are forced to portray. Cesaro starts things out and uses his power to his advantage, but is no match for the fast paced ability of Diego. Cesaro answers his opponent with a series of European uppercuts, and tags Tyson Kidd. Diego remains in control and hoists Tyson Kidd into the air with a delayed vertical suplex. We head to a break and when we return, Los Matadores are in command, using their familial chemistry and identical appearance to capitalize on the champions. Cesaro fights back and returns the favor from before by delivering an even longer delayed suplex of his own. He held him in the air while pointing at his brother, and walked with him on his shoulders to make the tag.

Kidd and Cesaro are highly impressive, employing quick tags and ingenious double team maneuvers. They're both upper mid card talents just on the verge of breaking through to the next level. Everything they do between the ropes has meaning, as neither man wants to be stuck on the mid card forever. Los Matadores come back with high flying innovative offense, and double team Cesaro behind the referee's back while shoving Tyson out of the match. But if Los Matadores are willing to fight dirty, then so are the world tag team champions. Cesaro grabbed a handful of tights and rolled an unnamed member of Los Matadores up for the pin—earning his team another victory.

The tag match ended about six minutes before the show closed, and rather than finishing Superstars with a SUPERSTARS’ main event, they ended the night with another set of clips from Raw, highlighting the rivalry between Randy Orton and Seth Rollins.

I thought this was a pretty decent episode of WWE television considering I don’t watch a ton of Superstars or Main Event. Both matches on the show were very good, and the clips they decided to play were at least entertaining. The final vignette of the evening—which told the story of the world title picture—was very well constructed with clever little music cues. I think I might have even heard a dentist’s drill during some of the shots of Kane. All-in-all, a quality 45 minutes of WWE Programming. It's far easier to sit through Superstars than it is to trudge through Raw, and I still saw the highlights from Monday Night. My name is Mark Adam Haggerty and I’ll be back with you next week for another edition of “Superstars: Really, It’s Still Around,” right here at Cheap-Heat.com

http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-nxt-review-april-22nd-2015/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-nxt-review-april-22nd-2015/#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2015 04:04:15 +0000 Scott Hayes Reviews WWE Network Reviews NXT WWE WWE Network http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=11264 Welcome to another NXT Wednesday! This week they've been hyping a Women's Triple threat for #1 Contendership, and Riley/Owens 2. We're hitting the ground running as Rich and Corey Graves welcome us. IN RING! Finn Balor's music is playing. Out he comes. They mention the fact that Finn was on the European tour. Out next? […]

Welcome to another NXT Wednesday! This week they've been hyping a Women's Triple threat for #1 Contendership, and Riley/Owens 2. We're hitting the ground running as Rich and Corey Graves welcome us.

IN RING!

Finn Balor's music is playing. Out he comes. They mention the fact that Finn was on the European tour. Out next? Tye Dillenger. Last time we saw Tye was against Jason Jordan. They kick off with some mat grappling. Finn hits a huge dropkick. Finn tries an arm ringer and eats a forearm, and then Dillenger begins chopping Finn, as the crowd chants "DillenJOBBER". Finn hits a chop of his own. A couple more chops. Two running forearms. A Pele kick. The Slingblade. High velocity running dropkick into the corner and caps it off with the Coup De Grace. Finn is our winner.

Glorified squash. Fine with that. Finn Balor is one of the faces of NXT, and I think he could be on main roster by the end of the Summer. Dillenger is pretty good, and it'll be interesting to see how they use him moving forward. Today he gave of a decidedly "CJ Parker" vibe, not character or anything, just as "dude is gonna lose… a… LOT!"

BACKSTAGE!

Selfie Cam. Prince Pretty is saying BRAVO, FINN… BRAVO! Says other people are impressed, but he isn't. Calls Balor a "flavor of the month". He says its time Finn to meet someone who is dominating NXT (So Breeze wants to see a rematch with Owens, TOO?! … Oh… he was talking about himself. Good stuff. Mostly because Breeze/Itami has run its course.

BACKSTAGE!

Dana Brooke is talking to Devon (I think I've finally learned her name, so goodbye her nickname "Female Mic Stand" – at least we still have "Male Mic Stand") Brooke is playing up her ego. Condescending pat on Devon's head. She says it wasn't a debut, but the rebirth of the NXT Women's division. She calls herself the most: beautiful, defiant, and strongest Diva. Apparently NXT is Dana's playground, and "Playtime is Over." – Her promo was pretty good. That part of her game seems more polished than her in ring.

HYPE!

Owens and Riley is later tonight. Women's triple threat is… NEXT! Graves tells us the triple threat is going to steal the show.

BACKSTAGE!

Devon with Kevin Owens. Devon asks about Riley. Owens complains about a draft. Devon got a rough schedule of interviews tonight. Kevin gives Riley some credit. Says Riley gave a decent fight. But that Riley will never be NXT Champion, and after tonight Riley should find himself a table, chair, a headset, and leave Owens alone. Owens leaves to get a coat. (C'mon Kev… you're Canadian, you don't GET "cold".

IN RING!
BAYLEY! Followed by Becky Lynch. Finally Charlotte is out. The crowd chants for Bayley. Charlotte attacks Becky. She and Bayley hit a few clubbing forearms. Early on Bayley and Charlotte are taking turns beating on Becky until Bayley rolls Becky out of the ring so Bayley and Charlotte can mix it up. Chops from Charlotte. Charlotte locks Bayley into the figure four headlock and continues to take Bayley up and over slamming her. That's a nice move! Charlotte kips up, and Full Sail applauds. Becky Lynch is back. She attacks Charlotte. Pump Handle suplexes Charlotte out of the ring and begins working over Bayley. Until… COMMERCIAL!

HEY! Miz and Summer Rae are in a movie!

And.. we're.. back! Becky taunts as she continues to work Bayley over. Running leg drops. Get her a two count. And then consecutive one counts. Becky begins working the left leg. Hamstring kicks and then hyperextending the left knee. Dragon leg screw and looks like she she is going for a figure four, but Charlotte is up on the apron. Running forearm knocks Charlotte off. Lynch counters a Bayley roll up into a nasty looking submission. Bayley's legs are all kinds of tied up with Becky kneeling on Bayley's lower back, and Charlotte ends up hitting the Natural Selection on Becky… Bayley saves the three count. Charlotte puts Bayley on the top rope. They exchange chops and forearms until Becky pulls Charlotte off the middle rope. Now Becky ascends. Looking for the superplex. Bayley blocks. Charlotte comes in for a power bomb, walks her out, and Bayley hits a diving back elbow off the top rope onto Becky while Charlotte drives her down with a power bomb. Bayley suplexes Charlotte. Hits the Bayley to Belly on Becky and Charlotte pulls her away. Charlotte with the figure four. Bayley gets to the ropes… but Graves reminds us, there IS NO ROPE BREAK IN A TRIPLE THREAT! Charlotte lets go of the hold though to pull Bayley to the middle. Goes into the "FIGURE 8" Where she does the high angle bridge to add pressure. Bray Wyatt approves. WHOA… BECKY CRAWLS TO COVER BAYLEY WHO IS ALMOST OUT… ONE… TWO…THREE!! Lynch is the #1 contender. Really well done finish. Charlotte is shocked. Lynch is shocked. Bayley is hurting.

Excellent match between three of NXT's finest. Good action with some really cool/inventive spots, and I like that Lynch has a title match coming.

IN RING!

CJ Parker… STILL EMPLOYED! Hahaha… So They weren't out of Pre-Mania TV tapings, just yet. At the end of the last match they said he'd be facing Hideo Itami. So Tye Dillenger can't be the new CJ Parker… just… yet! Here comes Itami. Don't blink, y'all I don't think this one is going long. They feel each other out. CJ goes for a leg kick, but Itami doesn't like it so CJ runs away. Itami catches another kick, and CJ runs to find cover in the ropes. Itami is being a little aggressive so the referee has to back him off CJ, but as soon as Itami steps back CJ runs and locks in a side headlock. CJ dominates. He hits a vertical suplex. Continues to get cocky. Goes for a 2nd Suplex, but Itami fights out. Ends up kicking and clotheslining his way into taking control. He goes into strike mode. Stalling dropkick into the corner, and the then "Shotgun Kick" to finish it.

BACKSTAGE!

Becky is unlacing her boots, and in walks Sasha Banks. Becky doesn't think silver looks good on Sasha. Sasha says she made Becky. The two agree to disagree and go their separate ways.

IN RING!

RHYNO is out. Some dude is in the ring, I have no idea if anyone has said his name. Bell. Clothesline. Belly to belly. Gore. 1. 2. 3. Legit that's what happened. Complete Play by Play. (Rhyno and your humble recapped are efficient)

BACKSTAGE!

Carmella is standing around wearing lots of jewelry. Blake and Murphy slide in singing, well its kind of singing. They are cut off by Enzo and Cass. Enzo and Cass don't like that Carmella is wearing the jewelry the Tag Champs got for her. The three argue until we cut away to…

IN RING!

RAGE! Riley's music is already playing and he's on his way out! Owens is out next. Kevin is smirking as he saunters out from the back. These two have continued their feud on Twitter, especially. These two circle and tie up. Owens backs Riley into the corner. They smirk and posture at one another. Another tie up. Again Owens backs Riley into the corner and the trash talk continues. An exchange of hard shoves, and Owens winds up for a right hand. BLOCKED. Riley dropkick sends Owens rolling to the outside to take a T.O. (A T.O. for K.O.!) – Owens stays on the outside, taunting. Riley goes for a baseball slide dropkick. Owens side steps takes two fistfuls of riley and slams him backwards into the steel entrance ramp! That sends us to Commercial! Hey! There's a Pay Per View this weekend!

And…we're… BACK. Stomps and punches from Owens. Beatdown is ON! Big slap from Riley. Right hand. Goes for a boot and its caught by Owens. Kick to the hamstring. Then a leg kick and Owens drops his girth across Riley with a Senton. Continues to pound and ground A-Ry. Locks in the… REVERSE… .CHINLOCK…. O'… DOOOOOOOOOM!!!! And adding discomfort to injury? He grinds his stubble/beard into Riley's cheek and forehead. Hahahaha that's excellent. Riley gets some momentum. Hits a snap swinging neck breaker, but Owens quickly regains control. Running Clothesline into the corner. And then? Cannonball into the corner. AND THEN? Pop Up Powerbomb. AND THEN? 1…2….3! Owens wins in dominant fashion. Poses in the center of the ring with the belt, briefly… He isn't done with Riley. He tosses him outside. Feigns walking to the back and comes back. Looking to hit the power bomb on the apron… NO! SAMI ZAYN! SAMI ZAYN! THE BRAWL IS ON! Herd of Zebras (Group of referees) tries to separate the two. Is that REALLY gonna work?

Crowd chants "let them fight". The locker room is out. Zayn gets away gets in the ring and goes to the top rope and hits a somersault plancha off the top rope to the outside whiping out the refs and extra muscle, and of course Kevin Owens. Bodies everywhere. Owens scurries away. Sami in ring stares angrily. Owens goes and grabs his belt and pouts at the top of the ramp. Cue Sami's music. They stare down.

OVERVIEW!

Good episode this week. Can't remember the last show we saw: Zayn, Owens, Balor, and Itami on. Sure we had two glorified squashes and one OUTRIGHT, but I'm fine with that. That's something WWE really needs more of to help get guys/girls some momentum. Main event was good, but really still was squashy. You had three of the top four women put on an excellent match. Easily match of the night. Stories were good. Breeze gunning for Balor is good, but I wonder what they do with Itami. Owens/Zayn looks like it will heat up for the next few weeks, hopefully leading to that rematch. The tag title feud is being well done too, and its intriguing because I'm thinking Carmella is being wooed away from Enzo and Cass.

I'll see you in 7.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-nxt-review-april-15th-2015/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-nxt-review-april-15th-2015/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2015 07:07:06 +0000 Scott Hayes Reviews WWE Network Reviews NXT WWE WWE Network http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=11153 Happy April 15th, y'all! Hope you got those taxes in. This guy especially hopes that: Remember to claim your dependents. Today Tax Day falls on a Wednesday, so if you're frantically "Carrying the two" and working on your dividends and what not? Hopefully you took a break to watch some NXT, or the next best […]

Happy April 15th, y'all! Hope you got those taxes in. This guy especially hopes that:

Remember to claim your dependents.

Today Tax Day falls on a Wednesday, so if you're frantically "Carrying the two" and working on your dividends and what not? Hopefully you took a break to watch some NXT, or the next best thing… READ THIS!

Lets Giddyup!

IN RING!

CJ Parker is out. CJ is annoyed. CJ isn't the most successful NXT wrestler. His opponent hacks the arena and the lights and screens go wonky (that's technical jargon) . Solomon Crowe is out and the bell rings. A little back and forth early. Parker showing a little more edge. Crowe hit a nice double jump flying clothesline with CJ on the apron. Also a high speed suicide dive. CJ hit a senton, locked in a sleeper. Crowe faded. CJ went for a second senton, but Crowe got the knees up.

Finish saw Crowe splash on to CJ's left leg and then lock in a Stretch Muffler to score the tappy-tap-tap-tap.

Post match Crowe tells us to stay tuned, stuff is just beginning and then returns us to our regularly scheduled programming.

Solid match. Guessing this is CJ's last. For those that don't know CJ asked for and was granted his release Wrestlemania weekend. Announcers go hard at the fact that Crowe has designs on the NXT Championship. Ambition is nice, and all… But… yeah… pump the breaks there, skippy.

HYPE!

Zayn vs. Rhyno and Dana Brook debuts. Both of those will happen tonight!

IN RING!

Corbin's music and lights. Corbin walks to the ring to random guy. Oh, his name is Steve Cutler, former Marine. Crowd is counting. Corbin levels Cutler with a Clothesline (Alliteration is fun) – End of Days. Ball game. Graves reminds us Corbin is not paid by the hour. Graves also says "All Hail the Big Bad Wolf." – Yeah, maybe… no.

BACKSTAGE!

Zayn talks to Dude Mic Stand. He asks about Rhyno. Sami is all "no one else is going to use me to get to the top."

IN RING!

Enzo and Cass' music is playing to the joy of the Full Sailors. Out they come with Carmella in tow. Carmella gets booed during intros. Always cracks me up. Enzo is proud of his silver tongued exploits. Full Sailors agree. They cut a promo on Blake and Murphy. Their opponents are Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton. Wearing their amateur gear.

Bell. Enzo's speed gets him a quick advantage, but he spends too long celebrating, and the size, power, technique of Sawyer and Fulton takes over. Desperate tag to Cass and Cass gets them back on track. Nice double team move, and Enzo goes to the top… ends up crotched and the amateurs are in control as Murphy and Blake come out. They present Carmella with flowers. IN the ring, Sawyer has Enzo in the abdominal stretch. Enzo tries to make a tag. Stopped short. Hits a jaw breaker and makes the hot tag to Big Cass. Cass house of fires the NCAA Tag Team Champions. Cass hits a big move, and then helps with an aided big splash from Enzo off the top rope. .

Cass and Enzo win. The tag title feud continues. Sawyer and Dawkins looked impressive in this match. Could be good stuff moving forward for the tag division.

BACKSTAGE!

Alex Riley asks if we thought that was going to be it? He threatens Owens. Then challenges him for next week.

IN RING!

DA-DA-DA-DAAAAAAAA! BLUE PANTS!!! Cass sings her to the ring. Full Sailors chant her to the ring. Dana Brooke is out next. She cartwheels and flexes. She's got good entrance music. Full Sail all about those blue pants. Dana Brooke slingshots blue pants into the bottom rope. Mounted… uh… Punches? That was a little awkward. Brooke drives some forearms in the corner and then does a hand stand where she chokes her with her foot. Pants hits a high kick and a follow up and a third. But Brooke hits her with a right hand and then a fireman's sit out driver type move. She gets the win, and flexes and poses post match.

It was what it was and what I thought it'd be. Debut from a big musclebound egotist. She wins. Be interesting to watch her progress.

IN RING!

LETS GO! Sami Zayn is out. GORE! GORE! GORE! Early tie ups shows Rhyno's size and power advantage. Announcers doing a good job of selling Owens and potentially Rhyno "cutting the line". Rhyno dominates early. Working more methodically and powerful. Sami gets some offense in and nails a dropkick, but Rhyno quickly snuffs out Sami's fire. Which sends us to commercial. We come back and Rhyno has a rear chin lock locked in. Zayn powers up, gets some momentum and hits a high cross body for a 2 count. They brawl a bit and Rhyno ends up planting Sami with a spine buster. Rhyno pummels away. Tossing Sami around. Rhyno delivering a few running shoulders into Zayn's gut. Just gets a two count. Sami can't stay up. Rhyno pie faces him to the mat. Sami jumps up fists a flying. Rhyno hoists Sami up in Fireman's position, but Sami fights out and ends up hitting the Blue Thunder Bomb! Two PLUS! Zayn to the top. Crossbody… CAUGHT! Back up on his shoulders, and hits the spinning cutter/TKO on Sami! THREE MINUS… and Rhyno can't believe it! At this point in time my Xbox got the whirling logo of "Feed is paused"… so… excuse me while I go curse a blue streak.

And… I'm… back. They head into the corner, both feeling the effects. Sami slaps Rhyno and Rhyno responds with clubbing blows. Rhyno goes to the second rope, sitting… maybe looking for a tornado DDT, but we'll never know as Sami hits a jumping forearm and Rhyno spills to the outside. Zayn is up and hits a somersault plancha to the outside. Back inside, Rhyno hits a belly to belly throw. Looks for the Gore!Gore!Gore!, misses. Sami ends up hitting the Heluva Kick in the corner, and gets the pinfall victory.

This was a good match. Good way for Sami to get back on track in a NXT Ring. He celebrates and points and yells at the camera, I'm guessing with a few choice words for Kevin Owens.

OVERVIEW!

Another solid episode. Nothing wildly memorable. One feud pushed forward. Sami Zayn kept his claim to being the #1 contender for the NXT Championship. Two newer wrestlers made their presence felt and Baron Corbin got his "Baron Corbin" thing on. Five matches feels like a lot to get into an hour show. Even if one was an outright squash and two were close to squashes. Zayn and Rhyno had the match of the night. Good use of someone who is bigger than Zayn, like Owens is. Wrestles a physical pounding style, like Owens does. We're probably about 5 weeks away from the next Takeover. So thing should really start shaping up. Next week there will be a Women's triple threat for #1 Contendership. So that could put another piece into the Takeover Puzzle.

I'll see you in seven!

http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-nxt-review-april-8th-2015/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-nxt-review-april-8th-2015/#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2015 05:12:29 +0000 Scott Hayes Reviews WWE Network Reviews NXT WWE WWE Network http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=10977 WHAT DAY IS IT?!? I s'pose that's not WRONG, but to us Wrestling fans, today is the greatest day of the week. NXT DAY! Today's episode will focus around the Wrestlemania week. Including the tournament for who got the NXT spot in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Of course anyone who watched Mania […]

WHAT DAY IS IT?!?

I s'pose that's not WRONG, but to us Wrestling fans, today is the greatest day of the week. NXT DAY! Today's episode will focus around the Wrestlemania week. Including the tournament for who got the NXT spot in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Of course anyone who watched Mania knows who wins it, but that doesn't mean it can't be amazing! So?

Here…

We…

GO!!!

HYPE!

A recap of lots of backstage type stuff. Signings and quick sound bites from NXT and WWE Superstars.

RECAP!

Balor beat Baron Corbin in the first round. Apparently this tourney was actually 8 man, not 4. Breeze beat Bull Dempsey. Hideo Itami beat Jason Jordan. AND? Neville beat Kalisto. Still listed as "Adrian Neville" in the bracket, but CALLED Neville by the announcers. So Later tonight we'll see Balor vs. Breeze, but NEXT! Itami vs. Neville!

IN RING!

Neville is already in the ring. "Previously Recorded" in the top right corner. C'mon NXT. We know that. About EVERY show. "THIS IS AWESOME" chant and they haven't done anything. They go forehead to forehead. Itami shoves Neville away angrily. They circle and jockey. Start with some standing and ground grappling. Standing switches, arm wringers, side headlocks, roll throughs, and all kinds of fast paced goodness you'd expect from these two. Crowd appreciative of the early exchanges and mat wrestling. Some idiot says something that gets booed down by the crowd, and Neville teases leaving the ring to confront the fool. He decides to stay in the ring, informing the fan he's lucky. Quick flurry, vicious kick and a clothesline sends Neville to the outside. Neville takes til 9 of the ref's crowd. Definitely working a more heelish style kind of like what he did with Sami Zayn. Neville gets the upper hand. Works him with some strikes. A chop. I nice kick to the chest. A high elbow gets Neville a two count. Snap suplex and a quick float over for a lateral press got Neville another TWO! Nevill stays on with a headlock of some sort. NOT a RCoD. Pace quickens. Itami with a kick a clothesline and caps it off with a flying clothesline. A TWO… PLUS! Crowd chants GTS… He hoists Neville. Crowd cheers, but Neville gets out. Greatest. Tease. Ever. Kicks send Neville seated into the corner. Itami looking for the stalling dropkick, but eats a NICE Superkick. Neville to the top. Crowd chants This is awesome. Neville looks for the Red Arrow, but Itami rolls out, and Neville doesn't go full "Arrow", just just lands on his feet and front rolls. Big shot from Itami. Stalling dropkick into the corner, and then the running high kick from Itami gets him the win! He moves on to the finals.

IN RING!

Best entrance music, possibly in all WWE right now is playing. Balor gets about 50% of his entrance shown, because… well… its pretty damn awesome. Breeze is already in ring. Lounging on the top rope. Little exchange, that Breeze gets the upper hand on, and quickly goes back to lounging on the top rope. Heels gonna heel.) – Balor lands a huge drop-kick. Hits his pose center ring then he himself goes and lounges on the top rope "breeze style" to get Prince Pretty's goat. Good fast paced start. Lots of strikes and kicks exchanged early on. Breeze works Finn in the corner, and the ref tries to pull him off, Breeze shouting "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Crowd refuses to start a "Don't touch him" chant. The way this area is mic'd is interesting. Crowd not as loud, but we can hear just about everything the wrestlers yell to the crowd, and the referee. Wonder if this made calling the match difficult for the wrestlers? Finn starts to gain some momentum with some running forearms. Hits a corner enzuigiri while Breeze was on the top rope. Balor hits the Sling Blade. Hits the high velocity running drop-kick sending Breeze hard into the corner. Finishes Prince Pretty off with the Coup de Grace! Our finals are set, and when we come BACK (Apparently we're going to comercial) – we'll see exclusive footage from the NXT Show they did at San Jose State Friday of Mania week!

HYPE!

Dana Brooke is debuting, SOON!

RECAP!

Triple H welcomes us. Showing us the empty arena. Crazy crowd. Bits of the Triple H in ring promo from the show. Good music video recapping the show follows. Scott Hall puts over the show as its own brand, not "developmental". Hunter doing his back stage speech to the wrestlers. Really cool stuff shown. I'll rematch that package. Got awesome snippets of promo from Owens and Zayn about the show and brand. Owens takes the credit for NXT's explosion. Hahaha… of course he does! Bayley talking about how much the show meant to her since it was her home town. Steph and Cena both have nice things to say while talking about NXT. Really nice. Something they can definitely hang their hat on, for sure!

HYPE!

Next week, Sami Zayn and Rhyno battle for the first time! (WWE's words, not mine. Not sure if they crossed paths in the indies)

IN RING!

Hideo Itami is out first. Finn gets the heart beats before the music. He's out next. Balor's mannerisms heading to the ring are so money. They circle and jockey to start. A crazy amount of standing switches on hammer locks. "this is wrestling chant" as the two ramp up the exchange and both are lunging with clenched fists, teasing a brawl, but they're buddies so no fists fly. Balor gets the advantage. Works the arm. Goes for a kick, Hideo catches the leg and sweeps the leg. Balor hit the dropkick, but his momentum is short lived. Hideo gets on the offensive. Hits some kicks and gets a near fall. Hideo looks for the tornado hot shot, but Finn blocks and ends up hitting the enzuigiri in the corner.

Finn looking for that high velocity drop kick, but Itami nails a diving clothesline instead. Hits the tornado hot shot. Right into a top rope clothesline. Itami hoists for the GTS. Goes into strike mode. Palm strikes, kicks, chops. Itami hits a head kick and its answered with a Pele Kick from Balor. Both men down. Ref count to six. They stand toe to toe and exchange forearms. Crowd not sure what to do. "BOO/YAY" dymanic is off here. Itami snaps. More chops and strikes. Stalling Dropkick. Brings Balor up, looking for the flying kick, but Balor counters with the Sling Blade. Hideo eats the high velocity drop-kick into the corner. Balor to the top rope, Itami ends up knocking the leg out! He hoists him AGAIN For the GTS, and gets one step closer. He launches him, but slides behind for a roll up. But when Balor gets up he gets leveled with the "SHOTGUN KICK" as Rich called it tonight. Itami is shocked and excited. Fans are excited some are stunned. I remember seeing the results and being surprised. I figured it was Neville or Balor's to lose. But this was a nice win for Hideo. Itami celebrates by pointing at the sign. Post match they stand in the ring. Crowd chants "HUG IT OUT". So they do. Balor raises Itami's hand. Good stuff.

WE'RE NOT DONE YET!

Up next we're going to get an exclusive look at Itami's week at Wrestlemania. We see him backstage prepping with Renee Young's audio talking about his appearance. He's about to head to the ring, and we flash back to WWE in Japan. Hogan introducing "KENTA" at the time, and his signing with WWE. Triple H talking about what it took for Hideo to pack up and move to the US. Daniel Bryan calls him the hardest kicking wrestler in the world. They show highlights of the match we just watched. We see him coming backstage after the match. He and Balor hug. Triple H tells him congrats. He cuts an interview and you can tell how excited he is for it. We meet Hideo's kids. His older boy shoving Breeze while Breeze was playing video games is a highlight. They then cut to the San Jose show. I wonder if we'll see "IT"?! He's backstage taking a moment to himself. Wow his reaction was LLLLLLLLLLOUD! So we get Breeze/Itami highlights. Watching his family watch was great. This will be a perfect package for them to show when they call him up. PLUS it establishes the GTS as HIS! His reaction is great. The crowd's reaction is even BETTER. Anything that gets grown men jumping for joy is priceless. He points to his eyes and to the crowd and says "DID YOU SEE IT". Reaction is priceless. Big E and Hogan talk on the GTS. Steph talks about it and backstage we see his older son hoist his younger son into GTS position. Perfect.

Itami says "Finally, its my move… that I take back." Hideo gets into a car, and we hear Triple H's voice say "Ready to go?". You gotta rate to get Triple H be your driver. Ambrose putting over Itami. Paige too. More Cena. Zayn congratulating him. Rollins and Itami hanging backstage. Rollins saying it took him three years, and took Hideo six months. Highlights of the Battle Royal. Show him walking to the back and getting chanted for and a big applause, and as soon as he's out of sight he drops to a knee. He's backstage shaking hands and has a HUGE smile on his face.

GREAT video package. So awesome to see the GTS and the crowd/family reaction and then all the tweets about it.

OVERVIEW!

Three really good matches tonight. Can't go wrong with any combination of the four guys we watched tonight. Three great video packages going backstage at Mania. The highlights for the packages were the San Jose State recap music video and the Itami behind the scenes video actually makes me wish they did a full half hour special. Maybe they did and there will be more interviews and footage? Either way that was special and put over NXT and Hideo Itami in a GREAT way.

Overall it was a great show, that really highlighted where NXT has come since its debut on the WWE Network. They gave a spot in the battle royal to an NXT talent. They booked an NXT only show in a 5000 seat arena, and it sold out in under two hours. NXT as a brand and this show reminded us of what the two syllables before "Mania" are, and what the "2nd W" stands for in WWE. I can't wait to see where it goes from here (It better be Philadelphia in the not so distant future!) , and who will be next to be called up… since Neville just debuted, and rumors abound on Charlotte and Sasha Banks… and its ONLY a matter of time before Balor is gone, and it'll be awesome to see how NXT impacts Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas Texas!

See you in Seven!

http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-nxt-review-april-1st-2015/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/wwe-nxt-review-april-1st-2015/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2015 01:47:53 +0000 Scott Hayes Reviews WWE Network Reviews NXT WWE WWE Network http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=10841 Welcome back to another NXT Review, Recap, or whatever. Before we start this week's show, some news… As many of you heard, CJ Parker asked for and was granted his release from WWE. Parker was a on dimensional comedy heel, who worked very well. Hopefully he finds success elsewhere. Peace out, Moonchild. Shall we? WE. […]

Welcome back to another NXT Review, Recap, or whatever.

Before we start this week's show, some news… As many of you heard, CJ Parker asked for and was granted his release from WWE. Parker was a on dimensional comedy heel, who worked very well. Hopefully he finds success elsewhere.

Peace out, Moonchild.

Shall we?

WE. SHALL!

The Future IS? NOW!

IN RING!

Sami Zayn's music hits and out comes Sami. First time we've seen him in person in an NXT ring. Sami is intense. He talks about being away for the Abu Dhabi tour, and that all he thought of during that tour was regaining the NXT Championship, and more importantly "KICKING KEVIN OWENS' ASS!" Crowd had been chanting "Kick his ass" before Sami delivered that line. Perhaps he just decided to follow their lead.

IN RING!

Rhyno is out! His opponent already in the ring. This is NOT going to last long. Yup. I typed that, and GORE! GORE! GORE! Rhyno wins. He grabs a mic and says how he came back for one thing. Being the NXT Champion. He'll go after ANYONE and name drops, Zayn, Balor, and of course OWENS.

HYPE!

Dana Brooke is debuting in 2 weeks.

BACKSTAGE… (Last Week)!

Owens is sitting backstage laughing. He says he won, that's all that matters.

IN RING!

Bayley is out. This match was set up because of Emma's trash talk and slap. The two former friends, Emma telling Bayley she needs more edge. Emma is out second, and so are the bubbles. But she is very sarcastic in the ring entrance. Tons of eye roles and sarcastic bubble popping. She teases doing the skin the cat entrance into the ring, but just rolls under the bottom rope. They tie up, and the story is Emma trying to get Bayley to fight. Bayley seems to be holding back as Emma taunts. Eventually Bayley snaps and goes crazy bashing skulls into the top turnbuckle. They go back and forth. Emma hits the Dilemma, and also the Vegimite Sandwich, but Bayley wins with a roll up.

It was a little awkward, but that's what they were playing up to. Emma is slow burning a heel turn. She was stewing over the finish of the match as Bayley backed up the ramp.

BACKSTAGE!

Becky Lynch puts in her two cents about becoming the NXT Women's champion. Welcomes us all to N-Becks-T! That has t-shirt written all over it.

IN RING!

Dub Step. BaM: Tag Champs are out! This is officially the most Australian episode of NXT ever! Maybe? – Out next are the Lucha Dragons. Odd to see them here. I realize this was taped… whenever ago. But they just had a HOT debut on Raw. Story is Blake and Murphy take every shortcut in the book. They isolate Kalisto for a while. He tags in Sin Cara, but that doesn't go very well. They hit the tandem running vertical ALMOST brain buster, and frog splash. The champions win. Not sure how many more appearances we'll get with the Luchas on NXT.

I like how they're building Blake and Murphy as a heel team. Just weird to do that with two guys when they've already WON the titles. So the crowd seems flat on them, but I think the budding feud with Cass and Enzo will help bring out that reaction.

BACKSTAGE!

Lady Mic Stand is asking Sami something. Rhyno interrupts and reminds Zayn that the line for the NXT Championship starts behind him.

Hype!

Solomon Crowe is in NXT, and he's hacking into stuff!

IN RING!

Tie Dillenger and Jason Jordan is up next. This former tag team imploded a few weeks ago and now they're fighting it out. Jordan comes out with his singlet down. He pulls it up before the bell rings, and then like two minutes into the match he pulls the straps back down… MAKE UP YOUR MIND, MAN! Good ground and amateur work in this one. This match is to set up Jason Jordan for his venture into Singles wrestling. Dude LOOKS like a WWE star in the making. We'll see how the matches and personality come along!

HYPE!

Itami and Breeze get the hype video package for this two out of three falls match! Nice. Its a big match. A POTENTIAL, blow off match.

IN RING!

TYLER, WE LOVE YOU! Breeze is out with his selfie stick in his hand Keep your head out of the gutter, Cheap-Heaters! – Itami is out NEXT! They circle and tie up. Crowd split on breeze. Not too vocal on Itami right now. Breeze drives shoulders into Hideo's midsection, and works him into the corner. When Breeze goes to the corner looking for a running clothesline into the corner, Itami takes off after him so when Breeze gets to the corner he gets CLOBBERED! Itami starts rolling. Strikes on Strikes on Strikes. Hits the running head kick. Gets the first decision.

Whoa… didn't think we'd get a fall that fast. Breeze can't get to his feet. Ref is holding Hideo back. Breeze is playing possum! Beauty Shot! THREE! Well… that was fast.

COMERCIAL!

Next week they'll do NXT at Wrestlemania Axxess! So we'll see a bunch of the footage they shot last week, including matches. That should be pretty cool.

IN RING!

We're back. Breeze is in control. Random thought, why isn't the Miz appearing on NXT scouting for a replacement for Mizdow? He and Breeze as the A-List, would make a great edition to the tag ranks. Itami keeps trying to turn the tide. Breeze is able to stay in control. Itami is able to get the upper hand. Hits his tornado hot shot. Action really picks up here. Lots of counters. Lots of near falls, as they exchange roll ups and and counter roll ups. One of which was botched, Breeze hit the Supermodel Kick for a two PLUS. Both men exhausted. Breeze nailing punt kicks to Itami's body. Which only fires up Itami. Kicks on Kicks… going for the stalling corner dropkick, but Breeze gets outta dodge. Whips off the ropes looking for his running head kick, but Breeze ends up nailing the Beauty Shot! … OUTTA NO WHERE! Breeze scores the second pin!

Whoa…

Didn't see that happening. Big win for Tyler Breeze. So I'm thinking this feud might continue.

This was a good match. I feel like the first two falls were a bit rushed, but it was surprising. Really those falls just seemed to set up for the last fall. The exchanges near the end were good, and the finish was surprising and well executed. Tyler has gotten some big wins over Itami.

It was a decent episode of NXT. In ring was solid, but unmemorable. Not sure if they've already filmed the episodes that are coming up, but I'm interested to see how they unfold. We're probably 5-6 weeks away from out next Takeover, so I'm thinking some stuff needs to unfold. Who is going to face Owens? Ditto with Banks.

Looking forward to the Axxess episode. Hopefully we get a good chunk of the house show footage, I read it was super awesome.

Finally NXT made sure to shout out that with Rollins' win at Wrestlemania, he is the first NXT Champion to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

The future is indeed, now!

See you in seven.