PREGAME!
Welcome to another edition of NXT! While driving home from work today I was getting downright giddy at the prospect of getting to watch NXT tonight! On tap tonight we have the other two first round matches for the Contendership Tournament. Kidd vs. Neville and Corbin vs. Dempsey. PLUS a tag team championship match as Lucha Dragons battle Murphy and Blake, AND Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will put pen to paper to make their match OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL!
Shall we?
IN RING!
Blake and Murphy are on their way. Hyping themselves up as we are kicking things off with a NXT Tag Team Championship Match. LU! CHA! LU! CHA! LU! CHA! Championship ring intros. We hit the ground running. Murphy dropkicks Sin Cara out of mid air while attempting his spring board cross body. Wes and Buddy dominate. Sin Cara hits his deadlift power bomb … TIDE TURNED! Kalisto gets tagged in and goes crazy. Hits the SDS, but before that happened a blind tag. A quick cover… ONE…TWO… THREE!… what?! NO WAY! NEW TAG CHAMPS. Did NOT see that coming. Much celebration and joy and what not.
We go to the announce table. Our announcers are Tom Phillips (welcome back… poor guy), Albert, and Riley.
RECAP!
The end of last week's Women's Championship match and making of the Fatal Fourway.
BACKSTAGE!
Bayley nearly falls over tying her boots. Charlotte storms in. Threatens to destroy Ms Flair. Bayley makes the comparison between her more serious nature and Sami Zayn's similar turn towards the serious and his success.
WHEREVER THE HELL TYLER BREEZE IS!
Selfie shot promo. Tyler Breeze is keeping his eye on this here tournament. I enjoy NXT's embracing of the technology. This, or Cassidy and Enzo's promos/video hi jinx.
IN RING!
The Man Gravity does not remember is out. And as Kidd's music hits we get… uh… some sort of video interruption. Color barcodes and some binary, and I think I saw the name "CROWE". Bell rings. Go Time. Mat wrestling kicks us off. Process of feeling out between these two. So when will seeing cats on Tyson's kick pads NOT make me laugh? Pace = picked up. Headscissors, and then Neville front handsprings off the ropes just to put on a show and show up Kidd. Excellent stuff. Kidd stays on the outside. Cocky smirk and shoulder shrug and Neville runs to the outside! NO DON'T DO IT, ADRIAN! Wrestling 101: Don't go to the outside and chase! Kidd dropkicks Neville when he tries to get in and then nails a head scissors into the steps. Ouch town, population, YOU NEVILLE! BTW listening to Tom, Its a shame they didn't give him more of a chance. He is a good play by play guy. He just got talked over and ended up not getting much in word wise between Cole and JBL's steady stream of nonsense.
COMERCIAL!
WWE Wants you to buy or watch or do something.
BACK IN THE RING! Kidd is control. Kidd getting all kinds of TWO PLUSSES! Kidd puts Neville's head under the ring Apron. I can only imagine how bad it smells under there. Huge kick and clothesline. Kidd over the top rope. Alex Riley asks "Does this show not get better EVERY SINGLE WEEK?!" … its damn hard to argue with A-Ry. Neville with a huge flying half twisting somersault plancha. VERY NICE then a standing Shooting Star Press. (Tom called it a moonsault, and I was JUST heaping praise on you TOMMY! C'mon MAN!) Kidd drops Neville gut first on the top rope and man I don't know if I've seen a dude slingshot THAT hard off the top rope. "THIS IS WRESTLING CHANT", and Vince is somewhere his eye twitching and he doesn't know why… cuz he don't watch no NXT. Huge power bomb gets the THREE MINUS by Neville! Kidd landed HIGH on his neck. Neville starts to go towards the ropes, looking to possibly get to hit the Red Arrow, but Kidd grabs his left foot and holds on for dear life. He keeps it on, but Neville kicks himself free. Kidd nails a kick, and then looks for the Sharpshooter, but Neville muscles out. Big Kick in the corner and Red Arrow later? Neville wins! Excellent match.
POST MATCH!
Suited Mic Stand is in ring to ask questions. He asks about Neville potentially facing Bull or Baron. Neville is goes all Chumbawumba on the NXT Universe saying "I get knocked, but I get up again… you're never gonna keep me DOWN!" … Or something like that.
BACKSTAGE!
Sasha and Becky asked about how they'll get along in their impending tag match with the women's fatal four way on the horizon. Sasha says Becky will "do the right thing" and help her win the title. Becky is like "I WILL do the right thing, win the NXT Women's Championship."
BACKSTAGE!
Buddy and Blake with their belts, overjoyed. They're willing to defend those belts as they can hardly contain themselves. Still stunned we have new Tag Champs… and that its THOSE two.
"ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THE WWE slash NXT!"
IN RING!
Charlotte is out. Bayley and the inflatable dancers are out. I enjoy the hell out of Bayley's entrance. I (random Hayes fact I was an efedder) – have an efed character that would have worked wonderfully for. Banks and Becky out. Women's tag match about to go down. Bayley and Banks to start. Women's matches are at such a superior velocity in NXT (as opposed to the main roster.) – Bayley and Banks with a little flub that could have been super dangerous. Charlotte makes a tag and quickly hits a great take down cover. Super athletic, and I feel like this description. She did a split into a roll up and then rolled over Banks' legs and bridged for a TWO PLUS! Bayley ends up back in the match, and Banks and Becky use some damn dirty tricks to get the upper hand. Sasha mocks the wacky inflatable dancing tube men… or whatever Rich called them. Bayley makes the tag clothesline. chop. Suplex. Figure Four with Charlotte bridging up onto her hands to add that pressure. Becky Breaks it up. Sasha hits Bankrupt, but Bayley breaks it up. Now Charlotte and Bayley are BRAWLING! CHAOS! This one is getting thrown out, but Bayley and Charlotte are not done. They continue to brawl. Extra zebras come from the back to separate the two. One ref reminds them "You're SUPPOSED to be TEAMMATES!" As the lady folk stare daggers through one another.
BACKSTAGE!
Finn Balor gets asked about his huge match with Hideo Itami… cuz well.. yeah… its all the adjectives like huge and massive, and getting hyped, and even made up words like GINORMOUS! Itami interrupts saying he brought Finn to NXT, and he'll take him out if he has to. That match can get ALL THE MINUTES next week.
BACKSTAGE!
Emma is interviewed. She is asked about returning to NXT next week with a match against Carmella. She mentions how things haven't gone so well for her.
IN RING!
VROOOM VROOOM! Baron Corbin brought the spotlights and general badassery. Does anyone disagree?
BULL! BULL! BULL!
Whoa. No need to get aggressive about it. Bull stomps to the ring. Crowd counts. Probably no need to count for THIS match. Baron gets a big shoulder block and we get to see the … ahem… "running of the Bull" (see what I did there?) Wrestling 101: Good guy will chase bad guy around the ring. Bad guy will slide into the ring and get the advantage. Corbin showing some more flash as he adds to his repertoire with nifty bankroll out of the ring in order to land a nasty right. Corbin nails the End of Days and… well… dang… Corbin will move on to Face Adrian Neville.
HYPE!
PEN TO PAPER… NEXT!
BACKSTAGE!
Baron gives his thoughts. Next week he takes one step closer to be the NXT Championship and Neville takes one step closer to being erased. Bull interrupts saying Baron got lucky… twice… and Baron suffers no fools. He pie faces Bull and stomps off.
IN RING!
Regal announces Sami. Sami comes out with a smile. Owens out next… with a SMILE… no not really. Its a scowl. Regal lays down the law. Says NO fighting… no shenanigans and if they touch each other? No match at Takeover. Large "FIGHT OWENS FIGHT" and "OLE" in Full Sail. Kevin stares. Doesn't seem interested in signing. Sami asks Owen "WHY?" He also points out that Owens has a mic. Interesting different dynamic here the table is long wise between the two of them. Which is cool. Keeping them even FURTHER apart. Owens teases the sign, and points out that the contract says "NON TITLE" and he points out its not personal. Its about the PRIZE. Sami is not the prize. THE NXT CHAMPIONSHIP is THE PRIZE. Means more money, so? He is not doing this for a non title match. Regal is like "I'm not giving in to Owens". Sami says "Make this a title match". Good stuff here. Regal grabs a pen and makes the change. Sami even initials for legitimacy. Hahaha loved that touch. Who's the lawyer on staff to suggest that? Crowd chants "SIGN OWENS SIGN". He obliges. He signs. He then dismissively flips the clipboard at Sami and then bounces the pen off Sami's eye. WHOA, KO… Just… WHOA… If you friggin' ruin this awesome match with your reckless PEN PLAY?! You and ME, sir? We gonna have some issues. Sami walks like he wants to get physical… Regal intercepts… Owens walks… Crowd boos… Copyright flashes!
OVERVIEW!
Another good episode. The tag title change legit took me by surprise. Not sure I get it, unless they want Kalisto on the main roster ASAP. Maybe they move the team up? Considering where Buddy and Blake's standing was a couple shows ago to where they are NOW? That's quite the one eighty. Kidd and Neville was superb. Excellent wrestling match between two great athletes. Loved the build slash story slash spice added to the Women's Fourway. Between Bayley and Charlotte's brawl, or Becky's verbalization that she would NOT just be Sasha's Lil' Helper? I'm REALLY excited to see the women's title match at Takeover. Baron moving on wasn't surprising, still surprised by the relative lack of competitiveness in their two matches. I'm all for making an unstoppable monster, but I'd like to see what the guy can do in 5-10 minute matches. And then… after all my jokes, the Contract Signing goes off without a haymaker?! What kind of witch craft IS this wrestling program? So we get Zayn vs. Owens for the NXT Championship.
If you're like ME? You're sad for NXT to be over, but fret not fellow fans… It is a mere 167 hours till the next one!
