HEY! ItS WEDNESDAY…. wait… what? What do you MEAN its not Wednesday?! Its SUNDAY?! Oh… yeah… I spent Wednesday in the "Sweetest Place in the World", Hershey Park. Haven't gotten to NXT until today. Better late than never! Right?! RIGHT?! Lets dive into the June 6th episode of NXT!
RECAP!
Kevin Owens is awesome. That's all. To be more specific they give the NXT Champion good hype package about his impressive defeat of John Cena at Elimination Chamber.
Opening video brings us live into Full Sail. Rich welcomes us and says that tonight Finn Balor will face Rhyno in the main event.
IN RING!
Tyler Breeze is out for our first match. He's facing off with Adam Rose who is out very low key entrance. Rose playing a disenfranchised heel. No Rose Buds. Sarcastic playing up to the crowd once he's in the ring. Interesting dynamic as Rose works as the heel to start. Of course Full Sail leans towards Breeze anyway though its a bit split with some Adam Rose chants and a "PARTY TIME… ALL THE TIME" chant. Rose dominates early. Breeze rallies and hits some big moves to get rolling. Eventually Rose back bodies Breeze over the top to the outside and we get the "To the Outside" commercial spot we're so accustomed to on the main roster…
… 30 seconds of Total Divas commercial later…
Snap suplex and a sleeper hold for Rose. Breeze elbows out and ends up nailing a kick to even things up. Breeze hits a nice Hurrancanrana, and stays mounted to hit some fists. Loved the Street fighter type double palm chest to Breeze's chest that sent him flying back into the corner. Then he hit what looked like a version of Itami's Shotgun kick. Rose hit a nice spine buster, stayed mounted for a TWO PLUS, and when Breeze kicked out Rose stood up and transitioned into a boston crab. Really nice sequence here. Rose upping the intensity. Hit the foley running elbow drop off the apron. Crowd even chants "Foley". Back in the ring Breeze hits the Beauty Shot almost out of nowhere to get the win.
OVERVIEW!
Really good contest. Was WWWWAAAAAAAYYYY more competitive than I imagined it would be. Rose looked good. Breeze gets the win which makes sense.
BACKSTAGE!
Solomon Crowe is agitated. Devon (Devin?) – He thinks getting to mix it ups with Owens was worth it and was grateful for Joe. He also promised he'll be back in the ring with the champ.
ENTRANCE RAMP!
Mic Stand is out and introduces Eva Marie. Crowd boos mercilessly. Chants "You can't wrestle". She tries to explain. They don't let her. Says she was there to see what the buzz was about. It was about the NXT Women and that they stole the show and she hopes to compete against the best. Crowd not happy about it. I would HOPE they expected that reaction, though it appeared she… did… not.
Corey Graves says that is good news (Cute of you to lie, Corey) – We get a reminder that Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella is also set for tonight.
PRESS CONFERENCE!
Regal is talking about the Japanese tour. Mentions Lesnar, Cena, and Jericho. Mentions NXT alumni, and announces the Balor vs. Owens match live July 4th from Japan. That… is… AWESOME.
IN RING!
Carmella is out with Enzo and Cass. Bliss out to Blake and Murphy's music. No Glitter. (If she wanted to keep me booing? Glitter = boos.) – Lots of trash talk in the middle of the ring pre bell. As the bell rings Carmella hits a series of These Presses and mounted fists of fury! Action is fast and furious. Bliss sneaking out and pulling the legs out from Carmella so she went face first into the top turnbuckle was nice. Crowd REALLY behind Carmella (and Enzo and Cass… or because of Enzo and Cass) Bliss really working the neck after Carmella swan dove into that top turnbuckle. Good Wrestling psychology. Carmella gets a comeback. Starts to roll, but a Bliss sidestep in the corner and a roll up with some ropes later, Bliss celebrates with Blake and Murphy.
OVERVIEW!
Good match from a story standpoint. Also one of the better matches I've seen either one of these ladies in. Makes me optimistic for these two the next time out getting 10 minutes, or more.
BACKSTAGE!
Rhyno talking to Devon. He enjoyed fighting Corbin, but his match with Balor will be about him doing what he set out to do… Get back to the TOP! To become NXT Champion.
HYPE!
Money in the Bank hype for Owens/Cena goes right into Sami's injury video. Sami talking pre-surgery. Recaps the injury and its progression. Dr talks. Apparently injury was a little more than they thought. Dr talking to Sami post surgery was funny.
IN RING!
WHOOOOO!!!! Black and White, so this RE-Cap-Viewer is a happy panda! Vaudevillains back on NXT TV. Not sure why they were off. I believe they were still active on the live shows down in Florida. Their opponents are Jason Jordan and Marcus Louis. Saxton points out we also haven't seen Marcus in forever. Reminder. Jason Jordan last week talked about having a tag team partner. Louis is in the "Kane Line" o wrestling gear. (Dress slacks, belt, dress shoes) – Marcus and Jordan dominate early. Marcus Louis' facial expressions are insanity. Which… is fitting. And its all Enzo and Cass' fault. Marcus digging in under the jaw bone, or pulling on the beard for a bit of a wear down submission. Eventually Gotch gets the hot tag and comes in house of fire style. They hit the "Whirling Dervish" and get a win. Jordan is disappointed in his choice of partner.
OVERVIEW!
Solid, but unspectacular bout. The stories here is, hopefully, the reestablishment of the tag ranks. Between more Vaudevillains, AND the continuing search of a partner for Jordan, hopefully that means good things for the NXT Tag Division.
HYPE!
We take a special look at The Boss, Sasha Banks. Excellent hype package.
BACKSTAGE!
They caught up with Finn Balor about his match with Kevin Owens in Tokyo. Balor talks about his history in Japan. How he forged his career in Japan. He says Kevin Owens "Is about to meet the Demon". Uh Oh… Kev… That match could easily steal the show.
IN RING!
GORE! GORE! GORE! Rhyno is out first. Balor out second. Bigger arena I wonder what added bells and whistles Balor's entrance could have in Tokyo. Little chain wrestling to start, before a stiff right hand from the Man Beast kicks us off. The story early is Rhyno's power versus Finn's speed and aerial attack. We get sent to "commercial" with a jumping somersault plancha to the outside, and Finn posing on the ramp. Back in. Rhyno catches Finn on his shoulder. Runs him into the turnbuckle and then plants him with a running powerslam. Rhyno dominated the portion after the commercial break. Even taunting Finn with his entrance arms out to the side gesture. Finn tries to rally. Rhyno plants Finn.
Finn starts to roll. Running Chop. Flying forearm. Sets up of the reverse DDT version of "Bloody Sunday", don't think they have a name for it in NXT. Instead Rhyno plants him with a spine buster. Finn ducks clothesline, and hits the Pele', and then a Sling Blade. High Velocity dropkick into the corner…
Coup…
De…
Grace. NOBODY HOME!
RHYNO looks for the Gore, Balor sidesteps and hits a roll up for the 3! !
So they're talking post match… I'm typing my overview, below… Balor poses at the top of the ramp, and I"m thinking nothing of it, then JUMP as Rhyno comes from out of nowhere to gore Balor on the ramp! That got me. Great spot. Balor is down. Rhyno stands over him menacingly.
OVERVIEW!
Good Match. Predictable finish. I really enjoyed the closing segment. This is kind of why Rhyno is in NXT. If you're thinking Rhyno is dethroning a #1 contender? Then I envy your optimism.
TOO LONG! DIDN'T READ?!
Good episode of NXT. Nice spotlight on the tag division with Enzo and Cass as well as Blake and Murphy out there to remind us of their simmering issues during Carmella vs. Bliss. Throw in a Vaudevillains win, and the further story of Jason Jordan wanting to find a partner, and the tag division seems to be on the uptick. The announcement of Balor vs. Owens in Tokyo is HUGE. Which tied in nicely with the Main Event. Balor looked strong. Rhyno seemed to turn heel, which is fine. Better for him, in my opinion, to be bit bitter/jealous of how highly people are talking about the NXT Talent. PLUS gives a nice potential opponent for Joe's first Takeover feud.
I'll see you in… (Counts on fingers) … three?
