Peter Kostka
I was kind of surprised that they announced another live special so soon after REvolution, but they have built up the main three matches quite well. Let’s get to it.
LIVE from The NXT Arena at Full Sail University. Your commentary team is Rich Brennan, Jason Albert and Corey Graves.
Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze
How We Got Here: Itami beat Breeze in the first round of a NXT Championship #1 contenders tournament. Breeze, obviously, took exception to this and beat up Itami a few weeks later after he lost his semifinal match to Finn Balor.
#SelfieStick. That is all.
Reason NXT is better than main WWE #23454a – this match had one WWE.com segment to build it up and they did it better than most RAW matches are built. It seems to me that Itami is starting to find his footing in a different style; obviously he’s not going to be the greatest at promos, but he’s adjusting his style quite nicely. The minute he hits the GTS and reclaims it as his own, the fans will lose their minds. If anything, this match was a shining example that, in a logical WWE, Tyler Breeze is up on the main roster right now. He has complete confidence in his character, he can show great aggression in the ring and he sells like Ziggler for the faces. Throw the IC title on him and put him against guys like Ziggler and Ambrose and I will maybe actually pay attention to RAW again. Breeze even breaks out the submissions here, with a ringpost figure four and a kind of figure four/Sharpshooter hybrid. Breeze focuses on the knee before Hideo makes the FIGHTING SPIRIT COMEBACK and finishes him with a flying foot to the face for the win. A very hot, well worked opener.
Backstage, GM Regal….actually, I can’t put to words the look of absolute disgust he has while looking at Kevin Owens, so here’s visual proof:
It’s like he just caught Kevin Tweeting pictures of his dick or something. Regal is awesome.
BULL Dempsey vs. Baron Corbin (No Disqualification Match
How We Got Here: They’ve been “feuding” for a while (meaning Corbin’s beat Bull easily twice already). Dempsey cost Corbin his tournament semifinal match against Adrian Neville (giving Corbin his first pinfall loss) to set this one up.
Unfortunately, they don’t really have a whole lot of room to brawl, so they just brawl on the outside for a bit. Bull goes under the ring for….something but doesn’t find it so they brawl some more. And then for a change they brawl. They mess up a clothesline over the top and Corbin kicks out of the flying headbutt. Bull grabs a chair but walks into the End of Days for the pin. OK, ENOUGH of these two. I’m still not sure what Corbin can really do outside of squashes…..so expect him to be US Champion by June.
Blake and Murphy TEAM DUBSTEP (C) vs. The Lucha Dragons (NXT Tag Team Championship match)
How We Got Here: Blake and Murphy upset the Dragons for the titles a few weeks ago. This is the rematch.
Honestly, watching this match live was kind of hard because I was afraid someone was going to get hurt. A definite off night for the Dragons and Blake and Murphy seemed a bit too hyped up and they seemed to be going a bit too fast out there. Once they slowed things down things get a lot better, but there was a scary spot where Kalisto snaps off a hurricanrana and spikes Murphy right on his head. They trade pinfall attempts before the partners tag in and Murphy turns a rana attempt into a suplex and Blake finishes Cara with a frog splash to retain. Good on these guys for getting over some early sloppiness and turning in an entertaining match.
Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville (#1 Contender’s Tournament Finals)
How We Got Here: This is the finals of a tournament to determine the next #1 Contender for the NXT Title. Balor beat Curtis Axel and Hideo Itami (in a great match) while Neville beat Tyson Kidd (ditto) and Baron Corbin to advance to the finals.
A similar red and black paint scheme for Balor this time around. Still looks awesome.
This is the essence of why I love NXT: give these two 15 minutes and let them just tear it up out there and you really can’t have anything but a great match. Neville definitely is playing the heel role, being more aggressive and using chinlocks to try and slow Balor down while allowing the fans to chant for him. Adrian goes up but Balor kicks him to the floor and follows with a dive. Neville crawls around ringside but Balor just stalks him and drills him with a dropkick into the barrier, following that up with a BEAUTIFUL double stomp to the back of Neville’s goddamned head for 2. Neville is crazy. This starts an insane final minutes, full of head kick goodness. Balor hits the Pele, but Adrian is all “FUCK YOU” and kicks him in the jaw to answer. He hits a corkscrew splash for 2 and then goes for the Red Arrow, but Balor gets his knees up and rolls him up for a CLOSE 2 that I (and the crowd) totally bought as the finish. Balor sends Neville crashing into the corner with a dropkick and the double stomp gives Finn Balor the #1 Contendership. We have our first MOTY candidate in NXT this year. I wanted to see that match in front of 10,000 people just to hear that many people lose their shit like this crowd did. They do the Handshake of Respect afterwards.
Charlotte (C) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch (NXT Women’s Championship match)
How We Got Here: Really these four have been feuding with each other for quite a while now. Lynch joined Banks to form Team BAE (Best At Everything) while Bayley recovered from a knee injury to try and take inspiration from Sami Zayn’s big title win to finally reach her goal of the NXT Championship. Charlotte is 200+ days into her Women’s title reign and has fought off all three of her opponents in the past.
Everyone gangs up on the champ to start and Team BAE sends Charlotte into the LCD apron, shorting it out (about time someone did that spot). Much like the NXT title four way last year, everyone has their time to shine and it keeps the match from bogging down as one woman has time to rest while the others take up the slack. The alliance between Lynch and Banks breaks down pretty quickly because IT’S ALL ABOUT THE TITLE BABY and they have a nice mini-match before Charlotte gets back involved. Banks sends her into the post and goes for the corner kneedrop, but Lynch breaks it up so Banks just stacks them up and drives it into both of them in a cool spot. Bayley gets her turn to run wild on Charlotte as the commentators put over her more aggressive streak as of late. A top rope Bayleycanrana and Bayley to Belly, but Lynch breaks up the pin. They fight on the outside but it’s AIR SASHA as she dives onto the both of them. Charlotte decides “Why not?” and planchas onto all of them in a great (and totally safe) spot. I love how they are just going all out to be the best. Lynch hits a T-bone for 2 and puts Charlotte on top, but Bayley knocks Lynch off and hits a SUPERBAILEY TO BELLY off the top! It gets a close 2 in another “I totally bought that as the end” near fall. Banks pulls Bayley out and hooks the Banks Statement, cranking it in hard. A barely conscious Charlotte nears the ropes, so Banks rolls her into a crucifix and gets the pin and the title. Sasha reluctantly accepts the Hug of Respect from Charlotte but then shoves her away because she is the BOSS. This wasn’t a “really good match for the Divas division”, it was a really good match with everyone working as hard as they could. It truly is amazing how great the Women’s division in NXT has become in the year I’ve been watching regularly. It also is equally amazing how wasted each one of these women will be once they are called up into the Total Divas bullshit on the main roster.
Seriously, fuck that show. Hard.
Sami Zayn (C) vs. Kevin Owens
How We Got Here: Kevin Owens is an evil genius basically. He pressed all the right buttons on a guy he’s known for years to get what he wanted. Even Sami in the feud recap package says he should have known it was going to happen.
I’ve read plenty of comparisons of this match with the Sting/Vader match from the Great American Bash and I can definitely see it; it’s the fighting champion babyface trying to battle a remorseless, relentless bull of a man that will hurt you and not care. Except in this case there’s a bit more of a psychological bent to it as Owens stalls to start, goading Sami into making a big dive. Sami also does a masterful job at selling for Owens, making him look like a goddamn killer. This match is basically Sami in survival mode while he tries to find an opening. It does make for a slow paced match, but it builds up to the finish quite well. Every punch from Sami just pisses Owens off more and leads to more punishment. Sami makes the comeback, but Owens DRILLS him with a kick to the head and goes up, but Sami gets his knees up on a senton and Exploder suplex sets up the Heluva Kick but Owens bails. Sami hits a springboard dive but whacks his head on the ramp and he sells like he is out on his feet and stumbles as he goes for the Heluva Kick. Like a shark smelling blood, Owens pounces and it’s EAT SLEEP POWERBOMB REPEAT as the trainers beg the referee to stop it until the ref finally calls for the bell and awards the title to Owens. Just a masterful, well done finish that puts Kevin Owens over as the most heartless, relentless, evil person in NXT. When you get women CRYING at ringside you know you’ve done something special. Owens’ celebration is great as well as he celebrates with the title over Zayn, not caring that his best friend may be seriously injured because it was all worth it to get where Owens wants to go. The best villains feel 100% justified in their actions and Owens has no problem beating his best friend into a stupor if it means a better life for him and his family. This now gives NXT their early 90s WCW Vader and sets up Owens and a PISSED OFF Sami Zayn going to WAR later this year.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Amazing that in two months they put on a special that may just be better than REvolution, a show I still occasionally watch. The top three matches delivered (and then some) and sets up some new feuds, stories and most likely more fucking great matches to come. I really hope they start touring more around the country because I would be at an NXT show in a second if it comes into my area. Once again, the $9.99 I give to a company whose main show I barely pay attention to anymore is justified because of the “developmental” group. How ironic is that?
More over, how fucked up is this company right now for that to be the case?
