Peter Kostka
From the NXT Arena at Full Sail University. Your commentators are 15-year old Tom Phillips (seriously, give him a booster seat or something), Alex Riley and Corey Graves.
Hideo Itami vs. Bull Dempsey
I’m gonna say this about most of the matches this week: it was a match. Bull powers Hideo around, but Dempsey has been so completely neutered after his feud with Baron Corbin that it’s hard to even care about him anymore. Itami makes the FIGHTING SPIRIT comeback and the flying kinda foot/kinda knee gets the win. Tyler Breeze attacks Itami on the stage and sets up the #SelfieStick, but he can’t find the best angle which allows Itami to recover and send him packing. These guys work well together so I’m fine with more of this feud.
Next Week: Sasha Banks has her first title defense against Charlotte
A video package highlighting THE Brian Kendrick. So weird to hear Jim Ross on WWE TV again as most of the highlights are from like 2008 SmackDown. I guess bringing in these guys that only the audience that watches NXT even remember is a decent idea, but I can’t help but wonder how baffled newer fans were watching this.
Lucha Dragons vs. Jason Jordan and Tye Dillinger
Solomon Crowe hacks into the broadcast to inform us he wants to be NXT champion. Another rather nondescript match that turns into an angle as Dillinger refuses to tag in Jordan, wanting to handle things himself, but gets his ass kicked and Jordan abandons him leading to Dillinger eating the Salida del Sol and senton combo for the pin. The tag scene in NXT has gotten kind of weak over the last few months as I’m kind of tired of the Dragons, the Vaudevillains have been shunted to the side and most of the other teams (aside from Enzo and Cass) are pretty nondescript (though Blake and Murphy show a bit of promise). What is it with WWE and tag wrestling?
Finn Balor is asked about being #1 contender, but he’d rather focus on his match with THE Brian Kendrick tonight.
Dillinger is still in the ring and wants Jordan to come back and explain himself, promising to whoop whoever is supposed to come out next.
Cue the 15 second Baron Corbin squash. Ok, the guy is dominant. Let’s start going somewhere with this now, eh?
Breeze promises to take care of Itami while we get a video of Sami Zayn in Abu Dhabi. He will be on the show next week.
Bayley vs. Becky Lynch
I love how Graves just can’t bring himself to like anything about Becky. Bayley catches her arm on the rope which leads to Becky wrapping her in an armbar for the submission which is more psychology than any main roster Divas match in like 5 years. I know everyone has been harping on this lately, but it really is fascinating to see how differently the women are treated in NXT than the main roster. The NXT women have character and personality and are seen by the fans as a hell of a lot more equal than the piss break match level the main roster “Divas” are. If Total Divas gets cancelled tomorrow (if there really is a God), how many of those women still have jobs in a month? How many of their futures are tied into a goddamned reality show? And the worst part is, until you train the main crowd to actually give a shit about the women by giving them more time than it takes to get nachos (hell, to even consider getting out of your seat to get nachos), the women on the NXT roster have absolutely no chance if and when they come up. Which makes the current NXT women’s division utterly pointless and a waste of everyone’s time if you really think about it. So try not to think about it.
Rhyno puts over NXT. He never looks into the camera which makes him look like he’s reading cue cards.
THE Brian Kendrick vs. Finn Balor
Kevin Owens joins us on commentary and he is the absolute highlight of the night. He takes umbrage at Riley calling Finn/Neville the “match of the year” and promises to beat Balor while still putting over Balor’s in-ring ability. He also takes offense at being called “strange” and calls Phillips out on it. PUT HIM ON RAW IMMEDIATELY. He’d go hoarse by the end of the first hour. Kendrick tweaks his ankle and Owens is surprised that Finn isn’t taking advantage. Because he’s a remorseless man, you see. Riley brings up his lack of remorse at Rival and Kevin notes he’s NXT champion because of it. Of course, Riley has never been champion so he couldn’t understand that. Damn. After the longest awkward pause (in the best way), Riley answers that he’s never been champion, but he’s a man and wouldn’t have done what Owens did to his best friend. This whole exchange is sold so goddamn great by Phillips and Graves as they try to get back to the match but you can feel the tension at the announce booth. Owens decides to leave before he does something he regrets as we take a break.
The focus returns to the match (which wasn’t anything special to this point) as we return. Balor fires off some chops but Kendrick gets a tornado DDT for 2. He folds Balor up with a Tiger suplex for another 2. He goes for Sliced Bread No. 2, but Finn escapes and makes the comeback, finishing with the Coup de Gras for the pin. Owens returns for a staredown with Finn and chucks Riley over the announce desk for his sass mouth. Finn wants to go, but Owens just walks off, his message having been sent.
Overall: Nothing special this week until the main event angle. But it was an entertaining 50 minutes that kept the storylines moving.
Until next week.
