Peter Kostka
LIVE from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in front of 15,589 fans. Your commentators (seated at ringside) are Rich Brennan, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.
Triple H begins the show center ring under a lone spotlight. He talks about how it all started as a whisper until the fans screamed it at the top of their lungs. How they gained momentum, but the fans made them unstoppable. “We told you we are the future until you told us the future is NOW!” as the lights come up to reveal a big, RABID crowd screaming “NXT”. He finishes with a rousing “WE ARE N-X-T!” Cult leader/proud papa HHH is the best HHH. Right here I knew this was going to be something special.
The set looks like it was trucked in right from Full Sail and they light the arena to put all the focus on the ring, which makes a 16,000 seat arena look quite intimate, which is really cool.
Tyler Breeze vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger
Breeze gets another special fashion show themed entrance revealing the “NYC Gorgeous Summer 2015” line. Breeze’s outfit has an Egyptian flair since he is currently residing in Cairo. Liger gets a big pop as well and royalty free music. Tyler gets a tackle and cockily lays on the ropes, so Liger answers with a takedown of his own and copies him. He stretches Breeze in a surfboard and locks in a Ribero Special (called as such by Rich) before monkey flipping Breeze out of the corner with Breeze doing the Ziggler full rotation bump. Then Liger STEALS THE SELFIE STICK AND TAKES PICTURES! The one spot I wanted I got. The rest of this match is gravy to me. Tyler grabs the mask and hits a Super(model) kick for 2. He stomps Liger in the corner and yells at the ref when he interjects. Breeze controls and hits a nice variation of a backcracker for 2. The crowd gets the expected “Full Sail sucks!” chant out of their system during a headlock (fortunately this is the only time they do it all show). Liger comes back with his rolling corner kick and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. This dude is 50. Tyler gets his knees up on a splash and kicks away in the corner, yelling at the ref again which allows Liger to hit a palm strike. Breeze bails, but Liger WIPES HIM THE FUCK OUT with a running plancha before rolling him in and hitting the Liger Bomb for the pin. I guess I would have liked Breeze winning, but this was a fun as hell match, Tyler getting frustrated with the ref played into the finish and Tyler Breeze can say he wrestled Jushin Thunder Liger in (probably) his only WWE match ever in front of 16,000 people. I’ll take that.
We see Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman in the crowd before Becky Lynch and Charlotte wish Bayley luck in the locker room. Bayley is wearing a black and yellow polka dotted headband because Bayley is awesome and they want us to cry later.
Nia Jax is coming soon. I think this is the Rock’s cousin?
The Vaudevillians vs. Blake and Murphy (C) (w/Alexa Bliss) (NXT Tag Team Title match)
The Vaudevillians are wearing top hats and long trench coats because of course they are, but have no backup. Alexa calls them out on it (looking quite mid-90’s Sunny hot tonight), but The Vaudevillains beckon to the entrance to bring out OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL’ BLUE PANTS!!!!! who gets one of the pops of the night. I love all of this. I hope this means she’s getting signed (she has a shirt already).
This is honestly one of the slower matches of the night with lots of chinlocks and restholds. The crowd erupts in a “BLUE PANTS CITY!” chant because this show is great two matches in. Blake and Murphy do show some good moves with English as they take a double Japanese arm drag but Blake yanks Aiden to the apron (the first of many apron spots tonight) to give control to the champs. This leads to a frankly dull heat segment on English as they ground him with holds. It was smart to put this early as the crowd is still pumped and more forgiving. They throw English up in a double neckbreaker and Aiden gets some AIR on it. They try another double team, but English kicks Blake into Murphy and makes the hot tag to Gotch. Gotch looks impressive as hell out there as he runs wild and the faces try a double team of their own, but English is crotched on the top turnbuckle. The champs try a double suplex but Gotch gets in there in a Tower of Doom position, but only Blake and Murphy take the ride to the canvas. English hits a senton on Blake for a CLOSE 2. Alexa gets on the apron but Blue Pants makes good and pulls her away, tackling her down for a lame catfight spot. It’s still a distraction, so Murphy sneaks in with a rollup for another close 2 that had the crowd sold as the finish, but the Vaudevillians finish him with the Whirling Dirvish for the pin and the titles. In a fair fight the sneaky heels lose which is great, simple, logical booking. The match really picked up at the hot tag to Gotch. Good on the Vaudevillians win and Blue Pants getting a bigger role. Both are well deserved.
Neville and Finn Balor arrive to the building and are met by Cesaro. Neville looks like the assistant coach of some SEC football team.
“The Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger vs. Apollo Crews
Apollo’s entrance is really cute as he seems to be marking out at seeing his name as the fans are. “That’s me!” He takes a second to drink it all in as he walks down the aisle. I’m sure many of this crew were doing the same tonight. This seemed to me to be the match where the guys in the ring had the most fun. It’s not just Crews beating Tye up, both guys get to show off their skills and oh my God is Crews agile as fuck for his size. Crews breaks out of a hold and blocks a superkick, but Tye snaps off another for 2. Crews blocks a whip and hits a jumping enzuigiri before running wild and hitting Tye with a gorilla press followed by a standing moonsault (almost in one smooth motion which is ridiculous) for the pin. Vince is going to fall in love with this guy quick.
GM Regal announces that in two weeks the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will begin with the finals taking place at the next Takeover special on October 7. Well now we know the reason for establishing all these tag teams. Tournaments are awesome so this should be awesome. Of course this is Jason Jordan and Chad Gable’s (aka NXT’s Greatest Tag Team) tournament to lose. Is there a points system? There should be a points system.
We see the Tough Enough finalists in the crowd. I think there are more people in that crowd than people that care about Tough Enough right now.
Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe
This is absolutely my surprise match of the night. I totally expected this to be the “worst” match of the show, but I have to give credit to Baron: he absolutely hung with Joe all the way. They simply beat the shit out of each other for about 10 minutes and it was tremendous to watch. Joe tries for the Clutch early but Corbin hits the floor to escape. Back in Joe cracks him with a jumping enzuigiri and dropkicks him over the ropes, but Baron cuts him off with a forearm on a dive attempt to take over. Joe slugs back and rolls Corbin up, transitioning into a half crab and then into a crossface, bending Corbin’s free arm back as he reaches for the ropes. Corbin yanks him to the outside, but Joe trips him onto the apron (drink) and sends him into the barricade. Back in Corbin trips him into a heel hook and hits a Black Hole Slam for 2, showing off some new offense. He hits a superkick, but Joe answers with another jumping enzuigiri as these guys are just throwing bombs at each other at this point. Baron blocks a kick so Joe smacks him with a spinning chop to the head and Baron answers with a big boot. The sweat flying off Joe on these strikes is such a great visual. He goes for the End of Days but Joe slaps on the Kokina Clutch. Corbin escapes and hits a tree slam, but Joe kicks out and Corbin lands right in the Clutch and passes out giving Joe the win.
Sgt. Slaughter, Ric Flair and Kanna (a women’s Japanese wrestler) are at ringside along with Tamina and Naomi of Team B.A.D.
Stephanie McMahon comes to the ring to introduce our first main event. The crowd is nicer to her than I expected.
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (C) (NXT Women’s Title)
Man…..I could go on for a LONG time about this match. If you don’t want to hear me blabber on, here’s the short version: this is my match of the year in an absolute walk, one of the most emotional matches I’ve ever seen and proof that at 22, Sasha Banks is next level and should absolutely be one of the biggest stars in WWE yesterday.
The video package is typically great as Bayley is portrayed as the “forgotten” woman of the Four Horsewomen, someone who lost to Charlotte and was turned on by Becky before breaking her hand and missing the others coming to RAW. Sasha’s answer? “Boo frickin’ hoo. Grow up.”
Bayley and Sasha get GIANT pops on their entrances and Sasha enters in an Escalade with a goddamn entourage because this is the best night. The crowd is INSANE for this match, breaking into loud chants for both women. Take notes, this is how you do a “Divas Revolution”. Sasha makes fun of Bayley for her ring attire and the fight is on. They slam each other’s heads into the turnbuckles and Bayley hangs her in the corner and springs off the ropes into an elbow for 2. A springboard armdrag sends Sasha to the outside and Bayley follows with a dropkick. Sasha cuts her off back inside and stacks her for the double knees, but Bayley escapes. They fight on the turnbuckles and Sasha kicks her knee out sending Bayley crashing to the outside. Sasha makes fun of Bayley’s mannerisms and slaps the taste out of her mouth. She is an elite heel. She stacks Bayley again and again Bayley escapes, but Sasha pulls her into the corner and stacks her on the TOP ROPE for the double knees for 2. She talks trash and gets kicked in the face for it as Bayley makes a fiery comeback, but Sasha snaps her arm on the rope and rips off the wrappings on her injured hand. She goes to work on it, wedging Bayley’s hand behind the steps and kicking them. Sasha goes to dive, but the ref stops her and Sasha does the Eddie-Rey tribute spot she’s probably always wanted to do, flipping OVER the ref with a somersault plancha onto Bayley. Incredible. She runs the ropes but Bayley shoves her off and I’m glad Sasha didn’t hyperextend her knee on the landing. Bayley makes the comeback and suplexes Sasha into the corner, but Sasha blocks the Bayley-to-Belly and then a German before hitting an armbreaker and locking in the Bank Statement. Bayley reaches for the ropes and Sasha STOMPS HER BROKEN HAND because this is the match of the year. Bayley uses her other hand to reach and Sasha tries to roll back to the center but Bayley ends up on top and locks in a crossface of her own as the crowd EXPLODES, but Sasha gets the ropes. Bayley yanks her to her feet and hits the Bayley-to-Belly….for 2. A HUGE “This is awesome” chant breaks out as Bayley sets up for the Bayleycanrana, but Sasha awkwardly shoves her off and Bayley lands in a completely scary way right on her face. NEVER do that again, Bayley. Fortunately she seems to be OK and Sasha lands on her with a flying double knee for 2. Sasha puts her on top again, but Bayley fights free and hits a SUPER REVERSE BAYLEYCANRANA (good fucking Lord I still can’t believe she did that) and a Bayley-to-Belly gets the pin and sends the crowd into hysterics.
I shed tears at this point. I’m not even going to lie. I still can’t believe some of the stuff they pulled off in this match. This was no over-rehearsed match where two women awkwardly hit pre-practiced spots. This was a WRESTLING MATCH. THIS is what a real “Diva’s Revolution” is. Charlotte and Becky hit the ring to celebrate with Bayley before helping Sasha to her feet and group hugging as the Four Horsewomen take their rightful bows in NXT in front of the biggest crowd in their history. Fuck kayfabe, these women deserved it. If there is a God, Sasha is Divas champion on Monday and she renames it the Women’s title. This should have ended the show.
Yes, there’s one more match tonight.
Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor (C) (NXT Title Ladder Match)
I was completely spent after the women’s match so I can understand the crowd not being as up for this match in the beginning as they should have been. Owens is FIRED UP as he enters, probably wondering “How the fuck do we follow that?” Balor’s entrance is awesome as he seems to teleport around the fog on the stage. Owens isn’t as impressed as he has stolen Corey’s chair and lounges in it waiting for Finn to finish up. Someone throws streamers into the ring and they seem to be kicked out of the building which distracts the crowd for the opening minutes of the match, but they apparently are let back in. They brawl to start and Owens crushes Finn with a senton to take control early, but Finn answers with double stomp and Owens answers that with the cannonball. The crowd seems a bit restless as they chant for the screen and then do an “Ole” chant, but Owens mocks Sami Zayn’s shoulder injury because he as well is an elite heel. Finn hits the slingblade, but Owens hits the floor and goes for the ladder. Finn meets him and they drag the ladder to ringside where Owens pins Finn against the apron with it and walks halfway up the aisle for a big run-up…..to a punch. Troll Owens Troll. They fight into the crowd and Owens goes for a powerbomb, but Finn backdrops him back into ringside. Owens catches him on a dive and Alex Rileys him over the announce table before getting another ladder but Finn jumps off the announce table and dropkicks the ladder into him, but the ladder also lands on Finn’s legs which must have sucked. He still manages to hit a dive to wipe out Owens before setting the ladder up, but Owens pulls him down and shoves him into it. Owens climbs and Finn brings in another ladder, but Owens cuts him off and tries throwing it at him, but Finn ducks and hits a Pele kick. Owens answers with a clothesline as Finn charges in and slams him on a ladder to lead to another senton. He tries to powerbomb Finn onto a ladder but Finn backdrops him into it instead. Finn climbs, but Owens cuts him off and shoves him into a ladder in the corner and goes for the cannonball, but Finn moves and hits a prone Owens with the Coup de Grace. He climbs, but Owens yanks him off into a powerbomb. Owens climbs, but Finn shoves the ladder over and sends Owens to the floor, but Owens pulls him out and tries an apronbomb, but Finn escapes and kicks him in the face. He goes for a double stomp but Owens moves and hits the apronbomb. Owens climbs, but Finn manages to come back in and pull him down, so Owens drills him in the mouth with a superkick. Finn crawls to his knees, so Owens drills him again and makes a ladder scaffold, pulling Finn to the top for a fisherman’s suplex onto the ladder, but Finn fights out and sends Owens back first into the ladder. The ladder is just far enough away that Finn can’t quite reach the title, so he instead hits a Coup de Grace off of it before repositioning it and climbing to retain. I think the crowd was expecting a bit crazier match with tables and the like, but they kept things pretty straightforward and simple with a brawl that involved ladders. This is definitely better than I thought when watching live. I don’t really like Owens losing yet another big match, but if this is his NXT swansong, he went out on a very high note. If this didn’t follow history, this would have been the match of the night quite easily.
OVERALL: I admit, I had my doubts about this show. Were gimmicks that played in front of a small smart crowd play in front of a big crowd? Would that crowd be as into the product as I hoped or would it be people who didn’t get SummerSlam tickets and wanted to see what this NXT thing was about? Would they actually commit to finishing these stories the way that logic dictates they should have or is that too “predictable”?
Every single one of my fears was unfounded as this was the greatest WWE PPV/Live Special since Money in the Bank 2011. All the faces went over and, although I maybe would have done a few things differently (Breeze going over, putting the women last), this was as perfect of a show as they could have possibly given us. This is no longer a developmental territory where nothing matters until you hit the big shows. This is now WWE’s third brand and I am goddamned proud to be a fan of it. As I finish this it is about noontime on SummerSlam Sunday and I really don’t feel the need to watch that show because I got what I wanted for this weekend right here. We are NXT.
That’s it for this week. I’m @PKISTwitting on Twitter if you want to say hi and thanks for reading.
