Peter Kostka
More time and the itch to write means I’m back on weekly recap duty. My dozen readers must be thrilled!
GM Regal announces that the NXT title change at Rival will stand, but Kevin Owens doesn’t run the show so he makes a non-title match against Adrian Neville tonight. He even explains that it’s non-title because Adrian hasn’t earned a title match, but Owens did put him in the hospital after REvolution, so he is owed some payback. I love those simple explanations for these matches that make actual fucking SENSE.
The new champ hits the ring for a victory promo. He never lied about what he is and it doesn’t matter who he beat and how he beat him, Owens is champ. But Sami Zayn is the past and Finn Balor is there future. Pick a date, Finn. The same is coming for you. Tremendous promo as Owens talks about dishing out pain and destruction like he’s about to take the car for a wash.
Rhyno
…..
Wait ….
*Rewinds*
Yeah, I just watched Rhyno GORE GORE GORE the shit out of a jobber on NXT in 2015. All right then. Good for him getting a payday I guess.
Finn Balor is up for a match with Owens anytime. Rhyno interrupts his promo for a quick staredown. That should be an interesting match.
The Vaudevillains vs. Enzo and Cass (w/Carmella)
What the HELL did Enzo do to his beard? It makes him look like he’s been stuck in a cabin for three months. Not much of a match here as it’s kind of disheartening how much of an afterthought the Vaudevillains have become; this is the first I’ve seen of them on the show since the tag title rematch which was around the new year. Cass and Enzo get the win and TEAM WUBSTEP (I’m workshopping here) taunt them on the big screen. On the bright side, they seem to be positioning Enzo and Cass for a title shot against which at the very least will provide us more Enzo and Cass promos, which is always welcome.
Bayley and Becky Lynch offer comments on the Rival four way match: Bayley vows to keep fighting while Becky is satisfied that Charlotte lost the title.
CJ Parker is out to whine that he wasn’t on Rival. My heart bleeds. He starts to wrap the ring in yellow Caution tape, but Solomon Crowe makes his debut and beats him up. He’s obviously been to the Dean Ambrose School of Crazy (TM) (located behind the dumpster at your local Denny’s) as his mannerisms and promo style are definitely reminiscent.
Sasha Banks vs. Ol’ Blue Pants
Blue is officially billed as from the Clearance Rack and her theme sounds like Enzo and Cass doing an A Capella rendition of the Price is Right theme. Just a squash for Banks to show off the new champion. Still, not since Jeff Sword has a jobber left such an imprint on history.
Adrian Neville vs. Kevin Owens
You can pretty much ignore everything before the commercial break in this match; things pick up in a big way in the final minutes. You know who Neville reminded me of in this match? Kurt Angle. Yeah he’s not as charismatic as Kurt, but given the right booking (yeah I know), he could get over huge on the main roster just on his athleticism and strength. I mean, show the RAW fans this:
or this:
and they may actually react to something for a change!
Of course, wrestling’s version of the horror villain that just won’t fucking die, Kevin Owens, takes everything that Neville dishes and just keeps coming until he wins with a popup powerbomb. Even though it was non-title Kevin grabs his NXT title and cradles it in his arms.
Overall: A good episode to start some new feuds and reset things after the live special. Unlike the main shows which is basically Mad-Libs Midcard, you definitely get an idea what possible matchups are on the horizon and a lot of them look very, very promising. Is it bad that I’m looking forward to whatever NXT’s next live show will bring than WrestleMania right now?
Until next week….
