Peter Kostka
From the LC Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio. Your commentators are Rich Brennan, Jason Albert and Corey Graves. The setup looks like an indy show with a REALLY good budget.
Kalisto vs. Tyler Breeze
A really good showcase for both guys as they have a simple but entertaining match. The fans have chants for both guys as Kalisto shows off his aerial style but Breeze dropkicks him out of the air as we take a break. Kalisto makes the comeback as he has found a way to do that quick ground rana without breaking somebody’s neck. He goes for a springboard but Breeze super(model) kicks him out of the air for a close 2. Kalisto kicks him down in the corner and hits a pretty 450 for 2. He tries the Salida del Sol but Breeze escapes and the Beauty Shot gets the win.
Once again: Tyler Breeze is ready for the main roster.
We recap the events between Kevin Owens, Alex Riley and Finn Balor. Remarkable that they have made what is usually a silly angle into something serious.
A overly spray tanned Alexa Bliss promises to bring it against Sasha Banks tonight. Seriously, she was Hogan orange there.
We take a look at NXT’s presence at the Arnold Classic and follow Banks, Charlotte and Blake and Murphy to a children’s hospital followed by HHH’s induction into the International Sports Hall of Fame. Then we see NXT’s area on the show floor and it is PACKED. If I was going to Axxess next weekend, I’d just camp myself in the NXT area until they threw my ass out.
Balor confronts Riley and tells him he will be watching the main event tonight and warns Riley to watch himself against the champ.
We get a recap of the NXT event in Cleveland, Ohio that took place the same week the Columbus show did. Two seconds of a Balor/Cesaro match is shown. Lucky bastards.
Wesley Blake (w/Buddy Murphy) vs. BIG CASS (w/Enzo Amore and Carmella)
Enzo’s beard is all black again. Thank God. He doesn’t look like a 75 year old guido anymore. He tells the “Australian kid” to “didgeridoo yourself a favor and skedaddle, Sweet Boy!” I love this man. The crowd chants “this guy’s SAWFT” at Blake and he is appalled. Cassady controls to start as the crowd wants the woman, the myth, the legend, Blue Pants. Cass can throw guys around pretty well and he just oozes charisma in the ring. Blake gets control and hits the chinlock but Cassady fights out and hits a corner splash followed by a big side slam for 2. Murphy goes to the apron (with Carmella following to give him an earful) and eats a boot for his trouble, but Blake rolls Cassady up (with Carmella being knocked to the floor in the process) to get the pin. The match was nothing more than to put some heat on a future title match and let the fans see Enzo and Cass and it was mission accomplished on both counts.
We get a hype video for Dana Brooke, who is “coming soon.” Well…she’s blonde and has muscles. That’s all I got.
Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks (non-title)
Bliss is the hometown girl and we learn she had her senior prom in the same building which is a cool little tidbit. She gets an OK reaction once she is announced from Columbus, but Banks gets a much bigger pop. Albert still isn’t sure what “ratchet” means, so Graves tells him to go on Urban Dictionary to look it up. Ok, let’s do that:
A diva, mostly from urban cities and ghettos, that has reason to believe she is every mans eye candy. Unfortunately, she’s wrong.
There’s your lesson for the day.
Banks controls the early going and goes for the nose (which she broke months ago) and stacks her in the corner for the double knee drop for 2. She puts Bliss into a cobra clutch and bends her over her knee, but Bliss makes the adorable comeback, getting a rollup and a dropkick to send Sasha to the floor. She jumps down on top of her, but Sasha shoves her into the apron and goes to ram her into the post, but Bliss shoves Sasha into it and rolls back into the ring to win by countout. Ehhhhhh….I don’t know about that finish. I guess we’ve seen enough of the champion losing clean on the main shows and Bliss at least did something to cause the countout instead of someone like Charlotte beating Banks up and Bliss just reaping the benefits.
Ok, I’ve talked myself into accepting this.
Kevin Owens knows that Riley has to try and prove he can still go, but unfortunately, he can’t against someone like him. He also cannot wait to take Finn Balor out next week.
Bliss cuts a promo celebrating her victory, but Banks butts in, saying that she wasn’t pinned. GM Regal enters and decides to make a title match next week.
Kevin Owens vs. Alex Riley (non-title)
Owens gets a hero’s welcome and it is SO refreshing to hear the commentators just roll with it without any stupid “Bizzaro World!” comments. Owens holds his title high and literally laughs in Riley’s face, which is just the best dick heel move until the end of the match. This match was exactly what it should have been: Riley gets his shots in, but Owens is just too strong and ends up overwhelming him at the end. Owens’ cannonball into the corner just looks fucking viscious. He yells at Riley to “RAGE” and talks more trash while Riley’s in a chinlock (and the crowd chants “Rest, Owens, Rest”). Riley makes a comeback and hits a spinebuster, but that just pisses Owens off and earns Riley three running sentons and a trip into the security fencing on the outside before the pop-up powerbomb finishes. Owens wants the powerbomb to the apron, but Finn Balor makes the save and triggers a brawl into the ring which Balor gets the best of with the corner dropkick. He goes up for the Coup de Grace, but Owens flees, leading to the greatest dick heel move in history
“Oh shit, I gotta get out of here…oh, there’s Riley. I’m gonna kick him because fuck that guy.”
Balor stands tall as we cut to one last hype video for the title match that I am much more interested in than the WrestleMania main event.
Overall: Nothing earth shattering but it’s nice to see them in a different environment and I hope we see much more of these kind of shows in the future. The Full Sail NXT crowd is usually always on, but you can tell on long TV tapings they get tired by the end. Putting them in front of live crowds that are hungry to see these men and women up close can only be a win-win situation for all. I really wish they would air that San Jose show on the Network next weekend.
Until next week….
