Hey, it’s NXT! I love it!
The show started with Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy, who until they get given a proper name will be known as the Dubstep Cowboys, coming down to the ring for their title match with the Lucha Dragons.
Blake & Murphy secured an upset victory over the Vaudevillains last week, and immediately challenged the Dragons to a title match. The Dragons, fighting champions, accepted, and it’s on!
The heels isolated Sin Cara early on until a double armdrag cut that off. They got the heat back on but Sin Cara’s amazing one-arm deadlift powerbomb bought the time for the hot tag.
Kalisto came in and ran wild and hit the Salina Del Sol on Murphy for the pin. Unbeknownst to him, Blake had blind tagged in, and the ref didn’t count. Blake rolled up Kalisto for the 1-2-3, and we have new NXT Tag team champions!
This was the first title change on regular TV since September 2013, and even though it had been spoiled for me I still popped a little. There’s something old school about Blake & Murphy – despite their dubstep entrance theme – that I can’t help but like. This was the least “lucha” Lucha Dragons match ever, though.
Backstage, Bayley was getting ready when Charlotte approached her. Bayley started to apologise for her actions last week when she laid Charlotte out after making the save for her, but then says that she’s not sorry and that it’s time she started being a bit tougher. Charlotte tells her to stay in line or she will destroy her. Bayley was great here.
Tyler Breeze sent in a selfie video, telling us that he may have lost last week but that he’d be watching the rest of the tournament with great interest. Good, as always.
Hey, its Adrian Neville! He’s fighting Tyson Kidd in a quarter-final match-up in the number one contenders’ tournament. As Kidd comes out his entrance video glitched, and we saw the word Solomon and a crow, so I’m guessing that’s Solomon Crowe coming soon. Sherlock Holmes, me.
Well, this was awesome. At one point the crowd were chanting, “this is wrestling”, and indeed it was. Albert brought up that the best thing about the WWE Universe is they have the freedom to tell you exactly what they think, which is so funny after the Royal Rumble.
After a brief mat session, Kidd heeled it up on the outside and, when Neville joined him, he ran Neville into the ring steps for a near count-out.
Back in the ring, they traded moves and Neville hit the most vicious looking powerbomb I’ve seen in a while, and I’ve been watching a lot of New Japan.
The finish came when Neville kicked Kidd in the corner and hit the Red Arrow for the win. They went twelve minutes and I could have watched double that.
After the match, that geek from last week, who looks like someone is cosplaying Jeremy Borash, asked neville some dumb questions. Neville failed at the basic principle of talking into a microphone but said the usual stuff.
Backstage, Devin spoke to Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch about the Fatal Fourway at the next Takeover special. Sasha said that Becky knew what she had to do, and that was let Sasha win. Sasha walked off, and Becky told Devin that she knew what she had to do, alright, and that was win the title.
After the break, Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy were pumped to be champions. Good lads.
Hey, it’s Charlotte! She’s teaming with Bayley against Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, before these four face off in a Fatal Four Way at the next Takeover special. I’m sure nothing will go wrong here.
Bayley and Sasha start off, and they go back and forth, including a clumsy segment in the corner which Sasha covers for by being BRUTAL. Charlotte tags in and Sasha runs away from her.
They trade moves and tags, until Charlotte is about to be pinned by Becky and Bayley breaks it up. Becky moved a second before, however, so Bayley collided with Charlotte, who was NOT pleased. They scrapped for a while until Sasha & Becky attacked both women, and the ref threw the match out.
Afterwards, Bayley and Charlotte chased the heels from the ring and then resumed their fight until some refs broke it up. Oh, it’s on.
Backstage, Devin interviewed Finn Balor about the prospect of facing his pal, Hideo Itami, in the tournament next week. He said stuff and Hideo interrupted, and it was the man for whom English isn’t a first language that was the better promo. But that’s why they’re in development, right?
After a break, Devin then spoke to Emma, who is back in NXT. She said that things didn’t work out quite as she had planned (in WWE) and wanted a fresh start, starting with a re-match with Carmella next week. She then stopped Devin dancing, reminding her that she was the Dancing Queen. Please don’t. Fresh start, yeah?
Hey, it’s Baron Corbin! He’s fighting Bull Dempsey again because tournament. The more Dempsey loses out in this feud, the more his lack of any kind of look comes to the surface. Right now, he’s just a doughy lad in a singlet, with bad hair. Poor Bull.
The crowd started counting, but once Bull had survived the first thirty seconds they faded out. After a break to-do, Corbin hit the End of Days for the win in just 100 seconds. Sucks to be Bull.
After a break, Devin interviewed Corbin, who wasn’t a bad promo. He said he’d beat Neville next week. Dempsey interrupted and said that Corbin got lucky twice. Corbin pushed him away and walked off. Dempsey looked like a seething ball of Play-Doh. Double sucks to be Bull.
Its our main event, and it’s not a match! It’s the contract signing for the main event at the next Takeover special, Sami Zayn versus Kevin Owens.
William Regal was in the ring and introduced Sami Zayn. Zayn came out to a huge pop and the always-hilarious sight of people trying to clap in time with his entrance theme. It’s not that hard!
Owens then came out and regal told them that he didn’t want this to end up like every other contract signing, with a brawl all over the ring, and warned them that if they touched each other the fight would be off. Sensible lad, that Regal.
Zayn signed the contract straight away but Owens hesitated. He then refused to sign the contract unless it was for a title match. He said that he wasn’t fighting against Zayn, he was fighting for the title, and the increased money it would bring his wife, his kids, and himself.
Regal refused but Zayn made him change the contract, which regal did in the most correct manner you have ever seen on a wrestling TV show, amending the terms, and getting all parties involved to initial the changes. That’s why NXT is the best show on TV.
Owens signed and then threw the pen at Zayn, who had to be restrained by Regal. The show ended with Zayn in the ring, staring after Owens as he walked up the ramp…
This was a Great Show. The in-ring action was good to great, and the interviews all did their job of fleshing out these characters and furthering these angles. Man, I love this show. So much so that I’m considering watching the Takeover live. On a school night, too. Exciting times.