Hey, it’s WWE NXT! It’s the show that made a star out of a selfie stick!
The show started with Enzo Amore and Big Cass coming down to the ring. They did their usual schtick. It ain’t getting old.
They cut a talky on the Lucha Dragons – or the Geico Lizards, as Cass called them – and said they need to get out of their way or they’ll be roadkill on Enzo and Big Cass’s road to the NXT tag-team titles.
The Lucha Dragons came out and chose not to rebut. Instead they had a match and it was a good match. Enzo Amore looked the best he’s looked for some time here. That’s the point of development – learning.
The finish came when Big Cass decided he’d had enough of the match and yanked Enzo over for a tag while Kalisto was preparing to hit a top rope move. Cass ran wild, hit a sidewalk slam, and then tagged Enzo back in for an assisted splash for the win.
Later in the show, Alex Riley was facing CJ Parker on the first step to getting revenge on Kevin Owens for what Owens has done to him lately. Would he win and make it to the next step? Well, a commercial for next week’s show, taped live at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, advertised Alex Riley versus Kevin Owens, so I’d say he has a chance. This was a TNA-level mishap. NXT, which is usually so good at hiding the fact that it’s pre-taped, failed big time. Ah, well.
They showed a hype video for Alex Riley. From years ago. He didn’t even have the same haircut. Again, TNA. Hmmm.
Then they showed a video package of Kevin Owens’s rise to the top. This was not from years ago and was good. So well-booked.
Hey, it’s Carmella! The crowd booed her because they see her as a threat to the bromance of Enzo and Big Cass. And also because she’s not so good yet.
She’s fighting Alexa Bliss, the little glitter pixie who’s being positioned to move up into the upper echelons of the NXT Women’s division, probably when Charlotte leaves for the main roster.
They had a decent match but probably a little too long for someone of Bliss’s ability to carry someone of Carmella’s. They didn’t blow much but there were times when it seemed they were playing at professional wrestling rather than actually fighting. You know, like the Young Bucks.
Bliss won with the Sparkle Splash, a twisting cross-body, and she’ll fight Sasha Banks on next week’s show, from Columbus, OH.
Backstage, Alex Riley cut a powerful talky about wasting the last two years being an announcer. Hey, we all feel the same, buddy! He thanked Kevin Owens for giving him a way out and said he would fight for his life. Good stuff.
Tyler Breeze cut a selfie promo on Hideo Itami. “It didn’t have to get ugly, “he said, “Well, considering you’re in it, I guess it did have to get ugly.”
Then they showed the Arnold Sports Festival video again. I wonder who will win the next match…?
Hey, it’s CJ Parker! He came down to the ring for his match with Alex Riley, still protesting about being left off the last Takeover special.
Riley’s music cut him off before he could moan too much, and you won’t believe the pop Riley got from the crowd. Alex. Riley. In 2015. Amazing.
Parker got on top early doors, but missed his Third Eye palmstrike when Riley backdropped him. Riley then took over, and got the win with a Blockbuster from the top rope.
After the match, Kevin Owens came out to the top of the ramp. He told Riley that it was good that he looked as good as he did because he was the dumbest man in NXT. If the shitty tattoo on his back didn’t prove it, giving up his cushy job in the announcers’ booth to challenge Owens did.
He said he’d end Riley’s in-ring career, too, and then crush Finn Balor. Riley fought back tears of anger and frustration in the ring. Great stuff.
Hey, it’s our main event! Its Hideo Itami versus Tyler Breeze! They had another really good match, and these two work really well together.
Breeze ducked out of the ring early on, buying time and space. Back in the ring, Breeze avoided Itami’s kicks, but got taken down and clotheslined. Itami got the heat but went up top and Breeze stumbled into the ropes to knock him off. Breeze then took over and they went to a break.
After the break, Itami came back before they traded, with Breeze getting the better of things and a two-count from a clothesline. They went back and forth again, before Breeze got another nearfall with the Supermodel Kick.
Breeze went outside to try and drag Itami’s nuts into the ringpost, but Itami yanked his legs back and clonked Breeze’s face into the post.
Back in the ring, Itami ran wild on Breeze, and the crowd called or the GTS. However, and just like last week with Adam Rose, Breeze hit a Beauty Shot of nowhere for the win.
This was a Decent Show. It suffered a little from – Owens aside – a lack of top end talent, but the in-ring was decent and storylines advanced. The TNAing of the Arnold Sports commercial was sloppy, and all the worse because you just don’t expect those kind of things from NXT.