Tonight NXT made a stop on its chaotic road to REvolution in Cocoa, Fl. Fans filed into The National Guard Armory to see the athletes of NXT do what they do best, deliver hard hitting action and put fans on the edge of their seats.
The night kicked off with tag team action as Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake looked to even the score with The Mechanics, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. The team of Blake and Murphy started out in control dictating the pace of the match and keeping The Mechanics off of their game. However Wilder and Dawson are as cunning as they are tough, managing to cut off Blake from his partner. Dawsons mantra is "no flips, just fists" and the two delivered just that with frequent tags and double team maneuvering that left Blake on the mat. Eventually though Blake managed to make the hot tag to Murphy who entered the ring like a bullet taking out anyone in his path and clearing the ring of Dawson and isolating Wilder. The fiery Aussie made the tag to Blake before delivering an intense suplex which Blake followed with a frog splash for the victory. This is why NXT has the best tag team wrestling around. These two teams need to be battling out on the network, and preferably for gold.
Apparently Elias Sampson is a glutton for punishment because for the second night in a row he willingly entered the ring with the alpha of NXT, Baron Corbin. It quickly became clear he should have cut his losses last night because this match would be much worse for Sampson who didn't manage to mount any real offense before being planted to the mat with a devastating "End Of Days".
Shoot Nation first surrounds and then enters the ring to deliver another promo. The newly expanded stable of Angelo Dawkins, Sawyer Fulton, Jason Jordan, and Tucker Knight stood at attention as the leader Chad Gable once again delivered a message to the fans and the locker room. He made it clear that the five of them had accomplished more than any of us in the room and that they will dominate NXT. Gable delivered his promo well and was really undeterred by the snarky crowd. I can't wait to see how this stable progresses.
Next up Steve Cutler faced off against Marcus Louis. Months ago who would have predicted the evolution of the tortured Marcus Louis? He shambles to the ring with a towel over his head before removing it to reveal his still very bald head and contorted snarl. Steve Cutler would not be intimidated though and took the fight right to Louis. Cutler employs an offense of strikes and power moves that fit him well but would not be effective enough against the deranged Frenchman. Despite Cutlers efforts Marcus Louis dominated the a fairly one sided match before finishing his opponent with a ura-nage slam. Not that victories matter much to poor Marcus anymore who leaves the ring just as monstrous and tortured.
It's hard not to be won over by the enthusiasm of Hugo Knox as he dances his way to the ring. Last weekend Knox won over many fans with a very impressive debut and no doubt looked to follow up on his success. The bad news is his opponent was NXTs resident wrecking ball Bull Demspey and he didn't appear to be in a very good mood. In fact Dempsey was on fire tonight and seemed to be living up to being the destructive force he is touted to be. Still yet Knox put forth a good effort and managed to get in a few short bursts of offense. Knox is a fair sized guy that at times moves like a cruiserweight, just as comfortable flipping off of the rope as he is delivering a clothesline. None of that would matter tonight though as Bull tore through him with relative ease and finished him with a flying headbutt for the win.
Next out is everyones favorite condescending hippie with a live mic and a whole lot of heat from the crowd. In fact, CJ Parker probably gets more heat than anyone in NXT, and part of that is his expert ability at insulting and talking down to the crowd. His opponent once again is a fired up Solomon Crowe. Like their battle the previous evening, it was a back and forth battle. However, when Crowe is in control things get explosive with an erratic smashmouth offense. Following a downright painful to watch clothesline he appeared to be closing the match with a stretch muffler before Parker escaped. Parker is many things, and crafty is one of them as once again he was one very short step ahead of Crowe and planted him with a facebuster for the 1-2-3.
The evening continues with womens wrestling action as Sasha Banks once again takes on the champ Charlotte in a non-title match. These two women are so evenly matched and know each other so well, the match could have went either way on several occasions. In NXT it is not uncommon for the women to steal the show, if they keep delivering matches like this they will do just that at the next live special. As the match wore on Charlotte proved why she is champ and took control and in the climactic final moments narrowly avoided a backstabber. She began to lock on a figure four before the crafty Banks rolled Charlotte up for the surprise pin. Several matches in and several wins for Sasha Banks. It's looking good for the boss heading into REvolution.
The following match was once again Simon Gotch taking on Kalisto. Aiden English found himself ejected from ringside very early in the match much to the dismay of Simon Gotch. With the odds evened the two battled it out in a solid contest. Gotch managed to keep Kalisto grounded for much of the match but when the luchdore started to mount a comeback English ran back out. English jumped onto the ring apron to distract the referee meanwhile Kalisto whipped Gotch into English knocking him to the floor. A disoriented Gotch turned back around to find himself on the receiving end of a corkscrew body press giving Kalisto the victory. His celebration would be cut short as the dastardly Vaudevillians commenced with a post match beatdown. All three men are great workers for different reasons but many would agree it is very difficult to build interest in a tag team feud that only features one and a half tag teams.
Our main event of the evening is the gorgeous one Tyler Breeze taking on Hideo Itami. The men cautiously circle each other to make the first move. Tyler Breeze who is often more concerned with selfies or lounging on the turnbuckle got really serious when Itamis dangerous feet narrowly missed his moneymaker. Angrily he would yell at Hideo "No Kicking!" Finally Hideo would tell him "I don't speak english." and with that the fight was on with the two men trading offense in a fast paced contest. It is Itami who is world famous for his kicks but Breezes kicks shouldn’t be taken lightly either, as evidenced as a close call with a beautifully executed superkick. Tyler Breeze found himself in control but failed to put Itami away which made him more and more frustrated, providing Itami with all the opening he needed to mount an unstoppable barrage of offense. A series of kicks dropped prince pretty to his knees and that is when Hideo delivered his own teeth shattering superkick that gave him the win. An exuberant crowd celebrated with the victorious Hideo Itami as Breeze rolled out of the ring and literally crawled like an inchworm up the aisle and all the way to the back.
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