Written by Wayne Mason
Photos by Maryann Mason
Thursday night NXT Faithful once again
piled into Full Sail University for another action packed evening of television
tapings. The following recap contains spoilers for the next four episodes of
NXT. The division between episodes three and 4 are a little unclear, but the
order of matches are dead on.
The evening starts off with a very notable
dark match as the much anticipated Uhaa Nation takes on indie wrestler Johnny
Gargano. This was a great fast paced match that went back and forth seeing both
men looking strong. Gargano matched Uhaa's power with speed, but unfortunately
for Gargano, Uhaa is just as nimble. After a short but impressive exhibition,
Uhaa finishes his opponent with a military press followed by two standing
moonsaults. One gets the impression that Uhaa Nation is going to be a very big
deal in a very short time.
Shortly afterward the entire locker room takes
the stage to pay tribute to the late, great Dusty Rhodes. Triple H says a few
words and leads us into a chilling 10 bell salute. I've seen the tributes on
television but it is so much more powerful live, especially the immense silence
between the tolling of the bells where you are left thinking of the massive
impact Dusty Rhodes has had on every single person in the building.
Episode
1
Hideo Itami makes his way to the ring with his
arm in a sling. He tells us that it will be another three or four months before
he will be back in action. He states that it does not matter who wins the title
in Tokyo, because he is coming back for the title. He is interrupted by Kevin
Owens who says that Itami is delusional and that on July 4th he is
going to end Finn Balor for good. He then tells Hideo he came out to say he had
nothing to do with Itami's injury. He also demands an apology from Itami for
calling him a "bad man". Hideo responds by telling Owens that he is a
great champion but a terrible human being. An angry Kevin Owens begins to head
to the ring but Balor runs out to make the save. Balor and Owens fight up the
ramp and onto the stage. Balor has the upper hand but is attacked by Rhyno, who
leaves Balor laying.
Tag team action is next as Jason Jordan and
Sylvester Lefort take on Enzo Amore and Big Cass. After an inital flurry of
offense from Zo, Jordan takes over easily tossing Amore around the ring.
However mere moments later after Lefort gets tossed to the floor, a distracted
Jordan gets rolled up by Amore for the pin. This was a very short match, but it
was good to see the Frenchman Lefort back in an NXT ring.
Next up Cassie (KC Cassidy) takes on Dana
Brooke who is accompanied to the ring by Emma. Cassie starts strong with some
fast paced offense culminating in a perfect headscissors, but eventually the
power of Brooke comes into play. Brooke pummels Cassie with a series of strikes
and kicks before settling into a grounded abdominal stretch. Cassie eventually
mounts a comeback with a clothesline and a series of high kicks. She climbs the
ropes, but Dana hoists Cassie onto her shoulders and slams her to the mat with
a Samoan Driver for the win. Dana Brooke is showing improvement, but is still a
very polarizing figure to a very split crowd.
We continue with more tag action as the
"Hype Bros." Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley take on Sawyer Fulton and
Angelo Dawkins. Rawley starts for his team with his usual antics, banter, and
dancing around before Dawkins finally gets the advantage for his team. They
work over Rawley for a bit before he makes the hot tag to Ryder who comes in
with a flurry of fast paced offense culminating in a Broski Boot. Mojo hoists
Dawkins into the air and Ryder comes off the ropes with a Rough Ryder for the
pin. I am really enjoying seeing Zack Ryder get more of a spotlight, I just
wish he didn't have to share it with Mojo Rawley.
Next Finn Balor takes on Rhyno, while Kevin
Owens is on commentary. A fired up Balor takes the fight right to his opponent
as the two immediately begin brawling. The speed of Balor comes into play as
Rhyno is left one step behind his opponent. Rhyno gets tossed to the outside
and Balor takes flight out and onto his enemy. Moments later, back in the ring
Rhyno catches Balor with a thunderous spinebuster slowing the pace of the
match. He throws on a massive bear hug before Finn finally breaks free. Finn
levels Rhyno with a pele kick and climbs the ropes. Owens comes out to cause a
distraction. Still, Balor manages to dodge a gore and answer with a slingblade
followed by a Coup De Grace for the pin. Afterwards, Owens and Rhyno begin to
beat down Finn Balor until Samoa Joe storms the ring to make the save.
Episode
2
The episode begins with Scott Dawson and Dash
Wilder taking on The Vaudevillians. Gotch and English start off with some of
their signature antics before Dawson and Wilder take control of the match. The
two begin to take apart Gotch briefly before he makes the hot tag to English.
With Dawson ejected from the ring, Gotch uppercuts Wilder and English follows
with his running swinging neckbreaker for the pin. This was another really
short tag match. Regardless I am very happy to see Dawson and Wilder finally on
television, and it won't be long before they are challenging for gold. The
Vaudevillians, who seemed to be on the backburner for a bit, are gaining some
valuable momentum lately.
Next, Tucker Knight takes on Baron Corbin.
This was a squash match with Corbin easily finishing his opponent with an End
Of Days. I really don't think they are doing Corbin any favors with these
squash matches, the man is really capable of so much more.
Women's action is next as Emma takes on
Carmella. The two go back and forth in the early goings as the two jockey for
the advantage. Finally, Emma slows the pace with a leg scissors. Later,
Carmella comes back with a Lou Thez Press followed by a series of kicks.
However moments later Emma would comeback contorting Carmella into an Emma Lock
giving her no choice but to tap out. Again, another shorter match but
entertaining nonetheless.
Ty Dillinger is out next with huge crowd
support. His opponent for the evening is Prince Pretty Tyler Breeze. An aggressive
Dillinger takes charge pummeling his opponent with a series of kicks, stomps,
and chops. Breeze fires back, landing a hurricanrana and following with his own
series of punches. The pace quickens and the match goes back and forth until
Breeze lands a Beauty Shot for the win. Win or lose, the crowd support for
Dillinger is growing exponentially every week and deservedly so.
Next is Finn Balor and Samoa Joe vs Rhyno and
Kevin Owens. The match is off to a hot start as Joe pummels Rhyno, who quickly
makes the tag to Owens. Moments later Owens has the advantage over Balor. He
wears him down and keeps going back to a chinlock, much to the chagrin of the
crowd. Eventually Owens goes into a sequence of Cena's "5 moves of
doom" culminating in a five knuckle shuffle on Balor. Owens attempts an
Attitude Adjustment but Balor escapes making the hot tag to Samoa Joe. Joe
comes in on fire but moments later all four men are in the ring as chaos
ensues. Owens lays out Joe with a Pop-up Powerbomb, and nails Balor with a
superkick, but Balor answers with a Pele Kick. Rhyno goes for a Gore but Balor
dodges and he nails Owens instead. Joes disposes of Rhyno while Balor lands a
Coup De Grace on Owens for the victory. This was a great match that had the
crowd really fired up.
Ring announcers Jojo and Greg Hamilton are out
next to hype the crowd, but an irate Kevin Owens storms the ring and screams at
them to leave. He calls out Finn Balor, challenging him to a fight right then
and there. Balor hits the ring and the two begin brawling until Balor hits a
quick Slingblade from out of nowhere and follows with a dropkick to Owens in
the corner. He follows with a Coup De Grace and a pin for a huge upset and an
even bigger statement.
Episode
3
Dana Brooke and Emma are out next for tag
action. Sasha Banks comes out the ring alone, apparently she could not find a
partner but was willing to take them on regardless. Charlotte's music hits and
the former champ makes her way to the ring. She tells Banks she will tag with
her but she owes her. Charlotee and Sasha start off the match strong dominating
Brooke. She makes the tag to Emma who turns things around for her team
snapmaring Charlotte by the hair and wearing her down with Leg Scissors. Later
Charlotte makes the tag to Banks who comes in and pummels Brooke with a series
of punches, kicks, and finally running knees in the corner. She locks Brooke
into a Bank Statement while Charlotte locks Emma into a Figure-4 leaving both
the bad girls tapping. Afterwards, Charlotte tells Banks she wants a title shot
next week. Sasha tells her "It's on!"
Next up Solomon Crowe takes on the deranged
Marcus Louis. Crowe starts off strong with a series of strikes and chops that
seem to take little effect on Louis. Still yet the speedy Crowe managed to to
stay one step ahead of the Frenchman until Louis knocks Crowe off the ropes and
slows the pace. First knocking the wind out of him with a series of knees
before settling into an abdominal stretch. Eventually Crowe mounts a comeback
and nails Louis with a cutter. Crowe whips Louis to the corner and follows with
a high knee. He sends Louis to the mat with a dropkick to the knee and follows
with a Stretch Muffler for a submission victory. Crowe was explosive as always
and looks better with each outing. Marcus Louis is brilliant as the tortured
monster, I’m just starting to wonder how much it is actually connecting with
audiences.
A number one contenders match for the NXT Tag
titles is next as The Vaudevillians challenge Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy.
After an initials flurry of offense Gotch and English manage to isolate Enzo
with frequent tags and some great tandem wrestling. Inevitably Amore makes the
hot tag to Cass who comes in with a splash and a slam followed by a big boot to
English. He lays out English with a side slam and looks to set up an assisted
splash with Enzo. Gotch grabs a hold of Cass’s boots allowing a distraction.
Enzo leaps onto English with a crossbody into a pin but English reverses
pinning Amore.
It’s more tag team action as Elias Sampson and
Steve Cutler take on Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. Jordan and Gable make an
impressive team with Jordan overpowering Sampson followed by excellent
grappling from Gable against Cutler. Later, the impressive Sampson mounts a
flurry of offense for his team but it was still a pretty one-sided affair. In
the closing moments Jordan tosses Cutler into the air and Gable catches him for
a belly to back suplex pinning combination. Deservedly so Gable got a nice
reaction from the crowd. Gable is a superb grappler and absolutely fun to
watch.
Next Samoa Joe faces newcomer Axel Tischer. Immediately Joe
attacks with a flurry of punches. Tischer makes attempts to fight back, but no
to avail and he ends up on the receiving end of a big boot from Joe followed by
a senton. Tischer eventually comes back with small bursts of offense.
Ultimately, he runs into a big side slam and Joe follows with a
Musclebuster. He then locks Axel into a Coquina Clutch for the submission
victory. Largely a one-side match but a very intense one, as it often is
whenever Samoa Joe is in the ring.
Episode
4
Eva Marie comes out and gives a short promo
saying that she hopes we are ready, because next week she will be wrestling
right here on NXT. Eva Marie seemed more confident this outing, or at the very
least better at blocking out the pure heat of a very hateful crowd.
The tag team champions Blake and Murphy are
out next to make short work of Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins. Despite early
offense Murphy fairly easily takes control of Dawkins, meanwhile Blake sneaks
around the side of the ring and pulls Fulton off the apron. Murphy lands his
fantastic running suplex on Dawkins and Blake follows with a frogsplash for the
victory. After the match they beat down Fulton. Blake and Murphy pick Alexa off
the turnbuckles and carries her over where she springboards out of their arms
into an impressive Sparkle Splash onto Fulton adding insult to injury.
Sami Zayn comes out to a huge pop from the
fans. He tells us that while 2014 was the best year of his career, 2015 has
been the worst. He explains that he likely won’t be back this year, but he will
eventually be back better than ever for his NXT Title. He continues by stating
revenge is a great motivator and that Kevin Owens “had better watch his ass!”
Our final match and easily the show-stealing
match of the evening saw Charlotte challenging Sasha Banks for the women’s
title. They start with several long lock-ups ending in a stalemate. Charlotte
eventually gets the first advantage locking Banks into a Figure-4 headlock.
Later Banks comes back landing her double knee drop in the corner and thus
slows the pace. She locks Charlotte into a Straightjacket and eventually a
Figure-4 headlock of her own. Showing of her strength Charlotte makes it to her
feet with Sasha still on her shoulders, flips her around and lands a thunderous
powerbomb. She follows with a neckbreaker and a spear, but Sasha fights back
and the two begin to brawl. After several pin attempts Charlotte eventually
locks on the Figure-4 headlock. Moments later as the two went back and forth
until Sasha locked Charlotte into the Bank Statement for the victory.
Afterwards the two hugged in the ring before Charlotte headed to the back. This
was another instant classic between these two ladies. This was likely Charlotte’s
big send-off to the main roster. She will definitely be missed, but no doubt
deserves that larger stage precisely because of tremendous matches like these.
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