NXT Lakeland 9-24-15

Hot off the heels of their successful Texas tour NXT returned to Lakeland for a night of wrestling action. Fans piled into the sold out armory, along with a sizable camera crew filming for WWE Breaking Ground. It was an entertaining night of odd match-ups accentuated by an excellent tag team main event.

The evening starts with the drifter Elias Sampson making his way to the ring with his trusty guitar to sing a derogatory song about Lakeland. His opponent for the evening is Steve Cutler. The match starts with a lock-up ending in a stalemate before giving way to back and forth action between the two evenly matched competitors. Cutler mounts a bit of offense with an armdrag and a slam. The marine then runs the ropes, stops to salute, and drops a leg onto Sampson. Later Sampson thwarts his momentum by hanging up Cutler in the ropes. He continues with a series of strikes before settling into a chinlock. The pace quickens and the two trade offense. Cutler begins to get the upper hand with a series of strikes culminating in a flapjack. He then finishes off Sampson with a Fisherman Driver. This was a textbook pro wrestling match but entertaining enough to kick things off. I still have Elias Sampson pegged to go onto great things, while Steve Cutler has improved a lot over the last few months.

Next up Noah Kekoa taking on Angelo Dawkins. Kekoa debuted a new look tonight, as he was adorned with tribal gear and wore a headdress/mask into the ring. While some fans may feel it a bit stereotypical, it’s a big improvement over leis and ukuleles. The aggressive Kekoa started strong until Dawkins took a cheap shot and slowed the pace down. He grounds Kekoa with a modified Muta lock. Eventually Kekoa fights back nailing Dawkins with a clothesline and several chops followed by a big slam. Dawkins manages to drop Kekoa throat first onto the ropes and then nail him with a Half Nelson Slam for the victory. Dawkins is big, athletic guy who certainly has the tools, he is just in dire need of finding his niche.

Next, Dasha invites Levis Valenzuela Jr into the ring for an interview. He talks about how NXT is taking over and he is now living his dream. He talks about bringing his fiesta to NXT and how he intends to take his conga line all the way to the top of the brand. His music hits and he dances with Dasha. The promo didn’t really go anywhere, but it was still fun. Valenzuela has charisma in spades and is confident on the microphone.

The night continues with mixed six person tag action with Hugo Knox, Bull Dempsey, and Billie Kay taking on Solomon Crowe, Sawyer Fulton, and Nia Jax. The explosive Crowe starts off against Dempsey but fails to budge the big man. Crowe goes for a crossbody and simply bounces off Bull. Frustrated Crowe tags in Nia Jax, undeterred Billie Kay takes the fight to her. Billy locks on a waist lock and Nia Jax spins around violently trying to shake her off. Billie Kay tenaciously holds on and ends up turning it into an octopus hold until Jax grabs the ropes for a break. Billy tags in Hugo and the pace quickens. He tosses Crowe around with a pair of arm drags and follows with several kicks. Crowe catches the last kick but Knox counters with an ensiguri. Thanks to a distraction Crowe finally gets the upper hand and he and Fulton begin to work over Knox. Eventually Knox makes a hot tag to Bull to delivers a series of strikes to Fulton. Nia runs in but Billie headscissoring off of Bull and catching Nia for a big DDT.  Bull runs down Fulton and finishes him with a seated senton off the top turnbuckle. Afterwards Bull and Billie celebrate in the ring by dancing along with Hugo. This was one of those odd, yet entertaining matches. I would have liked to see more ring time for Billie and Nia, but altogether this was a fun match. Hugo Knox is fast and extremely athletic for a guy his size, but it’s likely his infectious dancing and enthusiasm that has him pretty over with the fans.

Next is the perfect 10 Ty Dillinger taking on Tucker Knight. The bell rings and Dillinger out-grapples Knight easily, but can’t seem to take him down. Finally after a fairly successful lock-up Dillinger cartwheels into his corner and throws up his hands for a perfect 10. Knight comes back leveling Dillinger with a big clubbing blow. He mocks him and slows the pace stalking Dillinger. Ty comes back with a kick and a dropkick but Knight shuts him down and eventually locks him into an agonizing bear hug. Finally Dillinger boxes the ears of Knight and breaks free and attacks Tucker with several strikes. Knight grabs him up for a big side slam, but moments later on his feet Dillinger staggers him with a big boot. Somehow Dillinger hoists the big man up for a big bodyslam. Dillinger hikes down his kneepad and finishes Knight with facebuster knee smash. Ty Dillinger looked great as always, but as always he made his opponent look great. Tucker Knight did a great job of engaging the crowd undeterred by snarky hecklers.

Tag action is next with Baron Corbin and Riddick Moss taking on champs The Vaudevillians in a non-title match. Aiden English starts off looking to have a great time outwrestling Moss who gets frustrated and tags in Corbin. On a roll English stays a step ahead of the usually unstoppable Corbin tossing him with a series of arm drags. He tags in Gotch and they lift up Corbin for a double team suplex. Moments later Corbin tags Moss back in but the champs continue controlling the match. They execute their manly squats at the expense of Moss. Corbin takes a cheap shot from the ring apron laying out English and tags in. He begins a beat down on English but Moss tags himself back in. Corbin looks on irritated while Moss tosses Gotch overhead with a massive fallaway slam. Moments later Corbin would find himself back but Moss would quickly tag himself back in. Finally English makes a hot tag to Gotch who comes in with a flurry of his innovative kicks followed by a big suplex to Moss. Frustrated and dumbfounded Corbin looks on as Gotch nails Moss with a rolling senton. English comes off the top turnbuckle with a senton, Moss moves but English rolls through. English runs the ropes but Moss catches him with a powerslam. Corbin yells for a tag but Moss says he’s “got this”.  Moments later the momentum starts to shift and Moss looks for tag, but Corbin walks off.  The Vaudevillians lay out Moss with the Whirling Dervish for the victory. This was another really fun tag match. Riddick Moss gets better each outing and seems to be finding himself as a cocky heel. Baron Corbin has become a bona fide heat magnet but he seemingly thrives off of it, the more they jeer the better he becomes.

NXT women’s champ Bayley is out next in an Izzymania shirt to take on her opponent Peyton Royce. The match starts off at an extremely fast pace as the two run the ropes dodging the others strikes. Finally tired they stop and Bayley points to the ceiling and Peyton falls for it, allowing Bayley to stomp her foot and toss her around with an arm drag. The two make it back up and the pace again quickens until they stop again. This time Peyton points to the ceiling, but Bayley again stomps her foot and again tosses her. The action continues fast paced and back and forth.  In the corner Peyton slams Bayley’s head into the turnbuckle but Bayley begins to “hulk up”. Bayley fires back slamming Peytons skull into the turnbuckle several times and then dropping her with a one handed bulldog. The momentum sways and Peyton comes back wisely slowing the pace. She contorts Bayley into an abdominal stretch. Moments later Bayley fights back with a series of axe-handles and a big elbow in the corner. Peyton drops Bayley onto the ropes and attempts to mount a comeback but Bayley nails her with a Belly-To-Bayley out of nowhere for the win. Peyton Royce (along with fellow Aussie Billie Kay) is a valuable addition to the NXT women’s roster and simply cannot be jobbing on television for much longer. Ironically, not that long ago the division seemed gutted after ¾ of the horsewomen moved on. Now though it seems to be overflowing with possibilities with Billie and Peyton stepping up, Dana continually improving, the untapped potential of Nia Jax, and of course the very anxiously anticipated in-ring debut of Asuka.

Next is a Takeover preview with Tyler Breeze taking on Apollo Crews. Breeze begins by flexing, talking trash, and mocking Crews. The action begins and Apollo takes charge with a dropkick right on the button followed by a big clothesline. Somehow Breeze comes back with several repeated blows and a neckbreaker. He grounds Crews with a chancery until he breaks free and the two men make it back up. The two grapple back and forth until Breeze rolls up Crews with a handful of trunks to snag a victory out of nowhere. Even with a victory under his belt Breeze felt the need to attack Crews after the match. Crews fought back with a heel kick followed by a military press and his amazing standing moonsault. This was a good match accentuated by Tyler’s interaction with the crowd. I wish off the cuff and slightly goofy “house show” Tyler could translate to television.

Our main event of the evening is Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder taking on Samoa Joe and Finn Balor. Dawson and Finn start by putting on a clinic with several minutes of nice grappling and mat work. Early on Dawson and Wilder begin targeting the arm of Balor. Through a miscue Dash accidentally attacks Dawson and the two get into it while Finn eggs it on. In the chaos Balor swoops up Wilder for an airplane spin. A dizzy disoriented Dash Wilder grabs the first body he bumps in to for a small package, but it happens to be referee Drake Wuertz. Finn Balor counts the 1,2,3 while Wilder pins the referee. After making it to his feet Drake regains control of the match. Dawson and Wilder take over working the injured arm of Balor with great tandem offense. Finn lands a pele kick and makes a tag to Joe while Dash tags in Dawson. Joe rocks Dawson with a series of punches, drops him with a big boot and follows with a senton. Dawson tries to comeback but Joe hits him with a powerslam that would make Randy Orton proud. Moments later Dawson sends Joe into a turnbuckle that he and Dash had exposed earlier. It doesn’t stop Joe who plants Dawson with a big side slam and tags in Finn who delivers a hesitation dropkick to Wilder into Dawson. With both Dawson and Wilder prone on top of one another, Finn delivers a Coup De Grace to both men for the win, also managing to take out a ceiling tile in the process. This match alone was easily worth the price of admission. Personally, I didn’t actually hear this match announced as a Dusty Rhodes tournament match, though I’m assuming it is. If so, I wish Dawson and Wilder could have advanced. As excellent as Joe and Finn are as singles wrestlers, to this humble blogger Dawson and Wilder are an actual team and easily the best tag team in NXT or WWE. However, in professional wrestling were wins and losses don’t always matter I am just happy to see them in a main event and finally getting a well deserved push.

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Full Sail TV Tapings 6-18-15

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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Full Sail TV Taping 5-21-15

Written by Wayne Mason
Photos by Maryann Mason

Tonight the rowdy and raucous NXT fans piled into Full Sail University for another action packed set of television tapings. The following recap contains spoilers for the next four episodes of NXT.

The dark match of the evening saw Dash Wilder with the daunting task of taking on Braun Stowman. Wilder attempts to take the fight right to the 6’8” 375lb Stowman, who is immovable. Stowman tosses Wilder around with ease and beats him to the mat with big clubbing blows. He continues torturing Wilder with a claw to the shoulder. Wilder attempts to mount a comeback anyway he can, first by pulling himself up by the big mans beard and eventually even biting him. Wilder’s rally would be short lived though as Stowman puts him down with a big boot, and follows by hoisting him on his shoulder for a big slam onto the mat followed by a pin. It was a lopsided contest which is to take nothing away from the underrated and underutilized Dash Wilder, however wrestling Braun Stowman is akin to grappling with a mountain.

Episode 1

The music of Sami Zayn hits and the crowd erupts, but instead of Zayn it is Kevin Owens who strolls out and down the ramp. In the ring he tells us that he could stand there and issue an NXT title open challenge, but he is not that insecure and has nothing to prove to anyone. The crowd breaks into a “John Cena Sucks” chant, but Owens shuts it down by telling them that Zayn sucks too but they don’t chant that at him. Owens continues by telling us that he is a good man and he did us a good deed by insuring we’d never have to hear Sami Zayn’s music again. He also says that at Takeover he let Samoa Joe have his moment. He assures us he could have easily dropped Samoa Joe. General Manager William Regal makes his way to the ring. Owens tells him that at Takeover he headbutted Regal only after he laid his hands on him. Regal tells him that that is the only reason Owens is still here. The two exchange more words before the two are interrupted by Solomon Crowe who immediately confronts Owens. Crowe tells Owens he is scared and is a piece of crap. William Regal sets up a main event between the two. Owens tells Regal to add Solomon Crowe to the list of wrestlers that has had stretchered out of the building.

Next is Bayley taking on Emma, accompanied to the ring by Dana Brooke. After an initial flurry of offense a very aggressive Emma takes over pummeling Bayley and following with a few snap mares by the ponytail. She stops to trash talk and Bayley fires back first with signature elbows in the corner and eventually a nice suplex. However, moments later Emma would come back and lock Bayley into an Emma lock for a submission victory. After the match Dana comes in and they begin to beat down Bayley. Charlotte runs down to make the save, but with Bayley out it is still two on one. They overpower Charlotte and Dana finishes her with a Samoan Driver.

Tag team action is next as Mike Rawlis and Elias Sampson compete against Blake and Murphy, accompanied to the ring by Alexa Bliss. Despite a size and strength advantage Blake and Murphy manage to easily take control over the rookie Rawlis. The usually explosive champs took to a slow pace as if simply toying with him until he eventually found an opening to make a hot tag to Elias Sampson. The pace quickens drastically as Sampson comes in with a series of chops and kicks until Murphy halts his momentum with a heel kick. He follows with a running vertical suplex and Blake finishes him off with a frogsplash for the win. After they put an explanation mark on their victory as Alexa Bliss executes a Sparkle Splash onto a still down Sampson. This match was about making the champs look strong, but I’m still happy to see Elias Sampson on television in any capacity. Sampson is one to look out for, as anyone who attends house shows will attest to.

Next out is Ty Dillinger who comes out with huge support from the crowd who are familiar with his house show “Perfect 10” gimmick. Unfortunately, that has not made its way to television yet and worse for him, his opponent is Finn Balor. Dillinger starts off with some strong chops but Balor comes back with a flurry of offense. Ty pummels Balor in the corner and puts locks him into a chickenwing. Eventually Balor breaks free and comes back with a series of chops and kicks. He follows with a slingblade and a dropkick into the corner. Balor finishes off Dillinger with a Coup De Grace for the victory. This was a good match and both men came out looking strong. Hopefully this is the beginning of a push for Ty Dillinger.

The main event is next as Solomon Crowe takes on Kevin Owens. As he often does, Owens immediately leaves the ring to dictate his own pace. Crowe follows him to the outside, but Owens gets the jump and the two begin brawling on the outside. Back on the inside Crowe begins mounting offense until Owens knocks him of the turnbuckle. Owens tosses Crowe to the outside and Crowe narrowly makes the count back in. Owens beats him down and throws him to the outside yet again. Crowe finally comes back with an explosive array of kicks and knee strikes, he follows with a running high knee into the corner. Owens fights back and flattens Crowe with a senton and a pop-up powerbomb for the win. After the match Owens attacks Crowe and yells to “Get the stretcher” as he prepares to powerbomb Crowe onto the apron. Samoa Joe comes out to make the save. Owens makes a hasty retreat as an angry Samoa Joe stands in the ring ready for a fight.

Episode 2

A scruffy looking and aggressive Adam Rose takes on Tyler Breeze in the opening match. From the opening bell a back and forth battle begins with both men getting a fair amount of offense. However, it’s a less playful and more focused Rose who shined. In the final moments of the match he delivers his trademark spinebuster and follows it with a Boston Crab which Breeze manages to escape. Moments later, Rose summons his best Cactus Jack by delivering an elbow off the apron onto Breeze on the outside. He tosses Breeze back into the ring and Tyler hits Rose with a Beauty Shot out of nowhere for the pin.

Next, announcer Greg Hamilton introduces Eva Marie. He asks her what brings her down here to NXT. She replies that NXT has the best women’s wrestling and she wants to be with the best. This was actually pretty painful to watch because of the audience, and I actually felt a little ashamed to be in a crowd that was eating her alive. Eva Marie has a lot of detractors and I have been one in the past, but I only wish for anyone to succeed and right now I just want to see her prove a lot of people wrong.

In our next match Carmella takes on Alexa Bliss. Immediately a fired up Carmella attacks and beats down Alexa. Soon Bliss comes back and the two battle back and forth. Later Bliss goes for a glitz flip but Carmella moves and mounts an attack. She charges the corner but Bliss moves and rolls her up for a pin with a handful of trunks. This was a short but fun match. These two ladies are evenly matched and have a good chemistry together. I think if this feud goes on long enough they could produce some very entertaining matches.

Next, The Vaudevillians take on the strange pairing of Jason Jordan and Marcus Louis. English and Gotch start off strong against the deranged Louis with some signature spots. Jordan gets tagged in and the complexion of the match changes. Jordan is amazingly strong and seems to manhandle his opponents with ease. He beats down English and follows with a chinlock before tagging Louis. Eventually, English finds an opening and makes the tag to a very fired up Gotch who uppercuts Louis to the back of the head and English follows with a running swinging neckbreaker for the win. This was a fun match and no doubt many will be happy to finally see The Vaudevillians back on their television.

Up next is Rhyno taking on Finn Balor. Early on Rhyno out-powers Balor with heavy clubbing blows. Balor attempts to comeback but Rhyno shuts him down. Balor mounts momentum and a back and forth battle ensues. Rhyno absolutely manhandles Balor with a powerslam and a spinebuster that practically puts Finn through the mat. Finn comes back with a pele kick and a slingblade. He dropkicks Rhyno into the turnbuckle and climbs up for a Coup De Grace but Rhyno rolls out of the way. Rhyno goes for a gore but Balor dodges it and rolls up Rhyno for the in. Balor celebrates as a visible irritated Rhyno makes his way to the back. Balor makes his way up the ramp and poses on the stage only for Rhyno to give him the most hellacious gore I’ve ever seen.

Episode 3

The episode begins with Mike Rawlis and Elias Sampson taking on the team of Zack Ryder and the returning Mojo Rawley. Mojo starts the match with some dancing and trash talking before he finally tags in his partner. Ryder comes in with a lot of momentum culminating in a Broski Boot. Eventually, Sampson takes over and slows down the pace of the match until Ryder makes a hot tag to Rawley. Mojo clears the ring and lays out anyone in his path with splashes and tackles. He tag Ryder and hoists Sampson onto his shoulders. Ryder comes off the top rope with a Rough Ryder for the win. Afterwards the two celebrate into the crowd. The fans seemed receptive to the returning Mojo Rawley, hopefully he can expand upon his character and his move-set before the crowds start turning on him. Zack Ryder was very over with the crowd and one can only wonder how a prolonged stay in NXT could affect his career.

Women’s action is next as Emma takes on Bluepants, who is very over with the NXT crowd. Bluepants begins with some Emma style dancing and Emma attacks, beating her down and tossing her around by her hair. Emma turns Bluepants around with a big clotheline and goes for an elbow but Bluepants moves and mounts a comeback with a series of kicks. Emma dodges the last kick and beats down Bluepants before locking in the Emma Lock for a submission victory. Afterwards, still in the ring Bluepants is given an impromptu Birthday party. It’s amazing how over Leva “Bluepants” Bates is with the NXT crowd, signing her full-time certainly seems to be a no brainer.

Next is a short but fun match between Tyler Breeze and Bull Dempsey. Early on Dempsey easily overpowers and takes charge of Prince Pretty. Eventually he runs him down and climbs the ropes for a flying headbutt, but Breeze rolls out of the ring. Bull follows and Breeze runs away. Bull gives chase as the two run circles around the ring. Dempsey stops to catch his breath while Breeze can’t contain his smile. The two repeat this again until Dempsey is completely winded at which time Breeze tosses him back into the ring and follows with a Beauty Shot for the victory. It’s no doubt that this was an entertaining match, but hopefully Bull Dempsey can catch a break soon.

Next up, Becky Lynch battles Jessie McKay. Coming off the heels of a sensational performance at Takeover, Lynch has practically the entire building behind her and she starts strong with beautiful arm drags and a text book dropkick. McKay equalizes the situation with a big boot and begins to work the arm of Lynch. Eventually Lynch fights back with a suplex and three signature leg drops. Moments later McKay is in an armbar with no choice but to tap. It seems Becky Lynch is riding a very strong wave of momentum after the live special, and deservedly so.

Out next is Angelo Dawkins to take on the alpha of NXT, Baron Corbin. Dawkin put forth a good effort but in the end he ended up like everyone else, in an End Of Days. I’m a fan of Baron Corbin, but that is because I have seen him put on great matches at house shows. They are not doing him any favors with matches like these. Personally, I’d like to see Corbin in an underdog role against someone like Braun Stowman.

Kevin Owens sits down at the announce table to watch Scott Dawson take on Samoa Joe. Dawson starts off strong before Joe runs him down and continues with a flurry of punches. Moments later he nails Dawson with an enzuigiri and a side slam. He finishes off Dawson with a muscle buster. Afterwards Joe calls out Owens angrily. Owens tells Joes he is sort of a rookie in NXT and gives him veteran advice. He tells him you can’t just walk into NXT and get a title match. Clearly the irony was not lost on the laughing crowd. William Regal comes out and agrees that Joe has not earned a title shot but he has earned a fight, and that fight will happen next week.

Episode 4

This episode opens up with an inter-gender six person tag with Enzo, Cass, and Carmella vs Blake, Murphy, and Alexa Bliss. It’s not long after the bell that chaos ensues with all six competitors in the ring, until Cass, Enzo, and Carmella send their opponents out to the floor. The referee gets the match back in control and Blake and Murphy work over the underdog Enzo Amore. Finally he makes a hot tag to Carmella who makes quick work of Bliss who quickly manages to make a tag to Blake. Big Cass comes in and cleans house sending Murphy to the floor and putting down Blake with a swinging side slam. He tosses Amore onto Blake in an assisted splash for the win. A fun match, but clearly this feud is just getting started.

We continue with more tag team action as The Vaudevillians take on the team of Jason Jordan and Mikaze. Gotch and English start off strong until Mikaze makes a blind tag to Jordan. Jordan comes in and manhandles Gotch with ease. Later after much punishment things turn around when Gotch dodges a running kick from Mikaze allowing Jordan to get clobbered instead. The Vaudevillians were set to finish it when Mikaze sort of crumbled and the ref quickly ended the bout awarding it to The Vaudevillians. It is unclear what happened, there were no spots that went visibly wrong. Some fans in attendance said he seemed to just pass out. However, I won’t speculate as to what happened. The important part is that managed to leave the ring without the stretcher and on his own two feet. Later that evening, he was seen leaving Full Sail and seemed okay.

We continue with women’s action as Charlotte takes on KC Cassidy. Charlotte starts off strong but Cassidy thwarts her momentum and slows her with a side headlock and later a headscissors, anything to keep Charlotte down. It’s not long though before Charlotte fights her way out and becomes unstoppable hitting Cassidy with a neckbreaker and following with a spear. Charlotte then locks in the figure-4 leg lock for a submission victory. This was a good match with Charlotte looking strong as always, but also allowing newcomer KC Cassidy to come out looking good as well.

It is time for the main event with Samoa Joe taking on Kevin Owens. The bell rings and Owens evades the ring, but Joe quickly follows and the two face off nose to nose on the outside. Back in the ring and Joe immediately takes over with a flurry of punches in the corner, but the champ fires back with some strikes of his own. It becomes clear quickly that this one is going to be a brawl. The fight eventually spills to the floor and Owens attempts to escape but Joe follows and the two brawl up and down the ramp and eventually back into the ring. The champ finally manages to get an upper hand and squashes Joes with a cannonball in the corner and follows with a senton before settling into a side headlock. Samoa Joe gets free and back to his feet and lays out Owens with a kick. Joe follows with a senton of his own. Later, he gets Owens up on the turnbuckle attempting to set him up with a muscle buster, but Owens counters with a thunderous side slam. The action spills to the outside again, except this time the referee loses total control and calls the match. The two continue to brawl until more referees come out to separate them. They finally do and Joe goes to the back. Kevin Owens rolls back into the ring taunting Joe and telling him “C’mon Bitch!” Joe comes running back out and the fighting continues in and around the ring. Soon it takes all the referees and much of the talent out of the back to eventually break them up. It was a hell of a collision and an emphatic way to end a great set of tapings. I can’t wait until these two meet again.

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