Written by Wayne Mason
Photos by Maryann Mason
Saturday night wrestling
fans converged on Largo for another night of intense NXT action. It was a
capacity crowd and a new attendance record for the Minnreg Hall.
The evening starts with
the very animated Mojo Rawley taking on the wrecking ball Bull Dempsey. Like he
often does Rawley begins by dancing around the ring. Bull is unamused, still
yet it still becomes a dance off. Mojo busts out his very best hyped dance
moves, Dempsey answers with his very best Jason “Sweet T” Alberts dance moves,
complete with the same theme music. Rawley laughs and answers with some more
dancing before Dempsey attacks. Rawley comes back with a few atomic drops and a
series of punches. Bull comes back quickly, pummeling Mojo before settling into
a chin lock. Later, Dempsey misses and elbow allowing Rawley to mount a
comeback. He flattens Dempsey with a series of corner splashes and finishes
with his hellacious shoulder tackle that sends Dempsey crashing to the mat and
giving Mojo the pinfall victory. After the match Ty Dillinger comes out and
scores the match a 7. I’m hoping to see
Bull Dempsey get some much needed direction soon. I still think he has a good
face run in him and he’s a funny guy but I feel he is treading a fine line in
matches like this.
Next up is Becky Lynch
taking on Jessie McKay. Despite some early flurries of offense from McKay,
Becky takes charge early on. Lynch quickly goes for an armbar but Jessie wisely
grabs the ropes. Lynch follows with a series of beautiful arm drags followed by
a dropkick. But using the referee as a shield, McKay manages to nail Becky in
the face with a big boot. McKay slows down the pace eventually putting Lynch
into a seated surfboard. Lynch breaks free and fires back culminating with a
trifecta of perfect leg drops. She follows with an overhead suplex and locks on
her armbar for a submission victory. This was a short but sweet match that
showcased the versatility of Becky Lynch. Crowds are taking note as well, Lynch
seems more and more over
at every show.
Greg Hamilton is out
next and introduces Jason Jordan. Hamilton asks him about his search for a tag
team partner the last few weeks. Jordan concedes that he has been looking for a
partner, but is starting to wonder if he should be a singles wrestler. He is interrupted
by Mike Rawlis who tells Jordan to make up his mind. Jordan asks “Who are you?”
Rawlis continues stating that Jordan doesn’t have what it takes to make it. He
says that he is Mike Rawlis and he is going to the top. Jordan challenges him
to a match right then and there. Rawlis suckers him with a cheap shot and
pummels him in the corner. Chad Gable’s music hits and he walks out causing
enough of a distraction for Jordan send Rawlis packing with a huge Olympic
Slam. Jordan and Gable stare each other down before Gable heads back.
The action continues
with Angelo Dawkins taking on Sawyer Fulton. The two evenly matched opponents
start off with grappling with Fulton getting the advantage each time. Fulton
offers a handshake but Dawkins shoves Fulton. The two battle back and forth
until Dawkins finally takes charge with a sucker punch and slows the pace first
with a front chancery and then a side headlock. Fulton mounts a comeback and
executes a series of perfect suplexes. He goes for an elbow off the ropes but
Dawkins rolls to safety. Dawkins then nails Fulton with a spear for the win. I’m
hoping this was a one-time thing and they will be back to teaming together. They
have gelled well together and make a nice addition to the tag team roster.
These two athletic big guys were previously struggling for direction as singles
wrestlers, I don’t see the advantage of breaking them up yet.
Women’s tag action is
next with Bayley and Charlotte taking on the team of Sasha Banks and KC
Cassidy. The action starts off fast paced with old adversaries Charlotte and
Sasha vying for control. Charlotte sends Sasha to mat with a beautiful head
scissors. Sasha quickly tags in KC, but Charlotte easily takes control of the
match. Later Bayley lays out KC with a one handed bulldog and follows with
another for Sasha. Bayley and Charlotte then pay homage to Scotty Too Hotty
with a dance, the worm and finally chops to their prone opponents. Eventually
Banks and KC take control isolating Charlotte. Sasha slows the pace locking
Charlotte into a straightjacket. Later Charlotte manages to make a hot tag to
Bayley who comes in and nails KC with a series of signature moves culminating
with a back elbow of the turnbuckle and followed with a Belly-To-Bayley for the
win. Ty Dillinger comes out and scores the match a 9. This was a really fun
match with Bayley, Charlotte, and Sasha all looking as great as we’ve come to
expect. KC Cassidy proves to be a valuable addition to the roster, is
charismatic and looked at home in the ring with the NXT veterans.
Tag team action
continues as The Vaudevillians take on Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. Early on
Gotch and English take charge with their usual theatric and antics. Dawson and
Wilder manage to turn things around quickly though. The two roughnecks so
easily transition from brawling to pure wrestling as Dawson illustrates with a
picture perfect bridging suplex. The two wear down Gotch with frequent tags and
tandem moves before he makes the hot tag to English. Moments later Dawson is
laid out with an uppercut from Gotch followed by a running spinning neckbreaker
from English giving the Vaudevillians the pinfall victory. This was another
entertaining tag match with two teams that have developed quite a chemistry
together. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it is a travesty that
Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder are not doing on television what they do every
night at the house shows and that is steal the show.
Ty Dillinger is out
next and seems to be playing up to the crowd. He says so far the show has been
a 7.8 which is pretty good, but we are about to see a perfect 10 performance.
Unfortunately, his opponent for the evening is the mountainous Braun Stowman.
Undeterred Dillinger proudly hoists his 10 sign above his head, but Stowman
grabs the card and throws it to the outside. Ty pulls another smaller card from
the back of his trunks and unamused Stowman does the same. Finally Dillinger
produces a 3rd tiny sign from his waistband. Stowman attempts to
grab it but Dillinger slaps his hand, admonishing him and telling him “No!”
Moments later the action begins and Dillinger unwisely unloads a series of ineffective
chops. He follows with a crossbody but simply bounces off the 6’8’ 375lb
Stowman. He downs Ty with a massive headbutt and tosses him around the ring
before clamping on a shoulder claw. Dillinger eventually mounts a comeback with
a superkick followed by a series of punches and knees. He continues with a DDT
and climbs the ropes, diving off but is met with a big boot from Stowman. He
hoists Dillinger onto his shoulder and slams him down to the mat for a pin. Win
or lose, I am glad to see Dillinger picking up momentum and being more over at
every single show.
Uhaa Nation is out
next. He tells us about his Nigerian decent and his humble beginnings. He tells
us that he came from nothing and learned to fight hard and work for everything
he has ever had. That has led him to NXT, but he is not done fighting. He tells
us that he will not stop until he is at the top of NXT. These Uhaa promos have
been good, but the anticipation of his in-ring debut is even greater.
Next is six person tag
action as Enzo, Cass, and Carmella take on Blake, Murphy, and Alexa Bliss. The
girls start but a fired up Carmella quickly sends Bliss to her corner. Next in
is Blake but Enzo takes sends him flying with a nice headscissors take down.
Before too long though the match breaks down with everyone in the ring until
Enzo, Cass, and Carmella eject their enemies from the ring. Back in the ring
Murphy distracts the ref and Bliss trips up Amore on the ring apron thus
turning the tide of the match. They take their time wearing down the underdog
Amore. Eventually he makes the hot tag to Carmella. She lays into Bliss with
some kicks and a headscissors of her own before another tag. Cass rushes in and
lays out Blake with a big boot and a side slam. He finishes off by tossing
Amore onto Blake with an assisted splash for the victory. This was a fun match,
but unfortunately ring time for the ladies seemed limited. Enzo Amore, while
still playing the underdog, is showing a lot of improvement in the ring.
The main event of the
evening is Tyler Breeze taking on Baron Corbin. The match starts slow as Breeze
wisely looks for the best approach to take on the big man. He evades Corbin,
leaving the ring several times before coming back in and surprising Corbin with
a neckbreaker. Corbin halts his momentum quickly with a hell of a punch. Corbin
begins taking apart Breeze and looks so devastating doing so. Corbin has
developed a mean streak that suits him well, and executes even the simplest
punch with such aggression. Later, Breeze comes back with a superkick and a
flurry of punches of his own. Corbin comes back with a famasser, but moments
later is halted by a running ensiguri. The match continues like this back and
forth until Corbin sends Breeze to the mat with a gigantic side slam, followed
by a vicious beat down. The resilient Breeze fights back landing a superkick,
followed by a Beauty Shot for a victory seemingly snatched from out of nowhere.
This was a good main event featuring two guys who are poised to become fixtures
of the NXT main event scene.
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