Full Sail TV Tapings 10-8-15

Hot on the heels of Takeover: Respect, fans piled into Full Sail University to see the fallout from the historic live special. It was a night of new contenders, new chapters and renewed rivalry. The following recap contains spoilers for the next 3 episodes of NXT.

In the dark match Alexander Wolfe took on Hugo Knox in what would be a short textbook match. Knox starts off strong until Wolfe takes over with a cheap shot and controls much of the match. Finally, Wolfe misses with an elbow and Knox mounts a comeback. He topples the big German with a shoulder tackle and follows with a crossbody. He finally levels Wolfe with a big kick and executes a split-legged moonsault for the win. With his exuberant Chippendale-like dancing Hugo Knox is way over with the crowd. I’m not sure exactly how far a gimmick like this will take him, but his wrestling shows much promise as he is a big muscular guy who at times moves like a cruiserweight.

Episode 1

Bayley is out first to a huge pop from the crowd. She begins by saying that Takeover made history, not just her match but the entire show. She specifically mentions the Dusty Classic, and mentions that Dusty believed in her and made it all possible. She continues by stating that NXT women’s division has started something special and the division is at a whole new level now. She is interrupted by Alexa Bliss, who is accompanied by Blake and Murphy. Alexa pays compliment to Bayley saying that she is an incredible chance and she looks forward to sharing the future with her. She then snatches the belt off Bayley’s shoulder and says they will not be sharing it. She says soon she will be taking it for real, before throwing it back to her.

Next up is The Vaudevillians taking on Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins in a short tag match. English starts off strong until Dawkins takes a cheap shot. They punish English for much of the match until he makes a hot tag to Gotch who comes in with a series of innovative strikes and kicks. The Vaudevillians then hit Dawkins with the Whirling Dervish for the win. This was a short formulaic match, but fun none the less. The Vaudevillians are as over as always, while it’s nice to see Fulton and Dawkins being paired together again.

Next up is the television debut of Nia Jax. Her opponent for the evening is indie wrestler Evie. The two lock up and Nia easily knocks Evie down. Evie runs the ropes and bounces off of Nia like she hit a brick wall. Nia snatches Evie up in a bearhug, thrashing her around like a ragdoll. Later, Evie attempts a comeback with a series of kicks to no avail as Nia hoists her up and slams her to the mat emphatically with a big front slam for the win. Nia Jax shows a lot of potential and fills a monster heel role that was needed in the NXT women’s division. Even, if just a squash match it was still exciting to see Evie in the Full Sail Arena.

Up next is a battle royal to decide the new number one contender for the NXT title. The competitors were as follow (in no particular order): Danny Burch, Apollo Crews, Johnny Gargano, Tomasso Ciampa, Tyler Breeze, Ty Dillinger, Blake, Murphy, Steve Cutler, Bull Dempsey, Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, Elias Sampson, Riddick Moss, Rhyno, Enzo, Cass,  Zack Ryder, Mojo Rawley, Baron Corbin, and Samoa Joe. As it goes in these matches the action was way too crazy to call. At times Corbin and Rhyno were working well in tandem, until Corbin took the liberty of eliminating a shocked and angry Rhyno. Finally the ring thinned out to the final four which were Baron Corbin, Tyler Breeze, Samoa Joe, and Apollo Crews.  Soon after Joe eliminates Tyler Breeze much to the chagrin of a pro-Breeze crowd. Moments later with Joe dangerously on the ring apron, Breeze illegally pulls him to the floor as the crowd chants “Thank you , Tyler”.  Corbin slams Crews to the mat and begins a brutal beatdown. Crews mounts a comeback with a series of strike and topples Corbin with a big clothesline. He immediately goes for a standing moonsault but Corbin counters with his knees. The two make it back up and Crews rocks Corbin with two huge standing ensiguris and finally clotheslines him out of the ring to become the new number one contender. I believe most people were assuming Corbin or Joe would win, so Apollo Crews standing tall was a nice surprise. The man has all the tools, and a match with Finn will be incredible. Yet, I believe most people were pulling for Tyler simply because they are tired of seeing him used as a stepping stone.

Episode 2

Coming off a successful debut Asuka takes on Billie Kay. The bell rings and Asuka offers a handshake but Billie answers with a knee to the gut followed by a big boot. Billie continues with a series of strikes and a vertical suplex with major hang time. Asuka fights back with a series of big kicks but Billie shuts her down with a heavy punch. Billie runs the ropes finds herself in a rolling armbar that Asuka quickly transitions into a seated armbar. Billie manages to grab the ropes but Asuka continues her attack with a German suplex followed by many kicks before trapping Billie Kay in an Asuka Lock for a submission victory. Another successful outing from the impressive Asuka, who comes to NXT worthy of every bit of the hype. Asuka seems poised for big things in the division, and rightfully so. With three out of four of the Horsewomen moved on, Asuka is probably the only women in NXT who could step in the ring with Bayley and put on an instant classic today. Australian Billie Kay is no slouch though, she looked good here and I look forward to her (and Peyton Royce) moving beyond jobbing soon.

Tag team action is next Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder taking on Enzo and Cass. Almost immediately the roughneck team of Dawson and Wilder take control working over the leg of Enzo. Dawson punishes Enzo with a leg lock until Cass has enough and breaks it up. A moment later Dawson walks over to Cass on the ring apron to talk trash and Enzo rolls him up with a surprise pin. Absolutely livid Dawson and Wilder begin a post-match beatdown ejecting Enzo from the ring and hitting Big Cass with the Shatter Machine. I’m looking forward to a good feud from these two teams. I’ve seen them face off countless times at house shows and they’ve developed quite a chemistry. Win or lose, I’m just glad to see Dawson and Wilder finally making it to television on a regular basis.

Danny Burch is out next followed by his surprise opponent James Storm, who received a huge pop. It was a short match and almost all Storm. After a little bit of action Storm hits Burch with a neckbreaker and finishes him with his spinning bulldog the Eight Second Ride for the pin. Short and sweet match but James Storm looked great in the ring, moving smoothly and fluidly. More importantly, he just looked happy as hell to be there.

We continue with women’s action as Alexa Bliss takes on Peyton Royce. The match begins with back and forth grappling. Before long Bliss get the advantage, targeting the arm of Peyton grounding her with an armlock. Eventually Peyton fights back with a dropkick and several high spinning heel kicks. However Bliss halts her momentum, beating down Peyton and nailing her with a Glitz Flip.  She ascends the ropes and hits the Sparkle Splash for the victory. Afterwards, she grabs the mic and addresses Bayley, sarcastically stating that she is a role model and an inspiration but all that is about to end.

Next up Rhyno looks to exact a little revenge against Baron Corbin. As one would imagine this one was far from technical and pretty much a huge brawl. The two big exchange strikes and kicks with Corbin in control most of the match. They battle to the outside where Corbin sends Rhyno into the ringsteps. They battle back into the ring and eventually back outside where Rhyno returns the favor sending Corbin into the steps. Back in the ring Rhyno looks to keep his momentum going nailing Corbin with a belly to belly followed by a sidewalk slam. Rhyno hits the Gore but Corbin manages to kick out at two. Rhyno attempts a second Gore but Corbin snatches him up for the End Of Days.

Episode 3

We continue with women’s action as indie star Shazza McKenzie takes on Emma. In another glorified squash this one was almost all Emma, as she beatdown Shazza at a slow deliberate pace. Shazza surprises Emma with a roll-up, but Emma kicks out and answers with a mean clothesline. Later Shazz attempts another burst of offense with a running attack in the corner but Emma dodges and answers with an Emma-mite Sandwich. She then contorts Shazza into an Emma Lock for a submission victory. The presence of the indie girls in NXT is exciting, even if they are just enhancement talent. Shazza looked good, but more importantly Emma looked better. Emma needs all the momentum she can get if Asuka is indeed in her future.

Next up is tag action as Chad Gable and Jason Jordan take on Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. The match starts with a handshake before Gable and Ciampa lock up for some excellent grappling from both men before Gable takes the advantage. The match continues with the advantage teetering back and forth between both teams. Later, stretches out Garganos arm with a signature armbar over the top rope. However moments later upon a distraction Gargano torpedoes through the ropes into the ring spearing Gable, finally swaying momentum for his team. Gargano and Ciampa slow the pace working over Gable eventually settling into an abdominal stretch. Eventually, Gable makes the hot tag to a fresh Jordan who comes in with several big suplexes. Jordan looks to set up his finisher but Ciampa distracts and Gargano plants Jordan with a hellacious DDT. However moments later Jordan comes back flapjacking Ciampa to the mat and setting him up for a Grand Amplitude for the win. For me this was easily the best match of the night. Jordan and Gable have gelled so well and are easily one of my favorite tag teams period. Not sure what the status is of Gargano and Ciampa is, but easy to say both men have been involved in what have been my favorite matches at the last several tapings.

The indie invasion continues with Kay Lee Ray trying her hand against Nia Jax. The two lock up but Nia drops her with a headbutt. Kay fight back with a flurry of punches to no avail. Nia scoops Kay up for a backbreaker rack. Later Kay attempts one last bit of offense with several dropkicks. She attempts a springboard attack but Nia catches her, slams her to the mat before dropping a big leg drop for the win. Another short match but what would expect for the push of the devastating Nia Jax.

Enzo and Cass are out next but get attacked on the way to the ring by a still irate Dawson and Wilder. They violently throw Enzo off the ramp and focus their attack on the knee of Big Cass. They make a final emphatic point when Dawson locks in the leg of Cass and Dash comes crashing down on the knee from the top rope. Afterwards Cass is helped to the back by Enzo and several referees.

Next up is Tyler Breeze vs Samoa Joe in front of a very split crowd. The bell rings and Tyler evades the ring, taking his time getting back in. He answers the referees count but quickly evades the ring again. He makes it back in the ring and evades a third time but this time Joe chases him around and back into the ring. Breeze pounces on Joes with several strikes and kicks. Breeze lounges upon the turnbuckle with his signature pose but Joe kicks him down and attacks Breeze with a flurry of strikes. Breeze wisely leaves the ring but Joe dives through the ropes to the outside toppling Breeze. Back in the ring Joe hits with a splash and a kick in the corner. Breeze fights back hitting a backstabber. Joe fires back with several big chops, but Breeze hits a dropkick then grounds Joe with a chinlock. Joe makes it to his feet and drops Breeze with a bog boot followed by a senton. After a powerslam and a big side slam Joe sets up a musclebuster but Breeze escapes and answers with a superkick. The two exchange several strikes until rolls up his opponent. However Joe rolls through and locks on a coquina clutch for the victory. The losing streak continues for Tyler Breeze, but he still came out looking great.

Our final match is Ty Dillinger taking on NXT champion Finn Balor. The two start off with back and forth chain wrestling until Ty cartwheels over Finn and throws up his hands in a perfect 10. The action continues back and forth and eventually spills to the outside. Ty begins to focus his attack on the leg of Balor. The action continues back and forth with many signature spots from both men. Later on after much action Dillinger locks on a cloverleaf but Balor makes it to the ropes. The two make it to their feet and clotheslines Ty out of the ring. Balor runs down the ring apron and kicks his opponents head off. Balor tosses him back in the ring and hits Ty with a dropkick to the corner and follows with a Coup De Grace for the victory.