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.  

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Full Sail TV Tapings 8-13-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Thursday night fans piled into the NXT arena at Full Sail University for another round of television tapings. With only a little over a week before NXT Takeover, the booking was a little strange to say the least, with some unique matches and possible swerves. It will be interesting to see how the tapings stack up to the actual episodes after the magic of editing. The following report contains detailed spoilers for the next three episodes.

In our opening dark match Riddick Moss takes on the drifter Elias Sampson in a short but well wrestled contest. Moss takes control early on with an obvious strength and size advantage flattening Sampson with a powerslam. Sampson fights back pummeling Moss in the corner. Later he sends Moss to the mat with a double mule kick out of the corner before attempting to ground Moss with a side headlock. The two trade shots back and forth until eventually Sampson comes off the turnbuckles with a crossbody. Moss reverses the momentum and tosses Sampson over his head with a fallaway slam. Moss finishes off Sampson with a crucifix powerbomb for the victory. I’ve been a fan of Elias Sampson from the beginning, but Riddick Moss is starting to come into his own and is looking better with every outing.

Episode 1

General Manager William Regal makes his way to the ring to officiate the contract signing for the women’s title match at NXT Takeover. Bayley is out first, followed by the champ Sasha Banks. Before signing Bayley takes the mic and gives thanks to all of us for getting her to this point. She tells us that this is the biggest match of her life. She explains that she has been in this position before but let the title slip through her fingers. She insists that this time will be different, she can feel it, and Sasha can feel it too. Bayley signs the contract and Sasha takes a mic now. Sasha says she is the baddest diva in NXT and the greatest champ on either roster. Sasha signs the contract and begins to leave the ring. Bayley says she knows how these contract signings end and she doesn’t get to just walk off. Bayley tells her she is ready for a fight now. Banks tells Bayley that Becky and Charlotte were threats but she is not. Banks continues by telling her that is why they are on Raw right now and she is not. She finishes by calling her a loser and telling her she is not worth the fight. Sasha leaves but Bayley attacks her on the ramp and the two fight until they are broken up by several referees.

Next up Prince Pretty Tyler Breeze comes out with a Jushin Thunder Liger mask to make quick work of enhancement talent Rob Ryzin. The bell rings and Ryzin comes out of the gate ready to fight but Breeze knocks him out with a superkick for the win. Afterwards Breeze puts the Liger mask on Ryzin to give us a Takeover preview. Breeze picks his opponent up off the mat only to drop him again with a Beauty Shot.

The action continues with a big eight man tag match with The Hype Bros and Enzo & Cass taking on Aaron Solow, Jesse Sorenson and two other unnamed talents. This was a mostly one sided match with the enhancement talent getting minimal offense against Amore. Cass looks to finish a relatively easy night with a swinging side slam to Solow but Sorenson breaks the pin. Sorenson then gets leveled by Cass followed by a broski boot from Ryder for his troubles. Cass executes another swinging side slam to Solow and launches Enzo off the turnbuckle with an assisted splash for the win.

The night continues with more tag action as the team of Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins take on the champs Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy accompanied by Alexa Bliss. Dawkins and Fulton start off strong in the early goings using their size to their advantage along with tandem wrestling. Finally Blake turns things around with a big clothesline and control Dawkins until he makes a hot tag to Fulton who comes in and cleans house with a series of strikes and a nice gutwrench suplex to Murphy. It wouldn’t be enough as Murphy quickly regain control and the champs finish Fulton with their running suplex/frogsplash combo for the win. Afterwards The Vaudevillians come out to cut a promo but Alexa marches up and slaps each of them. English and Gotch regain their composure and begin again, but Bliss assaults them once more before the champ’s music hit.

Next up is Steve Cutler taking on Samoa Joe. Cutler bravely takes it right to Joe with a series of strikes into the corner. Cutler backs up and charges but Joe catches him with a thunderous side slam. Joe picks him up and locks on a Coquina Clutch for a quick submission victory. Joe leaves the ring but Corbin runs out and drops him with a big boot. The two brawl into the ring and Joe begins to mount a comeback but Corbin snatches him up with an End Of Days.

Kevin Owens comes to the ring and sets up a ladder. He begins to talk about his match with Balor at NXT Takeover. At the first mention of Brooklyn he is met with loud boos and a “Brooklyn Sucks” chant. He tells us that we are a bunch of hypocrites and are basically the John Cena of wrestling fans because nothing genuine ever comes out of our mouths. He points out that we say we love NXT and want it to grow yet cry that they are doing a sold out show in Brooklyn. He says we’re all trash and that beating Balor and taking his title will make him feel better. He says Japan was a fluke and that at Takeover it is going to be “Climb Owens Climb”. The lights go dark and Finn’s music begins but when the lights come back on Finn is already in the ring perched on the turnbuckle. The two begin to brawl and Finn drops Owens with a pele kick. He takes the ladder and launches it but Owens dodges and clears the ring. Finn tells him that he is going to do more than win, he is also going to kick Owens ass and shut his mouth. This was a great segment. Owens scathing promo had so much truth to it, and how he utilized it is another example of why he is simply the best heel in the business.

Episode 2

The episode begins with Gionna Daddio taking on Sasha Banks, who came to the ring wearing her women’s title, again it will be interesting to see how these episodes are edited for television. The match starts with much fast paced back and forth action. Gionna starts off strong with several grapples, pin attempts and acrobatic maneuvers but ultimately Banks halts her offense with double knees in the corner. Banks then slows the pace choking Gionna in the corner before settling into a chinlock. Gionna mounts a comeback culminating in a crossbody but moments later Banks hits her with a backstabber transitioned into the Bank Statement for the submission victory. There were a few rough spots but ultimately Gionna shows a lot of promise and is a wrestler to get excited for.

The Ascension are out next to a huge hometown pop to take on the weird pairing of Baron Corbin and Rhyno. Viktor and Konnor start off strong manhandling Corbin with a series of strikes and uppercuts. Viktor and Corbin end up brawling on the outside, my visibility was limited (they were on the other side of the ring) but Viktor went down and did not immediately get up. The bell rang abruptly and the match was called a DQ. However, Viktor made it back up and everyone seemed poised to restart the match. Regal came out and said the match would not end like that and to restart it. Rhyno and Corbin dominate Viktor until he nails a hellacious clothesline on Rhyno in a last gasp effort. Viktor makes the hot tag to Konnor who comes in with a flurry of punches to Rhyno. He accentuates it with a big flapjack and The Ascension surround Rhyno for The Fall Of Man. Corbin makes the save pulling Viktor out of the ring, and moments later Rhyno gores Konnor for the win. Flawed match or not, it was nice to see The Ascension welcomed back to Full Sail in such a loud raucous way.

We continue with Alexa Bliss taking on Bluepants in a very one sided match. In the opening moments Bliss attacks and beats down Bluepants, She continues with intermittent kicks and strikes in between armlocks. Bluepants fights back with two high kicks and a suplex, but Bliss answers with a Glitz Flip followed by a Sparkle Splash for the pin.

Next, Apollo Crews takes on Martin Stone. In the early goings Apollo shows off his amazing agility and fluidity finishing off the opening moments with a beautiful dropkick. Stone mounts a slight offense, wisely trying to ground Crews. However Apollo comes back with a mean kick followed by a series of axehandles and a big splash. He hoists up Stone with a big military press and drops him. He then follows with a perfect standing moonsault for the win. It was a short but fun match and a good introduction to Apollo Crews.

Next up is women’s action with Billie Kay taking on Eva Marie. After a few successful grapples in the early goings Eva stops to gloat but Billie shuts her up with a big boot. However moments later Eva is back in control with several shoulders to Billie in the corner. She follows with a suplex and a senton before settling into a grounded abdominal stretch. Billie makes it up and mounts a comeback with two clotheslines and a suplex of her own. Billie goes for a pin and the referee counts one, two, and he hesitates on what should have been a three count. Apparently, Eva Marie forgot to kick out, it was terribly noticeable. It certainly didn’t help to sway the already negative crowd who pounced upon the botch with “Bullshit” chants. The match continues and the two fight into the corner where Eva manages to hit Billie with the Sliced Red #2 for the victory.

Tag action is next with Solomon Crowe and Neville taking on Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. Neville is met with a hero’s welcome from the crowd at Full Sail University.  Crowe and Gable start with both men showing off some incredible ringwork. Crowe takes charge and eventually flapjacks Gable before settling into a front chancery. Moments later Neville takes over on Jordan with a flurry of kicks and signature offense for his team. Later Jordan and Gable would turn things back around isolating Crowe from his partner. Crowe eventually makes a hot tag to Neville who comes in with a speedy series of strike and kicks laying out Jordan. Neville climbs the turnbuckles for The Red Arrow, but Gable wisely pulls Jordan to the outside. Undeterred, Neville executes a moonsault off the turnbuckle onto Jordan on the outside. Crowe follows with a suicide dive through the ropes and into Gable. Back in the ring Jordan and Gable somehow manage to take advantage ejecting Neville from the ring and hitting Crowe with Grand Amplitude for the victory.

Episode 3

The episode opens up with Peyton Royce (KC Kassidy) taking on Carmella. The match opens up with much grappling and reversals, and both women looking strong. Finally, Carmella takes charge with a nice headscissors and a sitout rear slam. Peyton fights back with two high spinning heel kicks and a crossbody. Ultimately though Carmella would nail Royce with an STO and transition into her modified figure four head scissors for the submission victory.

Tag team action is next with the bizarre pairing of Tyler Breeze and Bull Dempsey. Their opponents were the surprising duo of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, who were both welcomed with much fanfare. Very early on Ciampa slaps the taste right out of the mouth of Breeze. Gargano comes in and continues the momentum with a mean neckbreaker to Breeze. Eventually Prince Pretty makes a tag to Bull. Gargano continues his onslaught but bounces right off of the much larger Dempsey. After several unsuccessful takedowns Gargano drops Bull with a kick to the head and tags in Ciampa. Tommaso first tries to ground Dempsey before eventually jumping onto Bull’s back and locking on a sleeper hold. Dempsey falls back squashing Ciampa before tagging in Breeze. Breeze quickly begins to get owned again and once again tags in Dempsey. Moments later Dempsey accidently knocks Breeze off the ring apron. All alone in the ring Gargano rolls up Bull with a sunset flip and Ciampa follows through rolling Bull up for the pin. Afterwards Bull and Breeze argue in the ring, then Breeze attacks Bull. He finally drops Bull with a kick to the head. This was a really fun match possibly setting up a program for Bull and Breeze. Though a more pressing question right now would be the NXT status of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.

Women’s action is next with Billie Kay taking on Dana Brooke. The match begins with much fast paced back and forth action. Billie mounts some nice offense with a perfect headscissors but a frustrated Brooke beats down Billie afterward. She continues choking Billie in the corner before settling into a scissor lock. Later Billis fights back with a clothesline and a hurricanrana followed by a big boot. Brooke attempts a kick, but Billie catches her. Dana answers with an ensiguri and finishes with a Samoan Driver for the win. I enjoyed this match, Dana Brooke really is makings strides every week.

It’s main event time and Kevin Owens is out first with the NXT belt (let the speculation begin), his opponent is Adrian Neville. The bell rings and Owens immediately rolls out of the ring dictating the pace as usual. Neville gives chase and they end up back in the ring with Owens in control. Neville comes back with a flurry of signature kicks and a headscissors. The battle continues to the outside where Owens attacks Neville with a vicious clothesline before striking a Finn Balor pose. They end up back in the ring and Owens flattens Neville with a senton before settling into a chinlock. Moments later after a mean cannonball Owens hoists Neville up onto his shoulders for an Attitude Adjustment, but Neville reverses it into an outrageous DDT. The battle rages on until Neville avoids a powerbomb and drops Owens with a big German suplex. Moments later Owens eats a superkick and Neville climbs the turnbuckles for a Red Arrow. Owens rolls out of the ring, grabs his belt and begins to leave. Neville doesn’t relent and the two end up back in the ring where Owens levels Neville with the belt causing a DQ. Owens begins to beat down Neville after the match but Finn Balor makes the save. Tyler Breeze then runs out to help Owens beat down Balor. Neville makes it back into the ring evening the odds and chasing off Owens, leaving Breeze to defend himself. Balor hits Breeze with a slingblade followed by a dropkick into the corner. Neville climbs the turnbuckles and finishes Breeze with the Red Arrow.

Overall, it was a fun night with some nice surprises and some feel good homecomings. Otherwise though, the booking was sort of bizarre. With that said I will still be eagerly tuning into the tv show before and after Takeover to see exactly how tonight translates into television magic.

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Five To Thrive In 2015

As a new year begins the internet is once again at no shortage for yearend retrospectives and articles looking at the year ahead. Recently WWE.com ran a feature highlighting 15 stars to look out for in 2015 and to the surprise of no one, many NXT stars made the list. So to crowd the internet with one more highly subjective look at the year ahead, here are my picks for the top 5 NXT stars to look out for in 2015. I chose to limit myself to only 5, simply because as an avid NXT fan it would be too easy to get carried away and include most of the roster.

For my list I chose to omit the obvious, wrestlers like Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, and Charlotte who are obviously at the top of the NXT heap. The hot additions of 2014 such as Hideo Itami, Finn Balor, and Kevin Owens are no-brainers. Baron Corbin, Bull Dempsey, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch would all be great picks for any list. However I chose to highlight athletes that at this point are flying under the radar. I picked wrestlers who have yet to debut on the network, or have at least been minimally featured but have become staples of house shows. These are athletes the casual viewer may not even know, but are almost guaranteed to make an impact in NXT in 2015. In no particular order they are:

Solomon Crowe
It is undeniable that Solomon Crowe showed up in NXT with an already sizable fan base, but it is also safe to say he’s made many new fans as well, and he’s done this without ever showing his face on the network. It’s easy to see why, the Ohio native with a hardcore reputation comes off as dangerous and explosive in the ring, just as likely to bicycle kick you in the face as contort you into a stretch muffler. Yet to the dismay of increasingly impatient fans he has yet to be debuted which has led to rampant speculation and conspiracy theory. The only thing for sure though is when the powers that be finally pull the trigger on Crowe he’ll be a top player in NXT.

Hugo Knox
With seemingly a new lauded indie superstar coming in every week, it is an admirable feat for a relatively unknown wrestler to make such an impression with his first match. Former UK soccer player Hugo Knox made a big splash with his debut proving that he will be a face to look out for. Regardless of the Magic Mike/Male dancer gimmick, he comes out with such enthusiasm and exuberance that it is contagious. That energy translates in the ring as well. Knox is not a small guy but at times he moves like one, being just as comfortable flipping off a rope or executing a perfect enziguri as he is performing power moves. Knox has maximized his time in the spotlight making a lot of fans with a few matches.

Chad Gable
He may not be the biggest guy in NXT, but the 2012 Olympians wrestling skills may cast one of the largest shadows. At 5’8 and 185 pounds he is prone to be the underdog in about any fight, which he does well, but it is when he is on offense that he is the most fun to watch. Technically sound and fast paced Chad Gable also leads a stable of wrestlers with amateur backgrounds known as Shoot Nation, sizable backup with each member bringing much to the table in their own right. For me, the formation of Shoot Nation is one of the more intriguing developments of 2014. Given the chance Chad Gable could be a main eventer and Shoot Nation the next great faction in NXT.

Braun Stowman
At 6’8” and 370 pounds Stowman is an absolute mountain and watching him slowly making his way to the ring with an icy stare it is easy to see him as the monster he claims to be. Once in the ring the former strongman tosses his opponents around like dolls while moving about the ring with more agility than a man his size should. A sight to behold and beast in the ring it is only a matter of time before NXT has one more resident monster on the WWE Network. How long before he crosses paths with Baron Corbin? Stowman is possibly the only guy in NXT that could make Corbin look like a legitimate underdog.

The Mechanics
The mantra of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder is no flips, just fists. While that is an appropriate slogan for the two roughnecks whose offense isn’t pretty, it is effective and the two are smarter and more calculating than they care to admit. The term old school is thrown around a lot these days, but these guys are it, harkening back to the golden age of great tag team wrestling. I am often singing the praises of the NXT tag scene to anyone who will listen, but you put these two in a program for tag team gold with a team like Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake, and everyone will see it for themselves.

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