NXT Citrus Springs 3-14-15

NXT wrapped up its three day jaunt through central Florida with a final chaotic stop in Citrus Springs. Fans piled into the Citrus Springs Community Center to watch the men and women of NXT go to battle inside the squared circle.

Big Cass is out first accompanied to the ring by Enzo Amore, followed by his opponent Bull Dempsey. The two start off trash talking while Amore outside the ring is eating pizza from the concession stand. The crowd chants to “Eat it!” and Amore offers Bull a slice. Dempsey relents and tries to grab the slice but Amore recoils. Finally, the action begins and both Dempsey and Cass start off strong jockeying for the early advantage. Bull takes charge and does his best to wear down Cass who makes sporadic comebacks attempting a bodyslam to no avail. Eventually Cassidy mounts a last comeback and takes down Dempsey with a bodyslam following by a big elbow for the pin. Afterwards, a generous Amore leaves Dempsey his piece of pizza on his chest. It was a short but fun match to start the evening. Cass and Enzo never fail to fire up a crowd, while Dempsey continues to show glimmers of face potential.

The second match of the evening saw Steve Cutler take on Mike Rawlis. The two rookies are of similar size and seemingly evenly matched and it showed in the early goings. The action went back and forth until the favor began to shift in the favor of Rawlis who slowed Cutler with a series of rest moves such as chin locks and an abdominal stretch. Finally, Cutler fires back with a series of strikes followed by a flapjack. However, Rawlis turned things back around and planted Cutler with a Crucifix Powerbomb for the victory. It was an interesting change to get to see two lesser known talents show the crowd what they can do, rather than be fodder for more established guys. Ty Dillinger, who is doing a critic gimmick, wasn’t impressed. He came out and held up a scorecard giving the match a 4.

Heat magnet CJ Parker is out next and in a foul mood as always. He says tonight isn’t about signs or saving the planet. He says tonight is about him defeating Baron Corbin in the main event.

The evening continues with womens tag action as the team of Alexa Bliss and Devin Taylor takes on Becky Lynch and Dana Brooke. The good girl team of Bliss and Taylor started off strong with some great spots early on from Bliss who has made some great strides in the last year. It wasn’t long though before the power of Brooke and the prowess of Lynch came into play. The two ran roughshod while making frequent tags and looked to have the match won. In the final chaotic moments of the match Bliss landed a Sparkle Splash on Lynch for an upset victory. The experienced Lynch clearly held this match together but Dana Brooke is really starting to come into her own. The two actually make a pretty good team, or at least make more sense than the friendship of Lynch and Banks.

The match of the night was up next as Chad Gable took on Solomon Crowe. Gable plays the cocky heel well, even taking the time to correct ring announcer Dasha Kuret and have her announce that he is a 2012 Olympian. He can back it up with action as well, showing up Crowe in the early goings with his grappling. The explosive and unpredictable Crowe would not make it easy though, fighting back with a series of strikes and chops before the Olympian exploited and opening and zeroed in on the arm of Crowe. Eventually Crowe comes back with a series of strikes and a running knee in the corner followed by a single leg dropkick to the knee of Gable that sends him crashing down. Crowe contorts Gable into a Stretch Muffler for a tap-out victory. I thought they stole the show, but Ty Dillinger only gave them a 2.

Next up, Bayley takes on Carmella in a nice back and forth match. NXT fans are already aware of the talent that Bayley possesses, what is worth noting is how good Carmella has gotten. Not that she was ever bad, she was a natural from the start but now she is ready to show that she can share the stage with the top women of the division. She eventually took control of the match and took her time punishing the underdog Bayley who mounted an unstoppable comeback culminating with a Belly-To-Bayley for the pin. It was a fun match with a great showing from both ladies.

Next up Ty Dillinger takes on Hideo Itami. Dillinger starts strong, even managing to take time out to hold up his scorecard and give himself a 10. He manages to evade the fast feet of Itami and slow down the pace of the match. Hideo fires back and tries to perform a GTS but Dillinger escapes and continues the punishment. Eventually, a fired up Itami mounts a comeback and nails Ty with a flurry of signature strikes and several stiff kicks. He follows with a dropkick in the corner, followed by an Irish whip and a single leg dropkick for the win. Hideo Itami impresses as always, but it’s Dillinger who consistently proves he can put on a great match with anyone. Perhaps, they should let the man drop the gimmicks and just let Dillinger be Dillinger.

Announcer Greg Hamilton is in the ring next and introduces Hugo Knox. The pumping house music hits and Knox comes out dancing like the most enthusiastic Chippendale dancer ever. Knox, a man of few words says he is a future champ before bursting back into dance. Knox has been impressive in the ring thus far, moving with more agility than a man his size should. The gimmick? I’m not so sure, but the ladies seem to love it.

The night continues with tag team action as Sawyer Fulton and Tucker Knight take on the champs, Blake and Murphy. Knight and Fulton are two very big and strong guys who use their power to their advantage over the much speedier Blake and Murphy. The two take their time dismantling the champs methodically with Blake cut off from his partner. Eventually though Blake would make the hot tag to a fired up Murphy who came in clearing house like a man possessed. He knocks Knight off the apron and hoists up Fulton for a big suplex followed by a huge frogsplash from Blake for the pin. The champs work tremendously in tandem and work well as heels or faces. Fulton has gelled really well with fellow Shoot Nation member Angelo Dawkins in recent months, hopefully he can get that same synergy with Knight as well.

Baron Corbin is on the fast track finally competing in his second main event of the three day weekend. The same can be said for CJ Parker. Tonight the two met and while Corbin seems unstoppable, Parker was the one with so much to prove, which he did. Surviving the early onslaught of offense from Corbin he managed to take control attacking him relentlessly. All peace signs aside, Parker has a mean streak and he let it show. After sending Corbins shoulder into the ringpost Parker pounced and began to work the arm. Corbin comes back with a flurry of finishing moves and but Parker ducks a big boot and counters with a spinning heel kick. The two men make it to their feet and Parker follows with a palm strike and a faceplant DDT, followed by a ridiculously close 3 count. A frustrated Parker climbs the ropes and goes for a beautiful moonsault, but Corbin rolls out of danger. The two men make it up and Corbin throws Parker into a thunderous End Of Days for the victory. Parker is easily the most legitimate heel in NXT, but he is also underrated in the ring. Meanwhile, if Baron Corbin keeps putting on matches like this the naysayers will soon be silenced

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NXT Bartow 3-13-15

NXTs weekend triple shot continued tonight as its athletes converged on Bartow, Fl. It was a small but very lively crowd, one that included the Hardcore Legend Mick Foley who enjoyed the show from the back.

The evening starts off with Bayley taking on Dana Brooke. Bayley takes charge early on riding on the energy of the crowd thoroughly behind her. Bayley kept a step ahead in the fast paced opening moments of the match landing several of her signature spots. Eventually the power of Brooke comes into play and Dana takes charge of the match and wears down her opponent with a series of punishing holds accentuated by a fierce Firemans Carry Slam. But in the midst of her offense all it took was one tiny moment for Bayley to steal the victory with a Belly-To-Bayley from out of nowhere. Fan favorite Bayley never fails to fire up a crowd, while Dana Brooke is quickly improving with each outing. After, Bayleys music is cut abruptly and CJ Parker comes out saying that nobody cares about divas and nobody cares about her. Tonight, he continues, is about him and tonight in the main event he will defeat Hideo Itami.

Next up is Chad Gable vs Solomon Crowe. It seems you never know whether you are going to get heel or face Gable, tonight he played up the heel role and he played it well. He’s good at playing the cocky Olympian and equally showed off his Olympic skills out-grappling Crowe in the early moments of the match. Eventually the explosive Crowe comes back with his smashmouth offense that sends Gable reeling. Gable takes advantage of an opening and begins working on the arm of Solomon Crowe with a series of arm bars, taking time in-between to towel himself off. Eventually Crowe comes back with a series of strikes and a running knee in the corner followed by a single leg dropkick to the knee of Gable that sends him crashing down. Crowe contorts Gable into a Stretch Muffler for a tap-out victory. Ty Dillinger comes out, apparently testing out the critic gimmick again and holds up a scorecard giving the match a 4. I’d give it a much higher, both Gable and Crowe are exciting to watch and they are two of my top picks for 2015. This was definitely one of the highlights of the night.

Steve Cutler is out next and drawing off of his military background, saluting and then standing at attention waiting for his opponent, the lone wolf of NXT Baron Corbin. Starting strong Cutler took the fight right to Corbin to little avail. Unfazed, Corbin fought right back sending Cutler reeling and re-evaluating his game plan. Cutler finds an opening and takes control of the match. Thus far Cutler seems to be a brawler relying on a lot on his power, hitting Corbin with a thunderous suplex. None of it would be enough to take down Corbin who mounted an unstoppable comeback with a series of his signature moves and an emphatic End Of Days for the pin.

The night continues with mixed tag action in what has to be one of the weirder matches in recent memory. Carmella and Big Cass took on the team of Devin Taylor and the tortured Marcus Louis. Mixed tag matches by nature are often sort of a mess still yet this was a match made fun by the interesting mix of personalities in the ring. This match featured frequent tags, a lot of forced tags, and much shenanigans. In the chaotic final moments Devin attempts a roll up pin but Carmella turns it into her headscissors submission for a tap-out win. All in all it was a fun match. Big Cass has really come into his own in the last year, while Carmella gets better every outing and it won’t be long until she is competing with the top ladies of the division. Marcus Louis is absolutely great as the tortured monster and demands attention whether he is in the ring or simply on the ring apron. Taylor has improved since the last time I saw her perform and I look forward to seeing her in a more traditional match. Ty Dillinger didn’t think as highly as I did, he only gave it a 2.

Next, Hugo Knox comes out next to high energy dance music moving as if he is a Chippendale dancer. The enthusiasm of Knox is about enough to blow the roof off the place, love or hate the gimmick but he absolutely owns it. His opponent Ty Dillinger comes out to new music claiming that he is going to give us a match that is a 10. The action begins fast paced as each man looks to gain advantage. Eventually Dillinger takes control after a clotheline from hell, and then slows down the pace with a series of headlocks and rest holds. Knox mounts a comeback with a series of shoulder tackles followed by a spinning heel kick and a kick to the head. With Dillinger finally laid out Knox finishes him with a split legged corkscrew moonsault off the turnbuckle. I don’t know about a 10, but it was an entertaining match featuring one of the most underrated guys around versus a potential rookie of the year.

The action continues with Bull Dempsey taking on newcomer Mike Rawlis. Dempsey, who continues to show glimmers of a potential face run, takes early control of the match. After a series of arm drags and headlocks the match turns into a brawl with Rawlis surprisingly playing the aggressor and gaining control. Bull plays the underdog well making sporadic comeback attempts with a growing repertoire including a sunset flip and a cross-body. In the end the wrecking ball Dempsey ran down Rawlis and followed with a flying headbutt for the win. Even in light of recent booking Dempsey is looking better and better. Still early on for the rookie Mike Rawlis, he has all the tools and the rest will come with time.

Next up, Becky Lynch takes on Alexa Bliss. The match begins fast paced with Bliss almost a step ahead in the early goings. Bliss attempted to thwart the Delty Diva with her largely aerial offensive including a beautiful head scissors. Lynch came back with a style that throttles the line between technical wrestler and brawler nailing Bliss with a series of strikes and a trifecta of her trademark leg drops. Bliss regains control nailing a standing moonsault double leg drop, Lynch comes back with a Bexplex followed by a pin attempt, but Bliss kicks out. A few  more moments of back and forth grappling and then Lynch traps Bliss in an armbar submission for the tap-out victory. Becky Lynch is probably the best pure female wrestler on the roster, but Bliss has improved so much and tonight these two put on the best match of the evening.

Our main event of the evening is up next as CJ Parker takes on Hideo Itami. The two men start cautiously, as Parker tells him there is to be no kicking and this is a wrestling match… right before taking a cheap shot and taking control. Itami swiftly turns things around though and Parker evades the ring. Itami mounts offense before Parker makes a vicious comeback beating down Itami. He grounds Itami with a series of rest holds. He knocks the wind out of Itami with a senton, but unwisely goes for another which Itami counters. Hideo throttles him with a series of strikes and two different teases at a GTS, which Parker escaped from. Parker lands a palm strike out of nowhere that has Hideo seeing stars. Eventually though Hideo fires back with a series of kicks followed by an astounding dropkick in the corner, and then a single leg dropkick to Parker for the victory. Hideo looks as great as always, while Parker proves he is ready to move up the ranks in NXT.

Afterwards as the show ended the crowd erupted into a massive “We want Foley” chant.  Mick Foley obliged telling us that it was his sons birthday and all he wanted was to see NXT….. “right here in Bartow Florida.”. He then puts over the NXT roster and tells us to “Have a nice day.”

It was sort of an unusual NXT show, but sometimes those end up being the most memorable ones.

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NXT Full Sail TV Taping 2-18-15

Wrestling junkies piled into the Full Sail University arena to see yet another round of tv tapings that would take NXT well into April. The following article contains spoilers for February 18th tapings.

The dark match saw The Vaudevillians face off against The Mechanics in a short but entertaining tag team match. After a strong opening, the match saw Dawson and Wilder dominating Aiden English for much of the match until he managed to make the hot tag to Simon Gotch who came in and cleaned house. With Dash Wilder isolated, Gotch hit an uppercut to the back of the head followed by a running spinning neckbreaker by English for the pin. The Vaudevillians, who have been losing a lot of momentum as heels, seem to be playing to the crowd again. Meanwhile, Dawson and Wilder are so underutilized in NXT that is becoming increasingly frustrating. Hopefully though, wrestling dark matches is an indication that they are at least finally headed in the right direction.

Episode 1

We open with Finn Balor making short work of Ty Dillinger, who offered little offense. In a match that was not very far off from a squash, Balor finished off Dillinger with his trademark double stomp off of the turnbuckle. After the match, Tyler Breeze addressed Balor via video referring to him as a flavor of the month and assuring him he would meet his match in Prince Pretty.

Next up is Charlotte vs Bayley vs Becky Lynch to determine the number one contender for the womens title. The match starts off fast paced as Bayley and Charlotte immediately pounce on Lynch, only to toss her from the ring and turn on each other. Becky makes her way back into the ring and ejects Charlotte and focusing on the knee of Bayley, eventually locking Bayley into a leg lock submission before Charlotte makes the save. Incredible back and forth action continues until Charlotte takes charge. With Lynch laid out Charlotte locks Bayley into a Figure Four Leg Lock. Before Bayley can tap out, Becky crawls over and drapes herself across Bayley for the pin.

We continue with another short match as CJ Parker takes on Hideo Itami. Through the match Parker managed to mount bursts of offense only to be thwarted by Itami at every turn and eventually dropped by a running single leg drop kick.

Up next is a squash match in the purest sense as Rhyno makes his way to the ring with a huge pop. The ECW legend ran through an unnamed wrestler in less than a minute, finishing him off with a brutal gore.

 In the episodes final match, Alex Riley takes on the man that goaded him back into the ring, Kevin Owens. With strong support from the crowd Riley starts out strong bringing the fight right to the champ. The champ fires back and controls the pace of the match for much of the duration. Riley doesn’t give up and mounts a comeback that sends the champ reeling. Riley ascends the rope for a high risk maneuver but Owens knocks him off. Owens follows with a cannonball senton and then a pop-up powerbomb for the victory. After, Owens cuts his celebration short to continue beating down Riley. Outside the ring Owens prepares to execute a powerbomb into the ring apron, the same maneuver that put out Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville. Before he can take Riley out Sami Zayn runs down to make the save and the melee begins. Owens and Zayn brawl outside the ring until referees and then other wrestlers come out to separate the two. A fired up Zayn hits the ring and then leaps off the turnbuckle with a huge swanton dive taking out Owens and everyone else in his way. Sami Zayn is back and the crowd can’t wait for this feud to continue.

Episode 2

Ty Dillinger starts off another episode this time taking on former partner Jason Jordan. Dillinger starts off hot but Jordan cools him down as the two are actually pretty evenly matched. Eventually the strength advantage and he finished off Dillinger with an emphatic Olympic slam. The losing streak continues for Ty Dillinger, but at this point I am just happy that he is getting tv time. The direction of Jason Jordan seems to change quite frequently these days, I’m assuming he’s done with Shoot Nation as he hasn’t been involved with them at house shows in quite some time either.

Next up Emma takes on Bayley in an evenly matched contest. Emma didn’t seem to be her usual bubbly self, at times coming off down right unenthused and at other times slightly aggressive hinting at a possible heel turn. The diva from down under had the match swinging in her favor when Bayley reversed a pin from out of nowhere for the victory.

Tag team action is up next as Blake and Murphy take on The Lucha Dragons that featured some impressive high spots you would expect from Kalisto and Sin Cara. However Blake and Murphy who were already explosive and exciting to watch in their own right, are starting to exude a confidence as champs and it showed here. The two took control and finished off an isolated Sin Cara with a brainbuster from Murphy followed by a beautiful frog splash from Blake for the pin.

Sami Zayn is out next to much fanfare to let us know in no uncertain terms that he is going to invoke his rematch clause. However simply though, at the top of his priority list is to “kick Kevin Owens ass!”

Next up, Rhyno destroys another jobber in practically less time than it took him to get to the ring. After the match he grabs a mic and lets the crowd know that he is here to make a statement. He also says it doesn’t matter who the champ is that the results will be the same, they will be ripped in half with a gore.

The main event of this episode is Tyler Breeze taking on Hideo Itami in a two out of three falls match. These two have spent much time in the ring together and their chemistry shows. Not far into the match a fired up Hideo laid out Breeze with a single leg kick for the first fall. Afterwards as the ref tended to Breeze to start the second fall, he suckered Itami with a Beauty Shot for an immediate second fall. Wasting no momentum Breeze continued his onslaught against a dazed Hideo and attempted to finish it quickly however Itami would not make it easy as the two contested an excellent third fall of the match. Itami began to mount an impressive offense and looked to finish with another single leg kick which Breeze ducked and countered with a Beauty Shot for the win.

Episode 3

This episode starts off with a smashmouth match as Solomon Crowe makes his most impressive television outing yet against the loudmouth CJ Parker. This was a very physical match with a lot of great offense from both men. However with the crowd on his side and an unstoppable momentum Crowe was on fire, as evidenced by a suicide dive delivered with a vengeance. Parker slowed him down but Crowe fired back eventually contorting his opponent into a Stretch Muffler for the submission victory. An impressive match for both men, but that much more for the winner, Solomon Crowe.

Next, Baron Corbin makes short work of Steve Cutler in another squash match. NXT is not doing Corbin any favors by putting him back into squash matches, and it’s certainly giving naysayers more ammunition. That’s a shame, considering people who have seen him at house shows know he is capable of doing more. Hopefully, a meaningful feud is right around the corner.

We continue with tag team action as Cass and Enzo take on Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton of Shoot Nation. It’s worth noting that the latter are still not introduced on tv as Shoot Nation and even their theme is an instrumental version. Dawkins and Fulton have gelled really well at house shows and become a good team but tonight would not be their night. After punishing the much smaller Amore for much of the match he finally made the hot tag to Cass who cleared the ring and took out Dawkins with a swinging side slam, followed by an assisted splash from Enzo for the win. Perhaps the most fun part of the match was amid the action when a sheepish looking Blake and Murphy came out to give Carmella flowers. Honestly, she didn’t seem to mind.

Next, Ol’ Bluepants took on the debuting Dana Brooke. The experience factor came into play and Bluepants carried the majority of the offense, but the strength of Brooke became her advantage as she simply overpowered Bluepants and finished her with a front sitout slam.

Sami Zayn returned to action in an excellent nail-biter of a contest with Rhyno. It was speed vs power in this back and forth contest that had the very vocal crowd on the edge of their seat. Eventually Rhyno began taking Zayn apart, but a fired up Zayn mounted a comeback eventually even hoisting up the big guy for a Blue Thunder Powerbomb. The momentum swayed back and forth through many near falls. Finally Zayn narrowly avoided a Gore that sent Rhyno tumbling into the corner setting him up perfectly for a Helluva Kick from Zayn for the victory.

Episode 4

We start with a match for the womens title as Alexa Bliss challenges the champion Sasha Banks. Much of the crowd was confused as to why Bliss was challenging for the title as opposed to new number one contender Becky Lynch, and it was never explained live. A good match transpired nonetheless as Bliss took the fight to the champ in a nice back and forth match. At one point Bliss took to the top turnbuckle for her Sparkle Splash when Banks knocked her off and immediately pounced with a crossface giving Bliss no choice but to tap.

Our second match of the episode and our main event was a match that could have easily headlined any NXT live special, Finn Balor vs Kevin Owens for the NXT title. The two took the fight right to each other and Owens got the early advantage wearing Balor down. Early on he attempted a powerbomb on the outside but luckily Balor countered and quickly claimed the advantage. It would be fleeting though as the much larger and stronger champ fired back. The two traded offense for over thirty minutes in a match that often brought the crowd to their feet. The match would hit a turning point when Balor would attempt a corner drop kick that Owens narrowly avoided, which left Balor crashing into the corner hurting his leg. Owens quickly focused his attack on the leg with a running senton directly on the limb followed by a half crab. The two fought on and Balor mounted more offense, eventually avoiding another cannonball from Owens and sending him into the corner with a dropkick. Balor climbed the ropes and landed his double leg double stomp, but with his already injured limb it did considerable damage to him as well. Eventually the two men stumbled to their feet and Balor walked right into a pop-up powerbomb from Owens for the win. Another MOTY contender for Owens, a first loss for Balor, and a total win-win for the crowd who witnessed it.

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NXT Ft Pierce 2-13-15

Mere days removed from NXT Takeover: Rival fans packed into the Havert L Fenn Center in Ft Pierce, Fl to see what exactly was next for the stars of NXT. It was a night of new chapters and new rivalries and fans would not leave disappointed.

Our opening contest saw the Olympian Chad Gable taking on newcomer Mike Rawlis. Gable made his way to the ring with his old music as opposed to the Shoot Nation theme, and also appeared to be face to a heel Rawlis. The smaller Gable took the fight right to his opponent out-grappling him and eventually wrenching the arm with a series of armbars. The size and strength advantage of Rawlis eventually came into play with a series of strikes and power moves. However Chad Gable found victory out of nowhere with a sunset flip off the top turnbuckle for the pin. Gable exudes so much potential, while the rookie Mike Rawlis came out looking strong even in defeat.

Next up was tag team action as The Mechanics took on The Vaudevillians in one of the better matches of the evening. The match went back and forth in the early goings before Dawson and Wilder took control over The Vaudevillians with frequent tags and great tandem moves. Eventually a beaten down Aiden English would make the hot tag to Gotch who came in and began to clean house. The Vaudevillians looked to have victory in hand but the wily Mechanics narrowly avoided some signature moves and managed to eject Gotch from the ring. A few moments later Dawson flapjacked English onto Wilders knees allowing a pin and an impressive victory for NXTs resident roughnecks. Both teams looked great in this match and apparently have a good chemistry between each other. The Vaudevillians impressed, but at this point it is The Mechanics who are so underrated that it is practically criminal. I really have to question why Dawson and Wilder are not on TV yet.

Next up NXTs newest announcer Greg Hamilton introduces the new womens champion Sasha Banks who makes her way the ring to much fanfare. He asks her what it means to her that she is the champ. She replies that she has been chasing this dream since she was ten, and dreams really do come true. But it more fitting Boss fashion she continued by saying it was no thanks to any of us and that the title proves she is indeed the best and the baddest diva in all of NXT.

Next, everyones favorite hippy makes his way to the ring with a live mic and he is not in a pleasant mood. Parker was unhappy that he was once again left off another live special and proceeded to tell everyone all about it. Fortunately for us flickering lights and a glitchy mic was followed by the entrance music of Solomon Crowe. The two wasted no time and jumped right into the action, locking up and jockeying for control. Crowe took control of the match and looked to end it very quickly with a Boing splash which Parker kicked out of. A very physical match followed with plenty of smashmouth offense from both men. Parker controlled the pace for a while but a high risk moonsault found no one home and that was enough for Crowe to mount a comeback, eventually tying Parker up with a Stretch Muffler for a tap out victory. After a long year that involved an injury setback and a sketchy win-loss record, it’s nice to see the explosive Solomon Crowe stringing together victories of late.

Next up Elias Sampson had the unfortunate task of taking on Baron Corbin. Early on Sampson managed to stay alive simply by trying to avoid the big man and even managed to topple him at one point with a knee strike to the face. It wouldn’t be enough though, and Corbin made a quick comeback culminating in an End Of Days. Baron Corbin adds a little more variation to his move-set with every match and has proved at house shows in the past that he is more than capable of wrestling longer matches. I’m hoping he can find himself in a meaningful feud soon before the powers that be fall back on squash match after squash match.

We follow that with womens action as Becky Lynch takes on Bayley in another highlight match of the evening. Much of the match was a back and forth contest that saw good offense from both ladies. Lynch took control and hit a beautiful Bex-plex followed by a few of the best leg drops in NXT. In the end Bayley mounted a comeback and hit a Belly-to Bayley from out of nowhere for the win. This was a great match that left both ladies looking strong. I could realistically see either one of these women challenging for the title next, and even walking out with the title.

The resident wrecking ball of NXT Bull Dempsey hits the ring next to take on Prince Pretty himself, Tyler Breeze. In the early goings Breeze makes it a point to evade his larger opponent. After much avoidance both men ended up back in the ring and Bull easily won their first lock up and actually mocked Breeze, laying himself across the top turnbuckle in signature Breeze pose. Dempsey then controlled much of the match up with occasional offense from Breeze. Finally Dempsey ran down Tyler and climbed the rope to execute his flying headbutt. Breeze rolled out of the way and then hit a stumbling Bull Dempsey with Beauty Shot for the win. A fun match that at first seemed random, but hints at a feud that could really make sense… with even glimmers of potential for a Dempsey face run.

Next up, Big Cass and Enzo Amore take on the tag champions Blake and Murphy. Amore is at his best when playing the underdog, and that is where he quickly found himself for most of the match. Eventually he made the hot tag to Big Cass who entered the ring on fire taking out anyone in his path. Cass looked poised for victory, but Enzo who could barely even stand tagged himself in (presumably to impress Carmella at ringside), but this proved fatal as Blake and Murphy easily took out the already exhausted Amore, with a brainbuster from Murphy followed by a frogsplash from Blake for the win. Afterwards Cass, Enzo, and Carmella all argued in the ring before hugging it out. It was a good match, but seemed more about setting up a possible dissension between Cass and Enzo.

Our main event of the evening was a match that could easily headline many cards all over the world as Adrian Neville took on NXT Champion Kevin Owens. The champ tried to dictate the pace of the match early on, but Neville challenged him his trademark quick flurries of offense. What followed was a pay per view quality match with both men trading offense left and right. However whenever Neville would mount decent offense Owens would shut him down and hit him with a lot of his trademark moves including a cannonball senton. Neville managed a last gasp of offense with a beautiful enziguri followed by a standing moonsault. It wouldn’t be enough to keep the big man down as Owens rolled out of the way of a final attempted 450 splash off the top rope. Neville stumbled to his feet and walked into a pop-up powerbomb from Owens for the win.

It was a great night of matches that answered some questions and proposed many new one. One thing is for sure, the aftermath of NXT Takeover: Rival is not to be missed.

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NXT Full Sail TV Tapings 2-12-15

Exuberant fans piled into the NXT arena at Full Sail University for another exciting round of TV tapings that would feature exciting developments, long awaited debuts, and a few surprises along the way. The following recap includes SPOILERS for the next four episodes.

The dark match saw former football player Mike Rawlis taking on the Olympian Chad Gable who entered the ring very over with the crowd. Gable proved exactly why he is so over from the opening bell out-grappling his much larger opponent. Rawlis would attempt to use that size advantage and take control out powering Gable. However Gable was able to roll up Rawlis from out of nowhere for the pin.

First Episode

We start with a video package from William Regal addressing Kevin Owens and the title situation. He tells us that tonight Adrian Neville will get a chance at retribution in a non-title match against Kevin Owens.

photo courtesy of @wgwphotos

Following that new champion Kevin Owens makes his way to the ring to the sounds of a very split crowd and lets us know that he never lied about his intentions and that they were clear from the very beginning. He also makes it known that Sami Zayn is the past, and the future is Finn Balor. He tells Balor to pick a date and he will be there to defend his NXT title.

Next up Elias Sampson hits the ring. Sampson has a ton of potential but he wouldn’t get to show any of it tonight because his opponent turned out to be ECW legend Rhyno, much to the delight of a shocked crowd. Rhyno made very quick work of Sampson and broke him half with a ferocious Gore.

Backstage, Balor is interviewed about his number one contender-ship but is distracted by Rhyno who walks right through, pausing just long enough to smile and walk off.

Next up is The Vaudevillians vs Cass and Enzo accompanied to the ring by Carmella. Gotch and English controlled much of the match punishing the underdog Enzo before he made a hot tag to Big Cass who cleared the ring and put down English with a big boot, then tossing Enzo off the turnbuckle for a splash onto English for the win. Afterwards Blake and Murphy address them via video letting us know that they proved at Takeover:Rival that they were no flukes, and then began to flirt with Carmella, who looked sickened in the ring.

Backstage, Neville addresses Owens, saying he hasn’t forgotten what happened to him the last time the two faced. He continues stating that Owens won’t soon forget what he does to him tonight.

An irate CJ Parker marches to the ring and lets us know he is sick and tired of the treatment he receives around here, particularly being left off of another live special. He announces that he is taking over and that this show is done. He begins cutting off the ring with caution tape before mysterious music hits along with video glitches. Solomon Crowe emerged from the crowd and hit the ring quickly laying out the hippy and finishing him with his Boing Splash. He grabs a mic and announces “…. Now back to your regularly scheduled broadcast.”

New Womens champ Sasha Banks is out next to face “Ol’ Bluepants” Leva Bates. It was a fast paced match that started off with plenty of back and forth action before Banks took over and proved why she is boss, finishing off Bates with her backstabber transitioned into a Boss lock, leaving Bluepants no choice but to tap. Afterwards, Banks took the mic to let us know that her title means that she is the baddest women in NXT.

Adrian Neville vs Kevin Owens in a non-title match is next and begins with an early burst of offense from Neville. Before long the champ took control and began to punish Neville with his brutal and ugly offense. Neville mounted a comeback that amounted to some incredible spots including a moonsault off the turnbuckle onto Owens standing outside of the ring, and a 450 off the ring apron onto a ground Owens. Victory seemed to be close for Neville who attempted a 450 splash only for Owens to roll out of the way. The two men make it to their feet and Neville walks right into Owens powerbomb, giving Kevin Owens the pin-fall victory in an incredible hard fought match.

Episode 2

The next episode begins with the wrecking ball of NXT Bull Dempsey taking on Hideo Itami. Dempsey dominated the early goings punishing his smaller opponent, but it wouldn’t be long before Itami managed to mount a flurry of offense and finish off Bull with a single leg running dropkick for the win. After the match atop the ramp Itami was ambushed by Tyler Breeze with a surprise superkick.

A smug Breeze attempted to find the perfect angle for a selfie with the downed Itami, who began to stir and made his way to his feet and chased off Breeze who ran for his life.

Next up The Lucha Dragons took on the team of Jason Jordan and Ty Dillinger. Jordan began the match dominating Sin Cara with a distinct strength advantage. Later in the Jordan kept itching to be tagged back in, but Dillinger refused saying “I got this”. When the Lucha Dragons began to mount a comeback and Dillinger was ready to tag, Jordan walked off leaving Ty to fend for himself. Dillinger then found himself on the receiving end of a Salida Del Sol from Kalisto followed by a senton from Sin Cara giving the Lucha Dragons the victory.
Afterwards Dillinger grabs a mic and says he is not leaving the ring until he receives an explanation. Baron Corbins music hits and he comes out to make very quick work of Ty Dillinger with an emphatic End Of Days.

Next up is a no nonsense back and forth battle between Becky Lynch and Bayley. Given the proper TV time Lynch shows the audience even more every match what she can do, as evidenced by her growing fanbase in the split crowd. The feisty Irish wrestler showed us further versatility making Bayley tap out with an impressive armbar submission. I could easily see these two battling for gold.

Kevin Owens comes out and joins the announce team, then a returning Brian Kendrick took on Finn Balor in an excellent match that showcased both men extremely well. Kendrick looked good back in a WWE ring but not good enough to combat the roll of Finn Balor who finished Kendrick off with his trademark double foot stomp off the top rope for the victory.

Owens (who apparently had left sometime during the match) made his way back out first staring down Balor. Then he made his way back to the announcers, attacking Alex Riley and tossing him over the announce table.

Episode 3

Party Guru Adam Rose returned to the NXT arena complete with a bevy of new rosebuds to take on Tyler Breeze. It was a short match that was surprisingly one sided that saw Rose display much of his trademark shenanigans before he was met with a Beauty Shot out of nowhere giving Breeze the victory. The highlight of the match was watching Tyler Breeze interact with the rosebuds entering and exiting the ring.

That was followed with another short match as Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton took on tag champs Blake and Murphy. Dawkins and Fulton of Shoot Nation have gelled well as a team and have been putting on some good matches at house shows, but this one would be a shorter match to showcase the new champs. Murphy landed a brainbuster on Dawkins followed by Blakes frogsplash for the win.

The trend continues with another short match as Baron Corbin squashed Tony Briggs without so much as breaking a sweat. Afterwards Kevin Owens makes his way over to the announce table to antagonize Alex Riley who is trying his best to ignore Owens and do his job. Owens the grabs Rileys water bottle, takes a big swig and dumps the rest on Rileys head. An irate Alex Riley jumps to his feet but Jason Alberts holds him back. Kevin Owens saunters off, meanwhile and incensed Alex Riley storms away.

Next Bull Dempsey takes on Solomon Crowe. Dempsey dominated much of the match while Crowe managed to get in short bursts of offense, at one point even body slamming the big man. In the final moments Bull sought to end it with a flying headbutt which Crowe avoided, laid out Dempsey and finished him with a boing splash. A nice official debut for Crowe, and more bad luck for Dempsey who can’t seem to catch a break these days.

Next, yet another awesome match between Charlotte and Sasha Banks for the title. These two have developed such a chemistry with each other and can produce top quality matches practically every time they meet. The action was fast and furious and back and forth, but as the match wore on it seemed to be swaying more and more in the favor of Charlotte. In the end she attempted a Natural Selection off the top turnbuckle but Banks held tight to the ropes sending Charlotte crashing to the mat. Banks then rolled her up for the pin with her feet on the ropes for added leverage.

Episode 4

This episode begins with tag team action as Big Cass and Enzo continue their quest for tag team gold by running through The Lucha Dragons. The Lucha Dragons controlled much of the match while Enzo played the part of the underdog. They probably would have won, had it not been for the rule bending from Big Cass who ran in to thwart the Luchas offense and carry Enzo back to their corner for a tag. Cass came from the tag fresh and on fire laying out Kalisto with a big sidewalk slam followed by an assisted splash from Enzo for the pin.

Next, Carmella takes on Alexa Bliss in a short but fun match. Both of these women have come so far in the last year and seemed to work well together. Carmella was in control for much of the match but ultimately her winning streak would be ended bu a Sparkle Splash off the top rope giving Alexa Bliss the victory.

Next is CJ Parker who had the unfortunate task of taking on a fired up, recently rejuvenated Alex Riley. I always felt that WWE missed an opportunity with Riley, but hopefully this is the beginning of the rectification of that. Poor CJ Parker ( who has become the whipping boy of the up and comers) managed to get in his fair share of offense, but in the end a trio of clotheslines followed by a neckbreaker off the top rope would give Alex Riley the win. Kevin Owens comes to the end of the ramp to tell Riley that he is possibly the most stupid man in NXT to come back into the ring, and that he would end him, and then end Finn Balor.

The feud between Hideo Itami and Tyler Breeze continued with another great match between the two. Possibly even better than their encounter at Takeover:Rival the two men took it to each other and are actually fairly evenly matched. In the final moments of another hard fought match Hideo went for a dropkick to Breeze in the corner, only for Tyler to dodge it. Hideo made it to his feet and walked into the Beauty Shot giving Breeze an upset victory, however I doubt the battle is over between these two.

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