NXT Gainesville 10-30-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

Friday night guys and ghouls creeped into the MLK Recreation center for an evening of NXT action. It was Devils Night, but instead of tricks or treats, fans were treated to an odd, fun, and most definitely unforgettable night of wrestling.

The evening starts with a spooky Halloween Royal Rumble, standard Rumble format is in place except all competitors are costumed. Sylvester Lefort is out first in his gladiator gear. Aiden English is out next dressed up as Kevin Owens, complete with a toy Intercontinental title belt and nailing even the most subtle mannerisms. English even uses Owens moves, missing a cannonball but hitting Lefort with a Pop-up Powerbomb. As the match wears on and the ring fills the action continues in typical battle royal fashion. Some of the competitors included Elias Sampson as a mustard bottle, Thomas Kingdon in poncho and sombrero with a big mustache, and Axel Tischer as a Viking. Jason Jordan was a monkey while Chad Gable was a giant banana. Hugo Knox wore a wig and a schoolgirl skirt and at one point danced with a hippy Rich Swann. Biff Busick also competed but was in a ghostly hood, while Noah Kekoa paid homage to The Wild Samoans. Wesley Blake came in dressed as a Florida State Seminoles cheerleader which brought boos from the Gators crowd. The final competitor was a Lego person whose identity became obvious after laying out Blake with a Belly-To-Bayley before tossing him over the top rope to become the winner. Ring announcer Dasha Fuentes comes out and states that as winner of the Rumble, Bayley has won the privilege of being guest general manager for the night. The action was standard battle royal fare, but all the costumes and zaniness made this so much fun. It was also a great way to utilize a lot of underutilized guys from the back.

Next up, Steve Cutler takes on Angelo Dawkins. The match starts with a lot of back and forth grappling and running the ropes until Dawkins takes advantage with a cheap shot. After that Dawkins slows down the pace, grounding Cutler with a front chancery. Eventually, Cutler fires back, gaining momentum culminating with a nice springboard elbow. Dawkins retaliates moments later dropping Cutler onto the ropes and then following with a flapjack for the win. This was a short textbook match, but both men have improved a lot over the last year. After a lot of failed gimmicks, Angelo Dawkins may now be finding traction by pretty much just being Angelo.

An angry Enzo Amore makes his way to the ring to cut a fiery promo against the two men who put his partner on the shelf, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. In the middle of his tirade he is interrupted by Dawson and Wilder, who surround the ring before entering to beat down Amore. The NXT champion Finn Balor runs down to make the save. Acting manager Bayley comes out and sets up our main event of the evening, which will obviously be Finn and Enzo taking on Dawson and Wilder.

Women’s action is next with Marley (formerly Gionna Daddio) taking on Peyton Royce. The match starts very fast paced and back and forth as the two trade armlocks and pin attempts. Peyton takes over after a fierce running knee. She chokes Marley in the corner before grounding her with a chinlock. Marley fights back with some dropkicks and a hip toss, but Peyton comes back with a huge heel kick for a close count by the ref. Moments later Marley uses her speed to her advantage for a last grasp comeback culminating with crossbody off the top rope for the win. This was one of the better matches of the night. The new less bubbly, more dark and sultry heel persona works well for the talented Peyton, while Marley simply gets better every time I see her.

The night continues with six man tag action as Mojo Rawley, Tucker Knight, and Bull Dempsey take on the team of Solomon Crowe, Sawyer Fulton and Marcus Louis. After an initial burst of offense the heel team quickly take over controlling Knight. Mostly strikes and kicks as the three tag frequently punishing Tucker. Sawyer Fulton looked strong with an impressive gutwrench suplex to Knight, who is by no means a small man. Eventually, Knight makes the hot tag to Bull who clears house with a series of strikes until another cheap shot behind the referees back allows the bad guys to regain control. Finally though, Dempsey makes the tag to Mojo who comes in as hyped as ever. He goes for a big splash in the corner, but Louis pulls Crowe out of the way. Crowe pounces and finishes Rawley with a twisting suplex neckbreaker for the victory. Fulton gave a standout performance, while Crowe is still one of the more underrated guys in NXT.

Next, is Baron Corbin taking on Levis Valenzuela. Corbin takes control easily in the early goings of the match. Corbin rolls out of the ring and grabs a mic, telling Levis the costume party was at the beginning of the night and that these people paid what little money they had to see real superstars. The match resumes and Levis comes back with a big arm drag and a monkey flip before clotheslining Corbin back to the outside. An angry Corbin climbs back into the ring but a fired up Valenzuela continues with several dropkicks and a suplex. Corbin halts him by taking out his knee. Corbin controls most of the match from this point on, slowing the pace with a series of strikes and punches. Levis mounts a small comeback but Corbin shits him down with a big swinging side slam and moments later and End Of Days for the pin. Afterwards, Corbin begins to decimate Levis, but Apollo Crews makes the save. This match looked better in execution than it does on paper. I personally love all the people booing the hell out of Corbin, because he seems to feed off of it, and it makes him better. Plus, he has no problem handling the crowd either.

We continue with more women’s action as Nia Jax takes on Billie Kay. Wisely, Billie attempts to stay a step ahead by using her speed to her advantage by dodging Nia, and answering with strikes of her own. Nia misses with a splash in the corner and Billie pounces with a series of kicks, but Nia catches her and drops her with a shoulder breaker. After that she begins to target the arm of Billie for much of the match. Later, Billie mounts a comeback with a series of kicks and a big boot. An angry Nia would fight back and snatch Billie into a Torture Rack for the submission. I enjoyed this match. I could easily see Billie Kay at the top of the division one day.

We continue with Ty Dillinger taking on Tino Sabbatelli. The perfect 10 Ty Dillinger started off strong, outgrappling Tino, taking out his feet and following with a nice springboard splash. The two fight on the outside until Tino sends Dillinger into the pole. Dillinger barely makes the referees 10 count, and Tino tosses hom back to the outside. At this point Sabbatelli takes over, tossing Dillinger to the outside several times over the course of the match, but each time Dillinger would narrowly make the 10 count. Finally, Dillinger mounts a comeback with several chops, a Lou Thez press, and a Russian Leg sweep. He hikes down his kneepad for his knee smash, but Tino rolls out of the ring. He grabs Tino and sends him back to the ring, nails him with a superkick and a knee smash facebreaker for the victory. Dillinger’s stock continues to rise in NXT, yet one of his greatest strengths is being able to make anyone look good. Tino did better than I anticipated, yet he has a long way to go.

Dasha Fuentes invites Asuka to the ring for an interview. The international superstar comes out to probably the biggest pop of the night. She talks about how happy she is to be here in NXT before she is interrupted by Emma. Emma says that Dana could not be here tonight and that it is all Asuka’s fault, and it is unacceptable. Emma demands a moment of silence for Dana, but the crowd instead answers with Asuka chants. After Emma starts to leave but instead attempts to attack. Asuka is ready and counters with a rolling armbar, but Emma escapes and beats a hasty retreat.

It is time for our tag team main event. Enzo starts for his team very aggressively against  Dawson with a series of punches. Inevitably, Amore does what he does best, playing the underdog as Dawson and Wilder decimate him. Dawson and Wilder employ frequent tags while working the leg of Amore. Eventually, Enzo manages to bulldog Dash and make a hot tag. Finn Balor comes in with a series of strikes and chops. He kicks Dawson off the ring apron and follows with a slingblade and hesitation dropkick to Wilder. Balor throws Amore onto Wilder with an assisted splash, but Dawson pulls the ref out of the ring causing a DQ. Dawson and Wilder attempt to leave but are cut off by Bayley and all the still costumed Rumble competitors who back Dawson and Wilder back into the ring for a final Coup De Grace.

I’ve been to too many NXT shows to count, and I don’t think there has ever been a bad one. Yet there are a handful that will always be standouts, this one was one of those shows. “Kevin Owens” alone was worth the price of admission.

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Full Sail TV Tapings 9-10-15

NXT returned home to Full Sail University for another set of television tapings. Feuds were furthered, new talents arrived, and the Dusty Rhodes Memorial Tag Tournament continued. The following blog post features spoilers for the next three episodes of NXT and will take us right into the next special.

The opening dark match of the evening saw The Hype Bros. taking on the team of Elias Sampson and Riddick Moss in a short contest. The Hype Bros started with much momentum and Rawley engaged in his usual animated banter. It wouldn’t take long though before Sampson and Moss got the upper hand cutting off Ryder from his corner. After several minutes of being grounded Ryder creates enough separation to make the hot tag to Mojo who comes in and cleans house. Finally he hoists Sampson up for Ryder to come off the turnbuckle with a Rough Ryder for the win. This was a short, sweet, and formulaic match but it did a good job of getting the crowd hyped for the evening.

Episode1

Prince Pretty Tyler Breeze is out first followed by his opponent Adam Rose, who is now a “party pooper”. Rose says WWE pooped all over Adam Roses’ party and now he is here to leave a big steamer on ours. Before the match can start Bull Dempsey comes out to finish his business with Breeze. He tells Breeze that last week was an accident, but what happens tonight will not be. Breeze retorts and is then cut off by Rose who says he is going to poop on Tyler’s party and Bull’s as well. Rose slaps Bull, only for Bull to beat him down and eject him from the ring. Breeze attacks Dempsey from behind, but Bull quickly gains the advantage. Breeze escapes and quickly retreats from the ring

.

Martin Stone is in the ring now followed by his perfect 10 opponent Ty Dillinger. In the opening moments after a successful maneuver Dillinger cartwheels into the corner and throws up a perfect 10 hand signal. Stone comes back with some particularly stiff elbows and then mocks Dillinger with his own 10. Stone controlls Dillinger for much of the match before Ty mounts a comeback, leveling Stone with a clothesline and follows with a leg sweep. Dillinger hikes down his knee pad and finishes with his knee smash to the skull of Stone for the pinfall victory. This was another short and simple match, but it’s nice to see Dillinger finally getting some well-deserved momentum.

Next up is Apollo Crews taking on Solomon Crowe. Despite some early smashmouth offense from Crowe, Crews quickly takes over with his speed and agility, coming out of a leapfrog into an explosive dropkick. Crowe evades the ring and Crews attempts to baseball slide to the outside but Crowe traps him in the ring apron and begins to viciously beat him down. The two make it back to the ring and Crowe continues to beat down Crews before settling into a half straightjacket to ground the agile Crews. Eventually Crews mounts a comeback with big clubbing blows and a big splash in the corner. Crews drops Crowe with a standing ensiguri and follows with a big military press and a beautiful standing moonsault for the win. These two have amazing chemistry and put on great matches every time they step foot in the ring together. This was another impressive showing for Crews while Crowe is so much better as the aggressive heel.

The Dusty Rhodes Memorial Tag Tournament continues with Rhyno and Baron Corbin taking on Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. The indie dream team starts strong leaving their two bigger opponents struggling to keep up. Ciampa and Gargano both stay one step ahead of Rhyno. Corbin has enough and runs in but Gargano pulls down the ropes and sends Corbin tumbling to the floor. Gargano follows with a big suicide dive to the outside and into Corbin. He climbs back into the ring and follows with another suicide dive into Rhyno. Not to be outdone, Ciampa climbs the turnbuckles and flies off with a huge crossbody onto Corbin and Rhyno on the outside. Back inside Rhyno finally manages to make the tag to Corbin who comes in with huge heat from the NXT crowd. Corbin drops Ciampa with a huge side slam effectively slowing the pace. The two dominate Tomasso with frequent tags until he finally makes a hot tag to Gargano who comes in catching Corbin with a series of kicks. He follows diving over the rope into a big DDT to Corbin. Rhyno runs in but Johnny dodges a gore sending Rhyno to the floor. Moments later, Gargano looks to have it won with a roll-up but Corbin kicks out and makes it to his feet catching Gargano with an End Of Days for the victory. This was a great match and definitely a highlight of the evening, all four men came out looking great. Baron Corbin is a heat magnet but he seemingly strives on it. Officially signed or not, between this match and others to come, Ciampa and Gargano proved to be bona fide show stealers.

NXT womens champion Bayley is out next to a huge her pop from the crowd. She jumps the ramp and runs out to celebrate with the crowd. She makes her way back around to her number 1 super fan Izzy, even bringing her to the ring with her to celebrate. The two hoist their titles in the air and even gave a signature high five to the crowd in tandem. It was a special moment that served to remind people about everything that is right with wrestling, and one can’t help but to think that they have not seen the last of Izzy in a WWE ring.

Bayley’s opponent for the evening is “Crazy” Mary Dobson who takes the fight right to the champ. She attacks with a kick to the gut and several stiff forearms before grounding Bayley with a guillotine choke. Eventually Bayley mounts a comeback with several clubbing blows and a series of elbows in the corner. She follows with an exploder suplex and finally a Belly To Bayley for the win.

Afterwards Bayley grabs a mic but before she can speak she is interrupted by Sasha Banks. Sasha says she came out to congratulate Bayley. She mentions that everyone is saying that they stole the show at the last Takeover with a match of the year contender. But she continues by telling Bayley that she doesn’t simply want a rematch, but rather she wants to beat Bayley again and again. William Regal comes out and tells us that there will indeed be a rematch, and it will be the main event of the next Takeover. As if that wasn’t historic enough, he adds the stipulation that it will be a thirty minute iron man match.

Episode 2

We start with tag team action featuring possibly the two best tag teams in all of NXT, Dawson and Wilder taking on Gable and Jordan. Like he often does, Gable controls the early goings out-grappling Dawson. Eventually Dawson flapjacks Gable to the mat to turn the tides of the match. Dawson and Wilder employ frequent tags beating down Gable. At one point Gable looks to make the tag but Dash pulls Jordan off the ring apron. They continue decimating Gable culminating in a guillotine off the ropes. Despite their efforts, Gable eventually makes a hot tag to a fresh Jordan who comes in like a man possessed. He tosses Wilder over his head with ease with an overhead suplex. He tags Gable back in and they hit Grand Amplitude on Wilder for the victory.

Women’s action is next with Carmella taking on Eva. Wasting no time Carmella jumps on Eva from the opening bell pummeling her in the corner and finally tossing her from the ring. Eva makes her way back in and gains the upper hand, executing a suplex on Carmella. She takes down Carmella with a big boot and goes for another suplex. Later Carmella comes back with a headscissors and two Thez presses. She hits a sit-out rear slam and goes for the pin, but Eva rests her feet on the ropes. The match continues with a little more back and forth until Eva ejects Carmella from the ring for a count-out victory. While Eva Marie has improved drastically, she is still a long way from being television ready, and in many ways it almost seems she is retrogressing. I’m all for giving her a chance, but this push is just way too rushed.

Next, Bull Dempsey looks to gain a measure of revenge against Tyler Breeze. In the opening sequence Dempsey does the unthinkable, intentionally messing up the hair of Tyler Breeze. Moments later he is tossing him around by his hair and following with a flurry of strikes. A back and forth match ensues until Breeze grounds Dempsey with a side headlock. Eventually Dempsey makes it to his feet “hulking up” against Breeze’s offense. Finally he runs down Breeze and climbs the ropes for his seated senton. Breeze makes it to his feet and sends Dempsey to the mat and pins Dempsey using the ropes for leverage.

William Regal is out next to welcome the newest NXT star Kana, who will be known from this point forward as Asuka. She says she is happy to be here in NXT and wants to be champion. She is interrupted by Dana Brooke and Emma. They make sure to tell her that they run things around here, and that they already chased Charlotte and Becky out of NXT. They tell Asuka that she better get out of her ring now. Asuka slowly retreats from the ring and up the ramp, all the while looking back with a look on her face that seemed to say that this is far from over. This segment may have been a little lackluster, but knowing what Asuka is capable of and what she is going to bring to NXT makes this perhaps one of the standout moments of the night. I for one can’t wait for her NXT debut.

We continue with an NXT Tag Title match as Blake and Murphy get their rematch against The Vaudevillians. Early on Alexa Bliss intereferes but Bluepants runs out and chases her off. With the odds even The Vaudevillians take control with English executing a double arm drag followed by a dropkick to both Blake and Murphy. Later after a backdrop onto the ring apron Blake and Murphy regain control grounding English with a chinlock. Finally, English gets free and makes a hot tag to Gotch who comes in with a series of strikes and innovative kicks, followed by forearms in the corner. Gotch executes a rolling senton onto Blake and English attempts to follow with a high angle senton in the corner, but Blake counters by throwing up his knees. Blake tags out and Blake comes off the top rope with double knees onto English for a very close count. The two teams battle back and forth until The Vaudevillians hit their uppercut/neckbreaker combo to Murphy for the win. This was another great tag match in an evening of tag matches. The Vaudevillians gimmick and signature spots are so over the top, sometimes you lose focus on exactly how good they really are in the ring.

Episode 3

The action continues with Apollo Crews taking on Johnny Gargano. The match starts with fast paced, “don’t blink”, back and forth action. The two best each other move for move until finally Crews nails Gargano with a hellacious dropkick that resonates through the entire building. Somehow Gargano fights back with a suicide dive and some impressive kicks of his own. Ultimately, Crews would come back with a massive suplex followed by a big splash in the corner and finally his military press/standing moonsault combo for the victory. This was easily one of the best matches of the evening.

Next, the Aussie duo of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce take on Dana Brooke and Emma. Peyton starts off with several roll-ups and pin attempts on Emma. Eventually though, Emma and Dana take over and slow down the pace with Emma locking Billie into a body scissors.  Finally Billie makes a hot tag to Peyton who comes in with several high kicks to Dana Brooke. The action continues back and forth until Emma causes a distraction giving Dana the upper hand to scoop up Peyton for a Samoan Driver Slam and a pinfall victory.

Next up is Tomasso Ciampa taking on Tyler Breeze. The two grapple back and forth until Ciampa stops that with several big chops and several mean knees. Breeze makes a comeback with a neckbreaker but mere moments later Ciampa answers with a big boot and a facebuster off the ropes. Ciampa is looking unstoppable until he dives off the ropes and Breeze answers with a dropkick. Breeze then pummels him in the corner and finishes him with a Killswitch. A nod to both men as this was probably match of the night for me. I’m also hoping this is perhaps a permanent new finisher for Breeze as the Beauty Shot has always seemed a little weak.

The Dusty Rhodes Memorial Tag Tournament continues with our main event as Enzo Amore and Big Cass take on Samoa Joe and Finn Balor. The big men, Cass and Joe start for their teams in a virtual stalemate as neither man can take the other down. The action spills to the outside at which point Enzo dives outside into Joe, and Finn dives outside into Cass. Eventually the action makes it back into the ring with Joe and Finn working over Enzo. Eventually Enzo hits a DDT on Finn out of nowhere and makes a hot tag to Cass. The big man cleans house despite the best efforts of the champ to thwart him. He delivers a big boot to Joe and follows another to Finn on the apron for good measure. He somehow hits Joe with a swinging side slam and follows with “Air Zo”. Somehow Joe kicks out and moments later the dream team takes control. Joe plants Enzo with a musclebuster and Finn follows with a Coup De Grace for the win.  This was a great effort by all four men. I’ve been critical of Enzo here before, but he stepped up as well.

Next stop: Takeover. I’m assuming we will see several matches added in the coming weeks via backstage segments, along with the tournament finals, and of course the historic main event.

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NXT Cocoa 8-28-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason 

Hot off the heels of their biggest live special yet, the stars of NXT made their return to The National Guard Armory in Cocoa, Florida for another night of wrestling action. In an evening of high impact action titles were defended, the tag tournament progressed, and fans went home very happy. 

First out is the drifter Elias Sampson who upon entering the ring regales us with song about Cocoa and “he’d say it was nice to be here/but that would be a lie”. His opponent Apollo Crews is out next. The two competitors lock up and then break, Sampson drops down in the corner and strums his guitar. They lock up again and repeat the same routine. A few moments later a distracted Sampson drops his guitar and Crews drops him with a massive dropkick. Crews looks impressive as always until Sampson finally gains control and pummels Crews in the corner before slowing the pace and settling into a chinlock. Apollo makes a quick comeback but Elias shuts him down and wisely grounds him with another chinlock. Moments later Crews dodges an elbow from Sampson and comes back with a splash and a series of strikes. He hoists up Sampson and drops him with a military press followed by a standing moonsault for the win. This was a great way to start a show. It’s apparent that Apollo Crews is going to be a very big deal in NXT sooner than later. Elias Sampson is not without an “it” factory, and is undoubtedly one to look out for. 

Next, Riddick Moss takes on Steve Cutler. Immediately Moss grabs up Cutler into a side headlock before he breaks it and the two trade off in a series of grapples. Cutler hits a dropkick, followed by a bodyslam and a leg drop before settling into a headlock of his own. Moss drops Cutler onto the ropes and goes on the attack. The much larger Moss nails Cutler with a series of uppercuts and clubbing blows before settling into a chinlock. Eventually Cutler fires back finally planting Moss with a facebuster. He follows with a Michinoku Driver variation for the pin. This was a good match from two up and comers. Both men have progressed a lot over the last year. Riddick Moss is much better as a heel, but Cutler’s choice of wearing shorts to the ring are not going to help the Cena comparisons.

Women’s tag action is next with Peyton Royce and Billie Kay taking on the team of Dana Brooke and Emma. Peyton starts for her team immediately taking over and working the arm of Dana. Finally Brooke breaks free and tags to Emma who comes in a misses an elbow allowing the Australian divas to regain control. Royce and Billie Kay work great as a team staying one step ahead with frequent tags and some tandem moves. Royce catches Emma with a headscissors and several high heel kicks. Emma eventually fights back gaining control for her team. Brooke and Emma counter with some great tandem maneuvers of their own before Dana settles into a grounded abdominal stretch on Royce. Emma comes back in and continues the attack until Royce catches her with a facebuster before making the hot tag. Billie comes in with a clothesline and a headscissors of her own to Dana Brooke. Emma thwarts her momentum with a distraction and Brooke follows through with a roll-up to Kay using her feet on the ropes for the win. With 3 out of 4 of the horsewomen on the main roster now, the NXT women’s division is at a virtual reset. However, it’s safe to say the division will be okay. Dana Brooke improves exponentially every week, while the Australian duo of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay may just be two of the best in the division right now.

The action continues with the Perfect 10 Ty Dillinger taking on the rookie Noah Kekoa, who comes to the ring wearing leis and carrying a ukulele. The bell rings and Dillinger attempts a lockup before Noah sits atop and strums his ukulele. The two make a few more passes before Dillinger grabs the ukulele and mocks Kekoa. The angry Hawaiian charges but Dillinger easily outgrapples him before settling into an armlock. The action continues back and forth until Kekoa takes over pummeling Dillinger in the corner before planting him with a side slam. He locks Ty into a half nelson sleeper. Dillinger eventually breaks free and fires back with several chops. He takes the big man down with a Russian leg sweep and finishes him with a facebreaker knee smash for the victory. Ty Dillinger looked good here as always and did a class act of making Kekoa look great too.

The next match is being televised for the WWE Network and is to be an opening match in the Dusty Rhodes Memorial Tag Team Tournament. Cass and Enzo come out to a huge ovation along with the “hottest chick in the ring” Carmella, their opponents for this match are Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins. In the opening moments Angelo Dawkins is almost toying with the much smaller Amore until he tags in to Big Cass who manhandles Dawkins. He tags in Enzo who comes in with a crossbody. Thanks to a distraction from Fulton, Dawkins takes advantage, pummeling Zo and putting his team in control. The two take their time decimating Amore until Fulton misses with a big elbow giving Amore the separation to make the hot tag to Cass who comes in with a splash for Dawkins and a big boot for Fulton. He finishes off Dawkins with a huge swinging side slam and they finish with “Air Zo’, with Cass launching Amore off the turnbuckle with an assisted splash onto Dawkins for the victory. Formulaic or not, Cass and Zo matches are fun with their energy and charisma more than making up for the predictable matches. Dawkins and Fulton make a formidable team and could do well if only the powers that be would commit to them.

Bayley is out next to much deserved fanfare to give a promo. She talks about Brooklyn being the biggest night of her life. She says it was made possible by all of us who have built NXT, that we make dreams come true. She concedes that the hard work starts now and that she is going to be the best champion. She backs it up by offering an opening challenge to any women in the back. The intimidating Nia Jax answers the challenge and we have a women’s title match. The two women lock up but Jax easily swats Bayley off and to the mat. Bayley tries several times to take Nia down with no success. She finally jumps onto the Samoan’s back and locks on a sleeper hold until Nia backs up and squashes her in the corner. Bayley makes it up and runs the ropes but Jax runs her down. A determined Bayley attempts a sunset flip unsuccessfully, Nia pulls up Bayley and thrashes her around in a massive bearhug. Eventually Bayley breaks free and fights back landing several of her signature elbows in the corner. She delivers a dropkick to the knee of Jax before planting her with a one handed bulldog. She attempts to execute a Belly To Bayley, but can’t budge Jax. Moments later Nia charges the corner but Bayley dodges and rolls up Jax for a surprise pin. Just as the title signifies Bayley is the best in the division right now and showed versatility wrestling such a ominous opponent. As everyone now knows that Nia Jax is coming to television soon and believe me that is reason to be excited. Nia shows much promise and is just the monster heel the division needs.

The action continues with tag team action as the newly crowned tag team champions The Vaudevillians take on Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. Simon Gotch and Chad Gable start off for their teams going toe to toe with some serious grappling. Gable tags in Jordan who comes in initially manhandling English. The artiste comes back with his trademark arm drags before settling into an armlock. The champs keep one step ahead seemingly riding the momentum of their recent win. Later, Jordan manages to leg drag Gotch into the ropes making an immediate target. Gable and Jordan begin employing frequent tags while continuously working the leg of Gotch. Finally, Gotch makes the hot tag. English comes in with a hellacious uppercut to Gable, then follows with a Directors Cut and goes for a pin. Jordan breaks the pin before getting ejected by Gotch. English climbs the turnbuckle for a senton, Gable dodges but English manages to roll through. Gable lands an impressive bridging German suplex that English manages to kick out of. English makes the tag to Gotch and they finish Gable with their Whirling Dervish, an uppercut followed by a running swinging neckbreaker. This was another fun match in the underrated NXT tag team division. The Vaudevillians are deserving champs, with Gotch especially showing more versatility of late. Meanwhile Jordan and Gable have quickly and easily become one of my favorite tag teams on either roster.

Our main event of the evening is Solomon Crowe taking on the champion Finn Balor. Before the bell even rings a particularly aggressive Solomon Crowe attack Balor from behind, making it a point to target the taped up ribs. Finn fights back with a series of strikes and chops but Crowe goes right back to the injured ribs of the champ. Solomon Crowe dominates Finn before contorting the champ into a Gory Special. Moments later, Balor rolls through a sunset flip and dropkicks Crowe to finally mount a comeback. He whips Crowe from corner to corner and finally drops Crowe with a hellacious clothesline and a standing double foot stomp. Back to their feet Finn hits Crowe with a slingblade. Finn attempts to follow with a dropkick to the corner but Crowe dodges and locks Balor into a crab. Later the two worn out fighters trade blows until Crowe nails the champ with a bicycle kick, but Balor answers with a Pele. Balor climbs the turnbuckles for a Coups De Grace, but Crowe jumps up and charges him, fighting onto the turnbuckles. Crowe superplexes Balor off the top ropes. Crowe attempts to climb the ropes but Balor drops him with a kick and follow with a big dropkick into the corner and follows with the Coups De Grace for the victory. This was an excellent main event. Balor is a wrestler that deserves all the hype he comes in with, while Crowe (who is a much better heel) is going to be a main event player despite what the naysayers say.

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NXT Largo 8-8-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

Saturday night wrestling fans packed into the Minnreg Hall as NXT returned to Largo, Fl. As always the superstars of NXT delivered in a big way with an action packed night filled with much hard hitting action culminating into a big six-man tag match.

The evening starts with tag team action as everyone’s favorite gentleman The Vaudevillians take on Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. Jordan and English start out for their teams grappling evenly back and forth. Jordan displays his obvious power advantage but English comes back with his trademark arm drags before settling into an armlock. Moments late it is Gotch and Gable’s turn as they show off their ring prowess with some excellent back and forth grappling. The evenly matched teams go back and forth wresting control of the match before The Vaudevillians start to take over  working in their signature squat and “Duke up” spots. However the strength of Jordan would later come into play when he tosses English overhead with a thunderous overhead suplex. Gable and Jordan make frequent tags taking apart English until he eventually makes the hot tag to Gotch who comes in and lays waste with a series of innovative strikes and kicks. He tosses Gable from the ring and delivers a overhead suplex of his own to Jordan. Gable and Gotch deliver their uppercut/neckbreaker on Jordan for the win. This was an exciting match and a great way to start the night. Gable and Gotch were the stars of the match for me, Gable is an impeccable grappler but Gotch went toe to toe with the Olympian. In fact, Gotch has been stepping it up a lot more these days, or I’m just now noticing how varied his arsenal really is.

The action continues with Elias Sampson taking on Riddick Moss (formerly Mike Rallis). Before the action Sampson plays his guitar and sings a derogatory song about Largo, Fl. Finally the match starts and the two start slow feeling each other out and exchanging side headlocks. The two battle back and forth for much of the early goings in a very even match. Sampson takes over after a double mule kick out of the corner sends Moss to the mat. He follows with a big elbow and a frustrated beatdown. Riddick fires back and it turns into a slugfest. Moss scoops up Sampson with a huge powerslam and follows with a beatdown of his own ending with a big fallaway slam. Moss goes for the pin but Sampson puts his foot on the ropes. Back to their feet Sampson gets the advantage kicking Moss in the head and following with a sick running knee to the face giving him the victory. This was a good contest, at the beginning there were “boring” chants but by the end the crowd was thoroughly invested in the match. The athletic Elias Sampson is such a natural, while Riddick Moss is getting better with every outing.

Up next is the hyped Mojo Rawley taking on Tyler Breeze. In the early goings Breeze dictates the slow pace of the match taking his time preparing until he nails Rawley with a series of kicks and strikes. Mojo fires back with a series of shoulder tackles and clothelines Breeze right out of the ring. Tyler decides he doesn’t need it and starts to head to the back, but Rawley gives chase and tosses Breeze back into the ring. At this point Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder run in and beatdown Rawley. Tyler Breeze joins in and the three beat down Mojo until they are stopped by several referees. Dawson takes the mic to explain their actions. He tells us that people like Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder make a mockery of this business. He continues by stating that for him and Dash it’s about supporting their families and putting food on the table. He tells us that they won’t stop until they rid NXT of garbage like Mojo Rawley. I’ve long said that Dawson and Wilder are two of the most underrated guys in the company, but tonight Dawson showed us he is great on a mic too. Later on announcer Greg Hamilton announced that the main event would be a six-man tag featuring Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, and Tyler Breeze taking on Mojo Rawley and partners of his choosing.

Women’s action is next with Eva Marie taking on “the hottest chick in the ring” Carmella. The match starts and they jump into it with an aggressive fast pace. The action swings back and forth in an evenly matched contest. Finally, Carmella nails Eva with an atomic drop followed by a dropkick. Eva fights back with a nice suplex followed by an armlock. Later Carmella comes back with a beautiful headscissors followed by two Lou Thez presses. Moments later Eva fights back and ends it with a running facebuster for the win. The most common questions I get about house shows these days are all about Eva Marie and how she is doing. While she is nowhere near  performing at the level people have come to expect from the women of NXT, she has improved significantly, and has shown definite improvement even over the last few weeks. Tonight’s finish was a bit sloppy, but she is selling moves better and showing more expression in the ring. Carmella looked fabulous as always. All in all, it was a fun match.

The action continues with Solomon Crowe taking on Apollo Crews (formerly Uhaa Nation). The two shake hands and start off with fast paced grappling with neither man getting an advantage. After several lock-ups ending in a stalemate a frustrated Crowe extends his hand for another shake but takes a cheap shot instead. Crews still fights back, lifting Crowe up for a vertical suplex with a twenty second hang time before dropping him to the mat. However Crowe puts a stop to Apollo’s momentum with one nasty punch and follows with a series of chops and strikes. He continues beating down Crews with several knee strikes and brutal punches and forearms. Crews mounts a comeback with several chops of his own but Crowe shuts him down with an ensiguri followed by an explosive front facelock cutter. Crowe climbs the turnbuckles and dives off but Crews catches him, tosses him on his shoulders and falls back with a Samoan Drop. The two weary competitors can barely stand but they exchange punches on wobbly legs until Crews nails Crowe with a brutal sounding kick to the back of the head. He hoists up Crowe with a military press and drops him following with a standing moonsault for the win. This was an absolutely great match and easily highlight of the night. A great hard fought victory for Apollo Crews, but a more aggressive Solomon Crowe came out looking stronger than ever. I hope for the sake of everyone reading this that this will be the Crews debut they see at Takeover.

Next is women’s tag action with the team of Bayley and Gionna Daddio taking on Dana Brooke and Nia Jax (formerly Lina). The bell rings and Gionna starts strong staying one step ahead of Dana with her impressive speed and agility. She tags in Bayley who continues the momentum and looks to perform her patented Slip-N-Slide but Jax threatens to get involved. Gionna gets tagged back in and continues to one up Brooke until a blind tag is made to Nia Jax. She rocks Gionna with a huge backbreaker followed by a thunderous bodyslam. Dana tags back in a lays out Gionna with a forward firemans carry slam. She continues, pummeling Gionna in the corner before chokng her with her boot. Nia comes back in a clamps on a bearhug, thrashing Gionna around like a doll. Later in the match she manages to make the hot tag to a fired up Bayley who suplexes Brooke and follows with several signature elbows in the corner. Nia runs in but Bayley dodges and sends her flying into the corner turnbuckle. She then nails Dana with a Belly-To Bayley for the win. This was another entertaining match with all four ladies coming out looking strong. The rookie Gionna Daddio is looking very impressive while Bayley continues to pick up valuable momentum heading into the next special.

Next up is Bull Dempsey taking on Angelo Dawkins. The match starts off with back and forth action until the men start running the ropes. Bull wisely stops and watches as a clueless Angelo continues to run the ropes until exhaustion, at which point Bull easily knocks him to the mat with a shoulder. He mocks Dawkins, putting on his headband and dancing around the ring. Later Dawkins comes back and beats down Bull eventually grounding the big man with a headlock. Eventually, back on their feet Dawkins throws several punches but now Bull is “hulking up”. Bull fires back with several punches and a bionic elbow. He bounces off the ropes and runs down Dawkins. Bull climbs the turnbuckles and jumps off with a Whoopie Cushion for the win. Thanks to Bull-Fit, Bull Dempsey is more over than he has ever been. Angelo Dawkins, a man with the size and the tools, seems to once again be in limbo.

Mojo Rawley is out next for our main event. Out next is Dawson and Wilder, followed by Breeze. The three men circle the ring to attack but are thwarted by Rawley’s partners Enzo and Big Cass. A big brawl ensues and the good guys clear the ring. The referee regains order and the match begins with Dash Wilder pretty quickly taking control over Enzo. What follows is a systematic beatdown of Amore by all three men. They take their time destroying Enzo until he eventually makes a hot tag to Mojo. The hype man begins cleaning house with a series of shoulder tackles and a big splash to Breeze in the corner. Dawson distracts and Breeze nails Mojo with a superkick. The three men begin taking apart Mojo, just as they had Enzo. Dawson especially seems to relish taking apart Mojo. Eventually Mojo would make a hot tag to Big Cass who would come in with a big boot for Dash Wilder. He follows with a swinging side slam and a big elbow to Breeze. He calls for Enzo to climb the turnbuckles but Dawson makes the save knocking him off. The match begins to break down and a melee occurs with all six men in the ring. With all three bad guys in the corner Cass lands a big splash. Breeze finds himself in the ring alone and Rawley picks him up for a firemans carry drop, and Cass launches Enzo onto him with “Air Zo” for the win. Although predictable, it was a fun match. Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder look at home in the main event scene, meanwhile tag teaming is exactly where Mojo needs to be right now.

With much of the NXT star power moved on, or on the road recently, it is a monumental statement that the remaining talent step up and deliver the way they do in a big way. Owens is gone, Balor on the road, and the women’s division raided…. Yet the NXT crew delivered as they always do.

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NXT Orlando 8-7-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

Friday night the superstars of NXT delivered another evening of solid wrestling action. The Orlando Armory was once again packed with a standing room crowd that included the remaining competitors of WWE’s Tough Enough. It was a solid card with a few unusual match-ups, and show-stealing tag matches.

The night starts off with the super-over tag team of Cass and Enzo who come to the ring with much fanfare. Their opponents are Marcus Louis and Alexander Wolfe (formerly Axel Tischer), they are accompanied to the ring by Sylvester Lefort, who is once again in a managerial role. The fan favorites start off strong with Enzo using his size and speed advantage over the much larger Wolfe. On a roll Enzo climbs the ropes, but with the referee distracted Lefort knocks him off the ropes. Marcus does what he does best, stalking his prey slowly before beating him down and grounding Amore. Later Enzo finds an opening and makes a hot tag, but a once again distracted referee misses the tag and sends Cass back to the apron. However, moments later Enzo would once again make a hot tag to Cass who would come in with a mean clothesline and several strikes, whipping both men into the same corner and following with a splash. Lefort climbs onto the ring apron and Cass yanks him into the ring, whipping him into the corner and splashing all three men. He nails Marcus with a big boot and follows with a swinging side slam to Wolfe. Enzo climbs the turnbuckle and they follow with Air Zo for the win. A simple, but fun match and a great way to start the evening. I’m also glad to see Sylvester Lefort back in NXT.

The drifter Elias Sampson comes out next and serenades us with song berating the Orlando crowd with lyrics such as “I’d say it’s nice to be here/ But that would be a lie”. His opponent Bull Dempsey is out next to a huge Bull-Fit chant. Sampson belittles the fitness of Dempsey, dropping to the mat to give us several push-ups. Dempsey answers by dropping for some push-ups of his own, and after digging down deep manages to give us three of them. An irate Sampson attacks and settles into a headlock. He runs the ropes and bounces off an unmovable, tired Dempsey. Moments later outside the ring Dempsey gives chase to Elias but gets winded rather easily. They make their way back into the ring and he pummels the exhausted Bull before settling into a chinlock. He follows with several strikes, but by this point Bull begins to “hulk up” and fire back with a flurry of jabs of his own. He runs the ropes and runs down Sampson, then climbs the turnbuckles for the Whoopie Cushion giving him an easy pin-fall victory. Afterwards Tyler Breeze comes out with his stoic new bodyguard Radomir Petkovic. The stonefaced Petkovic comes in and stands face to face with Dempsey before extending his hand. Dempsey accepts his handshake and is given a thunderous modified tombstone for his troubles. Bull Dempsey is more over than he has ever been with this Bull-fit gimmick. The highly athletic Elias Sampson is perhaps one of my favorite up and comers and I am even a fan of the guitar carrying drifter gimmick. However, the singing songs for cheap heat really takes away from the cool mystique of the whole character. At any rate it was a silly yet fun match, as most all Dempsey matches have been lately.

Next up is women’s tag action with the team of Dana Brooke and Eva Marie taking on Carmella and Billie Kay (formerly Jessie McKay). In the early goings Kay stays one step ahead of Brooke following some back and forth grappling and culminating with a nice headscissors before tagging in Carmella. The princess of Staten Island keeps the momentum going for her team leading into a headscissors of her own on Eva Marie. Later Dana causes a distraction which is enough for Eva to take advantage and pummel Kay in the corner. Eva slows down the pace as she works over Kay. She tags in Brooke who begins to work over. Somewhere in the fray Kay apparently got her nose busted and the match was called as a no-contest. It didn’t appear to be broken, and later on Twitter she boiled it down to a bloodied nose. Unfortunate that the match ended so abruptly as all four ladies are doing so well. Billie Kay definitely has all the tools to step up and be the next star for the recently gutted women’s division. Dana Brooke is improving at such an exponential rate and looking better and better every week.

Next up, Levis Valenzuela Jr is out for an interview with Dasha Fuentes. He puts over NXT as the hottest brand around, along with all of the talent in the back. It was a very wordy promo that really didn’t say that much. However, Valenzuela could sell anything with his charisma and contagious exuberance. Finally, it is fiesta time. His music hits and he leads the crowd in dance along with Dasha.

The action continues with the perfect ten Ty Dillinger taking on Riddick Moss (formerly Mike Rallis). The early goings start with Moss mocking Dillinger. Moments later Ty comes up on the winning end of a series of grapples, then cartwheels to his corner to hold up his 10 sign. Finally Moss takes a cheap shot and beats down Dillinger. He delivers a massive yet awkward backdrop before settling into a chinlock. Riddick Moss controls the majority of the match with Ty making sporadic comebacks. Moss tosses Ty across the ring with a massive fallaway slam, but moments later Dillinger delivered a superkick that would make the whole crowd crings. Dillinger quickly follows with a facebuster to the knee for the victory. Maybe not a perfect 10, but you can be guaranteed Ty Dillinger is going to give you a hell of a performance every time he gets in the ring.

Mixed tag action is next with the unusual pairing of The Vaudevillians and Bayley take on Blake, Murphy, and Alexa Bliss. The girls start but Bliss quickly tags out to Murphy who quickly finds himself in a headlock from Aiden English. The Vaudevillians manage to stay one step ahead of the champs and eventually tag Bayley back in. Bliss sweeps Bayley’s legs out from under her and delivers a barrage of strikes. Bayley fires back and eventually spins atop Bliss with her signature Slip-N-Slide. With Bliss still prone on the mat Bayley attempts a patented Vaudevillians hammerlock and squats. Blake and Murphy run in but get dropped and locked up by Gotch and English. In a “This is awesome” moment Bayley, Gotch, and English gave us 10 manly (and womanly) squats at the expense of their grounded opponents. As if things could not get more epic Bayley finds herself alone in the ring with Blake and not intimidated she kicks him in the gut and delivers a stone cold stunner to the delight of the erupting crowd. English drops down talking trash in Blake’s face ala Steve Austin. Moments later Murphy takes over beating down English. Eventually, English makes the hot tag to Gotch who comes in and clears house with innovative strike and kicks. The Vaudevillians hit their uppercut/neckbreaker finisher but Bliss breaks the pin before walking over and smacking Bayley. The gentlemanly English grabs Bliss, kissing her on the hand before tagging Bayley who comes in to deliver a Belly-To-Bayley for the pin. This was a really fun match with possibly a lot of foreshadowing pertaining to not only the tag titles, but a future women’s title feud.

Next, Apollo Crews takes on Tucker Knight. In the opening Knight easily outpowers Crews, tossing him around before settling into a headlock. Crews comes back with a beautiful dropkick and an impressive suplex. The much larger Knight fires back with big clubbing blows. He pummels Crews in the corner, eventually locking him into a full nelson. The match continues pretty one-sided until Knight climbs the turnbuckles and Crews picks him off of them lifting the big man into a military press before dropping him and following with an astounding standing moonsault. Not his best match, but as always, Apollo delivers. I just can’t wait to see him move up and into the main event picture.

The night continues with show-stealing tag action as Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder take on the team of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. In the early moments Dawson and Gable go back and forth with excellent grappling but Gable finds himself on top locking in an armbar. Dawson takes cheap liberty raking the eyes of Gable, but to little avail. Gable is on fire delivering several armdrags and back into an armbar. Jordan keeps the momentum going with a few fireman carry slams and impressive suplexes before tagging Gable back in who immediately is back on the arm of Wilder. Gable is on fire tonight with fast paced grappling, but eventually Dash drops him onto the ropes and takes control. Dawson and Wilder slow the pace and take control with impressive tandem wrestling and frequent tags. Gable makes a slight comeback with an armbar over the ropes, but Dawson wrests control back with a slingshot suplex before continuing to decimate Gable. Dawson charges the corner but Gable dodges and makes the hot tag. Jordan comes in with a series of dropkicks and impressive overhead suplexes for both Dawson and Wilder. Moments later with all men in the fray Jordan gets ejected from the ring leaving Gable by himself. Dawson and Wilder take advantage hitting Gable with the Shatter Machine for the victory. Fans who lament the state of tag team wrestling need to see these two teams compete, easily my favorite teams in all of NXT.

Our main event is Solomon Crowe taking on Prince Pretty Tyler Breeze, who is once again accompanied by Radomir Petkovic. After an initial back and forth Crowe goes for an early Stretch Muffler, but Petkovic pulls Breeze to the ropes. Referee Drake Wuertz is having none of it and quickly ejects Petkovic to the back. With the playing field level, Crowe attacks Breeze with a kick and then a clothesline out of the ring before lounging atop the turnbuckle to mock Breeze. Getting back to business Crowe shoots out of the ring like a bullet with a suicide dive into Breeze. The two brawl on the outside with Crowe on the attack until Breeze launches him into the ring steps. Breeze wisely slows the pace while targeting the leg of Crowe. He wraps Crowe’s leg around the ringpost and contorts him into a half crab. Crowe makes the ropes and is eventually back to his feet. Back and forth action ensues until Crowe takes charge attacking the leg of Breeze. He attempts a Stretch Muffler but Breeze makes it to the ropes. Moments later Breeze launches himself over the ropes but Crowe catches him for a front facelock cutter. The two battered men continues to fight to the point they can barely stand. Breeze lands a superkick out of nowhere and locks Crowe into a cloverleaf. Later, Crowe mounts a final comeback hitting Breeze with his patented high knee and following with a dropkick to the knee. He locks Breeze into a Stretch Muffler but Petkovic runs back out and jumps onto the apron. Crowe confronts him but turns back around to walk into a Beauty Shot giving Tyler Breeze a cheap victory. This was a great match with both men proving that they are main event players.

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