NXT Lakeland 11-5-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

Thursday night NXT returned to the National Guard Armory in Lakeland for a night of hard hitting action. With much of the roster away with other commitments, the remaining talent stepped up and put on a fun and exciting night of wrestling and no one went home disappointed.

The always over Enzo Amore is always a good choice to start a show, as he received the usual big pop. He made his way to the ring by himself to take on his opponent, Angelo Dawkins. The match begins with several minutes of back and forth action before Dawkins takes over. He pummels Enzo before grounding him with a chancery. Enzo makes sporadic comeback attempts only to be shut down and grounded by Dawkins. Finally, Amore launches a comeback flying into Dawkins with his spastic trademark crossbody and follows with a flurry of punches. He sends Dawkins into the turnbuckle with an STO before climbing the turnbuckle. Amore launches off the top and catches Dawkins with a hellacious DDT for the win. Amore has improved considerably, even though his major strength still lies in being underdog. Dawkins has always been impressive athletically, but now his charisma is starting to really come through with his “curse of greatness gimmick. He was great tonight interacting with the crowd.

Billie Kay is next out to the ring, accompanied by her manager Sylvester Lefort. Her opponent is Gionna Daddio. The two start off with a lot of fast paced back and forth action before Billie takes a cheap shot and attempts to slow Gionna with a chinlock. She continues her onslaught with a backbreaker before settling into a single-legged camel clutch. Eventually, Gionna comes back dropping Billie with a couple of dropkicks and nailing her with an enziguri. She goes for the pin but Sylvester places Billie’s foot on the ropes. Lefort gets climbs onto the ring apron to cause a further distraction but Gionna dropkicks him to the floor. Gionna turns around to be caught by a surprise roll-up pin giving Billie Kay the victory. This match was a highlight of the night with great performances by both women. I like the pairing of Billie and Sylvester, it really seemed to work. For the amount of times she has been wrestling, Gionna Daddio is very impressive. People critical of another model turned wrestler are going to be proven wrong, as it seems safe to say she is a natural. At some point during the match (not sure exactly when) her nose got busted, but she worked through it and finished the match. Luckily, it was just a bloodied nose and nothing was broken.

Next up is Riddick Moss taking on Josh Woods. Almost immediately after the initial lock-up Woods traps Moss in an armbar before transitioning into an ankle lock, but Moss makes the ropes. The match continues with the quicker Woods staying one step ahead of Moss always coming back to a series of painful armlocks. The powerful Moss reverses an Irish Whip slamming Woods into the turnbuckles with enough velocity to make the entire front row cringe.  He follows with a fallaway slam, then pummels Woods. Moss attempts to keep his opponent grounded, but Woods locks on another ankle lock out of nowhere before Moss makes the ropes. Woods continues with a series of suplexes before Moss manages to nail him with a kick to the face. Moss then finishes Woods with a neckbreaker for the victory. This was another impressive match. At these house shows Riddick Moss goes back and forth between heel and face depending upon what is needed, but he seems to be gaining a lot more traction as the cocky heel. This was the first time I personally saw Josh Woods wrestle (other than a few scuffles as Preston Cunningham Jr) and I wasn’t disappointed. From the way he was dressed to the moves he used, Woods MMA experience and amateur wrestling background was obvious. He is a lot of fun to watch and with more performances like tonight he won’t have a problem getting over.

Levis Valenzuela is out next for yet another promo. He talks about the phenomenon known as NXT and the opportunity it has given him. He expresses his desire to be the first Dominican NXT champion. He is interrupted by Emma, who tells him that dancing and pandering to the crowd got her nowhere. She says dancing is not the answer, and neither are the people in this crowd. She insists the dancing needs to stop but he tells her “No way, Jose!” He tells her that she can’t bring people down with her whining and that we’re all going to dance and the fiesta will continue. She tries to slap him but he catches her hand, spins her around and dips her. His music hit and a conga line emerges from the back and makes their way around the ring. The dancers consist of new recruits including Rich Swann, and all of the recent Tough Enough signees (minus ZZ).

The evening continues with Solomon Crowe taking on Tino Sabbatelli. After an initial lock-up the two trade several punches and chops until Tino takes over with a hard whip into the corner. Sabbatelli continues with a running powerslam before settling into a chinlock. The match continues with Crowe enduring punishment from Tino until he mounts a comeback culminating with a high knee in the corner guaranteed to loosen a few fillings. He finishes Sabbatelli with a twisting suplex neckbreaker for the pin. This was a short textbook wrestling match that saw Crowe mostly selling the offense of Sabbatelli. The newcomer Tino Sabbatelli is certainly competent in the ring, but nothing about him jumps out at me yet. As a big fan of Solomon Crowe, I have to wonder what in the hell they are doing with the guy. Crowe should be challenging for the NXT title, instead he is in limbo.

We continue with tag action as Marcus Louis and Sawyer Fulton take on perhaps the most over tag team in NXT, Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. Marcus Louis may not be full on crazy anymore, but he’s still definitely weird as he circles the ring maniacally and smelling his hands after attempting a handshake with Gable. The bell rings and the two lock up, several minutes of awesome chain wrestling follow with Gable getting the upper hand. Gable and Jordan control much of the bout with great wrestling from both Jordan and Gable, including some impressive tandem wrestling too. After a cheap shot the bad guys take over with Sawyer clotheslining Gable out of his boots. Sawyer and Marcus beat down Gable before slowing down the pace. Marcus circles him maniacally beating him down with big clubbing blows. Sawyer tags back in and levels Gable with a palm strike that would make CJ Parker proud. However, moments later Gable snatches Fulton’s arm out of nowhere for an armbar over the ring ropes. This creates enough separation for Gable to make a hot tag to Jordan who comes in with a series of dropkicks. He hits Louis with a suplex following with another to Fulton. He tags in Gable and they hit Sawyer Fulton with Grand Amplitude for the win. This was a fun match, as is usually the case with Jordan and Gable who are so much fun to watch. A fine performance by Fulton and Louis as well, both men have all the tools athletically, but still seem to be looking for that angle to connect them with the crowd.

Next is Bull Dempsey taking on the German Alexander Wolfe. This was another textbook wrestling match that saw some back and forth offense until Wolfe took over against Dempsey mostly working the arm and hand. Wolfe controlled much of the match while yelling at the crowd in German. Ultimately, Dempsey would “Hulk up” at the offense of Wolfe and come back with a series of punches. He squashes Wolfe with a big splash in the corner laying him out. Bull climbs the turnbuckles and launches off squashing his opponent with a seated senton for the win. I like Bull Dempsey, but this match seemed to struggle to keep the attention of the crowd.

More women’s action is next with Aaliyah (formely Jasmin/Nooph) taking on Nia Jax, who came out to a nice pop. The two lock up but Nia easily pushes her off. The speedy Aaliyah runs the ropes comes back at Nia with a series of kicks to the legs before Nia once again swats her off. Then Nia drops her with a shoulder breaker, then continues by tossing around her opponent by her hair like a rag doll. Nia locks her opponent with a vicious bear hug until Aaliyah gets free and attempts a comeback with another set of kicks, but Nia sends her to the mat with a clothesline. She stalks her opponent around the ring like a wounded animal before locking on another bear hug. Eventually, Aaliyah mounts another comeback with a series of dropkicks. She climbs the top rope and leaps off at a standing Nia (perhaps going for a hurricanrana?) but Nia falls back and they both land awkwardly, with Aaliyah looking like she took the brunt of it. Nia pins her for an abrupt finish. Nia continues to do well with her monster booking, while the little I have seen of Aaliyah mostly consists of her selling so it is hard to say. I saw Aaliyah after the show and luckily she was okay after the rough looking abrupt ending to her match.

Our main event is a tag match for the NXT tag team titles with The Vaudevillians challenging the champs, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. The match starts off with some great chain wrestling between English and Dawson. Eventually, English gets the upper hand. Dawson tags out but Dash doesn’t fare much better soon finding himself having to escape an armbar from Gotch. Later, Dawson finds himself with his arm in a hammerlock for some signature squats from the gentleman grapplers. English does 10 squats, but Gotch outdoes him with a manly 31 squats. Eventauly, after a blind tag Dash clotheslines English out of his boots and the two begin an intense beatdown. Dash and Dawson employ frequent tags working the leg of English, at one point wrapping it around the ring post. Ultimately, English makes a hot tag to Gotch who comes in and clears the ring with an onslaught of innovative kicks and strikes. Gotch sends Dash out of the ring and nails Dawson with a rolling senton. English follows with a low angle senton off the second rope for the pin but Dash pulls the referee out of the ring to narrowly avoid a three count. The referee calls for the bell giving the Vaudevillians a DQ victory.  Dawson and Dash continue to beatdown their opponents after the bell until Enzo Amore runs in to make the save. Amore rocks Dash with a series of punches before The Vaudevillians finish him with a Whirling Dervish. This was a great main event with both teams looking really good. The Vaudevillians are over as always, and it’s so gratifying to finally see Dawson and Wilder getting a well-deserved and long awaited push.

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NXT Lakeland 7-31-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

Friday night wrestling returned to Lakeland for another unparalleled night of action as only NXT can dish out. A standing room only crowd piled into the National Guard Armory to see their favorite wrestlers battle it out for supremacy in the squared circle, and they would not leave disappointed.

The night kicks off with women’s tag action as the team of Bayley and Gionna Daddio take on Emma and Dana Brooke. Emma starts off aggressively for her team but Bayley stays one step ahead thwarting all of her offense. Bayley tags in the rookie Gionna who continues the momentum with much athleticism and some nice grappling and pin attempts. Eventually Dana and Emma turn things around and isolate Gionna in the ring. Later she makes the hot tag to Bayley who comes in with a vengeance hitting a flurry of signature moves on Brooke. She tosses Emma out of the ring and nails Dana Brooke with a Belly-To-Bayley for the victory. This was a fun match that newcomer Gionna Daddio came out of looking impressive. Meanwhile Dana Brooke’s hard work is noticeable in her rapidly improving ring work.

Next up Mojo Rawley takes on the German Axel Tischer. The much hyped Rawley starts off strong and follows with his usual banter of letting us know that Tischer “ain’t hyped and can’t get chicks”. He accentuates that with Hammertime onto a prone Tischer. Later Tischer finds an opening and begins a vicious beatdown before grounding the usually animated Mojo. Eventually Rawley fights back and takes down Axel with a shoulder tackle, following with a big splash in the corner. Mojo finishes off Tischer with a fireman’s carry drop for the win. I’m glad to see Mojo Rawley using a new finisher, much improved over the last few he’s had.

Sawyer Fulton is out next for a promo. He says that he has been in NXT for three years now and has seen too many real talents get pushed aside for indie darlings. He tells us he is a two time all American and he is going to make some changes around here. He is interrupted by Sylvester Lefort who agrees with him, and offers Fulton his services as manager. An angry Fulton asks “You think I need your help? You’re right” before shaking the Frenchman’s hand. Sawyer Fulton is a sizable guy with a lot of skill who has had a tough time finding the right gimmick. Hopefully this new direction will be successful for Fulton. It certainly can’t hurt being paired with Lefort, who is a heat magnet.

The action continues with Mike Rawlis taking on Bull Dempsey. The cocky Rawlis mocks the fitness of Bull before dropping for a few push-ups. He challenges Dempsey to do the same. Bull drops and with much effort manages to give us three push-ups. Moments later the action begins and an agitated Dempsey chases Rawlis around the ring until he gets winded. Back in the ring they run the ropes an absurd number of times until Bull gets winded again. Eventually an angry Rawlis gets the upper hand and attacks Bull with a series of kicks and strikes. He accentuates that with an impressive fallaway slam before grounding the big guy. Bull gets fired up and fights back with a series of jabs. He runs Rawlis down like a truck and climbs the ropes, jumping off with a Whoopie Cushion for the pin. This was a silly, but fun match. Safe to say by the crowd chants this Bull-Fit angle is getting over already.

Next, Steve Cutler takes on Uhaa Nation. The two lock up for much back and forth effort in the early goings. It becomes a total mat game with each man vying for control. The two make it up and the speed of Uhaa quickly comes into play until Cutler takes a cheap shot, following with a series of kicks in the corner. Cutler follows with  a series of suplexes before settling into a front chancery. Uhaa makes it to his feet and mounts a comeback but Cutler shuts him down with a hellacious clothesline. Uhaa quickly rebounds with a heel kick, several clubbing blows and a big splash. Finally Uhaa drops Cutler with a huge military press and follows by his amazing standing moonsault.

Next up is four way tag action featuring Dawson & Wilder vs Jordan & Gable vs The Vaudevillians vs Blake and Murphy. A contest with this many personalities and combustible elements make for match of the night, but is nearly impossible to call. As it goes in these types of matches there were lots of momentum shifts and many blind tags. In the final moments as the ref lost control the bodies were flying with wrestler after wrestler taking out each other with signatures and finishers. Finally it came down to a fired up Gotch and English who finished off Buddy Murphy with the uppercut/neckbreaker combo. All four teams looked great in this match, but Dawson and Gable would be definitely be the stars of this one, I’d love to see those two compete one on one in the future.

The action continues with “Perfect 10” Ty Dillinger taking on Tyler Breeze. With the crowd clearly behind him Dillinger takes control early on until Breeze takes advantage of a distracted referee and gouges the eye of Dillinger. Breeze follows with an ensiguri and pummels Dillinger in the corner. He drops Dillinger with a backstabber and grounds him with a front chancery. Dillinger mounts a comeback but is shut down when he runs into a jaw breaking superkick. Still, Dillinger comes back again laying out Breeze with an impressive fireman’s carry powerbomb. The two exchange several pin attempts before Breeze takes out Dillinger with a Beauty Shot for the win. This was a great match with easily two of the best in NXT.

Next up is more women’s tag action as the formidable team of Lina and Jessie take on Charlotte and Becky Lynch. Riding a wave of much recent momentum Lynch and Charlotte start off strong against Jessie who wisely tags Lina. Despite that, Charlotte fails to take down the immovable Lina. Charlotte tags in Lynch and the two take down Lina with a double dropkick. Becky follows with a trifecta of her trademark leg drops. Later in the match Lina would shift the momentum after dropping Charlotte with a thunderous slam. The bad girls take over with frequent tags wearing down Charlotte. Jessie wears down Charlotte in an octopus hold. Moments later Lina locks in a bearhug thrashing Charlotte around like a rag doll. Finally Charlotte makes a hot tag to Lynch who comes in with a vengeance clearing the ring with her intense ring work. She throws her armbar onto Jessie, while Charlotte locks on the Figure-8 onto Lina giving them a tap out victory. I’m thankful I got to see Charlotte and Becky Lynch one more time, these two haven’t redefined women’s wrestling; they have knocked down the walls. Becky Lynch isn’t my favorite female wrestler, she is one of my favorite wrestlers, period.

Our main event is next with Solomon Crowe taking on NXT champion Finn Balor. The two begin trading armlocks until Crowe gets the upper hand. Crowe pummels Balor before the two fight to the outside and back into the ring. Crowe quickly finds his target, working the leg before settling into a half crab. Later Balor comes back rolling through a sunset flip and nailing Crowe with a dropkick. Not to be outdone, a fired up Balor targets the leg of Crowe. The two trade offense until Finn drops Crowe with a pele kick. Balor goes for a dropkick to the corner, but Crowe swats him off and locks on another crab. Balor fights back and levels Crowe with a slingblade. He follows with a dropkick to the corner. Balor climbs the turnbuckles and finishes Crowe with the Coup De Grace for the victory. This was a great match, and one I have been wanting to see for a long time. Balor looked as impressive as always, but Solomon Crowe proved he is more than capable of being a main event player in NXT.

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NXT Lakeland 6-20-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

On June 20^th 2014 Masons Ringside View posted its inaugural blog post about NXT Lakeland. One year later down to the day, NXT returned to Lakeland as our humble blog celebrated its first birthday. Fans and bloggers alike were treated to an incredible night of action as only NXT can offer.

The evening starts with Solomon Crowe taking on NXT newcomer Uhaa Nation. The two familiar competitors size each other up and come to a stalemate after locking up. The two run the ropes and after several leap frogs Uhaa delivers a dropkick to Crowe and follows with a very prolonged vertical suplex. Crowe eventually fires back with the smashmouth offense fans have come to expect from him. He land a series of punches and kicks and delivers a Boing Splash. Crowe continues his onslaught with a series of knees and strikes until Uhaa mounts a quick comeback. He hits Crowe with a clotheline and a splash before delivering another clothesline that turned Crowe inside out. Uhaa lifts Crowe over his head with a military press and drops him, then follows with 2 astounding standing moonsaults for the victory. Ty Dillinger comes out and gives the match a 3. I would have given much higher to a contest I consider match of the night. The explosive Crowe has long been one of my NXT favorites. With only 3 NXT matches under his belt Uhaa Nation as already proven he is going to be a major player in NXT. I have no doubt that we will see these two competing in a main event setting sooner than later.

Next is six-woman tag team action as the team of Carmella, Devin Taylor and Cassie take on Lina, Jasmine, and Alexa Bliss. The intimidating Lina starts out against Devin Taylor who quickly tags out to Cassie after failing to budge her opponent. With no better luck Cassie quickly tags in Carmella who undeterred brings the fight right to Lina. With relative ease Lina tosses Carmella around before tagging out. Later enemies Carmella and Bliss comes to blows in the ring and Carmella gathers a measure of retribution. Later Lina turns things back around for her team squeezing the life out of Taylor with a massive bearhug. Ultimately Devin makes a hot tag to Carmella as Lina tags in Jasmine. She runs down Jasmine with a Thez press and a series of punches before delivering a shoulder in the corner. In the fray Jasmine makes a blind tag to Bliss who comes in and rolls up Carmella for the pin. This was a very entertaining match with a lot of back and forth wrestling. Cassie continues to make new fans while the debuting Jasmine made a great first impression. It’s Lina who really stands out though, she has a presence, a look, and power advantage that is going to take her far.

Next up Dasha welcomes out Levis Valenzuela Jr who comes out with a Dominican Flag. She asks him about what brings him to NXT. He talks about his love and respect for the business, then continues to state that NXT is the hottest brand in the world. He says that NXT is the future but we must celebrate the now. He states we must sing and dance, we must fiesta. His music plays as he dances with Dasha and the crowd grooves along. It was a promo that really didn’t say too much, but it did a good job of showcasing his charisma, of which he has plenty.

The tortured soul Marcus Louis is out now to face the wrecking ball Bull Dempsey. In the early going Bull lands a little offense but it doesn’t do much to faze Louis. The two begin running the ropes until Dempsey gets winded and has to stop, at which point even Marcus looks at him confused. The two begin running the ropes a ridiculous number of times until an absolutely exhausted Bull Dempsey collapses and Louis trips over him and pummels out of the ring. Louis makes his way back to the ring and takes advantage of a worn down Dempsey. Marcus thrashes Dempsey with a series of blows. Eventually Dempsey fires back with some punches of his own before he runs Louis down and follows with a seated senton/ whoopee cushion off the top rope for the win. Ty Dillinger comes out and gives the match a 2. This was a fun match that had just enough of a comedic element without going too far.

We continue with three way tag action as Cass & Enzo take on Jordan & Gable and Blake & Murphy. Jason Jordan starts off strong against Murphy before tagging in Gable. Murphy tags in Blake but Gable quickly goes to work on his arm culminating in an armbar over the top rope. Later Enzo makes his way into the match showing off some improved ringwork, while his Bionic elbow did not go unnoticed. The match goes on with several bling tags in and out from several competitors, mostly everyone working over Zo until he makes the hot tag to Cass. He lays waste ejecting everyone but Murphy, laying him out with a big boot. He attempts to set up Air Zo but Blake pulls Amore off the apron. In the chaotic final moments everyone is in and Blake stunners Gable. Jordan tosses Blake with a massive overhead suplex. Murphy comes off the ropes delivering double knees to Jordan, but then walks into a swinging side slam from Cass. He then follows with Air Zo, launching Enzo onto Murphy for the pin. Kudos to all three teams for putting on a hell of a match, although I’m simply happy with Gable getting much deserved ring time.

Next up, Jessie takes on women’s champion Sasha Banks. After some trash talking the two lock up and Jessie takes the early advantage grounding Banks with a side headlock. Eventually Banks takes over though, landing her double knees in the corner and tying up her opponent into a straightjacket. Later Jessie breaks free and mounts a comeback with a couple of clotheslines and a big boot. The action picks up as the two battle back and forth until Banks pulls a Bank Statement from out of nowhere for a submission victory. Banks looked great as she always does, while Jessie looked strong and confident against the champ. Jessie will be competing for gold in NXT sooner than later.

Ty Dillinger is out next and tells us that so far NXT Lakeland has been a 3.3, but not to worry because we are about to see a perfect 10 performance. Unfortunately for him, his opponent is the mountainous Braun Stowman. Undeterred, Dillinger walks up to him and hoists his huge 10 sign over his head. Stowman grabs it and tosses it out of the ring, but Dillinger pulls another sign out of his trunks. Stowman does the same, but the ever prepared Ty pulls a card sized 10 sign out of his boot. Stowman attempts to grab it but Ty smacks his hand and tells him “No!” The action begins and the speedy Dillinger chops Braun in the chest to no effect. He follows with a crossbody but simply bounces off of the 6’8 375lb Stowman. The massive Stowman manhandles Dillinger with huge clubbing blows. Later Dillinger mounts a comeback with 2 superkicks followed by a third kick that brings the man to his knees, he follows with a DDT. However moments later the angry big man was back to his feet planting Ty with an inverted sitout side powerslam. Whether playing the heel or the face, Dillinger is gaining more and more support from fans due to performances like this.

Bayley is out next for a promo and is wearing a cast on her hand. She explains that Emma broke her hand. She takes the mic and talks to fans ringside asking them about bones that they have broken. She says that like them she will get better and be back in the ring soon. She also points out that she still has one good hand for high fives.

More tag action follows as Dawson and Wilder take on the “Hype Bros” Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley. The match starts with some of the usual Rawley banter followed by some power moves and dancing. The Hype Bros stayed one step ahead much of the match and looked to be having a lot of fun doing it, even showing off some tandem offense. Eventually, the wily Dawson and Wilder take over, isolating and picking apart Ryder. The two employ frequent tags and some tag team maneuvering of their own, showing why pound for pound they may just be the best tag team in NXT. Eventually though, Ryder makes the hot tag to Rawley who comes in with a series of splashes. With an opponent down in each corner, Rawley and Ryder utilize a double Broski Boot. Rawley hoists Wilder over his shoulders and Ryder comes off the ropes with a Rough Ryder for the victory. I’m enjoying seeing more of Zack Ryder in NXT, and as much as I’d like to see him in singles action I have to admit tag teaming is more beneficial for Rawley at the moment.

Our main event of the evening is Tyler Breeze taking on Baron Corbin. From the start Breeze wisely evades Corbin by stepping out of the ring. It would be to no avail as Corbin eventually gets his hands on him and beats him down. The two brawl to the outside of the ring and back in before Tyler manages to lock in a sleeper hold. Corbin breaks free and they brawl some more once again to the outside where Breeze drops Corbin with a superkick. They both make it back inside and continue their fight. With Breeze prone on the bottom rope Corbin attempts his patented baseball slide to the outside to smack Breeze, but Tyler lifts up the ring skirt effectively trapping Corbin. He follows with a dropkick knocking Corbin to the ground. Back inside Breeze plants Corbin with a Killswitch, but cannot keep the lone wolf down. Moments later Corbin takes down Tyler with a huge swinging side slam. Finally, a frustrated Corbin grabs a chair from the outside. Before he could use it referee Drake Wuertz took the chair from him. Seconds later, Breeze nailed Baron with a superkick and followed with a Beauty Shot for the victory.

All in all it was another great night of wrestling in Lakeland, the kind of wrestling that motivated me to start this blog in the first place. So happy birthday to Masons Ringside View and huge thanks to all of you for reading!

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NXT Lakeland 12-20-14

NXT made its final stop of 2014 at The National Guard Armory in Lakeland, Fl. A standing room only packed house piled in to watch the young and hungry wrestlers of NXT tear down the house and close out what has been a stellar year for the brand. With many of the usual headliners away, the remaining men and women of the locker room not only stepped up, but they also illustrated that they had what it takes to excel in the spotlight and send the crowd home happy.

When looking to start off the night with a definitive bang Wesley Blake is usually a safe bet. He’s fast paced and exciting to watch whether in singles or tag. His opponent for the evening is Tony Briggs, a stocky powerhouse of a wrestler. Using his speed to his advantage Blake took early control, but Briggs wouldn’t make it an easy task and swung the odds back in his favor with a lot of power moves. However it wouldn’t last long before Blake mounted a comeback finishing up the match with a perfectly executed frogsplash off the top turnbuckle for the pin. Blake impresses as always and while Briggs lost this time I’m looking forward to seeing more out of the big man.

Next up, The Mechanics took on Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins of Shoot Nation. Early on Shoot Nation took control using their size and grappling skills to their advantage much to the frustration of Dawson. However outsized The Mechanics would use their cunning to their advantage as Dawson feigned shoulder injury. When it looked as if the match was about to be cut short, he attacked Fulton with a vengeance. Employing frequent tags Dawson and Wilder began to decimate Fulton until he managed to make a hot tag to a well- rested Dawkins who appeared to be turning things around for his team until he ran into a vicious clothesline from Dawson, followed by a flapjack onto Wilders knees allowing a pin for their team. This was probably one of my favorites of the evening. The Mechanics are always fun to watch, and Dash Wilder seems to be coming into his own as well, from his interactions with Dawson to a little well placed showboating in the ring. Shoot Nation initially seemed like a vehicle purely to get Chad Gable over, but its doing wonders for Fulton and Dawkins who are looking better than ever with their new direction.

The always hyped Mojo Rawley is out next to deliver a promo and lets us know he will be back in two months. His mic abilities have improved quite a bit, but it’s clear that his gimmick is the same which may irk a lot of people but this pro-Mojo crowd didn’t seem to mind.

Next up Cal Bishop challenged Solomon Crowe. The size advantage goes to Bishop here who knocked Crowe to the ground in the opening lock up. However, over-confidence also goes to Bishop as well who began to trash talk Crowe. An angry Solomon Crowe warned Cal Bishop “If you call me an angry elf again I will kick you in the face!” Needless, to say he didn’t listen and was met with a bicycle kick to the face, followed by an explosive attack by Crowe including a brutal running knee into a downed Bishop in the corner. Bishop was able to mount a comeback and found himself in control, but the match ended very abruptly with a surprise rollup giving the victory to Solomon Crowe. Afterwards Bishop was helped to the back with the help of a doctor and two referees. It’s unclear what happened or when, but Bishop seemed to be in a lot of pain.

Ty Dillinger is apparently a tenacious man because he made another attempt to defeat the as of yet unstoppable Baron Corbin, even attacking him before the bell. A determined Dillinger would not relent eventually working the arm and shoulder of Corbin. He looked to have Corbin reeling after not one, but two beautiful superkicks, but even that would not put the big man down who quickly turned things around. Once Corbin gets going it doesn’t take long, a big boot to the face followed by an End Of Days, would equate to one more loss for Dillinger. This was another great match between these two, I wish they could have done something more like this at the last special. Dillinger looked great as always, but it’s Baron Corbin who seems to get even better with every match and the crowds are taking notice.

After a short intermission we return with womens triple threat action as Carmella, Dana Brooke and Alexa Bliss battle it out. Carmella and Brooke quickly align to punish Bliss for most of the match until dissention rises between the two. After that it is every women for themselves, and with the odds even Alexa Bliss takes the definitive advantage. In the final moments she ejected Carmella from the ring and focused on Brooke, executing a standing moonsault in which her knees land in her opponents stomach followed by a Sparkle Splash off the top turnbuckle for the pin. All three of these ladies have proven to be quick studies, and I expect 2015 to be a great year for them.

Next up is 2012 Olympian and Shoot Nation leader Chad Gable, unfortunately for him his opponent is an absolute beast of a man, the 6’8” 370lb Braun Stowman. Chad Gable impressed me from his first match and I see big things for him in the future. Sadly for him though, all the natural wrestling ability in the world can’t help move mountains which is exactly what Stowman is, a mountain of a man. Gable didn’t back down though and when grappling proved useless he attempted to take out the giants leg. Ultimately Stowman was just toying with him and perhaps proving that even monsters take pity he mercifully ended it with an emphatic powerslam for the victory. Stowman is an intimidating big man who is probably more agile than he should be and I look forward to seeing more from him.

Kevin Owens is out next to the largest pop of the night bringing most of the Armory to their feet. Again, he recounts his atrocious actions from NXT Takeover only to tell us that he owes us no explanation. He adds that we don’t really want to see him talk anyway, that we would rather see a fight. The crowd pops big time. Unfortunately, he continues no one in the back is ready or willing to fight and leaves.

Next out is Jason Jordan wearing his amateur wrestling singlet that he has been wearing in Shoot Nation, but with his old theme music. But identity crisis aside his night was about to get a whole lot worse because his opponent is the wrecking ball Bull Dempsey and as always he is in a bad mood. Not one to back down Jordan takes the fight right to Dempsey. Jordan is super agile for a guy his size and deceptively strong, at one point delivering an epic Olympic slam to Dempsey. A tweaked knee brings Jordans offense to a screeching halt and Bull pounces spending much of the match working the leg, at one point locking in a Figure Four Leg Lock which Jordan eventually reversed. Jordan attempted to mount a comeback but his knee gave out while attempting a Fallaway slam to Dempsey. That led to the inevitable, being run over by Dempsey followed by a flying headbutt giving Bull Dempsey another win over Jason Jordan. Bull Dempsey is looking especially mean these days and truly living up to the moniker of a human wrecking ball.

Our main event of the evening is a six man tag match featuring the odd teams of CJ Parker and The Vaudevillians vs Kalisto, Big Cass, and Enzo Amore. Wasting no time the super over face team took the fight to the hippy and the gentleman bruisers. Kalisto started for his team with his high flying arsenal, at one point spring boarding off of Amores back to perform a perfect dive onto The Vaudevillians outside the ring. But eventually the bad guys would take over isolating Enzo Amore from his teammates. At one point the bad guys had it nearly won as Amore endured a senton by Parker, followed by a senton from Gotch, followed by a senton from the second rope by English for the pin, only to have Cass make the save. Eventually Enzo found the opening he needed to make the hot tag to Cass who cleaned house and that is when bodies began to fly everywhere in the chaotic final moments until legal man Kalisto nailed Parker with the Selida Del Sol for the win. Big Cass, Enzo and The Vaudevillians always have great matches when they face each other. The addition of Kalisto and Parker was a good albeit unexpected twist.

All in all it was a great card to close out an amazing year. I can’t wait to see what 2015 holds for NXT, and I look forward to reporting it!

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NXT Lakeland 11-6-14

Still rumbling from the last onslaught of wrestling action, NXT returned to The National Guard Armory in Lakeland, Fl for another night of spectacle and high energy athleticism. It was another full house, as fans piled into the building to see their favorite superstars do battle. As usual, fans would not leave disappointed.

The action gets underway with high flying Kalisto taking on the hippie everyone loves to hate CJ Parker. Unfortunately Parker didn’t have a live mic because quite frankly putting the audience in their place is what he does best. So with no verbal berating, the bell rings and match begins. Kalisto takes control early on with his speed that is nearly unmatched in NXT and a flurry of moves that leaves CJ exasperated. Eventually though the size advantage of Parker comes into play and he manages to ground his smaller opponent. The durable Kalisto managed to take advantage of an opening, building up to a blur of momentum culminating in the “Samuray Del Sol” and a victory via pinfall. Kalisto impressed as always with his speed and innovative offense. CJ Parker is underrated in my opinion; he’s great on the mic, sells really well, and gets heat like no other.

The night continued with tag team action as The Mechanics took on the team of Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy in what was most definitely a highlight of the evening. Murphy and Blake were on fire in the early going making frequent tags keeping Dawson and Wilder on the defensive. However The Mechanics are no team to take lightly as they eventually gave it back just as good as they got it with their rough smashmouth offense. The two teams battled a match that could have went either way, but tonight the better team was The Mechanics who took the victory. These are two of the best teams you’ll find on the NXT or WWE roster, put them in a program for tag gold and they will tear it up every night of the week.

Solomon Crowe, who has been out with a chipped tibia bone finally returned to deliver an excellent promo. To be blunt, he made it clear he had no problem with the new crop of stars in NXT such as Hideo Itami and Finn Balor, they are just more guys he gets to defeat and “kick in the face”. As I said before he was injured, hopefully we are finally on the verge of a push for the man they call Solomon Crowe.

Jason Jordan made his way to the ring to take on NXTs resident wrecking ball Bull Dempsey. Jordan would not be intimidated by Dempsey and took the fight right to the big man until Bull took over and controlled the pace of the match. Dempsey has become reliant on rest holds of late to wear down his opponents and slow the match. However, tonight Jordan would have none of it as his final flurry of offense seemed to explode out of nowhere. Jordan showed off his strength with an impressive fallaway slam and then a few moments later an Olympic slam that put Bull out to pasture giving him the decisive victory.

Next up, Sawyer Fulton challenged the realest guy in the room Enzo Amore. Fulton seems to be connecting more with the fans these days but it is the charismatic Amore who has the crowd behind him as always. Enzo used his agility to stay one step ahead of his much larger opponent in the opening moments of the bout until Fulton took charge. Enzo is at his best when playing the underdog, which he did for most of the match as Fulton tossed him around like a rag doll. Never count out the tenacious Enzo Amore though who has the ability to snatch a victory from out of nowhere, which he did once again. Fulton has the size and skill to go far if booked properly; it seems he’s found an image that works for him.

Another man who has seen his share of gimmick changes lately, Ty Dillinger danced his way into the ring to old fashioned striptease music (and luckily no gyrating) only to find his performance cut short for the entrance of Baron Corbin. Dillinger spent the opening moments trying to evade the unstoppable Corbin and at one point even trying to quit and leave before being tossed back into the ring. Dillinger perhaps fared better than previous competitors by managing to take out the leg of the big man, even punishing him with a figure four before the inevitable happened and Corbin regained control putting an emphatic end to the match with the brutal “End Of Days”. Ty Dillinger is another underrated wrestler who has proven when given the time and spotlight that he can deliver, but this gimmick doesn’t do it for me and I’m not even sure the talented Dillinger can go very far with it.

In NXT it is not uncommon for the women to steal the show and tonight they did it again as the champ Charlotte took on former BFF Sasha Banks in an excellent contest. Like many, I’ve been looking forward to seeing these two feud for some time and in battle they did not disappoint. It was a pro Flair crowd but Banks would not be deterred or intimidated taking the fight to the champ in an exciting back and forth match up. After a hard fought battle Charlotte missed with her “Natural Selection”, and Banks pounced rolling up the champ for a clean win in this non-title match. Both ladies delivered here; no doubt they will look to steal the show again at the next live special.

The evening continued with tag team action as The Vaudevillians took on The Ascension. No matter how either of these teams are booked it seems the crowd is always behind them, but tonight this crowd was more so behind the former tag champs Konnor and Viktor. The manliest of all tag teams would not be fazed by the fearsome Ascension taking the fight right to them and eventually taking control over Viktor for much of the match until he made the hot tag to Konnor. But surprisingly in the chaotic final moments of the match they would even take control over him as Gotch impressively hoisted the big man onto his shoulders for a rolling senton. English executed a perfect senton off the second rope and went for the pin which Viktor broke. It looked as if The Ascension would turn things around, but English nailed a running swinging neckbreaker on Konnor gaining the win for his team.

In our main event of the evening the gorgeous one Tyler Breeze took international superstar Hideo Itami. Hideo comes to NXT with much hype but apparently Tyler Breeze is unimpressed lounging on the turnbuckle before reluctantly beginning the match. Breezes moneymaker may have never been in greater danger as it was against the furious feet of Itami. Breeze admonished him, “No kicks! We’re not doing that!”, but Itami would not be deterred. Hideo appears to be more comfortable in the ring and not holding back with his famed stiff kicks that seemed to make the crowd cringe on several occasions. Breeze held his own though, doing what he does and proving why he is a main event player and had control over Itami on several occasions. The two men were evenly matched and put on an excellent match that culminated with Breeze taking a superkick to the face giving Hideo Itami the victory and sending the fans of Lakeland home happy.

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