NXT Orlando 7-10-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

It was a sweltering night in Orlando, but fans fought the heat to pile into the National Guard Armory for a night of NXT wrestling action. Even the contestants of Tough Enough were in attendance for a night of action that featured top notch wrestling, WWE legends, and the homecoming of a new champion.

The familiar music of DX hits and out comes Billy Gunn to a huge pop. He speaks for a moment before introducing Lita, who is met with a very enthusiastic crowd. The two introduce the hopefuls of Tough Enough who make their way around the ring greeting the fans. Afterwards the contestants would watch the show from ringside. Even if just plugging a television show, Billy Gunn and Lita are a great way to start the evening.

Our first match of the evening is Uhaa Nation taking on Axel Tischer. The two start off with some impressive grappling before the incredibly agile Uhaa takes control and takes his bigger opponent down with a beautiful dropkick. Moments later Tischer would level Uhaa with a big boot and commence a beatdown. Axel wisely slows the pace, grounding Uhaa and working the arm. Later though Uhaa Nation would mount a comeback culminating in a huge military press followed by a standing moonsault for the victory. This is yet another good match that emphatically states that Uhaa Nation is going to be a very big deal in NXT. Ty Dillinger must agree, because afterwards he scored the match a 9.

Next up, Cassie McIntosh takes on Dana Brooke. Early in the match Cassie takes control with an onslaught of offense culminating in a nice headscissors. Eventually, Brooke takes control mostly brawling and using her power to her advantage. Dana traps Cassie in a grounded abdominal stretch until she manages to break free. Cassie comes back with a series of high kicks and a crossbody off the turnbuckles. She attempts to climb the ropes again but Brooke hoists Cassie onto her shoulders and slams her to the mat with a Samoan Driver to gain the pin. There were some rough spots for Dana but overall she is showing a lot of improvement. Cassie McIntosh continues to impress and is proving to be a valuable addition to the NXT roster.

Next, the ring is set up with leopard skin furniture and Cass and Enzo come out to a huge pop. They announce the inaugural addition of their new show, Sawft Talk. They introduce their first guest, Preston Cunningham Jr the 1^st aka Josh Woods. Enzo comments that with his tattoos and attire Preston looks like the love child of Baron Corbin and Tiger Woods. Later in the segment Preston explains that his father earned their money the old fashioned way, by inheritance. He also tells us that his father bought him the best MMA training money could buy. Enzo and Cass don’t seem impressed and things start to unravel. Cunningham snatches the microphone from Enzo and says his “daddy” paid good money for him to be here and he would not be disrespected. Amore ended up smacking the spoiled rich kid several times with a leopard skin pillow before Cass dropped him with a big boot. This was a goofy segment, but it did explain a little more about Preston Cunningham.

The action continues with Bull Dempsey taking on the tortured Marcus Louis. In the opening moments Bull is obviously apprehensive to lock up with the maniacal Frenchman. Bull backs up out of the ring and Marcus gives chase. The two run around the ring until a visibly winded Dempsey rolls back into the ring and asks for a time-out to catch his breath. Marcus will not relent and the two end up running the ropes for an absurd amount of time. Dempsey takes down Marcus with a shoulder tackle, but exhausted collapses onto him. The two eventually make it back up and Louis attacks violently first with a series of knees and continues to decimate his opponent. Bull comes back with a flurry of punches and lays out Marcus. Dempsey climbs the ropes and crashes onto Louis with a seated senton for the victory. Ty Dillinger gave the match of 3 but Marcus began to flip out, so he gave it a 5 instead. This was a fun match, Bull is starting to connect with crowds more than ever while Marcus Louis is still very underrated in my estimation.

Tag team action is next as “The Hype Bros” Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley take on Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. The Hype Bros start off strong keeping one step ahead of their opponents. Mojo goes into his shtick informing the crowd that Dawson isn’t hyped and can’t get chicks. Dawson and Wilder manage to take control of the match and isolate Ryder. Employing frequent tags and great tandem wrestling Dawson and Wilder take apart Ryder culminating in a nice guillotine. Eventually though Ryder would find an opening and make the hot tag to Mojo who would take out Dawson and Wilder with a series of splashes and shoulder tackles. Rawley picks up Wilder and Ryder comes off the ropes with a Rough Ryder for the win. Tag teaming is doing Mojo well and he is showing some improvement in the ring, though I still don’t get the character at all. House show faithful will attest to the fact that Dawson and Wilder steal house shows on a regular basis, I just wish they were challenging for gold, rather than losing the majority of their matches.

The night continues with Ty Dillinger taking on Tyler Breeze. The two are so evenly matched and it shows for much of the back and forth contest. Eventually Dillinger takes over working the arm of Breeze before mocking him atop the turnbuckles. Breeze makes a very aggressive comeback and drops Ty with a superkick. Ty fights back, showing a very aggressive mean streak of his own. With Breeze grounded, Ty hikes down his kneepad to go for his knee smash. With the refs attention elsewhere Breeze takes advantage poking Dillinger in the eye and following with a Beauty Shot for the victory.

Triple threat tag action is up next with The Vaudevillians vs Blake and Murphy vs Jordan and Gable. Much of the early goings of the match saw the champs Blake and Murphy getting owned by both team. The match was fast paced with lots of blind tags and too much back and forth to call. Eventually it is English that finds himself isolated and being picked apart by both teams until he makes the hot tag to a very fired up Simon Gotch. In the fray all competitors end up in the ring as Gotch nails them all with forearms in each corner. Ultimately, everybody starts nailing everybody left and right until a confident Blake lays out Gable with a cutter. Unfortunately for him he was left in the ring with both Vaudevillians. Gotch nails him with an uppercut to the back of the head and English follows with a swinging neckbreaker for the victory. This was a great match and likely the best of the night. All six men looked great in this contest, but Chad Gable is definitely the standout for me. Pound for pound he is easily one of the best wrestlers in NXT, with a chance and proper booking he’ll end up at the top.

Sasha Banks is out next for a promo. She lets us know that her title signifies that she is better than all of us and better than all of the women in the back. She reminds us that she has beaten Charlotte, Bayley, and Becky. But then she is interrupted by Carmella who tells her that she didn’t hear her name on that list. Carmella issues a challenge but Sasha declines and begins to leave. Carmella calls her Sawft and tells her “Bye Felicia”. An irate Sasha Banks charges back to the ring and a match is on. Both women are fired up and the match goes back and forth until Sasha nails Carmella with double knees in the corner. Banks slows the pace contorting Carmella into an abdominal stretch. Carmella gets free and comes back with a beautiful head scissors followed by three Lou Thez Presses. Moments later she attempts to set up her headscissor submission but Banks wisely evades. Carmella gives chase but Banks pulls her into the ropes and follows with a backstabber and a Bank Statement for a submission victory. Carmella has so much potential, it’s nice to see her going toe-to-toe with the champ rather than accompanying her “boys” to the ring.

In our main event Baron Corbin challenges new NXT champion Finn Balor in a title match. Before introductions are even done Corbin jumps Finn, drops him with a big boot and continues to beat him down. Balor mounts a brief comeback but Baron drops him with a jaw shattering punch. Corbin slows down the pace picking apart the champ methodically. Finn comes back with a few chops and a pele kick. Balor takes down Corbin with a slingblade. Finn attempts to dropkick Corbin into the corner but gets caught and laid out with a huge swinging side slam. Frustrated Corbin grabs a chair but the referee wrests it from his hands. Corbin lays out Balor with another big boot. Baron climbs the turnbuckle but Finn drops him with a kick to the head. Finn follows dropkicking Corbin into the turnbuckles and follows with a Coup De Grace for the win.

From top to bottom it was a fun night and no doubt the standing room only crowd went home happy. Hopefully the cast of Tough Enough were paying close attention, they have big boots to fill.

                                                 Pictured above @Cody_Starbuck with ZZ
                                                 from Tough Enough

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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 Largo 5-8-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

NXT Wrestling returned to The Minnreg Hall in Largo for another night of action as only they can deliver. Boisterous fans piled in to see their favorite athletes gain valuable momentum as they head closer to NXT Takeover: Unstoppable.

Big Cass comes to the ring to a huge pop accompanied by Enzo Amore. His opponent for the evening is the drifter Elias Sampson. The match begins evenly as control of the match goes back and forth until Sampson takes the big man down with an explosive knee strike to the face. At this point Sampson keeps Cass grounded, wearing him down and working the arm. Further into the match Cass dodges an elbow drop and mounts a comeback. He lands a big splash onto Sampson in the corner and follows with a big boot. He then finishes off Sampson with a swinging side slam for the victory. We’re used to seeing Cass in tag team action usually coming in off a hot tag, so it was great to see him playing a different role. Elias Sampson certainly continues to impress, win or lose.

Next out is Steve Cutler to take on his opponent Marcus Louis. Sadly it seems we’ve seen the last of the tortured and crazy Marcus, as he was decked out in black pants, black shirt, black gloves and sunglasses. He looked like a hitman, though I am not really sure what they are going for. Cutler starts off strong, but soon the arm locks and headlocks evolve into brawling and that is where Louis takes over. Marcus slows down the pace and appears to be as methodical and sadistic as ever as he enjoys taking apart Cutler. At one point he seemingly Rock Bottoms Cutler through the mat but somehow Cutler kicks out and fights back. His comeback is short lived though and Louis finishes him off with a pumphandle slam for the win. Marcus Louis has a lot of untapped potential, hopefully he can find a gimmick that connects with the fans.

NXT announcer Greg Hamilton is out next to introduce Uhaa Nation who comes to the ring with a nice pop from the crowd. Hamilton asks him why was he here in NXT, and Uhaa lets us know bluntly to be champ. He continues that everyone knows the toughest talent in the world is right here. He concludes the interview by saying that when he is done everyone will realize that the future isn’t now, but rather “The future is me!”

We continue with tag team action as Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder take on The Vaudevillians. In the opening moments Wilder taunts Gotch by performing some manly squats of his own. Gotch responds by stretching his leg to his head. Wilder tries to do the same and hilariously fails, even with Dawson trying to help him. Soon after the wrestling begins and The Vaudevillians are on fire keeping one step ahead of their opponents. Gotch and English go on to perform a lot of their signature antics much to the delight of the crowd, including the addition of an old school Airplane spin from English. Eventually the crafty team of Dawson and Wilder take charge and begin to dismantle English and this is where they are so dangerous and so fun to watch. The two are proclaimed roughnecks but are just as comfortable grappling as they are brawling. However, English eventually makes the hot tag to Gotch who comes in and begins to clear the ring. Gotch appears be about to finish it when in the melee Dawson makes a blind tag to Wilder. Dawson flapjacks Gotch into a waiting gutbuster from Wilder for the win. This was a really entertaining tag match that all men came out of looking great. Fans of the house show circuit have long been aware of how good of a tag team Dawson and Wilder really are, but soon television fans will see as well. Ty Dillinger comes out and scores the match a 4.

Next is women’s action as Becky Lynch once again collides with the champion Sasha Banks. In the opening moments Lynch tries to end it quickly by attempting to lock on an arm bar but Banks wisely evades. Lynch leads the match tossing the champ around with a series of beautiful arm drags. Banks turns things around and slows the pace as she begins targeting the arm of Lynch. Lynch dodges out of the corner avoiding Banks and firing back first targeting the champs arm and eventually locking on her armbar submission, but Banks grabs the ropes. Moments later Banks draws Becky into the corner slamming her into the turnbuckle. Banks capitalizes propping her feet on the ropes for a leverage pin. I’ve seen these ladies in the ring now several times over the past few weeks and they not only put on an excellent performance every time, but they switch up a lot of offense as well giving us different matches every time. I’ve already made the prediction before but I’ll say it again, they will steal the show at Takeover. One could even make the argument (and I have) that they should be main eventing Takeover.

Solomon Crowe is next taking on Baron Corbin. Unintimidated Crowe takes the fight right to Corbin but Corbin swats him off. Tenaciously Crowe is right back on him again but Corbin counters with a punch that turns Crowe inside out and makes the crowd cringe. He slams Crowe first onto the mat and then into the turnbuckle with velocity. Crowe makes a comeback and contorts Corbin into an octopus hold, but Corbin powers out. Later, Crowe mounts a final comeback laying out Corbin with a swinging tornado DDT. He follows diving off the ropes but Corbin catches him in an End Of Days for the win. Ty Dillinger comes out and only gives the match a 2. I’d give it higher though, this was a great smashmouth match. Solomon Crowe has long been one of the most exciting guys on the roster, but Baron Corbin came out tonight looking absolutely brutal and mean, and probably the best I’ve seen him.

Two of NXT’s newest additions KC Cassidy and Jessie McKay introduce themselves and inform us that not only are they the best divas in the world, but they are also best friends. Bayley and Carmella, or “Baymella” come out taking exception with the statements of the new girls. A referee is called out and a tag match is set. Bayley and Carmella start off strong, with Bayley hitting a lot of her signature spots, but eventually Cassidy and McKay take over making frequent tags and methodically taking apart Bayley. Eventually Bayley makes a hot tag to Carmella, and moments later she executes an STO transitioned into her headscissors submission giving Cassidy no choice but to tap. This was a really fun match. Bayley and Carmella always have a great chemistry together whether teaming or facing off. McKay and Cassidy both comes to NXT ring ready and with plenty of experience, the two are a welcome addition to the NXT women’s roster.

Tag team action continues with Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton taking on the team of Bull Dempsey and Tucker Knight. Both teams start out strong with plenty of back and forth action. Slowly the advantage shifts to Dawkins and Fulton who look impressive manhandling a team as immense as Knight and Dempsey, including an impressive deadlift suplex from Fulton to Knight. Eventually Dempsey and Knight took over dominating Fulton until he makes a hot tag to Dawkins who comes in a clears the ring. In the final moments Fulton gives Dempsey a backbreaker and Dawkins follows with a spear for the victory. Apparently, even with the Shoot Nation concept gone, the teaming of Dawkins and Fulton is the best thing that could have happened to their career and they have gelled well as a team. Dempsey and Knight actually make a pretty imposing team that I wouldn’t mind going forward. Unfortunately though whether it is in singles or tag action it seems as if Bull Dempsey can’t catch a break. I still think he has a lot of potential as a face.

Ty Dillinger is out next for our main event and lets us know that simply he by himself is a perfect 10 main event, but he would fight while he’s out here if someone answered his open challenge. He was about to leave when music hit and NXT champion Kevin Owens emerged. In the opening moments after each successful maneuver Dillinger would cartwheel to the corner and score himself a perfect 10. After Dillinger does this a second time Owens answers by knocking Dillinger out of his boots with a picture perfect dropkick. Dillinger retreats to the outside but Owens follows him out pummeling him with multiple chops to the chest. Dillinger manages to launch Owens into the steps and escapes back to the ring. Owens beats the count back in and Ty attacks. Later, Owens comes back squashing Dillinger with a senton and attempts to follow with a cannonball, but Dillinger evades it and answers with a superkick. Moments later Owens climbs the ropes but Dillinger follows him and attempts a superplex but Owens counters sending Dillinger to the mat. He follows with a beautiful senton bomb. The two make it back to their feet and Dillinger delivers another jaw shattering superkick followed by a knee smash to the face. Owens kicks out of another pin attempt and a disgruntled Dillinger begins to expose the turnbuckle. The ref stops him, but as the ref puts the turnbuckle back on Ty simply begins exposing the next one. It backfires as Owens sends Dillinger into the exposed turnbuckle and follows with a cannonball. He then finishes off Dillinger with a pop-up powerbomb for the victory. It was a good match made notable by a well- deserved main event role for Ty Dillinger, perhaps I won’t be able to call him underrated for much longer? After the match maybe feeling overly cheered Owens made sure to roll out of the ring and let a large group of fans in Finn Balor shirts know that “Finn Balor is nothing compared to me!”

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NXT Ft Pierce 4-11-15

Written by Wayne Mason
Photos by Maryann Mason

Another raucous crowd jammed into the Havert L Fenn Center in Ft Pierce, Fl in anticipation of another exciting night of professional wrestling action. Coming hot off the heels of a successful Wrestlemania week the stars of NXT would not disappoint as they left it all in the ring.

No one can fire up a crowd like Enzo Amore and Big Cass who come out to a huge pop. Their opponents for the evening are The Mechanics who are looking mean and ready to fight. Amore and Cass start strong staying one step ahead. Dawson and Amore begin taunting each other and teasing punches and it turns into a boxing match for a moment. Both men actually retreat to their corners with stools and spit buckets with their partners coaching them. The two men circle each other while Enzo showboats with his fast feet. Dawson is not impressed though and lays out Enzo with one punch. The referee starts counting but Amore answers the 9 count. Back on his feet he fires back with some punches of his own until Dawson gives him a knee and it finally turns into a wrestling match. Employing frequent tags Dawson and Wilder begin to take apart Amore, for all of their talk of being roughnecks The Mechanics are technically sound and probably at their best when methodically punishing an opponent. Eventually though the resilient Amore makes the hot tag to Big Cass who clears the ring and tosses out Dawson. He then finishes off Wilder with a swinging side slam followed by an assisted splash tossing Amore onto Dash for the win. It was a fun match to start the show. The Mechanics deliver as always and the ringwork of Enzo Amore is getting more varied.

Jason Jordan is out next, this time with his old music (as opposed to as recently as the night before when he had Shoot Nation music). His opponent for the evening is the always explosive Solomon Crowe. From the opening bell Jordan dominated Crowe, out-grappling him and throwing him around with the greatest of ease. Crowe attempted to make sporadic comebacks but to little avail. The match was all Jordan, and Jordan was all power tossing Crowe with a perfect overhead belly-to belly suplex before settling into a chinlock. Eventually Crowe manages to escape and mount an offense going for a hurricanrana but Jordan catches him and tosses him. Moments later though Crowe manages to escape Jordans grasp and turn it into a front chancery which brings Jordan down for a moment before he begins to power out. At this point Crowe rolls him up for a surprise pin. This match was pretty much all Jordan and Crowe was the definitive underdog. Jordan looked good in the ring and definitely came out looking strong, hopefully he can find some direction soon.

Bayley makes her way to the ring for a promo next. She talks about their recent run in San Jose while playing up to the Florida crowd as well about the success of the brand. Her monologue is interrupted by Prince Pretty himself, Tyler Breeze. He tells her that no one cares about any of that and they don’t care about her. He tells her to leave the ring but she replies by letting him know that he is not the boss of her. At this point the womens champ Sasha Banks emerges slyly asking if someone said Boss. Both her and Breeze begin to berate poor Bayley. Unwavering, Bayley demands that Banks backs up her big talk by giving her a title match. Sasha tells her no, but that if Bayley can find a partner they will compete in a mixed tag match later in the evening.

The action continues with Chad Gable taking on Steve Cutler. In the opening moments the Olympian easily out-grapples Cutler, but not to be outdone Cutler comes back with a series of arm drags and an arm bar. Gable takes control with some arm work of his own after some nice back and forth action. Eventually Gable controls the match even taking time off to dry off with his “Olympic towel”. Out of nowhere Cutler fires back with a series of strikes and a gutwrench suplex for the pin. After the match Ty Dillinger came out and scored it a 4. Cutler looked the best I had ever seen him tonight, thus far a muscular guy who usually relies on strikes and power moves showed off some speed, agility and different offense. Gable, as always is a pleasure to watch in the ring and is most definitely a name to watch out for.

Ft Pierce is Bull Dempsey country, and the crowd let it be known as the big man made it to the ring to take on Marcus Louis. In the early goings Dempsey rode the wave of momentum controlling his opponent by wearing him down with a side headlock. Louis finds an opening and begins a beatdown on Bull. Later when it looks as if Dempsey is going to make a comeback Marcus takes advantage of a distracted referee. He pokes Dempsey in the eye and follows with a DDT, then with his feet on the ropes he takes the victory. Unfortunately for Louis, a very angry Dempsey made it to his feet and ran down Marcus. He followed with two flying headbutts. Dempsey started to leave but climbed back into the ring and followed with an emphatic Bonzai Drop from the top rope. Dempsey then headed to the back only to run back out a moment later for one final Bonzai Drop on an annihilated Marcus Louis. I’m a fan of both men and I’d really like to see the tortured monster Marcus Louis make it to television. More so though, I am eager to see the next chapter for Bull Dempsey.

Next is womens triple threat action with Charlotte vs Dana Brooke vs Alexa Bliss. From the beginning it is very clear that there are no alliances tonight and it is every women for themselves. Soon Bliss was thrown from the ring allowing Charlotte and Dana to focus on each other. Charlotte is on a roll hitting a lot of her signature spots until Brooke finds an opening and slows things down with a body scissors. Eventually Charlotte powers out, meanwhile every time Bliss attempts to get back into the ring she is knocked back out. Charlotte puts down Dana with a neckbreaker and puts on a figure 4 when Alexa comes off the ropes with a crossbody. Alexa tries to pin Charlotte, but she tosses her off onto Dana, who tosses her back onto Charlotte ad infinitum all the while referee Drake Wuertz is beating the canvas like a drum. Finally back up the ladies begin to battle when Charlotte lands a Natural Selection on Bliss for the win. Ty Dillinger gives the match a 6. The ring general Charlotte looked as good as you have come to expect, while Brooke and Bliss continue to grow.

Tag team action is next as Blake and Murphy take on The Vaudevillians. The crowd reaction to The Vaudevillians are no surprise, but Blake and Murphy are starting to get equally as popular, at least in front of this very split crowd. The Vaudevillians start strong and in charge, executing some signature spots such as push-ups off their opponents back. With a little distraction though it is not long before Blake and Murphy take charge punishing Gotch. Eventually Simon makes the hot tag to English who is simply on fire at one point landing an astounding superplex on Murphy. However a few moments later in the chaotic fray Murphy manages to eject Gotch and lay out English with a vertical suplex followed by a frogsplash from Blake for the win.

Kevin Owens is out next and supposedly has an important announcement concerning the title. First though he singles out a guy from the audience in a Finn Balor T-shirt and tells him if he doesn’t go buy an Owens T-shirt he’s leaving. Surprisingly the guy actually leaves to buy a shirt. Owens then simply moves on to a kid in a Balor T-shirt and tells him the same thing, to which this kid actually leaves to go buy an Owens T-shirt. Owens then moves onto a guy in a Baron Corbin shirt who will not relent. Kevin Owens gives the guy to the count of ten before dropping the mic and leaving the ring. Kevin Owens is one of the best promo guys in the business, but apparently he is really good at moving shirts too. But seriously, he can make moving shirts entertaining.

In our next match Ty Dillinger takes on Elias Sampson. The two evenly matched competitors lock up and between every successful maneuver Dillinger retreats to his corner to score himself…. a perfect 10, of course. Sampson quickly gains an advantage though until the wily Ty Dillinger finds an opening and pounces. He lays out Sampson in a frenzied beatdown and follows with a half crab. Eventually Sampson makes the ropes and comes back with a Lou Thez press and a clothesline that turned Dillinger inside out. Sampson attempts to follow with his jumping knee strike but Ty dodges it and counters with a DDT. The two men battle up to their feet and atop the turnbuckle. Dillinger attempts a superplex but Sampson knocks him down and follows with a crossbody. The two men make it back to their feet and Sampson nails Ty with a jumping knee strike to the face, surprisingly Ty kicks out. The two exhausted competitors make it to their feet and Dillinger nails a superkick, he follows with a facebreaker knee smash for the win. Dillinger is a criminally underrated ring technician while Elias Sampson is perhaps one of the newer prospects I am most excited about. At the beginning of the match there were smarky fans calling them jobbers, by the end they quieted all the naysayers with a great match.

Our main event is one of the most odd, but one of the most fun we have had in a long time. First out are Sasha Banks and Tyler Breeze, with Sasha matching Tyler in fur and boot tassles. Out next is Bayley and she introduces her partner for the evening, Sami Zayn. The crowd explodes to the sight of their hero Sami Zayn emerging from the back in a Bayley t-shirt. The babyface team are dominant in the early goings, wrestling the fur coats right off their opponents and putting them on to pose on the turnbuckles. Neither Breeze or Banks want anything to do with their opponents making quick tag outs, forcing the other team to tag per mixed tag rules. Finally Sami and Breeze are back in the ring and the pace picks up with some signature offense. Eventually sneaky Tyler Breeze got the upper hand after attacking Sami from behind. But Zayn makes the hot tag to Bayley who is on fire and makes quick work of Sasha and tags Sami back in. Sami takes down Breeze with a series of clotheslines followed by a dropkick and an exploder suplex in the corner. Sami is ready for a Helluva Kick but Banks darts in the way. She attempts to slap Sami not once, but twice, but he stops both attempts and counters with a kiss square on the lips. Banks recoils in shock and disgust, only to be followed by a Belly-To Bayley from Bayley. Then Zayn charges the corner for a Helluva kick to Breeze for the victory. This was a fun match and a rare treat from four of the top workers in the brand, and the crowd went home happy.

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