Full Sail TV Tapings 11-30-16

NXT fans once again converged on Full Sail for another round of television tapings. This round of tapings featured some new faces, Takeover fallout, and was a heavily DIY-centric round of tapings. The following recap contains spoilers for three episodes of NXT.

Before the evening began introduced Mike Rome introduced Tom Philips, Corey Graves, and the newest member of our NXT announce team, Percy Watson. From the sounds of the reaction, it appears plenty of fans remember the FCW/Season Two NXT star.

Dark Match: Wesley Blake vs Tian Bing

This was a short and evenly contested match. To his credit, Wesley Blake seemed to be a little more animated than he was the last time I saw him in Tampa, but still seems to be missing something. Tian Bing, on the other hand, is looking better and better with each outing. Bing is not a small guy, and he delivers speedy and believable looking strikes and kicks with a lot of power behind them. Bing definitely has the potential to do interesting things in NXT with the right booking. After a back and forth match, Blake missed a beautiful moonsault and made it to his knees to be met with a superkick from Tian Bing for the win.

Episode 1

Newly crowned tag champs Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa made their way out first to a huge pop from the crowd. DIY celebrated with the crowd making their way up and down the bleachers, before heading back to the ring. Before they could speak, they were already interrupted by Paul Ellering and the Authors Of Pain. They tell them that their celebration is premature, but before Ellering can elaborate much further he is interrupted by the Revival. Dawson says that they are here to claim their rightful spot as number one contenders. The Authors and Revival come face to face outside the ring, but the Revival wisely backs down. Ellering gets the last word, his Authors are going to be champions.

No Way Jose & Rich Swann vs Sanity (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe w/ Nikki Cross)

The contagiously fun team of Jose and new cruiserweight champion, Rich Swann never fail to get the crowd pumped. Out next is the ominous Sanity; conspicuous in his absence was Sawyer Fulton. Eric Young was carrying a jacket with him, and it appeared to be Fulton’s. I’m sure it will be explained later with a backstage vignette. As more and more people are learning, Rich Swann is an amazing athlete, and perhaps the most charismatic performer in NXT. Unfortunately, after a strong start the size disadvantage would come into play. Sanity took control punishing the much smaller Swann. Wolfe has improved considerably in NXT, and the Sanity gimmick fits him well. I like Sanity a great deal, but for me Nikki Cross is what really makes this group. Nikki Cross is one of the most talented women in WWE/NXT. She has also embraced the crazy; her skulking around the ring yelling at fans and being weird is so much fun. I can’t wait to see her becoming more of a presence in the women’s division.

The fight spilled out of the ring and out of nowhere came Big Damo, leveling Jose. Eric Young took advantage rolling Jose back in the ring and nailing him with a modified neckbreaker for the pin.

Afterwards, an angry Damo heads up the ramp leaving Sanity looking confused as to what the big mans intentions were.

Kimber Lee vs Ember Moon

This was a really fun match, that actually saw Kimber Lee getting a fair amount of offense. However, in the end she was no match for the amazing Ember Moon. Ember finished off Kimber Lee with her top rope stunner for the win. Kimber Lee looked comfortable in a WWE ring, and I’m hoping we see her back next year for the women’s tournament. I’m enjoying the build of Ember Moon and can’t wait for the inevitable clash between her and Asuka. I’m not exaggerating when I say that match up has all the potential to be the greatest women’s Takeover match ever.

Otis & Tucker vs Johnny Knockout & Brandon Knight

Most people (including myself) remember Johnny Knockout best as the Braun Strowman jobber that liked big sweaty men. Unfortunately, for him and Brandon Knight, this match didn’t go much better than the Strowman squash. However, speaking of two big dudes, Otis and Tucker are two big powerhouses that are making more and more new fans with every match. This was a very short and one-sided match… but nonetheless Tucker and Otis are a fun team to watch.

Episode 2

This episode would feature four qualifying matches, where the winners of each match would be placed in a fatal four-way match to determine a new number one contender for the NXT title.

Ty Dillinger vs Eric Young

The first qualifying match would be a very short contest when Dillinger gained a DQ victory after Nikki Cross attacked. Afterwards, Dillinger thwarted an after match beatdown from Sanity… only to be attacked by Big Damo out of nowhere. Damo laid out Ty with a huge front slam followed by a senton. Another confusing stare down between Damo and Sanity followed.

No Way Jose vs Andrade Cien Almas

Jose is not the most impressive wrestler on the roster, but his energy is contagious, and he is showing a lot of improvement. Almas, on the other hand, has been absolutely great in his heel run. This was a good match defined not so much by moves, as much as the cocky and “tranquilo” attitude of Almas. What a good heel! Andrade Cien Almas won the match via pinfall after a hammerlock DDT.

Elias Sampson vs Roderick Strong

Sampson is out first with his usual banter and song, but I honestly couldn’t hear any of it, due to the nuclear heat from the crowd. This is probably one of the fastest paced Sampson matches I’ve seen, as opposed to his usual chinlock filled bouts. Unfortunately, he still doesn’t show the crowd much other than punches and kicks. Roderick Strong looks at home in an NXT ring, and here he carried Sampson through a good match. Roderick Strong finished Sampson with his gutbuster/single legged dropkick combo for the pin.

Oney Lorcan vs Bobby Roode

This was another very entertaining qualifying match, and even though I knew better, I found myself hoping for an upset victory. Lorcan gave Roode one hell of a fight, a fight that included some of the meanest uppercuts in all of the WWE. In the end, Roode managed to put Oney Lorcan away with a DDT. Bobby Roode has had a long and successful career, but one has to wonder if he would be this over in NXT without that damn catchy song… I really don’t think so, but he does make a damn good heel.

Sarah Bridges vs Peyton Royce

The former “Crazy Mary” started off the match with a fierce intensity… and yes, she is still crazy, letting out crazed yelps and dropping Peyton with a vicious running knee. Peyton managed to turn it around, slowing the pace and pinning Sarah with a fisherman’s suplex for a clean victory… despite Billie Kay at ringside. Peyton and Billie are both overdue for some sort of push, but I’m more excited to see what they do with Sarah Bridges.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Patrick Clark

“The Velveteen Dream” Patrick Clark is out first looking more and more like Prince with the music to match. Then the place exploded for the charismatic King Of Strong Style Shinsuke Nakamura. Early in the match, Nakamura backed Clark into the ropes, doing his signature spot where he rests his head on his opponent and dangles limply. Clark answered by gyrating his hips in Shinsuke’s face, which fired up the former NXT champion. Not long after Nakamura would defeat Patrick Clark with a Kinshasa.

Episode 3

Daria vs Billie Kay

Daria started off really strong here and was possibly one of her best outings. She actually dominated Billie, until Peyton interfered. This was the only opening Billie needed, and she finished off Daria with a big boot for the win. Afterward, the mean girls took to the mic, again I couldn’t really hear much of what they had to say due to a raucous crowd. From what I gather they were sending a warning to the entire locker room… including women’s champ, Asuka.

The Authors Of Pain vs Johnny Vandal & Anthony Bowens

Our second squash match of the night was more of a massacre than anything else, with AOP absolutely decimating the competition. They finished with their double powerbomb spot, afterwards Rezar attempted to pick up Bowens for their finisher, but he crumpled and the referee called the match. Ellering cut a promo while medics attended to Bowens, who eventually made it out on his own two feet with help from the medics.

Number One Contenders Fatal Four Way

Dillinger vs Almas vs Strong vs Roode

Andrade started off really strong punishing Strong and keeping the other men out of the ring. It wouldn’t be long before all men were involved, and all the craziness you would expect in a near fall came along. All four men looked great in this match, that featured many great spots including the now mandatory four man suplex spot in the corner. Surprisingly, Almas was first eliminated after a one legged dropkick from Roddy. However, a few moments later Ty would eliminate Strong with a firemans carry neckbreaker. Ty and Roode immediately start trading punches, reinvigorated and fired up. Dillinger gets a real close count after a mean superkick, and then an even closer count after a firemans carry neckbreaker on Roode. It seemed Dillinger would finally get his shot, but after distracting the referee and dropping Ty onto an exposed turnbuckle, he finished with his DDT. Bobby Roode is the number one contender for the NXT title.

NXT Tag Title Match

DIY vs The Revival

You don’t need me to tell you that these two teams have amazing chemistry, and kill it every time they are in the ring together. In my opinion, The Revival are the best team on the planet right now, and DIY are easily in the top five. So it goes without saying that this was a match to send the crowd home happy. This was another great back and forth match that, of course, saw the good guys retain after nailing Scott Dawson with their finisher. Great match, and an altogether fun NXT tapings.

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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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NXT Full Sail TV Taping 1-15-15

Fans packed in to the NXT arena at Full Sail University for another electric set of television tapings. The following write-up contains spoilers for the next three episodes. Pictures courtesy of @wgwphotos.

Credit: @wgwphotos

The dark match of the evening saw Solomon Crowe defeat Jason Jordan in a short but fun match accentuated by Crowes explosiveness. Dominated in the early goings by the Jordans sheer strength, Crowe rebounded with an erratic offense of kicks and strikes before finishing his opponent with a boing splash for the victory. Crowe delivered as always, unfortunate that it was yet another dark match.

First Episode

We start with a video from our general manager William Regal announcing that the next live special will be held on February 11th. He also announces a tournament to declare a new number one contender for the NXT title, and that tournament will begin tonight.

Ty Dillinger is already in the ring and ready for action when Sami Zayn makes his entrance. Zayn is in no mood for dancing and engaging the crowd. Fired up he storms to the ring and beats down Dillinger before tossing him out and grabbing a mic. An irate Zayn calls out Kevin Owens but is instead answered by an equally irate William Regal who admonishes him for his out of character actions. Regal tells him that there will be no match between them and that Owens must earn a title shot. Zayn tells him he doesn’t care about any of that, that it doesn’t have to even be a title match. Regal relents and announces that it will be Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens at Takeover in February.

Credit: @wgwphotos

Next up is our first tournament match featuring Curtis Axel vs Finn Balor in an entertaining opening bout. Axel took the early advantage and controlled Balor for much of the match. Finn managed to turn things around with his innovative offense finishing off Axel with his double foot stomp off the top rope and advancing in the tournament.

Credit: @wgwphotos

The womens title is on the line next as Sasha Banks once again challenges Charlotte for the gold. After several classics between these two ladies, Charlotte had Banks number and dominated a largely one-sided match between the two. Meanwhile at ringside Becky Lynch finally had enough and jumped in to make a save costing Sasha Banks the match via disqualification. Banks looked initially annoyed at Lynch before the two began a beatdown on Charlotte. Bayley ran down to make the save chasing off Team B.A.E. The two stood strong in the ring before out of nowhere Bayley turned around and laid out Charlotte with a belly to Bayley suplex to the shock of the crowd. Luckily for them general manager William Regal has a special to book. He announced that at Takeover it will be Charlotte defending her title against Bayley, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks in a fatal four way for the womens title.

We continue with tag team action as Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy take on The Vaudevillians. The early advantage went to The Vaudevillains who kept Murphy cut off and punished him while making frequent tags. Eventually Murphy made the hot tag to Blake who exploded into the ring taking out everyone in his sight. In the chaotic final moments, a kick to the head from Buddy Murphy dazed English allowing Blake to roll him up for an upset victory. Blake and Murphy celebrated up the ramp leaving a very livid English and Gotch in the ring.

Credit: @wgwphotos

In another tournament match Tyler Breeze took on Hideo Itami. These two are evenly matched and both came out of this back and forth match looking good. Though Breeze found out that the kicks he tried so hard to avoid in the early going where in fact unavoidable. In the end of a grueling match Tyler found himself victim to Itamis furious flurry of kicks and a final running kick to the face that gave Hideo the victory.

Episode 2

The tournament for the new number one contender for the NXT title continues as Adrian Neville takes on Tyson Kidd. These two know each other so well now and begin cautiously in front of a very split crowd. The two evenly matched competitors put on yet another great match together that went back and forth and seemed like it could have went either way. At the climactic end of the battle Neville nailed a Red Arrow for the victory advancing in the tourney.

Next, Charlotte and Bayley took on Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch in tag team action. Tensions ran high and it wasn’t long before things got out of hand when Bayley attempted to break up a pin and Sasha moved causing Charlotte to take the attack. This culminated in an all-out brawl between the two before being separated by several referees.

The tag title are on the line next as Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy take on The Lucha Dragons. If there is any team in NXT that can match the energy of The Luchas it is Blake and Murphy. The two evenly matched teams put on a back and forth battle that seemed to be swinging in the favor of Kalisto and Sin Cara. But in the final moments with Sin Cara thrown from the ring Buddy Murphy made the blind tag to Blake. Kalisto nailed Murphy with a Selida Del So only for Blake to roll him up for the surprise pin. It was another upset victory for Team B.A.M., this time culminating in tag team gold.

The tournament continues with Baron Corbin and Bull Dempsey colliding once again in another match that was a short burst of violence. In a match that was far from pretty or technical these two brawled inside the ring and out before Corbin put down Dempsey with an emphatic End Of Days for the victory. It was another win for Corbin, but I have a feeling this one is far from over.

Out next is William Regal, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens for a contract signing. Regal lays down the law telling them that this will not end like every other contract signing in the WWE. In fact, if they lay their hands on each other the match is off. Zayn lays down an impassioned promo before signing the contract. Owens pauses pointing out that the contract says it is a non-title match. He continues stating that regardless of what Zayn thinks it is not personal, rather that it is about the prize. He says that title means more money and a better life for him and his family, and that he refuses to sign. Zayn pleads to Regal make it a title match. Regal relents, amends the contract on the spot and Owens signs. We are officially in store for one hell of a main event at Takeover.

Episode 3

Cass and Enzo make their way out to a huge pop from the crowd to introduce Carmella. Her opponent for the evening is a returning Emma. This was a short but entertaining match that was largely one sided with Emma in control. However a crafty Carmella thwarted the Australians offense with a drop toe hold into her finishing submission maneuver, a modified head scissors, giving Emma no choice but to tap out.

The number one contenders tournament goes into the semi-finals with an intriguing match as Adrian Neville takes on Baron Corbin. Using his size to his advantage Corbin made an impressive showing against Neville. However, the wily Neville took the fight right to the big man providing  Corbin with perhaps his greatest challenge yet. At one point Corbin ended up on the floor and with the referee distracted Bull Dempsey ran down and rammed Corbin into the steel ring post. Corbin managed to make the count back in the ring but the worse for the wear, allowing Neville to lay him out and finish him off with a red arrow and advance to the finals.

In perhaps the best womens match of the night, Becky Lynch took on Bayley. Lynch took the advantage early on working on Bayleys leg. Eventually Bayley started to turn things around and ejected Lynch from the ring onto the floor. Banks came out “coaching” her partner, yelling at her to get back in there, eventually picking her up and rolling her back in the ring. Unfortunately for her Bayley met her with a Belly to Bayley for the win. After Banks and Lynch began to argue in the ring and that evolved into shoving before they were interrupted by Charlottes music as the champ emerged at the end of the ramp. All four women stared off, the magnitude Takeover looming.

Credit: @wgwphotos

Our final semi-final tournament match was a match that could headline about anywhere in the world as Finn Balor took on Hideo Itami. The crowd was marking out before the bell even rang. These two are so evenly matched and similar, and in showed in their bout as well, a grueling match that swung back and forth like a pendulum and showcased so much of the signature ringwork of these two men. It was a match that could have went either way, but tonight it swung in the favor of Finn Balor who finished Itami with his double stomp off the top rope.

At the end of the entrance ramp, Balor shakes hands with the other finalist Adrian Neville. These two will meet at Takeover. As anyone who has seen their past work together would attest, these two may well steal the show.

Dark Match Main Event

Our final match of the evening saw Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville take on Tyson Kidd and Kevin Owens. Neville and Owens are set to start when Zayn tags himself in. Not impressed Owens tags in Kidd and the action begins. Smartly, they kept Owens and Zayn apart with Kidd handling most of the work. Finally, Owens picks his moment running in to attack Zayn only for Zayn to turn things around and eject Owens for the ring. With a firm advantage now, Zayn looked to have the match won for his team after a helluva kick to Kidd only for Owens to run back in and begin a beatdown on Zayn and the referee throws out the match. After putting down Sami Zayn with a massive powerbomb, once again an evening at Full Sail ends with Kevin Owens standing over the body of Sami Zayn.

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NXT Orlando 10-9-14

Enthusiastic fans jammed into the Orlando Armory to see the men and women of NXT prove why they are the predominant wrestling brand by wowing their hometown crowd with high impact action. The armory was hot, but anticipation was hotter as the evening started with a bang.

Actually, it started with the roar of a motorcycle as the lone wolf of NXT Baron Corbin made his way to the ring to conquer his newest victim, Elias Sampson. The bell rang and the crowd began counting the seconds to the inevitable squash. Sampson wisely rolled out of the ring a few times before engaging in action in an attempt to mount an offense. Unfortunately for Sampson, this only angered Corbin who went on to make short work of his prey gaining the pinfall after his brutal finisher “The end of days”. The crowd is really getting behind Corbin and it's well deserved, the man makes every move look devastating in the ring. Elias Sampson has seemingly a different gimmick every time I have seen him, hopefully he find his niche in NXT soon because I've like what I've seen of him.

Next up one half of the Lucha Dragons, Kalisto competed against Sawyer Fulton. The contest saw the much larger Fulton run roughshod over the luchadore who struggled to mount an offense. However his power and size advantage was not enough to stop the momentum of the underdog Kalisto, and when Kalisto gets going that momentum is nearly unstoppable. Fulton, who has had many gimmick changes may look his most intimidating yet with his black mohawk and black singlet. Tonight though his new tougher demeanor would not be enough as he found himself on the receiving end of a “Salida del sol”.

NXT commentator Rich Brennan introduced The Boss Sasha Banks who quickly decided Brennans presence in the ring was not necessary and took control of the mic. Banks made it clear that she is the best and put all the women on notice, particularly the champ, Charlotte. It should be a hot feud when these two finally lock up, and they will likely steal quite a few shows in the process.

Next, in a highly entertaining match the team of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable took on The Mechanics.

Jason Jordan was wearing a wrestling singlet tonight like Gable, it remains to be seen if this will be an ongoing tag team. However with his impressive amateur background he definitely makes a good partner for the Olympian Chad Gable. Not to be outdone Dawson challenged them to start the match by wrestling amateur style, unfortunately for him it didn't turn out so well. As the match wore on it was a back and forth battle that could have went to either team. Tonight however the better team was The Mechanics, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. Great job by both teams, this match was a highlight of the evening. The Mechanics are great antagonists who will be in the running for tag team gold sooner than later. Jason Jordan easily has all the skills it takes to succeed, while I see huge things on the horizon for the impressive Olympian Chad Gable.

CJ Parker is out next with a microphone in hand to berate the audience as only he can, this is where Parker shines. Tonight though he would need more than a large vocabulary and wit because his opponent is Hideo Itami who makes his way out to a pretty good pop and a lot of standing fans. Rarely when something or someone comes along with a lot of hype does it live up to it, but in the case of Hideo Itami he surely deserves the hype he has arrived with. Impressive considering we have not even seen him compete in any epic battles in NXT yet. His legendary kicks make you cringe from anywhere in the building and his double foot stomp from the top rope is just painful to watch. Parker put up a good fight but the victory went to Hideo.

Next up the criminally underrated Ty Dillinger took on Prince Pretty himself, Tyler Breeze. Fans came alive to see Breeze who has been away recently with the WWE and he did not disappoint. In fact, both men delivered a match that could have easily been a main event. It's been obvious to many for a long time that Breeze will be a major player one day. However, for those outside of the house show circuit that don't know Dillinger as well the man can shine when given the time and opportunity. His new mysterious, slightly crazy heel persona may just be the groove he needed. Dillinger was in control for much of the match, but the durable Tyler Breeze had a beauty shot with Dillingers name on it giving him the pinfall victory. A nice homecoming for Prince Pretty.

Next, Jojo brings out Braun Stowman who at 6'8' and 385 pounds is a mountain of a man. He makes his way into the ring stepping over the top rope to let us know that monsters are real and on no uncertain terms that he is putting the entire locker room on notice. I'm certainly eager to see the debut of this beast.

After that it is time for a six diva tag team match. The team of Charlotte, Bayley, and Alexa Bliss took on Dana Brooke, Carmella, and Becky Lynch in yet another show stealing match on what had become a great card. Matches like this showcase exactly why we have the best divas around and gives one hope for the main roster division. It was a little strange seeing Charlotte in a definitive face role alongside Bayley, but it's a role she is settling into nicely. Lynch is still a standout on the roster to me, although I'll have to see how her heel role progresses. Carmella is quickly becoming a favorite proving she has the skills and the ring presence to get to the top. This was an action packed match that ended with Charlotte getting the “natural selection” over Becky Lynch for the pin.

In our main event of the evening I was glad to see the highly charismatic Enzo Amore and Big Cass finally headline a show against The Vaudevillians. I've commented several times about the very impressive tag division in NXT, and these teams are probably the top two teams at the moment (even over the champs). The match started with plenty of hilarious trash talking before an action packed match got underway. As over as Gotch and English were as faces they are way more effective as heels as they showed tonight, while Cass and Enzo aren't just on fire in the ring, but they animate the crowd as well with their trash talking and high energy. Eventually The Vaudevillians found themselves in control of the match keeping the underdog Amore from the tag. Victory seemed at hand for the bad guys after a beautifully executed senton from the second rope by English, but Cass made the save for his team. Amide the chaotic final moments it was Enzo Amore who got the pin with a surprise roll-up from out of nowhere. An irate English and Gotch attempted a post match beatdown but were thwarted by an even more fired up Colin Cassidy who cleared the ring of the two sore losers.

It's not unusual for NXT to put on an entertaining show, but tonight was a great show from top to bottom with too many “favorite” matches to call.

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