Full Sail TV Tapings 6-18-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

Thursday night NXT Faithful once again piled into Full Sail University for another action packed evening of television tapings. The following recap contains spoilers for the next four episodes of NXT. The division between episodes three and 4 are a little unclear, but the order of matches are dead on.

The evening starts off with a very notable dark match as the much anticipated Uhaa Nation takes on indie wrestler Johnny Gargano. This was a great fast paced match that went back and forth seeing both men looking strong. Gargano matched Uhaa's power with speed, but unfortunately for Gargano, Uhaa is just as nimble. After a short but impressive exhibition, Uhaa finishes his opponent with a military press followed by two standing moonsaults. One gets the impression that Uhaa Nation is going to be a very big deal in a very short time.

Shortly afterward the entire locker room takes the stage to pay tribute to the late, great Dusty Rhodes. Triple H says a few words and leads us into a chilling 10 bell salute. I've seen the tributes on television but it is so much more powerful live, especially the immense silence between the tolling of the bells where you are left thinking of the massive impact Dusty Rhodes has had on every single person in the building.

Episode 1

Hideo Itami makes his way to the ring with his arm in a sling. He tells us that it will be another three or four months before he will be back in action. He states that it does not matter who wins the title in Tokyo, because he is coming back for the title. He is interrupted by Kevin Owens who says that Itami is delusional and that on July 4th he is going to end Finn Balor for good. He then tells Hideo he came out to say he had nothing to do with Itami's injury. He also demands an apology from Itami for calling him a "bad man". Hideo responds by telling Owens that he is a great champion but a terrible human being. An angry Kevin Owens begins to head to the ring but Balor runs out to make the save. Balor and Owens fight up the ramp and onto the stage. Balor has the upper hand but is attacked by Rhyno, who leaves Balor laying.

Tag team action is next as Jason Jordan and Sylvester Lefort take on Enzo Amore and Big Cass. After an inital flurry of offense from Zo, Jordan takes over easily tossing Amore around the ring. However mere moments later after Lefort gets tossed to the floor, a distracted Jordan gets rolled up by Amore for the pin. This was a very short match, but it was good to see the Frenchman Lefort back in an NXT ring.

Next up Cassie (KC Cassidy) takes on Dana Brooke who is accompanied to the ring by Emma. Cassie starts strong with some fast paced offense culminating in a perfect headscissors, but eventually the power of Brooke comes into play. Brooke pummels Cassie with a series of strikes and kicks before settling into a grounded abdominal stretch. Cassie eventually mounts a comeback with a clothesline and a series of high kicks. She climbs the ropes, but Dana hoists Cassie onto her shoulders and slams her to the mat with a Samoan Driver for the win. Dana Brooke is showing improvement, but is still a very polarizing figure to a very split crowd.

We continue with more tag action as the "Hype Bros." Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley take on Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins. Rawley starts for his team with his usual antics, banter, and dancing around before Dawkins finally gets the advantage for his team. They work over Rawley for a bit before he makes the hot tag to Ryder who comes in with a flurry of fast paced offense culminating in a Broski Boot. Mojo hoists Dawkins into the air and Ryder comes off the ropes with a Rough Ryder for the pin. I am really enjoying seeing Zack Ryder get more of a spotlight, I just wish he didn't have to share it with Mojo Rawley.

Next Finn Balor takes on Rhyno, while Kevin Owens is on commentary. A fired up Balor takes the fight right to his opponent as the two immediately begin brawling. The speed of Balor comes into play as Rhyno is left one step behind his opponent. Rhyno gets tossed to the outside and Balor takes flight out and onto his enemy. Moments later, back in the ring Rhyno catches Balor with a thunderous spinebuster slowing the pace of the match. He throws on a massive bear hug before Finn finally breaks free. Finn levels Rhyno with a pele kick and climbs the ropes. Owens comes out to cause a distraction. Still, Balor manages to dodge a gore and answer with a slingblade followed by a Coup De Grace for the pin. Afterwards, Owens and Rhyno begin to beat down Finn Balor until Samoa Joe storms the ring to make the save.

Episode 2

The episode begins with Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder taking on The Vaudevillians. Gotch and English start off with some of their signature antics before Dawson and Wilder take control of the match. The two begin to take apart Gotch briefly before he makes the hot tag to English. With Dawson ejected from the ring, Gotch uppercuts Wilder and English follows with his running swinging neckbreaker for the pin. This was another really short tag match. Regardless I am very happy to see Dawson and Wilder finally on television, and it won't be long before they are challenging for gold. The Vaudevillians, who seemed to be on the backburner for a bit, are gaining some valuable momentum lately.

Next, Tucker Knight takes on Baron Corbin. This was a squash match with Corbin easily finishing his opponent with an End Of Days. I really don't think they are doing Corbin any favors with these squash matches, the man is really capable of so much more.

Women's action is next as Emma takes on Carmella. The two go back and forth in the early goings as the two jockey for the advantage. Finally, Emma slows the pace with a leg scissors. Later, Carmella comes back with a Lou Thez Press followed by a series of kicks. However moments later Emma would comeback contorting Carmella into an Emma Lock giving her no choice but to tap out. Again, another shorter match but entertaining nonetheless.

Ty Dillinger is out next with huge crowd support. His opponent for the evening is Prince Pretty Tyler Breeze. An aggressive Dillinger takes charge pummeling his opponent with a series of kicks, stomps, and chops. Breeze fires back, landing a hurricanrana and following with his own series of punches. The pace quickens and the match goes back and forth until Breeze lands a Beauty Shot for the win. Win or lose, the crowd support for Dillinger is growing exponentially every week and deservedly so.

Next is Finn Balor and Samoa Joe vs Rhyno and Kevin Owens. The match is off to a hot start as Joe pummels Rhyno, who quickly makes the tag to Owens. Moments later Owens has the advantage over Balor. He wears him down and keeps going back to a chinlock, much to the chagrin of the crowd. Eventually Owens goes into a sequence of Cena's "5 moves of doom" culminating in a five knuckle shuffle on Balor. Owens attempts an Attitude Adjustment but Balor escapes making the hot tag to Samoa Joe. Joe comes in on fire but moments later all four men are in the ring as chaos ensues. Owens lays out Joe with a Pop-up Powerbomb, and nails Balor with a superkick, but Balor answers with a Pele Kick. Rhyno goes for a Gore but Balor dodges and he nails Owens instead. Joes disposes of Rhyno while Balor lands a Coup De Grace on Owens for the victory. This was a great match that had the crowd really fired up.

Ring announcers Jojo and Greg Hamilton are out next to hype the crowd, but an irate Kevin Owens storms the ring and screams at them to leave. He calls out Finn Balor, challenging him to a fight right then and there. Balor hits the ring and the two begin brawling until Balor hits a quick Slingblade from out of nowhere and follows with a dropkick to Owens in the corner. He follows with a Coup De Grace and a pin for a huge upset and an even bigger statement.

Episode 3

Dana Brooke and Emma are out next for tag action. Sasha Banks comes out the ring alone, apparently she could not find a partner but was willing to take them on regardless. Charlotte's music hits and the former champ makes her way to the ring. She tells Banks she will tag with her but she owes her. Charlotee and Sasha start off the match strong dominating Brooke. She makes the tag to Emma who turns things around for her team snapmaring Charlotte by the hair and wearing her down with Leg Scissors. Later Charlotte makes the tag to Banks who comes in and pummels Brooke with a series of punches, kicks, and finally running knees in the corner. She locks Brooke into a Bank Statement while Charlotte locks Emma into a Figure-4 leaving both the bad girls tapping. Afterwards, Charlotte tells Banks she wants a title shot next week. Sasha tells her "It's on!"

Next up Solomon Crowe takes on the deranged Marcus Louis. Crowe starts off strong with a series of strikes and chops that seem to take little effect on Louis. Still yet the speedy Crowe managed to to stay one step ahead of the Frenchman until Louis knocks Crowe off the ropes and slows the pace. First knocking the wind out of him with a series of knees before settling into an abdominal stretch. Eventually Crowe mounts a comeback and nails Louis with a cutter. Crowe whips Louis to the corner and follows with a high knee. He sends Louis to the mat with a dropkick to the knee and follows with a Stretch Muffler for a submission victory. Crowe was explosive as always and looks better with each outing. Marcus Louis is brilliant as the tortured monster, I’m just starting to wonder how much it is actually connecting with audiences.

A number one contenders match for the NXT Tag titles is next as The Vaudevillians challenge Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy. After an initials flurry of offense Gotch and English manage to isolate Enzo with frequent tags and some great tandem wrestling. Inevitably Amore makes the hot tag to Cass who comes in with a splash and a slam followed by a big boot to English. He lays out English with a side slam and looks to set up an assisted splash with Enzo. Gotch grabs a hold of Cass’s boots allowing a distraction. Enzo leaps onto English with a crossbody into a pin but English reverses pinning Amore.

It’s more tag team action as Elias Sampson and Steve Cutler take on Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. Jordan and Gable make an impressive team with Jordan overpowering Sampson followed by excellent grappling from Gable against Cutler. Later, the impressive Sampson mounts a flurry of offense for his team but it was still a pretty one-sided affair. In the closing moments Jordan tosses Cutler into the air and Gable catches him for a belly to back suplex pinning combination. Deservedly so Gable got a nice reaction from the crowd. Gable is a superb grappler and absolutely fun to watch.

Next Samoa Joe faces newcomer Axel Tischer. Immediately Joe attacks with a flurry of punches. Tischer makes attempts to fight back, but no to avail and he ends up on the receiving end of a big boot from Joe followed by a senton. Tischer eventually comes back with small bursts of offense.

Ultimately, he runs into a big side slam and Joe follows with a Musclebuster. He then locks Axel into a Coquina Clutch for the submission victory. Largely a one-side match but a very intense one, as it often is whenever Samoa Joe is in the ring.

Episode 4

Eva Marie comes out and gives a short promo saying that she hopes we are ready, because next week she will be wrestling right here on NXT. Eva Marie seemed more confident this outing, or at the very least better at blocking out the pure heat of a very hateful crowd.

The tag team champions Blake and Murphy are out next to make short work of Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins. Despite early offense Murphy fairly easily takes control of Dawkins, meanwhile Blake sneaks around the side of the ring and pulls Fulton off the apron. Murphy lands his fantastic running suplex on Dawkins and Blake follows with a frogsplash for the victory. After the match they beat down Fulton. Blake and Murphy pick Alexa off the turnbuckles and carries her over where she springboards out of their arms into an impressive Sparkle Splash onto Fulton adding insult to injury.

Sami Zayn comes out to a huge pop from the fans. He tells us that while 2014 was the best year of his career, 2015 has been the worst. He explains that he likely won’t be back this year, but he will eventually be back better than ever for his NXT Title. He continues by stating revenge is a great motivator and that Kevin Owens “had better watch his ass!”

Our final match and easily the show-stealing match of the evening saw Charlotte challenging Sasha Banks for the women’s title. They start with several long lock-ups ending in a stalemate. Charlotte eventually gets the first advantage locking Banks into a Figure-4 headlock. Later Banks comes back landing her double knee drop in the corner and thus slows the pace. She locks Charlotte into a Straightjacket and eventually a Figure-4 headlock of her own. Showing of her strength Charlotte makes it to her feet with Sasha still on her shoulders, flips her around and lands a thunderous powerbomb. She follows with a neckbreaker and a spear, but Sasha fights back and the two begin to brawl. After several pin attempts Charlotte eventually locks on the Figure-4 headlock. Moments later as the two went back and forth until Sasha locked Charlotte into the Bank Statement for the victory. Afterwards the two hugged in the ring before Charlotte headed to the back. This was another instant classic between these two ladies. This was likely Charlotte’s big send-off to the main roster. She will definitely be missed, but no doubt deserves that larger stage precisely because of tremendous matches like these.

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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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The Changing Landscape Of NXT

It is only March and it has already been a remarkable year for NXT. The developmental division has truly come into its own as a brand and is packing houses and selling out shows at an unprecedented rate. Testing the waters out of state the brand is coming fresh off a series of successful show dates in Ohio, and much to the chagrin of faithful Florida fans touring can’t be very far behind. With popularity reaching new heights one has to wonder what the rest of 2015 will bring.

Things have changed within the ranks and in the ring as well; 2015 has been a virtual reset. In January Blake and Murphy burst onto the scene winning tag team gold, while Februarys Takeover crowned not one, but two new champions as Sasha Banks took home the Womens belt and Kevin Owens became new NXT champion in a most controversial manner. The landscape has changed and the hierarchy has been seriously rearranged.

I’ve never been shy about singing the praises of NXTs tag team division, it is simply everything that one wishes the main roster could be. Now it seems that the exciting tag matches we are privy to at house shows every week have the potential to make it to our television sets as well. After a year dominated by two tag teams, Blake and Murphy are a breath of fresh air and may just be bringing all sorts of change with them. The Vaudevillians, as well as Cass and Enzo are both incredibly over with the crowd and have made their quest for the tag titles known, but there are other teams to look out for as well. Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton have become a very formidable team in a relatively short time. Both are sizable men with amateur backgrounds, and while one wonders about the fate of the Shoot Nation stable we at least got one good tag team out of the deal. Meanwhile, it finally seems we are on the verge of seeing The Mechanics Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder on our television sets. While other teams may have been getting more time, house show regulars Dawson and Wilder have been putting on some of the best tag matches in the company. The two have great in ring chemistry with current champs Blake and Murphy, and a program between the two teams would be incredible.

The much heralded womens division has been shaken up recently with the crowning of a new champion in Sasha Banks. Though it seems the shake-up may not be quite done. Banks and former champ Charlotte have produced so many classic matches together and truly helped define the division that we watch with such pride. However it seems both women already have one foot out of the door, as they seemingly spend more time touring with the WWE roster than the NXT roster. So what will become of the division when its two top athletes are gone? Anyone who watched Takeover: Rival already knows the answer, it will be fine. In that fatal four way match both Bayley and Becky Lynch proved they are more than capable of carrying the division further. The adoring fan base of the ultimate underdog Bayley would agree that she is ready to take it to the next level. Meanwhile Becky Lynch who may just be the best pure wrestler of the division, truly came into her own at the recent Takeover. These two ladies have clashed several times now, but I really don’t think we have seen all they have to offer yet. As torchbearers of the division these ladies will put on several classics of their own. A newly reinvigorated Alexa Bliss and the rapidly improving Carmella are both stepping out of the shadows, while the debut of the Dana Brooke is not far off.

It really doesn’t seem like that long ago that the idea of Kevin Owens in a WWE ring seemed unlikely, not only is he here but he is the NXT champion. A mere two months after his debut he mercilessly beat down Sami Zayn to take home the strap. In the weeks following those that didn’t already know are finding why Owens is possibly the best heel in the business. The abrupt title change is reverberating throughout NXT and one has to wonder what comes next. Luckily for the fans there is more to come in the Zayn/Owens saga as Sami Zayn is still due a rematch. Meanwhile Finn Balor, who is quickly becoming the most popular wrestler in NXT is destined for the gold sooner than later.

But one has to wonder what is ahead for the current state of NXTs increasingly crowded main event scene. The main roster debut of Adrian Neville is surely imminent and Sami Zayn likely isn’t very far behind. Considering the meteoric rise of both Owens and Balor it is hard to imagine them staying in NXT as long as Zayn or Neville have. So what will the landscape look like after these men have moved on? Who exactly will be the next members of the “NXT 5”? It seems Hideo Itami will probably be with NXT longer than the rest, but he is undoubtedly a tremendous talent with much to prove and it most obviously a main eventer. The push of Tyler Breeze seems to ebb and flow but he will surely be one of the top guys moving forward. Baron Corbin is wrestling longer, higher profile matches and seems destined to take a top spot soon. Solomon Crowe has barely even debuted, but he obviously has the fervor and explosiveness to take him to the top of the heap very quickly. No one can draw genuine heat like the underrated CJ Parker, is his time finally here? Add to the list all of the extremely hungry talent already tearing it up at house shows, not to mention several new names that could potentially make things even more interesting. As fans all we can do is speculate an extremely unpredictable playing field, but I look forward to watching it unfold.

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NXT Full Sail TV Taping 2-18-15

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

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

Episode 1

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 3

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

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

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

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

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

Episode 4

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

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

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