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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Full Sail TV Tapings 10-8-15

Hot on the heels of Takeover: Respect, fans piled into Full Sail University to see the fallout from the historic live special. It was a night of new contenders, new chapters and renewed rivalry. The following recap contains spoilers for the next 3 episodes of NXT.

In the dark match Alexander Wolfe took on Hugo Knox in what would be a short textbook match. Knox starts off strong until Wolfe takes over with a cheap shot and controls much of the match. Finally, Wolfe misses with an elbow and Knox mounts a comeback. He topples the big German with a shoulder tackle and follows with a crossbody. He finally levels Wolfe with a big kick and executes a split-legged moonsault for the win. With his exuberant Chippendale-like dancing Hugo Knox is way over with the crowd. I’m not sure exactly how far a gimmick like this will take him, but his wrestling shows much promise as he is a big muscular guy who at times moves like a cruiserweight.

Episode 1

Bayley is out first to a huge pop from the crowd. She begins by saying that Takeover made history, not just her match but the entire show. She specifically mentions the Dusty Classic, and mentions that Dusty believed in her and made it all possible. She continues by stating that NXT women’s division has started something special and the division is at a whole new level now. She is interrupted by Alexa Bliss, who is accompanied by Blake and Murphy. Alexa pays compliment to Bayley saying that she is an incredible chance and she looks forward to sharing the future with her. She then snatches the belt off Bayley’s shoulder and says they will not be sharing it. She says soon she will be taking it for real, before throwing it back to her.

Next up is The Vaudevillians taking on Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins in a short tag match. English starts off strong until Dawkins takes a cheap shot. They punish English for much of the match until he makes a hot tag to Gotch who comes in with a series of innovative strikes and kicks. The Vaudevillians then hit Dawkins with the Whirling Dervish for the win. This was a short formulaic match, but fun none the less. The Vaudevillians are as over as always, while it’s nice to see Fulton and Dawkins being paired together again.

Next up is the television debut of Nia Jax. Her opponent for the evening is indie wrestler Evie. The two lock up and Nia easily knocks Evie down. Evie runs the ropes and bounces off of Nia like she hit a brick wall. Nia snatches Evie up in a bearhug, thrashing her around like a ragdoll. Later, Evie attempts a comeback with a series of kicks to no avail as Nia hoists her up and slams her to the mat emphatically with a big front slam for the win. Nia Jax shows a lot of potential and fills a monster heel role that was needed in the NXT women’s division. Even, if just a squash match it was still exciting to see Evie in the Full Sail Arena.

Up next is a battle royal to decide the new number one contender for the NXT title. The competitors were as follow (in no particular order): Danny Burch, Apollo Crews, Johnny Gargano, Tomasso Ciampa, Tyler Breeze, Ty Dillinger, Blake, Murphy, Steve Cutler, Bull Dempsey, Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder, Elias Sampson, Riddick Moss, Rhyno, Enzo, Cass,  Zack Ryder, Mojo Rawley, Baron Corbin, and Samoa Joe. As it goes in these matches the action was way too crazy to call. At times Corbin and Rhyno were working well in tandem, until Corbin took the liberty of eliminating a shocked and angry Rhyno. Finally the ring thinned out to the final four which were Baron Corbin, Tyler Breeze, Samoa Joe, and Apollo Crews.  Soon after Joe eliminates Tyler Breeze much to the chagrin of a pro-Breeze crowd. Moments later with Joe dangerously on the ring apron, Breeze illegally pulls him to the floor as the crowd chants “Thank you , Tyler”.  Corbin slams Crews to the mat and begins a brutal beatdown. Crews mounts a comeback with a series of strike and topples Corbin with a big clothesline. He immediately goes for a standing moonsault but Corbin counters with his knees. The two make it back up and Crews rocks Corbin with two huge standing ensiguris and finally clotheslines him out of the ring to become the new number one contender. I believe most people were assuming Corbin or Joe would win, so Apollo Crews standing tall was a nice surprise. The man has all the tools, and a match with Finn will be incredible. Yet, I believe most people were pulling for Tyler simply because they are tired of seeing him used as a stepping stone.

Episode 2

Coming off a successful debut Asuka takes on Billie Kay. The bell rings and Asuka offers a handshake but Billie answers with a knee to the gut followed by a big boot. Billie continues with a series of strikes and a vertical suplex with major hang time. Asuka fights back with a series of big kicks but Billie shuts her down with a heavy punch. Billie runs the ropes finds herself in a rolling armbar that Asuka quickly transitions into a seated armbar. Billie manages to grab the ropes but Asuka continues her attack with a German suplex followed by many kicks before trapping Billie Kay in an Asuka Lock for a submission victory. Another successful outing from the impressive Asuka, who comes to NXT worthy of every bit of the hype. Asuka seems poised for big things in the division, and rightfully so. With three out of four of the Horsewomen moved on, Asuka is probably the only women in NXT who could step in the ring with Bayley and put on an instant classic today. Australian Billie Kay is no slouch though, she looked good here and I look forward to her (and Peyton Royce) moving beyond jobbing soon.

Tag team action is next Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder taking on Enzo and Cass. Almost immediately the roughneck team of Dawson and Wilder take control working over the leg of Enzo. Dawson punishes Enzo with a leg lock until Cass has enough and breaks it up. A moment later Dawson walks over to Cass on the ring apron to talk trash and Enzo rolls him up with a surprise pin. Absolutely livid Dawson and Wilder begin a post-match beatdown ejecting Enzo from the ring and hitting Big Cass with the Shatter Machine. I’m looking forward to a good feud from these two teams. I’ve seen them face off countless times at house shows and they’ve developed quite a chemistry. Win or lose, I’m just glad to see Dawson and Wilder finally making it to television on a regular basis.

Danny Burch is out next followed by his surprise opponent James Storm, who received a huge pop. It was a short match and almost all Storm. After a little bit of action Storm hits Burch with a neckbreaker and finishes him with his spinning bulldog the Eight Second Ride for the pin. Short and sweet match but James Storm looked great in the ring, moving smoothly and fluidly. More importantly, he just looked happy as hell to be there.

We continue with women’s action as Alexa Bliss takes on Peyton Royce. The match begins with back and forth grappling. Before long Bliss get the advantage, targeting the arm of Peyton grounding her with an armlock. Eventually Peyton fights back with a dropkick and several high spinning heel kicks. However Bliss halts her momentum, beating down Peyton and nailing her with a Glitz Flip.  She ascends the ropes and hits the Sparkle Splash for the victory. Afterwards, she grabs the mic and addresses Bayley, sarcastically stating that she is a role model and an inspiration but all that is about to end.

Next up Rhyno looks to exact a little revenge against Baron Corbin. As one would imagine this one was far from technical and pretty much a huge brawl. The two big exchange strikes and kicks with Corbin in control most of the match. They battle to the outside where Corbin sends Rhyno into the ringsteps. They battle back into the ring and eventually back outside where Rhyno returns the favor sending Corbin into the steps. Back in the ring Rhyno looks to keep his momentum going nailing Corbin with a belly to belly followed by a sidewalk slam. Rhyno hits the Gore but Corbin manages to kick out at two. Rhyno attempts a second Gore but Corbin snatches him up for the End Of Days.

Episode 3

We continue with women’s action as indie star Shazza McKenzie takes on Emma. In another glorified squash this one was almost all Emma, as she beatdown Shazza at a slow deliberate pace. Shazza surprises Emma with a roll-up, but Emma kicks out and answers with a mean clothesline. Later Shazz attempts another burst of offense with a running attack in the corner but Emma dodges and answers with an Emma-mite Sandwich. She then contorts Shazza into an Emma Lock for a submission victory. The presence of the indie girls in NXT is exciting, even if they are just enhancement talent. Shazza looked good, but more importantly Emma looked better. Emma needs all the momentum she can get if Asuka is indeed in her future.

Next up is tag action as Chad Gable and Jason Jordan take on Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. The match starts with a handshake before Gable and Ciampa lock up for some excellent grappling from both men before Gable takes the advantage. The match continues with the advantage teetering back and forth between both teams. Later, stretches out Garganos arm with a signature armbar over the top rope. However moments later upon a distraction Gargano torpedoes through the ropes into the ring spearing Gable, finally swaying momentum for his team. Gargano and Ciampa slow the pace working over Gable eventually settling into an abdominal stretch. Eventually, Gable makes the hot tag to a fresh Jordan who comes in with several big suplexes. Jordan looks to set up his finisher but Ciampa distracts and Gargano plants Jordan with a hellacious DDT. However moments later Jordan comes back flapjacking Ciampa to the mat and setting him up for a Grand Amplitude for the win. For me this was easily the best match of the night. Jordan and Gable have gelled so well and are easily one of my favorite tag teams period. Not sure what the status is of Gargano and Ciampa is, but easy to say both men have been involved in what have been my favorite matches at the last several tapings.

The indie invasion continues with Kay Lee Ray trying her hand against Nia Jax. The two lock up but Nia drops her with a headbutt. Kay fight back with a flurry of punches to no avail. Nia scoops Kay up for a backbreaker rack. Later Kay attempts one last bit of offense with several dropkicks. She attempts a springboard attack but Nia catches her, slams her to the mat before dropping a big leg drop for the win. Another short match but what would expect for the push of the devastating Nia Jax.

Enzo and Cass are out next but get attacked on the way to the ring by a still irate Dawson and Wilder. They violently throw Enzo off the ramp and focus their attack on the knee of Big Cass. They make a final emphatic point when Dawson locks in the leg of Cass and Dash comes crashing down on the knee from the top rope. Afterwards Cass is helped to the back by Enzo and several referees.

Next up is Tyler Breeze vs Samoa Joe in front of a very split crowd. The bell rings and Tyler evades the ring, taking his time getting back in. He answers the referees count but quickly evades the ring again. He makes it back in the ring and evades a third time but this time Joe chases him around and back into the ring. Breeze pounces on Joes with several strikes and kicks. Breeze lounges upon the turnbuckle with his signature pose but Joe kicks him down and attacks Breeze with a flurry of strikes. Breeze wisely leaves the ring but Joe dives through the ropes to the outside toppling Breeze. Back in the ring Joe hits with a splash and a kick in the corner. Breeze fights back hitting a backstabber. Joe fires back with several big chops, but Breeze hits a dropkick then grounds Joe with a chinlock. Joe makes it to his feet and drops Breeze with a bog boot followed by a senton. After a powerslam and a big side slam Joe sets up a musclebuster but Breeze escapes and answers with a superkick. The two exchange several strikes until rolls up his opponent. However Joe rolls through and locks on a coquina clutch for the victory. The losing streak continues for Tyler Breeze, but he still came out looking great.

Our final match is Ty Dillinger taking on NXT champion Finn Balor. The two start off with back and forth chain wrestling until Ty cartwheels over Finn and throws up his hands in a perfect 10. The action continues back and forth and eventually spills to the outside. Ty begins to focus his attack on the leg of Balor. The action continues back and forth with many signature spots from both men. Later on after much action Dillinger locks on a cloverleaf but Balor makes it to the ropes. The two make it to their feet and clotheslines Ty out of the ring. Balor runs down the ring apron and kicks his opponents head off. Balor tosses him back in the ring and hits Ty with a dropkick to the corner and follows with a Coup De Grace for the victory.  

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NXT Largo 9-25-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

Friday night the road to NXT Takeover: Respect made a stop in Largo, Fl. The standing room only crowd filled The Minnreg Hall to see another night of wrestling action as only NXT can deliver. In a night that would feature an NXT title defense and finish with a smashmouth main event, fans would not be disappointed.

The evening starts with tag action as Solomon Crowe makes his way to the ring atop the massive shoulders of his partner Tucker Knight. Their opponents for the evening are Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins. Crowe starts off bringing the fight but can’t budge the much larger Fulton. Unwisely he attempts to bodyslam Fulton with little success. Fulton snatches up Crowe from the waist and spins him around about twenty times before tossing him over with a gutwrench suplex. Moments later Knight finds himself unable to mount any offense against Dawkins either until Crowe causes a distraction. Knight takes advantage and beats down Dawkins. He slows down the pace of the match, wearing Dawkins down with a chinlock before slamming him down to the mat for a big elbow. Moments later Knight charges the corner with Crowe on his back for a huge splash but Dawkins dodges and makes the hot tag. Fulton attacks Crowe with strikes, several headbutts and a double underhook suplex. Finally he levels Crowe with a clothesline from hell for the pin. This was a really fun start to the show. The explosive Crowe impresses as always and is vastly underrated at this point. Fulton and Dawkins are a good fit and work well in tandem. Both guys have struggled to find their place, but I think they are closer to finding it as a team at this point.

The drifter Elias Sampson is out next and serenades us with a derogatory song about Largo. His opponent for the evening is the “Bull-Fit” guru himself, Bull Dempsey. Sampson locks on a sidelock and hangs on tenaciously. Finally, Bull breaks the hold and shoulder tackles Sampson to the mat. He follows with an impressive rolling senton and follows with an elbow for good measure. Back on their feet Sampson takes a cheap shot at Bull and takes charge, grounding the big man with a clothesline and pummeling him with kicks. Dempsey tries to mount a comeback but Sampson sends him to the mat with a double mule kick out of the corner. Sampson grabs his guitar and sits down to play in the corner while waiting for Dempsey to make it back up. Sampson continues his attack until Bull begins to “Hulk up” against his strikes. Dempsey delivers a headbutt and several belly bumps. He squashes Sampson with a big splash and then runs him over, climbs the ropes and comes down with a huge seated senton for the win.

Levis Valenzuela Jr is out next for another in-ring interview with Dasha Fuentes. He tells us that NXT is the hottest thing going right now and that he is following his dream. Of course, it all breaks down to a fiesta time as he dances with Dasha. Valenzuela is charismatic and likeable, I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do in the ring.

Next up, is Tyler Breeze taking on Apollo Crews. The two grapple back and forth exchanging headlocks. After a successful series of moves Crews lounges across the top ropes mocking Breeze before the action continues. The pace quickens drastically as they run the ropes until Crews nearly dropkicks Breeze out of his furry boots, and then clotheslines him out of the ring. Breeze makes his way back in and manages to pull Crews into the ropes across his throat. Breeze pounces on Crews with a series of kicks before finally grounding Apollo with a chancery. Crews mounts a comeback with a splash and a big boot. Breeze counters with a jaw shattering superkick followed by a very close pin attempt. Breeze commences to attack but gets nailed with a running enziguri. Crews follows with a military press and his amazing standing moonsault for the win. This was a really good match, even better than their match the night before. Fans are going to be in for a treat when they clash at Takeover.

Women’s tag action is next as Peyton Royce and Billie Kay take on the team of Emma and Dana Brooke. The over-confident Dana Brooke pushes Peyton to the mat, but the Aussie comes back with a roll-up and several pin attempts. She continues with a headscissors that sends Brooke tagging. Emma doesn’t fare much better as Billie Kay delivers a headscissors of her own. Brooke causes a distraction that put the bad girls in control. Emma and Dana make frequent tags slowly punishing Billie. Dana contorts her into a grounded abdominal stretch before Billie makes it up and nails Brooke with a desperate big boot before making the hot tag. Royce comes in with a series of high spinning heel kicks and an emphatic dropkick. Her momentum is halted when Emma sends her knocking Billie off the apron. Dana trips up Peyton from under the ropes and Emma pounces, locking on the Emma Lock for the submission victory. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce are really good and starting to find their groove in NXT. Of course, it’s great having Emma back here and it’s really benefiting Dana too.

Next up is Ty Dillinger taking on Finn Balor. Dillinger takes the mic and tells Balor that he has all the respect for him in the world, but he has something that he has wanted for a long time. He tells him this is the right place, right time to put the title on the line. Finn relents and we have a title match. An aggressive Dillinger attacks Finn before the bell rings and beats him down in the corner. He rocks the champ with a series of strikes and chops. Ty continues the onslaught until the champ hits him with a pele kick. Balor continues mounting momentum rolling through a sunset flip and answering with a dropkick. Moments later though he walks into a massive superkick from Dillinger. Balor comes back with a slingblade and goes for a hesitation dropkick but Dillinger dodges it and locks Balor into a cloverleaf but the champ makes the ropes. Back to their feet Balor comes back yet again clotheslining Dillinger out of the ring and then nailing Ty with a running kick from the ring apron. He tosses Dillinger back in the ring and sends him into the corner with a huge dropkick and climbs the ropes to execute a Coup De Grace for a hard fought victory. This was an excellent main event quality match and it was only intermission time.

From one champ to another the evening continues with NXT women’s champion Bayley taking on Gionna Daddio. The match begins with a hug and then the fast paced action starts with each women looking to get the advantage with back and forth grappling. The two exchange speedy offense until Gionna sends Bayley to the mat with a shoulder tackle followed by an arm drag and and arm lock. The two make it back up and Bayley sends Gionna down with a drop toe hold and follows with her trademark Slip-N-Slide.  Later Gionna begins to mount a comeback with a series of dropkicks but Bayley shuts her down with a signature back elbow into the corner. Bayley continues with an exploder suplex followed by a Belly-To-Bayley for the win. Afterwards, Bayley grabs a mic and puts over Gionna and the entire locker room. This was a short but entertaining match with Bayley looking as great as we’ve come to expect. The speedy and agile newcomer Gionna Daddio shows a great deal of promise. With very limited experience she is already as good as several of the girls in the locker room with much more ring time i.e. Dana, Carmella, etc. I don’t mean that as an insult to anyone, but rather a testament to the hard work of Gionna and head coach Sarah Del Ray.

Tag action is next with Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder taking on the Hype Bros. The match starts with the usual Mojo Rawley banter and the Hype Bros staying one step ahead of their opponents. Dawson could not catch a break in the opening moments and finally Mojo slams his head into the turnbuckles until Dawson collapses. Ryder comes in for a Broski Boot, but Dash runs in for the save and gets a dropkick for his troubles. A few moments later Dash laid out in the corner eats a Broski Boot. Ryder runs at Dawson but he ducks sending Ryder to the floor. Dawson and Wilder begin wildy attacking Ryder followed by some great tandem offense. Dawson and Wilder slow the pace and employ frequent tags while taking apart Ryder. Eventually Ryder nails a facebuster out of nowhere to Dawson and makes a hot tag. Mojo clears house and tags Ryder to set up their finishing combo but Dash makes the save. Dash gets tossed out, but then Dawson tosses out Mojo. Dawson tags in Dash and they nail Ryder with a Shatter Machine for the pin. This was yet another entertaining tag match and I was very happy with the outcome. I understand that the Hype Bros are fairly over at the moment, but I’ve been saying for a long time that Dawson and Wilder are hands down the best team in NXT or WWE. I’m glad to see the two roughnecks building some well-deserved momentum.

The main event of the evening is a hard hitting contest between Baron Corbin and Samoa Joe. The two lock up and Corbin tosses Joe off. Corbin takes a cheap shot but it only angers Joe who comes back with a swift kick to the head followed by a fast flurry of trademark jabs and punches leveling Corbin. Baron leaves the ring but Joe follows and the two continue to brawl. Corbin clotheslines Joe and tosses him back inside. The momentum sways back and forth with each man taking their best shots at each other. They end up on the outside once again and Corbin sends Joe into the ring steps. Corbin beats down Joe on the outside until Joe sends Corbin into the opposite ring steps. The two barely make the count back in the ring and Joe levels Corbin with a big boot followed by a senton. The battle continues and Corbin charges Joe but gets a huge sidewalk slam instead. Moments later though Corbin returns the favor with a huge swinging side slam. A frustrated Corbin leaves the ring to grab a chair. Before he can use the chair the referee stops him, and he nails Joe with a superkick, but Joe answers with a pele. Samoa Joe then locks the Coquina Clutch that puts the big man to sleep. This was a great main event that brought the crowd to their feet at several moments. High profile matches with athletes like Samoa Joe have helped Corbin so much, but despite that, the Corbin heat has gotten so much more intense at house shows. That’s okay, the more heat he gets, the better he gets. At least, that’s how it seems.

The matches were hot and the crowd was lively. Altogether, the best NXT house show I’ve been to in a long while.

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