It was one more action filled
night of wrestling in front of yet another packed house for the wrestlers of
NXT as the road to Takeover made a stop in Cocoa, Fl. Fans piled into the
National Guard Armory to see their favorite stars even scores and gain momentum
heading into the next live special.
The opening contest saw Tony
Briggs taking on Elias Sampson, two wrestlers that have much potential. It was
the speed of Sampson vs the power of Briggs in a game of one-upmanship that
could have went either way. At one point Sampson looked to be taking definitive
control after a painful jumping knee strike to the face of Briggs, before Kevin
Owens burst into the ring to decimate both competitors ruling the match a
no-contest. Owens immediately delivered a thunderous powerbomb to Samson,
following by his trademark cannonball senton to Briggs laid out in the corner.
He then grabbed a mic and let the fans know on no uncertain terms that he was
not done.
The night continues with tag team
action as the Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins of Shoot Nation took on the odd
pairing of CJ Parker and Ty Dillinger. Using their mat skills and size
advantage Fulton and Dawkins start off hot with a distinct advantage over Parker
and Dillinger. The odd couple wouldn’t struggle for long using their cunning to
gain the advantage over Shoot Nation. Dillinger and Parker worked surprisingly
well together making frequent tags and punishing Sawyer Fulton who struggled to
make it to his corner. Finally Fulton made the hot tag to Dawkins who burst
into the ring cleaning house and taking out anyone in his path. In the final moments
an unfortunate Dillinger would receive a backbreaker from Fulton followed by a
spear from Dawkins giving Shoot Nation the pinfall victory. It was yet another
entertaining tag match between the two teams. The stock of both Dawkins and
Fulton have risen considerably since the formation of Shoot Nation, ironic
since most people assumed it would primarily be a vehicle for Chad Gable. Both
Parker and Dillinger have been underrated in the past, but I think fans are
starting to take notice. Dillinger has more of a fan following with every show,
while CJ Parker may get the most legitimate heat out of anyone in NXT.
“The hottest chick in the ring”
Carmella comes out next for a promo. She mentions that she has recently been
out on lunch dates with Enzo and he repeatedly has “forgotten his wallet”. The
last time they went out she even came back from the restroom to find him
getting the waitresses phone number. So apparently she was looking for a guy
right here in Cocoa, as she flirted with guys in the crowd. I’m not sure what
the point of the whole segment was but it was entertaining and Carmella is very
comfortable on the mic. 2014 was a great start for Carmella and has gotten very
good very fast since her first match early last year. I have no doubt it’ll be
a stellar year for the princess of Staten Island and that she will be competing
for gold sooner than later in 2015.
The action continues as Jason
Jordan attempts to defeat the resident wrecking ball of NXT, Bull Dempsey. Not
one to be intimidated, Jordan takes the fight right to Dempsey using his
impressive strength to toss around his larger opponent. Unfortunately for
Jordan he would tweak his leg after it got hung up as he went over the top
rope. This would give Dempsey the opening he needed to go in for the kill on
his wounded prey. This led to Bull working the leg and giving us varied offense
we have rarely seen from the big guy, such as a perfectly locked in cloverleaf.
As the match wore on Jordan attempted to mount a comeback but too much damage
was done to his leg and Bull ran him down in a cringe worthy collision and
followed that with a flying headbutt off the top turnbuckle for the victory.
The next match could be a main
event about anywhere in the world, but here in NXT it wasn’t even intermission
and it was Adrian Neville vs Finn Balor vs Hideo Itami. These three have been
battling it out for a few weeks on the house show circuit now and the
definitive heat thus far has been between Neville and Balor. Tonight though
right from the beginning Hideo let it be known that he was no ones afterthought
and brought the fight right back to his two competitors. The fight that
followed was an instant classic much to the delight of a boisterous crowd. I’ve
been lucky enough to see these three men battle three times in the last couple
of weeks and I’d gladly pay to see them battle several more times. Neville has
proven himself in NXT, and future champ Balor has taken NXT by storm, but it’s
the dark horse Hideo Itami that is getting more and more comfortable in WWE rings
every time I see him perform. This match could have went to any one of the
three competitors but it was a superkick from hell to Itami followed by a 450
splash that gave former champ Adrian Neville the victory.
Next up in a Takeover preview it
is fatal four way womens wrestling action as Bayley, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch,
and Charlotte clash in a great match. In NXT it is not uncommon for women to
try and steal the show and these four put on a hell of an effort. Early on the
four broke into alliances, however it was short lived. After Lynch and Banks
were ejected from the ring it was Charlotte and Bayley left in the ring with so
much to prove. The bad girls Banks and Lynch used that to their advantage and
gain control of the match. Even their alliance would be tested at times and
eventually it was every women for themselves. In the climatic final moments Bayley delivered a Belly-to-Bayley to
Sasha, and then Becky for the win. This was yet another fantastic match, and
all four women looked great here as usual. However standouts tonight would be
firstly Charlotte who is breaking out new offense these days, and is just as
comfortable executing neckbreaker variations as she is figure fours and chest
chops. Also to Becky Lynch, whose strikes could rival about any wrestler on the
roster male or female and who happens to have the best leg drop in the
business.
Next up, old friends (and foes)
Solomon Crowe and Kalisto met once again in a back and forth contest. It was
the explosive brutality of Crowe vs the speed of the popular luchadore that
fueled this match that saw Kalisto playing the underdog for much of it. Kalisto
is hard to contain though, and began to mount a comeback. Like we’ve seen many
times he performed a flurry of moves and attempted to seal it with a Selida Del
Sol, but this time Crowe countered it pushing Kalisto into the ropes and
clocking him with a forearm. With Kalisto grounded Crowe finished him with a
boing splash for the pin. One can only hope rumors are true and the man known
as Solomon Crowe will be making his long awaited debut at Takeover. One thing
is for sure based on tonight, he looks ready.
Next up, is an entertaining back
and forth tag match with The Vaudevillians taking on Cass and Enzo. While Amore
makes an impressive start showing off improved ringwork it isn’t long before he
is doing what he does best and that is playing the underdog. Gotch and English
take firm control of the match. Eventually Enzo makes the hot tag and Big Cass
takes control, but in the chaos Gotch is able to roll up Cass (with a handful
of tights) and get a surprise leverage pin. I’m a fan of both teams and think they have
a great chemistry together, unlike The Vaudevillians previous feud with the
Lucha Dragons. Both The Vaudevillians and Cass/Enzo are way over with the
crowds, it might as well be face vs face.
Our main event is Sami Zayn vs
Tyler Breeze. Reluctant to get into the action, Breeze keeps evading Zayn by
jumping out of the ring. Zayn grabs Tylers phone and takes a selfie, an irate
Breeze jumps into the ring only to cowardly leave again, except now Zayn gives
chase. A frustrated Zayn eventually grabs a chair and begin to chase Breeze.
While referee Drake Wuertz attempts to grab the chair Breeze take a cheap shot
and begins to beat down Zayn. From this point Breeze is in control in a
surprisingly one sided match with Prince Pretty proving why he is still
deserving of the main event. But for all of his fervor Breeze could still not
put down Zayn and his composure began to crack, first by exposing a turnbuckle
and second by trying to use a chair, both attempts thwarted by the referee. Out
of nowhere Zayn mounted a comeback with a Blue Thunder powerbomb followed by
two German Suplexes, but a resilient Breeze countered with a jaw shattering
superkick. Then out of nowhere Kevin Owens once again erupts into the ring
knocking Breeze to the wayside. He then picks up Zayn only to be met with a
surprise dropkick that sends him reeling to the corner. Then Zayn attempts
to finish him off with a Helluva Kick that Owens narrowly escapes. The crowd
chanted “Let them fight”, and though that fight wouldn’t happen tonight, it’s
only a matter of time before one of the indie scenes most famous feuds
continues in NXT.
