NXT Gainesville 10-30-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

Friday night guys and ghouls creeped into the MLK Recreation center for an evening of NXT action. It was Devils Night, but instead of tricks or treats, fans were treated to an odd, fun, and most definitely unforgettable night of wrestling.

The evening starts with a spooky Halloween Royal Rumble, standard Rumble format is in place except all competitors are costumed. Sylvester Lefort is out first in his gladiator gear. Aiden English is out next dressed up as Kevin Owens, complete with a toy Intercontinental title belt and nailing even the most subtle mannerisms. English even uses Owens moves, missing a cannonball but hitting Lefort with a Pop-up Powerbomb. As the match wears on and the ring fills the action continues in typical battle royal fashion. Some of the competitors included Elias Sampson as a mustard bottle, Thomas Kingdon in poncho and sombrero with a big mustache, and Axel Tischer as a Viking. Jason Jordan was a monkey while Chad Gable was a giant banana. Hugo Knox wore a wig and a schoolgirl skirt and at one point danced with a hippy Rich Swann. Biff Busick also competed but was in a ghostly hood, while Noah Kekoa paid homage to The Wild Samoans. Wesley Blake came in dressed as a Florida State Seminoles cheerleader which brought boos from the Gators crowd. The final competitor was a Lego person whose identity became obvious after laying out Blake with a Belly-To-Bayley before tossing him over the top rope to become the winner. Ring announcer Dasha Fuentes comes out and states that as winner of the Rumble, Bayley has won the privilege of being guest general manager for the night. The action was standard battle royal fare, but all the costumes and zaniness made this so much fun. It was also a great way to utilize a lot of underutilized guys from the back.

Next up, Steve Cutler takes on Angelo Dawkins. The match starts with a lot of back and forth grappling and running the ropes until Dawkins takes advantage with a cheap shot. After that Dawkins slows down the pace, grounding Cutler with a front chancery. Eventually, Cutler fires back, gaining momentum culminating with a nice springboard elbow. Dawkins retaliates moments later dropping Cutler onto the ropes and then following with a flapjack for the win. This was a short textbook match, but both men have improved a lot over the last year. After a lot of failed gimmicks, Angelo Dawkins may now be finding traction by pretty much just being Angelo.

An angry Enzo Amore makes his way to the ring to cut a fiery promo against the two men who put his partner on the shelf, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. In the middle of his tirade he is interrupted by Dawson and Wilder, who surround the ring before entering to beat down Amore. The NXT champion Finn Balor runs down to make the save. Acting manager Bayley comes out and sets up our main event of the evening, which will obviously be Finn and Enzo taking on Dawson and Wilder.

Women’s action is next with Marley (formerly Gionna Daddio) taking on Peyton Royce. The match starts very fast paced and back and forth as the two trade armlocks and pin attempts. Peyton takes over after a fierce running knee. She chokes Marley in the corner before grounding her with a chinlock. Marley fights back with some dropkicks and a hip toss, but Peyton comes back with a huge heel kick for a close count by the ref. Moments later Marley uses her speed to her advantage for a last grasp comeback culminating with crossbody off the top rope for the win. This was one of the better matches of the night. The new less bubbly, more dark and sultry heel persona works well for the talented Peyton, while Marley simply gets better every time I see her.

The night continues with six man tag action as Mojo Rawley, Tucker Knight, and Bull Dempsey take on the team of Solomon Crowe, Sawyer Fulton and Marcus Louis. After an initial burst of offense the heel team quickly take over controlling Knight. Mostly strikes and kicks as the three tag frequently punishing Tucker. Sawyer Fulton looked strong with an impressive gutwrench suplex to Knight, who is by no means a small man. Eventually, Knight makes the hot tag to Bull who clears house with a series of strikes until another cheap shot behind the referees back allows the bad guys to regain control. Finally though, Dempsey makes the tag to Mojo who comes in as hyped as ever. He goes for a big splash in the corner, but Louis pulls Crowe out of the way. Crowe pounces and finishes Rawley with a twisting suplex neckbreaker for the victory. Fulton gave a standout performance, while Crowe is still one of the more underrated guys in NXT.

Next, is Baron Corbin taking on Levis Valenzuela. Corbin takes control easily in the early goings of the match. Corbin rolls out of the ring and grabs a mic, telling Levis the costume party was at the beginning of the night and that these people paid what little money they had to see real superstars. The match resumes and Levis comes back with a big arm drag and a monkey flip before clotheslining Corbin back to the outside. An angry Corbin climbs back into the ring but a fired up Valenzuela continues with several dropkicks and a suplex. Corbin halts him by taking out his knee. Corbin controls most of the match from this point on, slowing the pace with a series of strikes and punches. Levis mounts a small comeback but Corbin shits him down with a big swinging side slam and moments later and End Of Days for the pin. Afterwards, Corbin begins to decimate Levis, but Apollo Crews makes the save. This match looked better in execution than it does on paper. I personally love all the people booing the hell out of Corbin, because he seems to feed off of it, and it makes him better. Plus, he has no problem handling the crowd either.

We continue with more women’s action as Nia Jax takes on Billie Kay. Wisely, Billie attempts to stay a step ahead by using her speed to her advantage by dodging Nia, and answering with strikes of her own. Nia misses with a splash in the corner and Billie pounces with a series of kicks, but Nia catches her and drops her with a shoulder breaker. After that she begins to target the arm of Billie for much of the match. Later, Billie mounts a comeback with a series of kicks and a big boot. An angry Nia would fight back and snatch Billie into a Torture Rack for the submission. I enjoyed this match. I could easily see Billie Kay at the top of the division one day.

We continue with Ty Dillinger taking on Tino Sabbatelli. The perfect 10 Ty Dillinger started off strong, outgrappling Tino, taking out his feet and following with a nice springboard splash. The two fight on the outside until Tino sends Dillinger into the pole. Dillinger barely makes the referees 10 count, and Tino tosses hom back to the outside. At this point Sabbatelli takes over, tossing Dillinger to the outside several times over the course of the match, but each time Dillinger would narrowly make the 10 count. Finally, Dillinger mounts a comeback with several chops, a Lou Thez press, and a Russian Leg sweep. He hikes down his kneepad for his knee smash, but Tino rolls out of the ring. He grabs Tino and sends him back to the ring, nails him with a superkick and a knee smash facebreaker for the victory. Dillinger’s stock continues to rise in NXT, yet one of his greatest strengths is being able to make anyone look good. Tino did better than I anticipated, yet he has a long way to go.

Dasha Fuentes invites Asuka to the ring for an interview. The international superstar comes out to probably the biggest pop of the night. She talks about how happy she is to be here in NXT before she is interrupted by Emma. Emma says that Dana could not be here tonight and that it is all Asuka’s fault, and it is unacceptable. Emma demands a moment of silence for Dana, but the crowd instead answers with Asuka chants. After Emma starts to leave but instead attempts to attack. Asuka is ready and counters with a rolling armbar, but Emma escapes and beats a hasty retreat.

It is time for our tag team main event. Enzo starts for his team very aggressively against  Dawson with a series of punches. Inevitably, Amore does what he does best, playing the underdog as Dawson and Wilder decimate him. Dawson and Wilder employ frequent tags while working the leg of Amore. Eventually, Enzo manages to bulldog Dash and make a hot tag. Finn Balor comes in with a series of strikes and chops. He kicks Dawson off the ring apron and follows with a slingblade and hesitation dropkick to Wilder. Balor throws Amore onto Wilder with an assisted splash, but Dawson pulls the ref out of the ring causing a DQ. Dawson and Wilder attempt to leave but are cut off by Bayley and all the still costumed Rumble competitors who back Dawson and Wilder back into the ring for a final Coup De Grace.

I’ve been to too many NXT shows to count, and I don’t think there has ever been a bad one. Yet there are a handful that will always be standouts, this one was one of those shows. “Kevin Owens” alone was worth the price of admission.

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NXT Cocoa 10-15-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

Thursday fans piled into the National Guard Armory in Cocoa, Fl for the return of NXT. It was a not to be missed night featuring new faces, the return of familiar ones, and featured all the champions in action.

Out to start the night is NXT Women’s champ Bayley, who receives a much deserved pop hero’s welcome from the crowd. She begins by talking about Takeover, stating that they made history and that it was all like a dream to her. She puts over the whole roster before stating that they took the women’s division is at a whole new level. Then much to everyone’s surprise, she is interrupted by Cameron. She tells Bayley that everyone is talking about her, not just in NXT, but on the main roster as well. Cameron continues, telling Bayley that when she is done playing with girls she’ll be ready for her. Fighting champion Bayley relents and accepts her challenge on the spot. A referee is called out and we have a match.

Cameron takes a quick advantage putting Bayley in a side headlock. Bayley breaks free easily and rolls up Cameron for several pin attempts, following with a headlock of her own. Bayley takes Cameron to the mat with a one-handed Bulldog and follow with her signature Slip-N-Slide. Cameron escapes to the corner and lures in Bayley with a cheap shot to take over. She lays out Bayley with a running swinging neckbreaker and follows stomping the champ. She chokes Bayley on the ropes and follows with a facebuster. The two make it up and Bayley fights back culminating with Bayley hitting her signature elbows in the corner. She suplexes Cameron and follows with a Belly-To-Bayley suplex for the win. I’ve gotten a lot of questions about Cameron already, and yes she is much improved. To clarify, no she is not performing at the level NXT fans have come to expect, but compared to where she was, she is much better. It was a short textbook match, but ring general Bayley led her through it well with no real hiccups. Cameron did excel on the mic, undeterred by the heat from the crowd and handling hecklers well.

Next up, the drifter Elias Sampson takes on Levis Valenzuela. Despite a little offense from Levis in the early goings Sampson pretty quickly takes over, leveling his opponent with a big clothesline. He continues pummeling Levis with several kicks and strikes before settling into a side headlock. Levis mounts some offense with some chops of his own.  Sampson shuts him down with a mule kick and another bevy of kicks and strikes. Levis mounts another bit of momentum culminating with a rolling snap mare followed by a big back body drop. He winds up and lays out Elias with a huge punch and follows with a simple splash for the win. Another short textbook match but Sampson shows so much promise. Valenzuela is charismatic as can be and it shines through in the ring, but that finisher really doesn’t cut it.

Gionna Daddio and Alia (formerly Nooph/Jasmin) are out next for a promo. Gionna talks about how they are the youngest Divas not just in NXT, but WWE. She mentions how wrestlers like Becky, Charlotte, Sasha, and Bayley jumpstarted the revolution. They are interrupted by Emma and Eva Marie. Emma tells her that she started the revolution, which garnered some cheers from the crowd. Eva took the mic and with much heat from the crowd told said that they were young and dumb, and that they are looking at the star of Total Divas. Emma and Eva attack, pretty much ejecting Daddio from the ring and focusing their attack on poor Alia. Emma locks on the Emma Lock until it is broken up by several referees.

Tag action follows with Blake and Murphy taking on Jordan and Gable. Murphy and Gable start things off and after a little back and forth, Gable out-grapples Murphy and as always, looks amazing doing so. Murphy tags in Blake, but Blakes says he wants Jordan because he already knows he can take Gable. Jordan comes in and essentially out-grapples Blake as well culminating with a big slam and several pin attempts. Exasperated Blake yells to tag in Gable. Blake declares amateur rules, Gable obliges getting into position. Blake hesitates and says he needs headgear first. Alexa Bliss gets headgear from underneath the ring for Blake and Murphy. Blake puts on the head gear and Gable re-positions himself. Blake takes a cheap kick instead, but regardless Gable back to his feet still stays a step ahead until upon distraction Bliss pulls Gable’s legs out from underneath him on the ring apron. Blake and Murphy slow the pace considerably while taking apart Gable, eventually Blake settles into a chinlock. Ultimately, Gable manages to get free and make the hot tag to Jordan who comes in with a pair of punches, dropkicks, and flapjacks for both Blake and Murphy. He hits a big shoulder in the corner laying out Murphy. He follows with a big overhead suplex to Blake, before tagging Gable to finish with Grand Amplitude for the win. This was one of my favorites of the night, I’ve been a big Gable fan since day one and their obvious chemistry is bringing more charisma out of the athletically gifted Jason Jordan. There is a lot of talk about an impending push for this team, and I certainly hope the rumors are true.

Next Apollo Crews takes on Baron Corbin. The match starts with a lot of fast paced back and forth action, Corbin topples Crews with a big shoulder tackle but Crews comes back with a perfect dropkick, etc. Finally, Corbin takes Crews and rams his shoulder into the ring post. Corbin follows with his patented baseball slide followed by a big punch. Corbin takes his time decimating Crews before settling into a hammerlock. Crews tries to mount a comeback but Corbin shuts him down with a slam and a flurry of punches. Crews fights back again, this time hitting a couple of axehandles followed by a splash and a big clothesline. He topples Corbin with a big kick to the side of head. Crews hoists Corbin up for a Dangan Bomb for the win. This was a good match, and hopefully a proper feud will follow. Corbin, with his anti-indie sentiments versus the indie sensation Apollo Crews makes perfect sense.

The tag titles are on the line as The Vaudevillians defend against Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. Gotch shows off his yogi-like flexibility hoisting his leg over his head. Dawson attempts the same (with help from Dash) only to fall on his butt. Incredulously, he asks Gotch “How do you do that?!?” The Vaudevillians take charge in the early goings with some squats thrown in. Eventually through distraction Dash and Dawson take control of English, but he quickly comes back tossing his opponent around with his trademark armdrags. They continue with their signature squats spot, until through another distraction Dawson and Wilder take charge. They employ frequent tags and a lot of great tandem moves while picking apart English. Eventually, English makes the hot tag. Gotch comes in with his fun and innovative flurry of kicks, until Dawson nails him with a ring shattering Spine Buster. Moments later, Dawson attempts to  strike Gotch who ducks, and Dawson takes out Dash instead. Gotch tosses Dawson into the air with an overhead suplex and The Vaudevillians finish with the Whirling Dervish. This was another great tag match. It’s very validating to see Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder finally getting a push after putting them over here on this blog for the past year and a half!

Next up, Hugo Knox dances his way to the ring enthusiastically to face his opponent, Solomon Crowe. Crowe looking a bit like old school Sami Calihan with his eye makeup and scowl. The deceptively speedy Knox quickly takes over with a drop toehold followed by a several leapfrogs into an armlock. The smashmouth Crowe levels Knox with a nasty punch and takes over. Crowe continues with an onslaught of kicks, strikes and a suplex before settling into a chinlock. Eventually Knox fights back culminating with an ensiguri that sends Crowe to the mat. Knox goes to finish for a split legged moonsault off the turnbuckle but misses Crowe completely. He climbs the ropes to try it again but Crowe knocks him off and contorts him into the Stretch Muffler. I think Knox has a lot of potential but I was relieved to see Crowe finally get a victory. Interesting to note that the usual very over gimmick of Knox was not only not over, but had the crowd very much rooting for a heel Crowe.

A fired up Gionna Daddio comes back to the ring and challenges Emma and Eva Marie to finish what they started. The bad girls come into the ring surrounding Gionna for an easy beatdown. Gionna says she is not young and dumb, and she has brought back up. Music hits and Asuka comes out to a big pop from the crowd. Gionna starts for her team showing a lot of speed and agility until Emma and Eva gain advantage with a distraction. They work over Gionna until she finally makes the tag. Asuka comes off the turnbuckle with a huge missile dropkick to Eva Marie. She unloads an intense flurry of kicks and strikes to a defenseless Eva. Moments later, she tags Gionna who comes off the turnbuckle with a crossybody to Eva for the pin. The rookie Gionna continues to impress, while the Asuka, who is fun as hell to watch live, is worthy of all the hype that has preceded her. I’m very excited to see the inevitable one on one match between her and the underrated Emma.

The main event of the evening is Ty Dillinger taking on the NXT champ Finn Balor. Before the match Dillinger gives his 10 sign to Dasha, instructing her to raise it at his command through the match. The bell rings and the two lock up and go back and forth with several minutes of chain wrestling. Dillinger comes out on top and demands Dasha raise his sign, but she never does. Finn sends Dillinger to the outside with a dropkick. They exchange chops on the outside, an exchange that very much ends in the favor of Finn Balor. Ty fights back though, pulling Finn’s legs out from under him and wrapping his knee around the ring post. Ty continues targeting the leg of Balor. Finn hits a pele out of nowhere and tries to mount an offense. He hit Dillinger with a slingblade and goes to follow with a hesitation dropkick but his leg gives out. Dillinger instead sends Balor to the mat with a jaw shattering superkick. He follows by contorting the champ into a crab, until Finn makes the ropes. Back to his feet, Finn dropkicks Dillinger in the knee. He follows with a big dropkick into the corner, and follows with the Coup De Grace for the victory. Maybe not a perfect 10 main event, but pretty close. Everyone is well aware what Finn can do, not everyone knows what Dillinger can do. Ty Dillinger is a main event player in his own right, I have a feeling that people will see that soon.

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Full Sail TV Tapings 9-10-15

NXT returned home to Full Sail University for another set of television tapings. Feuds were furthered, new talents arrived, and the Dusty Rhodes Memorial Tag Tournament continued. The following blog post features spoilers for the next three episodes of NXT and will take us right into the next special.

The opening dark match of the evening saw The Hype Bros. taking on the team of Elias Sampson and Riddick Moss in a short contest. The Hype Bros started with much momentum and Rawley engaged in his usual animated banter. It wouldn’t take long though before Sampson and Moss got the upper hand cutting off Ryder from his corner. After several minutes of being grounded Ryder creates enough separation to make the hot tag to Mojo who comes in and cleans house. Finally he hoists Sampson up for Ryder to come off the turnbuckle with a Rough Ryder for the win. This was a short, sweet, and formulaic match but it did a good job of getting the crowd hyped for the evening.

Episode1

Prince Pretty Tyler Breeze is out first followed by his opponent Adam Rose, who is now a “party pooper”. Rose says WWE pooped all over Adam Roses’ party and now he is here to leave a big steamer on ours. Before the match can start Bull Dempsey comes out to finish his business with Breeze. He tells Breeze that last week was an accident, but what happens tonight will not be. Breeze retorts and is then cut off by Rose who says he is going to poop on Tyler’s party and Bull’s as well. Rose slaps Bull, only for Bull to beat him down and eject him from the ring. Breeze attacks Dempsey from behind, but Bull quickly gains the advantage. Breeze escapes and quickly retreats from the ring

.

Martin Stone is in the ring now followed by his perfect 10 opponent Ty Dillinger. In the opening moments after a successful maneuver Dillinger cartwheels into the corner and throws up a perfect 10 hand signal. Stone comes back with some particularly stiff elbows and then mocks Dillinger with his own 10. Stone controlls Dillinger for much of the match before Ty mounts a comeback, leveling Stone with a clothesline and follows with a leg sweep. Dillinger hikes down his knee pad and finishes with his knee smash to the skull of Stone for the pinfall victory. This was another short and simple match, but it’s nice to see Dillinger finally getting some well-deserved momentum.

Next up is Apollo Crews taking on Solomon Crowe. Despite some early smashmouth offense from Crowe, Crews quickly takes over with his speed and agility, coming out of a leapfrog into an explosive dropkick. Crowe evades the ring and Crews attempts to baseball slide to the outside but Crowe traps him in the ring apron and begins to viciously beat him down. The two make it back to the ring and Crowe continues to beat down Crews before settling into a half straightjacket to ground the agile Crews. Eventually Crews mounts a comeback with big clubbing blows and a big splash in the corner. Crews drops Crowe with a standing ensiguri and follows with a big military press and a beautiful standing moonsault for the win. These two have amazing chemistry and put on great matches every time they step foot in the ring together. This was another impressive showing for Crews while Crowe is so much better as the aggressive heel.

The Dusty Rhodes Memorial Tag Tournament continues with Rhyno and Baron Corbin taking on Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. The indie dream team starts strong leaving their two bigger opponents struggling to keep up. Ciampa and Gargano both stay one step ahead of Rhyno. Corbin has enough and runs in but Gargano pulls down the ropes and sends Corbin tumbling to the floor. Gargano follows with a big suicide dive to the outside and into Corbin. He climbs back into the ring and follows with another suicide dive into Rhyno. Not to be outdone, Ciampa climbs the turnbuckles and flies off with a huge crossbody onto Corbin and Rhyno on the outside. Back inside Rhyno finally manages to make the tag to Corbin who comes in with huge heat from the NXT crowd. Corbin drops Ciampa with a huge side slam effectively slowing the pace. The two dominate Tomasso with frequent tags until he finally makes a hot tag to Gargano who comes in catching Corbin with a series of kicks. He follows diving over the rope into a big DDT to Corbin. Rhyno runs in but Johnny dodges a gore sending Rhyno to the floor. Moments later, Gargano looks to have it won with a roll-up but Corbin kicks out and makes it to his feet catching Gargano with an End Of Days for the victory. This was a great match and definitely a highlight of the evening, all four men came out looking great. Baron Corbin is a heat magnet but he seemingly strives on it. Officially signed or not, between this match and others to come, Ciampa and Gargano proved to be bona fide show stealers.

NXT womens champion Bayley is out next to a huge her pop from the crowd. She jumps the ramp and runs out to celebrate with the crowd. She makes her way back around to her number 1 super fan Izzy, even bringing her to the ring with her to celebrate. The two hoist their titles in the air and even gave a signature high five to the crowd in tandem. It was a special moment that served to remind people about everything that is right with wrestling, and one can’t help but to think that they have not seen the last of Izzy in a WWE ring.

Bayley’s opponent for the evening is “Crazy” Mary Dobson who takes the fight right to the champ. She attacks with a kick to the gut and several stiff forearms before grounding Bayley with a guillotine choke. Eventually Bayley mounts a comeback with several clubbing blows and a series of elbows in the corner. She follows with an exploder suplex and finally a Belly To Bayley for the win.

Afterwards Bayley grabs a mic but before she can speak she is interrupted by Sasha Banks. Sasha says she came out to congratulate Bayley. She mentions that everyone is saying that they stole the show at the last Takeover with a match of the year contender. But she continues by telling Bayley that she doesn’t simply want a rematch, but rather she wants to beat Bayley again and again. William Regal comes out and tells us that there will indeed be a rematch, and it will be the main event of the next Takeover. As if that wasn’t historic enough, he adds the stipulation that it will be a thirty minute iron man match.

Episode 2

We start with tag team action featuring possibly the two best tag teams in all of NXT, Dawson and Wilder taking on Gable and Jordan. Like he often does, Gable controls the early goings out-grappling Dawson. Eventually Dawson flapjacks Gable to the mat to turn the tides of the match. Dawson and Wilder employ frequent tags beating down Gable. At one point Gable looks to make the tag but Dash pulls Jordan off the ring apron. They continue decimating Gable culminating in a guillotine off the ropes. Despite their efforts, Gable eventually makes a hot tag to a fresh Jordan who comes in like a man possessed. He tosses Wilder over his head with ease with an overhead suplex. He tags Gable back in and they hit Grand Amplitude on Wilder for the victory.

Women’s action is next with Carmella taking on Eva. Wasting no time Carmella jumps on Eva from the opening bell pummeling her in the corner and finally tossing her from the ring. Eva makes her way back in and gains the upper hand, executing a suplex on Carmella. She takes down Carmella with a big boot and goes for another suplex. Later Carmella comes back with a headscissors and two Thez presses. She hits a sit-out rear slam and goes for the pin, but Eva rests her feet on the ropes. The match continues with a little more back and forth until Eva ejects Carmella from the ring for a count-out victory. While Eva Marie has improved drastically, she is still a long way from being television ready, and in many ways it almost seems she is retrogressing. I’m all for giving her a chance, but this push is just way too rushed.

Next, Bull Dempsey looks to gain a measure of revenge against Tyler Breeze. In the opening sequence Dempsey does the unthinkable, intentionally messing up the hair of Tyler Breeze. Moments later he is tossing him around by his hair and following with a flurry of strikes. A back and forth match ensues until Breeze grounds Dempsey with a side headlock. Eventually Dempsey makes it to his feet “hulking up” against Breeze’s offense. Finally he runs down Breeze and climbs the ropes for his seated senton. Breeze makes it to his feet and sends Dempsey to the mat and pins Dempsey using the ropes for leverage.

William Regal is out next to welcome the newest NXT star Kana, who will be known from this point forward as Asuka. She says she is happy to be here in NXT and wants to be champion. She is interrupted by Dana Brooke and Emma. They make sure to tell her that they run things around here, and that they already chased Charlotte and Becky out of NXT. They tell Asuka that she better get out of her ring now. Asuka slowly retreats from the ring and up the ramp, all the while looking back with a look on her face that seemed to say that this is far from over. This segment may have been a little lackluster, but knowing what Asuka is capable of and what she is going to bring to NXT makes this perhaps one of the standout moments of the night. I for one can’t wait for her NXT debut.

We continue with an NXT Tag Title match as Blake and Murphy get their rematch against The Vaudevillians. Early on Alexa Bliss intereferes but Bluepants runs out and chases her off. With the odds even The Vaudevillians take control with English executing a double arm drag followed by a dropkick to both Blake and Murphy. Later after a backdrop onto the ring apron Blake and Murphy regain control grounding English with a chinlock. Finally, English gets free and makes a hot tag to Gotch who comes in with a series of strikes and innovative kicks, followed by forearms in the corner. Gotch executes a rolling senton onto Blake and English attempts to follow with a high angle senton in the corner, but Blake counters by throwing up his knees. Blake tags out and Blake comes off the top rope with double knees onto English for a very close count. The two teams battle back and forth until The Vaudevillians hit their uppercut/neckbreaker combo to Murphy for the win. This was another great tag match in an evening of tag matches. The Vaudevillians gimmick and signature spots are so over the top, sometimes you lose focus on exactly how good they really are in the ring.

Episode 3

The action continues with Apollo Crews taking on Johnny Gargano. The match starts with fast paced, “don’t blink”, back and forth action. The two best each other move for move until finally Crews nails Gargano with a hellacious dropkick that resonates through the entire building. Somehow Gargano fights back with a suicide dive and some impressive kicks of his own. Ultimately, Crews would come back with a massive suplex followed by a big splash in the corner and finally his military press/standing moonsault combo for the victory. This was easily one of the best matches of the evening.

Next, the Aussie duo of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce take on Dana Brooke and Emma. Peyton starts off with several roll-ups and pin attempts on Emma. Eventually though, Emma and Dana take over and slow down the pace with Emma locking Billie into a body scissors.  Finally Billie makes a hot tag to Peyton who comes in with several high kicks to Dana Brooke. The action continues back and forth until Emma causes a distraction giving Dana the upper hand to scoop up Peyton for a Samoan Driver Slam and a pinfall victory.

Next up is Tomasso Ciampa taking on Tyler Breeze. The two grapple back and forth until Ciampa stops that with several big chops and several mean knees. Breeze makes a comeback with a neckbreaker but mere moments later Ciampa answers with a big boot and a facebuster off the ropes. Ciampa is looking unstoppable until he dives off the ropes and Breeze answers with a dropkick. Breeze then pummels him in the corner and finishes him with a Killswitch. A nod to both men as this was probably match of the night for me. I’m also hoping this is perhaps a permanent new finisher for Breeze as the Beauty Shot has always seemed a little weak.

The Dusty Rhodes Memorial Tag Tournament continues with our main event as Enzo Amore and Big Cass take on Samoa Joe and Finn Balor. The big men, Cass and Joe start for their teams in a virtual stalemate as neither man can take the other down. The action spills to the outside at which point Enzo dives outside into Joe, and Finn dives outside into Cass. Eventually the action makes it back into the ring with Joe and Finn working over Enzo. Eventually Enzo hits a DDT on Finn out of nowhere and makes a hot tag to Cass. The big man cleans house despite the best efforts of the champ to thwart him. He delivers a big boot to Joe and follows another to Finn on the apron for good measure. He somehow hits Joe with a swinging side slam and follows with “Air Zo”. Somehow Joe kicks out and moments later the dream team takes control. Joe plants Enzo with a musclebuster and Finn follows with a Coup De Grace for the win.  This was a great effort by all four men. I’ve been critical of Enzo here before, but he stepped up as well.

Next stop: Takeover. I’m assuming we will see several matches added in the coming weeks via backstage segments, along with the tournament finals, and of course the historic main event.

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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 Lakeland 7-31-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

Friday night wrestling returned to Lakeland for another unparalleled night of action as only NXT can dish out. A standing room only crowd piled into the National Guard Armory to see their favorite wrestlers battle it out for supremacy in the squared circle, and they would not leave disappointed.

The night kicks off with women’s tag action as the team of Bayley and Gionna Daddio take on Emma and Dana Brooke. Emma starts off aggressively for her team but Bayley stays one step ahead thwarting all of her offense. Bayley tags in the rookie Gionna who continues the momentum with much athleticism and some nice grappling and pin attempts. Eventually Dana and Emma turn things around and isolate Gionna in the ring. Later she makes the hot tag to Bayley who comes in with a vengeance hitting a flurry of signature moves on Brooke. She tosses Emma out of the ring and nails Dana Brooke with a Belly-To-Bayley for the victory. This was a fun match that newcomer Gionna Daddio came out of looking impressive. Meanwhile Dana Brooke’s hard work is noticeable in her rapidly improving ring work.

Next up Mojo Rawley takes on the German Axel Tischer. The much hyped Rawley starts off strong and follows with his usual banter of letting us know that Tischer “ain’t hyped and can’t get chicks”. He accentuates that with Hammertime onto a prone Tischer. Later Tischer finds an opening and begins a vicious beatdown before grounding the usually animated Mojo. Eventually Rawley fights back and takes down Axel with a shoulder tackle, following with a big splash in the corner. Mojo finishes off Tischer with a fireman’s carry drop for the win. I’m glad to see Mojo Rawley using a new finisher, much improved over the last few he’s had.

Sawyer Fulton is out next for a promo. He says that he has been in NXT for three years now and has seen too many real talents get pushed aside for indie darlings. He tells us he is a two time all American and he is going to make some changes around here. He is interrupted by Sylvester Lefort who agrees with him, and offers Fulton his services as manager. An angry Fulton asks “You think I need your help? You’re right” before shaking the Frenchman’s hand. Sawyer Fulton is a sizable guy with a lot of skill who has had a tough time finding the right gimmick. Hopefully this new direction will be successful for Fulton. It certainly can’t hurt being paired with Lefort, who is a heat magnet.

The action continues with Mike Rawlis taking on Bull Dempsey. The cocky Rawlis mocks the fitness of Bull before dropping for a few push-ups. He challenges Dempsey to do the same. Bull drops and with much effort manages to give us three push-ups. Moments later the action begins and an agitated Dempsey chases Rawlis around the ring until he gets winded. Back in the ring they run the ropes an absurd number of times until Bull gets winded again. Eventually an angry Rawlis gets the upper hand and attacks Bull with a series of kicks and strikes. He accentuates that with an impressive fallaway slam before grounding the big guy. Bull gets fired up and fights back with a series of jabs. He runs Rawlis down like a truck and climbs the ropes, jumping off with a Whoopie Cushion for the pin. This was a silly, but fun match. Safe to say by the crowd chants this Bull-Fit angle is getting over already.

Next, Steve Cutler takes on Uhaa Nation. The two lock up for much back and forth effort in the early goings. It becomes a total mat game with each man vying for control. The two make it up and the speed of Uhaa quickly comes into play until Cutler takes a cheap shot, following with a series of kicks in the corner. Cutler follows with  a series of suplexes before settling into a front chancery. Uhaa makes it to his feet and mounts a comeback but Cutler shuts him down with a hellacious clothesline. Uhaa quickly rebounds with a heel kick, several clubbing blows and a big splash. Finally Uhaa drops Cutler with a huge military press and follows by his amazing standing moonsault.

Next up is four way tag action featuring Dawson & Wilder vs Jordan & Gable vs The Vaudevillians vs Blake and Murphy. A contest with this many personalities and combustible elements make for match of the night, but is nearly impossible to call. As it goes in these types of matches there were lots of momentum shifts and many blind tags. In the final moments as the ref lost control the bodies were flying with wrestler after wrestler taking out each other with signatures and finishers. Finally it came down to a fired up Gotch and English who finished off Buddy Murphy with the uppercut/neckbreaker combo. All four teams looked great in this match, but Dawson and Gable would be definitely be the stars of this one, I’d love to see those two compete one on one in the future.

The action continues with “Perfect 10” Ty Dillinger taking on Tyler Breeze. With the crowd clearly behind him Dillinger takes control early on until Breeze takes advantage of a distracted referee and gouges the eye of Dillinger. Breeze follows with an ensiguri and pummels Dillinger in the corner. He drops Dillinger with a backstabber and grounds him with a front chancery. Dillinger mounts a comeback but is shut down when he runs into a jaw breaking superkick. Still, Dillinger comes back again laying out Breeze with an impressive fireman’s carry powerbomb. The two exchange several pin attempts before Breeze takes out Dillinger with a Beauty Shot for the win. This was a great match with easily two of the best in NXT.

Next up is more women’s tag action as the formidable team of Lina and Jessie take on Charlotte and Becky Lynch. Riding a wave of much recent momentum Lynch and Charlotte start off strong against Jessie who wisely tags Lina. Despite that, Charlotte fails to take down the immovable Lina. Charlotte tags in Lynch and the two take down Lina with a double dropkick. Becky follows with a trifecta of her trademark leg drops. Later in the match Lina would shift the momentum after dropping Charlotte with a thunderous slam. The bad girls take over with frequent tags wearing down Charlotte. Jessie wears down Charlotte in an octopus hold. Moments later Lina locks in a bearhug thrashing Charlotte around like a rag doll. Finally Charlotte makes a hot tag to Lynch who comes in with a vengeance clearing the ring with her intense ring work. She throws her armbar onto Jessie, while Charlotte locks on the Figure-8 onto Lina giving them a tap out victory. I’m thankful I got to see Charlotte and Becky Lynch one more time, these two haven’t redefined women’s wrestling; they have knocked down the walls. Becky Lynch isn’t my favorite female wrestler, she is one of my favorite wrestlers, period.

Our main event is next with Solomon Crowe taking on NXT champion Finn Balor. The two begin trading armlocks until Crowe gets the upper hand. Crowe pummels Balor before the two fight to the outside and back into the ring. Crowe quickly finds his target, working the leg before settling into a half crab. Later Balor comes back rolling through a sunset flip and nailing Crowe with a dropkick. Not to be outdone, a fired up Balor targets the leg of Crowe. The two trade offense until Finn drops Crowe with a pele kick. Balor goes for a dropkick to the corner, but Crowe swats him off and locks on another crab. Balor fights back and levels Crowe with a slingblade. He follows with a dropkick to the corner. Balor climbs the turnbuckles and finishes Crowe with the Coup De Grace for the victory. This was a great match, and one I have been wanting to see for a long time. Balor looked as impressive as always, but Solomon Crowe proved he is more than capable of being a main event player in NXT.

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NXT Cocoa 7-17-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos By Maryann Mason

Friday night NXT brought another night of top notch wrestling action to Cocoa, Fl and a sold out crowd. It was an intense night of action that saw plenty of bumps, a few surprises, and a main event featuring the newly crowned NXT champion, Finn Balor.

There are not many hotter ways to start a show than with the always over Cass and Enzo. The two came out to a huge pop bringing the Cocoa crowd to their feet. Their opponents for the evening are the roughnecks Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. Enzo starts out strong for his team using his speed to his advantage staying one step ahead of his opponents. Zo hits Dash with a nice crossbody and the action continues to the outside where Zo does a new swinging kick maneuver around the turnbuckle. Soon though Wilder gets the upper hand via a little distraction from Dawson. The two pick apart Enzo with the trademark combination of brawling and wrestling acumen that one expects from Dawson and Wilder. Enzo mounts a comeback and attempts to make the hot tag but Dash pulls Cass off of the ring apron. The two turn Enzo inside out with a guillotine, but regardless moments later Amore made the hot tag to Cass. The big guy comes in clearing house ejecting Dawson from the ring and laying out Wilder with a swinging side slam. He follows with “Air Zo”, launching Enzo off the turnbuckle onto Wilder for the pin. This was a fun match and a great way to start the night.

Next up is Angelo Dawkins taking on Uhaa Nation. The two start slowly feeling each other out until Uhaa mounts some momentum early on. As always Uhaa Nation did a great job of making it look too easy until Dawkins laid him out with a cheap shot. At this point Dawkins wisely did his best to keep Uhaa grounded in a front chancery.  Inevitably Uhaa mounted a comeback with a crossbody, a clothesline, dropkick and a splash in the corner. With Dawkins rocked, Nation finished him off with a military press followed by an incredible standing moonsault. Afterwards Ty Dillinger comes out and gives the match a 0. Uhaa Nation looked incredible as always, while the Dawkins controlled parts of the match slowed the momentum quite a bit. Hopefully he will go back to teaming with Sawyer Fulton as the two had developed a tag team synergy together that will likely carry them much further than singles matches at this stage.

The Vaudevillians are out next to deliver a promo. They tell us that they have traveled all over the territory and have faced everyone. English continues by stating that they stand at the precipice of the tag team division as number one contenders, and that the will defeat Blake and Murphy. At this point the two are interrupted by the music of the champions Blake and Murphy who make their way to the ring. English asks Gotch what he thinks of dubstep and Gotch replies, “No Sir, I don’t care for it.” Unfazed Murphy tells us that it is great to be in Daytona before Blake corrects him. Blake tells The Vaudevillians they should bow out and give up their contender spot before they destroy them. Blake and Murphy take cheap shots but English and Gotch quickly turn it around chasing the champs off before a final pose in the ring. This was a good segment that showcased all four men in a good light and gave us the rare opportunity to see Blake and Murphy tested on the mic, which they did well.

Tag team action is next with “The Hype Bros” Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley taking on the newly formed team of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. In the opening moments Jordan takes the distinct strength advantage tossing around Ryder with ease. Gable tags in and Ryder flapjacks him and makes a tag to the very animated Mojo Rawley who comes in with his usual banter letting us know that Gable “Ain’t hyped!” followed by dancing and “hammertime”.  Later into the match Jordan and Gable manage to wrest control over Ryder focusing on attacking the leg. Ultimately Ryder would make a hot tag to Mojo who comes in and lays out Gable with a shoulder tackle and a big splash while Ryder nails Jordan with a Broski Boot. Rawley hoists up Gable and Ryder hits a Rough Ryder off the top rope for the win. This was actually a very entertaining match. Gable is quickly becoming one of my favorite athletes in all of NXT, while Jason Jordan is looking better than ever. I’ll also admit The Hype Bros seem to be gelling as a tag team as well, I still can’t stand the Rawley gimmick but he and Ryder work well together.

Next, Mike Rawlis attempts to take down the lone wolf Baron Corbin in a match that wasn’t quite a squash but was pretty one sided. Baron Corbin seemed to be toying with Rawlis as he took his time picking him apart. Rawlis made a few short lived comebacks that Corbin quickly shut down. In a final rally Rawlis caught Corbin with a powerslam. He followed with a flurry of punches accentuated by an impressive fallaway slam. Unfortunately for Mike Rawlis this seemed to anger Corbin more than anything. Corbin nailed him with a big boot and planted him to the mat with an End Of Days for the win.

Women’s action follows with fan favorite Bayley taking on Eva Marie, who came out to major heat. The match starts off with much grappling and several pin attempts. Eva gains momentum culminating in a nice headscissors but Bayley battles back with a one handed bulldog and her patented slip and slide on top of Eva. Later the tide turns and Eva Marie slows the pace contorting Bayley into a grounded abdominal stretch followed by a suplex and a running senton. The momentum swings back to Bayley who ultimately finishes Eva with her splash and elbow in the corner followed by a Hugplex for the win. Of course, what everyone is dying to know is how Eva Marie did. This is not the same Eva Marie you last saw in a WWE ring, while she may still be rough around the edges, her hard work and training is shining through. She shows much potential and with Bayley as ring general the two put on one of the more fun matches of the night.

Next up the perfect ten Ty Dillinger goes up against Bull Dempsey. In the opening moments Dillinger has fun easily evading Dempsey, following by flexing his glutes at the big guy. Dempsey answers with a cartwheel of his own followed by gyrating his hips at Dillinger. The two eventually get down to business and Ty takes over laying out Dempsey with a DDT and follows with a series of strikes and kicks, the often playful Dillinger is relentless when on the attack. Dempsey begins to mount a comeback but Dillinger shuts him down with a superkick. Moments later Dempsey runs over Dillinger and follows with a series of punches and a bionic elbow. With Dillinger down Dempsey climbs the turnbuckles and comes down with a seated senton for the pin. This was a good lighthearted match that could have went either way. The momentum of Dillinger increases with every show while Dempsey to gain more traction as a face than he ever did as the wrecking ball.

Solomon Crowe comes out for a short interview with Greg Hamilton. Hamilton ask what to expect from Crowe in the coming year. A fan chants “Crowe for champ”. Crowe echoes his sentiment.

I’m a big fan of Crowe but this segment sort of meandered without saying too much.

We continue with women’s tag action as Carmella and Lina take on Dana Brooke and Cassie.  Lina quite easily takes over against Cassie and dominates the early goings with Carmella. Eventually Dana causes a distraction shifting the complexion of the match. Dana and Cassie employ frequent tags until Dana eventually grounds Carmella with a body scissors. Ultimately, Carmella makes the hot tag to Lina who runs over Dana. Moments later Dana jumps onto Linas back and locks on a short lived sleeper hold. Brooke tags in Cassie but Lina puts her through the mat with a side slam and follows with an elbow for the pin. This was an entertaining match with all four women doing a great job. Dana Brooke gets better with every outing, while out of the recent class Cassie (KC Cassidy) is the standout.

Our main event of the evening is Tyler Breeze taking on NXT champion Finn Balor. The match begins with some nice back and forth grappling until Breeze take a cheap shot. It didn’t help, as Finn easily regained the upper hand. A frustrated Breeze decides to quit and head to the back but Finn gives chase and brings him back. Breeze pokes Finn in the eye and goes on the attack, targeting the leg that Balor was favoring. Breeze locks on an agonizing Figure-4 but Balor eventually reverses it. Moments later Breeze goes for a second Figure-4 but Balor kicks Breeze out of the ring. The action continues as Finn rolls through Breeze’s sunset flip and answers with a dropkick. Now in control Finn locks on a short lived Figure-4 of his own. The two battle back to their feet and Balor hits a slingblade. Balor attempts to follow with a dropkick but runs into a superkick from Breeze instead. Breeze continues with an aggressive attack on the leg of Balor. The action continues and Balor once again hits a slingblade and follows with a dropkick into the corner. Finn Balor climbs the turnbuckles and hits the Coup De Grace for a hard fought victory. This was an exciting main event, as one would expect from the NXT champion and the underrated Tyler Breeze.

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