NXT Tampa 5-1-15

 Written by Wayne Mason
Photos by Maryann Mason

Friday night at the UADC Gymnasium in Tampa saw another large and lively crowd line in to witness the wrestling stars of NXT battle it out on the road to NXT Takeover: Unstoppable. There was electricity in the air, as there always is when NXT returns home to the city where it all began.

A special moment occurred before the first bell even rang. Like always NXT announcer Greg Hamilton came out moments before the show to hype the crowd, and tonight he took the time to wish a happy birthday to a little girl named Izzy who was turning 8. Izzy is known locally as “Bayley’s Biggest Fan” and the look on her face would merit that moniker when Bayley came out next to give her a hug and wish her a happy birthday as well. Bayley then continued by leading the entire gymnasium in singing Izzy the happy birthday song. Other wrestlers acknowledged Izzy over the course of night as well, but this was the pinnacle of her night and it showed all over her face. It was a feel good moment that infected the entire building. You see NXT can hit the road and travel to Albany, Philly, etc. and people will witness some of the best wrestling in the world. However, they won’t have moments like these, or that special connection that crowds have with the brand here. No offense to any other city or town, it’s just about us being lucky enough to here at this point in history watching NXT grow organically from a little developmental brand and into a phenomenon, forging a relationship with NXT and its fans. I’ll miss moments like this as much as the wrestling when it’s gone one day. So I already told her last night but I’ll say it again here, happy birthday Izzy!

Now onto the wrestling action.

The crowd erupts for the super over team of Enzo Amore and Big Cass as they come to the ring to take on Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. The match starts off with a little silliness and trash talking which somehow turns into an impromptu boxing match between Zo and Dawson complete with the stools in the corner and spit buckets. The two circle each other with Enzo showing off some fancy footwork before Dawson lays him out with one punch. Amore barely answers the 9 count and comes back with a flurry of punches before it evolves into chaos and back into a wrestling match. A fired up Amore starts of strong but it is not long before Dawson and Wilder have the upper hand. The tag team technicians take their time picking apart Amore accentuated by a few picture perfect suplexes from Dawson and a Tree Of Woe. Finally, Dawson misses a dive into the corner and Amore makes the hot tag to Big Cass who comes in and cleans house, first ejecting Dawson and then finishing Wilder with a big boot and a side slam. Cass tags in Amore and tosses him off the turnbuckle onto Wilder for the pin.

Afterward, the two are celebrating in the ring when Kevin Owens bursts into the ring to beat them down, throw out Cass and then practically pop-up powerbomb Enzo through the mat. He picks Amore up to go for a second but Finn Balor makes the save. The two begin to brawl until Tyler Breeze runs in to help beat down Balor. However Balor slides out of the ring to grab a chair. At this point Corey Graves comes out and tells them that William Regal has given him authority tonightand tells us that the main event will be Tyler Breeze and Kevin Owens vs Finn Balor and a partner of his choosing, if he can find one.

Next up is the drifter Elias Sampson vs Aiden English of The Vaudevillians accompanied to the ring by Simon Gotch. The two begin with a gentlemanly handshake and the match is underway. English gets the first advantage with a series of perfect arm drags into a hammerlock, followed by a set of manly squats to the delight of the crowd. However the two are evenly matched and it is not long before the speedy Sampson mounts a comeback first countering a monkey flip by landing on his feet, then a picture perfect dropkick into an armbar of his own. English tries to mount a comeback but Sampson shuts him down with a series of strikes and kicks. English perseveres fighting back and ending it with a Take A Bow for the win. This was a pretty good match with English reminding us that he is also a solid singles wrestler. Elias Sampson is super athletic and fun to watch. I can’t wait to see Sampson move up the ranks and fight in higher profile matches. It’s a guarantee he is going to make a lot of fans along the way.

Mike Rawlis is out next to take on the explosive Solomon Crowe. In the opening moments Rawlis easily out-muscles Crowe in a series of lock-ups. Crowe evens things up though with a punch square to the mouth followed by a series of strikes before contorting Rawlis into a Black Widow. Eventually Rawlis makes his way out and catches Crowe amid crossbody attempt and tosses him over his head with a fallaway slam. The size advantage comes into play again with Rawlis tossing Crowe around the ring with ease before throwing him into an abdominal stretch. Eventually Crowe manages to mount a comeback with a series of chops and kicks. He whips Rawlis into the corner and follows with a running high knee. He then drops Rawlis with a dropkick to the leg before locking him into the Stretch Muffler for a submission victory. This was another good contest between the two. Crowe is always exciting to watch and is still main event bound in my book. Rawlis is showing improvement and more confidence, his Ray Lewis dance before dropping an elbow still drives me crazy but I suppose that is the point. After the match Ty Dillinger comes out and rates the match a 2.

Next is tag action as the odd team of Alexa Bliss and Dana Brooke take on Bayley and Carmella. It’s apparent from the beginning that there is dissension between Brooke and Bliss as they bicker about who should start the match. Alexa starts off for her team with some back and forth action between first Carmella, then Bayley. In a sign of friendship Bayley and Bliss hug before competing much to the chagrin of Brooke who complained at ringside. Bliss mounts offense but every time she gets on a roll Brooke tags herself in. Later after much punishment Bayley makes a hot tag to Carmella. Dana looks for a tag from Bliss but she has had enough and refuses to tag. Moments later Carmella drops Dana with a drop toe hold and transitions into her leg scissor submission for a submission victory. Bayley, Carmella, and Bliss all celebrate in the ring afterward. This was a fun match with a great showing from all participants. Dana Brooke has much potential, but right now tag matches are where she needs to be.

Next up is Chad Gable taking on the returning Mojo Rawley. Like he does with most of his opponents Gable easily out-grapples Mojo in the early going. The super hyped Mojo wasn’t fazed though, dancing around the ring talking trash. Gable still took over working the arm of Rawley with a series of armbars including one over the ring ropes. Eventually though Mojo comes back with his series of tackles and lays out Gable for the win. I’ve been critical of Rawley on the blog before, but I’ll give it to him that the crowd was hyped for his return. However, it won’t be long before the crowds begin to turn on him again if his repertoire simply doesn’t expand. His enthusiasm is contagious and he is simply one of the nicest guys in entire locker room, but that will only carry him so far.

Ty Dillinger is out next and tells us that thus far the show has only been a 3, but not to fear because he is about to give us a perfect 10 performance. It wouldn’t be easy though, because his opponent for the night is Baron Corbin. In the opening moments after every successful maneuver Dillinger would cartwheel into the corner and score himself a 10. Finally after Corbin outdoes Ty he does a cartwheel of his own and scores himself a 10 much to the delight of the crowd. A nice back and forth contest follows. Eventually, a frustrated Dillinger hikes down his kneepad and gives Corbin a kneesmash to the skull but he narrowly kicks out. A few moments later Corbin mounts a comeback and snatches Dillinger up for an End Of Days for the win. This was a good showing by both men, even better than the previous night. I’m very happy to see the very talented Dillinger getting over with the crowds. Corbin seemingly gets better with every match moving around with a great deal of speed and adding a little more to his matches every time.

The mountainous Braun Stowman is out next for a promo. He tells us that all of the stars in the back are just normal people like us, and that he is far from normal. He continues by stating that he is a 6’8’ 375lb monster among men and everything we wish we could be. Stowman is pretty good at promos and unfazed by the crowd.

Next up is a Takeover preview as womens champ Sasha Banks takes on her number one contender Becky Lynch in a non-title match. In the opening moments the “delty diva” is simply on fire out-grappling Banks and accentuating it with a series of beautiful armdrags. The ring-wise Banks feigns injury drawing Lynch into the corner right into the turnbuckle and taking over. This is where the Boss slows down the pace, relishing taking apart her opponent. She ties Becky up in a straightjacket crossface but eventually Lynch gets free. Later, Lynch mounts offense launching herself into Banks with a Lou Thez Press pummeling Banks. She follows with a trifecta of her trademark legdrops. Moments later seemingly out of nowhere she snatches Banks into her armbar submission for a submission victory. This was another top-notch performance by two of the best on either roster. On May 20th the wrestling world is going to be in for a show-stealing performance, but with the title on the line.

It’s main event time and Tyler Breeze is out first followed by Kevin Owens who emulates Prince Pretty by lounging atop the turnbuckle as well. Finn Balor is out next to a huge pop, he may be the most over guy on the roster by this point. However, even his pop would be eclipsed when his mystery partner was revealed. The familiar music of DX hit and Billy Gunn emerged to the roar of the surprised fans. They extended the intro quite a bit but no one minded because every bit of it was awesome. Even Balor couldn’t hide his huge smile, jumping up and down giving his opponents crotch chops galore. The bell rings and Breeze and Finn are set to start. Breeze wants no part of Balor, telling him that he wants Gunn instead. Balor tags in Gunn and the action begins. Breeze fails to even budge Gunn and is met with huge “Suck it, Tyler!” chants from the crowd. Gunn mocks Breeze, who angrily tags in Kevin Owens and then things get down to business as the two begin to brawl. Back and forth action ensues with a lot of memorable spots. Finn emulates the Road Dogg firing a couple of punches at Owens, followed by some “juking and jiving” a crotch chop and another punch that sent Owens to the mat. Later, Owens takes over giving a “suck it” of his own. He gives Finn the X-Factor, taunting Gunn on the apron telling him X-Pac was better. Later, Finn makes the hot tag to Gunn who comes in and clears the ring. Breeze dodges a Famasser, and counters with a superkick. All four men are in a melee now and Gunn gives Owens a Famasser, followed by a second one for Tyler Breeze. Finn Balor caps it off with a Coups De Grace for the victory. The two celebrate and pose for a bit while the crowd absolutely loves it. It was one of those nights that make you happy to be a wrestling fan. It also proves that absolutely anything can happen at an NXT house show.

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NXT Lakeland 4-30-15

Written by Wayne Mason
Photos by Maryann Mason

Once again the stars of NXT invaded the National Guard Armory in Lakeland, Fl for another intense night of wrestling action. The wrestlers left it all in the ring in an effort to gain momentum heading into the next live special less than three weeks away.

In our opening contest Big Cass and Enzo Amore took on Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton of Shoot Nation. Enzo and Cass start off strong in the early going but it wouldn’t be long until Amore was isolated in the ring and dominated by the size and power of Dawkins and Fulton. Shoot Nation have gelled well and are showing it with some great tandem wrestling. However, the always durable Amore finally manages to make the hot tag to Cass who comes in and clears the ring. After a series of corner splashes and a big boot Cass sends Fulton to the outside. He lays out Dawkins with a side slam and tags Amore for an assisted splash for the win. Enzo and Cass are super over with crowds no matter where they go and are always a wise choice for firing up a crowd. I don’t quite know what’s going on with the Shoot Nation concept, the only real constant seems to be Fulton and Dawkins. Fulton finally seems to be developing a bit of a mean streak in the ring, it’s fitting for a man of his size and stature.

Next up is Steve Cutler vs Elias Sampson. The match opens with the two men trading side headlocks until the bigger, stronger Cutler takes over. Cutler begins wearing down Sampson until he began to mount a comeback accentuated by an explosive knee strike which usually spells victory for Sampson. At this point Kevin Owens hits the ring and hits a pop-up powerbomb on Sampson who hit the mat with a sickening thud. Owens takes a microphone and states he came out here and did this because he can, because he is Kevin Owens and he is NXT champ. He continues that he will be champ as long as he wants to be. He exits the ring and beats down Cutler before heading into the back.

Next Solomon Crowe takes on Mike Rawlis. Things always get a little more intense when Solomon Crowe hits the ring, and he wouldn’t be intimidated by his obvious size disadvantage. The two men collided several times with Crowe hitting the mat every time. Crowe finally punches Rawlis in the jaw and takes over eventually contorting Rawlis into an octopus hold. Rawlis freed himself and mounted a comeback using his power advantage to whip Crowe around the ring with ease and launching him over his head with a fallaway slam and following with an abdominal stretch. The always explosive Crowe came back with a series of strikes including a running knee in the corner followed by a dropkick to the leg of Rawlis which toppled him. Crowe followed by locking on the stretch muffler for a submission victory. Following the match “Perfect 10” Ty Dillinger comes out and gives the match a 4. Mike Rawlis is showing improvement in the ring while Crowe is a guaranteed main eventer one day.

Next up we get a Takeover preview as Becky Lynch takes on womens champ Sasha Banks. These two women know each other so well and it shows in a beautiful opening sequence with several counters as they parlayed for control. Lynch takes over with a frenetic fast paced energy that left the champ struggling. Ring savvy Banks draws Lynch into the corner and sends her into the turnbuckle. Sasha dictates the pace wisely slowing things down and locking Becky into a straightjacket. Eventually Lynch breaks free and begins firing back, laying out the champ and following with a trifecta of perfect leg drops. Lynch grabs Banks arm in an attempt to take her down for an armbar, but Banks counters with a backstabber into a Bank Statement giving Lynch no choice but to tap. Afterwards a cocky Banks begins to leave but  returns to the ring to humiliate Lynch who surprises her with an armbar. This was a show-stealing performance by both ladies and I cannot wait for these two to meet on May 20^th.

Next the team of Bull Dempsey and Tucker Knight take on Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. The larger, imposing team of Dempsey and Knight absolutely dominated their opponents in the early goings of the match. It’s never long before the wily team of Dawson and Wilder find and advantage to be found somewhere and take control. The two make frequent tags while working on the leg of Tucker Knight accentuated by a half crab from Dawson. Eventually Knight makes the tag to Bull he comes in running over any one in his way, but Dawson makes a blind tag and moments later flapjacks Dempsey onto Wilders knees giving them a pinfall victory. Dawson and Wilder (who were introduced without “The Mechanics” name) continue to be the most underrated tag team in NXT, but I have a feeling that may be changing really soon. Dempsey and Knight made an intimidating team and worked well together. I wouldn’t mind seeing them tag again at some point, especially considering Dempsey seems to be in limbo of late and Knight appears to be out of the Shoot Nation equation completely.

Ty Dillinger is out next and states that so far the night has only been a 3, but not to worry because we are about to see a perfect 10 match (even though Lakeland is a 0). Unfortunately for Dillinger, his opponent is Baron Corbin. The bell rings and the two men circle each other, and after each successful maneuver Dillinger would cartwheel over to his corner and score himself a 10. Finally after a takedown that sent Dillinger tumbling, Corbin did his own cartwheel and scored himself a 10. Dillinger was not amused and demanded his card back, Corbin relented and laid the card down in the center of the ring. Dillinger reached over to grab the card and found himself on the receiving end of a fameasser, followed by a flurry of signature Corbin moves. Eventually Dillinger manages to turn things around slowing the pace and keeping Corbin trapped in an armlock. Corbin breaks free and manages to block a superkick from Dillinger. A persistent Ty goes for a second superkick and nails it for a very close count. Frustrated Dillinger pulls down his kneepad to go for his knee smash, but takes too much time. Baron Corbin gets to his feet and snatches up Dillinger for an End Of Days and the victory. Afterwards Corbin takes a microphone to state that he relishes taking away the hopes and dreams of all the superstars in the back, and that at Takeover he will be the only thing truly unstoppable. Both guys looked great tonight and put on a highlight match of the evening.

We continue with more womens action as Bayley and Alexa Bliss take on Carmella and Devin Taylor. The good girls start out really strong with Bayley hitting a lot of her signature spots early on. Eventually things turn around and the team of Carmella and Devin Taylor take over on an isolated Bayley. After taking much punishment Bayley makes the hot tag to Bliss who comes in and takes charge, ejecting Carmella from the ring and takes it to Taylor, first with a glitz flip and ultimately a sparkle splash for the win. This was a fun match that Carmella came out of looking particularly strong. Carmella who seems to excel as a heel, has come so far so fast. Tonight she handled the bulk of the load for her team protecting the less experienced Devin Taylor.

Our main event of the evening is Tyler Breeze vs Hideo Itami vs Finn Balor. Early on it is evident that Breeze is the odd man out and he quickly evades the ring stating that he doesn’t need this. Balor and Itami surround the ring and chase Breeze back in, only for him to evade a few moments later. Finn and Hideo finally lock up then and begin several minutes of awesome grappling with Breeze trying to sneak back in to take advantage only to get tossed back out. Finally all three men are in the ring and as it goes with these types of matches, the action was fast, furious and impossible to do justice with words. All men looked amazing with Breeze looking especially dominant. Later in the match after not one, but two GTS teases Hideo walks into a beauty shot from Breeze who appears to have it won, but Finn makes the save. A few moments later, Finn goes for his coups de grace but Breeze rolls out of the way. Hideo then goes for a shotgun kick but Breeze ducks and it nails Balor. Itami goes for another this time nailing Breeze for the pin. The night ends on an excellent note, and it appears come May 20^th these three men just may steal the show.

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Full Sail TV Tapings 4-23-15

Written by Wayne Mason
Photos by Maryann Mason

The loud and proud Full Sail wrestling fans piled into the NXT arena to see another set of NXT TV Tapings. The following write-up is for the April 23rd tapings and contain spoilers for the next three episodes leading up to the next Takeover live special.

In the dark match of the evening The Mechanics Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder take on Elias Sampson and Tucker Knight. Early on it’s clear that even Knight’s distinct power and size advantage would not be a factor against the fluid tag team wrestling of Dawson and Wilder. Making frequent tags The Mechanics methodically take apart Knight until he eventually makes the hot tag to Sampson. Elias comes in clearing house and hitting Wilder with an jaw-shattering knee strike before Dawson hits him with an explosive clothesline. He then sends Sampson flying with a flapjack onto the knees of Dawson for a pinfall victory. Finally, it seems we’re getting closer to a debut from The Mechanics, who interesting enough aren’t introduced as “The Mechanics” but rather Dawson and Wilder.

Episode 1

NXT champion Kevin Owens makes his way to the ring and is met with Ole chants from the crowd. He tells them “that’s cute” before recounting the recent events from last weeks episode and calls out Sami Zayn. Instead he gets General Manager William Regal who tells him that he won’t use this show to pursue his agenda. Owens tells him he didn’t ask for him and really doesn’t care what he has to say. Next Sami Zayn finally comes out to a huge pop, while Regal makes sure to keep both men separated and declaring easily that since they wanted to fight they would do so May 20th at Takeover. Owens declares that it will not be a title match because Zayn hasn’t earned it. Sami then goads Owens telling him that he has been in the shadow of Zayn for their entire career. He continues by throwing Owens own words back at him declaring he only fights for a prize. Owens relents and it’s official, May 20th Zayn and Owens meet once again with the title on the line.

Next up Cass and Enzo take on Blake and Murphy in tag team action. Right from the start the champs control Enzo until he makes a hot tag to Cass who clears house and lays out Murphy with a swinging side slam for a pin but Blake makes the save. The match continues and Cass ejects Blake from the ring and lays out Murphy and tosses Amore onto him with an assisted splash for the win. It was a surprisingly short and anti-climactic match, but one can assume these two are saving it for Takeover when the titles are on the line.

Next Bayley takes on Dana Brooke. The match starts off with much back and forth action between the two. The power of Brooke is definitely one of her stronger points which she illustrates with an impressive firemans carry slam. With the crowd firmly behind her Bayley makes a comeback with a bevy of her signature moves until her music hits and Emma comes down the ramp causing a distraction allowing Brooke to defeat Bayley with a front sitout slam. Dana Brooke is a work in progress, but she looked much more comfortable here than she did in her television debut.

The action continues with Hideo Itami taking on a returning Adam Rose in a pretty physical match. Rose managed to get in some offense but it was a largely one-sided match that ended with a hesitation dropkick and a running single leg dropkick for the win.

Next Becky Lynch makes quick work of Sarah Dobson (aka Crazy Mary Dobson) in what was pretty much a squash. Lynch looked explosive tonight hitting all her signature maneuvers and ending it with a beautiful armbar submission. With an excellent performance and much of the crowd getting behind her Becky Lynch is heading into Takeover with a lot of momentum. I’m betting now that Lynch and Banks will likely steal the show at the next special.

Kevin Owens comes out to the commentary table to watch the main event of Alex Riley vs Sami Zayn. Riley starts off strong and controls Zayn for most of the match. Every time Zayn would begin to mount offense Riley would shut him down, at one point blocking a blue thunder powerbomb. In the final moments with Riley ejected to the floor Sami Zayn takes flight diving on Riley. Then Owens pounces slamming Zayn onto the entrance ramp. He pauses for a moment before attacking Riley and powerbombing him onto the ring apron. He saunters up the entrance as medics and referees tend to Alex Riley.

Episode 2

The episode begins with Charlotte taking on Emma. The match starts off with fast paced back and forth action before Emma takes over. A definitely more aggressive Emma took over and began to work the leg of Charlotte and culminating in a half crab. Charlotte mounts a comeback with a neckbreaker followed by a spear and a natural selection. After a seemingly forgiving Bayley comes to the ring to help Emma to her feet and then lay her out with a Belly-To-Bayley.

Next up, Bull Dempsey takes on Rhyno. The two started out brawling but Dempsey wasn’t able to keep it up long enough before Rhyno took charge with a massive belly to belly suplex followed by a gore making surprisingly short work of Dempsey. Rhyno takes the mic stating he’s been hearing about another unstoppable force in NXT, and at Takeover he wants to take on Baron Corbin.

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder are out next to take on Big Cass and Enzo Amore. However, up on the tron we see Zo and Cass being attacked backstage by Blake and Murphy, thus the match never starts. It was a good way to advance the feud between the tag champs and Cass and Enzo, but disappointing for those of us who have been impatiently waiting for the television debut of Dawson and Wilder.

Next is the contract signing between womens champion Sasha Banks and number one contender Becky Lynch. Before signing Lynch begins a passionate speech about how she has been chasing this dream since she was fifteen, and how all the trials and tribulations have been worth it because it has led to this moment. She assures Banks though, she didn’t come here to take part, she came to takeover. Not impressed Banks stamps the contract before throwing it in Becky’s face and attacking. She began a beatdown before Lynch countered and threw the champ into an armbar and the two were separated.

Finn Balor comes out to sit ringside as Hideo Itami takes on Tyler Breeze yet again. These two know each other so well as they counter each other tit for tat. Eventually the two battle to the outside where Itami measures up Breeze for a kick, but he dodges and Balor ends up on the receiving end. The two battle back into the ring and Breeze misses a Beauty Shot and Itami comes back with a single leg dropkick for the win. After, an irate Breeze attacks Itami but Finn makes the save. But as Balor helped Hideo to his feet Breeze attacked again superkicking Finn and laying out Itami with a Beauty Shot.

Episode 3

The opening match sees debuting Jessie McKay take on Bayley. The two start off with some nice grappling as they parlay for control. Despite some nice offense from McKay her opponent takes over with a flurry of signature moves followed by a Belly-To-Bayley for the win. Bayley came out of this match looking great, but McKay definitely made a good first impression on the NXT universe.

Next, Solomon Crowe takes on Baron Corbin. Despite flurries of explosive offense from Crowe Baron made short work of him with an emphatic End Of Days. After Rhyno comes out and asks “Are we gonna do this?”, and then wasting no time the two tear into each other trading lefts and rights until wrestlers from the back come out to separate them. Interesting to note how the crowd have seemingly turned on Corbin overnight, which is fine since they seem to be edging him towards heel anyway. Still yet I wish the television audience could see some of the Corbin performances we see at house shows.

More womens action and another debut follows as KC Cassidy takes on the boss Sasha Banks. KC brings the fight right to Banks sending the champ to the outside to regroup. Apparently it worked because she came back in and reminded everyone why she is boss making short work of Cassidy and finishing her with a Banks Statement for the tapout. Sasha Banks gained some valuable momentum heading into her title defense, but Cassidy looked great in the ring and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what her future holds.

Next Carmella takes on Alexa Bliss. The two competitors both start out strong but Carmella looks stronger until Blake and Murphy come out to the ring distracting Carmella allowing Bliss to take over. She hits a glitz flip for a pin but Carmella kicks out. The two fight on and Carmella snags Bliss with a drop toe hold into her leg scissors submission which bring Blake and Murphy onto the ring apron causing another distraction. Bliss takes advantage laying out Carmella and following with a Sparkle Splash for the win. After Blake and Murphy come into the ring with a mic and remind Carmella that when you hang out with trash you start to stink. She responds by letting them know that her boys Cass and Enzo will be victorious for the titles on May 20th.

Ty Dillinger is out next and seems to be really getting over with house show regulars who met him with “perfect ten” signs. His opponent is a returning Kalisto. The two put on a short but fun match that showed some of the impressive lucha styling of Kalisto as Dillinger attempted to ground him. In the end Kalisto defeated Ty with a Salida Del Sol, but Dillinger may be the real winner here. Ty consistently puts on great matches and puts everyone else over, crowds are starting to recognize that and are left wondering when he will be put over instead.

Sami Zayn comes out to talk and is interrupted by Kevin Owens. Sami wants to know “Why?, what is the real reason for all of this… jealousy, resentment, etc? Owens responds by letting Zayn know on May 20th he will hurt him again, except this time there will be no coming back.

Our main event is Hideo Itami and Finn Balor vs Tyler Breeze and Adam Rose. In the beginning the odd pairing of Rose and Breeze work well together isolating Finn for a long while until he makes the hot tag to Hideo who comes in and cleans house. Itami seems ready to finish off Breeze but Balor tags himself in. Balor comes in and hits his signature moves and looks ready to finish things as well but Hideo tags himself back in. The two begin to bicker and Breeze takes advantage rolling up Itami for the pin. Hideo and Finn begin to argue in the middle of the ring until Breeze sneaks back in superkicking Hideo and hitting Balor with a Beauty Shot. Adam Rose comes in to celebrate with his partner only to eat a superkick as well. Presumably the episode ends with Breeze standing over the three bodies, but eventually Itami and Balor make it back up. First Itami lays out Breeze with a single leg dropkick and Balor finishes him off with a Coups De Grace. The crowd goes home happy and very anxious for May 20th.

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NXT Ft Pierce 4-11-15

Written by Wayne Mason
Photos by Maryann Mason

Another raucous crowd jammed into the Havert L Fenn Center in Ft Pierce, Fl in anticipation of another exciting night of professional wrestling action. Coming hot off the heels of a successful Wrestlemania week the stars of NXT would not disappoint as they left it all in the ring.

No one can fire up a crowd like Enzo Amore and Big Cass who come out to a huge pop. Their opponents for the evening are The Mechanics who are looking mean and ready to fight. Amore and Cass start strong staying one step ahead. Dawson and Amore begin taunting each other and teasing punches and it turns into a boxing match for a moment. Both men actually retreat to their corners with stools and spit buckets with their partners coaching them. The two men circle each other while Enzo showboats with his fast feet. Dawson is not impressed though and lays out Enzo with one punch. The referee starts counting but Amore answers the 9 count. Back on his feet he fires back with some punches of his own until Dawson gives him a knee and it finally turns into a wrestling match. Employing frequent tags Dawson and Wilder begin to take apart Amore, for all of their talk of being roughnecks The Mechanics are technically sound and probably at their best when methodically punishing an opponent. Eventually though the resilient Amore makes the hot tag to Big Cass who clears the ring and tosses out Dawson. He then finishes off Wilder with a swinging side slam followed by an assisted splash tossing Amore onto Dash for the win. It was a fun match to start the show. The Mechanics deliver as always and the ringwork of Enzo Amore is getting more varied.

Jason Jordan is out next, this time with his old music (as opposed to as recently as the night before when he had Shoot Nation music). His opponent for the evening is the always explosive Solomon Crowe. From the opening bell Jordan dominated Crowe, out-grappling him and throwing him around with the greatest of ease. Crowe attempted to make sporadic comebacks but to little avail. The match was all Jordan, and Jordan was all power tossing Crowe with a perfect overhead belly-to belly suplex before settling into a chinlock. Eventually Crowe manages to escape and mount an offense going for a hurricanrana but Jordan catches him and tosses him. Moments later though Crowe manages to escape Jordans grasp and turn it into a front chancery which brings Jordan down for a moment before he begins to power out. At this point Crowe rolls him up for a surprise pin. This match was pretty much all Jordan and Crowe was the definitive underdog. Jordan looked good in the ring and definitely came out looking strong, hopefully he can find some direction soon.

Bayley makes her way to the ring for a promo next. She talks about their recent run in San Jose while playing up to the Florida crowd as well about the success of the brand. Her monologue is interrupted by Prince Pretty himself, Tyler Breeze. He tells her that no one cares about any of that and they don’t care about her. He tells her to leave the ring but she replies by letting him know that he is not the boss of her. At this point the womens champ Sasha Banks emerges slyly asking if someone said Boss. Both her and Breeze begin to berate poor Bayley. Unwavering, Bayley demands that Banks backs up her big talk by giving her a title match. Sasha tells her no, but that if Bayley can find a partner they will compete in a mixed tag match later in the evening.

The action continues with Chad Gable taking on Steve Cutler. In the opening moments the Olympian easily out-grapples Cutler, but not to be outdone Cutler comes back with a series of arm drags and an arm bar. Gable takes control with some arm work of his own after some nice back and forth action. Eventually Gable controls the match even taking time off to dry off with his “Olympic towel”. Out of nowhere Cutler fires back with a series of strikes and a gutwrench suplex for the pin. After the match Ty Dillinger came out and scored it a 4. Cutler looked the best I had ever seen him tonight, thus far a muscular guy who usually relies on strikes and power moves showed off some speed, agility and different offense. Gable, as always is a pleasure to watch in the ring and is most definitely a name to watch out for.

Ft Pierce is Bull Dempsey country, and the crowd let it be known as the big man made it to the ring to take on Marcus Louis. In the early goings Dempsey rode the wave of momentum controlling his opponent by wearing him down with a side headlock. Louis finds an opening and begins a beatdown on Bull. Later when it looks as if Dempsey is going to make a comeback Marcus takes advantage of a distracted referee. He pokes Dempsey in the eye and follows with a DDT, then with his feet on the ropes he takes the victory. Unfortunately for Louis, a very angry Dempsey made it to his feet and ran down Marcus. He followed with two flying headbutts. Dempsey started to leave but climbed back into the ring and followed with an emphatic Bonzai Drop from the top rope. Dempsey then headed to the back only to run back out a moment later for one final Bonzai Drop on an annihilated Marcus Louis. I’m a fan of both men and I’d really like to see the tortured monster Marcus Louis make it to television. More so though, I am eager to see the next chapter for Bull Dempsey.

Next is womens triple threat action with Charlotte vs Dana Brooke vs Alexa Bliss. From the beginning it is very clear that there are no alliances tonight and it is every women for themselves. Soon Bliss was thrown from the ring allowing Charlotte and Dana to focus on each other. Charlotte is on a roll hitting a lot of her signature spots until Brooke finds an opening and slows things down with a body scissors. Eventually Charlotte powers out, meanwhile every time Bliss attempts to get back into the ring she is knocked back out. Charlotte puts down Dana with a neckbreaker and puts on a figure 4 when Alexa comes off the ropes with a crossbody. Alexa tries to pin Charlotte, but she tosses her off onto Dana, who tosses her back onto Charlotte ad infinitum all the while referee Drake Wuertz is beating the canvas like a drum. Finally back up the ladies begin to battle when Charlotte lands a Natural Selection on Bliss for the win. Ty Dillinger gives the match a 6. The ring general Charlotte looked as good as you have come to expect, while Brooke and Bliss continue to grow.

Tag team action is next as Blake and Murphy take on The Vaudevillians. The crowd reaction to The Vaudevillians are no surprise, but Blake and Murphy are starting to get equally as popular, at least in front of this very split crowd. The Vaudevillians start strong and in charge, executing some signature spots such as push-ups off their opponents back. With a little distraction though it is not long before Blake and Murphy take charge punishing Gotch. Eventually Simon makes the hot tag to English who is simply on fire at one point landing an astounding superplex on Murphy. However a few moments later in the chaotic fray Murphy manages to eject Gotch and lay out English with a vertical suplex followed by a frogsplash from Blake for the win.

Kevin Owens is out next and supposedly has an important announcement concerning the title. First though he singles out a guy from the audience in a Finn Balor T-shirt and tells him if he doesn’t go buy an Owens T-shirt he’s leaving. Surprisingly the guy actually leaves to buy a shirt. Owens then simply moves on to a kid in a Balor T-shirt and tells him the same thing, to which this kid actually leaves to go buy an Owens T-shirt. Owens then moves onto a guy in a Baron Corbin shirt who will not relent. Kevin Owens gives the guy to the count of ten before dropping the mic and leaving the ring. Kevin Owens is one of the best promo guys in the business, but apparently he is really good at moving shirts too. But seriously, he can make moving shirts entertaining.

In our next match Ty Dillinger takes on Elias Sampson. The two evenly matched competitors lock up and between every successful maneuver Dillinger retreats to his corner to score himself…. a perfect 10, of course. Sampson quickly gains an advantage though until the wily Ty Dillinger finds an opening and pounces. He lays out Sampson in a frenzied beatdown and follows with a half crab. Eventually Sampson makes the ropes and comes back with a Lou Thez press and a clothesline that turned Dillinger inside out. Sampson attempts to follow with his jumping knee strike but Ty dodges it and counters with a DDT. The two men battle up to their feet and atop the turnbuckle. Dillinger attempts a superplex but Sampson knocks him down and follows with a crossbody. The two men make it back to their feet and Sampson nails Ty with a jumping knee strike to the face, surprisingly Ty kicks out. The two exhausted competitors make it to their feet and Dillinger nails a superkick, he follows with a facebreaker knee smash for the win. Dillinger is a criminally underrated ring technician while Elias Sampson is perhaps one of the newer prospects I am most excited about. At the beginning of the match there were smarky fans calling them jobbers, by the end they quieted all the naysayers with a great match.

Our main event is one of the most odd, but one of the most fun we have had in a long time. First out are Sasha Banks and Tyler Breeze, with Sasha matching Tyler in fur and boot tassles. Out next is Bayley and she introduces her partner for the evening, Sami Zayn. The crowd explodes to the sight of their hero Sami Zayn emerging from the back in a Bayley t-shirt. The babyface team are dominant in the early goings, wrestling the fur coats right off their opponents and putting them on to pose on the turnbuckles. Neither Breeze or Banks want anything to do with their opponents making quick tag outs, forcing the other team to tag per mixed tag rules. Finally Sami and Breeze are back in the ring and the pace picks up with some signature offense. Eventually sneaky Tyler Breeze got the upper hand after attacking Sami from behind. But Zayn makes the hot tag to Bayley who is on fire and makes quick work of Sasha and tags Sami back in. Sami takes down Breeze with a series of clotheslines followed by a dropkick and an exploder suplex in the corner. Sami is ready for a Helluva Kick but Banks darts in the way. She attempts to slap Sami not once, but twice, but he stops both attempts and counters with a kiss square on the lips. Banks recoils in shock and disgust, only to be followed by a Belly-To Bayley from Bayley. Then Zayn charges the corner for a Helluva kick to Breeze for the victory. This was a fun match and a rare treat from four of the top workers in the brand, and the crowd went home happy.

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NXT Largo 4-10-15

Written by Wayne Mason

Photos by Maryann Mason

A lively crowd packed into The Minnreg Hall in Largo to see their favorite stars of NXT. Fans would not be disappointed as the young and hungry athletes gave them another highly charged night of wrestling action.

The action kicks off with Chad Gable taking another shot at Solomon Crowe. The two evenly matched athletes know each other well as they lock up trading off armbars and jockeying for an advantage. Eventually the Olympian finds an opening and takes charge targeting the arm of Crowe with a series of armbars including a nasty one over the ring ropes. The explosive Solomon Crowe mounts a quick comeback with a series of chops and strikes followed by a running knee in the corner. He continues his attack dropkicking Gables feet out from under him setting up the Stretch Muffler giving Gable no choice but to tap. After the match, Ty Dillinger comes out and scores it a 5. It was a great opening match featuring guys who are two of my top pick to look out for in 2015. Gable has shown versatility as both a heel and a face, but is doing really well as a cocky Olympian bad guy.

Up next is a six-womens tag match as the team of Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Devin Taylor take on Becky Lynch, Dasha, and Dana Brooke. The match starts and almost immediately the good girls start strong staying one step ahead of their opponents. But with a helpful distraction Lynch is able to get the upper hand on Alexa. They punish Bliss while making frequent tags until she eventually makes a hot tag to Carmella who comes in and clears the ring. With the other girls ejected from the ring Carmella drops an advancing Brooke with a drop-toe hold and wraps her up in her head scissor submission for the second tap-out victory of the night. Ty Dillinger gives the match a 3. As the more experienced wrestler Becky Lynch did a good job of conducting traffic here, while Carmella just gets better with every match. A good outing for the rookie Dasha too, who seems to have all the tools.

Announcer Greg Hamilton makes his way to the ring and introduces Dylan Miley. Standing at around 6’3” and weighing around 285 lbs Miley is an imposing figure. Of course, his most memorable attribute may be his incredibly large hands. Hamilton asks him what the future holds for him. Miley explains that the future is molded by the hands of time and tells him to look at his hands. He continues saying these hands will do exactly what they want to do, the clock is ticking and it is almost time. Miley is pretty good on the mic and unfazed by hecklers in the crowd. I’m looking forward to seeing the big man compete, and hoping that he uses a claw hold.

The action continues with the deranged Marcus Louis taking on Bull Dempsey. The two approach each other slowly and first and then lock up, Dempsey throwing Louis into a side headlock which the Frenchman eventually broke only to get chopped and thrown back into it. Eventually Louis fights back and takes the upper hand. He stalks Dempsey slowly and methodically. The tortured Louis has been more of a brawler since he has lost it, and beats Bull down with big clubbing blows. Finally Dempsey comes back though with a series of strikes, a headbutt and a butt drop. He follows by absolutely running Louis down. Usually this is where he sets up his flying headbutt, but tonight he surprisingly went right for the pin and got the 1-2-3 victory. Afterwards, an irate Marcus Louis attacked Dempsey until several referees broke them up. Bull is really starting to get over with fans and I still believe he can be a really good face. As usual Marcus Louis is absolutely great as the tortured monster.

Next is Tyler Breeze taking on Baron Corbin. The match starts off fast paced as Breeze tries to figure out the best way to take on the much larger angrier Corbin. Despite some early offense Corbin beats him down and follows with some of his signature offense. Breeze had flurries of comebacks but by large Corbin dominated. In the final moments Breeze dodges the big boot of Corbin and answers with a superkick. The two make it to their feet and rock each other with back and forth blows until Breeze hits Corbin with another superkick followed by a Beauty Shot for the win. Ty Dillinger only gave it a 3, even though the crowd was hot and it clearly stole the show. Corbin seems more comfortable as a heel, and his in ring performance really seems to be benefitting from his string of more high profile matches. Tyler Breeze who is mostly cheered anyway seems to be playing to the fans more, even taking selfies with the crowd.

Next, the womens title is up for grabs as Sasha Banks defends her title against Bayley. The match starts off at a fast pace with plenty of reversals until Banks eventually takes charge grounding Bayley with a straightjacket crossface. She continues to dominate Bayley eventually setting up Bayley in the corner for a second diving kneedrop which Bayley dodges. The underdog fires back with a frenzied flurry of her signature spots. She attempts to set up Banks up for a Belly-To-Bayley but Banks spins her around for a backstabber followed by a Bank Statement for a submission victory. This was yet another great outing between these two and another highlight of the night, but yet Ty Dillinger only gave it a 6.

In a non-title tag match The Mechanics took on Blake and Murphy. These two evenly matched teams traded off offense in the early goings but it was Murphy who stayed a step ahead initially until the wily Mechanics took advantage and took over cutting off Blake from his partner. They continued to punish him with frequent tags and great tandem offense until he makes the hot tag to Murphy. The Aussie is simply explosive when he hits the ring taking out anything that moves. However, with the ref distracted The Mechanics took advantage with Dawson flapjacking Murphy into Wilders knees and taking the pin. NXT tag division is great all around but these are your top two teams at the moment, and they are the teams that need to meet at the next live special.

Kevin Owens comes out to a huge pop for a hilarious segment as he berates a kid in the audience wearing a Sami Zayn T-shirt. He tells him that Sami is not here tonight, that he is at home resting after the beating he gave him to take his title. He tells the kid to take off his shirt, march over and buy a Kevin Owens shirt or he is leaving. Owens gives the kid a count of ten to do so, which he doesn’t and Kevin Owens leaves the ring and head to the back.

Ty Dillinger is out next to give us a perfect 10 performance. His opponent is Jason Jordan, who now once again has Shoot Nation entrance music. The match starts with some nice grappling, with Dillinger taking time between each lock-up to hold up his scorecard. After some comedic antics the action starts and Ty attacks viciously but Jordan comes back with some serious power moves including a resounding fallaway slam. Ty dodges a spear and answers with a firemans carry. Jordan rebounds with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex followed by an emphatic Olympic slam for the victory. Not a perfect 10, but a pretty good performance by both men.

The main event of the evening is Enzo Amore and Big Cass taking on The Vaudevillians in front of a very split crowd. Gotch and English start off strong with plenty of manliness and leg squats. Cass and Zo answer with some signature offense of their own. Eventually The Vaudevillians isolate Enzo, who is at his best when playing the underdog. Finally he makes the hot tag to Cass who comes in and clears the ring of Gotch. He then follows with a swinging side slam to English followed with an assisted splash from Amore for the pin. It was an entertaining match that gave the crowd exactly what they love about both teams.

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