The worrying sign coming from the hype on WWE.com is that they may group all four men with Finn Balor as part of a NJPW alumni group. This would be a grave mistake. Styles, Balor and Nakamura are all headline acts that shouldn’t be playing second fiddle to anyone else in a faction – putting them together just means you’re inevitably failing to maximise the potential of at least two of the stable’s members.
The pathway for the two Americans is clear: Anderson and Gallows should be reunited with Finn Balor as part of Balor Club. They have a natural chemistry together from their time in Bullet Club, and two big heavyweights acting as muscle for the smaller champion is easy heat. Also, together they may be able to plug the gap in WWE programming created by the asinine decision to break up The Shield.
For A.J. Styles, I would recommend WWE looks more closely at his TNA run than his more recent success in NJPW. Styles only truly convinced fans he was a heel in Japan because he was paired with already hated heels and matched against genuinely beloved babyfaces. WWE has neither of these and so should go with the grain and book him as a babyface. Styles had his most success in TNA as a modern-day reimagining of a mid-eighties WWF Intercontinental Champion, the secondary champion that is the connoisseurs’ favourite, and WWE should book him accordingly. Part of me thinks they’ll book him against Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania.
The more interesting, and challenging, person to successfully introduce into the WWE Universe is Shinsuke Nakamura. As somebody who only came aboard the New Japan bandwagon when NJPW World was launched, I’m confident that if presented properly he can become a huge star in WWE. While he may not be as verbally eloquent as the typical WWE superstar, he is a man who oozes visual charisma that naturally draws fans in. Don’t just take my word for it — my seven year old son has been similarly impressed with the matches he’s watched with me.
What’s more, the fear that WWE fans won’t accept someone from Japan is overblown. Vince McMahon may never have treated Japanese pro-wrestlers seriously, but that didn’t stop Taka Michinoku, Yoshi Tatsu and, above all, Yoshihiro Tarijii from getting far more over than their pushes. Likewise, indie fans have regularly accepted visitors from New Japan as big stars, and the success of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan shows that indie sensibilities are not as far removed from WWE fan tastes as some on both sides of that divide may wish was the case.
However, there’s no doubt he needs to be introduced very carefully by WWE if he’s to be successful. As crazy as it sounds, I believe the man he should be programmed with is none other than Brock Lesnar.
Nearly four months after the strangely rushed climax of his feud with Undertaker, we are still no nearer to knowing who Lesnar will face at Wrestlemania. Worse, there seems to be no good options given that the WWE can’t risk pro-Lesnar fans turning on Roman Reigns if they were rematched while the rest of the roster is a sea of mid-carders. The natural response is therefore to bring an outsider in to face Lesnar. Alas, even here there are slim pickings. The dream match of him facing Steve Austin has been emphatically ruled out by all concerned, while no one is entirely sure whether actors The Rock or Batista would be available to wrestle.
Nakamura is the perfect man to step into this breach, not just because he’s a terrific pro wrestler who has not been defined down by inept WWE booking but because there’s a ready made story. For the uninitiated, Lesnar and Nakamura have already met with Lesnar crushing Nakamura to successfully defend his then-IGWP title. At the time, Nakamura promised to regroup and hone his skills by wrestling all over the world, so that eventually he would be strong enough to avenge his loss.
Using this backstory is the perfect springboard to introduce Nakamura. It gives him a clear rationale for moving to the WWE, and immediately slots him in as a top star. By revealing that Lesnar once held the IGWP belt, it would also validates the credentials of both Nakamura and Styles. But above all else, a feud with Lesnar is the best chance to hide Nakamura’s limitations and extenuate his positives.
Nakamura’s key limitation is that there’s nothing to suggest that he could deliver the monologues that WWE believes are effective promos. That can’t be solely blamed on the fact English isn’t his first language as even his Japanese promos seemed less smooth than some of his contemporaries. What’s more, New Japan rightly doesn’t place any emphasis on talking for 20+ minutes. However, it’s fair to say that Lesnar also lacks the verbal diarrhoea that WWE usually demands of its headliners.
So, pairing them together would allow the emphasis to be moved away from in-ring verbal confrontations that do neither man any favours. Just as Lesnar’s best promo work was in sitdown interviews before his match with Cena, both men would be able to deliver quick quips to put into video packages. Just as Lesnar relies on Paul Heyman to act his advocate, you could easily use either Mauro Ranello or Jim Ross to explain how great Nakamura is based on their previous roles with New Japan. Indeed, there may be an argument for doing a ‘Jim Ross meets Mick Foley’-style series of interviews.
And in a battle of two former MMA fighters (ahem), you could work to expand the build beyond the sometimes claustrophobic environment of RAW by using a HBO 24/7 style series of documentary segments to present a richer narrative of both men’s preparation for the fight.
Such an approach would allow you to introduce Nakamura as a big deal i.e. have him deliver his challenge to Lesnar to a (maybe worked) press conference in Tokyo, work with New Japan to splice in footage of their erstwhile Intercontinental Champion in action (maybe in return for allowing him to work Dominion), showcase his genuine presence in Japanese pop-culture and bring in outside figures (such as Kurt Angle) to vouch for how good he is. Given both are legitimate athletes, you could showcase their training preparations in the same way fans were given a look backstage for Lesnar’s preparations for his match against The Rock.
Done right, such a match would allow the WWE to build interest for the match without wasting too many of Lesnar’s dates or exposing Nakamura. Keeping the debuting Japanese superstar away from the WWE ring would also build intrigue for the match — as long as the pretaped hype packages have convinced people he’s a big deal, the fact they won’t see him until his characteristically elaborate entrance is only a positive. And of course, Lesnar vs. Nakamura is as sure to be as good a match as you could book.
A throwaway show was transformed when they put Kevin Owens against John Cena. Whilst they wasted the momentum generated from Owens’ victory, the lesson was clear, WWE fans want fresh matchups and for new superstars to prove their worth against the biggest stars. Shinsuke Nakamura has drawn more money than anyone the WWE has hired since Goldberg speared Rock, and they should treat him as such. Put him straight into a featured match, protect him during the build, and watch him immediately repay the faith shown in him.
– After the National Anthem, U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio came out first and cut a promo saying he didn’t have a opponent tonight and that he was leaving because of Cena’s injury. Jericho interrupted Del Rio and said they should wrestle.
– Chris Jericho defeated U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio via pinfall by codebreaker
Y2J came out to a very loud pop. Both wrestlers played well to the crowd very well. The match was very action packed as both men were able to hit their finishers.
– Titus O’Neil defeated Stardust via pinfall by Clash of the Titus.
It was a very simple match. The crowd yelled “Cody” most of match.
– R-Truth def. Heath Slater
Truth got a very loud pop. Both wrestlers played with the crowd as truth would shout whats up and crowd would shout it back. slater would get booed. Truth won in a very quick match.
– Kalisto and El Torito def. Los Matadores
Crowd very dead in this match. Quick back and forth match. Kalisto and El Torito won after kalisto finisher.
– Dolph Ziggler def. Tyler Breeze
Ziggler came out to a huge pop. Good match as both guys fought hard back and forth. A lot of close pinfalls. Ziggler won via pinfall by using Zigzag.
– Brie Bella def. Tamina with Summer Rae as guest referee
Tamina was the aggressor most of the match. After a close pinfall Tamina and Summer got into a shoving match until Brie snuck up and rolled up Tamina for a pinfall victory.
– Ryback def. Rusev
Match started with chants for Lana. Crowd was very involved in this match. The fight was back and forth until lana tried to interfere by coming on to the apron. Rusev got the upper hand by superkicking. Ryback escaped Rusev’s submission hold and hit the Shellshock for the win.
– IC Champion Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens
Owens dominated first half of match then the match went back and forth. oth men were able to hit their finishers. Near the end, Owens exposed the turnbuckle and grabbed a chair but wasn’t able to use it. Ambrose then hit Dirty Deeds for the win.
– Rich Swann defeats the debuting Chris Gerard (aka Biff Busick) with his standing 450. Good showing here by both newcomers.
– Elias “The Drifter” Samson defeated Steve Cutler w/ his neck breaker finish. A lot of heat on Elias now with “Drift Away” chants.
– Eva Marie, Emma & Billie Kay w/ Dana Brooke & LeFort defeated Liv Morgan, Adrien Reese, & Carmella. Eva held the tights and got the pin on Reese. A lot of booing for Eva here, two heel managers at ringside got a lot of distractions going.
– Promo segment w/ Noah Kekoa saying he no longer wants us in his Friend Zone before Bull Dempsey came out to talk to him about being friends. Noah got upset with Bull and called him fat over and over before Bull laid him out and did his seated splash to teach Noah a lesson.
– Tye Dillinger defeated Levis Valenzuela Jr. Fun match with comedy early on, the crowd chanted diece for Levis as opposed to Tye’s ten. Dillinger got the upper hand and picked up the win with his knee finisher.
– Hype Bros defeated BAMF w/ Alexa Bliss & Tucker Knight and Hugo Knox in a triple threat tag match. Crowd was hot for Tucker and Hugo, singing the Silver Boots song for Tucker. Blake and Murphy heckled the crowd for cheering the other teams so much. A lot of action before the Hypes got the win.
– Apollo Crews defeated Alex Riley w/ his big slam. Tough guy match here. Apollo had a lot of support so Riley taunted the crowd back.
– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley defeated Peyton Royce in a NXT Women’s Title Match w/ the Belly to Bayley. This Citrus Springs crowd was even rowdier than the recent Full Sail taping, singing both Bayley songs. Bayley danced along to them as Peyton sassed the crowd. Bayley even did some mat work tonight such as a surfboard. After doing ten punches in the corner, the crowd chanted Ten as per Dillinger so Bayley did his hands routine and even a cartwheel to a huge pop. Peyton escaped one Belly to Bayley but couldn’t avoid it the second time. Great match here. Hope to see more.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor, Enzo Amore, & Big Cass defeated Tino Sabatelli & NXT Tag Champions Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder. Dash & Dawson got a lot of heat on Big Cass in this match before the hot tag to Finn who cleared house and scored the win. Faces went around the ring for high fives to send everyone home happy. Enzo even stopped to talk to some younger fans and pose for pictures, these three are great.
– Chris Jericho def. US Champion Alberto del Rio in a non-title match
The night started out with the announcer informing the crowd that John Cena is injured and will not be at the show tonight. Alberto Del Rio then interrupted her and made his way to the ring. He talked for a while, the lights go out and Y2J’s music hits. He cuts a promo about Houston wrestling and their fans’ legacy. Jericho challeges Del Rio to a match. Del Rio talks his trash and tries to walk away by chest slapping Jericho. Match begins, back and forth, a little slow at times. Y2J comes out victorious after kicking out of repeated submissions. ADR missed his finisher, Y2J hits the Code Breaker and it’s over.
– Titus O’Neil beat Stardust
Before the match, crowd starts to chant ‘Cody Rhodes’. Stardust tries to out power Titus with chest chops but that didn’t work. Stardust attacks the leg of Titus. Stardust goes for top rope move, but Titus catches and tosses him. Titus hits a boot to the head, setting up the train to the corner. Stardust stumbles out of the corner into the finishing move and that’s a three count for Titus.
– Ryback def. Rusev (w/Lana)
Pre-match promo with Lana talking trash about Houston sports and says the Dallas Cowboys are better than all of Houston. Lana claims Rusev will be next Heavyweight Champion. Rusev snatches the mic and claims that he hates American football, but if he had a team, it would be the Dallas Cowboys. Ryback’s music hits to a large pop. Strength vs. strength early. Cheap shot by Rusev when tied in the ropes when Ryback tries to break cleanly. Rusev gains upper hand. Rusev antagonizing the crowd by waving flag. Rusev hands flag off to Lana and walks into a belly to belly suplex. Each trying to suplex the other back and forth with a show of strength. Finally Ryback tosses him up and over. Ryback sets up for Meat Hook and hits it. He attempts a shell shock but Lana jumps on apron. Distraction worked, and Rusev takes advantage by kicking him in the head. He locks the submission on Ryback, but fights through it. Rusev goes for the splash and misses. Ryback pops up, hits a power bomb and the big guy gets the pin.
– R-Truth def. Heath Slater
Dance off before the match until Slater cheapshots Truth. Action on the outside. Slater tries for the pin and grabs the middle rope for leverage, but ref breaks it up. That leads to Truth rolling him up for the pin.
– Los Matadores vs. Kalisto and El Torito
Crowd going nuts for Kalisto. Matadores want Torito in there, and he puts on a show for the crowd. Matadores get the upper hand and beat up Torito. Kalisto finally gets tagged in and runs wild. Kalisto hit his finisher for the pin and win.
– Sheamus vs. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman)
Both are in the ring for intros. Paul takes mic from the ring announcer and begins to introduce Lesnar. They tie up and Lesnar hits a belly to back as the crowd chants “Suplex City.” Sheamus retreats. A few uppercuts from Sheamus, he reverses to the corner, Lesnar stops and pounds him, hitting a suplex on Sheamus. Action spills outside and Lesnar is thrown into the stairs and then back in. Sheamus chops Lesnar, but Brock is no selling it and suplexes Sheamus. Sheamus regains the advantage for a few near falls. Lesnar then hits back to back suplexes. Sheamus retreats and heads to the top, but Lesnar catches him for another suplex. Sheamus hits a brogue kick and goes for the pin, but he kicks out. Sheamus gets suplexed several times and gets hit with the F5 for the pin.
Intermission
– Houston will host Smackdown on the Tuesday after Wrestlemania.
– Kevin Owens does a video promo challenging Dean Ambrose later on in the night. The ring announcer explains it will be a street fight.
– Brie Bella vs. Tamina (w/Alicia Fox) with Summer Rae as special ref
Very slow match. The end came when Tamina and Summer were getting into it and Brie hit a suplex to get the win. Usual “We want Sasha” chants.
– Video promo by Ambrose accepting Owens’ challenge.
– Tyler Breeze vs. Dolph Ziggler
Tyler was using the selfie stick, but it freezes up a couple of times on the big screen, then we get an error for ‘poor connection’. The crowd laughed. Usual good match with plenty of offense from both guys. Several near falls back and forth near the end. Breeze was thrown into the ropes and Ziggler hit a superkick to end it.
– IC Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens street fight
Ambrose enters with kendo sticks in each hand. Fight starts off both men outside of the ring beating on another. Action spilled outside the ring and back into the ring and back outside several times. Lots of chair shows and a “we want tables” chant breaks out. Ambrose goes for the table, but Owens rolls him up for two to prevent it. Eventually, Ambrose set the table up, but got powerbombed through it. Owens goes for the pop-up powerbomb and Ambrose countered it by flipping Owens over. Ambrose hits Dirty Deeds on the shattered table for the clean win.
– Hype Bros defeated Marcus Louis and Sawyer Fulton via pinfall with the Hype Ryder on Marcus. Good reaction for the Bros here. Fun action.
– Elias Samson beat Rich Swann with his new neckbreaker finish. Good match, Swann is beloved already and Elias had a lot of heat here. After the win, Elias hopped the barricade and drifted away.
– Eva Marie, Alexa Bliss and Peyton Royce defeated Liv Morgan, Aliyah, and Adrien Reese. The negative reaction for Eva is amazing these days. Eva got the pin on Aliyah.
– Manny Andrade (the former La Sombra) made his NXT debut and defeated Riddick Moss with running knees to the face while Moss is laying with his head on the bottom turnbuckle. Manny wasn’t known yet, so he had to win over this crowd.
– Jason Jordan, Chad Gable and Apollo Crews defeated NXT Champion Dash & Dawson and Angelo Dawkins. American Alpha is very over, a lot of solid wrestling here. Gable hit a delayed roll through Chaos Theory. It was a thing of beauty. Jordan is the best hot tag in NXT, and cleared house before Gable scored the pin after the assisted German Suplex.
– Baron Corbin defeated Alex Riley with the EOD. Physical match. Baron was jawing with the crowd a lot.
– Asuka defeated Billie Kay (w Sylvester LeFort) via Asuka Lock submission. Good match here, all about Asuka.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor and Bull Dempsey defeated Tye Dillinger and Tino Sabatelli. A lot of comedy with Bull doing his jumping jacks routine and upsetting the heels with his antics. Finn was extra animated in this match as he Irish whipped Tino across the ring and chopped him 9 times before Dillinger got in his way to stop the tenth, Finn then chopped Tye for the large ten chant. Balor got the win with the stomp and sent everyone home happy.
Key Takeaway: The first season of Breaking Ground caps off with a really strong episode focusing on the NXT performers at TakeOver: Respect.
Show Recap: In terms of a single episode, this edition worked better than any other episode of this season, and arguably works entirely on its own as a backgrounder on the NXT performers. Last week left off with fans beginning to line up outside Full Sail University for TakeOver: Respect. From there, we branch off into several parallel paths:
Jason Jordan and Chad Gable: Gable and Jordan talk about the importance of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic – we get a nice video package explaining Dusty’s death and legacy – and then shift to the excitement of them getting to wrestle on their first TakeOver event. They lose to Baron Corbin and Rhyno, but afterwards get a lot of praise backstage for their performance and view the experience as something to build on.
Baron Corbin: Before the show, Corbin and Tino Sabbatelli have a nice chat about their shared background as NFL players. Corbin notes how he came in and people didn’t like him because he didn’t come from the indies or pay his dues, but he worked hard and got to the top – basically saying that he hopes Sabbatelli can do that, too. Anyway, Corbin and Rhyno beat Jordan and Gable, then lose to Samoa Joe and Finn Balor in the finals. (There’s a really cool segment with Stephanie and Triple H looking at the trophy and talking about the presentation of the trophy with Cody and Dustin Rhodes before the show.) After the match, we get Cody’s speech and then see Corbin backstage, a bit gutted that a trophy was being presented and he wasn’t part of it. The guy is competitive.
Dana Brooke: Dana’s mom visits before the show and helps her prepare for the show. She and her mom visit with Tara, the NXT physical therapist, who explains the injury is a pectoral tear and she can work through it. Dana guts out the match with Asuka and does really well, getting praise backstage.
Apollo Crews: Before the show, Triple H and Apollo talk about a new finisher for him. He has a match with Tyler Breeze, who he repeatedly puts over in interviews, and beats him with his new finisher – which is basically a back suplex spun into a power-bomb. It looks cool.
Bayley: The show caps off with highlights from the Bayley/Sasha Iron Man Match, which is edited to look like the most epic match in history. Afterwards Bayley and Sasha get flowers and hug and it’s all very nice and emotional.
After the show, Triple H has a meeting with the agents and producers and praises the show, noting they basically made four acts into stars (Apollo Crews, Dana Brooke, Asuka, and Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) in one show, one of which was somebody who lost. Then he heads to the all-talent meeting, where he praises the talent and says that Dusty would be proud of all of them. Then he calls Tyler Breeze down to the front of the meeting and announces that Breeze has been called up to the main roster, leading to a standing ovation from the assembled NXT talent.
The episode ends with a montage of updates on how everyone’s doing now: Dana had pectoral surgery and is rehabbing. Apollo and Corbin are still in NXT and working on their promo skills. Jordan and Gable are one of NXT’s most popular teams and might get called up soon. Sami Zayn returned to action on the European tour. Bayley is still NXT women’s champion and beat Nia Jax in London to retain the title in a match Jax dominated. Bayley hopes to get her call-up soon. Tino, ZZ and the others are still working hard at the Performance Center to pursue their WWE dreams. Tyler Breeze made his debut on the main roster, with the last image shown on Breaking Ground being Breeze coming through the curtain and facing the crowd as Michael Cole and JBL react to his entrance on commentary.
Final Thoughts: This episode was good enough to make me wonder why they spent nine episodes spinning their wheels to get here. It was really focused and somewhat resembled the superb WWE 24 series, which tended to focus on a single event and drill down into the events surrounding it. The emphasis on the importance of the TakeOver events as a means of getting to the main roster really helped make this episode seem really important. The focus on the handful of NXT stars that we’ve gotten to know and care about – rather than random people like Josh, Nhooph or ZZ – really made the episode feel important rather than something crammed with random segments to fill the time. It’d be great if every episode was this focused next season, because then the show could be something special.
Once Upon A Time, in a Business Far, Far, Far Away…the idea that Vince McMahon could push main eventers who had never experienced success outside of the WWF was absurd given how aggressively they had poached the biggest and the best pro wrestlers from rival promotions. Indeed, with only two exceptions, the WWF did not own the exclusive rights to their champion’s gimmick until “Stone Cold” Steve Austin won the title in 1998.
Even then, at a time when McMahon’s main even roster was arguably at its weakest, it was still focused on guys such as Mick Foley and Austin who had won championships in WCW. Even The Undertaker had a notable run in WCW as part of The Skyscrapers. But Triple-H and The Rock were different; the former had achieved nothing during a short-stay in Atlanta whilst the latter didn’t even get that far south after leaving the Canadian Football League. Instead, they were WWF-lifers, men who debuted to much fanfare, suffered a vicious yet deserved backlash, only to finally grow into the shoes they had been given upon entering the Titanverse.
It’s a journey that most of WWE’s late Attitude era draws have trodden. Whether it’s John Cena, Randy Orton, Dave Batista or Edge, they are all were similarly devoid of pro wrestling accomplishments away from the McMahons, and were all strongly pushed upon their debut only to temporarily falter due to the promotion and performer having failed to perfect their persona away from the main stage. Yet, they all eventually achieved real success after tweaking their characters.
It has been more than a decade since the promotion has found the same success in ‘hothousing’ talent in this way. Whether that’s due to the developmental system not recruiting the right performers or creative not letting talent grow into more marketable personas is up for debate. What cannot be argued is that the inability of WWE to grow its own superstars has had the most profound impact on the product they present.
The careers of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are all evidence of how the WWE has been forced to reach into the very same independent scene they used to dismiss to find the next generation of superstars. Still, at least, the promotion was able to console itself with the fact that these men all needed the McMahon Family to get them to the big stage. After all, without the WWE, they wouldn’t be performing in arena shows or on national television.
Indeed, it seemed that this became WWE management’s collective egos’ Maginot Line; anybody could be hired provided they had no national television exposure and weren’t so infamous that WWE couldn’t remould them. Kevin Owens was the first to hint that this defence was creaking. Sure, he was given a slightly different name but he was essentially playing the same character as he had in Ring of Honor. Worse, he had appeared extensively on ROH syndicated television and had even had his own action figure produced.
But that was nothing compared to this week’s news that A.J. Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura are on their way to WWE. While both men are just as revered by smart fans as the ‘indie darlings’ that WWE has been busily signing to NXT in recent years, they have far more tenure in “mainstream” pro wrestling.
Styles was not just regularly featured on Spike TV rom 2005 to 2014, but was the TNA champion during the period Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan tried to turbocharge TNA to new heights. A show Styles appeared on as champion was watched (at one point) by more than 3 million people. His merchandise includes action figures, t-shirts, DVDs and video games. He’s wrestled all over the world, and so while the WWE could insist on renaming him, it would likely hold them up to ridicule and lessen the impact of his debut.
Styles has also been the highest profile foreign star in New Japan Pro-Wrestling for the past two years. However, his impact there has been nothing like that of Shinsuke Nakamura. An art-college vision of bad-ass, he is easily the flashiest character and most dynamic performer in New Japan’s main event scene. Not even Sting could boast having headlined a show with as high a paid attendance as Wrestle Kingdom 8, where Nakamura’s Intercontinental Title defence went on last in front of more than 30,000 people.
To underline how significant a change in WWE’s recruitment policies these signings are, consider this. The last person to be recruited by WWE having successfully drawn more than 10,000 buys on pay per view for a rival pro wrestling promotion within a year of their debut was probably Hulk Hogan in 2002! Other than the ill-fated Mistico, WWE has simply not recruited anybody with the success or profile of either Styles or Nakamura since they cemented their dominant market position.
And the reason they are doing so is not because they want to, but because they’ve finally acknowledged that they can’t grow their own talent. That they are being forced to face up to his failure does raise questions about what the millions of dollars being invested into NXT are actually achieving.
They opened with two matches taped for a show called WWE Kids. The idea is that Corey Graves announces with two kids and that kids handle the interviews and ring announcing. One of the ring announcers was Izzy, the Bayley fan who had been featured on TV during her matches the last several months.
Becky Lynch beat Natalya
Big Show beat Heath Slater
NXT for January 13, 2016:
William Regal announces a battle royal with the winner getting a shot at Bayley’s championship. Sami Zayn came out, not to enter the battle royal, but to challenge Finn Balor for the NXT title. Samoa Joe came out so this set up Zayn vs. Joe. Baron Corbin then came out and it set up a three-way for the next title shot.
Tommaso Ciampa beat Danny Burch
Dash & Dawson beat The Ascension
Elias Sampson beat Corey Hollis
Carmella won the battle royal. Eva Marie stayed outside the ring and they teased she had won, but Carmella was never eliminated and threw her out. Bayley and Carmella celebrated after the match.
NXT for January 20, 2016:
Sami Zayn beat Adam Rose
Apollo Crews beat Tye Dillinger. Crews then issued challenge to Finn Balor, saying he just wanted a match with him now and it’s not about the title.
Baron Corbin pinned Rich Swann with the End of Days
Bayley & Carmella beat Alexa Bliss & Emma. They celebrate like best friends (which they are in real life)
Samoa Joe beat Johnny Gargano
NXT for January 27, 2016:
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan came out with the new name American Alpha. they beat Blake & Murphy with the double team back suplex.
Nia Jax beat Liv Morgan. Nia Jax & Eva Marie are together as a unit.
Alex Riley (first match back after knee surgery) beat Bull Dempsey
Elias Sampson beat John Skyler
#1 contender’s match: Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin saw Zayn put Corbin the sharpshooter and Joe put Corbin in the crossface. Corbin tapped out, but the question was who did he tap out to, which will lead to a Zayn vs. Joe singles match for the shot.
NXT for 2/3
The Vaudevillains beat Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder
Carmella beat Emma
Enzo Amore & Big Cass beat ?
Asuka beat Santana Garrett
NXT Champion Finn Balor beat Apollo Crews in a non-title match.
Fresh off her successful title defense submission victory over Nia Jax at NXT TakeOver: London in December, NXT Women’s Champion Bayley now has her next challenger set: Carmella.
NXT announced Thursday night via Twitter that title match will take place at their Friday, January 22nd event at the CFE Arena at the University of Central Florida.
Additionally, Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn will hook it up to determine the new No. 1 contender to NXT Champion Finn Balor. On the aforementioned London show, Balor successfully defended his belt against Joe in the main event via pinfall. Zayn returned on that same show after a long layoff following shoulder surgery, and will be looking to regain the title he lost to Kevin Owens.
The event is part of an aggressive January calendar for the popular WWE-created brand where they will run 15 total shows, including several on the same night in two locations.
In a coincidence, Bayley tweeted out Thursday that today marks her fourth year in NXT.
