Paypress testing

Category: WWE News

  • WWE: Rusev and Lana Engaged

    It was reported today on TMZ that Rusev, aka Miroslav Barnyashev, and Lana, aka Catherine Joy Perry, are engaged.

    The two had been dating for some time.  Perry often posted pictures of them on various non-wrestling trips together on her Instagram account.  Eventually they bought a house together in Nashville.  

    The TMZ report said that the engagement took place last month, and that the engagement was filmed at the pool in their backyard.

    Earlier this year the two broke up in storyline, which historically does not bode well for real-life relationships.  Barnyashev later suffered an ankle injury, and instead of staying home to recover traveled from city to city with Perry and the rest of the crew.  

    This probably was the impetus to the angle where Rusev and Summer Rae somewhat got engaged on Raw.  Summer asked Rusev to marry him, and at first he said yes, but then stated, “not yet.”  He said before she could put gold around her finger he needed to put gold around his waist, meaning he needed to win a title.  The belief is that this was a way to drag the storyline out since Perry suffered a wrist injury and won’t be able to return to physical action for awhile.  Dolph Ziggler, who is also involved in the storyline, also took time off to film a movie, so the only person involved who has not missed TV time is Summer Rae.

  • WWE Main Event results (10/6): The Kevin Owens Show

    WWE Main Event from Philadelphia was proclaimed the “Kevin Owens Show” by the reigning Intercontinental champion himself and basically it was just that, though credit is due to other talent that anchored the show as well. With a lot of crew headed overseas and unavailable for the taping, this episode featured only two matches, but both got plenty of time. Likewise, an angle on the show saw Jimmy Uso leave the broadcast booth to confront a boastful Kevin Owens.

    Owens opened the show with an in-ring promo lobbying for himself to be named Superstar of the Year. He listed various potential nominees including John Cena, Brock Lesner and Seth Rollins. He sarcastically mentioned Kalisto and Cameron as candidates as well. Owens said he the only acceptable choice. He referred to 2015 as the “Kevin Owens Show” then began listing his accomplishments.

    He started with winning the NXT title (or “NFC title” according to the closed captioning for this show). Owens went on to talk about beating John Cena. The crowd chanted, “WHAT!” He replied, “I beat John Cena, that’s what!” He then brought up winning the IC title from Ryback before bringing up his recent win over Chris Jericho at MSG. He noted he beat him on the 25th Anniversary of Jericho’s first match. Owens called it the “greatest night of his career” and noted the match was his debut at MSG. Owens claimed he was the first person to debut at MSG as IC champion.

    Owens was upset the commentators focused on Jericho’s anniversary on that night and ignored his accomplishments. He signaled out Byron Saxton (who was on commentary on this show with Tom Philips and Jimmy Uso) as Saxton provided commentary for the Garden show. Owens called him “disrespectful” and “rude” before saying it wasn’t the first time it had happened. He called Saxton a bully. Owens then turned his attention to Jimmy Uso, who was smirking and shaking his head.

    Owens called out Uso before accusing him of hiding behind the announce desk. “You know, you wouldn’t want to get hurt, would you,” a snarky Owens asked Uso, whose twin brother is still out with an injury.

    Jimmy took off his headset and thought things over for a moment. He left the booth and entered the ring to confront Owens. Uso snatched the microphone out of Owens’ hand and said Owens was right about one thing. Uso said he had been “sitting at that table talking all summer long and tonight, I’m done talking.” Uso got in Owen’s face and Owens backed down and slinked away. This set up a match for later in the show.

    Naomi (with Tamina) beat Paige

    Paige and Naomi began by grappling through several exchanges before reaching a stalemate. Naomi did a few leap frogs over Paige and dodged a few more moves, which frustrated Paige who kept screaming, “STOP IT!” Naomi gave her a flying headscissors but Paige cut her off. Paige draped her in the ropes for repeated knee strikes. Paige grounded Naomi and began to shine her up before a commercial.

    After the break, Paige continued to get heat as she kept pummeling Naomi. Paige hooked Naomi in the tree-of-woe at one point. The announcers talked about the ongoing strife between Natalya and Paige. Paige taunted Tamina and the crowd before applying an abdominal stretch. Naomi countered with a hip toss for a hope spot. However, Paige caught Naomi on a crossbody and gave her a fallaway slam. The announcers foreshadowed the outcome in talking about Paige dominating the majority of the match. Just as they mentioned that, Naomi escaped a scoop slam and hit a clothesline.

    They were both down on the mat then Paige began feeding into Naomi’s comeback. Naomi ran wild with a series of kick then an enzuigiri. Naomi executed a modified slingblade into a jawbreaker for a nearfall. Paige blocked a rump bump and hit a superkick for a two count. Paige began screaming at Tamina at ringside and Naomi rolled up the distracted Paige with an O’Connor roll into a bridge for the pinfall.

    Intercontinental champion Kevin Owens beat Jimmy Uso in a nontitle match

    At the opening bell, Owens powdered as he slid out of the ring to confront Byron Saxton, who cowered away. Uso jumped Owens only for Owens to cut him off back in the ring. Uso quickly fired up. After a couple of arm drags and a right hand from Uso, Owens bailed out again to set up Uso doing a baseball slide but Owens blocked it. He slung Uso out of the ring by his hair and Owens proceeded to toss Uso into the barricade. Much like the previous match, the heel kept pummeling the babyface through a commercial break.

    Owens talked trash and delivered a DDT after Uso escaped a headlock. Back to the headlock, Uso fought free and a moment later hit an enzuigiri. Much like the prior match with Uso’s wife, both were down on the match selling before the babyface started the comeback. Uso ran wild with a flurry of moves leading to a Samoan drop. Owens blocked an enzuigiri only get reversed on an Irish whip to set up an attempted Umaga splash. Owens avoided the splash and countered with a cannonball into the corner for a nearfall.

    Owens signaled for his finisher but Uso escaped and hit a superkick. Uso went to the top but Owens got his knees up when Uso went for a splash. Owens then used the pop-up powerbomb to score the pinfall, ending a very good match.

    Afterwards, Owens bullied Saxton at ringside before leaving. Before exiting the scene Owens held the IC title overhead as he stood at the top of the ramp and proclaimed this the “Kevin Owens Show.”  

  • WWE Superstars results (10/9): Cesaro, the great entertainer, on Superstars again

    The Big Takeaway: Cesaro was extremely entertaining in a 3-minute squash against Adam Rose. The Prime Time players beat The Ascension in a decidedly average main event.

    Cesaro beat Adam Rose (3:30)

    I mean it really shouldn’t be baffling in this company, but it really is – why is Cesaro on this show working with Adam Rose? The klaxon sound that they use at the Royal Rumble goes off, Cesaro’s music stops and Adam Rose appears on the ramp with a mic. He claims that Cesaro can’t “string a sentence together” and completely buried them both by asking “how does it feel to be here competing against Adam Rose” while the likes of Rollins, Kevin Owens are “megastars”?

    Cesaro’s response to all this is to wait for the bell and then absolutely annihilate Rose with a running European uppercut to the corner. He follows this up with a press slam a la the Ultimate Warrior, where Rose just lands on his face, and then another uppercut. Rose dodges a third and then comes off the second rope with a missile drop kick into a cover for two. He begins to work over Cesaro’s neck and back with clubs and blows and then locks on a rear chin lock. Cesaro throws him off but charges into an elbow.

    Rose is now doing the stomps that Shawn Michaels used to do before a super kick. He hits Cesaro with one and then goes for an airplane spin to mock Cesaro’s giant swing. Cesaro scoffs at it, no selling it and does a 36 rep giant swing which he slows down as if he’s going to stop at about 30 reps and then just picks him up and carries on. Cesaro is such a great entertainer; the crowd is just eating out of the palm of his hand. He then puts on the Sharpshooter for the win. To his credit, Adam Rose was good here too.

    The Prime Time Players beat The Ascension (8:47)

    Viktor and Darren Young lock up and test each other’s strength back and forth until a headlock takedown by Viktor breaks things up. Young slaps a headlock on and an arm ring by Viktor is reversed into a hammerlock by Young. Viktor runs into an elbow and tags in Konnor, who comes in to no sell everything and then shoulders Young to the mat. A blind tag from O’Neil brings him in to match up to Konnor’s brawn – he shoulder barges Konnor and scoop slams him and then hits him with a leg drop. Konnor rolls outside and Viktor comes in to start on O’Neil. He gets belly-to-back suplexed on the ring apron by Young, which looks like it really sucked, and we head to a break.

    Viktor and Young are in together as we return. Young gets whipped into the corner and does a flip bump over the top rope. Outside, Konnor launches Young into the barricade and the ring apron. They come back in and he covers him for two. Young plays the babyface in peril as they double team him. Young is bleeding from his right shoulder. He goes for a victory roll up, but as he is doing it Konnor blind tags in on the way through. Konnor comes back in and leg drops Young and stomps on his face. Konnor puts on a chin lock and Viktor comes in. They use the ropes to slingshot Young and then go back to the chin lock.

    O’Neil eventually gets the heat on Konnor. He steams in and shoulders barges Konnor to the mat and then clotheslines him, following it up with a big boot. He does his triple backbreakers on Viktor and then slings him aside. He charges at Konnor in the corner with a splash and then powerslams him. The pin broken up by Viktor, who is sent outside. As Titus turns round, he eats a big boot from Konnor and then his pin attempt is broken up by Young. Young and Viktor send each other over the top and when Konnor misses a charge to the corner, O’Neil capitalizes with the Clash of the Titus. A nothing match, it was what it was.

  • WWE Smackdown results (10/8): Roman Reigns & Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman

    – Air Date: October 8, 2015 (Oct 7 in Canada)
    – Location: Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA

    The Big News:

    The Smackdown main event ended with a non-finish. Also, they let us know what happened on Raw.

    Show Recap:

    They announced Roman Reigns and Randy Orton against Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman.

    The New Day came out and they recapped the big angle from Raw. Kofi Kingston said John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and The Dudleys could not stop the power of positivity. They claimed to be more dominant than The Shield, Wyatts, Nexus, The Corre, Los Boricuas, Legion of Doom and nWo.

    Woods said Philly knows nothing about being champions. He said Eagles head coach Chip Kelly called them asking for advice after losing to the Washington [football team]. They called the Eagles booty.

    Kingston said the Dudleys conned their way into another title shot. Big E said they would defeat the disgusting and dirty Dudleys and they changed New Day rocks. Dolph Ziggler interrupted, calling them the three stooges. Ziggler said they cost him a chance at the U.S. title against his “good friend” John Cena.

    Ziggler said he asked the Authority for a match with Big E, and he referenced their past together. Woods wished him luck and insincerely said it would be a fair fight. Ziggler said “you’re damn right it will be” and the Dudleys came out. Good opening segment.

    Big E (w/New Day) beat Dolph Ziggler (w/Dudley Boyz) via pinfall

    Ziggler immediately hit a dropkick and jumping DDT, but Big E escaped the ring and they went to commercial. Big E had the heat after the break as Kingston and Woods yelled and did mock commentary. Big E went shoulder-first into the post and Ziggler hit (missed) a fameasser for two.

    Big E came back with a belly-to-belly and a jumping splash. Ziggler hit a superkick, but everything came apart after that. New Day sent Bubba into the steel steps, distracting D-Von. Kingston bounced Ziggler off the rope and D-Von took out Woods. Big E covered Ziggler and Kingston held Ziggler’s foot down, allowing Big E to pick up the pinfall win.

    Big E winning makes sense to keep their momentum going from Raw, but Ziggler might be getting the next U.S. title shot and looked really weak here. Worse than that, as New Day posed on the ramp, the Dudleys and Ziggler just stood there watching after getting their asses beat on Raw.

    They recapped Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar at MSG. They followed by letting us know a Raw recap would air after commercial. After the break, they replayed the Lesnar/Show stuff from Raw and also the Summer Rae/Rusev angle.

    Backstage, Summer talked about her future wedding plans with the makeup women. Rusev joined and told them to leave. He asked Summer why she’s telling everyone about their engagement when they had a plan for Rusev to win gold first. Summer said she got Rusev a match with Ryback, presuming that if he wins he’ll be first in line for the Intercontinental title. Rusev liked this and hugged her. As Summer left, he smacked her ass. Rusev seemed pleased.

    Charlotte, Becky Lynch & Natalya beat Team Bella via submission

    They said that Charlotte and Lynch would get to pick their partner, and the announcers had to act like they didn’t know who it would be, as if there’s anyone else it could have been. Jerry Lawler said no woman has ever had a friend that she didn’t dislike a little. Ok.

    The heels worked over Lynch forever until she made the hot tag to Charlotte, who was quickly cut off with a kick off the middle rope by Nikki. Charlotte came back with a spear and applied the Figure Four but was kicked by Brie, allowing Nikki to reverse the hold. Natalya clotheslined Fox on the outside and Brie clotheslined Natalya. With the referee distracted, Lynch kicked Nikki, allowing Charlotte to apply the Figure Eight for the tap-out win.

    Total nothing match but at least Charlotte won over Nikki. This was the fourth straight 6-woman tag match they’ve done on Raw/Smackdown in the last two weeks, all involving the Bellas. Maybe do something else next week?

    Backstage, Renee Young caught up to Paige who was shown watching the match. Renee wanted to know her thoughts on “Team NBC.” Paige said it’s Team PCB and Nattie is horning in on her girls. Paige doesn’t like it and she doesn’t like Nattie.

    Ryback beat Rusev (w/Summer Rae) via pinfall

    Kevin Owens joined commentary and they announced that he would defend the IC title at Hell in a Cell against Ryback. Lawler asked Owens if he would run again and Owens asked Lawler if it looks like he runs anywhere.

    Brennan asked Owens about an interview he did with Renee who accused him of not being a proper Canadian. Owens asked Brennan if he gets tired of people telling him that he looks like Milhouse from The Simpsons. Owens said Rusev was motivated because the IC title brings money and prestige, not because he wants to marry Summer.

    The match was slow, but they did trade some impressive power moves. After going back and forth near the end, Rusev hit a superkick and went for the cover. Ryback’s foot was on the rope so Summer knocked it off. This didn’t matter, because not only did the referee not see any of it, but Ryback kicked out anyway.

    Rusev went for the Accolade but Ryback grabbed his leg and easily hoisted him up to hit shell shocked for the win. Unfortunately for Rusev, the finish made sense. Summer was upset that Rusev didn’t get the win.

    Before going to commercial, they again plugged that a Raw replay would air after the break. They always do this on Smackdown but they don’t usually do it more than once. The video package was for Seth Rollins/Kane.

    In his dark room backstage, Bray Wyatt said he and Roman would be trapped inside Hell in a Cell and Bray would put him down. Tonight, Roman and Orton would face the wrath of he and the black sheep. Strowman told a story about making rabbits run as a kid.

    King Barrett beat Neville via pinfall

    Barrett came out holding his crown and wasn’t wearing the goofy outfit. They did a quick video package for Barrett with clips of him laying people out with the Bull Hammer. Barrett got the heat almost immediately and Neville eventually came back with a top rope moonsault to the outside.

    Barrett tried Wasteland but Neville reversed into a DDT. Neville went up for Red Arrow but Barrett got up and got in between the ropes for safety. Neville went after him but the referee backed him off. This allowed Barrett to hit the Bull Hammer elbow for the win. If Barrett isn’t supposed to be in the ropes, why didn’t the referee get him out before he could hit his move? (I know, wrestling is fake.) Crowd was dead for this.

    In his dark room backstage, Stardust played Pick A Card by himself. The card he picked is presumably a reference to his next opponent (or partner, I couldn’t tell), but we didn’t see the card so who cares.

    Randy Orton & Roman Reigns beat Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman via DQ

    Reigns did an inset promo before the match saying they’d be going to Hell in a few weeks so they can call tonight Purgatory. I think what he meant to say is that this match doesn’t matter because we just saw Team Reigns beat Team Wyatt on Raw, and Reigns is getting what he really wants at the pay per view. I could be wrong.

    They went to break after entrances, which is better than doing it a minute into the match. Orton and Bray started. Orton had his way with him so Bray tagged Strowman who got no reaction. Strowman knocked down Orton with a shoulder block so he tagged in Reigns who ate a shoulder block as well.

    Orton tagged himself in and they tried a double team move but Strowman knocked them both down with a double shoulder block. Strowman and Bray worked over Orton for a bit until he made the hot tag to Reigns. Reigns hit a flying clothesline but couldn’t get Strowman up for the Samoan drop. With Strowman on the apron, Reigns clubbed away at him and knocked him off the apron with a superman punch. Reigns then went after Bray and tossed him into the time keeper area.

    Reigns followed with an apron dropkick on Strowman but Bray hit him in the gut with a steel chair for a disqualification (this wasn’t actually announced). Bray hit him again with a chair and tossed him in the ring.

    Orton made the save but Strowman caught him with the hugging submission move. Reigns saved Orton and tossed Strowman to the outside. Bray tried Sister Abigail on Reigns but Orton saved him again, hitting an RKO. Reigns finished off Bray with a spear to send the fans home somewhat content.

    Final Thoughts:

    The opening segment was good and it’s a positive that they’re keeping the momentum going for New Day, who were the highlight of this show as usual. Unfortunately, that was it for them and the rest of the show was no good. Reigns speared Bray Wyatt through a table last week on Raw, defeated the Wyatt family this week on Raw, and laid out Bray again here tonight. Why are they having a Hell in a Cell match, exactly?

  • WWE: 7 thoughts on what the #DivasRevolution should have looked like

    By Will Cooling for WrestlingObserver.com

    Earlier this week, I outlined the mistakes the WWE made when bringing Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch up to the main roster. These mistakes mean that the WWE is still just throwing out random women’s matches, hoping that fans will care because they’re slightly better than the dross that went before. Depressingly, it’s remarkable easy to imagine a better product. To successfully create a stronger women’s division, the WWE needed to approach the introduction of the NXT women as a months-long project that needed to be carefully planned in advance.  

    Thought 1: Build Around A Superstar…But Be Patient!

    As explained in the previous column, the new women’s division needed to be built around a single superstar. Like most, I see that person as being Sasha Banks. Not only is she the best women’s wrestler in the company, she has an image that is unusually current for a pro wrestler. On a not entirely unrelated note, she also has the potential to tap into the black market that the promotion has ignored ever since The Rock went into semi-retirement.

    However despite this greater potential, she needs Charlotte to pave the way for her. Due to being Ric Flair’s daughter, she has the instant credibility with fans that Banks needs to earn in the ring, something she can’t do until fans have been educated to care about the division. The sensible play, as in NXT, is to use Charlotte to build the platform that eventually launches Banks into superstardom.

    Thought 2: Start With A Strong Storyline  

    First impressions are crucial when debuting new acts and the introductory storyline of the Divas Revolution gave nobody reason to take a fresh look at the division. The individual matches were inconsequential and the overall storyline had no emotional hook.

    Now imagine this as an alternative. Having just dropped her NXT Women’s Title, Charlotte debuts on RAW in the run-up to Wrestlemania 31. She challenges Nikki Bella due to Bella being the type of ‘diva’ that gives female athletes a bad name. With both ‘The Nature Boy’ and Brie Bella promising to be patrolling ringside the promotion hires the baddest women on the planet, Ronda Rousey, to be the trouble-shooting outside referee. At the big show, Charlotte squashes Nikki, and then receives the post-match endorsement from Rousey herself in scenes that evoke Mike Tyson raising the hand of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

    Such an introduction of Charlotte would immediately raise the profile and prestige of the division by making its title match one of the centrepieces of Wrestlemania through the involvement of Flair and Rousey. The storyline of Charlotte challenging for the title due to disgust at Nikki Bella gives fan a clear reason to care in a way that the three-way trios feud could never do. Having Charlotte squash Nikki Bella confirms that she really is better than the existing women performers, and the entire storyline put Charlotte in control rather than make her subservient to Stephanie McMahon.

    Thought 3: Book Charlotte Strong!

    After introducing Charlotte so strongly, it would be important to build on that foundation with her championship reign. As a general principle, her in-ring appearances should be limited to pay per views and the occasional television show. This would give her time to properly prepare for her matches, but also ensures that fans see women’s matches as special events and stops the promotion from burning through challengers too quickly.

    In terms of initial opponents, you don’t have to look beyond A.J. Lee, then the most popular and respected woman on the main roster. In return for her release, the WWE could surely ask for her to put the new champion over on her way out. Another credible challenger from the existing roster would be Natalie Neidhart, repeating the ‘Hall of Famer In Each Corner’ gimmick that successfully used Ric Flair and Bret Hart to add legitimacy to the NXT Women’s Championship.  

    After those two, you run into a problem that the division lacks both marquee names that fans would care about and capable workers that could match the high standard set by the NXT women. Luckily, you can reach into the past to bring back women from the division’s previous golden era who can be both. Charlotte’s reign could easily consist of a series of one-off matches against the likes of Trish Stratus, Victoria, Mickie James, Gail Kim, and Lita. The novelty of the returning superstars would add interest to the division and having Charlotte decisively go over them would establish her as the greatest champion in the division’s history.

    The use of these veterans would also allow the promotion to keep Charlotte away from the pre-existing roster. This is important because all of the ‘divas’ are thoroughly discredited in the eyes of fans due to years of poor presentation. If Charlotte spent months defending against women who fans had long given up on, then much like Paige before, her reign would not be accepted as a fresh start.

    Thought 4: Refresh the Presentation

    It’s important to remember that in pro wrestling, the sizzle is just as important as the steak; no matter how good the pro wrestlers or matches are, if there are problems with the presentation, then fans won’t care. When relaunching the women’s division, the WWE really needed to pivot away from the ‘divas’ branding as it’s too associated with past failures and is a derogative term for women in the real world. Have Charlotte throw down the championship at Wrestlemania 31, denounce the branding as stupid and demand a new title belt.

    This should be more than a superficial change with the presentation of Charlotte and her matches dedicated to proving that she is anything but a ‘diva’ by educating viewers that she and other female pro-wrestlers are serious, credible athletes. Frustratingly, WWE pretty much nailed the correct tone to use back in April with the training footage of Charlotte they used to promote their new TapOut gear.

    A key point is that just like in NXT, the booking should avoid doing elaborate storylines with the women as endless scenes of women arguing with each other just makes all involved look catty, something that would prove a turnoff to the predominately male audience. Remember that the one setback to Ronda Rousey’s popularity was when she spent a season of The Ultimate Fighter screaming at Miesha Tate. Equally, performers’ ring gear should be somewhat tasteful. While there’s nothing wrong with presenting women as sex symbols (look at Paige VanZant and Tate), it’s important not to dress them in outfits that wouldn’t look out of place in a stripclub.

    Thought 5: Rebuild The Division Away From The Main Stage

    Charlotte defending against returning mid-90s superstars should be enough to keep her occupied from Wrestlemania to Summerslam. The future of the division rests on the promotion using that time to address the weak roster depth that has always held the women back.  

    Obviously at some point, you would bring Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley up, but by themselves, they’re not enough. Whereas NXT could survive with a division that was effectively just four people due to producing so little television, WWE needs a fresh championship programme every month. Equally, the emergence of NXT as a touring brand means you can’t entirely gut that division.

    Two things therefore would need to happen away from RAW and Smackdown during Charlotte’s reign. Firstly, those pre-existing divas that can be effective pro wrestlers (rather than hosts or valets) need to be sent down to NXT. There, the skills of raw athletes such as Naomi could be developed to unlock her hitherto untapped in-ring potential, whilst talented workers such as Paige can work on refreshing their characters and practicing matches with the likes of Banks and Lynch. At the very least time away from the main roster would help fans forget about how they had previously been booked into the ground.

    Secondly, the WWE needs to be more aggressive with their recruitment of new, talented women pro-wrestlers from the independent scene and overseas. These women would both stabilise the NXT division when the ‘Four Horsewomen’ start to leave Florida, but also provide the next phase of performers to be promoted to the main roster.

    Thought 6: Make The First Title Change Important  

    Having successfully got Charlotte over to the fans as a credible champion and therefore educating them to take the division as a whole seriously, you can then move to the second phase – bringing in Banks. It’s a story that writes itself; whilst Charlotte is winning plaudits on the main roster, the woman who beat her for the NXT Women’s Championship is defeating all comers in Florida. Eventually, Banks snaps at missing out on all the attention, comes up to the main roster to demand a champion vs champion match.

    With the benefit of hindsight, the ideal timeline for this would be for Banks to make the challenge on the RAW after SummerSlam and then for the match to be booked for the recent WWE Network special from Madison Square Garden to capitalise on her popularity in the New York market. Placing it on a Network special rather than a PPV would also allow for the match to be given greater prominence than usual – potentially even headlining the show.

    In that match, Banks would defeat Charlotte to begin her reign as the WWE Women’s Champion. This title change would need to mark an important shift in the division as the promotion refreshes its roster by bringing up the new and repackaged women wrestlers from NXT. This would ensure that Banks had challengers who she knows how to work with and that have not already lost to Charlotte on television.

    Thought 7: Have A Clear Plan

    With the title on Sasha and the women’s roster thoroughly refreshed, it’s important that WWE be patient and think carefully about not only Banks but each of her future challengers. As part of this, they must remember to book for the vast majority of the audience that hasn’t been following NXT. For instance rather than rush into Lynch challenging for the title, it may make more sense to go back to her acting as Banks’ henchwoman so you can build a relationship between the two women that makes the eventual match between them mean more

    While establishing Banks as the dominant champion, they would also need to protect Charlotte by keeping her in meaningful matches away from the title picture. Eventually, you book the rematch between the two at Wrestlemania 32 in what would be the ‘most eagerly anticipated women’s match in WWE history’. Whoever had been the more successful as champion should then win to establish them as the female face of the company, with the loser settling for being Randy Orton to the winner’s John Cena.

    Will Cooling is a freelance writer who writes on combat sports for Fighting Spirit Magazine, pop culture for Geeky Monkey and politics at It Could Be Said!

  • WWE NXT TV taping spoilers (10/8): new & familiar names, Nia Jax, Asuka, Finn Balor

    The big news from Thursday’s WWE NXT tapings at Full Sail University was former TNA Champion and multiple time TNA Tag Team Champion James Storm debuting tonight.

    Storm was at NXT’s weekend show in Nashville and backstage at TakeOver last night. He was given a win over Martin Stone, a former WWE contracted wrestler who worked the tapings as enhancement talent. Due to the TV schedule and even though he has been done with TNA for some time, he will continue to be appearing on TNA television for probably two more months, something discussed on Wrestling Observer Radio Wednesday night.

    *****

    Results submitted by John Carey

    – NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillains over Dawkins & Fulton. The finish had to be reshot because Dawkins botched the sell on the finish. 

    – Nia Jax over Evie in a squash match.

    – Apollo Crews won a #1 contender battle royal match eliminating Baron Corbin to win. Notable entries included Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa & Martin Stone.

    – Asuka over Billie Kay in a squash match.

    – Enzo & Cass over Dawson & Wilder via Enzo roll up. Mechanics beat them down after the match.

    – James Storm over Martin Stone in a squash match.

    – Alexa Bliss over Peyton Royce

    – Emma over Shazza in a squash match

    – Chad Gable/Jason Jordan over Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa. Match went around 10 minutes and was the best match in the tapings to this point.

    – Nia Jax over Kay Lee Ray in a squash match

    – WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor over Tye Dillinger.

  • NXT Takeover feedback

    Thumbs up!  Every match delivered.  Impressive main event, but everyone else on the card felt elevated tonight even if they lost.

    Best match: Bayley v. Sasha.  I was invested in this match.  Bayley is an incredible face in peril.  Sasha is such a good heel.  With that dynamic, there’s no need for creative high spots.  Just a great match.

    Worst match: Balor/Joe v. Corbin/Rhyno.  This was a good match.  I enjoyed it.  It would typically be the match of the night on any other NXT show.  But I think every other match on the card built up the wrestlers and gave us some direction.  These guys were great, but I wasn’t thinking “I want to see where they go with these guys after this match.” It was a match that gave the trophy to their #1 & #2 guys.

    Other notes:

    -I’m paying more attention to NXT homegrown vs. imported wrestlers.  Balor, Joe, Crews, and Asuka were all imports winning over homegrown talent.  I’m not saying that those were the wrong outcomes.  It certainly isn’t reassuring to see Breeze lose this much.

    -Kana/Asuka is exceptional. Watching her move in the ring and link moves together was incredible. 

    -Dawson and Wilder are such a great team. Found myself believing that their teamwork was good enough to overcome the fact that Balor and Joe are individually better.  That’s what a tag team should do.

    -Great seeing Sara Del Rey out there tonight.

    Nick Garcia

    Columbus, Ohio

    NXT TAKEOVER FEEDBACK
    Thumbs up
    Best: Bayley vs Sasha Banks
    No worst match

    Top to bottom, this may have been the best Takeover card from Full Sail.

    The Mechanics were impressive in the opener holding their own vs Balor and Joe.

    The other semifinal was a very pleasant surprise.  Jordan and especially Gable have taken off, while Corbin appears to be gaining confidence and his weaknesses are hidden in tag matches.  Tons of heat for this one in the building.

    Asuka vs Dana Brooke was a great debut.  Asuka’s speed in which she executed her moves was very impressive.  Dana wasn’t out of place here either.

    Tyler Breeze vs Apollo Crews was solid.  Would’ve been a great house show main event level type match.  It was nice to see them switch up the finisher for Crews.  Now he needs a little character development.

    The Dusty Classic final was another solid match with a straightforward story.  Surprised there was no tension between Balor and Joe, so maybe it will be a face vs face program if they square off for the title.

    The main event lived up to the enormous hype.  The fans were with it every step of the way and the 30:00 went by very quickly; the match was paced perfectly.  No one sat back down after Sasha messed with Izzy around halfway.  It was talked about after the last taping that someone getting heat by messing with Izzy would be great, but no one thought they’d actually do it in this day and age of “putting smiles on people’s faces.”  The Brooklyn match was probably better as a match but this presentation was tough to beat, topped by the post-match celebration.  The company has made a major star, so let’s hope they don’t mess it up on the main roster where it counts.

    This is the easy winner for promotion of the year with a month and a half to go in the voting period.

    – Chris H.
    Lakeland, FL

    Hey Dave,

    Best Match: Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

    Worst Match: Jason Jordan & Chad Gable vs. Baron Corbin & Rhyno

    This is my first time sending my thoughts in after a wrestling event. Thumbs all the way up. I thought the main event with the post celebration ceremony made it come across as a ***** match. There was no point where the match felt like it was dragging and it topped the previous match in terms of psychology and work. The post celebration even topped Bayley winning the NXT’s women championship last NXT show. I don’t even know how that is possible. I honestly believe people will remember this match as the greatest woman’s wrestling match in WWE. 

    Simon Wang 
    Pittsburgh, PA

    Overall : Great show
    Thumbs waaaay up
    Best Match : Bayley vs. Sasha IronMan Match (4.75 stars)
    Worst Match : Apollo Crews vs Tyler Breeze ( I hate to put this match in the worst match category because it was a good match but the matches on this show were on another level)

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS: NXT CHAMPION FINN BALOR & SAMOA JOE VS. DASH WILDER & SCOTT DAWSON

    Good match. I thought The Mechanics come off as a really good heel team. Finn looks good in the leather jacket. I like that they don’t overuse the body paint, that makes it special.Joe’s offense looked super smooth and In my opinion both Joe and Balor need a heel turn to showcase more personality because Joe comes out to a colder response than what one would expect but Joe carries himself like a superstar in the ring.

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS: JASON JORDAN & CHAD GABLE VS. BARON CORBIN & RHYNO

    Super heated match. Gable and Jordan came off as superstars. This match made all the competitors esp. Gable,Corbin and Jordan look really great. Sweet finishing sequence. Really good match.

    ASUKA VS. DANA BROOKE

    Asuka has made the transition to WWE style faster than Hideo and her offense looked really great and her smooth transitions plus that Leg trap German Suplex was awesome. Props to Dana Brooke for hanging with her. +1 star for that Flying Armbar and facials throughout the match. Excellent debut.

    APOLLO CREWS VS. TYLER BREEZE

    When this match is the worst match of the show, that tells you the quality of this Takeover event. Tyler breeze is a natural heel and Apollo Crews’ selling was on point. Nice new finisher.Really needed it. Another Good match.

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FINALS: SAMOA JOE & FINN BALOR VS. BARON CORBIN & RHYNO

    Superheated match. Good finish. Cody Rhodes promo was very good. Nothing bad to say about the match. Finn needs that heel turn though. Although, it’s pretty clear that Joe is still not seen as their guy. Corbin is improving and looked good tonight.

    30-MINUTE IRONMAN MATCH: NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPION BAYLEY VS. SASHA BANKS 

    Excellent match. Sasha Banks is on another level when it comes to heel psychology.The match was worked great and the story told was consistent and the finish made perfect sense with Sasha being the great opponent that brings the best out of Bayley. The first fall was done so great. Making Izzy cry and stealing her hair pin was just perfect as Sasha drew the ire of the crowd and that made the Bayley comeback even more special. Amazing sequence at the end. Perfect story. The locker room and Sara Amato and Stephanie and Triple H and Regal coming out made the moment even more special. This really seemed like a G1 Final. Great way to end the feud.

    Lindsay Natale

    Thumbs Up

    Thought it was a good consistent show in-terms of match quality, however I felt there was no great matches. One noticeable thing to me was that in the majority of the matches the pace seemed quicker than we’re accustomed to with NXT. However unlike the main roster this wasn’t achieved with rope-running or simply more moves, but rather a greater number of strikes in a shorter space of time and things of that nature, I enjoyed it. I was greatly impressed by Dash & Dawson, I thought their aggression and fundamentals were very good, felt Jason Jordan looked the best he has to date, I was blown away by Asuka, this woman knows what she’s doing! I thought the smoothness and solidity of her work was absolutely tremendous, plus she was charismatic and showed no signs of having problems adjusting unlike Itami, although it’s still early days. I was left itching to see a match between herself and Sasha, Becky or Natalya that we never see, although I’m sure her eventual match or matches with Bayley will be very good.

    Thought Breeze & Crews had a damn good match and that this was a big step forward for Crews, as I’ve felt he’s been coming across as a bit of generic smiley babyface along with not showing his capabilities in the ring. I was growing concerned as to how over he may get in NXT, however this greatly relived me of those fears, and in retrospect they were keeping stuff in reserve for his competitive matches. I thought the ladies had a good match but were a victim of their own standards. Didn’t feel it was anywhere near as smooth or creative as their last encounter, neither did it have as good a layout. In addition I thought it took them awhile to find their rhythm and the match suffered with the crowd having greatly exhausted themselves. But hey, for multiple reasons the Brooklyn match was going to be impossible to equal.

    Balor & Joe vs. Dash & Dawson ***1/2

    Gable & Jordan vs. Corbin & Rhyno ***1/4

    Asuka vs. Dana ***1/2

    Breeze vs. Crews ***1/2

    Worst Match: Balor & Joe vs. Corbin & Rhyno ***1/4

    Best Match: Sasha vs. Bayley ***1/2

    Thanks Dave

    Tom Griffiths

    Thumbs WAY UP.  A great wrestling show!

    I don’t watch NXT every week, so I’m sure there are subtleties that I missed, but it was still an engaging show.

    BEST MATCH: Has to be Banks v. Bayley, even though this wasn’t a perfect match.  I do get frustrated that main roster stars come to NXT to do jobs for the NXT stars, which is a bit too predictable.  I preferred the Brooklyn match, if the truth be told.  Things that could be followed up on in this match (could Sasha win the title with a count-out fall as the difference?  did she really tap out?) really can’t be followed up on, because Sasha isn’t on NXT anymore.  For my money, Sasha is the best wrestling personality in the whole WWE right now, aside from Lesnar, Cena, and the Undertaker.  Which is pretty, pretty, pretty good.  Bayley also distinguished herself with a great performance.  Hopefully, these 2 will never get the giant fake breasts that seems to be required on the main roster.

    WORST MATCH:  It is a good sign that I don’t automatically say the Baron Corbin match.  If I MUST pick something, I would say that based on Gable & Jordan not winning, like I thought they should (over Rhyno, obviously) made it the worst match of the night, which is not an insult on this very awesome solid show.  I thought that match was also very good.  (Rhyno has got to lose some weight!)

    I liked the idea of Balor’s leg being an angle, even though it didn’t turn out to play a major role.  When I saw this happen, I had an inkling that Samoa Joe could turn on him, for costing them the match with his showboating, and then be in line for an NXT title shot.  But when I heard the tenor of Cody’s remarks, it was clear that was not happening.  The leg angle did create some drama & uncertainty — a simple storyline that is easy to follow.  WWE needs more of exactly that.

    Asuka also had a great match, and so did Dana Brooke.  The post-match face off with Emma was also something that I thought was going to lead somewhere… but it didn’t yet.  The Divas Revolution can’t hold a candle to NXT Women’s Division, and WWE better do something about it.

    I was also struck by how much Baron Corbin has improved.  The End of Days is an impressive finishing move, in a world where 3 Attitude Adjustments might not be enough to get a pinfall.  I used to be down on him, but I have turned the corner.

    Crews, Tyler Breeze, Jordan & Gable, and even Dawson & Wilder (or whatever) all had good nights.  An excellent show.

    Richard Orloski

  • NXT TakeOver Respect live results: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

    NXT TakeOver: Respect takes place tonight at Full Sail University at 8:00 pm EST. The main event will feature NXT Women’s champion Bayley defending her title against previous champion Sasha Banks in a 30 minute iron man match. Meanwhile, we’ll also see the conclusion of the Dustry Rhodes Tag Team Classic, with semifinals on the show being Finn Balor and Samoa Joe taking on Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, Jason Jordan and Chad Gable against Baron Corbin and Rhyno, and the finals featuring the winners of both semifinals. Asuka will make her in-ring NXT debut taking on Dana Brooke, and Apollo Crews will face off against Tyler Breeze.

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.

    *****

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS: NXT CHAMPION FINN BALOR & SAMOA JOE VS. DASH WILDER & SCOTT DAWSON

    Joe & Balor won and advanced in a well-worked match. Joe got the hot tag and set up Wilder for the Muscle Buster. Balor told Joe he wanted to tag in and Joe hit the Muscle Buster, and then Balor used the Coup De Grace on Wilder for the pin. Most of the match saw The Mechanics work over Balor’s knee which he sold after hitting his finisher. Joe & Balor go to the finals with a hint of issues between them and Balor “injured”.

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS: JASON JORDAN & CHAD GABLE VS. BARON CORBIN & RHYNO

    Rhyno & Corbin advanced when Rhyno hit the gore on Jordan, and Corbin pinned Gable after the End of Days  The crowd just loves Gable. He’s got something really special.  Jordan & Gable are such a great babyface team that they really made the match, which had super heat, and overcame the fact that Corbin is, at best, passable at this point. There were all kinds of funny chants like “Save the Gable” and the crowd singing Kurt Angle’s music and chanting “Gable” where people used to sing “You Suck”. Jordan has all the ability in the world and has finally started to come out of his shell in this team.

    They showed Kevin Nash in the crowd.

    ASUKA VS. DANA BROOKE

    As a wrestler, Asuka is a level above every woman wrestler in WWE.  She looked super here with all her submissions, ring confidence, and total superstar presence. Brooke held her own and didn’t look out of place given this level of competition. The crowd was actually a lot hotter for this than the two tag matches. Asuka did an absolutely sweet flying armbar near the finish.  She ended up winning with the Asuka Lock — a chicken wing crossface with a body scissors. After the match, Asuka laid out Brooke with a high kick and then stared down Emma who turned her head like she was backing down. Excellent debut.

    We got the same Nia Jax promo we’ve been seeing recently. She’s debuting next week.

    APOLLO CREWS VS. TYLER BREEZE

    This was another good match that was built around Breeze working over Crews’ back.  Breeze really looked good here. He got a great near fall as Crews did the press slam, went for the standing moonsault, but Breeze hooked the leg.  Crews then broke free and went for the standing moonsault again, but Breeze got his knees up. Crews came back after absorbing two running elbows from Breeze, charging out at the third attempt and hitting a running kick. He then hit an atomic drop into a power bomb for the pin. They tried to tell the story that Crews is showing how much guts he has as he sold most of the way.

    They showed HIdeo Itami and Funaki in the stands.

    They are doing a show-long story as to whether Balor will be able to come out for the finals due to his knee.

    DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT FINALS: SAMOA JOE & FINN BALOR VS. BARON CORBIN & RHYNO 

    No angle, but a solid match and the crowd was pretty hot. At one point, Rhyno hit the Gore on Joe, but Balor saved. He went for a second one but Joe kicked him in the face, gave him a Muscle Buster, and Balor used a double foot stomp on Rhyno for the pin.

    Cody, Dustin, Michelle (Dusty’s wife) and his two daughters were all in the ring as well as Eden Stiles. Cody did a promo and talked about how Dusty died on the same day as John Wayne but 36 years later. Cody talked about how Dusty was referred to as “the oak of NXT” but to him, he was known as Dad. “Tonight, we are all Rhodes,” he said. They played Rhodes’ music and fans chanted “Thank you Dusty.”

    They showed Stephanie McMahon, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Lita at ringside. Stephanie even chanted “women’s wrestling” along with the crowd.

    30-MINUTE IRONMAN MATCH: NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPION BAYLEY VS. SASHA BANKS

    Baley retained the title with a 3-2 margin by using a Fujiwara armbar at 29:57 to break the tie. 

    Banks won the first fall with an eye poke and schoolgirl using the trunks, Bayley won the second fall with the Belly To Bayley, while the third fall saw Banks win by ramming Bayley into the LED board, causing Bayley to be counted out. The fourth fall saw Bayley use a roll-up out of nowhere. The last few minutes were really dramatic as Banks used the Bank Statement, but because Bayley had worked over her hand during the match, she didn’t have full power. Bayley tried to reverse out once, failed, but then reversed into the armbar and was stomping on Banks’ head. The tap came right before time ran out. 

    It was pretty much what it should have been as far as a really good, well built match. Banks was great here, and Bayley was super over with the crowd so you had a great face/heel dynamic. Izzy at ringside was the other star of this match. They couldn’t create someone that good as her at ringside.

    After the match, they sent everyone on the roster out on the stage to give a round of applause. HHH and Wlliam Regal gave Banks flowers as the fans chanted “Thank you Sasha” as Stephanie and Sara Amato congratulated her with Bayley cheering for her from the ring.  HHH then went into the ring and gave Bayley flowers.  They did a good job of making this feel special with the post-match. 

    This really felt very close to, from an post-match atmosphere and setting, like a G-1 final or Arena Mexico Anniversary match.

  • WWE NXT TakeOver Respect preview: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks, Asuka’s debut, more!

    20 years ago, the WWF and WCW took their pay per view schedule from 5-7 a year to a monthly schedule. At the time, the worries were that they were watering down their product by running so many big shows and it would ultimately lead to fewer and fewer buys. In retrospectm bad booking by both companies led to their respective buyrates tumbling, but having 12-16 pay per views a year led to more throwaway shows and lackluster builds.

    For NXT, this is the shortest period of time between their major shows since they began last February. Going forward, we have TakeOver on December 16 and another one in February. After that, we have the pre-WrestleMania house show that may become a TakeOver special if everything goes well, Hopefully, I’ll be here in six months talking about the buzz for that show and not having the discussion about saturation that WWF/WCW had two decades ago.

    So what has changed for Bayley and Sasha Banks since Brooklyn?

    The NXT women’s match and title win did so much for Bayley’s career. She came out in Full Sail and was a bigger star thanks to it. On the other hand, it cemented Sasha Banks’ position as the best all around young female under contract. 

    Can Bayley and Sasha do better than they did in Brooklyn?

    How do you do better than the best women’s match of the year and, arguably, the best WWE match this year? If I trust any two people to do it, it’s these two ladies. They went 18:16 in a ****1/2 match and now have 11 more minutes to add that extra half star.

    If I have learned anything in the last 21 months since NXT Arrival it’s to stop doubting the women. I have learned to stop saying “It should be good, but….” Sasha and Bayley have proved that they deserve my confidence and yours. If WWE announced an IronMan match with the men, I would have the same reaction as Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez where they should just announce a regular match and have them go 30 minutes. Instead, I believe this will be the best IronMan Match in WWE history and if you doubt the abilities of these two ladies, re-watch the last five TakeOver women’s matches.

    Who is left in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic?

    After 16 teams, we have narrowed things down to four: two makeshift teams, the fastest rising heel team on NXT, and one duo that no one saw making it this far.

    When the brackets were first released for the tournament, I did some fantasy booking and assumed the final four would be Samoa Joe & Finn Balor vs Blake & Murphy, and Jason Jordan & Chad Gable vs Tomasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano. Needless to say, I am not an expert prognosticator. 

    NXT Champion Finn Balor and Samoa Joe are both coming off victories in Brooklyn, and began the next day with the simmering tension between the two. Taken off the excellent Triple H-Batista storyline from late-2004, this angle is being built with subtlety. Joe will gaze at Balor’s belt from time to time and tease tension. Obviously, this will lead to a heel turn and an eventual title match, but we will debate the “perfect” time to do it. They are the overwhelming favorites to win the tournament, since they are the only baby face team left and it would help set them up for their inevitable match. Chances of winning: 90%

    Baron Corbin & Rhyno were once enemies and squared off at TakeOver: Unstoppable in May, but they have since become allies and a good team at that. They always seem to be on the verge of breaking up, but I think this team is better off together right now than apart. Plus we always need new challengers for The Vaudevillains. They aren’t the in-ring workers Gable & Jordan are, but they are bigger names. Their chances of winning are based purely on if they want to do an angle post-match with Cody & Dustin Rhodes, who will be awarding the trophy. Chances of winning: 5%

    Chad Gable & Jason Jordan are an excellent team and are only getting better. Both men are great in the ring and have a natural cockiness about them. Their chemistry has improved and the team has gotten better now that Jordan’s only hang-up is saying “Ready, Willing & Gable”. The best match in the finals would be these two vs Joe & Balor, and this is NXT where potential match quality is a big deal at the Takeover specials. Likewise, they will only win the tournament if they want to do a post-match angle with the Rhodes’ brothers. Chances of winning: 5%

    Dash & Dawson have absolutely no chance in winning the tournament. None. Zero. There are three heel teams in the final four and they drew Joe & Balor in the semi-finals. This is both men’s first chance to have a big Takeover match and having a quality performance is what these two men need. Chances of winning: 0%

    What else is happening?

    The in ring debut of Asuka! I have never seen this young lady wrestle, but all it took was a smile to get me excited. I still believe the segment on Wednesday would have been much better had they not aired the video Dana Brooke got scared watching. However, with that out of the way, this match will go five minutes and set up Asuka for future matches with Emma and, eventually, Bayley. 

    Plus, Tyler Breeze will sports entertain with Apollo Crews in the mid-90’s ppv special. The build for this match was non-existent with a cameraman informing Breeze of this match. Breeze remains the most underrated wrestler on NXT and Crews needs to find an opponent to have a great match with. If these two get 10-13 minutes, this could be the second or third best match on the show.

    Where is Nia Jax?

    She got lost on the way to Full Sail. She hit the DuBurns Arena in Baltimore, the Davis Arena in Louisville, Center Stage in Atlanta and the Impact Zone in Orlando, but someone has pointed her in the right direction and will be here soon.

    I watch 3 hours of Raw, 2 hours of SmackDown, 2 hours of Impact, an hour of ROH and an hour of New Japan every week. Why should I watch this? 

    First of all, stop watching SmackDown. I have a great Doctor Who analogy, but this isn’t the time for it. 

    NXT TakeOver specials are the closest thing you can get to a sure thing in wrestling. They have produced seven specials going into this week and the worst one was still better than most wrestling PPVs the last two years. This show will go 2-2 ½ hours and it will fly by and leave you wanting more. When was the last time you said that about Raw? You will not feel like you have wasted your time with something that will happen again next week. 

    Are you finished yet?

    Yes! Now watch NXT TakeOver: Respect this Wednesday night at 8pm EST/7pm CST on the “Award Winning, Revolutionary WWE Network”!

  • WWE 24: NXT Brooklyn Recap: HHH, Bayley, Kevin Owens, and Finn Balor

    With NXT Takeover: Respect right around the corner, WWE is bringing back its WWE 24 series to chronicle the events of the Brooklyn Takeover show at the Barclays Center from the night before SummerSlam. The roster starts the special talking about how excited they are to have sold the building out under the NXT banner. HHH says they’ve taken what was developmental and are now selling out NYC. Hunter tells the NXT crew “holy f—ing sh-t!” and there’s no other way to describe the rise of NXT. Owens says he saw the rise and wanted to be a part of it. HHH says the goal of NXT is to be a platform for the roster to learn on and be more than just developmental. Matt Bloom describes NXT as punk rock and underground.

    Paige says it feels like an independent with less talking and more action. Charlotte says the new crew has no idea where they came from, and they talk about how poorly-run FCW was. Charlotte says some shows had only 9 fans. Seth puts over the Full Sail crowd as being their own thing, while Enzo says that fans reciting his promo is just a sign that they’ve been doing it at their own home. Corey puts over Blue Pants as being made entirely by the FS crowd, and she says she’s like the wacky neighbor in the sitcom – you don’t know when she’s going to show up.

    Fans pose with Samoa Joe while Bayley says the fans are able to connect with the wrestlers on a deeper level while one of the Ascension guys calls them the best fans in the world meeting them outside the building. We see clips of the initial NXT shows outside of Full Sail, while Byron says they expected Barclays to get maybe 7,000. For the second time, we see the HHH clip about them being developmental two years ago and selling out NXT. HHH tells the class that they’ll kick ass in NYC. We see some media appearances and a graphic notes it will be the final NXT show for Charlotte, Becky, Sasha, and Owens. Finn takes some photos with fans and says he had a great morning until he remembered he had a ladder match. He loves NXT and doesn’t ever want to leave it. Finn says he was determined to wrestle after seeing WWE and Bloom says he was determined to succeed no matter what and we see clips of the mini-doc they did on him earlier this year. F

    inn is amused by a locker room noting that he has dancers now. Owens says that he first met Balor in England before they came to NXT and now they’re having a match here. Owens says he drove to TLC in 2012 to see his friend Seth Rollins debut and he got emotional then, and now he’s main eventing NXT’s biggest show ever in the Barclays Center. Balor says it’s tough to not see his parents for months, but it’s part of the sacrifice. Sasha is amused that she now has bodyguards, and they’re apparently sharing a room with Stephen Amell here.

    Sasha says she’s excited because the fans bought tickets to see them and tears up thinking about the journey they’ve had. Sasha says she’s been watching since she was 10 and always wanted to be in WWE. She wanted to be the female Eddie Guerrero and we see photos of her notebook from 2005 where she went to Judgment Day and filled out pages on the card. Her mother knew she would get there and Sasha says she would always e-mail schools to train. She started in 2010, got signed by WWE in 2012, and now she’s on the main roster living her dream. She says she was 99 pounds when she started and opponents were scared to even touch her. She’s first cousins with Snoop Dogg, and noticed he was always called “boss”, so she took that for her character and liked the sound of “The Boss” Sasha Banks. Sasha says she’s nervous, but she’s got an NXT panel to go to now. Corey says they couldn’t sell tickets to save their lives in FCW and we see clips of Seth becoming the first NXT Champion with JR on commentary. It’s amusing to see him swing the title around here since he would later do that with the WWE Title at WrestleMania 31.

    HHH hypes up that WM 31 was a show with at least one guy in a match from NXT. Well, other than Brock vs. Taker and Sting vs. HHH. Sasha says she dreamt of having matches like the men, but as a kid, all she had to watch was stuff like bra and panties matches. Sasha says she was told to wrestle like a diva when she came in, but she wanted to fight. HHH said that he wanted them to be treated just like the men and Sasha says they all wanted to change for the future. Bayley says their goal is to have better matches each time out. Sara Amato says they’re all driven, while Becky says they all bring something different to the table and it allows them to compete without taking spots. HHH says that they’re about 30% where they want to go and gives Sasha a lot of credit for getting to that point and he puts Bayley over huge too. We see photos from Bayley’s youth of her posing with Bret and holding a pink-backed belt over her shoulder in another photo. One photo has her in a Rey shirt, while another shows her with Cena in his Ruck Fules shirt. 

    Bayley wrote a lot of poetry in school about wrestling. Bayley’s mother says she was determined to do well, and Bayley says she needs it all. She didn’t like being on camera, but loves how much she’s grown. Bayley says she’s basically either herself, or herself as a 10 year old now. Bayley hugs her fans and we see her recite another piece of writing from her youth while tearing up thinking about how much she loves wrestling. The actual document is shown and her teacher was quite happy with it. Bayley says she wants to have the best women’s match that anyone has ever seen. Six hours before the show, we see dress rehearsals for the entrances. Tyler says his is a tour of NYC.

    HHH tells Crews to slow down and take his time. Finn does his intro and we see Kevin Owens and his son Owen. Kevin asks if his son filled in for him and he said it shouldn’t be too hard – just walk and shake your head. Kevin says his son loves John Cena, so he had his wife record Owen’s reaction and we see the unbridaled joy of him seeing his dad going up against Cena.

    Becky Lynch is backstage looking at photos on her phone, including one with her mother when they were flight attendants. Becky’s excited for her parents to see catering. The look of sheer joy in Becky’s eyes is amazing here. Finn and his painter discuss the bodypaint idea. Finn says the paint helps him channel something within. Before he debuted it, his friend told him the paint was his worst idea yet – but it’s worked out great two years later. Bloom says the character is part of him and that’s why it works. Finn is upset with how the rehearsal went earlier. He’s prepared physically and mentally, and can rehearse, but he doesn’t know what to expect from the match since it’s his first ladder match. We see Kevin pass Vince’s office with a giant no smoking sign on it while Fill says Kevin is a master of ladder matches. Finn doesn’t know how to approach the match. 

    Showtime is nearing and Charlotte is getting her makeup done. Fans talk about how excited they are for NXT and we see more of it being the boutique indy that HHH has designed NXT to be. Corey says the difference in NXT is they don’t just put their divas in the main event – they are the main event. Becky’s mom says she’s cheering for Becky just to change the outcome tonight. It’s also the first time she’s seen Becky wrestle live. Ric Flair says he’s proud of what Charlotte has done in just two years.

    Bayley tears up a bit before her match, and HHH tells the crew their attitude needs to be “follow that”. Michael Hayes is is an astonishing getup. He has lavender pants and vest combo alongside a purple shirt underneath it, a WM 31 ballcap, and a black fanny pack. The roster makes their intros on the Takeover show and pre-show tapings. Becky and Charlotte come down while Ric watches their match on a monitor backstage. The Kliq, Rick Ruben, and Seth Rollins are shown in the crowd. Blue Pants’ intro gets over huge as does the Vaudevillians’ title win. Apollo Crews’ match is shown in highlight form and with his intensity, he comes off as almost like Goldberg. Bayley says she wants fans and the roster to say it’s the best women’s match they’ve seen. Sasha says they’ll have the greatest women’s match in NXT history. Bayley says that for every show, she peeks out to feel the crowd. In Brooklyn, she doesn’t need to – and we see the crowd imitating both her and the inflatable tube men.

    Sasha comes out and says she that she had to scream to let out emotion while in the Escalade. Sasha’s mom wipes a tear from her eye after the intro and we see clips of the match. The roster loses it seeing Bayley spike her head on the mat when Sasha held onto the buckle for the top rope rana. Bayley’s mom is in the crowd scared for her daughter. Top rope double knee spot is shown alongside the ring step big boot. Sasha’s dive over the ref is shown from the crowd’s perspective. All of the film footage here looks fantastic and gives things a different feel. Bayley’s scary reverse super rana is shown, then the belly to Bayley and the title win! WWE’s Four Horeswomen celebrate in the ring and they got a standing ovation backstage. Seth wipes a tear from his eye after it from the crowd. Cesaro says that kind of reaction is what wrestling is all about.

    Sasha tells a story that Bayley told her she didn’t want to go, and she didn’t want to. Sasha cries thinking about raising the four fingers up and now that era is over. Kevin Owens hugs Bayley and says that it’s a tough act to follow. Cesaro says the ladder match has the chance to be brutal, and that’s what you want in a ladder match. Fans are shown banging their heads to Kevin’s theme. Kevin hugs his son in the crowd and hugs Becky’s mom. Finn does his intro and says the only time they got it right was live – they tried and failed 30 times before. Owens slamming him on the ladder and then doing Finn’s pose is shown. Finn flips to the floor to regain control and then hits the double stomp, but eats the powerbomb while being pulled off the ladder. We get a beautiful shot of Finn doing his pose right before the double stomp off the ladder. He climbs up and grabs the title to win the match. Finn poses with HHH after the match backstage.

    Finn says he hopes Kevin leaves NXT and can now become an even bigger star on the main roster. Kevin says he did his best, but knows it could’ve been better. Finn says it’s just the start of a bright future for NXT. HHH says Dusty called the roster his NXT kids while everyone tells Dusty stories about how much he meant to them. Charlotte says that Bayley would be on top, and Dusty was right. Becky says she loves all the fans who love NXT while Blue Pants cries at the thought of reaching this point. The show closes to a Sinatra-style song set to NXT clips.

    *****

    This was a perfect time capsule for the growth of NXT, and it really felt like they’ve achieved their goal of making NXT what ECW was in the ’90s. It’s a place where international talent can be used nearly-perfectly in front of an audience that adores them already, while veterans can be given new life and stale talents can try something new and add new dimensions to their acts. There was a sense of sadness in the roster going from NXT to the main roster throughout this, and it wasn’t just due to the “last day of high school” feeling. It’s like Sasha knew this was the peak of her career in every major way, so she was going to savor every moment of it. She came off wonderfully here, as did both Becky and Bayley. Charlotte left no impression, while Kevin Owens came off as a hard-working guy who almost seems to realize he might’ve come here a bit late since he did his best, and didn’t feel it was good enough. WWE 24 has been hit or miss, but this was far better than expected and went into more depth than they usually do by just focusing on fewer people.