As has been expected, TNA officially announced that its three January shows in the U.K. will be television tapings for Impact.
Impact’s best shows of 2015 were the shows taped in the U.K. with the larger crowds that made the product seem more lively and major league like.
TNA announced that appearing at the tapings would be Grado, Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Ken Anderson, Tigre Uno, Mahabili Shera, GailKim, Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne, Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley, Matt Hardy,Ethan Carter III, Drew Galloway, Eric Young, Bobby Roode, Rockstar Spud,Taryn Terrell, Brooke, Robbie E and Mark Andrews.
The shows are 1/29 at the Manchester Arena; 1/30 in London at SSE Arena at Wembley and 1/31 in Birmingham at the Barclaycard Arena.
The Big Takeaway – More canned matches that were taped before the PPV and no follow-up from All-Star Extravanza more than two weeks after that show. The main event was one of the best TV matches in North America so far this year.
This show was taped from the Field of Honor event in Brooklyn on Summerslam weekend and took place in a Baseball stadium. Very cool visual. This also kept up the theme of ROH vs New Japan.
The Time Splitters (IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion Kushida/Alex Shelley) vs The Briscoes (Mark and Jay Briscoe)
Briscoes were in and out of the crowd during their entrance and when they did wide shots, you got a really good picture of how empty the stadium actually was but the main shot made it look like the place was packed. They also had the crowd miced really well. Prince Nana joined Kelly and Corino on commentary.
Early on the commentators were talking more about Adam Page and Jay Briscoe than anything in this match. Shelley and Kushida were kind of teasing dissension as at one point, Kushida had his back to the ring and was slamming Shelley’s arm against the ropes repeatedly with the idea that it was one of the Briscoes’ arm but Kushida didn’t know. Then Shelley had his back to the ring when Kushida was trying to make a tag. The announcers didn’t even reference any of this. Then just as quickly as all of that started, it was dropped and the Time Splitters were working together again.
Shelley took out Jay Briscoe with a jumping knee off the apron, which allowed Kushida to hit a moonsault press for a near three. They brawled in the ring for a bit. Jay recovered and was brawling on the outside with Shelley. Kushida locked in the Hoverboard lock on Mark, while Jay was still outside the ring but Jay made it in to make the save.
All four in the ring and Shelley stretched Jay out, while Kushida did the “You can’t see me” gesture to him and hit the sliding dropkick on him. Double running knees on Mark and then the Time Splitters hit a combination Superfly splash (Shelley) and standing Shooting Star Press (Kushida) on Mark but Briscoe kicked out at two. Shelley actually counted along with the ref and reacted the same as he did on the kickout.
Time Splitters were setting up a doubleteam Sliced Bread but Jay broke it up. Razor’s edge by Mark into a Diamond Cutter by Jay on Shelley only got a two count. Jay then hit a Jay Driller on Shelley for the win. The last five minutes were fun.
WINNERS – THE BRISCOES by pinfall
All four guys shook hands after the match. After a break, we got a gauntlet for a TV title match that was joined in progress with Cedric Alexander vs Watanabe. Alexander was laying cocky heel and wasted too much time, allowing Watanabe to roll away from a frog splash. He then hit a neckbreaer/Sunton splash for two.
Alexander hit a Death Valley Driver for 2. Alexanders hit a series of running dropkicks in the corner to fire up the crowd. This brought out Moose. The distraction allowed Watanabe to hit a German suplex and a Half Nelson Suplex. A headbutt, followed by a forearm smash and finally the STO got the pin for Watanabe, who will now get a TV title shot (and by “will get”, the match happened two weeks ago….more on this later).
Inside ROH was up next with Mandy Leon, sporting Jay Lethal’s new T-shirt. This week focused on the Adam Page/Jay Briscoe feud, complete with Page calling out Briscoe a couple months back when Briscoe wasn’t even there. Then we got the verbal exchange from them a couple weeks later, when Briscoe answered the challenge but BJ Whitmer wouldn’t accept. Then we got the match, which wasn’t really a match as much as a 3 on 1 attack at the hands of the Decade. This ended with Page hitting the Rampage onto a pile of chairs and setting up next week’s main event, which is a NO-DQ rematch of the two.
Main Event – Roderick Strong vs IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada (non-title)
Nigel replaced Nana on commentary. Okada was insanely over with this crowd, as they exploded on the opening notes of his entrance theme and chanted his name throughout the entrance. They did adhere to the Code of Honor prior to the match.
LETS GO RODDY/O-KA-DA chants before they even locked up. Strong got the better of things early on, leading in and out of the first commercial break, slowing down the match with mat work and submission set-up moves. Strong was very subtly acting like a heel, taunting Okada after hitting moves.
After about 10 minutes, they were brawling outside on the field and Strong suplexed Okada into the crowd, drawing a HOLY $hit chant from the crowd. Strong then hit a gourbuster onto the ring barricade and then went back into the ring to try and get a countdown win. Nigel criticized this strategy, saying he was giving Okada too much time to recover and should’ve stayed on him.
Okada made it back before the 20 count and Okada soon took control with a neckbreaker. They went back and forth for the next few minutes with both guys hitting moves but not going for covers. Crowd chants of THIS IS WRESTLING started up. Okada hit a standing dropkick onto Strong, who was on the top turnbuckle, to knock him out of the ring going into a second break.
Back from break and Strong hit a backbreaker onto the ring apron on Okada and then rolled him into the ring for a 2 count. Okada hit a shoulderbreaker and both guys were down in the centre of the ring. When they got back to their feet, they treaded forearm uppercuts and chops and Shelley got the better of it. Shelley set up for a superplex but Okada pushed him off the top. Shelley hit an enziguri on Okada, who was still on the top rope and then hit the Superplex but only got a 2.
Strong then locked in the Strong-hold (Boston Crab) in the center of the ring. Okada managed to make it to the ropes to break it up. Strong then hit a series of forearms and whipped Okada into the ropes but Okada hit the picture perfect dropkick to stop his momentum. Okada set up the Rainmaker but Strong powered out with a forearm smash and a series of jumping knees and then hit the Sick Kick for the near fall that everyone thought was the finish.
Crowd and the announcers were going nuts at this point. Okada then hit a tombstone piledriver but didn’t go for the cover. A second Tombstone and then the Rainmaker pose but again, Shelley powered out of it. German suplex by Okada and looked like he was going to go for a second but hit the Rainmaker instead, which was of course the finish.
WINNER – KAZUCHIKA OKADA by pinfall
Just an outstanding main event that would not be out of place as a PPV main event. They pushed that the rest of the card is available on the ROH as a VOD and that next week, we’ll get the TV title match between Jay Lethal and Watanabe.
Which brings me to a point that needs to be made here. This is now the third show since the PPV and there has been zero follow-up on any of the stuff from that show, which is a problem in 2015. The Adam Cole angle where he reunited with the Kingdom is something that they absolutely should be talking about by now. As well, one of the big selling features of the show was the angle between Dalton Castle and Silas Young and “the boys”. We should be seeing vignettes with Young trying to turn the boys into men by now. I would hope they’re coming but by the time they do, the match will be a couple months old. This is something they really need to work on if they hope to expand their fanbase. Bell to bell, they’re without a doubt the best company in North America, at least in terms of ones that have television but they need to update their presentation.
Wichita, Kansas: – Lenny Montana defeated David Sims to win the Heart of America Title (Title would be renamed Central States Title)
1962
Kansas City, Missouri: – Stan Neilson & Art Neilson defeated George Scott & Sandy Scott – Texas Death Match: Dick the Bruiser defeated The Sheik by countout
1975
Duluth, Minnesota: – Cage Match: Baron Von Raschke beat Billy Robinson – Pampero Firpo beat Buddy Wolff – Jimmy Valiant & Johnny Valiant beat Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell in 2 out of 3 falls
1978
Dallas, Texas: – Evelyn Stevens defeated The Fabulous Moolah for the NWA Women’s World Heavyweight Title
1986
Tampa, Florida: – Barry Windham defeated Outlaw Ron Bass to win the vacant Florida State Heavyweight Title
1990
Memphis, Tennessee: – Jerry Lawler won a 21-man tournament by defeating Austin Idol in the finals to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title
1991
Montgomery, Alabama: – The York Foundation (Terrance Taylor, Richard Morton, & Thomas Rich), managed by Alexandra York (Terri Runnels) defeated Dustin Rhodes, Tom Zenk, & Big Josh (Matt Borne) to win the WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Title
1993
Knoxville, Tennessee: – The Bullet defeated Killer Kyle – SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson fought Scott & Steve Armstrong to a no contest – SMW Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee defeated Tracy Smothers – Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Ray at w/ Jim Cornette) defeated Rick & Scott Steiner via disqualification
1994
Johnson City, Tennessee: – Boo Bradley defeated Lance Storm – Bruiser Bedlam defeated SMW Heavyweight Champion the Dirty White Boy via disqualification in a whipping match – SMW Tag Team Champions New Jack & Mustafa defeated Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson in a No DQ, no time-limit match
2001
Indianapolis, Indiana: – Steve Austin defeated Kurt Angle to win the WWF World Title – The Hardys defeated Booker T and Test to win the WCW Tag Team Titles
2006 – WWE Champion Booker T defeated Bobby Lashley, Batista and Fit Finlay to retain the title – Rey Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero in a falls count anywhere match
2009 – The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) defeated Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles – Team 3-D, Bubba and D-Von, defeated Togi Makabe and Toru Yano to win the IWGP Tag Titles
On Wednesday, the UFC announced two fights for their 12/19 big FOX show in Orlando, headlined by UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos against Donald Cerrone.
The first is the featherweight debut of Myles Jury as he drops down a weight class to face Charles Oliveira. Jury comes into his new division having gone 15-1 as a lightweight, his only loss coming at the hands of Cerrone in January. Oliveira was last seen awkwardly losing a first round affair against Max Holloway in Saskatoon, Canada, due to a freak torn esophagus injury that stopped the fight early.
Also announced was the UFC debut of Karolina Kowalkiewicz, a 7-0 fighter from Poland, against Randa Markos. Markos went to the semifinals in the TUF women’s strawweight title tournament, losing to eventual title challenger Jessica Penne. Markos last won a decision over Aisling Daly at UFC 186.
It’s a whole new season and Conor McGregor is the reason, as he and Urijah Faber go toe to toe as coaching foes on The Ultimate Fighter. They won’t duke it out after the season is done, but there’s still pride on the line, not to mention Conor’s reputation as the newest badass on the block.
Join us each episode for “The Notorious Quote of the Week” as Conor puts his mouth where UFC’s money is! We’ll also spice things up with some predictions for week two about who could go all the way this season – two “Fighters to Watch” for each recap.
The Notorious Quote of the Week is Conor McGregor at the bar: “Is this the menu? That’s it? Just give me everything – thanks.”
Marcin Wrzosek handed the U.S. team their first loss last week with a two round decision. Team Europe is going to try to capitalize by having Saul Rogers face Billy Quarantillo. Rogers is more experienced so UFC is promoting it as an “upset” if Quarantillo wins.
McGregor on why he picked Rogers: “I paid attention to whose energy is right, whose body is right, who’s ready to go.” He felt Saul was showing all the signs of being ready. Meanwhile at the house Tom Gallicchio makes no excuses for losing his fight last week. He admits he was beaten by the better man.
Saul Rogers talks about his two kids, and he says the one thing he hopes to impart to them is “Whatever you love doing stick with it” because that’s his approach to fighting. He also says he doesn’t make a game plan for opponents – he just tries to be as sharp as he can be for each opponent.
McGregor shows his team some takedown techniques, and says the position of the head when you’re clinched up is the key. Everybody’s happy with the drilling but apparently after the commercial break he takes them all out for SAKE BOMBS.
Billy Quarantillo talks about how he got hooked the first time he learned a submission, and that he feels like Rogers won’t want to stand and trade with him. Faber: “Billy has a lot of tenacity and he tries really hard, but his technique is far behind.” Faber gives him some personal instruction on how to move off his back and get good positions.
Martin Svensson and Mehdi Baghdad are both thrilled to be learning from the best fighter in the world. Going out for drinks turned out to be a c–ktease – nobody gets crazy. I have to be honest that 20 minutes into the show this isn’t a great episode.
Rogers and Quarantillo are my “Fighters to Watch” this week just because nobody else is standing out or doing noteworthy. Svensson may have had more lines than anybody else this episode but all he says is McGregor is great and Rogers is great. Yawn.
McGregor is teaching Team Europe more techniques for staying balanced on your feet when someone has your leg high in the air. Saul weighs in at 156. Quarantillo weighs in at 155 even. Both teams are equally confident in their man.
Finally something interesting is happening – Chris Gruetzemacher is starting to crack under the pressure of being on the show. He says he misses his coaches, his lifestyle, his ability to take time away FROM training when he wants. He’s saying he wants out in the worst way.
Lightweight: Saul Rogers (Europe) vs. Billy Quarantillo (USA)
Rogers is in the gray trunks, Quarantillo the blue. There are 22 minutes left so we’re in for at least two full rounds. Quanantillo’s first takedown is stuffed and Rogers is on top in half guard as it goes to the ground. Rogers hammers away with unchecked lefts to the head as he tries to get up, and nearly throws him back to the ground. Quarantillo is warned not to grab the fence. Rogers is on top again in half guard with 2 minutes gone and stands up to drop bombs, then he’s the one warned not to grab the fence. Rogers takes the back as they scramble and McGregor warns him not to rush and keep his position – but he does and winds up on top of Quarantillo as he tries to keep distance with butterfly guard. Rogers finally pushes his way back into full guard and almost finishes R1 in side but Quarantillo gets back up right before the bell. 10-9 Rogers.
Rogers has a takedown 21 seconds into R2. Quarantillo is warned about fingers in his face. He tries to heel hook Rogers but Rogers just gets back on top in guard. I don’t feel like we’re going to a third round unless Quarantillo does something crazy… and soon. Rogers takes his back halfway through the round, Quarantillo stands up off it, and Rogers takes him right back down. He’s got side at 3:15. Rogers is really pouring it on with hammers and elbows against the fence with 30 seconds left. Quarantillo never did anything.
Dana White: “He manhandled Billy. He showed he’s one of the favorites to win this thing.”
20-16, 20-17 and 20-17 all for Saul Rogers. McGregor announces Mehdi Baghdad (Europe) vs. Julian Erosa (U.S.) as his pick. Join us next week!
Last week, TNA delivered a fairly dreadful TV show and an okay PPV. Matt Hardy won the world title by beating Drew Galloway, but vacated it the next day due to an “injunction” by EC3. Today, TNA announced the TNA World Title Series – a tournament to determine a new champion. A BFG recap video starts the show. The story of this match is that Drew did all the work, but thanks to his brother’s cheapshot, Matt got the win. Josh and Pope are in front of a green screen.
We see EC3 push Big John and then him announcing the injunction, and then Matt vacating the title. Matt’s living room at least has better lighting than Impact. Matt, the babyface, complains a lot and says that he proved EC3 is scared of him because he beat him. Actually no, you beat Drew. Matt says that he’ll win the title again, and we see Dixie and William Corgan announce the World Title Series. Corgan says that since he’s come on board, they have clarified their titles. So what does the King of the Mountain Title accomplish again? Josh says “Thanks Dixie” as if she was speaking to him, which was weird. Josh describes it as a 32 man tournament spread across four groups, and Pope tells fans to go to Twitter and brag about it. Josh says that #MattForChamp has been a thing for nearly a year. A year, a couple of months – same thing. We then get a series of graphics explaining this whole thing. This is so confusing. Group UK, Group Wildcard, Group Knockouts, Group Champions will go at it. Drew faces Bram, and we hear from Drew about this match and says that title shots come and go, but he’ll get his destiny – the TNA World Title. This got the show 14 minutes closer to the grave.
Bram is mid-ring before Drew comes down. Josh says that Drew should be happy for this series, and if you missed BFG, you can get it via your PPV provider now. Why would anyone do that? They already showed you the highlights of the main event and made the main event’s result meaningless. Bram and Drew butt heads and Josh agrees with Pope that lawyers belong in an office after just saying that EC3 did the right thing by getting lawyers involved.
We get some weird cut-in with Bram and Drew engaging in a full conversation while this action is going on. Bram hates him for getting to the U.S. before him. Drew eats a steel steps shot. Bram gets a chinlock, but Drew chops away. Drew bumps beautifully into the corner. Drew lands some nice punches and gets a slam. Bram goes to the floor and two fans hold Bram so he can chop Bram. Drew bounces his head off the steps a bunch and back suplexes him onto the apron. Sick kick hits for the win. A graphic shows that Drew has three points now and we see a graphical breakdown of the point totals. Grado faces Spud later. Gail says that TNA has always been a place that women can succeed, and she can now be World Heavyweight Champion. She faces Brooke next.
Recap of the Sick kick to Bram. Drew says that he won because he had a strategy, and he calls it a war. I like them doing post-match interviews – between that and the pre-match stuff, it should in theory make matches seem more important. Brooke comes out to face Gail. Gail doesn’t have her title, stated by Pope because this isn’t a Knockouts title match. Josh says Christmas is three months away, so if you’re shopping for Josh, you’ve got some extra time to get him something. Gail cuts a heelish promo on Brooke about creating this division while Brooke says she’s a three time champ. Brooke takes a scary bump off a monkey flip from Gail. A cradle exchange gets 2.
Brooke gets a pop-up lariat and she sends Gail to the floor. Brooke drop toeholds her down and gets a bizarre version of the Cattle Mutilation. Gail locks on a weird leglock and breaks it up. Brooke shoves Gail on her face during Eat Defeat. They exchange forearms, but Brooke gets the upper hand with a lariat. Super X factor hits and Brooke goes up top for the flying elbow. Brooke misses and Gail sweeps the leg and gets a ringpost figure four. Gail goes for Eat Defeat, but Brooke counters it, so Gail goes for a figure four and she gets small packaged for the loss! Brooke advances in a very good match. EC3 talks about the World Title Series and says it’s the EC3 Screwjob Series. EC3 says that Aries is back just because the title is on the line, and the story is now that Aries voluntarily left and didn’t leave due to a loss. Josh talks about the knockouts match and we see Spud coming to the ring while they talk over his intro. They do it for Grado too, and it’s really weird to see.
Grado hits a belly bump to gain an early advantage. We get match audio while they play Grado’s promo on Spud, which is nearly impossible to understand because there’s so much noise going on. Grado misses the corner cannonball while Josh plugs the company’s next UK events. Spud gets his corner forearm series and a dropkick to the face. Grado hits possibly the worst Pedigree in recorded history for 2. Grado pulls the straps and gets an ankle lock, but Spud escapes. Spud hits a Stinger splash and a bulldog before hitting the world’s worst worm for 2. Grado goes for a People’s Elbow, but he blows up hitting the ropes too much. He hits it and gets 2. Grado goes for a Styles Clash, but Spud backdrops him. Spud does Taker’s throat slit, hits a chokeslam and crosses the arms for 2. Spud goes for an AA, but Grado counters with an elbow and goes for sweet chin music. Spud grabs the foot and hits a stunner ala WM XIV and the Dudley Dog for the win. This was bizarre and made TNA look so second-rate. It would be bad enough for a joke title tournament like the Beer Drinking Title, but this is for the World Title.
Pope and Josh talk about Group Champions, resulting in more shilling of EC3 by Josh. Josh hypes up Tyrus winning the Bound For Gold match and we hear from him for a second. He appears to have aged a decade since BFG and says that if EC3 wins, things will get interesting. EC3 is out to face Aries. Josh says that EC3 is still unpinned, which is true. Aries comes out with Thea Trinidad and Josh mocks nerds who point out that Aries lost a loser leaves town match. He’s back because he’s the smartest wrestler in the world and Josh says that Thea was once known as Rosita in TNA.
Aries and EC3 go to a stalemate while Josh talks about how brilliant EC3 was to get lawyers involved. EC3 says in his “roundtable” that he is the greatest living wrestler alive, and Aries says that EC3 will just hide behind Tyrus. Aries ducks down and gets a slick armdrag. Aries does a handstand into a dropkick, but EC3 avoids a pendulum elbow. Aries gets a big running elbow and sends EC3 to the steps, where he gets a series of punches almost like he’s in the corner with him. Tyrus looks at Thea, and Aries dives onto Tyrus and EC3 sends him to the floor for an ad break.
EC3 has Aries in a chinlock and sends him down to the mat for 2. Aries and EC3 are down to 5 minutes, and if they go to a draw, they’ll have one point each. Aries smashes EC3’s head on the buckles and hits a neckbreaker on the apron. A suicide dive hits EC3. Aries gets a missile dropkick, but EC3 gets the boot up before he can take a dropkick. Aries gets a discus elbow for 2. EC3 gets a TKO for 2. EC3 misses a Stinger splash and eats the corner dropkick. EC3 lands a pair of shoulder blocks and goes up for a superplex, but he gets his ears boxed and eats a 450 for 2.5. Boo/yay punch exchange leads to a Tyrus trip. EC3 gets a Rampage powerbomb for 2. Thea trips EC3 up and Aries gets a schoolboy into a Last Chancery. With under a minute to go, EC3 gets to the rope. Aries avoids the One Percenter, but eats an elbow and Aries goes for some PRIDE-style knees right as the time limit expires. This was much better than the BFG main event and a fantastic showcase for Aries. It’s a draw, so each man gets 1 point. EC3 jumps Aries, but still eats a brainbuster – they really made Aries look strong here. Pope says that each man getting one point is like them getting zero. No, by definition, it isn’t.
Anderson says that he’s part of the toughest group since they’re all former World Champions – I like that he’s putting the title over a lot here. He cut a nice serious promo here and didn’t come off like a goofball. Madison Rayne faces Awesome Kong next. Josh plugs every house show without taking a breath. Aries talks smack about EC3 – he beat legends, icons, and Hall of Famers – but he couldn’t beat Austin Aries. Aries just put himself over their former world champion marvelously. Kong goes for a powerbomb right away, which Pope calls the Implant Buster. He says that Kong is both Awesome and Amazing. shocked he didn’t say she has great karma too.
Madison says she’s a bit underutilized, but she will win. Kong says the seas boil with her rage and the tide is coming. Kong rams Rayne into the corner and clubs away. Kong goes a torture rack and turns it into a facebuster before missing a splash and Rayne gets an Oklahoma roll for 2. Rayne gets an enzuiguri and Kong goes down off a missile dropkick for 2. Kong gets a spinning backfist and an Implant Buster for the win. Lashley says he’s used to going against the unknown and it makes this even special. Okay then. Matt Hardy has an exclusive interview next.
JB interviews Matt backstage and he says that his goal was to be the World Champion. His wife, his son, and 82 year old dad were in the ring with him. It was a happy fairy tale ending, but because Jeff hit EC3, EC3 handcuffed TNA and Matt. Matt says that the only thing he could do to keep wrestling in TNA was forfeit the title. Matt has thrown his name into the hat for this. So to recap, the World Title Series was created due to Matt vs. EC3, and now we’ll get a scenario for another Matt vs. EC3 match. We get a recap of who is in the lead for each division.
Anderson gets a partial intro while Lashley gets a full entrance. We see a recap of Lashley’s first World title win against EY – back when TNA had a well-lit building with some excitement in it back in the salad days of 2014. Lashley gets a rolling front facelock and we get an ad break when it’s broken up. After a very long break, Lashley gets a double overhook suplex and hits a lariat. Lashley and Ken put each other over very briefly in their roundtable. We actually see the table for the first time, and it is indeed round. Lashley gets a delayed suplex, but misses a corner charge and Ken gets 2.
Pope says he fully expects Ken Anderson to cheat based on his past. I like Pope using logic in all this to tell a story that could be told, but doesn’t really need to be told. Anderson stops short while Lashley goes for a leapfrog and he gets a dropkick before going back to the arm that Lashley smacked into the post. Ken gets a couple of kicks and a divorce court for 2. Pope puts over that Anderson has “ruthless aggression”, a phrase that no one in wrestling outside of WWE has ever used. Lashley gets a lariat and hits another in the corner. Anderosn punches his way out of a torture rack, but eats a spinebuster. Anderson leaps over the spear and gets a couple of lariats. Anderson gets the Finlay Roll, a second, and gets a TKO for 2. Lashley charges in and eats a boot, but he gets the spear and the win.
Well, this show started off about as poorly as possible. However, after that point, it was a rock solid show in the ring outside of the Spud-Grado match. Every single match was worth watching and several of them were quite good. Match-wise, it was a better show than the PPV, and it wound up turning what seemed like an awful idea into a great one so far in terms of delivering great matches. Week one shows the concept can work, but the real key is the follow-up – if TNA can keep this up, then they can at least have the illusion of having momentum before shopping around for a new network deal in 2016.
Show notes for tonight: NXT TakeOver: Respect airs live on WWE Network at 8:00 p.m. ET (pre-show at 7:30 p.m. ET) with Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks in a 30 Minute Iron Man Match or the NXT Women’s Championship, Finn Bálor & Samoa Joe vs. Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semifinal, Jason Jordan & Chad Gable vs. Baron Corbin & Rhyno in the other Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semifinal, the tournament final, Asuka vs. Dana Brooke. and Apollo Crews vs. Tyler Breeze.
UFC Tonight airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1
A rerun of last week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter airs at 9:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 and it’s titld “A Faithless Foe.” It has Connor McGregor lecturing the fighter who lost last week, a Team Faber fighter skipping practice, and more
Impact Wrestling at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Destination America is the the first show where we don’t really know what will air because it will consist of the “non-storyline” matches shot at the last set of tapings. Officially, this is the start of the “World Title Series” to determine a new champion in light of Matt Hardy vacating the title to render Ethan Carter III’s injunction moot. Your mileage may vary as to whether or not this was planned all along, especially considering they announced that some of the Knockouts will be participating.
The Ultimate Fighter at 10:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 is titled “Just Do Something.” The fighters spend a night out relaxing with their coaches.
ROH at 11:00 p.m. ET on Destination America is loaded, withThe Time Splitters vs. The Briscoes and Kazuchika Okada vs. Roderick Strong.
The newest issue of Figure Four Weekly is now up for subscribers (subscribe to the site here and get access to Figure Four, the Observer, tons of audio, and more) featuring details on all facets of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, including a better understanding of Gawker’s defense, what else the judge has sealed to protect Hogan, and more. On top of that, we have all the usual stuff like Vinny’s reviews and international news.
The recent FREEFigure Four Weekly is still up with a look at the crazy story of why Gawker thinks the FBI may have helped Hulk Hogan cover up his racist and homophobic comments. A judge has ordered the FBI to turn over the records of their investigation, and what Gawker is saying in court about what has and hasn’t been turned over paints a very interesting picture.
Also, now available for the first time on Kindle (meaning Kindle devices and anything with the Kindle app) is Fall Guys, the seminal 1937 book that has been described as being like the 1930s version of the Wrestling Observer. It was surprisingly not on Kindle already, so we put together a nice version with a full table of contents w/ chapter marks, proper formatting on everything, etc. Right now it’s available from the American, Canadian, and Australian Amazon/Kindle stores OR you can also buy it from anywhere in the world on PayHip, who will provide you with both Kindle and ePub (every other e-reader) format files, and you can either sideload them to your device or have them email it to your Kindle.
****
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
If you saw the JBL interview with Eric Bischoff, or even if you didn’t, we have what is already one of the most talked about and praised issues of the Wrestling Observer this year up on the site right now. The main theme is fact vs. fiction, covering both the WWE historical view of the Monday Night Wars and the Eric Bischoff version, going through every point and cutting through things like outright B.S., faulty memories and interesting truths.
The new double issue also covers SummerSlam in Brooklyn, the real story behind the UFC announcing a show in Madison Square Garden, Jon Jones’ legal punishment and future, coverage of both of the New Japan PPV shows this past week as well as a look at their direction as they build toward King of Pro Wrestling and later, the Tokyo Dome show, UFC in Japan and a look at that business, the retirement of Rich Franklin, a Hall of Famer running for Mayor, the retirement show of Genichiro Tenryu, more concerning drug testing questions, SummerSlam PPV numbers and what we can learn from them, as well as the death of German legend Axel Dieter Sr.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer
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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
We look at Eric Bischoff and his role, both good and bad, in what the pro wrestling industry has turned into. We look at the WCW boom, the creation of Nitro, the early war, the NWO era, the peak and the fall of WCW.
We look at the mistakes made, the fall of WCW, the emergence of Bill Goldberg, the real origination of the streak idea, We look at the rapid decline of the company and why. We look at how and when things went down, as well as why, how history shows the merger excuse doesn’t hold water, the complete b.s. of the WWE’s Monday Night War narrative. We look at the dying days of WCW and Eric Bischoff’s plan he never got a chance to implement.
We look at Eric Bischoff’s background, how he got into wrestling, his first meeting with Verne Gagne, his WWF tryout as an announcer, his connection with Japan, the unique case of Sonny Onoo, and the death of the AWA.
We look at the sale of Georgia Championship Wrestling, Vince McMahon’s one-year run on TBS and problems with Ted Turner, where Bill Watts fit into the scene then, and the scene prior to the launch of Nitro.
We look at WCW before Bischoff got power, what really happened with Jim Ross and WCW, , moves by Bill Watts, . We look at the first Nitro, the real story behind Lex Luger, what Lex Luger really got, what really happened in WCW with HHH and Mick Foley, Foley getting into WWF, the story behind Bischoff’s firing of Steve Austin, the cruiserweight division and its double-edge sword, what was the point of no return, the Montreal screw job and why so many, even in wrestling, missed key points in that story, Mike Tyson at WrestleMania, Kevin Nash as a booker, DX invades Nitro and the Bischoff vs. McMahon challenge to a fist fight and the story behind the PPV that went 30 minutes over.
In the UFC Madison Square Garden announcement, we look at the thought process behind the strategy.
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The defense and prosecution in the Jimmy Snuka case agreed to skip a preliminary hearing and go straight to trial today, with the defense getting all of the grand jury transcripts as part of the deal. Snuka’s lawyer described a potential preliminary hearing as a “sham” because the prosecution was going to have one investigator recount what was heard in front of the grand jury, arguing it would be hearsay. Anyway, with Snuka about to undergo chemotherapy, it’s in everyone’s best interests to move quickly. Snuka’s lawyer had one of the most unfortunate gaffe’s you’ll come across in something like this, saying that, with regards to his client, “he’d like to leave this world knowing that he’s an innocent man, not whatever you think he’s guilty.” So he doesn’t know now?
Marcos Galvao’s Bellator Bantamweight Championship defense against Eduardo Dantas has been postponed due to Dantas suffering a rib injury.
World Series of Fighting has officially announced their one night lightweight tournament for WSOF 25 on November 20th in Phoenix, Arizona. The fighters in the tournament will be Luis “Baboon” Palomino, Brian Foster, Mike Ricci, Islam Mamedov, Brian “The Bandit” Cobb, Jorge “Macaco” Patino, Joao “The Brazilian Samurai” Zeferino and Rich Patishnock.
News from Kris Zellner’s Lucha Report (fullly illustrated version with results and lineups available here):
ALL ELITE has changed their name to LUCHA LIBRE ELITE and they also announced that they are running Arena Mexico on 10/25.
Former EMLL performer Héctor Picasso Martínez aka Guerrero Negro Jr. was shot twice early Monday morning from someone who was driving past him and he was hit twice out of the six shots fired. He was with his girlfriend at the time and she was able to drive him to the hospital where he was classified to be in stable condition but delicate.
Shimmer’s 10th anniversary events take place on Saturday & Sunday, October 10th & 11th, at the Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 26th Street) in Berwyn, IL. Bell time on Saturday, October 10th is 10:00am (doors at 9:30am). Bell time on Sunday, October 11th is 12:00pm (doors at 11:30am). Volumes 76-79 of the SHIMMER series will be filmed during the course of the weekend, with two full DVDs worth of live matches each day.
Choker has a show this Saturday, October 10th, 2015 @ 7:00 p.m.live at St. Joseph’s School, 56 Oak Terrace, Haverhill, MA 01832.
If you missed it, Bill Apter’s book was released earky and is now available on Kindle as well as in paperback. Really enjoy what I’ve read of the book so far. It’s supposed to be a “bathroom read” with chapters you can read in any order.
WWE’s next home video release is Sting: Into the Light on DVD and Blu-Ray, which comes out this coming Tuesday and is available for pre-order.
According to a press release sent yesterday, season 5 of Total Divas has already begun production. The cast for this upcoming season are the Bella Twins, Eva Marie, Alicia Fox, Paige, Rosa Mendes and Amanda Saccomanno, the finalist of this season’s Tough Enough who will be going under the name Mandy.
1957 Wichita, Kansas: – Richard Brown defeated Red Berry to win the NWA Central States Title
1959 Mobile, Alabama: – Lee Fields defeated The Mighty Yankee to win the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title
1960 St. Joseph, Missouri: – Sonny Myers beat Bob Orton in 2 out of 3 falls to earn a title shot against NWA World Champion Pat O’Conner
1964 – Chin Lee defeated Silento Rodriguez for the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title
1965 Kansas City, Kansas: – Bobo Brazil beat Bob Brown 2 falls to 1 – Mongolian Stomper beat Bob Geigel 2 falls to 1 – Cowboy Bob Ellis beat Bulldog Plechas
Denver, Colorado: – Dick the Bruiser beat Larry Hennig – Wilbur Snyder beat Harley Race dq – Chris Markoff beat Eddie Sharkey – Mighty Igor Vodik beat Lorenzo Parente – Tim Woods beat Ivan Kalmikoff
1967 Omaha, Nebraska: – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Bob Orton – Midwest Tag Title Match, AWA Tag Titles not on the line: Midwest Tag Team Champions Doug Gilbert & Reggie Parks beat AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race – Fabulous Moolah beat Princess Little Cloud – Bob Ellis beat Bob Geigel – Mike DiBiase beat Bob Boyer
1972 Chicago, Illinois: – AWA Tag Team Champions Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens beat Andre Rousimoff (Andre the Giant) & Dr X – Wahoo McDaniel beat Larry Hennig
1979 Macon, Georgia: – Tommy Rich defeated Killer Karl Kox to win the Macon Heavyweight title
1981 Seattle, Washington: – King Parsons defeated Gene Kiniski by disqualification – Buddy Rose defeated Matt Borne
1984 Chicago, Illinois: – Dick The Bruiser & The Crusher & Baron Von Raschke beat Road Warriors & Paul Ellering – King Kong Brody drew Jerry Blackwell – Nick Bockwinkel beat Tony Atlas dq – Fabulous Ones beat Mr. Saito & Billy Robinson – Jim Brunzell beat Larry Zbyszko
1985 Memphis, Tennessee: – Harley Race beat Koko Ware to win the NWA Mid-America Title – CWA International Champ The Mongolian Stomper beat Phil Hickerson – Jerry Lawler fought Bill Dundee to a no contest
1989 Bayamon, Puerto Rico: – Invader #1 defeated Ivan Koloff in a Russian Chain Match to win the WWC Puerto Rican Heavyweight Title – Caros Colon defeated Steve Strong in a Barbed Wire Cage match to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title – Cuban Assassin & Jerry Morrow defeated Miguel Peres, Jr. & Hurricane Castillo, Jr. for the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Title – Chris & Mark Youngblood defeated Rip Oliver & Abdhuadein to win the WWC World Tag Team Title
1990 Tokyo, Japan: – Manami Toyota defeated Bison Kimura in a tournament final for the All Japan Pacific Title
1991 Memphis, Tennessee: – Dutch Mantell & Tony Anthony beat Eric Embry & Tom Prichard via DQ – Jeff Jarrett & Robert Fuller beat The Texas Outlaws (Doug Vines & Jeff Sword) to win the USWA Tag Team championship – USWA Unified Champ Jerry Lawler beat GWF TV Champ Eddie Gilbert via DQ – Jeff Jarrett & Robert Fuller fought Eric Embry & Tom Prichard to a no contest in a lights out match
1993 Hazard, Kentucky: – SMW Tag Team Champions Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson fought Scott & Steve Armstrong to a no contest – SMW Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee defeated Tracy Smothers – Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Ray via disqualification
1995 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: – Raven & Stevie Richards defeated The Pitbulls to win the ECW World Tag Team Champions – Psicosis defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. in 2 out of 3 falls match – ECW TV Champion 2 Cold Scorpio defeated JT Smith – ECW World Heavyweight Champion The Sandman defeated Mikey Whipwreck to retain the title
2007 Chicago, Illinois: – Triple H defeated Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship – Randy Orton defeated Triple H to regain the WWE Championship in a rematch later in the show – Beth Phoenix defeated Candice Michelle to win the Diva’s Championship
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”!
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.
