They’re showing videos before the show starts. Every time time Roman Reigns is show, he got booed.
– No Way Jose beat Angelo Dawkins in a fun opener
– Elias Samson vs. Andrade Cien Almas ended when Samson legit hurt his ankle. The ref stopped the match, but Almas refused to have his arm raised. Samson got a supportive “Drifter” chant from the fans as he was being led out.
– Tye Dillinger beat Tino Sabatelli in a decent match. Tino seemed nervous, but looked okay.
– NXT Tag Champions American Alpha beat The Revival to retain. Great, great match, and exactly what you’d expect from these guys. Gable and Jordan got huge pops for everything they did.
– Nakamura vs. Buddy Murphy was after intermission. Nakamura got an absolutely deafening reaction when he came out. The match was good as Murphy is underrated. Nakamura won with the Kinshasa.
– Carmella and Bayley beat Peyton Royce & Darla. Fun match, but not much to it. Bayley was very over.
– NXT Champion Samoa joe beat Finn Balor. Good match, ended with Joe pinning Balor with his feet on the ropes. Balor sent Joe packing afterward to send the crowd home happy.
The Big News: One week before TakeOver, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe had a heated backstage interview.
The Medium News: In their first bit of physicality, Nia Jax laid out Asuka with a power bomb.
The Little Beaver Sized News: The Revival got punked out at the beginning of the show, lost the main event, and then got punked out by American Alpha.
The show started with the former NXT tag champs The Revival coming out for a promo. Next Wednesday at NXT TakeOver: The End ,they will challenge the current champions American Alpha.
Dash and Dawson say that they will be the first ever 2-time tag champions. Dawson called Gable & Jordan excellent amateur wrestlers, but they are great professionals. When The Revival win, Jordan & Gable can go wipe their tears away as the new champs celebrate.
This brought out Tomasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano. Ciampa said that the entire crowd knows AA is better than them, and they can’t even beat Gargano and Ciampa. Revival laughed at this and called the interrupting duo “undersized bearded guys” and “good hands”, which was pointed out that that is a criticism about The Revival.
Dawson told them to go back to wrestling in bingo halls, while Ciampa brought up them losing in Dallas. Dash told Gargano & Ciampa to come bother them when they have actually accomplished anything. The Revival started walking away when Gargano mocked them. The #1 contenders got back in the ring…and immediately got dropkicked right out of it!
As Revival retreated, they challenged Gargano & Ciampa for tonight.
******
Shinsuke Nakamura did a promo for his match with Austin Aries at TakeOver. He said Aries will bow down to the King of Strong Style.
******
Tye Dillinger pinned Buddy Murphy
It is time for the Perfect 10, and it is also time for Murphy to get his first name back! He lost his manager and his tag team partner, but at least he is facing NXT’s most pushed jobber. Dillinger has won two tv matches as the Perfect 10 up to this point.
The fans were not into Murphy at all and it seemed the only thing they cared about in regards to Dillinger was chanting 10. Tye finished Murphy off with a Fireman’s Carry, but slamming the back of Murphy’s head on his exposed knee which looked close enough to an AA.
******
We had a sit down interview with Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, moderated by Corey Graves.
Balor said he worked for so long at becoming NXT Champion that he didn’t expect the walls to come crumbling down in Lowell, Massachusetts. Joe countered by saying he finally got what he deserved. Joe had to jump through ridiculous hoops (which to an extent he did). Balor said Joe came in with a sense of entitlement and there are 100 guys in the Performance Center who deserve a title shot ahead of him.
Joe scoffed at that and brought up everything starting last August with Finn asking Joe to be his partner in the Dusty Classic and then not saying anything when William Regal wouldn’t give him a title shot afterwards. Balor tried bringing up that they knew each other for a decade, and Joe brought that up and continued to ask why he had to do all these things to get title shots.
Balor noted this is his first ever cage match, but his first ever ladder match was TakeOver:Brooklyn when he beat Kevin Owens. Joe said he would have beaten Balor in Dallas, but they kept having doctors pull him off, giving Finn a chance to recover.
Graves brought up Balor being the future and Balor said he is living in the now, living in the present, and he wants that championship belt. Joe said this is about showing people their place and he will show Balor his place. Graves tried to wrap it up which caused champion and challenger to stand up and go face to face one last time.
This was an excellent segment.
******
Austin Aries submitted Elias Sampson
Aries is 7 days away from a match with Shinsuke Nakamura, a man who defeated The Drifter about a month ago. Sampson has been a lot more aggressive in the ring lately. It helps that he’s been doing so many house show matches with the likes of Nakamura and Balor.
Aries looked good here as well (I know, what a shock) and won with the NXT debut of the Last Chancery. After the match, Aries cut a promo saying that after next week, he will show the spotlight should shine on him.
******
The same video package as last week aired to build up the impending debut of Andrade Cien Almas, which will take place next week at TakeOver.
Johnny Gargano & Tomasso Ciampa defeated The Revival
This is the main event wrestling match. They note that The Revival is trying to become the first ever 2-time tag champs. However, Neville is a 2-time champion, teaming with Oliver Grey and then the aforementioned Graves. The announcers spent most of this match discussing the tag team title match at TakeOver.
The heels cheated to get the heat on Ciampa. Ciampa and Gargano were running wild on the #1 contenders. However, Dawson attacked Ciampa behind the referee’s back when Dash was the legal man. Dash and Dawson do an excellent job of playing defense and giving their opponents so many hope spots on getting the hot tag, so the opponents always make the tag at the best possible time.
Gargano got the hot tag and looked great until he got dropped with a DDT. The finish showed that somebody has been watching The Wrestling Classic recently. In a page right out of Randy Savage vs. Dynamite Kid, Scott Dawson gave Gargano a Superplex, but Gargano tied up Dawson for the pin!
After the match, Revival took out their frustrations on the men that beat them, including giving Gargano the Shatter Machine. They went to break Gargano’s leg, but American Alpha ran in for the save.
******
Next week is NXT TakeOver: The End, featuring…
Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor for the NXT Championship in a Steel Cage Match
Asuka vs Nia Jax for the NXT Women’s Championship
Austin Aries vs Shinsuke Nakamura
American Alpha vs The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Championship
Andrade Almas debuts
That is a lot of A names, eh?
******
The final segment of the show was the official contract signing for the Women’s Championship match next Wednesday.
Nia Jax spoke first, mocking Asuka because all she has done is kick a few girls in the head and while Asuka beat Bayley, Nia broke Bayley. Unlike all the other girls, Nia is the future and is not scared of Asuka.
Asuka said Nia talks too much and if she’s not afraid of Asuka, she should be. Nia pushed her away, so Asuka began throwing punches and kicks. However, Nia caught one of her kicks, lifted Asuka in the air, and planted her with a power bomb!
That is it for this week. Thank you for reading and remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
I’m here in Lakeland, FL, with a sold out house of approximately 350.
– No Way Jose beat Hugo Knox
Jose was frustrating Knox with his dance moves before catching Knox with the fiesta fireball and the half nelson slam for the win.
– Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton beat TM61
The heels kept control over the faster face team. There were a few impressive hope spots, but the big men were able to hit a double team finish for the win. It started as somewhat of an assisted DDT yet went in to a back suplex of sorts.
– Tino Sabbatelli beat Patrick Clarke
Very impressive showing by Tino early on showing off his athletic ability with leapfrogs and dropkicks. He hit a crossbody and for the finish, he used a new maneuver similar to what Big Show has used in the past: a reverse DDT position before turning and driving him down with an elbow.
– NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat The Authors Of Pain
The match built to the always impressive Jordan hot tag where he even suplexed the big men. Spear, dropkick, and the assisted suplex with Gable for the win.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka beat Alexa Bliss
This was a very good match as Bliss continues to elevate herself in the ring. Asuka would get the advantage, yet would get cut off at every turn by the ever aggressive Bliss. Asuka Lock for the win.
– Bayley and Liv Morgan beat Nikki Storm and Lana
Fun match. Lana worked the crowd before the match, saying how this small town shows her how far she’s come. At one point, Bayley set up Nikki for a middle rope hangsman stunner. Lana avoided as much contact as possible and let Nikki take the punishment. Once Lana was knocked off the apron, there was a Belly To Bayley on Nikki for the win.
– Andrade cien Almas beat Elias Samson
Pre-match song by Drifter was booed down and led to a big reaction for Andrade. Teased dive by Andrade in to the tranquilo taunt for a big reaction. Drifter’s offense consisted of headlocks and simple slams. Manny got fired up and hit the running corner knees for the win.
– In-ring segment with Buddy Murphy saying and singing that he wants Alexa back, even saying she’s a ten…which leads to Tye Dillinger interruptiing and superkicking him out of the ring.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe beat Tye Dillinger
Very good match as expected. Joe put a beating on Tye throughout the match, but Tye would kick out for convincing near falls and even escaped the Koji clutch. Joe was really laying in chops on Tye. Joe hit all his signature stuff before setting up the muscle buster for the win.
The Big News: Austin Aries will face Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT TakeOver: The End
The Medium News: Nia Jax won a Triple Threat match and will now face Asuka for the Women’s Championship, also at Takeover.
The Little Beaver Sized News: TMDK debuted, changed their name to TM61 and, shockingly, lost their debut.
Welcome to the only article you’ll read today that has absolutely nothing to do with the Brand Extension! However if you read this, you will probably become familiar with some of the future guys and girls of Raw and Smackdown.
*******
The show kicks off with NXT General Manager announcing that Bayley is not cleared to compete, so she will not be facing Asuka at NXT TakeOver: The End. Tonight, there will be a triple threat match with Carmella, Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax and the winner will get the title shot at TakeOver.
There is a new intro video, which culminates in showing all three champions, as opposed to just the NXT Champion.
*******
Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated TM61
Gargano and Ciampa are announced as two of the competitors in the Cruiserweight Classic, and are facing the debuting TM61: Shane Thorne and Nick Miller tonight. They are the former TMDK, so are they now The Mighty 61? Despite their new name, they cut an inset promo saying The Mighty Don’t Kneel.
This was a really good debut match. Honestly, this is probably the best debut match for someone since Sami Zayn debuted three years ago against Cesaro. Ciampa got the hot tag and he didn’t fare very well either at first. The new duo hit a really nice combination where one used a moonsault and the other used a fist drop on Ciampa.
This match went through a commercial break and Gargano & Ciampa got a good amount of offense on Thorne after the break. Thorne hit a beautiful dropkick before tagging out to Miller. Ciampa went for a slingshot sunset flip, but Miller caught him and TM61 hit a double team neck breaker, but only got a 2 count. Ciampa and Gargano got a surprising win over the debuting duo with their combo superkick/knee strike.
*******
We got a video package building to the Samoa Joe-Finn Balor cage match at NXT Takeover: The End, which concentrated more on Samoa Joe.
*******
Bayley cut a promo and flat out said it sucks that she can’t compete at NXT TakeOver: The End against Asuka. Before she could continue, Nia Jax walked up and mocked her for losing, adding she should give Nia credit for putting her out. Nia shoved Bayley away, so Carmella and Alexa both walked up, causing Nia to walk off. Carmella and Alexa exchanged words and then Bayley wished Carmella luck.
*******
A video aired for the impending debut of Andrade “Cien” Almas, the former Manny Andrede. He was shown taking off his mask, but had his back to the camera.
*******
Austin Aries came out to the arena for a promo. He said the phrase “The Best” is the most overused term in sports. Everyone is the best…until the next person comes along, which is why Austin always called himself The Greatest. Austin says that timing is everything and when he walked into NXT there were other people grabbing attention, so the fans picked up on it and began chanting for Nakamura. He announced that after Joe and Balor finish their business, he is challenging the winner for the title.
This brought out Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura did his full entrance while Aries stood there bemused. Nakamura spoke Japanese, stopped and asked Austin if he understood Japanese and Aries said he didn’t understand Nakamura in a funny line. Nakamura then said the NXT Championship wasn’t coming to greatness, it was coming to the King of Strong Style.
Out comes Mr. William Regal who made Aries vs Nakamura at Takeover in 2 weeks. They shook hands afterwards and the match is on!
*******
American Alpha cut a promo on The Revival, who they will face at NXT Takeover: The End, but they know what to expect. Dash & Dawson will go out and punch them in the face, but this is not a boxing match, it’s a wrestling match and they are the best tag team around.
*******
No Way Jose defeated Jonathan Oregon
No Way Jose is back. Apparently on May 14, he did a No Way Jose Day on Twitter and posted pictures of himself all day, which people apparently loved. Go figure. Byron Saxton reported on WWE.com that No Way Jose is his nickname and Corey Graves pointed out exactly what everyone is thinking regarding that stellar reporting.
Jose is nonstop movement, so it makes sense that he uses an Airplane Spin. Oregon, who had Vandal written on his butt, got 3 seconds of offense. Jose did his windup into a punch to the face before winning with the Cobra Clutch Slam.
After the match, Jose went over and danced with Tom Phillips and Corey Graves. Phillips made an ass out of himself and Graves refused to, however he was drawn into dancing. Remember when Mahabali Sheera did his dance at Bound for Glory and it somehow made like 6 guys to do it with him? This was similar, but not nearly as asinine.
*******
To combat the Samoa Joe video earlier, we got a NXT Takeover: The End main event video that focused more on Finn Balor.
*******
Asuka said it doesn’t matter who wins in the main event because she will defeat them at NXT Takeover: The End.
*******
In a #1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match, Nia Jax defeated Carmella and Alexa Bliss
Carmella was trying to give a cue to Alexa that they should take Jax out at the bell, but Bliss decided to roll outside instead and watch the other two ladies compete. Nia slammed Carmella down, so Alexa tried to sneak up with some sort of top rope move. However, Nia turned around and stared Alexa down before she tried anything.
Jax got posted and fell outside, so the two perky blondes squared off momentarily while the monster recovered. Alexa grabbed Carmella by the throat and did a leg trip, followed by a moonsault for a 2 count when Nia came in to drop an elbow, however Alexa moved and Nia landed on Carmella. Something funny to note is Nia was on her knees and was almost taller than Alexa, who was standing up. Alexa actually got a near fall with a Sparkle Splash on Nia at one point.
Nia got sent outside again. Carmella tried a suicide dive, but got caught. Alexa, the annoying little pixie she is, stopped Carmella from being killed. Carmella slapped her Triangle Choke on Alexa, but Nia broke it up. Carmella got a rear choke on Nia, but Nia got out of it and eventually hit the legdrop on Carmella, picking up the win.
Nia Jax will now go to NXT Takeover: The End and challenge Asuka for the NXT Women’s Championship! Before that, Asuka came out to stare down her future challenger as the show went off the air.
*******
Next week is already the go home show for Takeover, what will happen then? Until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
I’m at Winter Haven FL for NXT Live in front of a sold out house of approximately 350.
– No Way Jose beat Tucker Knight
Entertaining match with Jose using new baseball inspired moves like setting Knight in the corner and running the three corners like bases before a slide in drop kick. The ref even made the safe sign for the home run. Jose won it with his finish.
– Peyton Royce beat Liv Morgan
Fast action by Morgan including a big monkey flip out of the corner and spinning headscissor rana. Peyton worked holds and won it with a fisherwoman suplex.
– Chris Girard beat Buddy Murphy
Very good match with a lot of crowd interaction “You Got Dumped!” “Blake Is Better!” “Where’s Alexa?” solid support of Girarad for all his running uppercuts. Major combination at the end including running to the buckles for uppercuts and a huge spinning neck breaker for the win.
– Mojo Rawley beat Elias Samson
Comedy spots early on to upset Drifter. The hammer man dance and a lot of wiggling. Mojo won it with a running clothesline in to the corner.
– NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat The Authors Of Pain
Big heels got a lot of heat on Chad Gable to set up the Jason Jordan hot tag. Assisted German Suplex for the win.
– Adrienne Reese beat Nikki Storm
Strong match, Nikki had control most of the match, talking trash, keeping Adrienne grounded. Finish was the top rope diving stunner.
– In-ring promo with Mandy Rose she says that she is a bikini model champion. This got a lot of heat and “Wannabe Diva” chant.
– TM61 beat Angelo Dawkins and Patrick Clarke
Well-paced match, TM61 hit their double team spinebuster for the win.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe beat Andrade Cien Almas
Great match. Joe is the dominant champion so he cut off the fired-up Andrade at every turn. Andrade hit the moonsault into a standing moonsault for a near fall in his best hope spot. Joe caught Andrade in the clutch out of nowhere for the submission victory.
Tag team action kicks things off this week. This was set up last week when Blake & Murphy stormed into Mr. Regal’s office and demanded a title shot while he was having a meeting with Austin Aries. Aries was told to find a partner and he did find quite the teammate in Shinsuke Nakamura.
Blake & Murphy were in disarray from the start. There was a disagreement over who would start, so Aries ran across the ring with a dropkick and almost pinned Murphy in 10 seconds. Aries and Nakamura worked very well together..,so well that I was hoping they would become a full time team, but alas that probably ain’t happening any time soon.
Blake ran away instead of dealing with Nakamura, so Nakamura gave Murphy the Kinshasa for the pin. Aries wanted the tag, but Nakamura either didn’t see it or ignored it. Blake, Murphy and Alexa argued after the match with Alexa walking off on them and then Blake walking off on Murphy.
********
Bayley was backstage and said she is not afraid of Nia Jax and while she is tough the same thing that happened in London would happen tonight and after this she is going after Asuka again.
********
We got a music video with clips of Asuka interspersed throughout.
********
No Way Jose is really excited to be on NXT, happy to show off his smile and hope people don’t underestimate him. This is just Jose being Jose and he is here to have fun, have a fiesta and have a fight.
********
Carmella submitted Peyton Royce
Backstage, Carmella cut a promo looking to the left of the camera, talking about her boys Enzo and Cass before saying she wants to be Women’s Champion. Peyton calls herself the Venus Flytrap of NXT…and no one has a clue as to what she’s talking about.
Peyton got a near fall with a kick to the face and a version of the Three Amigos where she used a Fisherman’s Suplex at the end. Carmella looked good on her comeback, picking up the win with a Flatliner, followed by the Headscissors.
********
Last Saturday night in Portland at an NXT house show there was mass chaos with Joe and Balor, necessitating the entire locker room emptying to pull them apart. This led to the announcement by William Regal announcing a cage match with Samoa Joe and Finn Balor at NXT TakeOver.
********
Blake, Murphy, and Alexa were backstage arguing. Alexa shouted that she was tired of them constantly losing, so she is dumping 470 pounds of lifeless weight in order to win the NXT Women’s Championship.
********
Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated Danny Burch & Rob Ryzin
After being in NXT for close to a year, Gargano & Ciampa have, I believe, their first squash match. Corey Graves made a point that the fans always chant Johnny Wrestling but never chant for Ciampa.
Gargano and Ciampa made fools out of Burch for several minutes until Ryzin distracted Ciampa just long enough for Burch to take over. Even then, the heels didn’t last very long on offense. Gargano did a spear through the ropes on Ryzin before Gargano and Ciampa finished him off with a double superkick to the head.
********
Mr. William Regal was backstage and he congratulated Enzo & Cass and The Vaudevillians on being called up to Raw before booking American Alpha vs The Revival at TakeOver.
********
Nia Jax pinned Bayley
This wasn’t officially a #1 contender’s match, but it is a safe bet that the winner here will probably face Asuka at TakeOver. These two faced off in London last December with Bayley winning by tapout.
Bayley started by using the same strategy at TakeOver, working for the guillotine but constantly getting thrown off, including landing face first. Nia played monster while Bayley did everything she could to try to slay the dragon a second time, but no matter the move, Nia seemed to have a counter for it.
Nia used a tilt-a-whirl shoulderbreaker on Bayley and used that to begin an assault on her shoulder, which would prevent any attempt at a guillotine or a Belly to Bayley Suplex. Nia used a Cobra Clutch and her jumping bearhug to wear down the former champion. Bayley made her comeback using leg kicks, but she could not maintain a sustained offense. The closest Bayley got was using a crossbody off the top rope, but Nia kicked out.
Bayley finally got on the guillotine, but she was thrown off, landing awkwardly on her knee. Nia squashed her in the corner and then picked up the win with a legdrop! Nia Jax has completely dominated the former champion! What will happen if and when she gets her hands on Asuka?
Until next week, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
With the June 8 match set to be their third consecutive TakeOver main event, Joe vs. Balor has become the first program to reach that milestone since NXT started doing WWE Network specials.
Balor retained the NXT title on a December 16 special from SSE Wembley in London, and did so a second time on April 1 as part of the WrestleMania weekend activities in Dallas.
Evidently, today was “No Way Day” on social media. I haven’t the foggiest what that was supposed to indicate, but it did translate into the crowd being into Jose, whom right now is a perfect opening match guy.
– Tucker Knight d. Tino Sabatelli
Knight is from Portland and carried a Trail Blazers’ “Rip City” sign to the ring. Sabatelli looks like a generic wrestler from 2005, cut from the Randy Orton/Mark Jindrak mold. As basic as a match can get, lots of armbars and chinlocks. Knight won with a rather clumsy powerslam.
– Bayley d. Nia Jax
It’s been repeated ad nauseum, but there’s something special about Bayley. When she entered the arena, a different kind of energy took over the room. She has a Dusty-esque natural everywoman charisma to her. Match was what you would expect, Nia kept using her weight against Bayley, but Bayley ended up winning with a roll up.
– Austin Aries d. Mojo Rawley
Mojo was only below The Drifter as far as drawing crowd hatred, which seemed to amuse Aries. He picked up Mojo’s shirt off the mat and threw it to the crowd, only for the crowd to throw it back. There was a funny spot where Aries and Mojo were running the ropes and Aries stopped and watched Mojo run the ropes a few times like an idiot before he noticed Aries laughing at him. Aries tapped him out.
– NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha d. The Revival
Match of the night. Pretty much the same formula we’ve seen between these two team, but it’s a winning one. One thing I noticed is that Jordan’s facials while he’s on the apron are fantastic. He seems to be totally absorbed in the story and drama of the match and his enthusiasm draws you in. Alpha won with their finish on Dawson whom I finally figured out tonight is the bald one with the handlebar mustache.
– Shinsuke Nakamura d. Elias Samson
Drifter was easily the most hated guy on the show and he ate it up. This was a nothing match really that was just carried by Nakamura’s charisma and mannerisms. Entertaining nonetheless.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka d. Alexa Bliss
Fans responded well to the entrances of these two, but seemed a little drained after the tag match and Nakamura. Asuka tapped Bliss out after about 10 minutes.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe d. Finn Balor
Balor was only slightly more popular than Joe, and they had a great match. Joe won with a roll up and a handful of tights. Afterwards, a brawl erupted between the two and the entire locker room (Nakamura included) came out to break it up. Once it was cleared out, William Regal came out and scolded Balor from the entrance ramp.
Notes:
Good crowd. The Moda Center was set up in the “Theater Of The Clouds” configuration, which holds about 6,500, and I would say the building was 75-80% full. Only the seats on the far ends of the upper bowls were empty. Crowd was into pretty much everything, and most of the chants were the ones you hear on the NXT TV and TakeOver shows. As Bryan noted from the Seattle show, there were a lot more women at the show than I’m used to seeing at RAW or SmackDown tapings.
Couldn’t even hear what Sampson tried singing he had so much heat. Mid match a “You like Nickelback” chant broke out which was hilarious. Jose won with his full nelson slam.
– Mojo Rawley vs Murphy
Pretty much blah but I’m not a big fan of either. Murphy’s prematch antics were like old school HHH. Mojo won, missed the finisher, crowd wasn’t too into it either.
– Bayley vs Nia Jax
Really good. Crowd was nuts for Bayley. Jax mid-match pranced around mocking Bayley which was a funny sight. Was close to being as good as their Takeover match. Bayley won with a roll up after Jax missed a tackle in the corner.
– Nakamura and Finn Balor vs The Revival
Good match. Crowd was way hot for Balor and Nakamura. Hard to tell who was more over. Nakamura must be being protected because he mainly did his big spots. Balor won hitting his finisher on both men.
– After intermission, William Regal came out to our joy saying thank you.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs Alexa Bliss
Surprisingly really good and the crowd bought a couple of Alexa’s near falls. Asuka ended up winning with the chicken wing.
– NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha vs Tino and Tucker
Decent. Tino is a physical specimen but that’s about it. Gable is crazy over as well. They won with their usual finisher that I forget the name of.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs Austin Aries
Best match by far. Duel chants for both throughout the match. Aries had a nice near fall hitting the 450 but Joe got his foot on the rope. Joe won with the muscle buster. After it was over Aries scooted to the ropes and put his foot on one. Then as he left, he somehow got a banana and was eating it.
Note: you can get a live recap of the show by our Bryan Alvarez, Craig Proper, and Vincent Q. Verhei here.
Balor and Bayley shirts everywhere. Probably 90% males in their 20’s-40’s, 10% girlfriends and kids.
– No Way Jose vs Murphy
No Way Jose wins with his finish. Jose came out with a Russell Wilson jersey to cheers, led a “Sea-Hawks” chant. Great energy.
– Tucker Knight vs Tino Sabatelli
Sabatelli wins via pinfall. Never seen him before but he’s a good athlete for sure.
– Alexa Bliss vs Bayley
The crowd went with every move Bayley made. She picks up the win with the belly to Bayley.
– Austin Aries vs Mojo Rawley
Aries is the solid favorite but Mojo had his fans. The crowd began a “Mojo’s butt” chant which gave me a good laugh. Aries wins with a submission after a fun match.
– The Revival vs NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha
This was match of the night. So many great sequences that felt organic. AA hit a dual ankle lock spot that got a standing ovation. Gable got another standing ovation when he hit a series of moves on Dawson that I can’t begin to describe. Awesome match.
Intermission
– William Regal addressed the crowd. That was a pleasant surprise.
– Elias Sampson vs Shinsuke Nakamura
The Paramount exploded when Nakamura did that taunt he does on the rope during his entrance. Shinsuke wins with Kinsasha in a basic, short match.
– Nia Jax vs NXT Women’s Champion Asuka
Asuka had Jax in a submission before Alexa Bliss ran in to break it up. Both Alexa and Nia attack Asuka until Bayley runs in for the save.
– Finn Balor vs NXT Champion Samoa Joe
Balor enters to many Clique and Bullet Club taunts. After a good back and forth match, Joe wins with the muscle buster.
