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Tag: Finn Balor

  • WWE NXT results: Finn Balor defends the gold against Apollo Crews

    The Big News: Samoa Joe turned heel at the end of an excellent NXT Title match between Finn Balor and Apollo Crews. Baron Corbin got more heat than he has ever gotten in his life when he ran in to make the DQ.

    More Big News: Seth Rollins may have been injured during a WWE Live Event tonight. I am sure people who know much more about this stuff than I do will keep you up to date.

    The Medium-sized News: Despite losing a #1 Contender’s Match 2 weeks ago, Dash & Dawson were announced as being #1 Contender’s and will face The Vaudevillians next week.

    The Little Beaver-sized News: Both Cameron and Eva Marie returned and wrestled on this show.

    Asuka submitted Cameron

    Asuka is here to kick off NXT, going one on one with Cameron, of all people. Cameron has fallen off the face of the Earth and has now resurfaced here on NXT. During her hiatus Cameron dyed her hair the exact same purple of her hair.

    Cameron nearly wanted to run away 30 seconds into the match when Asuka snapped off a Hurricarana and turned it right into an Armbar. Cameron did battle back and broke out her Split Legdrop, but unlike that time she did it on Raw, Asuka was on her back, so Cameron didn’t look stupid in demanding a count from the ref. Asuka threw her body at the face of Cameron before finishing off the former Funkadactyl with the Asuka Lock.

    – Carmella tried cutting a promo giving us the status of Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady when Dash & Dawson walked in and bragged about taking them out. They are sorry they didn’t take them out sooner and next week they get a shot at The Vaudevillians for the NXT Tag Team Titles. I should point out that it was just 2 weeks ago when Dash & Dawson lost a #1 Contender’s Match. Anyhoo, Dash & Dawson left a wheelchair for The Vaudevillians, saying they will need it after next week.

    – Earlier today, Jason Jordan & Chad Gable said they aren’t where they need to be. Gable made Jordan feel better by pointing out they are still on the way up. Gable referred to them as the World’s Greatest Tag Team, but Jordan cut them off. Jordan said they should challenge the best tag team in NXT history. Gable pointed out they couldn’t wrestle themselves, so Jordan instead issued a challenge to The Ascension. Chad challenged them to come back if they are Ready, Willing and Gable.

    Bull Dempsey pinned Angelo Dawkins (w/Sawyer Fulton)

    Bull Dempsey has crappy new entrance music and if you remember how bad his music used to be, this is really saying something. Angelo Dawkins came out to theme music for the first time ever. His and Fulton’s Titantron is less creative than David Flair’s famous one was. This was literally just their names over and over and over again. There wasn’t even a disappointed Ric Flair in there.

    Dawkins kept Bull in a chinlock forever until Bull decided it was time to Hulk Up. Bull used a series of punches and won with the sitting splash off the top rope, which used to be Doink’s Whoopee Cushion. I remember when he showed that move to the kids on Tough Enough and I remember saying Bull had never used that move in his life. After the match, Sawyer Fulton was upset, so he left the ringside area. Yes, I am sure they will be so much better apart than they have been together.

    -The Vaudevillians were quite offended that Dash & Dawson left them a wheelchair. They plan on beating their toughest challenge to date and use this to become one of the greatest teams in NXT history.

    – Apollo Crews was sitting in his locker room with a bunch of children’s drawings hanging up next to him. He got up, stared at Finn Balor’s championship (which was conveniently near where he was sitting) and left.

    – Bayley has tag team partners for the 6-person tag team match against Blake, Murphy & Alexa. Remember when I knew it would be The Vaudevillians? It was so much worse. It was the Hype Bros and next week they will be having a tag match.

    Eva Marie pinned Marley

    On the same show, we have both Eva Marie and Cameron. They did not name Eva’s opponent, so I did some research and my good friend Steve Juon stated that her name was Marley. I will avoid making jokes about her name. This match was a lot better when Marley was on offense, mind you it looked like she kicked Eva right in the face. But don’t worry because Eva then kicked her in the face and while Marley was on her knees, Eva gave her an STO for the win.

    – Emma stated that she is not scared of Asuka, instead saying she doesn’t respect Asuka smiling at her. Both Emma and Dana stated that they have nothing but respect for Asuka, but were offended by Asuka patting Dana on her head. Emma said she will give Asuka a proper welcome.

    Apollo Crews defeated NXT Champion Finn Balor by DQ

    Main event time! They did the big main event intros, but this time they turned off all the lights in the arena except a blue spotlight in the middle of the ring where champion and challenger stood. This is Balor’s first tv defense since NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, but in the meantime he won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Samoa Joe. Meanwhile Apollo Crews has been undefeated since debuting that night in Brooklyn.

    Crews began the match by taking it right to Finn. Crews hit every big move in the first 2 minutes, but then ran right into Finn’s foot, which slowed him down. Crews tried to comeback with a sunset flip, but Balor kicked him with both feet in the face. Crews then replied by kicked Balor right in the head and ascending to the middle rope, which caused Finn to jump into the air and kick Crews in the head, sending him toppling to the arena floor.

    These two men are not shy about hitting each other as Finn gave Apollo a chop that Apollo is still feeling, 2 weeks after the show was taped. Apollo hit the Gorilla Press Slam, but Finn got his knees up on the standing moonsault. Finn hit the running dropkick to the corner, but Apollo moved from the Coup De Grace. Apollo kicked Finn in the face, which turned Finn around and Balor hit the Pele Kick!

    The two men laid there for a good 30 seconds when Baron fricking Corbin ran in to attack Apollo for the DQ. That caused a crap ton of heat from the audience. The fans went silent as Baron’s attack continued on both men until Samoa Joe ran in for the save. Of course Joe did not run in for the save. Instead Baron ran away and Joe took Finn’s head off!

    The fans exploded as Joe pounded away on the NXT Champion with stomps and punches. Joe tore at his hair and then placed Finn on the turnbuckles. Joe grabbed Finn’s face, yelling “I did this to you!” before dropping him with the Muscle Buster. Joe grabbed the NXT Championship and dropped it on Finn’s body before leaving.

    Apollo Crews should give Tyler Breeze a phone call. Breeze became #1 contender in May 2014 and got his title shot a few months later. That match ended in a DQ when Tyson Kidd ran in to attack Adrian Neville. Let it be known, that well over a year later Tyler still never got a one-on-one rematch for the championship.

    But with that out of the way, that does it for another week of NXT. This show you can skip half of it, but as long as you watch the main event then you will be quite happy. Until we meet again, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • WWE NXT arena results: Finn Balor faces Samoa Joe for the first time

    Submitted by J.J. Williams

    Bull Dempsey beat Tino Sabatelli with the seated splash off the top

    Tino entered as the heel here, giving people dirty looks, and taking a knee and putting his fist to the ground pose in the center of the ring before the match. Even match, Bull took some hard shots before firing up for the win. 

    Asuka beat Peyton Royce via Asuka-Lock

    Peyton entered first with new gear and a better than you attitude about herself tonight, she did a splits on the apron roll in to the ring, asked for the microphone and cut a short heel introduction promo about how she is “The Venus Fly Trap” of NXT. Asuka entered to a great reaction, she has a star aura about her. Well worked match, a couple fun Asuka comedy spots mixed with serious action. Hopefully we see more of these two in the future. 

    Riddick Moss beat Levis Valenzuela Jr.

    These two have been working around the state lately, Levis has so much charisma while Riddick shows a lot of solid WWE Style wrestling ability, he’s under control and everything he does is done well. 

    Indian music hit as three men in all black made their way to the ring, they were Sunny Dhinsa, Gzim Selmani and Lovepreet Sangha. Heel promo about how they want us to stand up and show our respect, one of which said he came from a rich oil family. They received the WHAT? treatment from the crowd.

    Tye Dillinger beat Hugo Knox with the exposed knee facebreaker after Hugo missed his split leg moonsault

    This was a fun match, Hugo’s dancing and party boy personality is easy to enjoy, and Tye can work as a heel whenever he chooses yet his Perfect Ten gestures still get a positive reaction. After the bell rang, Dillinger said this would be no dance contest, so of course this made Hugo demand a dance contest. They took turns twerking and dancing before Dillinger took a cheap shot on Hugo to get the match going.

    NXT Tag Team Champions Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson beat Jason Jordan and Chad Gable

    Champs won with the assisted codebreaker type maneuver they are using these days. Very good match, as Gable & Jordan have broken through as one of the most popular acts in NXT. Scott & Dash are good old fashioned rough and tough workers and the dynamic between them and the technical wrestling of Jordan & Gable is excellent. Post match, the heels were still laying it in on the faces so Enzo Amore ran them off to a big reaction. Enzo promised that Big Cass would be back and they were going to get payback on Dawson & Wilder. Enzo shook Gable & Jordan’s hands, endorsing  them before leaving. 

    Apollo Crews beat Baron Corbin

    Crews won with a big slam, similar to the Blue Thunder Bomb, good finisher, still need it to get more tv time so crowds will know that’s what he’s going with these days. Very strong match here, two large men hitting major moves and selling the damage between them. Brawling and felt like a fight. 

    NXT Women’s Champion Bayley, Gionna Daddio, and Adrien Reese beat Emma, Billie Kay, and Aliyah

    Good guys won when Bayley hit the Belly-To-Bayley on Aliyah. Despite using the name Marley at the recent taping, Gionna was introduced as this name, also Aliyah is what Nhooph was introduced as even though Breaking Ground focused on her so much. The majority of the match saw Emma or Billie Kay working over Adrien or Gionna, crowd was very in to Bayley, calling for her with chants and singing songs to which Emma even danced a bit to, which received a “You’re Still Evil!” chant. The finish saw Gionna go to the top for a big cross body on Aliyah after Bayley had tagged herself in to then hit the huggplex on the unsuspecting Aliyah. It’s great to see these types of matches because Bayley and Emma are able to keep everything together and teach the wrestlers around them by guidance or watching their actions. 

    NXT Champion Finn Bálor beat Samoa Joe with the Coup de Grâce

    Joe was out first to make sure he was the heel, spoke about how Finn was a coward and should have just given him the title match he deserved. Went on to trash Citrus Springs, calling it a “podunk town”. Joe claimed he hadn’t seen Finn all day but he was here for a fight, the lights went out and Finn’s music hit to a big reaction, lights came back on quickly as Finn in his hoodie had hopped the barricade to sneak attack Joe. They brawled as the bell rang for this match. Joe was able to cut Finn off and really laid in to him with punches and stomps. Joe looked ferocious tonight, a dangerous, calculated heel. Finn would fire back to keep the crowd in to it and always showed fire. They teased the ref bump a few times until finally there was one, during this time Joe grabbed the NXT title and was winding up to hit a belt shot, Finn ducked it, was able to hit the running dropkick to the corner and get up to the top for the  Coup de Grâce. Bálor celebrated this big win to send everyone home happy. 

  • WWE NXT results: Samoa Joe battles Tyler Breeze, Evolve’s Gargano & Ciampa return

    First of all, an early Happy Birthday to your favorite NXT recapper and mine: me! But before I turn 31 tomorrow, let’s talk about NXT tonight.

    Emma submitted Shazza

    We kick things off with Diva’s action. It is the debut of Shazza, who is replacing Alexa Bliss as the cute little pixie-looking girl. Shazza has white-blonde hair and is not nearly as tan as the other girls, so it is shocking to the eyes when they show a closeup of her. Shazza is also from Melbourne and they pushed that she is the last person Emma wrestled before coming to NXT.

    Shazza went down into the splits for a drop down spot, but when she didn’t get right up, Emma waited for her to look up and dropkicked her in the face. This match was all Emma and she won the Battle of Australia with a bridging chinlock.

    – Last week James Storm cut a promo with Tom Phillips after his debut match. Storm was quite happy that the fans chanted he belonged here. If anyone doesn’t like him being in NXT, sorry about their damn luck.

    – We got a Finn Balor video package, featuring interviews with a lot of the NXT fans. They also used footage from the Balor documentary they did back in June.

    Jason Jordan & Chad Gable defeated Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano

    Jordan and Gable got a standing ovation from the crowd, which was weird since they are heels. They do love them some Gable. Ciampa and Gable began. They did the spot where they did a Greco Roman Knuckle Lock and Ciampa forced Gable down, but Gable bridged up, but was unable to hold Ciampa up when he jumped on him.

    The fans love Gargano, Ciampa and Jordan as well, but they like Gable the most. They chanted Johnny Wrestling and This is Wrestling, in addition to chanting both Gable and Jordan to the tune of Kurt Angle’s WWE theme.

    This was an excellent tag team match. Despite technically being the heel team Gable was the one they beat on to get the heat. Jordan got the hot tag and ran wild on both men, including a t-bone suplex on Ciampa. Gargano had the match won with a slingshot DDT on Jordan, but Gable broke it up at the last second. Finally Jordan & Gable won with their toss into a Bridging Side Suplex on Ciampa.

    That was the best match on a regular NXT tv show in months.

    – Bayley was interviewed by the departing Devin Taylor about her feud with Alexa Bliss. Bayley is proud to be champion and be an inspiration to children and that it bothers her that that bothers Alexa.

    – Eva Marie is still in Paris and she is threatening to come back soon.

    Nia Jax destroyed Kaylee

    They acknowledged Nia being the cousin of The Rock. Kaylee got frequent flier miles for the amount she flew when Nia threw her across the ring in this match. Nia traded in the jumping bear hug for the jumping Over The Shoulder Backbreaker, which still wasn’t her finish. The finish saw Kaylee springboard off the ropes, but get caught, dropped with a spinebuster and Nia won with a legdrop.

    During the commercial, I assume they sent out a giant spatula to get Kaylee off the mat.

    Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs Dash & Dawson never got started

    If it feels like you’ve read me talk about this match before, it’s because they just wrestled last week. Enzo and Cass won, but got beaten down after. Enzo and Cass were walking to the ring when they were attacked by Dash & Dawson. They threw Enzo off the ramp and began working on Colin, including executing a double team maneuver to Colin’s leg.

    After the match a parade of referees and trainers came out to check on Colin. No one checked on Enzo, who was in a heap on the floor.

    – Alexa Bliss challenged Bayley to a 6-person tag team match and wished her luck at finding two losers to team with her.

    – Next week: Finn Balor vs Apollo Crews for the NXT Championship. That announcement led to part 2 of the Who Is Apollo Crews feature. I know this goes without saying, but WWE puts together some amazing videos.

    Samoa Joe submitted Tyler Breeze

    Main event time. This match was set up two weeks ago when Samoa Joe eliminated Tyler Breeze during the battle royal and Breeze, frustrated, pulled Joe out as well. They did show footage of Breeze’s SmackDown debut. His best chance of success is if Vince recently watched Zoolander. In all seriousness, good luck to Tyler.

    Breeze’s strategy early was to tease locking up with Joe and then quickly roll outside, which annoyed Joe to the point that Joe followed him out the third time. Of course Joe got stomped on when they rolled back in the ring. Joe used his Suicide Dive, which never fails to look impressive when the big man does it.

    Breeze used his rolling backstabber on Joe, but only got a 1 count. Shouldn’t that move hurt Breeze when Joe rolls over and lands with 280 pounds on his scrunched up body? Anyway Joe made his comeback, hitting all his big moves. We saw the snap power slam and the corner uranage, but Breeze slipped out of the Muscle Buster and hit a Super Model Kick for a 2 count. The finish saw Breeze use a rollup for a 2 count and when Joe kicked out, Breeze landed in position for the Coquina Clutch.

    – The show ended with a Finn Balor promo regarding his title match next week. Balor put over Crews beating Joe, Breeze and Baron Corbin in the battle royal, but the one person he did not defeat was Finn. One day Crews will be NXT Champion, but Finn vowed it will not be next week.

    So that does it for this week. Next week it is Finn Balor vs Apollo Crews for the NXT Title and with that in mind, until then remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • WWE NXT Tapings: Finn Balor defends his belt against Apollo Crews (updated)

    Submitted by J.J. Williams

    Dark Match – 

    Hugo Knox defeated Riddick Moss with a sunset flip of sorts. Crowd was quite into Hugo, his dancing is entertaining and his energy shines through. Moss’s work is good. He just needs direction or a character to work with. Knox, on the other hand, has an infectious energy with his dancing. 

    November 4th – 

    Asuka defeats Cameron via submission with the Asuka Lock

    The crowd was behind Asuka completely including “Asuka’s Gonna Kill You” & “Asuka City” chants, there also isn’t much backlash towards Cameron, she’s just a heel working Asuka so it’s no big deal that she’s here. Asuka did her best to showcase submissions. Post match Asuka mocks Cameron by doing the Funkadactyl drop down while looking at the camera smiling. Crowd laughed big for this. 

    Bull Dempsey defeats Angelo Dawkins w/ Sawyer Fulton with his top rope seated maneuver

    Bull does his usual routine and mocks Dawkins with his “Bull” front “Fit” back to his singlet, turning back and forth. Just a showcase for Bull here.

    Eva Marie defeats Marley (aka Gionna Daddio) via pinfall

    Immense heat on Eva, she is despised and thus lead to a good reaction for the debuting Marley, a house show favorite who people actually like. Post match people are booing Eva away and even chanting “That Was Stupid” at her win. 

    NXT Champion Finn Balor vs Apollo Crews ends in a DQ when Baron Corbin attacks Apollo after an outstanding match.

    We get Crews’ entrance including the fog machines in front of his tron, we were very in to Apollo, singing and chanting for him. Then a huge reaction for Balor, the two stand face to face under a spotlight in the center of the ring as Finn is still wearing the title around his waist. In ring introductions to huge cheers, major big fight feel. The crowd was so conflicted as we would never booo either of these men, so it was cheering for one or the other or just clapping/stomping and moments of uncertainty. Excellent work here.

    Apollo even got Finn up in the gorilla press, Finn got the knees up to counter the standing moonsault, there was also a big dive to the outside by Finn on to Apollo, late in the match Balor even hit a variation of the Bloody Sunday, the match was so deep in that people were feeling a title change before Baron Corbin ended it. The crowd was furious at Baron here, as he pummeled Crews first and Balor next before Samoa Joe makes the save, Joe stands over Finn and even helps him up before turning on him. Punches in the corner before a muscle buster in the center of the ring. Referees assist Balor to the back after some time. Looking forward to how this translates to tv, I’d say Balor v Crews was the best NXT match for both these men thus far, would love to see more of this someday. 

    November 11th:

    Adrien Reese (aka Athena) defeats Peyton Royce after an incredible finisher, a leaping off the top rope stunner

    Fans were in to Adrien from the start but increasingly reacted louder to her work, some smooth transitions, roll throughs, and that finisher got a giant “Whoah!” reaction and cheer for the finish. Great debut here.

    Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin never happens as Apollo Crews rushes the ring and lays in to Baron to a brawl

    The people were going wild, an intense brawl where Apollo’s shirt even got ripped open during the fight. Baron is the most hated man in NXT, it also feels like Crews was elevated even with the non finish. He’s a star. Dillinger had new music, a good face reaction even before people knew he was facing Corbin, sadly we didn’t get to see any more of him at this set. 

    NXT Women’s Champion Bayley & The Hype Bros defeated Alexa Bliss, Wesley Blake, and Buddy Murphy when the Hype Bros hit the super rough ryder from the top

    Amazing atmosphere for Bayley here, crowd was singing her theme song, singing chants for her “Heyyy We Want Some Bayley” a play on the New Day’s recent chant for themselves. This was all about Bayley yet Mojo and Zack were able to go with it, Mojo doing his “Hammer Time” wacky dancing, telling Blake & Murphy that they get “Zero Chicks” and building up to Bayley finally getting her hands on Alexa. Near the finish, Alexa slips away to steal the NXT Women’s title and run off with it, Bayley tries to go through the ring but Blake stands in front of her only to be hit with a Belly To Bayley which received a gigantic reaction, Bayley made her way after Bliss as the Hype Bros finished off Blake & Murphy for the win. 

    Nia Jax squashed Deonna Purrazzo

    Bear hugs, tree slam, leg drop. We’ll be seeing similar matches for a while. 

    Dash & Dawson win the NXT Tag Team Championships from The Vaudevillains

    This was completely unexpected, crowd was in to the Vauds early on and through the match yet seemed happy with the finish knowing how hard Dash & Dawson work. “You Deserve It” chants and you could see genuine emotion on Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, these men are proud to be wrestlers and now champions. 

    – November 19th:

    Samoa Joe makes his way to the ring for a promo, he’s met with booing and “Why? Joe, Why?” chants. He goes on to say he carried Finn to the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic win, that he deserved a title shot from the day he walked in to NXT, that William Regal putting him in the battle royal was an insult. This leads to an angry Finn Balor on his way to the ring, referees and security try to cut him off and are in the ring between the two before Joe gets a cheap shot and is able to lock in the clutch, choking Finn out in the center of a dog pile of referees and security. Finn is again helped to the back after this segment. 

    Nia Jax defeated Carmella

    Nia womanhandled Carmella here, winning easily with her slam and big leg drop. No sign of Enzo & Cass at these tapings.

    Chad Gable & Jason Jordan defeated The Ascension with the assisted German suplex

    The Ascension were out first to a gigantic ovation, these men are loved here. Then an equal and shocked reaction when Gable & Jordan’s music hit since we knew this would be good, these two are made men. The crowd continued singing “Gable – Jordan” to the tune of Kurt Angle’s old theme music, then The Ascension received “Yah” chants which lead to “Gable – Yah! – Jordan – Yah!” amongst other chants for both teams. Good match, crowd was super in to it. Post match The Ascension make their way back in the ring for a staredown followed by embracing and raising the winners’ hands. The Full Sail crowd appreciated this sportsmanship and endorsement. 

    Emma defeated Mary Kate aka Andrea via Emma Lock

     Another fun case of when a veteran is not facing someone adored by the crowd, they’ll be cheered even as a heel. “Evil Emma” chants, quick showcase match for Emma. No sign of Dana Brooke on this set either. 

    NXT Tag Team Champions Dash & Dawson defeated Corey Hollis and John Skyler

    Quick showcase match for the champs here, clean in the middle with their assisted codebreaker type finish. 

    NXT Women’s Champion Bayley defeated Alexa Bliss via pinfall with the Belly To Bayley

    Alexa worked a lot of holds trying to slow the pace and keep Bayley under control. Crowd wasn’t expecting a title change here and there weren’t any intense near falls to worry about. Plenty of cheers and chants for Bayley along with taunts towards Alexa Bliss. Finish was mostly out of nowhere in the center of the ring. After Bayley celebrated for a moment Eva Marie’s music hit and she made her way to the ring to a chorus of booos. Now she has been boood before in NXT for her matches and it was pretty bad for her on stage interview.

    This was the loudest negative reaction I have ever heard. She was boooed down and it was deafening. Bayley would lean in and try to hear what Eva was saying, then look back at us and her hand to her ear. This was unbelievable. After being booed out of the building, Eva left and Bayley was able to take the mic and say she accepts. I believe that title match will happen the first episode of the November 19th taping. Bayley’s music hit and everyone was sent home happy.