Just how big a risk for WWE is Brock Lesnar’s return to the Octagon at UFC 200? Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa will talk about it from WWE’s perspective on the latest Wrestling Weekly!
We’ll start with Les sharing some thoughts about his good friend and former tag team partner Danny Miller, who passed away this past Monday at the age of 84, as well as remembrances of the late Emily Miller (no relation) who was a longtime fan in the Mid Atlantic area.
From there, we’ll spend a few minutes discussing the one and only Muhammad Ali (18:35). After that, it’s time to look at Brock Lesnar’s return to UFC (22:18) and how it impacts WWE. We’ll wrap the show by discussing the latest NXT Takeover special (35:52), and why it has filled Les with hope for the future of the business.
Subscribers can listen by clicking the link below or right-clicking to save.
For the first time since October, an NXT TakeOver event comes home to Full Sail University! NXT’s 11th quarterly special may be living up to its own subtitle as this may be the end for several of the men and women on the show. With the WWE brand extension just five weeks away, odds are half of the competitors on this show won’t be on NXT in time for SummerSlam weekend.
Before we deal with the future, let’s deal with the now, shall we?
NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a steel cage match
This is the first ever cage match in NXT history and has the potential to be the most violent match in NXT history. This is the culmination of the longest feud ever in NXT and one of the longest continuous feuds in WWE, period. Samoa Joe has been NXT Champion since April 21 when he beat Balor in Lowell, Massachusetts. However, this was after Balor had defeated Joe at TakeOver events in London and Dallas. On a side note, Joe is the first man to win the NXT, TNA, and ROH titles — one of the more random accomplishments in wrestling today.
Each match was better and more violent than the previous bout, with the two men waging war on each other. Now NXT is locking them within the confines of a cage, which should only encourage the match to be more violent. My only hope is Joe does not bust himself open in the first 30 seconds causing the ridiculous sight of a cage match being halted due to blood.
– Prediction: Balor has been in NXT longer and Joe just won the belt. I’m going with Joe to win, setting up a series of matches with the winner of the semi-main event.
Austin Aries vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
NXT’s acquisition of Nakamura has led to a series of never before seen, one of a kind matches. Some have been excellent (Sami Zayn) and some not so much (The Drifter), but this could very well not only steal the show, but steal the pro wrestling month.
Aries debuted in March and has had quite the different road than Nakamura as he hasn’t had the chance to have that one amazing showcase match. While Aries hasn’t had any bad matches, he has obviously been holding out for the right time and this is it.
While not officially announced as such, this match will probably set up the next challenger for the NXT title. Aries is better off as a heel and has been teasing aturn the last few weeks, bringing up that Nakamura’s debut got all the press clippings, leaving Aries in the lurch.
Prediction: Nakamura wins, setting up future title matches with Joe, pissing off Aries more, and setting up his eventual heel turn.
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Nia Jax
This match has the chance to overachieve. Jax is a lot better than she’s given credit for, while Asuka is arguably the best woman wrestler under WWE contract. While the money, for lack of a better word, is in an Asuka-Bayley rematch, Jax has been a very effective monster and laid out the champ just last week.
This match has really been built up from each lady’s debut. Both ladies had their debuts being built up at the same time and had their first tv match within a week of each other. Asuka has had a series of hard hitting bouts with Emma, Dana Brooke, and Bayley, while Nia has beaten every B-level NXT woman before flattening Bayley just 3 weeks ago on TV.
Prediction: Asuka wins and leads to Asuka vs Bayley in Brooklyn, one year after Bayley won the title the first time.
NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha vs. The Revival
This is a rematch of a solid match from Dallas with both teams just getting better since. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable are easily the most popular team on NXT while The Revival have become better characters since losing the titles. This is yet another match where the losers will probably end up on the main roster, so you are left wondering if WWE needs a third super popular baby face tag team or another team of solid, yet unspectacular workers.
Prediction: American Alpha wins because WWE doesn’t care enough about tag teams to have 3 super popular teams at the same time.
Andrade Cien Almas vs. Tye Dillinger
My #1 question is wondering why they changed Manny Andrade’s name — a perfectly fine name that rolled off the tongue, while Andrade Cien Almas sounds forced and fake. Dillinger has won less than five tv matches and despite winning last week, I doubt he picks up two in a row.
The TakeOver: Dallas dark match against Chris Girard was a better match than three other matches on that show, so I am expecting a really good showing here. Dillinger has a fun gimmick and is popular with the crowd. However, his job is to lose.
Prediction: Almas wins and moves into a feud with Austin Aries.
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I honestly believe this could be the best TakeOver show since Brooklyn and possibly even better. Money in the Bank is being built up as perhaps the best PPV in WWE history, but after tonight, it will be second best of the month…at best.
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!
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.
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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!
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.
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We got a music video with clips of Asuka interspersed throughout.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
2015 has been an amazing year for NXT. The little brand that could got hit first with the injury bug to Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami, but also saw eight talents called up to the main WWE roster. While you can argue the successes of Kevin Owens, Neville, Tyler Breeze, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and the Lucha Dragons in WWE, they left quite the hole in NXT.
When WWE lost John Cena, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, and Cesaro all in a few weeks of each other, they replied by changing very little other than Sheamus winning the World title for a little over a month. By comparision, look at NXT. When they lost the Lucha Dragons, they responded by pushing Dash & Dawson, Blake & Murphy, and Jordan & Gable. When NXT lost Sasha, Becky, and Charlotte, they began pushing Asuka, Nia Jax and yes, even Eva Marie. When Owens got super over in his feud with Cena, NXT started the slow burn to Samoa Joe’s heel turn to replace him. When Neville and his cool moves went to Raw, we got Apollo Crews and his cool moves. When Itami got injured, Finn Balor not only got Itami’s title shot, he got his entire title reign.
So with that, we come to NXT TakeOver: London, the second Takeover outside of Full Sail and the first outside of the United States. What can the average WWE fan look forward to on this show?
Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship
The winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic explode! Joe had asked Balor for a title shot after they won the Dusty Classic. While Balor had said yes, he stood by and allowed William Regal to make a battle royal for the title shot. Joe, feeling betrayed, turned his back on Balor and laid him out, turning on his friend and occasional tag team partner.
This match is going to have every opportunity in the world to be the classic bout that happens at every TakeOver as both men can be counted on to come through in the clutch. If he wins the championship, Joe will become the first man to win a title in both TNA and NXT. Both men have numerous challengers in 2016 regardless of who wins as Crews has told Balor that they still have unfinished business. Plus, you have Baron Corbin and a returning Sami Zayn waiting in the wings.
Prediction: Finn Balor retains here and in a rematch in January
Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin
Corbin has come a long way since he started being pushed in September 2014. At first, the fans loved him for winning every match in 30 seconds and then turned on him when his matches went two minutes with Corbin not allowing them to count how long his matches go.
Crews already has the storyline where he has unfinished business with Balor, and Corbin is at least six months away from being ready for main events. Corbin has had excellent TakeOver matches with both Rhyno and Samoa Joe this year and this should be no exception. With each successive match, Corbin is showing more and more and has developed into a pretty good worker.
Prediction: Apollo Crews wins
Bayley vs. Nia Jax for the NXT Women’s Championship
This match WILL NOT BE A 5 STAR CLASSIC! With Charlotte, Becky and Sasha now on the main roster, NXT has to restock itself on women’s wrestlers, so we have Alexa Bliss, Carmella and a half dozen brand new girls most people don’t remember the names of. Bayley is the hero to the masses, coming off back to back ****+ matches with Banks and a shockingly acceptable match with Eva Marie, she is now going to battle Nia Jax. Jax, a cousin of The Rock, debuted on TV the week after TakeOver: Respect and immediately became a force in the division. This match will be so different than every other women’s title match that chances are most people will hate it.
Just remember, it could be Eva Marie getting the title.
Prediction: Nia Jax wins the title to set up the next title feud.
Asuka vs. Emma
Speaking of the next women’s title feud, Asuka debuted shortly after TakeOver: Brooklyn and began a long rivalry with Dana Brooke and Emma. Dana got her head knocked from here to Port St. Lucie in her debut so now, in complete denial, here comes Emma. This is arguably Emma’s biggest opportunity since returning to NXT after her failed call-up last year. The story is that the #DivasRevolution that everyone is enjoying in WWE started with her on NXT. Can Emma prove that she still belongs in the top tier of women’s wrestlers? This is her chance to prove it as long as Asuka doesn’t send her head into the back row.
Prediction: Asuka wins and moves onto Nia Jax.
Dash & Dawson vs Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady for the NXT tag team titles
This is a weird situation. Back in October, Enzo & Colin defeated Dash & Dawson to become the new no. 1 contenders. However, Dash & Dawson injured the Jersey Duo, took their title shot and took the championship. Enzo and Cass came back from their injury angle and cut a serious promo, all but guaranteeing they would win the belts. They have been teaming for almost 3 years and have never won the titles, despite being close to winning them earlier this year.
Two problems with the titles changing hands:
1) Dash & Dawson just won the belts last month. With the exception of title changes being caused by injuries, the shortest title reign was Sami Zayn’s nine-week long NXT title reign. Most title reigns last a minimum of three months, and these two just started getting a serious push after a year of being jobbers.
2) Jason Jordan & Chad Gable are the new, hot babyface team. They already have the angle that they are beating as many former NXT Tag Team Champions as possible, so they are probably next in line for the belts.
Prediction: Dash & Dawson retain.
Overall Thoughts:
Only one guaranteed great match out of five this time makes this the weakest NXT TakeOver card on paper. However, you have two more matches that be very good and the other two should at least have very interesting results. It has become a running joke that NXT has constantly had their shows around the same time as a bad, poorly built WWE PPV. However, this time they are coming after a pretty good (but poorly built) WWE PPV and have to top it with a weaker card than usual.
If history has taught us anything, it is to not take the guys and girls from NXT for granted. We should believe that the show has a chance to be great given the fact that they have consistently delivered. However this time, they have their work cut out for them.
WWE announced Saturday that there will be an NXT TakeOver special on April 1st at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center* in Dallas, TX, with tickets going on-sale December 19th.
The show is the Friday night before WrestleMania, making it the fourth WWE event in the market announced for that week with the Hall of Fame on Saturday, Wrestlemania on Sunday, and RAW on Monday. It seems likely the show will sell out quickly with so many people coming into Dallas that weekend.
Plans for the show’s card are likely close to being finalized already, or will be in a few weeks as they are taping television well ahead of time. Most all the television leading to this show will have been taped by the end of January.
NXT is currently on a tour in the United Kingdom, headlined by NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. the returning Sami Zayn. The tour is building up to the next TakeOver special on the WWE Network, set for Wednesday night in London, England.
*We originally reported the American Airlines Arena, and apologize for the error.
IT’S THE BRYAN AND VINNY SHOW — WITH JIM! We’ve got a long and packed show talking WWE NXT Takeover Respect, Retro Raw from 19 years ago this week with SID VS. GOLDUST, and more! Granny was bumped to Sunday due to show length, so she’ll join us then. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk tons of topics including NXT Takeover Respect, an awesome show, Asuka, Bailey and Sasha and more, plus the new PRIDE rebirth in Japan, text questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today with a PACKED show! NXT Takeover Respect start-to-finish, all the matches and angles, tons of notes from the show, plus news on James Storm, Hiroshi Hase, Smackdown, Jimmy Snuka, Okada vs. Strong, TJ Dillashaw, your questions and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
