Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including this TNA title tournament that starts tonight, NXT Takeover, plus Brandy Dawley appears to talk the planned rebirth of the PILLOW FIGHT LEAGUE. A fun show as always so check it out~!
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.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including tons of thoughts on Raw from Monday, Fedor Emelianenko’s alleged next opponent, IRON MAN or IRON WOMAN, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
With NXT TakeOver: Respect scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, that means it’s also time for Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s routine of doing a media conference call the day before the event.
Apologies for the delay in audio (found below) and for some of the background noise as the wrong mic was muted. (At least you heard the debut of my dog.)
– They reiterated WWE Wrestlemania tickets are now on sale.
– HHH apologized for being late and said he had to stop and call Bruno Sammartino and wish him well on his 80th birthday.
– He mentioned the UK tour, put over the WWE 24/7-esque show on the Network, and the Nashville and Louder Than Live music festival events this past weekend.
– He said the ‘Respect’ name has a lot to do with Dusty Rhodes and his meaning to the business. He put over the Dusty Rhodes Classic tag tourney finals and everyone on the show wanted to do Dusty proud. He talked about the Bayley/Sasha match at length.
– He talked about Breaking Ground, a show that is being shot right now with all kinds of behind the scenes information that will be coming on the Network soon.
– He was asked about the makeup of the crowd being younger and the ‘unique demographics’ NXT has brought him. He said there’s some crossover with WWE for young adults, but NXT is “more edgier, underground, niche.” “We’re feeding that niche, but that niche is huge.” He said that if NXT is more punk and hip-hop, WWE is more pop music. “I know who my fanbase is with NXT, and that’s who I’m trying to serve.”
– He hopes to have a fully functioning third brand that is touring as much as WWE is now. They have interest in doing more things like the L.O.L. music festival. They are getting to the point now where they are running out of bandwidth and have to say ‘maybe next year’ to more things than they did before.
– He was asked about who took over for Dusty in teaching promos. He said it’s a split right now. They are using a similar format to what Dusty had, but they are using people more geared toward what they are trying to accomplish. William Regal, some guests, and some staffers are filling in until they figure that out.
– He was asked about Jushin Liger and whether we’d see more like that. He said he’s open to everything but there are “limitations due to business reasons” with WWE. He said he looks at NXT with an open slate and an open mind.
– He was asked about the rise of female wrestlers and Bayley vs. Sasha Wednesday. He said their Brooklyn match was one of the best he’s ever seen and not just for women. He referenced Ronda Rousey and the U.S. women’s soccer team. He put over their athleticism, passion, etc.
– He was asked about Bayley’s desire to learn more about the backstage/TV process with recently doing some timekeeping and whether other talents were interested in learning more. He said some talents do, and others don’t. At RAW, there isn’t that much of an opportunity to do that while at NXT, there is more of a chance to do that. He says he encourages talent to learn as much as they can, and how much he was interested in that side of things. He especially mentioned Sami Zayn as wanting to do that as he recovered from injury.
– He talked about the recent Finn Balor tweets about TNA and with TNA talent, and whether he was concerned at all of that. He taked about how talents take a bus in certain areas and that when they passed the TNA offices, he wanted to stop and take a picture. HHH said Balor hit him up immediately about it, but HHH thought they were funny and didn’t see it as a big deal at all. He thought they were fun.
– He talked about the difference in ‘IronMan’ match vs. ‘IronWoman’ match, and debating over the name. He referenced how people win the Ironman competition, and that people like Lita mentioned she liked IronMan more, saying she thought it was derogatory to call it otherwise.
– He was asked about whether it was hard to sell the idea of an IronMan match in NXT to Vince, but HHH said he doesn’t make that final call in NXT. He said Vince “loved it” and takes a bad rap for some of the decisions he makes. He said Vince is all about the fans and that it may take him a while to come around. He said there might be a way that Vince likes to present things that are different. He talked about how Vince hesitated about coming to NXT Brooklyn because he would be just sitting and watching the show. HHH said he was able to sit at gorilla and just enjoy the show. He loved Sasha/Bayley and told HHH he can’t wait for the IronMan match.
– He was asked about Asuka’s debut against Dana Brooke, and what adjustments she’ll have to make in order to make it in NXT. He brought up how everyone has to adjust including talents like Hideo Itami.
– He was asked about what the thought process was in having the Divas “Curtain Call” moment at NXT Brooklyn. He joked he wanted to see who would get fired out of the deal. He talked about Vince telling him that if you put yourselves in the seat of a fan, you’ll never go wrong. He talked about the emotion involved in all of that.
– Final question was on Gabe Sapolsky and the relationship there between Dragon Gate USA & Evolve, specifically Johnny Gargano’s recent appearance, and whether they are a feeder system for NXT. HHH says he sees all of it as a feeder system, he really like what they do, and wants to support their shows. He said if he didn’t have room at the P.C. for talent and wanted them to get additional work, he’d send them to Gabe. He said the indie undercurrents are healthy for the business, and would do anything he could for them.
– He said he’s a big fan of Apollo Crews and laughs when he hears references to him being potentially the first black WWE Champion. “Guys like Rock, Booker T…I guess they don’t count?”
Call ended at 3:17 PM EST.
Click here to listen to the whole call or just right click & save.
The Bryan & Vinny Show returns tonight with TWO AWESOME SHOWS TO REVIEW! The streak is over, as Raw from 19 years ago this week at least had a hell of a main event, and NXT was a fun show with an awesome closing segment. Plus, GRANNY VISITS THE WEED STORE, a new unnecessary censorship drop and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
The show opened with Kyle Edwards in the WWE Studios to update us on the Dusty Rhodes Classic. This past weekend, Chad Gable & Jason Jordan defeated the Hype Bros to advance to Takeover, where they will face Baron Corbin & Rhyno in the semi-finals. Plus the winners of tonight’s match will face Dash & Dawson at Takeover, with the winners facing off in the championship round.
Dusty Rhodes Classic Quarterfinal: Samoa Joe & Finn Balor defeated Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
The show starts with the last quarterfinal Match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic! Finn Balor has a new remixed theme and they also have put “Balor Club” front and center on his Titantron video.
This is such an odd match-up of 4 people you never expected to ever wrestle each other. Colin and Joe brawled outside the ring, so Enzo did a Suicide Dive to Joe and Finn did a plancha over the top on Colin, before facing off with each other. Finn Irish Whipped Enzo into the corner, but ate a boot from Enzo and then a beautiful jumping DDT from the middle rope. That used to be the finisher of The Artist Formerly Known As Prince Iaukea and never looked nearly as good.
Colin gave Joe a Black Hole Slam and had a look on his face like “I can’t believe I did that either.” They did the Rocket Launcher on Joe, but Joe powered out of it and they hit a double team move where Joe used a Muscle Buster on Enzo and Finn came off with a Coup De Grace for the win!
– Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano cut a promo backstage saying they were very disappointed in only getting to the 2nd round of the Classic. They didn’t reach their own expectations, even though they surpassed others expectations. They did promise this was only the beginning. Up walked Tyler Breeze who said any friend of Apollo Crews was an enemy of his and challenged Ciampa to a match tonight, since Crews is facing Gargano.
– An Asuka promo aired. They had footage of her in Japan, which was neat.
Apollo Crews defeated Johnny Gargano
This is the singles match debut for Johnny Gargano and he does so against the former Uhaa Nation. Next week, live on the WWE Network, at NXT Takeover, Crews will go one on one with Prince Pretty, Tyler Breeze.
These two men worked wonderfully together like two people who have wrestled each other before…which they have. It looked rehearsed at times, but it was still a fun little match. Gargano was on the ring apron when Crews went for a running Something Or Other, but Gargano dove through the middle ropes, like a suicide dive into the ring, onto his foe. Gargano followed that up with an Abdominal Stretch where he pulled Crews’ free arm. Crews did his comeback and finished things off with the Gorilla Press Slam and Standing Moonsault.
– William Regal was backstage with Dana Brooke & Emma and he announced Dana will be wrestling Asuka next Wednesdaynight at Takeover.
Dana and Emma laughed, saying Asuka looked like a hyena walking away smiling last week. Mr. Regal showed them a video of Asuka doing something. We didn’t see the video, but we did see Dana and Emma getting wide eyed and quite worried. Before leaving, Emma told Dana good luck.
– Another Nia Jax video aired. 7 weeks running and she is still coming soon. Maybe she went to that Florida promotion that made noise a few years ago and then never ran a show.
– We then saw the video Mr. Regal showed Dana Brooke: Asuka pounding a heavy bag.
Emma and Dana Brooke defeated Billie Kay and Peyton Royce
Kay and Royce were wearing matching gear, so it looks like they will be a new team. Kay and Royce looked good, but this was purely a showcase for Emma and Dana. They did that annoying thing Ascension used to do where they would frantically tag in and out, stomping their opponent in the corner.
Peyton got the hot tag and went wild. She went for a middle rope something, slipped and fell flat on her face. They tried to cover it up by shooting it at a wacky angle, but it was impossible not to notice. They seemed to have no idea what to do for about 30 seconds, but the match finally continued, but ended soon after with a sit out DVD.
– Jason Jordan now wanted to be called JJ and him and Chad Gable were backstage to plug their match next week vs Rhyno & Baron Corbin. Chad and JJ said they are not overcoming the odds, Baron & Rhyno are. Chad said they have won a lot of tournament finals and will be Ready, Willing & Gable.
Dash & Dawson walked up and were offended that Chad & JJ did not think they had a chance against Enzo & Cass. They argued about who lost the 8-man tag a few weeks ago and broke down into them just talking all over each other and Devin leaving.
Tyler Breeze pinned Tommaso Ciampa
This match was wacky. We had some fine chain wrestling which culminated in Breeze mounting Ciampa, so Ciampa crawled around on his hands and knees like a horsey. Ciampa did a face wash, but with his knee, which was different, but cool.
Ciampa hit several running kicks to the mouth and a face buster where Breeze was hanging off the top rope. Ciampa went for a power bomb, but Breeze slipped out and hit a kick to the gut, but Ciampa cut him off and hit several more moves. Preparing for an upset Ciampa climbed the ropes, but got dropkicked when he dove off the top.
Breeze actually won with the Unprettier, which one person in the crowd yelled. I always like the Beauty Shot, but if anyone is going to use a move called the Unprettier, it’s Tyler.
– Rhyno and Baron Corbin laughed at the idea of anyone beating them. The only way I see them win is if they then run an angle with them against Cody and Dustin Rhodes afterwards.
– Next week at WWE TakeOver: Respect
-The show ended with a wonderfully done video package for the main event. It showed some never before seen backstage footage before the match at TakeOver Brooklyn. They showed 2 full minutes of highlights, which I don’t think they missed a single great moment. We saw backstage where everyone was watching and applauding them. That took us to Bayley returning to Full Sail as champion and the challenge for the Iron Man Match. The video feature ended with both girls training. Bayley heaved a medicine ball up over her head, which looked so impressive. That video package would have sold pay per view buys if this show was on ppv. That’s how good it was.
That’s it from Full Sail. Dave Meltzer will take care of live PBP duty of TakeOver: Respect, so until then, make sure to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
By Jacob Tillman
NXT Largo, FL – 9-25-15
Tucker Knight and Solomon Crowe vs Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton
Fulton pinned Crowe with a clothesline that flipped Crowe over.
Elias Sampson vs Bull Dempsey
Dempsey won with the top rope sit down splash.
Tyler Breeze vs Apollo Crews
Crews won with the press slam into backflip splash.
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce vs Dana Brooke and Emma
Emma and Dana Brooke won when Peyton tapped out to the Emma Lock.
Tye Dillinger vs Finn Balor
Balor won with Coup de Gras
Bayley vs Gionna
Bayley won with the Bayley to Belly.
Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder vs Hype Bros
Dawson and Wilder won with the assisted codebreaker.
Baron Corbin vs Samoa Joe
Joe won with the Coquina Clutch
Submitted by Jacob Tallman
Elias Sampson vs Steve Cutler
Cutler won with a fisherman buster suplex.
Angelo Dawkins vs Noah Kokoa
Dawkins won with a full Nelson slam.
Hugo Knox, Bull Dempsey and Billie Kay vs Solomon Crowe, Sawyer Fulton and Nia Jax
Hugo Knox, Bull Dempsey and Billie Kay won when Dempsey hit his sit down splash on Fulton.
Tye Dillinger vs Tucker Knight
Dillinger won with the modified code breaker.
NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillians vs Riddick Moss and Baron Corbin
The Vaudevillians won with the whirling dervish on Moss.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley vs Peyton Royce
Bayley won with the Belly to Bayley.
Tyler Breeze vs Apollo Crews
Breeze won when he rolled up Crews and held his tights.
Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder vs Samoa Joe and NXT Champion Finn Balor
Balor and Joe won when Balor won with Coup de Gras and put his head through the tile ceiling in the process. Here’s a look.
By Emerson Witner, WrestlingObserver.com
Greetings to all my fellow Empire members. Gather around and listen to the stories of a certain show taped in front of 300 people in a college in Winter Park, Florida!
The Big News: The Vaudevillians lost in the Dusty Classic, but retained their titles in the main event, defeated Blake & Murphy.
The Medium News: Kana is now Asuka, but you probably already knew that.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Tyler Breeze was informed by the cameraman that he will be wrestling Apollo Crews at Takeover.
The Recap:
Eva Marie defeated Carmella by countoutEva cut an inset promo where she thanked the referee from three weeks ago for holding up his count when she forgot to kick out of a suplex. This is a rematch from Brooklyn when these two squared off. This match was horrible, made worse by Corey Graves being obnoxious. Eva did this horrible walking boot across the ring that they showed a replay of. The fans chanted “Botox Everything” at Eva Marie.
They are continuing the gimmick where Eva Marie has matches lost, but somehow she doesn’t lose. Carmella had the pin after driving Eva’s face into her boot, but the referee held up his count at 2. Turns out Eva’s foot was touching the bottom rope. The finish saw Eva threw Carmella outside the ring and Carmella couldn’t get back in the ring, so she got counted out in an anticlimactic finish.
– Another video package for Nia Jax aired. She’s eventually going to arrive in NXT. I believe it’s now been 6 weeks
– A video package hyping the Bayley-Sasha match aired. This featured a completely different Bayley, totally low key and talking like an adult woman, as opposed to the character she plays.
Tyler Breeze pinned Bull Dempsey
Bull came out in his Michael Elgin robe. I just noticed that it looks a lot like Dr. Death Steve Williams’ robe too. The last time these two sports entertained was the infamous match where Bull was unable to take a lap around the ring.
Bull was standing on the apron and winding up for a punch when Tyler shoved Bull off the apron, sending him crashing on the ramp, which was the finish of the last match and almost the finish here. They compared Bull Fit favorably to P90X. In all fairness I do not hate Bull as much as I hate Tony Horton.
This match was dull and the fans amused themselves by chanting “All Bull Everything” and “Bullfit” in the cadence of “Bullshit”. Bull made his comeback, using his stomach as an offensive maneuver. Breeze rolled outside the ring to get away from a top rope move, but Bull pulled him back in and ascended the ropes. Tyler threw him off the top rope and pinned him with his feet on the ropes.
NOTE: After Tweeting out about Bull Dempsey’s robe and its similarity to Michael Elgin’s and Dr. Death’s, Elgin tweeted me back saying that he borrowed the concept from Dr. Death himself.
– The theme song for NXT Takeover: Respect is called Happy Song. No joke.
– A video package from the weekend tour of Texas. They did not mention the giant upset in the Dusty Rhodes Classic where Dash & Dawson defeated The Vaudevillians to advance to Takeover.
Mr. Regal was in the ring for a contract signed with the newest NXT Diva: Kana
She was Asuka before the commercial break and before I could finish typing that, her Titantron changed names from Kana to Asuka.
She has pink hair and is very very happy to be here. She yelled ‘YAAAYYYYYYY!” into the microphone before saying she was happy to be here on NXT. She might literally be the happiest person to ever be on this show. In broken English she happily announced her desire to be champion. I once had a supervisor at Jackson Hewitt in Hazleton, Pennsylvania who was so happy we used to joke he must have been on drugs. I think Asuka is happier.
Dana Brooke and Emma came out to introduce themselves. Emma talked slowly to Asuka as if she were 4 years old, saying they are NXT’s welcoming committee. They told her that if she plans to survive in the locker room, she needs to respect them as the leaders of the locker room.
Dana said they ran Charlotte and Becky out of NXT and if Asuka doesn’t play nice her career will be over before it begins. They told her to leave the ring, which, shockingly, she did. The fans chanted no at her, but she walked away with her head bowed. At the top of the ramp Asuka just turned and smiled at them. I don’t want to alarm you, but this is far from over.
-Tyler Breeze was asked about his match vs Apollo Crews at Takeover. Conveniently Crews just happened to be walking up to Tyler and said he hopes Tyler is just as excited as he is.
-Kyle Edwards filled us in on the updates of the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Next week on NXT is Balor & Joe vs Enzo & Big Cass and the winners will face Dash & Dawson. On the other side of the bracket it will be the Hype Bros vs Chad Gable & Jason Jordan this weekend at a house show, with the winners facing Rhyno & Baron Corbin.
NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillians defeated Blake & Murphy
Can Blake & Murphy become the first team to become two time NXT Tag Team Champions? Adrian Neville is a 2-time champion, but he had three different partners. Him and the long forgotten Oliver Grey became the first NXT Tag Champions, but Oliver got injured, so Bo Dallas filled in for the end of the reign. Then Kassius Ohno & Corey Graves were the #1 Contender’s, but Kassius got a storyline injury, so Corey teamed with Neville to become unlikely champions, defeating the Wyatt Family.
The fans chanted for Blue Pants, who was not there for the first 30 seconds. Then Alexa got involved quickly, so Pants ran down and chased Alexa away. The heels got the heat on English, but Aiden fought back and did an impressive double hiptoss to both challengers at the same time. Aiden tried to build on this momentum outside the ring, but Blake gave him a side suplex on the ring apron.
English eventually slapped Murphy so hard that Murphy should contact his lawyer. Simon got the hot tag and went wild on Blake. They went for their finish, but Blake got his knees up when Aiden went for the swanton. Murphy hit a top rope knee, but only got a 2 count. Finally the champs retained with the Whirling Dervish. I was actually surprised as I expected Blake and Murphy to get the belts back.
The show ended with promos by Enzo & Colin and Samoa Joe & Finn Balor building up their quarter final match next week. Next week is already the go-home show for Takeover, so who is going to the Final Four of the Dusty Classic?
Only one way to find out, tune in next week and until then, say your vitamins and take your prayers!
by Scott Williams
1. Enzo & Big Cass vs Chad Gable & Jordan. The ring isn’t lit for shit. Enzo pinned Gable after a rocket launcher.
2. Bull Dempsey pinned Tye Dillinger with a flying teabag. Comedy match.
3. Apollo Crews beat Solomon Crowe. Crews did some nice spots.
4. Samoa Joe vs Baron Corbin. “Joe’s gonna kill you” chant to start. Lackluster offense by Corbin. Joe won by KO/submission with the clutch.
Intermission
5. Dana Brooke pinned Carmela. Not good. Was wishing the ring was even more poorly lit.
6. Tag title: Vaudevillains beat Blake & Murphy. Best match so far. Vaudevillains are fantastic.
7. NXT women’s: Bayley beat Emna. Bayley got THE pop of the night. Seeing her live, her charisma and ability to connect with fans is practically palpable.
8. Main, NXT title: Finn Balor beat Tyler Breeze. Good back and forth, with NXT & the overused Awesome chants late in the bout. After, Balor took selfies with Breeze’s phone.
Lighting got better later in the show. Overall, a fun event, definitely a thumbs up.