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Tag: NXT

  • WWE NXT results: Samoa Joe vs Apollo Crews; American Alpha: No Way Jose

    The Big News: I paid my F4WOnline bills, so this NXT report is not 51% owned by Ron & Don Harris.

    The Medium News: Samoa Joe sent Apollo Crews packing to Raw with a submission loss

    The Little Beaver Sized News: No Way Jose debuted!

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    It is our second week at WrestleMania Axxess. I do think it’s funny that they acknowledge that they are at Axxess, but do commentary like it’s live.

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    NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha defeated Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady

    We kick things off with the new NXT Tag Team Champions going 2 on 2 with the men who may be the next #1 Contender’s to the WWE Tag Team Championship. This match was set up last week when both teams noted they never faced off and this was their only chance to sports entertain with Enzo and Cass on Raw.

    The fans were more excited for this than almost anything last week, chanting “This is awesome” before the bell even sounded. The champs schooled Enzo and had no problem tossing the little guy around, however they had a harder time when it came to Big Cass.

    They didn’t show Colin in the ring at first. He tagged in, they went to commercial and then Enzo tagged back in within 5 seconds of coming back. Not sure if something got messed up or if it’s just one of those things. Enzo and Colin were the heels of the match, getting the heat on Gable. Gable, in case I haven’t said it in the last 3 weeks, is an excellent baby face in peril and Jordan makes a terrific comeback, which makes this team as great as they are.

    Jordan got the hot tag and man oh man, Matty, can Jason Jordan throw Enzo Amore around. If you told me Enzo didn’t have to help out much, I would believe you. Anyhoo the champs won with Grand Amplitude.

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    Apollo Crews doesn’t like bullies and will beat up Samoa Joe tonight.

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    No Way Jose pinned Alexander Wolfe

    This is the NXT tv debut of both No Way Jose and Alexander Wolfe. Wolfe was one of the people in the Dusty Rhodes Classic whose match never aired on tv. No Way Jose is already popular with the people, even if he has a really weird name.

    This match was fun to watch. Jose used an Airplane Spin that just went on and on and on. The fans, despite not knowing the man, sang the Ole song, but sang Jose instead of Ole. Jose won with a punch to the face that he wound up like he was a pitcher throwing a fastball.

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    Austin Aries said he doesn’t believe in luck, but Baron Corbin is entitled to his opinion about why he lost. Aries doesn’t need luck, he has skill. Aries challenged him and everyone in the NXT locker room.

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    Elias Sampson was tuning his guitar when William Regal walked up and said he’s here to offer Elias an opportunity. Next week he’ll go one on one with Shinsuke Nakamura. He didn’t seem pleased.

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    Nia Jax squashed Deonna Purrazzo

    Please change Deonna Purrazzo’s name. It helps that seemingly every time she wrestles she gets killed, so I don’t have to spend too much time writing her name.

    This was all Nia and she won very quickly with a leg drop. Seriously Deonna’s only attempted offense saw her be swatted away like a fly.

    ****************

    Bayley was asked about the Eva Marie-Asuka match next week. I am shocked Eva was able to survive and make it to WrestleMania. Anyway she did analysis previewing the match and said she will be watching since she wants her belt back.

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    Samoa Joe submitted Apollo Crews

    Main event time! They keep mentioning Joe and Finn Balor, so I guess that feud is still going on. Finn is now the longest reigning NXT Champion of all time, surpassing Adrian Neville. Not putting anything past Apollo Crews, but it’s weird that he’s the one on the main roster and Samoa Joe is still in developmental.

    This was a good match, nothing great, but good. Honestly this is a match you’d expect the two of them to have at a house show, which, by the way, is still better than a lot of people. Joe kicked out of the Standing Moonsault and Crews kicked out of a power slam. Honestly the only time I ever remember Joe winning with the power slam is Slammiversary 2006 against Scott Steiner.

    Joe blocked the spinning power bomb and dropped Crews with the corner uranage before choking Crews out with the Coquina Clutch.

    So it’s a quick show this week, ending at 8:49 (as opposed to 8:55), but what is next for the NXT superstars? Only one way to find out, until next week make sure to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

  • NXT Citrus Springs, FL, live results: Nakamura vs. Dillinger; Asuka, Bayley, more!

    I’m here at NXT Citrus Springs and we are expecting approximately 300 people for Shinsuke Nakamura’s NXT Florida debut.

    No Way Jose beat Noah

    Fun opener with Noah wanting to shake hands and be friends with Jose, which, of course, led to chants of “No Way Jose” for the handshake offer. Solid action before Jose hit the wind0up punch and his new finish — a full nelson slam — for the win.

    Liv Morgan beat Peyton Royce

    Peyton tried to offer her flower to Liv, who tossed it away. Royce was going for her Venus Fly Trap submission, BUT Morgan was able to roll through and win the match.

    Manny Andrade beat Elias Samson

    Major heat for The Drifter and his attempted pre match song. Manny entered to a good reaction and we’re off. Great work by Andrade, countering moves, flipping over Samson and keeping the tempo up. Drifter works the headlock of doom before Manny fired up, ran wild and hit the running knees for the win.

    Riddick Moss beat Alex Riley

    Moss has fresh new gear and a fancy gold vest. He ordered the ref to take his vest off for him, BUT ARy snuck behind and did so himself, only to put the vest on and upset Moss. Physical match with Moss scoring the win over a distraught ARy.

    NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton

    Big reaction for Alpha showing off the titles for the first time in FL. A lot of impressive matwork by both Gable and Jordan early on before the pace was picked up. Jordan ran wild with big dropkicks before the heels took advantage of a distraction and stun-gunned Gable on the top rope. Wolfe and Fulton took turns working over Gable’s arm before he was able to escape and make the big hot tag to Jordan, ran wild again and this time, Alpha finished them off with the Assisted German Suplex.

    NXT Women’s Champion Asuka beat Adrien Reese

    A good, yet clearly toned down, reaction for Asuka, the usual crowd favorite had more of a guilty reaction here after beating Bayley for the title. Good early exchanges with Reese even putting Asuka in holds. The champion took advantage of a counter and rolled through for the Asuka Lock victory.

    Shinsuke Nakamura beat Tye Dillinger

    Huge superstar reaction for Nakamura. This match was everything you could ask for at a live event. They taunted each other, played one upsmanship, and finally, it broke down in to a fight. Dillinger did Nakamura’s taunts himself, Nakamura did Dillinger’s cartwheel; it was exactly what you could ever want in a WWE Shinsuke Nakamura match. Dillinger and Nakamura even exchanged strong style strikes before Shinsuke hit the knee to the midsection and the Kinshasa for the win.

    Bayley and Mojo Rawley beat Nia Jax and Samoa Joe

    Joe got the heat on Mojo for a long time while Bayley lead cheers. She finally caught the hot tag and fought off Nia, even ending up on her shoulders punching down at Nia. Joe even tried to break up a pin but the ref dove at him to prevent the boot to Bayley. Nia tried to gain control but Bayley To Belly for the win.

    Post-match, they celebrated and Bayley snatched Joe’s towel, Joe was kicking the stairs on the outside as Bayley waved the towel and danced with Mojo.

  • NXT North Charleston, SC, live results Nakamura & Finn Balor team up

    Submitted by Bryant Tallon

    No Way Jose vs. Riddick Moss

    Simple match with Jose pinning Moss clean for the victory

    Elias Sampson vs. Corey Hollis

    Hollis being from Charleston got a huge pop! Crowd chanted “Play Freebird” at Sampson so he started playing it and made the lyrics heelish by taunting the crowd. Sampson pins Hollis clean for the victory.

    Carmella vs. Eva Marie 

    Pre-match, Carmella walked around ring with a fans sign “Eva sucks”. Eva pins Carmella with the help of putting her feet on the ropes. Post match, Carmella punishes Eva Marie until she rolls out of the ring.

    Blake vs. Alex Riley

    Nothing special. Riley pinned Blake clean for the victory.

    NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha vs. The Revival

    Great storytelling match. This match drew my non-wrestling fan wife in and she loved it. Alpha retains belts over Revival via pinfall.

    Intermission for 20 minutes. Crowd pops loud for a picture of Bayley on the screen.

    Austin Aries vs. Manny Andrade

    Manny won the crowd over big time. He moonsaulted off the middle rope, landed on his feet and flipped into a backflip on Aries. Maybe the biggest pop of the night for that move. Aries pinned Manny for the victory and post-match, the contenders shook hands. Aries gets on the mic and puts over
    Manny although Manny has already won the crowd over during the match.

    NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Peyton Royce

    Royce controlled most of the match but Asuka wins in the end via submission with the Asuka lock.

    Tye Dillinger and Baron Corbin vs. Nakamura and NXT Champion Finn Balor

    Crowd chants “take your shirt off” at Corbin because he is wrestling in a shirt. Match stops and he finally takes shirt off to reveal a second shirt under that. Crowd pops. Balor’s offense was Flair chop heavy and he did the Flair strut a few times during the match. Of course crowd loves it. Balor pins Dillinger for the victory. Balor and Nakamura get on the mic post match and thank the fans and NXT universe for the support.

  • NXT Columbia, SC, live results: Nakamura bleeds; Finn Balor & Austin Aries team up

    Submitted by James Gates

    No Way Jose d. Steve Blake

    Jose got the crowd going with chants early on. He and Blake worked the crowd for a good 3 minutes before they locked up. The crowd chanted Jose to the tune of Sami Zayn’s Ole, and “Hey, we want some Jose”. Jose was a good comedy character and did some comedy spots with Blake. The match was good for an opening match to get the crowd going. Jose won with a wind up baseball pitch punch to Blake’s head.

    Riddick Moss d. John Skyler

    Riddick came out with the mic and cut a generic “this town sucks” promo. Skylar came out and is from Columbia, SC, apparently. He was mildly over throughout the match. No mention of why Patrick Clark got swapped out. The match was very bare bones like a tryout match. At the start, Riddick wanted the ref to take his vest off. He turns his back and Skyler takes it off for him, then poses with it. He then teases a toss the vest to the crowd spot, then tosses it to Riddick and dropkicks him to start the match. The match was very basic, but Riddick got the majority of the offense in. Riddick pinned Skyler while holding onto the ropes. I don’t know how the ref didn’t see it, since from my angle it looked like he was looking right at it. 

    Carmella d. Peyton Royce

    Carmella cut her standard promo before the match. She said that she wasn’t the Queen of Staten Island today, but the Queen of Columbia. This match was slow and painful. Crowd wasn’t really into it. Lots of holds, lots of slow kicks from Royce. Carmella eventually won in a short match.

    Elias Sampson d. Alex Riley

    Elias comes in from the crowd to boos. He gets in the ring and cuts a short promo about the city. He then starts playing for a couple of seconds before being interrupted by Alex Riley. This match had the longest chinlock spot ever: at least 8 minutes of Samson putting a chinlock on Riley. They teased Riley breaking from it multiple times to no avail. The crowd was really turning on the match until the very end of the chinlock spot where they started getting into it. Then, Riley broke out and the crowd really didn’t react that much. It was like they wanted to see how long the chinlock was gonna last. This match was decent and Samson gets a lot of heat. Riley is overlooked by the crowd. Samson wins with his neckbreaker finisher.

    NXT Tag Champions American Alpha d. The Revival

    This was by far the best match and the one the crowd reacted to the most. AA come off as stars and were so hot with the crowd throughout the entire match. The match itself was almost like a repeat of the Takeover match, with the same spots being repeated, like Dash and Dawson holding onto each other while they get German Suplexed. It was still very fun.

    During the match, either Dash of Dawson inside cradled Gable and pinned him. The crowd was stunned silent for about 3 seconds until Drake reversed his decision when he realized the wrong Revival member was in and kept the match going. AA then did their spots and hit Grand Amplitude for the win. Crowd is ecstatic.

    NXT Women’s Champion Asuka d. Eva Marie

    Eva was booed coming out, but during the match, she was cheered quite a bit. However, it felt more like the crowd was cheering Eva to spite the fans who were booing her. There was a “You Can’t Wrestle/Yes She Can” dueling chant going on with both sides equally loud. Eva worked heel throughout the match. She got a lot of offense in, it was pretty much evenly split. The match was decent. Eva didn’t botch any moves. Asuka put a lot of work in though wrestling circles around eva. Asuka won when she transitioned the armbar into the Asuka lock.

    Shinsuke Nakamura d. Manny Andrade

    Manny came out first and got a pretty mild reaction while Nakamura came out like a star, People overwhelmingly cheered Nakamura. The match was really good but was short because it was a house show. I think it went no longer than 12 minutes. As the match went on, there’s blood on the side of Nakamura’s head, and the match is stopped. The doctors came out to work on Nakamura causing the crowd to chant “PG Sucks” among other things.

    They worked on Nakamura for a long time, and I thought he might actually not be okay. Then Nakamura started thumping his foot against the ring to get the crowd going and then he went after Manny. He didn’t seem affected by his time on the ground. Manny did a lot of lucha moves that got under Nakamura’s skin throughout the match. When Manny would hit a lucha move, Nakamura would immediately go outside and sell for a bit.

    Manny did a moonsault off the stage ramp onto a standing Nakamura on the floor. Manny didn’t much of a reaction until he did the Kota Ibushi spot. The moonsault off the rope that misses and then follows up with another moonsault. It got a nearfall and the crowd popped and chanted for Manny. Nakamura then quickly cut him off and hit the Kinshasa for the win. It was a good match that could’ve been a lot better if given the time.

    NXT Champion Finn Balor and Austin Aries d. Baron Corbin and Tye Dillinger

    Tye comes out first and starts talking about Columbia and himself and how he’s a perfect ten. He hypes up Corbin as his partner. Corbin comes and keeps his shirt on. He kept his shirt on for the entirety of the match despite the pleas from the crowd to take it off. Finn and Aries hit the ring and Finn cuts a promo hyping up Corbin on his debut and winning the Battle Royale. He then says that he’s gonna throw Corbin over the rope tonight in Columbia.

    The match starts and it revolves around whether Corbin or Finn will throw the other over the top rope. Corbin throws Aries over very early on, grabs the mic and says to Finn, “See how easy it was for me to throw that little guy over the top rope, now im gonna do it to you”. The match is good, Tye takes around 70% of the offense for Finn/Aries. Finn and Aries trade getting the heat from Corbin throughout the match. Then Finn hits slingblade on Corbin and Corbin staggers to the rope. Finn then finally clotheslines Corbin over the rope. Aries dives outside onto Corbin.

    Finn hits the Sling Blade on Tye, then hits the Blood Sunday for the win. Finn then gets the crowd to sing Nah Nah Nah Nah Wave Goodbye to Corbin. After the match, Aries and Finn get the ref (not drake) to toss Tye over the rope and he does to much applause. This was a really good show overall, wish some matches got more time than others.

  • Shinsuke Nakamura suffers possible injury during WWE NXT live event

    After a scare, Shinsuke Nakamura seemed to be okay and finished his match tonight.

    Nakamura was wrestling Manny Andrade, the former La Sombra, in Columbia, SC tonight during a WWE NXT Live Event. Andrade did a moonsault off the top rope to the floor and Nakamura was down.  The match was stopped for two minutes as medical officials were attending to him.

    Nakamura was able to get up and finish the match.

    We’re waiting for an update but I believe he did suffer a significant cut during the move.

    Nakamura and Sombra had a program together in both Japan and Mexico in 2013 where Nakamura lost the IWGP IC title to Sombra at Arena Mexico, but regained it later in the year.  The program established Sombra as a star outside of Mexico.

  • NXT Concord, NC, live results: Finn Balor & Nakamura team up

    Submitted by Jason Sitek

    No Way Jose defeated Riddick Moss

    Both guys are pretty green, but this was a prelim house show match. Jose got some solid chanting, and has a Latin baseball player’s walk-up music. Lots of dancing and then he won the match with a baseball pitching wind-up punch.

    Elias Samson defeated John Skyler

    As soon as Samson’s music hit, the place starts booing. He cut a promo and sang a song but the sound at floor level was not great, so you could not really make anything out. Skyler is from Concord but fans were more focused on booing Samson.  Lots of “drift away” and “you can’t wrestle” chants.

    Alex Riley defeated Blake

    No Murphy or Alexa with Blake who is pretty dead without them. Lots of “Where’s Alexa?” chants. Alex Riley smiled at the “young Triple H!” chants, commenting on his look, but that’s about the only good thing to say about this. Riley won the match, but I’m not sure anyone was the better for it.

    Eva Marie defeated Carmella

    Carmella out first to a huge pop. Eva came out to tremendous heat and boos, but you can tell the crowd loves booing her and she loves getting that reaction. Lot of knee-in-the-back rest holds from Eva to Carmella. Carmella got her comeback, but Eva got the win by keeping her feet on the bottom rope. Carmella left, but came back and hit her finisher on Eva to pop the crowd.

    NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha defeated The Revival

    Gable is great, but I was most impressed by Jordan, Dash, and Dawson. Revival got lots of heat on Gable and were bantering back and forth with the crowd.  They were sarcastic and heelish, and it was great. Jordan got his babyface comeback and took off the shoulder straps, then later in the match emphatically put them back on and immediately got fired up and took them back off — to the roar of the crowd. 

    Spot of the night was a new one for this match-up (from what I can tell) where Gable was in the corner and one member of Revival tries to schoolboy him, but Gable has his arms around the other Revival member and suplexes him. Alpha wins, but no signature finisher.

    – Short promo from Tom Phillips and Dasha Fuentes about merch & and then intermission.

    Austin Aries defeated Manny Andrade

    Manny out to generic Latin music and very little reaction — but that would change by the end of the match.  Most people, including NXT fans, may not know who Manny is/was and how good he is. Very quiet during the first half of the match, but some of the best wrestling of the night. Aries had the crowd support at first but credit to him for getting Manny over.  By the time this match was done, Manny was the star leaving the ring.  Aries pinned him but helped up him and pointed at Manny in a way that let the fans know the former La Sombra is the real deal.

    NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Peyton Royce

    Peyton Royce out with new heel music, attire, and heel mannerisms. She has a small flower she carries with her and smells from time to time.  Asuka was out but had no belt. Eva Marie came out before the match got underway, carrying the “belt” underneath a blanket, challenging Asuka to a match for the title at NXT Columbia the next night. 

    The crowd loved Asuka, and was really one of the best on this show tonight. Peyton got a lot of offense in, but Asuka tapped her out to the Asuka Lock.  Asuka then asked for a mic and in confident English said “Eva, I’m going to kick your ass.”

    NXT Champion Finn Balor/Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Tye Dillinger/Baron Corbin

    Wildly entertaining man event. Dillinger out first and the “10” gimmick is over. He cut a promo about how this crowd/show is a 4 but since he’s a 10, he’ll give them a perfect match and perfect victory.  Corbin out next and the banter was excellent.  Nakamura out third and the crowd made known who they came to see. The entire arena could not have been more excited to see him live. Finn Balor still wildly popular as NXT champ and cheered but not as big as Nakamura. Corbin worked the match with his shirt on and bantered with the crowd, rubbing his fingers together to show the only way he’d take it off would be for money.

    Finn was up first and the crowd erupted when he tagged in Nakamura.  Tye and Baron tagged in and out to delay eventually facing him. Lots of the usual Nakamura spots like the vibrating stomp, knees and kicks, but you don’t even care if you’ve seen it before because it’s so great live. His facial features sell it even further.

    Since Concord is just outside of Charlotte, the Flair chops were used heavily. Finn hit Tye with chops and then went FULL-Flair and started strutting and WOO!-ing.  He sold it like he had dreamed of working the Carolinas as Flair as a kid. The Flair spots culminated in a perfect Flair-flop from Dillinger and the crowd laughed uproariously and applauded.  Nothing bad but nothing memorable from Corbin.  After some grappling, Nakamura hit Tye with a knee strike from the top rope and tagged Finn who hit the Bloody Sunday for the pin.

    Finn and Nakamura celebrated, and then Balor grabbed the mic and cut a promo. He was very passionate and said that after ‘Mania there were a lot of tired, sore, and even some homesick wrestlers, but crowds like tonight make them want to go out and not let anyone down.  The crowd appreciated the candor.  He then handed the mic to Shinsuke who said he only had one thing to say: “YEAOH!”  — and the entire crowd did it with him.

    Fun moment after the match: Finn grabbed a fan’s sign and held it up to all sides of the ring.  The sign read “WHERE ARE DOC AND KARL?” 

  • April 11, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: A look at a historic Wrestlemania weekend, NXT Takeover

    There has never been anything in the history of pro wrestling quite like this past weekend.

    Never have more fans attended more events, nor has more talent been in the same place then in Dallas.

    The difference in one year was amazing. Last year, in the San Jose area, WrestleMania came to town, people came from all over the world, and events were held throughout the city in conjunction with the weekend. There was an awareness that WrestleMania was in town, but it was more a tourist event and in the city itself, the interest was nothing compared to a major sports event. There were only about 15,000 tickets sold within a 100 mile radius of Santa Clara for last year’s show, but it still broke the company’s gate and merchandise records and most of the events put on by other companies did well.

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

  • Total Divastation: WWE Total Divas episode 12 recap

    Submitted by Kevin LaRose

    Welcome to the biggest party of the year, the Total Divas after WrestleMania, where up is down and down is out of control. Sit back, strap it on, and enjoy yourself, WWE Universe, because this is going to be one hell of a wild ride. 

    In Cincinnati, JoJo, Mandy, and Rosa are sitting around in catering talking about Rosa’s baby shower. Paige sits at another table. She has too much on her plate to deal with baby stuff. Rosa and Fox go sit with her and try to make her talk about Rosa’s big, famous baby shower.

    Brie shows Nikki a picture of a house in Washington. Nikki is so mad that Brie wants to move to Washington. Nikki is excited to go to the wine bar there, but she wants to wear heeled Timberlands when they go hiking.

    Someone spanks Nattie.

    Work has been going great for Fox, but due to Nikki’s injury, she is getting some time off, too. Which is good for her, because she has some family issues to take care of.

    In a hotel bar, Fox and Paige have a drink and commiserate. Fox is so tired. Her family is coming in and she wants to have a family talk. A father figure in her life, Priechy, who her mother used to date, is dying, and it’s making her realize she has to deal with all the dysfunction. Paige tells Fox that she has to talk to her family. Fox is going to miss Rosa’s big, famous baby shower.

    In a car in Washington, Brie’s brother points out a bumper sticker with a dick joke. Everyone loves it. Nikki likes Washington, but she hates how rural it is. Brie and Nikki argue over how high maintenance Nikki is. Bryan joins in.

    Back in Florida, Fox tells Rosa she can’t go to her big, famous baby shower. Rosa doesn’t understand. She gets upset and walks away.

    In Washington, they are in the backwoods, on a dirt road. It’s beautiful. Nikki hates it. She is wearing high heeled camping boots. Nikki is crazy. They are looking at an empty lot. Bryan and Brie consider building a house there. Nikki is pissed because she doesn’t want to go there when John is filming a movie.

    In Florida, Fox is driving with her sister. She starts crying really hard, talking about her mother. Her mom recently blew her off in Houston. Her sister calms her down.

    Back in Washington, the music is intense as everyone pulls up to a beautiful house where if you want water, you have to get it from a well. Nikki is pissed, and Bryan acts passive aggressive. Nikki tells everyone she is a good person.

    In Florida, Fox’s mom arrives. They reminisce in the car. Fox and her sister don’t like their mom’s perfume. It smells gross.

    At Raw, Rosa is backstage. She sits down with Mandy and Eva. No one is going to Rosa’s big, famous baby shower. Paige has a secret that she’s been hiding and she needs to tell it to Rosa. In the ring, Paige symbolically taps out to Nattie’s Sharpshooter. Big Show thinks Paige looks sad. He comforts her backstage and pulls her aside for a pep talk. Paige reveals that she once lost a baby, and that she had to have a cyst removed and she may never be able to have kids. That’s why Rosa’s big, famous baby shower thing has been so hard for her.

    In Florida, Fox and her family go to a really nice outdoor restaurant right on the beach. It’s the kind of place you go on vacation, but Fox can eat there whenever she wantsbecause she lives in town. I’m getting so chilled out just imagining being there. This is, by far and away, my favorite place I have ever seen anyone ever eat on Total Divas. It’s a shame that this has to be the place for Fox to hold her big family meeting, and she can’t just relax with a cold drink. But maybe the chill vibes are just what she needs to make a tense situation manageable for her. I think she made a great choice in restaurants. Priechy shows up. Fox’s mom already knew about his illness, but she never told her daughters. This pisses Fox off.

    Back in Washington, Nikki and Bryan make a bet that she can’t last the night camping outside. Nikki tries to set up a tent, but she’s having trouble. Bryan teaches her and shegets it. Bryan tells her she has to use the bathroom outside. Nikki says no way, and Bryan wins the bet and fifty dollars in cold, hard cash.

    In Los Angeles, Rosa and Paige are driving around. Paige tells Rosa that she can’t go to Rosa’s big, famous baby shower because she has to go on MTV. Rosa is so pissed.No one is coming to the party now.

    In Washington, Bryan is chopping wood. Nikki remembers her victory over Bryan in a wood chopping contest many years ago on another season of Total Divas. Thisawakens the competitive fire in Nikki’s heart, and she decides she wants to go fly fishing. Nikki chops wood.

    In Florida, the Fox family are going to another chill looking outdoor restaurant in Jacksonville. This episode is doing a great job making me want to move to Florida. Fox confronts her.

    In Washington, Nikki goes fishing and Brie and Bryan go shopping. Brie comments on the irony. They look at baby hiking books. Meanwhile, Nikki is learning to fish. She isstarting to come around to the Washington lifestyle. She realizes that her problem isn’t with Washington, it’s that everyone is moving to the next step in their lives, but she isn’t ready yet.

    Back in Florida, Fox and her mom leave the restaurant, and start fighting. Her mom is acting like a total nut. Fox feels guilty, but she really doesn’t need to. Her mom appearsin this episode as the dictionary definition of dysfunctional. Fox drops her mom off, and she is really sad about what happened.

    Back in LA, It’s time for Rosa’s big, famous baby shower. There is a photo booth. Rosa is so sad that none of her work friends are there. She is especially mad at Paige. Lillian Garcia shows up, and they take a picture together.

    On the MTV set, a strange guy talks to Paige. Paige feels like she is betraying Rosa. Perhaps all the Divas’ problems would be solved with a little truth and transparency.

    At Rosa’s party, Rosa talks smack about Paige, and then Paige surprises everyone and shows up. Paige tells Rosa her secret. They hug, and Rosa realizes she’s been a little selfish. Paige hopes to one day be a mom, as good of a mom as she has. They play a game called suck the nipple.

    Back in Washington, everyone goes to this really nice North Western styled bistro. Nikki loves it. She tells Brie she is pissed that Washington is too far from her. Nikki tells them she feels like they are moving there to get away from her. She said she went fishing to prove to them that she can be a mountain mama and hang with them in the Wilderness. They tell her that they love having Nikki be their third wheel. Everyone feels a lot better. Brie tells them that they probably aren’t going to move to that particular town anyway.

    That’s it for this week on WWE Total Divas.

  • NXT TV tapings results & notes: Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Asuka

    Here’s some notes from today’s NXT tapings as part of Fan Axxess. Three weeks worth of tapings were held in a different part of the Bailey Kay Hutchison Center as the show the night before. It’s clear that a lot of stuff will be added between backstage and probably a lot of videos from the TakeOver shows as they didn’t tease much in the way of future directions.

    4/6 show

    – Asuka beat Eva Marie.  This was to set up Asuka vs. Nia Jax as a title program as they had a staredown.

    – Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson beat two wrestlers who weren’t named, possibly Scott Matthews & Scott Parker from Quebec.

    – Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley beat Blake & Murphy.  No Alexa Bliss with Blake & Murphy. Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson jumped The Hype Bros after the match so that looks to be a new program.

    – Carmella beat Aliyah

    – Shinsuke Nakamura beat Elias Samson

    4/13 show

    – Jason Jordan & Chad Gable beat Enzo Amore & Big Cass.  There’s been talk of Enzo & Cass coming up to the main roster.

    – Nia Jax b Deonna Purrazzo

    – No Way Jose, whose debut has been pushed for the last few weeks on NXT, debuts on this show over Alexander Wolfe

    – Samoa Joe beat Apollo Crews via choke.

    – Austin Aries beat Angelo Dawkins.

    4/20 show

    – Alexa Bliss beat Tessa Blanchard

    Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa (who have signed NXT contracts but not developmental contracts, believed to be similar to the deal Austin Aries has, to where they can still work indies) beat The Vaudevillains.  So looks like they are now in for a push.

    – Baron Corbin pinned Tucker Knight in a basic squash

    – Bayley beat Liv Morgan.  Bayley cut a generic promo about it doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many you get back up.  She never mentioned Asuka’s name.

    – Nakamura beat Tye Dillinger.  Nakamura was great at connecting with the crowd.

  • NXT TakeOver Dallas live results: Nakamura debuts; Finn Balor & Bayley defend their gold

    Friday’s NXT TakeOver: Dallas show on the WWE Network is one of the biggest the brand has produced up to this point with three big main events that sound great on paper, and should be great in execution.

    If given time, the top three matches have a chance of being some of the best matches this weekend will provide:

    – Reigning champion Finn Balor will defend the NXT title against Samoa Joe, a rematch from TakeOver: London event.

    – Women’s champion Bayley defends against Asuka, who has a ton of momentum since debuting.

    – Sami Zayn, who is making what will most likely be his last appearance on the NXT brand, will square off against a debuting Shinsuke Nakamura, who stunned the world by signing a WWE contract a few months ago after having a great run in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

    – Austin Aries will take on the man who attacked him in his debut, Baron Corbin

    – Apollo Crews faces off against “The Drifter” Elias Sampson

    – NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival (Dash and Dawson) defend against American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan).

    Join us at 10 PM EST for our coverage!

    Apparently, the Apollo Crews/Drifer match was bumped to dark match status. Apollo won in what was said to not be a very good match.

    In case you were wondering, no, we didn’t have Triple H open this broadcast.

    NXT Tag Team Championship: The Revival (Dash and Dawson) (c) vs. American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable)

    Crowd was really hot for this. Gable worked a lot of the match, and was the one being worked on as Jordan was waiting for a tag. They worked on him forever, though there were a few clever spots like Dash going through the ring and taking out Jordan just as Gable was going for a tag. They completely messed up a spot where the Revival were going for a powerbomb/clothesline off the top rope combo but didn’t get Gable up all the way and it looked really bad, and on top of that Dash went for a cover when he wasn’t the legal man and they just stood there for a few seconds, lost. “Botchamania” chants after that one. It picked right back up after that as Jordan was tagged and they went for a bunch of fun near falls that the crowd ate up. Gable had a bunch of clever nearfalls, he’s such a terrific athlete. They did a phantom tag as Gable had Dawson in the corner. Jordan surprised him with a spear, Gable tagged back in and hit their drop/suplex bridge finisher to win the titles. Good match despite the botch with some great heat.

    Jim Ross, Michelle Beadle, Funaki and, most interestingly, Kota Ibushi were shown in the crowd. Announcers specifically mentioned the cruiserweight tournament when talking about Ibushi.

    Baron Corbin vs. Austin Aries

    Corbin has a cool new jacket. I know Aries is on the small side anyway but Corbin absolutely dwarfed him in comparison. Aries started off hot but Corbin cut him off and got the heat on him. He’s really found himself in terms of agressiveness which I think he didn’t have even going back a few months ago, he continue to improve well. Aries made a comeback but Corbin laid him out with the deep six (spinning side slam) on the outside. He went for the End of Days but Aries countered with a roll up into a bridge and got the win. Right finish as it protected Corbin and Aries got the needed win in his debut. Pretty good match.

    Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

    Crowd went ballistic the minute Nakamura came out. Song, entrance, everything fit him and was instantly over. Crowd is SUPER into this, far beyond anything else on this card so far. Good back and forth between both throughout. Nakamura was extremely comfortable doing his own thing and did all of his trademark spots. He’s one of the best in the world in terms of charisma and presence and it was completely represented here Zayn did the big running senton to the floor. Great back and forth sequence. Nakamura’s nose was busted open. “We want strong style” chant. More back and forth until Nakamura hit the spinning clothesline, like from the G1 final from a few years ago. He transisitoned into a triangle. Zayn tried to counter but Nakamura escaped. Zayn got in the koji clutch but Nakamura countered out of it. Zayn went for the helluva kick but Nakamura  escaped and hit the reverse exploder and went for the boma ye but Zayn countered. Just great back and forth and the heat was incredible. Nakamura hit the knee strike to the back of the head then pinned Zayn with a high knee strike to the face for the win. Absolutely incredible match that is a surefire match of the year candidate. I think Nakamura’s going to be just fine in WWE.

    Nakamura and Zayn shook hands after the match. Zayn stood in the ring as people were chanting “Ole” and “Thank You Sami”. He left to his own music to a big reaction. 

     NXT Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Asuka

    Both women worked really well with one another and everything looked right on the money. A lot of back and forth. Asuka went for a kick but Bayley immediately latched on a kneebar in a cool submission. She worked on both Asuka’s knees. Asuka came back with the flying armbar and went into the seated position but Bayley countered with a roll up. Asuka latched on the Asuka lock, taking her to the floor. Bayley fought and fought, but eventually passed out and Asuka got the win, becoming the new Women’s champion. Crowd was stunned by this but ultimately cheered Asuka. Tough to follow the previous match but this was really good.

    Bayley looked dejected after the match. Asuka left the ring, stared at Bayley, then headed up the ramp, posing with the title.

    They showed Bobby Roode in the audience, so at the very least he’s on the radar.

    NXT Championship: Finn Balor (c) vs. Samoa Joe

    Balor came out with a chainsaw, I guess since it’s in Texas. Maybe he borrowed it from Dean Ambrose and will give it back after the match. Balor did a flying senton to the floor and Joe’s eye was immediately busted open big time, blood everywhere. It was actually from a headbutt sequence at the start of the match. Joe did a sick suicide dive to the outside. They had to stop the match several times as Joe’s eye was still bleeding, which the crowd didn’t like, chanting “Bulls***” and “F*** PG”. I don’t think it’s a PG issue but rather a a medical/commission issue. Some good back and forth once that was all cleared up. Balor went for the coupe de grace but Joe cut him off and hit the muscle buster for a nearfall.  Balor got back up and hit the coupe de grace then tried to follow with the Bloody Sunday DDT but Joe came back with the kokina clutch. They did the Piper/Bret finish from Wrestlemania 8 where Balor used the turnbuckle as leverage and bridged himself over Joe on the floor, pinning him. Heat and intensity was there, and it wasn’t bad but the constant stoppages hurt it from being really great.

    Joe looked both stunned and angry after the match, and simply left with Balor celebrating in the ring as the show ended. Another great NXT Takeover event, watch the Zayn/Nakamura match above everything else but each match was good to great in it’s own right.