A further update from yesterday’s report on the comeback of Sami Zayn is that his first match back will be a single match with Finn Balor for the NXT title tomorrow night in Newcastle, England.
Zayn returns from six months out due to shoulder surgery on the NXT U.K. tour which runs from 12/10 to 12/16 and will be in the main event of several shows on the tour including the opener.
He is not announced for a match on the live Takeover special on 12/16 in London, but is advertised as appearing on that show as well.
-Just a fun reminder to check out the Wrestling Outsiders Podcast and our interview with Dave Meltzer, which is live right now at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/139049
The Big News: Despite WWE Corporate stacking the deck in Eva Marie’s favor, Bayley retained her championship in a fun, well booked main event.
The Medium News: Sami Zayn returns soon!
The Little Beaver-sized News: Michael Cole is in charge with Mr. Regal recovering from surgery
-Michael Cole is in the ring to oversee the contract signing for the Finn Balor-Samoa Joe title match at NXT Takeover. Cole is booed until he mentions that Mr. Regal has undergone successful surgery. Cole was booed again when he mentioned he was put in charge.
Cole says that Mr. Regal ixnayed the Bayley-Eva Marie match, but WWE Corporate overruled Mr. Regal and that match will happen tonight.
With that Finn Balor and Samoa Joe came to the ring for their signing. Balor came out first, took the mic and told Joe he is not entitled to the NXT Title and plans on sticking his foot down Joe’s throat.
Joe stormed to the ring, signed the contract and immediately walked away without saying a word. Balor was calling him a coward and tried to get Joe to stick around, but Joe was having nothing of it.
Finn walked away, but when he got to the top of the ramp Joe attacked him, ran him to the ring and threw him in there. After a brief flurry of punches by both men Joe locked on the Coquina Clutch and choked out Finn.
1.) NXT Tag Team Champions Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson defeated The Vaudevillians
It is a tag team championship rematch. Just two weeks ago The Vaudevillians dropped the belts to Dash & Dawson and now they are looking to reclaim the belts.
The champs got the heat on English by dropping him with a single arm DDT. It didn’t last long as Gotch got tagged in and went all manly on their foes until Dawson knocked his head off with a clothesline. Both teams went for their finish, but it got reversed both times. However, at the end of the day Dash blind tagged himself in, the champs hit their move and retained the championship.
As the champs celebrated we saw the return of Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady! The fans exploded as Enzo and Cass lay a hurting on the champions. Dash and Dawson are sent packing and it looks like their future foes have been decided.
-Eva Marie was sitting on William Regal’s desk. When Tom Phillips asked her why, she simply said that it is because she needs more space to get ready. Eva then went on to say that Bayley is a swell girl, but we need a real woman to be champion. She says she is happy to have the support of the entire WWE Universe, before showing a bunch of gifts left for her.
Eva then introduced her new friend, Nia Jax, and said nothing beats friendship.
-A video aired with a bearded man playing guitar. I bet he’s coming to NXT. All we saw was his beard and his clothes, with the video in black and white.
2.) The match between Asuka and Dana Brooke never started
On October 7 Asuka debuted at NXT Takeover by beating Dana Brooke all over the arena. Well Dana did not learn her lesson and here we are for a rematch.
Dana cut a promo while walking to the ring when Emma attacked Asuka from behind! Asuka took care of her quickly, but when Asuka turned her attention back to Dana, Emma attacked again and put her in the Emma Lock. The heel duo walked off together with no match.
As she got back to her feet, Asuka smiled. Someone is going to die.
-Bayley cut a promo saying that Eva Marie is pretty and has WWE Corporate on her side, but the difference is Bayley is a wrestler and tonight she will show Eva why she is the Women’s Champion.
-Sami Zayn returns soon. That’s good.
3.) Apollo Crews pinned Jesse Sorensen
Apollo is three weeks away from going one on one with Baron Corbin at NXT Takeover. Tonight he does battle with the man most famous for breaking his neck on a live TNA ppv. He has been on the show at least twice already, but the announcers acted like this was new.
The highlight of the match was Apollo holding Jesse up for a suplex for 21 seconds before dropping him. Sorensen got just enough offense so it wasn’t a total squash, but Crews won with a sit out power bomb.
After the match Crews officially accepted Baron’s challenge. I actually thought he did that last week. Oh well.
-Baron Corbin immediately replied with a promo saying Apollo is going to be the answer to a trivia question because no one will remember him.
-Charles Robinson walked to the ring before the main event and was added as a second referee. Robinson is here to ensure there will not be controversy in the match.
Next week: Samoa Joe vs Tommaso Ciampa
4.) NXT Women’s Champion Bayley pinned Eva Marie (Thank God)
This is not the first time these two wrestled. Last year they tried to re-debut Eva Marie and she had an atrocious match with Bayley that she was taken off tv for a year and it finished 5th in the Worst Match of the Year in the Observer last year. Eva Marie had Nia Jax for immoral support and Bayley had 300 screaming fans. They are really pushing the idea of WWE Corporate trying to set up Eva Marie winning here.
When they dimmed the lights for the introductions Eva Marie posed like a model while Bayley stood there and shook her head at the challenger. Eva was doing everything well, but was doing it a step slowly. At least nothing got botched. Anyway Eva hit a suplex, Bayley got up and hit the Belly to Bayley Suplex, but Nia Jax pulled the referee out, injuring him.
Charles Robinson took over as Nia jumped up on the apron and laid out Bayley with a headbutt behind Charles’ back, but Eva only got a 2 count. Eva used some more of her slow offense until the champ took her head off with a clothesline. Bayley went for a corner charge, but Charles stepped in front of her, claiming Eva was in the ropes.
Eva hit The Kendrick NOOO! YES! Bayley kicked out. Eva went for The Kendrick a second time, but Bayley pushed her into Charles, knocking him out of the ring. Nia interfered yet again, but Bayley yanked her off the apron, laying her out. After that Bayley hit a Belly to Bayley Suplex from the middle rope for the win!
That was a fun match. They kept it simple and threw in a lot of smoke and mirrors to cover up for Eva’s shortcomings.
After the match Nia laid out Bayley before dropping the championship on her prone body.
-That does it for this week. Thank you for reading and I wish my American readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. Until next week, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
A very focused episode of Breaking Ground showcased two tag teams: the all-amateur pairing of Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, and the mis-matched rookie Mojo Rawley and WWE veteran Zach Ryder. Their journey through the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic anchors arguably the series’ best episode to-date.
Show Recap:
This edition spent a good deal of time with four men in two tag teams: former amateur wrestlers Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, former football player Mojo Rawley and current WWE superstar (doing double-duty in NXT) Zach Ryder.
Jordan wrestled since he was a kid, something we learn about while seeing adorable childhood photos of him in a singlet at a meet. He’s a unique case, as wrestling has given him some structure in his life – compared to two of his older brothers, who are in jail. The coaches praise his athleticism, but noted he seemed to struggle at times to be believable in the ring. Regal says that until recently, he hadn’t found his “thing,” and we get clips of Jordan as an occasional enhancement talent on NXT television.
Enter Chad Gable. We learn a bit about him. Like Jordan, he was a high-level amateur wrestler – he went to the 2012 Olympics. He’s smaller, athletic and has charisma. Jason Albert says Gable’s personality has rubbed on on Jordan a bit, and we see them hanging out and playing basketball. “I guess you never thought you’d lose to a short white guy in basketball,” jokes Gable. Later on, we tag along with them as they drive to an event. They joke around. Later we hear that Gable hurt his ankle in Texas, and the coaches move around some matches to maximize his rest so he’s ready for the Dusty Rhodes tournament.
The contrast to the “best friends with similar backgrounds” tag team is Mojo Rawley and Zach Ryder. Mojo’s a crazy man who used to play football and made the NFL but got injured. He buys a house and parties in it. He’s young and loud, and despite his enthusiasm it seems like he’s peaked in NXT already. The coaches discuss in a meeting that he doesn’t get what an opening match is supposed to be or have.
Enter Zach Ryder, his new partner – and coincidentally, an opening match guy on the WWE main roster. Ryder’s more experienced and more mature, and sees the tag team as an opportunity to get back to the main roster more regularly – and to probably prove to WWE that he can be used to help younger guys, which could extend his tenure. And Rawley sees Ryder as a path to the main roster. Yet in an odd contrast, Ryder and Rawley don’t ride together (Rawley travels with Dana Brooke) and they text each other regularly, but they aren’t best friends or anything. The show seemingly goes out of its way to show Jordan and Gable riding together and being buddies and Ryder and Mojo being mis-matched.
In addition to the main two teams, we hang out with ZZ and Cal Bishop. ZZ is still woefully out-of-shape and has horrible cardio, and actually walks out of a cardio workout (with Albert and Robbie Brookside yelling at him to continue) because he’s so blown up. Cal Bishop is a California kid signed out of college by Gerry Briscoe, but currently out with a shoulder injury. Dana Brooke and the coaches praise him for his look and his commitment, especially since he’s gone through all the rehab for his injury. He cuts a promo in promo class about adversity and battling through it. It’s actually pretty good, and they seem to really make viewers like him. On this show, that either means he’s either going to do really well or he’s going to get cut next week.
Final Thoughts:
The more focused Breaking Ground has been in its episodes, the better the show has been. This was easily the most focused episode and so far, the best the series has been in helping audiences get to know the NXT talent.
Submitted by John Carey with additional notes from J.J. Williams from Winter Park, FL
These are the tapings that will make up all the TVs leading up to NXT’s TakeOver London show in mid-December.
– Dark Match: Levis Valenzuela defeat Axel Tischer
Another great showing by Levis who mixes his work with entertainment. A highlight being a cha cha cha salsa dance with the hips before dropping a big leg. The “Fiesta” gimmick is a favorite of the local Florida fans.
Wednesday, November 25:
– Greg Hamilton introduces Michael Cole to a chorus of booos before the crowd lightens up a bit, Michael informs us that William Regal is recovering from a successful surgery and management has put him in charge for the time being. Cole then calls NXT Champion Finn Balor and Samoa Joe out for their contract signing. They have a seemingly calm and non confrontational signing. Joe leaves, Finn makes his way up the ramp where Joe returns to cheap shot Balor, they brawl for a while until the refs attempt a pull apart and as usual this gives Joe the advantage as while Finn is dealing with refs, Joe can lock in the choke and leave Finn laying yet again.
– NXT Tag Champions Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder beat The Vaudevillains in an okay match. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady returned to a big pop to attack and beat down Dash & Dawson.
– Asuka vs. Dana Brooke never happened. Dana got to the apron when Emma in a black hoodie attacked Asuka from behind. Emma and Dana high five outside of the ring as Asuka is trying to get up in the ring yet stays down after her beatdown.
– Apollo Crews beat Jesse Sorenson in a squash match. They were building Crews vs. Baron Corbin for 12/16 in London which is the next Takeover show.
– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Eva Marie to retain the title. We are told that Charles Robinson was assigned to keep an eye on this match by management. Big fight feel early on, in ring introductions with the spotlight. This match had a different kind of heat than anything in recent memory, every nearfall was frightening as this wasn’t something the people would accept if Eva won, there aren’t many matches to compare this too because of it. Early on Bayley hit her finish on Eva yet Nia pulled the ref out and knocked him to the floor as well, this lead to Bayley turning towards her being distracted, Eva rolled her up, Charles Robinson dove in and the count seemed a little fast and we got a long two count. Everyone bit as this wasn’t blatantly dirty yet it scared the people that he might be. A few more nearfall spots before Bayley whips Eva and knocks Robinson down again, Nia tries to get involved when Bayley set Eva on the middle rope for the finish yet Bayley fought her off, hit the move, a third ref sprinted down and counted the three to a huge ovation. After being announced as the winner and celebrating a bit, Nia then left Bayley laying. Unbelievable match for the way it was all set up, they took everyone on a rollercoaster.
– Baron Corbin beat Tye Dillinger in an okay match
Wednesday, December 2nd:
– Nia Jax destroyed Blue Pants in a squash.
– James Storm beat Adam Rose in a squash. Rose was out in his glasses and heel persona that he’s been using lately on Main Event. The crowd kept singing his theme to taunt him as he had the music turned off when he reached the stage. Another one sided match to showcase Storm.
– Jason Jordan & Chad Gable beat The Vaudevillains in a good match. It was a good match with Gable working some holds early, Jordan getting a hot tag and a firy comeback before the clean finish. Post match the Vaudevillains refused a handshake and walked away angrily.
– Emma beat Liv Morgan (the former Gionna Daddio) via submission. Physical one sided match here as Emma womanhandled the energetic Morgan, finish came when Emma did her variant of a curb stomp before locking in her submission. After the match we see a heavy bag on the tron while hearing punching and kicking noises from the opposite side, Asuka peaks her head from behind and says “See you in London.” as Emma appears slightly intimidated in the ring.
– Samoa Joe beat Tommaso Ciampa in a physical match. This match was violent, it started slow and the crowd was unsure how to react since Joe is still a big star here, the match took off when Joe unleashed Japanese style strikes and slaps to Ciampa, loud smacks. At one point Joe backed Ciampa in to the corned and connected with a loud kick to the side of Tomaso’s head. Joe hit the muscle buster and choked him out for a strong, decisive win.
Wednesday, December 9th:
– Bull Dempsey beat Riddick Moss. Dempsey’s comedy is over with the live crowd. Mostly comedy spots as at one point Moss wanted a test of strength so Bull got his hands close to Riddick’s yet instead of locking up would slowly lower and raise them as if they were doing the mirror spot. Some wacky stuff before Bull got the win.
– Enzo & Big Cass beat John Skyler & Corey Hollis in a squash. Enzo hit the big splash for the win. Post match Enzo began the promo on Dash & Dawson talking about how they are a family and taking out Big Cass was taking away from his family. Cass then did an excellent job closing the promo, strong words in challenging them for the tag titles. None of the usual routine or comedy here, intense and direct words.
– Asuka beat Deonna Purrazzo with a spinning kick knockout and referee stoppage. Emma and Dana stood on the stage trying to distract Asuka yet it only made her mad and she wiped out Deonna with a kick. The heels looked on in fear before leaving, Asuka then checked on Purrazzo.
– Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder beat Blake & Murphy. Blake, Alexa, & Murphy wore Freddy Krueger inspired gear here and were quite entertaining playing the foils to the fired up Hype Bros.
– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Peyton Royce in a non-title squash match. This was the debut of Peyton’s new gimmick off the live events, a Poison Ivy type persona, a lot of impressive flexibility worked in to her mannerisms, entering the ring, even turning almost completely upside down while her foot was on Bayley’s neck in the corner. Post match Nia Jax’s music hit, Eva Marie was with her and tried to speak first but was drowned out with booos, they’ll have to turn the mics up like they did on last week’s television, Nia was able to take the mic from Eva and speak over the booing to say she’ll take the title from Bayley in London.
– Samoa Joe & Baron Corbin beat NXT Champion Finn Balor and Apollo Crews when Joe choked out Finn yet again and the ref had to call for the bell. Crews and Corbin were fighting outside the ring during the finish. Good action, nothing we haven’t seen before as they’re all gearing up for their singles matches at Takeover. Joe stands tall holding the title up while standing over Balor to close the show.
We’re told Linda and Stephanie McMahon came out in front of the fans, but it doesn’t appear like it was for anything on-air.
The Big News: NXT had a bad show. The matches were mostly bad, the audience was mostly dead. I couldn’t even get entertainment from Corey Graves’ obnoxious commentary
The Medium Sized News: Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe was made official for Takeover.
The Little Beaver Sized News: In news almost as tragic as “NXT had a bad show”, Eva Marie will be challenging for the Women’s Championship next week.
*****
Nia Jax pinned Carmella
This is Carmella’s first appearance since her boys Colin and Enzo were taken out two weeks ago. After 14 months of being aligned with the most charismatic man on NXT no one cares about Carmella at all.
Carmella looked bad in this match, seemingly unable to take a bump as even when Nia ran her over, she just fell into the ropes. Nia used that jumping bear hug that is so much cooler than her actual finish, but Carmella turned it into a front chinlock. That lasted 10 seconds. Nia did miss a jumping sitting splash, but she caught Carmella on a move, used her standing uranage and legdrop for the win.
That wasn’t Eva Marie bad, but bad nonetheless.
– Alexa Bliss is tired of hearing about the Iron Man Match at Takeover and now tonight she is going to take Bayley’s championship. Alexa said she wasn’t on NXT to make people smile or have a good time (ignore baby face run). As she was finishing up a referee came in and told her that Mr. Regal banned Blake & Murphy from ringside. Blake and Murphy were upset, but Alexa didn’t get angry.
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan defeated The Ascension
The Ascension were the longest NXT Tag Team Champions in history. Not mentioned is they held the belts forever because there were literally no other teams on NXT. When I say there were no teams I don’t mean there were 2 or 3 times. I mean there was 1 team and that was The Ascension.
The NXT fans were really into Ascension, like they always were. They were so into Konnor and Viktor they didn’t reply much to Jordan & Gable, who are normally the crowd favorites. In addition they chanted “Ya ya!” to the tune of Kurt Angle’s WWE theme, as opposed to “Gable” like they normally do.
Ascension looked better here than they have possibly ever on the main roster. Has WWE effectively used anyone from NXT since The Shield? Better yet, have they used anyone effectively in their NXT gimmick? The fans kinda got behind Gable, but only enough to do a dueling chant while the heels got the heat on him. Jordan got the hot tag and even then the fans didn’t really care until he dropped his straps like Angle.
Viktor used a beautiful flying knee from the middle rope on Jordan, but Gable broke it up and hit a flip dive onto Konnor on the outside. Finally Jordan and Gable picked up the win with their move where Jordan throws Viktor into the air and Gable catches him and hits a side suplex for the win.
– On WWE.com, they announced a Survivor Series elimination match, but literally did not list a single person in the match. So with that taken care of, I want to squash a rumor right away: I will NOT be a team captain or even a member of either team. Sorry to let everyone down.
– They aired a really good video package for Bayley vs Alexa. Too bad the match is happening tonight and not at Takeover.
– Speaking of Bayley, she cut a promo stating that becoming champion was not easy and retaining the title is just as hard. Alexa Bliss will learn that it is not easy to take the championship from her and will get the wrestling lesson of a lifetime.
Emma submitted Mary Kay
Emma is here going one on one with a pretty girl with dark hair. If you have no idea why I said that, consider yourself lucky. Anyway they didn’t bother to name Mary Kay until the match had long since begun.
This match was better than the opener, but not by a whole lot. The announcers spent the whole time building up Emma’s future match with Asuka and all I could think was I don’t want to see Emma wrestle anyone. Are my standards just too high or was Emma just never any good? Anyhoo Emma used a version of the Curb Stomp before winning with the Emma Lock.
– Last week Baron Corbin cut a promo stating he didn’t like Apollo Crews before challenging him to a match at Takeover: London.
– Next week: Dash & Dawson vs The Vaudevillians for the tag team titles
NXT Tag Team Champions Dash & Dawson defeated Corey Hollis & John Skylar
Much to my surprise Hollis and Skylar were introduced on tv. Anyway the story of this match is these four men faced off years ago, before any of them were in WWE. Dawson used a really nice Dragon Screw Leg Whip and single legged crap on Hollis as the champs got the heat on their foe. This match was longer than the other squashes on the show. I guess someone realized they needed to fill time. Anyway they destroyed Hollis’ knee until Hollis tagged in Skylar. Skylar was so fricking excited, he ran into the ring…and immediately got hit with the Toss in the air/Codebreaker combo to give the champs the win.
– Tom Phillips asked Asuka about her masks. Before she could say anything, Dana Brooke walked up and she is still offended that Asuka patted her on the head. Next week it will be a rematch. Dana patted Tom on the head and it was not nearly as great as with Devin. Emma skipped in after and they secretly spoke of their plan for Asuka.
– Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship was made official for Takeover in December, plus next week they will sign the contract for their match.
-Samoa Joe put a pre-taped promo from his home. Joe said Mr. Regal ordered him to stay home just in case Finn tried to retaliate. Joe said this was to protect Finn and next week when the match is set in stone he will hurt Finn and take his championship at London.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley pinned Alexa Bliss
Bayley got, by far, the biggest reaction of the show so far. Like it was an entirely different crowd that came out for the main event.
Bayley blitzed Alexa at the bell, just destroying her challenger, putting her in different inopportune situations. Alexa rolled outside to breathe when Bayley followed out and got slammed into the ring apron, finally giving Alexa the chance to take over.
The fans literally got so bored during the heat they did the “Boo!” “Yay!” cheer spot even though Alexa had Bayley in a rear chinlock. This was twice as long as any Alexa singles match ever and it seemed she was not ready for a match that long as it looked like she ran out of things to do. Alexa got a near fall with a sunset flip, which turned out to be the closest she ever got. The match built and ended out of nowhere. Bayley won with a Belly to Bayley Suplex out of nowhere. I am sure the fans were a-ok with the match being over, but sure seemed like Alexa never did anything that made you think she was about to win.
Just when this week’s episode couldn’t get worse…Eva Marie came out. The fans barely had the energy to boo and chant no at her entrance. However the did not want her to talk, as soon as she opened up her yap they summoned up the energy to boo the heck out of her. Eva eventually challenged Bayley to a title match next week. May God have mercy on our soul. On Thanksgiving Eve Eva Marie may become champion.
*****
Well, that does it for another week. Until that absolutely dreadful moment, I encourage you all to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
The Big News: Samoa Joe turned heel at the end of an excellent NXT Title match between Finn Balor and Apollo Crews. Baron Corbin got more heat than he has ever gotten in his life when he ran in to make the DQ.
More Big News: Seth Rollins may have been injured during a WWE Live Event tonight. I am sure people who know much more about this stuff than I do will keep you up to date.
The Medium-sized News: Despite losing a #1 Contender’s Match 2 weeks ago, Dash & Dawson were announced as being #1 Contender’s and will face The Vaudevillians next week.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Both Cameron and Eva Marie returned and wrestled on this show.
Asuka submitted Cameron
Asuka is here to kick off NXT, going one on one with Cameron, of all people. Cameron has fallen off the face of the Earth and has now resurfaced here on NXT. During her hiatus Cameron dyed her hair the exact same purple of her hair.
Cameron nearly wanted to run away 30 seconds into the match when Asuka snapped off a Hurricarana and turned it right into an Armbar. Cameron did battle back and broke out her Split Legdrop, but unlike that time she did it on Raw, Asuka was on her back, so Cameron didn’t look stupid in demanding a count from the ref. Asuka threw her body at the face of Cameron before finishing off the former Funkadactyl with the Asuka Lock.
– Carmella tried cutting a promo giving us the status of Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady when Dash & Dawson walked in and bragged about taking them out. They are sorry they didn’t take them out sooner and next week they get a shot at The Vaudevillians for the NXT Tag Team Titles. I should point out that it was just 2 weeks ago when Dash & Dawson lost a #1 Contender’s Match. Anyhoo, Dash & Dawson left a wheelchair for The Vaudevillians, saying they will need it after next week.
– Earlier today, Jason Jordan & Chad Gable said they aren’t where they need to be. Gable made Jordan feel better by pointing out they are still on the way up. Gable referred to them as the World’s Greatest Tag Team, but Jordan cut them off. Jordan said they should challenge the best tag team in NXT history. Gable pointed out they couldn’t wrestle themselves, so Jordan instead issued a challenge to The Ascension. Chad challenged them to come back if they are Ready, Willing and Gable.
Bull Dempsey has crappy new entrance music and if you remember how bad his music used to be, this is really saying something. Angelo Dawkins came out to theme music for the first time ever. His and Fulton’s Titantron is less creative than David Flair’s famous one was. This was literally just their names over and over and over again. There wasn’t even a disappointed Ric Flair in there.
Dawkins kept Bull in a chinlock forever until Bull decided it was time to Hulk Up. Bull used a series of punches and won with the sitting splash off the top rope, which used to be Doink’s Whoopee Cushion. I remember when he showed that move to the kids on Tough Enough and I remember saying Bull had never used that move in his life. After the match, Sawyer Fulton was upset, so he left the ringside area. Yes, I am sure they will be so much better apart than they have been together.
-The Vaudevillians were quite offended that Dash & Dawson left them a wheelchair. They plan on beating their toughest challenge to date and use this to become one of the greatest teams in NXT history.
– Apollo Crews was sitting in his locker room with a bunch of children’s drawings hanging up next to him. He got up, stared at Finn Balor’s championship (which was conveniently near where he was sitting) and left.
– Bayley has tag team partners for the 6-person tag team match against Blake, Murphy & Alexa. Remember when I knew it would be The Vaudevillians? It was so much worse. It was the Hype Bros and next week they will be having a tag match.
Eva Marie pinned Marley
On the same show, we have both Eva Marie and Cameron. They did not name Eva’s opponent, so I did some research and my good friend Steve Juon stated that her name was Marley. I will avoid making jokes about her name. This match was a lot better when Marley was on offense, mind you it looked like she kicked Eva right in the face. But don’t worry because Eva then kicked her in the face and while Marley was on her knees, Eva gave her an STO for the win.
– Emma stated that she is not scared of Asuka, instead saying she doesn’t respect Asuka smiling at her. Both Emma and Dana stated that they have nothing but respect for Asuka, but were offended by Asuka patting Dana on her head. Emma said she will give Asuka a proper welcome.
Apollo Crews defeated NXT Champion Finn Balor by DQ
Main event time! They did the big main event intros, but this time they turned off all the lights in the arena except a blue spotlight in the middle of the ring where champion and challenger stood. This is Balor’s first tv defense since NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, but in the meantime he won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Samoa Joe. Meanwhile Apollo Crews has been undefeated since debuting that night in Brooklyn.
Crews began the match by taking it right to Finn. Crews hit every big move in the first 2 minutes, but then ran right into Finn’s foot, which slowed him down. Crews tried to comeback with a sunset flip, but Balor kicked him with both feet in the face. Crews then replied by kicked Balor right in the head and ascending to the middle rope, which caused Finn to jump into the air and kick Crews in the head, sending him toppling to the arena floor.
These two men are not shy about hitting each other as Finn gave Apollo a chop that Apollo is still feeling, 2 weeks after the show was taped. Apollo hit the Gorilla Press Slam, but Finn got his knees up on the standing moonsault. Finn hit the running dropkick to the corner, but Apollo moved from the Coup De Grace. Apollo kicked Finn in the face, which turned Finn around and Balor hit the Pele Kick!
The two men laid there for a good 30 seconds when Baron fricking Corbin ran in to attack Apollo for the DQ. That caused a crap ton of heat from the audience. The fans went silent as Baron’s attack continued on both men until Samoa Joe ran in for the save. Of course Joe did not run in for the save. Instead Baron ran away and Joe took Finn’s head off!
The fans exploded as Joe pounded away on the NXT Champion with stomps and punches. Joe tore at his hair and then placed Finn on the turnbuckles. Joe grabbed Finn’s face, yelling “I did this to you!” before dropping him with the Muscle Buster. Joe grabbed the NXT Championship and dropped it on Finn’s body before leaving.
Apollo Crews should give Tyler Breeze a phone call. Breeze became #1 contender in May 2014 and got his title shot a few months later. That match ended in a DQ when Tyson Kidd ran in to attack Adrian Neville. Let it be known, that well over a year later Tyler still never got a one-on-one rematch for the championship.
But with that out of the way, that does it for another week of NXT. This show you can skip half of it, but as long as you watch the main event then you will be quite happy. Until we meet again, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
First of all, an early Happy Birthday to your favorite NXT recapper and mine: me! But before I turn 31 tomorrow, let’s talk about NXT tonight.
Emma submitted Shazza
We kick things off with Diva’s action. It is the debut of Shazza, who is replacing Alexa Bliss as the cute little pixie-looking girl. Shazza has white-blonde hair and is not nearly as tan as the other girls, so it is shocking to the eyes when they show a closeup of her. Shazza is also from Melbourne and they pushed that she is the last person Emma wrestled before coming to NXT.
Shazza went down into the splits for a drop down spot, but when she didn’t get right up, Emma waited for her to look up and dropkicked her in the face. This match was all Emma and she won the Battle of Australia with a bridging chinlock.
– Last week James Storm cut a promo with Tom Phillips after his debut match. Storm was quite happy that the fans chanted he belonged here. If anyone doesn’t like him being in NXT, sorry about their damn luck.
– We got a Finn Balor video package, featuring interviews with a lot of the NXT fans. They also used footage from the Balor documentary they did back in June.
Jason Jordan & Chad Gable defeated Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano
Jordan and Gable got a standing ovation from the crowd, which was weird since they are heels. They do love them some Gable. Ciampa and Gable began. They did the spot where they did a Greco Roman Knuckle Lock and Ciampa forced Gable down, but Gable bridged up, but was unable to hold Ciampa up when he jumped on him.
The fans love Gargano, Ciampa and Jordan as well, but they like Gable the most. They chanted Johnny Wrestling and This is Wrestling, in addition to chanting both Gable and Jordan to the tune of Kurt Angle’s WWE theme.
This was an excellent tag team match. Despite technically being the heel team Gable was the one they beat on to get the heat. Jordan got the hot tag and ran wild on both men, including a t-bone suplex on Ciampa. Gargano had the match won with a slingshot DDT on Jordan, but Gable broke it up at the last second. Finally Jordan & Gable won with their toss into a Bridging Side Suplex on Ciampa.
That was the best match on a regular NXT tv show in months.
– Bayley was interviewed by the departing Devin Taylor about her feud with Alexa Bliss. Bayley is proud to be champion and be an inspiration to children and that it bothers her that that bothers Alexa.
– Eva Marie is still in Paris and she is threatening to come back soon.
Nia Jax destroyed Kaylee
They acknowledged Nia being the cousin of The Rock. Kaylee got frequent flier miles for the amount she flew when Nia threw her across the ring in this match. Nia traded in the jumping bear hug for the jumping Over The Shoulder Backbreaker, which still wasn’t her finish. The finish saw Kaylee springboard off the ropes, but get caught, dropped with a spinebuster and Nia won with a legdrop.
During the commercial, I assume they sent out a giant spatula to get Kaylee off the mat.
Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady vs Dash & Dawson never got started
If it feels like you’ve read me talk about this match before, it’s because they just wrestled last week. Enzo and Cass won, but got beaten down after. Enzo and Cass were walking to the ring when they were attacked by Dash & Dawson. They threw Enzo off the ramp and began working on Colin, including executing a double team maneuver to Colin’s leg.
After the match a parade of referees and trainers came out to check on Colin. No one checked on Enzo, who was in a heap on the floor.
– Alexa Bliss challenged Bayley to a 6-person tag team match and wished her luck at finding two losers to team with her.
– Next week: Finn Balor vs Apollo Crews for the NXT Championship. That announcement led to part 2 of the Who Is Apollo Crews feature. I know this goes without saying, but WWE puts together some amazing videos.
Samoa Joe submitted Tyler Breeze
Main event time. This match was set up two weeks ago when Samoa Joe eliminated Tyler Breeze during the battle royal and Breeze, frustrated, pulled Joe out as well. They did show footage of Breeze’s SmackDown debut. His best chance of success is if Vince recently watched Zoolander. In all seriousness, good luck to Tyler.
Breeze’s strategy early was to tease locking up with Joe and then quickly roll outside, which annoyed Joe to the point that Joe followed him out the third time. Of course Joe got stomped on when they rolled back in the ring. Joe used his Suicide Dive, which never fails to look impressive when the big man does it.
Breeze used his rolling backstabber on Joe, but only got a 1 count. Shouldn’t that move hurt Breeze when Joe rolls over and lands with 280 pounds on his scrunched up body? Anyway Joe made his comeback, hitting all his big moves. We saw the snap power slam and the corner uranage, but Breeze slipped out of the Muscle Buster and hit a Super Model Kick for a 2 count. The finish saw Breeze use a rollup for a 2 count and when Joe kicked out, Breeze landed in position for the Coquina Clutch.
– The show ended with a Finn Balor promo regarding his title match next week. Balor put over Crews beating Joe, Breeze and Baron Corbin in the battle royal, but the one person he did not defeat was Finn. One day Crews will be NXT Champion, but Finn vowed it will not be next week.
So that does it for this week. Next week it is Finn Balor vs Apollo Crews for the NXT Title and with that in mind, until then remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Welcome to my 5 year anniversary doing NXT reviews for WrestlingObserver.com! The very first match I reviewed was Kaitlyn vs Maxine, which won the 2010 Worst Worked Match Of The Year Award and somehow I came back for more!
-The show opened with a video package for the battle royal from last week. They actually aired almost every elimination, including about 20 seconds on the last two, before showing Apollo Crews standing victorious as your new #1 contender.
Asuka submitted Billie Kay
Asuka kicks things off this week. I haven’t had the chance to write this yet, but she has awesome theme music. Her foe this week is Billie Kay, whose claim to fame is she has the longest legs in NXT. I do like how they are long enough to touch the ground.
Billie grounded Asuka and Asuka stood up and smiled at her before slapping on a rolling arm bar, hitting a German Suplex and then a running knee to the head. Asuka finished things off with the Crossface Chicken Wing with a body scissiors, called the Asuka Lock.
-Last week Baron Corbin and Rhyno’s alliance sadly fell apart during the battle royal, so tonight they will go one on one in the main event.
-A Baron Corbin video aired. It’s actually the same one they aired months ago.
-Tyler Breeze cut a selfie promo on Samoa Joe. Breeze took offense to being eliminated last week and said that if he isn’t #1 Contender then Joe will never be. Breeze did challenge him to a match by threatening to slice off a couple pieces of bacon.
Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady defeated Dash & Dawson
Dash and Dawson do not get an automatic title shot after defeated The Vaudevillians during the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Instead they have to defeat a certifide G and a bona fide stud and his 7 foot tall friend.
The heels got the heat on Enzo the entire 2 minute match, working on his knee. Dawson knocked Colin off the apron, turned around and got small packaged by Enzo for the win.
After the match Dash & Dawson immediately took down Enzo, beat him down and then beat down Colin. They actually hit their double team Flapjack/Codebreaker on Colin.
-A Rhyno video aired. It included footage of him in the early-2000’s as ECW Champion, Hardcore Champion and US Champion and brought it full circle to him Goring the world while Paul Heyman’s 2001 commentary screaming “GORE GORE GORE” aired.
Quick joke. What candidate did Rhyno vote for in 2000? Al GORE! GORE! GORE! Okay I’ll stop now.
-Eva Marie is still on vacation. She hopes we all miss her and never forget about her.
James Storm pinned Danny Burch
Turns out Danny Burch is with a u. For some reason I have always been spelling it Birch. The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion is making his debut. They acknowledged he was in WCW for a cup of coffee, but said he spent the last 15 years on the Independent scene. The fans gave him quite the ovation and the announcers put him over big. The fans chanted “You belong here”.
Storm looked good here, winning the match with the 8 Second Ride. Let it be known his debut was better than Chris Harris’ WWE debut. He did scream “Sorry about your damn luck” at Burch afterwards.
-Finn Balor vs Apollo Crews for the NXT Championship in 2 weeks, which led to an Apollo video package. This was a really good video package, including talking about him being an Ultimate Warrior fan and begging his Mom to buy him a toy belt. They also included footage of him in Evolve.
-A Nia Jax video aired. It will not be 8 weeks until her next match, it will only be one.
Alexa Bliss pinned Peyton Royce
I haven’t heard such a quiet crowd in NXT history as I did for Peyton Royce’s entrance. Despite their apathy there were about 10 people trying to start a Peyton Royce chant.
Alexa Bliss is so short (how short is she?). Alexa Bliss is so short that she stood on Peyton at one point and was barely a hair taller than the referee. Peyton kicked Alexa a lot, but it just led to Alexa doing more offense. Bliss did a standing Moonsault, but ended it with double knees to the gut. She did win with the Sparkle Splash.
After the match Alexa cut a promo on Bayley, saying that Alexa is what everyone strives to be and she was made to be NXT Women’s Champion.
-Next week: Samoa Joe vs Tyler Breeze
Baron Corbin pinned Rhyno
Main event time. These two sports entertained at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable in May, which was Corbin’s best (and longest) match until the Joe match in August.
Rhyno beat on Baron until Corbin rolled outside the ring. Rhyno ran after him, but Corbin shoved him and eventually threw him into the ring steps to take over. Rhyno almost didn’t get back in the ring before the 10 count. Back in the ring Corbin hit every move that never beats anyone and then got frustrated when Rhyno didn’t lose to them.
Corey Graves made a comment about how Mike Tyson came out of nowhere to win the Heavyweight Boxing Championship, which is complete bs. Tyson made quite the name for himself and was pretty well known before he went for the title.
Rhyno made his comeback, hitting his belly to belly suplex and the Double A Spinebuster for a near fall. He went for the Gore, got kicked in the face, hit it a second time and somehow Corbin kicked out at 2. Rhyno went for another Gore, but Corbin turned it into End of Days for the win.
-The show ended with Samoa Joe cutting a promo on Tyler Breeze backstage. Joe called him a desperate man and in his desperation he cost Joe his rightful title shot. He said Tyler had the audacity to call him out and Joe asked him to take the very best picture he could because after next week he will never look the same again.
A great promo to end the show and we are done for the week. Thanks for checking things out, see you next week and remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Louis is growing his hair out, seemingly leaving the bald monster persona behind. Tucker & Marcus were half way to the ring when the Hype Bros music hit and the two sprinted past them to get everyone fired up. The crowd was all over Tucker Knight for his silver boots, always a fun live event tradition, even singing songs about them. Ryder took a beating here until making the hot tag to Mojo who ran wild before tagging in Ryder to hit the electric chair rough ryder from the top for the win.
Apollo Crews beat Elias Samson
Elias makes his way to the ring with his guitar to be interviewed by our hostess Dasha Fuentes, he begins playing his guitar and does a fun song insulting the town they’re in as he does at each event. Apollo’s music hits to a good reaction, plenty of chants for Crews as Elias worked holds during this match. Towards the end Crews got a hold of Samson’s guitar and held it over the side of the ring threatening to drop it, then threatened to play it, all to infuriate Samson. After the guitar was safe the finish saw Crews fire back and hit his new finish a big scoop slam variation for the win. Apollo Crews has a lot of fan support growing here.
Gionna Daddio & Aliyah the former Jasmin aka Nhooph Al-Areebi were out to talk to the crowd, very energetic and likable babyfaces here, talked about being the youngest divas in NXT and were proud to follow in the footsteps of those who started the Divas Revolution, mentioning Bayley, Sasha, Becky, and Charlotte. Which lead to Emma & Eva Marie interrupting them, Emma proclaimed she started the Divas Revolution, crowd was anti Eva Marie here, booing her down so she put her arms up and twirled to soak in the attention and encourage it. During the verbal exchange the heels took cheap shots and laid out the two youngsters leading to referees rushing the ring attempting to break it up and check on the roughed up divas.
Riddick Moss def. Levis Valenzuela Jr.
Valenzuela is charismatic, likable and plausible as his persona, his dancing and proclaiming “Fiesta” brings the people in and his taunts received actual laughs from the crowd, the best being “Booo this man, he sucks!” as he pointed at Riddick. Simple yet wonderful when the wrestler has charm the way Levis does. Moss is technically sound and plays the straight heel to Levis’ flamboyant babyface.
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan beat Dash & Dawson
A great reaction for Gable & Jordan, these are made men after that performance at Takeover Respect. The singing of their names to the old Kurt Angle theme is very over, with Jordan even encouraging it along. Dash and Dawson are also well respected by the local crowds and strong, rough, and tough workers. A very good tag match as one would expect, and in the end Gable & Jordan get the win with the assisted German suplex. Jordan and Gable feel like a cut above with their athleticism, they are amazing wrestlers.
Hugo Knox beat Sawyer Fulton
Knox is another non-tv wrestler with personality that already shines through, his dancing and party boy attitude got a lot of “Go Hugo” and other chants of encouragement. Fulton is big and scary, so the dynamic of this match was the serious heel getting frustrated by the fun loving face and finally getting beat.
Gionna Daddio storms out from the back with a mic to call out Emma and Eva Marie, she says they don’t know who they’re messing with and she’s from Jersey. The heels make their way down and take each side of the ring asking her what she’s going to do, which leads to Gionna declaring she wasn’t challenging them alone…
Asuka & Gionna Daddio beat Emma & Eva Marie
Huge pop for Asuka, this woman is a star. Emma’s nightmare continues as Asuka seems to be following her at every turn both on tv and on live events. Good heel work by Eva Marie in this match, taunting Gionna while in holds, embracing the heat. Hot tag to Asuka who laid in some ferocious kicks to Eva Marie at one point. Tag to Gionna who hit a crossbody for the win. Gionna has a lot of potential, as many of our non tv wrestlers on this show, the personality and likability is already there. Emma & Asuka did a good job here keeping everything going.
Baron Corbin beat Solomon Crowe
Heel heat for Corbin is not only on NXT tv but also at live events, there are always hecklers and those who get Baron’s attention only to get taunted right back. Crowe is out with an altered look, Orange sleeveless zip up hoodie, the sides of his head shaved and looking quite intimidating. Hard hitting match here, big moves in this one, Baron prevails with the End Of Days for the win and a chorus of booos.
Blake & Murphy w/ Alexa Bliss & Tye Dillinger vs. The Vaudevillains & Finn Balor went to a no contest once Alexa Bliss interfered, leading to Bayley running in to have the match restarted as an 8 Person Tag.
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor, WWE NXT Women’s Champions Bayley & WWE NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillains beat Tye Dillinger & BAMF
BAMF entered first to their dubstep music which always gets them heat, Dillinger even as a heel is well liked at live events, and his Ten gimmick is over, even Alexa Bliss was holding up the two hands open Ten sign during his entrance.
The Vaudevillains are quite popular at live events as well, superstar reaction to Finn Balor. The current non-demon persona with the leather jacket has included an attitude of confidence, he is the main event. Finn joins in posing with Gotch and English pre match and is entertained himself with their ole timey antics, including some awkward stretching by Simon Gotch.
The match took off once it was restarted as Bayley is another true main eventer here in NXT, the place lit up, people jumped out of their seats at her music. Finn Balor himself was leaping and punching the air as Bayley laid into Alexa Bliss. Finn was ecstatic to see Bayley and was her biggest fan. This match then went all over the place including all six men in a long connected submission hold with Finn at the end holding a Boston Crab on Murphy, yelling to ASK THEM.
Then all hell broke loose, Aiden English hit a Stone Cold Stunner on one of BAMF and this lead to Bayley hitting one of her own on Alexa Bliss. The place was going crazy. The ring clears and Bayley is seemingly alone as Bliss is down and the men are all on the outside. As Tye Dillinger comes face to face with Bayley in the center of the ring, putting his hands in her face with his Ten gesture, and in the greatest moment of the night Bayley wraps her arms around Dillinger and hoists him up for the Belly To Bayley. Leaping to her feet and pumping her fist after hitting him to the mat, the crowd was electric.
Balor then goes to the top and nails the Coup De Grace on Dillinger for the pin. The babyface champions all celebrated, hugs for all. Bayley even Too Sweeted Finn Balor, everyone left this show happy.
The champ is here to start the show. Well a different champ. The winner of the first women’s Iron Man Match in WWE history. The winner of the first time a women’s match main evented a WWE special. Bayley is here, much to the delight of all 300 people. The fans gave her a standing ovation and chanted both her name and “Match of the Year” before she had a chance to talk.
She thanked Dusty Rhodes for being a big part in her career, also stating that being in the main event is something she dreamed about since she was a little girl. She did say “we have started a whole new level in the Diva’s Revolution”, which was the only time she said something that sounded forced. The fans chanted “women’s wrestling”, which she encouraged.
This brought out Alexa Bliss, Blake & Murphy. Alexa said what happened last week was incredible and she was in awe watching the match, stating that no one deserved to be champion more than her. Alexa said she truly was an incredible champion and that the future for the women in NXT has no limit. She almost broke down into fake tears as she raised Bayley’s hand and stole her championship.
Blake and Murphy stood in Bayley’s way as Alexa cut a promo saying she is going to take her championship. Alexa did throw the belt back at Bayley before leaving.
*****
Last week, The Camera Man caught up with Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, but before they could say anything, William Regal ran up to congratulate them. Joe said it’s been a pleasure and an honor to be Finn’s partner. Joe said he has been undefeated since he got to NXT and wants a shot at the championship. Finn agreed to it, but Mr. Regal said no. Instead last week he announced that next week (tonight) there would be a battle royal for the #1 Contender status.
Joe was mad, but respectful, in saying he should be getting a title shot. Mr. Regal cut him off and said there will be a battle royal. Tye Dillinger, Apollo Crews and Rhyno all said they would win the battle royal in separate promos. Rhyno mentioned he was the last ECW Champion and Tye said he was the only Perfect 10.
*****
NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillians defeated Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins
17 minutes (and 5 promos) into the show and we finally got our first match. The reigning tag team champions are here and they didn’t even get out of the second round of the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Tonight their foes are Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins. Sawyer has that cross Sheamus wears tattooed into his chest and Dawkins is dressed in similar gear to Jordan & Gable.
Fulton and Dawkins got more offense than they ever have on tv, but that really isn’t saying much. They got the heat on English and Gotch knocked one of Dawkins headbands off with a side suplex. The champs won in 3 minutes with the Whirling Dervish.
Dash and Dawson cut a promo backstage about how they defeated The Vaudevillians in the Dusty Rhodes Classic, so that makes them the #1 Contender’s. Hooray logic! Actually it turns out they have to face Enzo and Cass for some reason, so boo lack of logic! Devin Taylor was the interviewer and I guess this was her last taping. I’ll miss her and it’s too bad we never got the battle with her and Dana Brooke.
Speaking of Dana, last week she was being worked over after Asuka whooped her when Asuka came up and patted her on the head mockingly. Dana thought she had won the match and was bragging to that effect while Emma patted her on the arm.
*****
Nia Jax defeated Evie
It took her 8 weeks, but Nia Jax has finally arrived. Evie looks a lot like Tough Enough winner Sara Lee, but thankfully it wasn’t her. I did do a smidge of research on Evie and she actually wrestles under the name Evie in New Zealand and recently got a WWE tryout.
The fans began counting like they used to do for Baron Corbin, but they quit quickly. Nia’s first move was this bear hug where she jumped up and down while squeezing her foe. That should have been her finish. In case you have never seen her, Nia is a very large, very thick woman and could be WWE’s Awesome Kong if she stays healthy.
Evie got more offense than Nia, although that was mostly so Nia could no sell it. Nia won with a Spinebuster Slam. She really should have used that bear hug.
One guy in the crowd (and a few people on Twitter) shouted “Rock Bottom”, but it really wasn’t the same.
*****
A video package for the Sasha-Bayley match aired. They interviewed Becky, Charlotte, Stephanie and Hunter, who all put the match over big.
Tyler Breeze and Baron Corbin both said they would win the battle royal.
Eva Marie is in Paris, taking a personal vacation after her grueling (to watch) matches.
*****
Apollo Crews won a 21-man #1 Contender’s Battle Royal, last eliminating Baron Corbin
It is the third battle royal in NXT history! Bo Dallas won the first one in May 2013 and then in May 2014 they had this ridiculous finish where Tyler Breeze, Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd all went over at the same time, which was mistimed and Breeze legit won, but was called a draw.
Rhyno, Baron Corbin and Samoa Joe were the only ones to get a televised entrance.
Order of elimination was Steve Cutler, Danny Birch, Elias Sampson, Johnny Gargano, Riddick Moss, Colin Cassady, Dash Wilder, Scott Dawson, Enzo Amore, Tye Dillinger, Bull Dempsey, Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder, Rhyno, Tommaso Ciampa, Blake, Murphy, Tyler Breeze, Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin
I am so used to WWE battle royals which everyone unimportant is eliminated in 3 minutes that it was weird to see them go several minutes before anyone got eliminated. Apollo Crews eliminated the first four men, including heaving Gargano onto Cutler, Birch and Sampson. For what it’s worth the last time they did an NXT battle royal the first 5 guys eliminated were cut from their developmental deals. The fans popped when Enzo tossed Dash & Dawson by himself and quickly died when Tye immediately threw Enzo out. Baron and Rhyno continued their partnership for about 10 minutes…until Baron tossed Rhyno with 9 men left. Dummy. Why didn’t he wait until it came down to two? Maybe he realized that almost never works.
The final four were Crews, Corbin, Joe and Breeze. Ever notice in almost every Royal Rumble there is that one guy in the final four that appears to be horribly out of place? Like Billy Gunn in 2001 and Mr Perfect in 2002? I think Tyler Breeze won the “Billy Gunn Award” in this battle royal. Joe actually got booed for eliminating Breeze and Tyler didn’t want to leave.
Joe almost gave Corbin the Muscle Buster, but got thrown over the top onto the apron. Joe kicked Corbin’s head out of his head but Tyler Breeze tripped Joe up, yanking him off the apron and eliminating him! The fans actually cheered Breeze for doing that.
Corbin and Crews worked really good together and I can’t wait to see them have an actual match together. Corbin kept throwing Crews over the top, but Apollo would land on the apron. The fans chanted “Corbin sucks” to the tune of New Day Sucks. That gave Crews his second wind. He made his comeback, but Baron got the knees up on the standing moonsault. Crews came back with several kicks to the head and shockingly won by clotheslining Corbin out!
That does it for this week. Finn Balor, your future is here and his name is Apollo Crews. Until next week, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
