WWE NXT Review 08/26/15 Plus Takeover Brooklyn Thoughts!
Welcome one and all to the Brooklyn edition of The NXT Spotlight here on TJRWrestling. We’re here for what’s basically Takeover:Brooklyn part two in what will be a 90 minute special edition. We’ve got five matches lined up including my first ever review of an Eva Marie match. Just when WWE takes away Tough Enough, they give me Eva Marie. Before we get into the show, I just want to give some thoughts on what I thought was a stellar show. If you missed John Canton’s review of it, you can get that here.
– I really hated seeing Tyler Breeze lose that match to Jushin Thunder Liger. I get that Liger is a huge attraction, but he’s also 50 years old and he’s not coming back any time soon. Breeze really needed to be presented as someone who could be a credible contender for Finn Balor (more on this later) and instead he lost a match that was more a showcase for Liger than anything else. This was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect show.
– I really figured they would stick with Blake and Murphy as the NXT Tag Champs, but what a tremendous and much deserved decision to instead switch them over to The Vaudevillians. I loved this match. I loved the fact that Blue Pants was the equalizer for the match and got such a tremendous reaction. Blue Pants City may have been my favorite chant of the weekend. It will be interesting to see when The Vaudevillians will defend the titles again now that Regal has announced this Tag Team Tournament in honor of Dusty Rhodes.
– I had heard so much about Uhaa Nation, but until his debut as Apollo “don’t call me Terry Creed” Crews, I had never seen him wrestle. Talk about being blown away. That type of athleticism just doesn’t come around very often. I loved this match as well for the simple fact that Tye Dillinger was able to get over as well. Despite doing the honors for Crews, he got over himself and that’s something you want to see in any good match.
– If it wasn’t for the Divas match afterwards, Baron Corbin and Samoa Joe may have been my favorite match on the show. FINALLY we see something of substance from Corbin and he delivered on all aspects. He looked great going blow for blow with Joe. Joe obviously didn’t see many, if any, 13000+ crowds in TNA and he looked like he had an extra gear this night and they delivered one hell of a physical match. I predicted Corbin would get the win, and you could argue that he needed the win, but he came out looking better than ever despite the loss. So can’t really complain too much.
– I could write an entire column on how good Bayley vs. Sasha Banks was. I tweeted out after watching the match that I was a 30 year old man and freely admit I shed a tear after that match. It doesn’t matter that it was two women, that was what a WRESTLING match is supposed to be. There’s supposed to be a story, a conclusion to that story, and emotion afterwards. It was the perfect match. I dare say no one has made themselves more after a loss since Stone Cold at WrestleMania 13, than Sasha Banks did this night. The Four Horsewomen moment afterwards was just tremendous as well.
– Hard to believe, but Finn and Owens was almost an afterthought to me after two incredible matches that preceded it. I was a huge fan of the simplicity of this Ladder Match. There wasn’t 30 ladders already set up around ringside and up the walkway. There was one ladder in the aisle and the battle was to get possession of that one ladder. A second one came into play later, but this was more just a battle of attrition and not a high spot fest. Very familiar to how Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon did their Ladder Match at WrestleMania 10. Just a fantastic way to end the show and a great showing by both men.
– The only issue after this show, and it’s now the elephant in the room, is the fact that Finn Balor has no contenders for his title. My gut feeling is they want Balor vs. Joe at their big WrestleMania weekend show that’s sure to happen, but what about until then? The two best heels are now coming off a loss in Breeze and Corbin. This will be something to keep an eye on. According to PWInsider, there was a Tag Team Tournament match filmed Tuesday before the Smackdown tapings that had Balor and Joe beating the Lucha Dragons. So if that’s true, it looks like they’re going to keep the champ occupied in this tournament & worry about a new contender afterwards.
Now let’s get on to this week’s NXT Show!
The show starts with an awesome video package recapping the Takeover show.
8 Man Tag Match
Enzo Amore/Big Cass/Zack Ryder/Mojo Rawley vs. Jason Jordon/Chad Gable/Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder
Gigantic pop for Enzo & Cass. That’s really good to see for them as they go through their awesome pre-match spiel. I fully expected the crowd to treat Ryder like it was circa-2011 but it was actually underwhelming. This may be a crowd that doesn’t like Mojo. I really want to call Gable/Jordan WGTT2.0. I mean that as a complement too. Jordan reminds me so much of Shelton Benjamin. Back and forth action between The Hype Bros and The Mechanics early until Ryder hits a second rope dropkick and tags in Enzo. Enzo gets out of the heels corner and has all of them chase him into his corner where his teammates have his back and all eight men go at it until the faces clear house. Ryder gets the pop I was expecting when he hits Wilder with the Broski Boot. Enzo follows up with a huge leap over the top rope, with assistance from Cass, and lays out the other 3 opponents.
After a break in the show, we come back to Jordan in full advantage of Enzo. Chad Gable tags in and gets a real nice response. Lot of quick tags for the heels as they all work over Enzo. They’re specifically targeting his arm. Gable gets back in the ring and Enzo finally gets an opening sending Gable into the turnbuckle, but he can’t get the tag before Gable suplexes him back into his corner. Wilder gets in the match and puts Enzo on the top ropes, but Enzo hits a huge DDT. Enzo still can’t get the tag though as Jason Jordan tags back in. He misses a shoulderblock in the corner and then when Gable goes to tag in, Enzo sends him to the outside. There’s the hot tag to Cass finally who takes out everyone, including himself almost as he hits a huge avalanche splash that he almost hit his face on the turnpost. He goes for a pin on Gable, but it gets broken up. Cass goes for a splash on Jordan, but Jordan moves and this time he does hit his face on the turnpost. Ryder comes in before Jordan can capitalize and hits the Rough Ryder. But then he turns right into a Shatter Machine. Mojo comes in and hits a slam on Wilder and then Cass hits his East River Crossing on Gable. Now Enzo tags in and they hit their big splash combo from the top rope and Enzo gets the win for his team!
Winners: Enzo/Cass/Ryder/Mojo
We go backstage to William Regal, who brings up that next week will start the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Memorial. Neville comes in and interrupts Regal and asks for a spot in the tournament if it’s available. Regal says that for all he’s done for NXT, he can make that happen.
After a recap of the Ladder Match between Finn Balor and Kevin Owens, we get some post match comments from the champ. Balor says he proved that Tokyo wasn’t a fluke. Brooklyn saw a new side of Finn Balor and a new side of NXT. This is only the beginning for NXT, they’re going to bigger and better things.
Now we get a video profile on Emma and her transformation from the bubbles to her new persona.
Devan is backstage with Becky Lynch & Charlotte and asks them about their Fatal Four Way match tonight. Charlotte calls out Dana Brooke and calls Emma her lap dog. They’re all in the match to prove that they’re the best. Becky says may the best PCB member win as they walk off together.
After a commercial for WWE2K16, we get yet another vignette, this time featuring Becky Lynch.
Carmella vs. Eva Marie
As expected, Eva Marie gets a reception like she’s the Boston Red Sox celebrating a World Series title in Yankees Stadium. She’s got some swag in her entrance though, she looks confident at least. Carmella gets a nice response on the other hand. She has a mic and calls herself the Princess of Staten Island and the most fabulous diva in NXT. Bada Bing, realest chick in the ring. Eva starts early with a nice reversal of an armbar, but gets booed out of the building for it. They trade holds early as the “You can’t wrestle” chants rain down. Carmella hits an atomic drop and a dropkick. Now Eva comes back with an elbow and forearm shiver, but Eva fights back and drops Carmella and then hits a senton. Eva gets an armbar as the crowd chants for Blue Pants. Eva mocks the SAWFT chant as she locks the armbar. Carmella fights out and starts her comeback with a hiptoss, then a forearm. They get to the corner and Carmella hits a nice hurricanrana off the second rope. She then hits a Thesz press that Rich Phillips calls a Bronco Buster for some reason. A couple kicks from Carmella but can’t keep Eva down for the pin. Eva hits a jaw jacker though and then hooks Carmella for Sliced Bread #2 and she picks up the win. It wasn’t fluid at parts, but it wasn’t awful by any measure.
Winner: Eva Marie
A recap for the Tyler Breeze/Jushin Thunder Liger match is shown and then Tyler has some post match comments. He says Liger isn’t the real winner because Breeze gets to look the way he does and Liger has to wear a mask. But for now he’s got a much bigger plan that he’s going to present to William Regal that will really put him on the map.
We turn to Emma and Dana backstage in the locker room. Dana is wearing WAY too much makeup. I really had to point that out. They see things a little differently than Charlotte and Becky. There’s a difference between looking dominate and being dominate. Tonight Becky will become the biggest joke of all the WWE Divas.
They show the opening video package again.
Now it’s Dana Brooke’s turn to get a video package.
Bayley and Sasha Banks get the video recap treatment next. Bayley is caught up with after the match and talks about how the dream compares to the reality. She says she can’t wrap her head around it. She says the Four Horsewomen moment was the most important thing to her. Her mom shows up and talks about how proud she is of Bayley’s performance. Bayley jokes that she’s talking too much.
Devin is now with William Regal to talk about the Dusty Rhodes Memorial Tag Team Tournament. Before he can say what the opening match is, Baron Corbin interrupts and says he doesn’t play well with others but he wants in the tournament and he expects to win the tournament. Regal says his partner will be Rhyno and they’re in the opening match against the most dominant tag team in NXT history, The Ascension.
Bull-Fit is next.
NXT is coming to the UK in December.
They catch up with Kevin Owens after his match with Finn Balor and he says that the next night at SummerSlam, he’s going to break Cesaro. He’s asked about his future with NXT and he doesn’t answer before walking off.
(Yes, they seriously had all those vignettes and segments all in a row.)
Bull Dempsey vs. “The Drifter” Elias Sampson
Sampson comes out with a guitar and new attire and ring music. Bull’s theme stays the same but he’s got his new Bull-Fit robe and is in full babyface mode. Bull pats his belly along with the chants of Bull-Fit. Bull reverses a armdrag into a headlock that gets a nice reaction. Elias slows things down and then catches Bull with a double kick in the corner, but gets back body dropped when he tries to follow up. He gets a break in the corner and then gets back on the advantage trying to wear down Bull. Very slow moving match with lots of headlocks. Bull then starts to “Bull Up” and starts to to deliver some shots to Elias and then hits him with the big Trainwreck splash. He drops Elias again and then goes to the top rope and hits his top rope Earthquake Splash and gets the win.
Winner: Bull Dempsey
The Baron Corbin/Samoa Joe match gets a video recap. Joe after the match is asked about the NXT crowd. He says its the culmination of NXT and what the fans built. The fans were behind him and got him through one of the toughest fights of his life. He’s asked what message does his win send to the NXT roster. Joe says he’s here to make statements, but he doesn’t make them with his mouth, he makes them with his fists. He will continue to beat up everyone until he gets what he wants, and that’s the NXT Championship.
Nia Jax is coming soon.
Now we review Apollo “Don’t call me Terry Creed” Crews debut. Apollo is asked afterwards about it and says he’s celebrating his 28th birthday and it’s an honor to be a part of this. He says it went by so fast but he felt all the fans energy and it was a great night.
After that, we go back to the NXT Tag Title Match where The Vaudevillians became new champions. Devan is now interviewing the former champs backstage. They say they didn’t lose, they were robbed. Alexa singles out Blue Pants and says that she is not welcomed here. Next week, she’s going to send Blue
Pants back to the clearance rack where she belongs.
We get a recap of the Divas Elimination match from SummerSlam, followed by a video package for Charlotte.
A nice video promo is shown for Dusty Rhodes and the Memorial Tag Team Tournament that starts next week.
Fatal Four Way Divas Match
Charlotte vs. Emma vs. Becky Lynch vs. Dana Brooke
I’m really hoping this match saves what has becoming NXT: VignetteFest. Dana Brooke looks AWFUL. I cannot stress this enough. She looks like someone is playing a rib on her with her hair and makeup and she doesn’t realize it yet. Becky gets a great ovation from the crowd as does Charlotte. They pair up to start the match as Charlotte and Becky clear the ring early. They square off now and feel each other out. Dueling “Let’s go Becky” & “Let’s go Charlotte” chants. Becky works over the arm of Charlotte. Charlotte gets out and hits her headscissor front flips on Becky. Now Emma and Dana come back in the ring and get Becky out of the ring and focus on Charlotte. They send her to the outside and beat on her, using the ring barricade to their advantage.
After a break for the NXT in Texas promo, Dana and Emma are back in the ring and working over Becky now. Lot of kicks and showboating. Charlotte tries to get back in the ring, but she’s kicked back out. They hit a double suplex on Becky and then kick Charlotte back out again. Emma tells Dana to follow her out there and finish Charlotte off. Emma hits a nice Double Underhook suplex and goes for a pin, but Dana breaks it up. Now they start fighting with each other and Becky tries to get a quick pin, but Dana saves her and now her and Emma try to work things out. Dana decides to hit an enziguri instead. Charlotte now back in the ring and chops Dana and then hits her neckbreaker followed by a big boot to Emma. Charlotte then hits a double DDT and the crowd starts to get back into it. Charlotte tries pinning both of them repeatedly, but two counts all around. Becky is now on the top rope and looks like she was aiming for Emma and Dana but they pull Charlotte in the way and she gets hit with the dropkick. Becky hits a pumphandle slam on Emma and then picks up Dana and sends her to the corner and hits a springboard kick followed by a underhook head and leg suplex. Emma breaks up the pin. Emma pulls Becky by the hair and sends her into the corner for her Emma Sandwich. She goes for the pin and gets the three count that clearly was not supposed to happen. Emma looks shocked and then plays it off. That was not good. The crowd had zero reaction because that’s obviously not what was supposed to happen.
Winner: Emma
Post match, Charlotte hits Emma with the spear and then Natural Selection. She pins Emma herself as the crowd counts 1-2-3. Dana comes in now and takes out Charlotte, but Becky comes in and hits another underhook head and leg suplex. Charlotte then locks in the Figure 8 on Dana and Becky hooks the Disarmer on Emma. Becky and Charlotte both have WTF looks on their faces as they walk up the ramp as our show comes to an end.
K-Tank’s Final Takes
– Very basic 8 man tag match. I expected a lot more from that.
– I rag on Eva Marie, as does the majority of the WWE Universe. But all joking aside, don’t sleep on her. She’s starting to get some swagger and confidence. She doesn’t look like a deer in the headlights anymore. I know there are some rumblings of her screwing up at the last NXT tapings which we should be seeing in the next couple of weeks, but it’ll come with time. I really think she’s going to pick this up well and when she does, watch out. She’s going to be very dangerous especially when you know she’s got the backing of the higher ups in the company.
– Not much to come out of the repackaging of Bull Dempsey. It was just a standard match with nothing really putting emphasis on him getting into shape.
– Could they have show more vignettes? My goodness. There was really no reason for this show to be an hour and half.
– Hopefully Bayley and Sasha bought the “Divas Revolution” some time, because otherwise, the divas did not have a very good weekend in Brooklyn. That Fatal Four Way was very choppy and probably ended much sooner than it was supposed to. That probably explains all the vignettes to fill time. I don’t know what the original finish was supposed to be, but they really dropped the ball there.
– I’ll be back next week for the beginning of the Dusty Rhodes Memorial, so until next time, Bro Me.