WWE NXT Spotlight 05/04/16 by Kurt Zamora

Welcome one and all to the latest installment of the NXT Spotlight here at TJRWrestling. We are in the middle of a lot of transition both in the WWE and in NXT. This week, the yellow and black return to their stomping grounds of Full Sail University after a successful stint in Dallas during WrestleMania weekend. Tonight we have Austin Aries in action, and if you were anywhere near social media last week, we have a huge debut coming at us tonight. So let’s get right to it!

A New Champion, A New Challenger

The brand new NXT Champion Samoa Joe arrives for the first time in Full Sail with the belt in tow. I have to admit, the belt looks good on his shoulder. The champ gets a nice reaction from the crowd. Joe says that what stands before the crowd is a man who keeps his word. Despite the best efforts of the former champion Finn Balor, Samoa Joe is much like death and taxes… inevitable. He is now the new NXT Champion. Today he puts the world on notice. This is a new era, it is his time, and he runs things. If anyone has a problem with that, then he’ll be happy to beat them down and choke them out.

Then new music to NXT hits and to a huge reaction comes out EY himself, Eric Young! Dressed in a military vest and jeans, he looks damn happy to be here. EY tells Joe, you know me and I know you. He knows Joe is the baddest man in the land, the NXT Champion. Another thing he knows that is guaranteed is change. As sure as he is standing in front of Joe, things are going to change. EY collects championships. Things change for Joe and they’re going to change for him. Both me get face to face and Joe nods arrogantly at EY and then leaves. He gets to the rampway and stops to say that EY doesn’t belong in the same ring as him. The next time he does, he’s gonna beat EY’s ass.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Nia Jax

Tessa is the daughter of the single greatest heel in pro wrestling history, Tully Blanchard. Unfortunately, I think even if her dad was around, she’d have a hard time winning this match. Nia has gotten in tremendous shape for a woman her size. They tie up and Nia lifts Tessa up high in the air and sends her crashing down. Nia follows up with a splash in the corner and then continues to just toss her around like a rag doll. Two elbow drops later, she hits another avalanche splash in the corner. She grabs Tessa in a Samoan Drop and then hits her big Leg Drop and this match is over already.

Winner: Nia Jax

Tye Dillinger vs. Austin Aries

The Greatest Man That Ever Lived vs. The Perfect 10. It’s a shame these guys won’t get 10-12 minutes. Both men tie up and Dillinger gets the headlock. Aries shoots him off but Dillinger hits a shoulder tackle and declares it a 10. Aries trips him up and then gets a headlock. Dillinger shoots him off again but Aries counters with a couple armdrags and then goes to work on the left arm. Dillinger is able to get Aries into the corner and fight off Aries. He catches a big boot but when Aries charges him, Dillinger drops him with a backbreacker. Now a couple knees to the spine and a boot to the face. Dillinger whips him to the opposite corner with force and Aries takes a hard fall. Dillinger goes for a pin but Aries kicks out. Dillinger chops Aries and then Aries counters with an open hand chop. Now they trade blows until Aries drops Dillinger with a short clothesline. Dillinger manages to dump Aries to the outside but Aries counters by clapping around the ears of Dillinger and then hitting a senton over the top rope. Dillinger rolls to the outside and Aries follows him out there with a corkscrew plauncha over the top rope. Aries now hits a neckbreaker on the second rope. Aries gets Dillinger in the corner and goes for a dropkick but Dillinger blocks it. Dillinger gets Aries up in a Fireman’s Carry neckbreaker, which looked tremendous, but Aries manages to kick out at the last second. The crowd actually thought he won that one. Dillinger sets up his knee pad for the finish, but Aries comes out of nowhere with a Roaring Elbow. Dillinger falls into the corner and Aries hits his version of the shotgun dropkick. Dillinger falls to the mat and Aries goes to the top for his 450 Splash and connects for the hardfought win.

Winner: Austin Aries

We are shown a recap of last week when The Revival attacked The Hype Bros after their match last week.

The Revival vs. The Hype Bros

Big chants for Ryder as the match starts with Dash. They tie up and Dash gets Ryder into The Revival’s corner right away. Ryder tries to fight his way out and goes to the second rope, but Dash grabs a leg and sweeps him down. Dash tags in Dawson and he goes right to work. Ryder goes for a double leg takedown, but Dawson blocks him and drops him with a straight right hand. He tags back in Dash and they both stomp Ryder in the corner. Dash hits an uppercut and then tags back in Dawson. Dash hits a drop toe hold and then Dawson comes in with a short elbow drop. Dawson goes for a pin but Ryder kicks out. Now Dawson hooks on a Cobra Clutch of sorts to wear down Ryder. Ryder tries hard to fight out, but Dash makes a blind tag and The Revival stays on offense. Dash gets Ryder in the neutral corner and stomps him down. Now he goes for a bulldog, but Ryder shoves him off and Dash hits hard into the turnbuckles. Ryder is finally able to tag in Mojo Rawley, who takes out both of The Revival. He hits a Pounce like spear on Dash and looks like he’s in control now. Dawson makes a blind tag though as Mojo shoots off Dash. Dash does a baseball slide underneath Mojo, who turns right around into the Shatter Machine. Dawson gets the pin as Dash knocks Ryder off the apron and they pick up the win.

Winners: The Revival

Alex Riley is now backstage and he is asked about his match next with with Shinsuke Nakamura, The King of Strong Style. Riley says we’re going to throw that out cause he doesn’t even know what Strong Style is. He’s going to describe what’s going to happen next week. A man that’s half his size, a tenth as strong as him and has zero athletism is going to get in the ring and punch Riley as hard as he can. Then a raging lunatic is going to punch Nakamura as hard as he can. He’s heard Nakamura has handed out beatings all across the world, but next week, Riley is going to give Nakamura one. Because next week, it’s time to RAGE.

No Way Jose vs. Noah Ponch (??)

There’s question marks because they didn’t officially announce the opponent and I couldn’t quite tell what Tom Phillips said his name was. He’s a jamoke anyways, so who cares? Thanks for that word Graves. I was 100% right when I said during Jose’s debut that this would all go over much better in Full Sail. The presentation was much better and the crowd is eating this up. They tie up and Jose gets a wrist lock. He transitions to a armbar and then hits a leaping snapmare. Noah tries a right hand but Jose isn’t phased and then sends Noah down with a bulldog. Jose winds up and and hits the big right hand that won him his debut match. This time though, Jose picks up Noah, does a quick dance move and leads it into a Full Nelson Slam for the win.

Winner: No Way Jose

Austin Aries is backstage now and is congratulated on his win tonight. He says Dillinger calls himself The Perfect 10, but tonight Aries was at his A-Double Level and was a Perfect 20. His NXT career has gotten off to a good start, but there’s something a little off. People don’t know how to take Aries. After his big buzz, he’s now under the rader. That’s ok though, cause he always rises to the top. NXT will be no different, but it may take a little more inititive here in NXT to do so.

A plug for The Edge and Christian Show is shown. I’m only telling you this because if you’re not already watching this show, go catch up immediately. It is absolutely hysterical.

A very cool and mysterious vignette is shown from Finn Balor’s perspective of losing the NXT Title and if he should embrace The Demon again. He will be in action next week.

Samoa Joe vs. Eric Young

Based on how the promo ended earlier, I would’ve liked something shot backstage to announce this match officially, but I won’t complain about seeing Eric Young in action. This should be fantastic. EY looks in great shape. Both men go for knuckle locks to test each other out and EY gets the advantage with a wrist lock. Joe counters and then EY counters right back. Joe gets a straight shot to the face and breaks the hold but EY comes right back with one and now they just trade stiff shots at one another. EY hits a haymaker and gets the advantage. Joe shoots EY to the corner and charges behind. EY leapfrogs over him and then hits a dropkick. He follows that up with a spinning neckbreaker and Joe kicks out at two. EY rams the head of Joe into the turnbuckle a couple times, but just like that, Joe fires up and throws EY clear over the top rope to the floor below. Joe follows that up with his suicide dive through the ropes. We go to commercial.

We return to Joe chopping EY in the corners. EY fires back with some forearm shots but as he comes off the ropes, he is flattened by a back elbow. Joe goes for the pin but EY kicks out. Joe hits a couple headbutts but EY once again fights back. Joe whips him to the corner and hits a running back elbow, followed by his enziguri. Joe goes for another pin and EY kicks out again. Another headbutt sends EY back to the mat. Joe now goes for the nerve claw on the trap of EY. The crowd rallies behind EY and he fights out but Joe catches him in an atomic drop, followed by a big boot. Joe hits his running senton and goes for the pin, but EY kicks out once more. Joe gets EY in the corner and face washes him with his forearm. Joe taking measured shots with his right hand and yet again EY fights back with shots of his own. He winds up and hits a splash in the corner on Joe. Joe manages to whip him to the opposite corner and EY bounces off right into a back body drop. Joe gets him right back to the corner and goes back to the right hand shots. EY does not give up though and tries to get the momentum back, but Joe hits another back elbow that plants EY. Another pin attempt but EY kicks out. Joe gets him up and sends him to the corner again, but EY does the Flair Flip and lands on his feet on the apron and catches Joe off guard. He hits a shoulder to the gut of Joe from the apron and then slides under Joe and catches him with a couple punches. He ducks a Joe clothesline and hits him with a clothesline. It takes all he’s got, but he gets Joe up for a suplex and then goes up top for his patented elbow drop which he connects with. He goes for the pin but Joe kicks out in the nick of time. Both men up now and Joe goes for another back body drop but EY blocks it and maybe wants a piledriver, but Joe gets out of the way. He goes to the corner and EY charges him but gets caught in the Urinagi in the corner. Joe hits a series of open palm strikes and sets up EY for the Muscle Buster and then locks on the Kokina Clutch for good measure and EY has to tap out.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Post match, Joe refuses to let go of the Clutch as EY is out cold. He finally lets go and grabs his belt and stands over EY. That ends our show.

K-Tank’s Final Takes

– It’s great to see Eric Young in NXT. When I finally gave up on TNA, EY was literally one of the only entertaining aspects on that show left. He was doing tremendous work as a heel. This is a great addition to the roster, but until I hear he’s signed an official contract, I won’t get too excited because I don’t want another James Storm situation to happen. How much do you think that guy regrets his decision now?

– This was a really good showing for EY all around. The promo work was really good as he’s got that distinguishable voice. The match was really good as they really showed him as relentless and wouldn’t give up against Joe. Going toe to toe with the number one guy and losing is nothing to be ashamed of. He was presented in a very good light.

– No Way Jose is fun, I have to admit it. The production for him was so much better this week and it really leads me to wonder why they didn’t just wait the extra two weeks for him to make his official debut. The crowd was completely behind him this week. He’s Elias Samson, except he’s got charisma.

– I feel like Tye Dillinger is offically the most underutilized superstar on the roster. They still somehow don’t know what to do with him. He was used as the heel tonight, but got a MONSTER reaction from the crowd, which is typically the norm for him. He was used as a babyface in the live events last weekend as he teamed with Finn Balor in the main event one night. So they clearly don’t know what lane to keep him in. I hope they figure it out soon though, cause I truly think they have a HUGE star on their hands.

– If you happened to jump on and listen to my appearance on Main Event Madness before Payback on Sunday, you heard that I’m really hoping the end is coming to a near for The Hype Bros. I think Ryder needs to stick back to the main roster now. Hopefully this loss tonight will lead to the start of that happening.

Next week, we’ll have two of the biggest names in action, as Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamure will both be in singles action. They do not waste any time keeping Nakamura in the spotlight. I’ll be here to cover all the action as always, so until next time, May the Fourth be with you!