WWE NXT Spotlight: 1/11/17 (Revival vs. DIY III) by Kurt Zamora

Welcome one and all to the first installment for 2017 of the NXT Spotlight, here at TJRWrestling. I am back, hopefully better than ever, ready to really get going on our run towards NXT Takeover: San Antonio. Tonight we have a huge NXT Tag Team Title match to settle the score once and for all between DIY and The Revival, with the winner taking the titles to face The Authors of Pain at Takeover. Let’s get to it!

The show starts with Tom Phillips taking us to breaking news outside Full Sail just moments before the show started. Asuka was returning from a media appearance when Billie Kay confronts her to allow Peyton Royce to come from behind and attack her. They slam her into an NXT van that is parked outside and then pour water over her as she’s hurt.

Billie Kay & Peyton Royce vs. Macy Evans and Sarah Bridges

Bridges is the great Crazy Mary Dobson from the indies. Evans and Billie start the match. Peyton distracts Evans from the get go and Billie attacks. Peyton tags in quickly and hits a spinning heel kick on Macy. A couple knees to the gut and Billie tags back in. Headbutt from her and Peyton back in. She goes for a second kick but Evans ducks and tags in Bridges. Double dropkick to Billie and Peyton and then a soccer kick to Billie. She goes for a pin after a slingshot into the ropes but Peyton breaks it up. Peyton distracts the ref and Billie rakes the eyes of Bridges. Peyton tags in and gives Bridges a facebuster right into the knee of Billie and picks up the win.

Winner: Billie Kay and Peyton Royce

Post match, they grab a mic and Peyton starts by asking Asuka if they are enough competition now. They are the most dominate force in NXT and her title belongs to them. Asuka is now working her way to the ring, selling her injuries, but as she gets into the ring, Peyton and Billie continue the beat down. Nikki Cross comes out of nowhere though and saves Asuka by taking out Billie and Peyton. Nikki is staring them down from the second turnbuckle and Asuka screams and makes a move to chase after Billie and Peyton, but Nikki saws her off with a missle dropkick! (or it could’ve been a Daniel Bryan knee, hard to tell) Quite the developments for the women’s division.

We now go to Nikki Cross, who is backstage with Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe, and she says she’s going to take the NXT Women’s Title. Eric Young says they told everyone they were going to take things and it starts with this.

Elias Samson vs. Jonathan Cruz

Elias starts us off with one of his songs. I don’t think anyone missed this guy. Samson toys with Cruz early while holding on to a knuckle lock. Cruz ends up getting a couple sneak pin attempts on Samson but doesn’t get more than one. He then hits a headscissors takedown but Samson gets right back up and drills Cruz with a lariat. Samson with a vicious attack in the corner and using the apron to his advantage. They get back in the ring and Cruz is nailed with a big boot. Samson then lays out Cruz with a reverse spinning neckbreaker, I’m not sure what Samson is calling the move. That gets the win.

Winner: Elias Samson

Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Oney Lorcan

They make note that Lorcan defeated Almas in Osaka, Japan last month. Lorcan has to have the worst name in all of WWE right now, right? Almas slaps and pushes Lorcan early and then gets sent to the ropes, but does his Spiderman pose. Lorcan promptly dropkicks him to the outside. Almas tries to regroup but Lorcan comes after him with a Blockbuster off the apron. He gets Almas back in the ring but Almas kicks out. Almas counters Lorcan and hits a Reality Check. Lorcan is down in the corner and gets slapped right in the face. Almas then stomps all over the chest of Lorcan in the corner. Almas goes for a neckbreaker but Lorcan blocks it. Lorcan comes off the ropes but gets caught with a dropkick. Almas goes right into a Fujiwara arm bar and Lorcan does what he can to fight out. He drops Almas with a couple forearm shots and then suplexes Almas. Lorcan goes for something but Almas ducks and Lorcan flips right over him. Almas rocks Lorcan with a couple shots but Lorcan ends up giving Almas an Alabama Slam right into the turnbuckle. Almas is in the ropes and wants a break, the ref was trying to give it to him but Almas ends up taking a cheap shot to Lorcan and then gets him hooked in the Hammerlock DDT and picks up the W.

Winner: Andrade “Cien” Almas

After the match, Almas is asked what we can expect from him in 2017. He starts talking in Spanish and then yells at the fans to shut up. He then starts to talk in English but I have no idea what he said. Thankfully, Corey Graves repeated it and he said, “Oney Lorcan was first, Roderick Strong is second.” So I guess he’s going after Roddy now.

We get a recap of DIY and The Revival from Toronto.

We go to a sit down interview that Tom Phillips conducted with Shinsuke Nakamura. He’s asked about how it feels to have his rivalry behind him against Samoa Joe. He says the matches were tough and he’s happy to be NXT Champion still. He’s then asked what he thought about his next opponent, Bobby Roode. He says he likes Roode, dresses well, good looking, but he’s not strong and he’s not King. He will not be NXT Champion. Phillips says that Roode refused to appear on camera to talk about the match. He instead gave Phillips a ticket to NXT Takeover Dallas to give to Nakamura. The interview ends and Corey Graves asks Phillips about it and Graves says something about both men being at that show, but I honestly couldn’t hear anything as they were playing the theme song for Takeover and it completely drowned him out. Graves did say at the end that we’ll probably learn more about that as we get closer to San Antonio.

Quick Plug: Be sure to check out the first episode of The Match Beyond podcast of 2017. Hank McAllen joins me to talk about Ring of Honor’s potential in 2017, why the cruiserweight division has been a bust since being brought to Raw, and we dive more in detail in our 2017 TJR Staff Predictions. It’s a great conversation so give it a listen!

NXT Tag Team Title Match
DIY (c) vs. The Revival

Big match introductions for this one. Gargano and Dawson start the match with 20 minutes left in the show, so they have the time to put on a third classic. Dawson smacks Gargano hard and then drops him with a shoulder tackle. Gargano counters with a inverted atomic drop and then tags in Ciampa. Ciampa drops both members of The Revival and then with Gargano, dumps them both to the outside as we go to commercial.

We return with Gargano and Dawson in the ring but Wilder is the legal man and comes from behind and chop blocks Gargano and then works over the knee. The Revival do what they do and continue to work that knee with quick tags. They use the ref to their advantage as well and get some cheap shots in on Gargano. Wilder goes for a suplex, but Gargano reverses it into a small package, but again Dawson has the ref distracted and Gargano can’t get the pin. The Revival go right back to the injured leg. Gargano tries to find an opening on the outside by taking out Wilder, but Dawson tags in and cuts him off. He sets Gargano up for the Demolition Decapitator and Wilder comes off with a legdrop as we go to commercial again.

We come back to Dawson still working over that leg and The Revival continue the assault. Gargano hits an enziguri to Wilder and as he tags in Dawson, Gargano is able to sneak by and tag in Ciampa. Ciampa is a house of fire and takes out Dawson. Huge high knee in the corner and then a series of German suplexes. Ciampa goes for his running knee to the temple and connects, but Dawson somehow kicks out. Ciampa goes another German but Dawson blocks and Wilder tags in legally. He goes for a Sunset flip and Dawson sends Ciampa over with a massive clothesline. The Revival now goes for a Hart Attack but Ciampa ducks out of the way and Dawson ends up getting hit with a Gargano superkick. Ciampa now locks in his armbar submission to Wilder but Dawson shoves Gargano into them to break it up. Wilder manages to tag in Dawson legally and Wilder and Ciampa go to the outside. Gargano comes in and kicks Wilder but gets stopped by Dawson. The Revival go for Shatter Machine but Ciampa stops it from happening. Dawson ends up just pinning Gargano but Gargano kicks out. Dawson now sent to the outside and Wilder sent there too by a knee from Ciampa. Now Gargano does a suicide dive through the ropes that completely takes out Dawson and he would’ve ended up in the third row if the barricade wasn’t there. Ciampa now comes off the apron with a running knee that takes out Wilder and the entire timekeeper’s area. This is insanity!! Dawson and Gargano back in and now Ciampa tagged in. DIY wants to go for Meet in the Middle but Wilder breaks it up and sends Gargano to the outside. Ciampa goes after Wilder but Dawson comes from behind and goes for a slingshot suplex. Ciampa gets out but Wilder drops Ciampa neck first over the top rope and he stumbles back into a Dawson DDT. Ciampa kicks out! The Revival want to go for a top rope Shatter Machine but Gargano cuts it off. Gargano tags in and The Revival are hugging each other in the middle of the ring and so DIY go for broke and Meet in the Middle on both of them! Double pin and the champs retain! What a finish!!

Winners: Still NXT Tag Champions, DIY

Unfortunately, DIY doesn’t get to celebrate as The Authors of Pain come through the crowd and attack the champs from behind. They get them up in what Tom Phillips says is now called Super Collider, the back cracking double powerbombs, and the champs are laid out as AOP holds the tag titles in their hands.

Now we go backstage and William Regal is asked about what he just saw, and he makes the Tag Team Title match official for DIY and The Authors of Pain. We will also have a contract signing for the NXT Title Match with Nakamura and Roode. An incensed Asuka bursts in and screams for him to make a title match for Takeover for her. He asks against who, and she yells ALL OF THEM. Our show comes to an end.

K-Tank Final Takes

• After that second commercial break, that tag match was absolutely insanity. The overall match wasn’t as good as their first two, but that finishing sequence was as good as anything. Incredible.
• I said all along that Asuka would be best served to have a triple threat match against Billie and Peyton as that would give her a challenge she has yet to have before in terms of the numbers game. Now potentially adding Nikki Cross into that and making it a 4 way? Yes please!
• Great showing by Oney Lorcan tonight. His offense is unique and really stands out. The crowd loves him too. I don’t know if there are any plans for him, but he looked really impressive tonight. That name though…

That’s it for me this week. We officially have two matches announced for Takeover and I would assume the third one will be made official next week for Asuka. Until then, don’t do anything I wouldnt do but if you do, name it after me.