WWE NXT Spotlight: 2/11/2016

Welcome one and all to another installment of the NXT Spotlight right here on TJRWrestling. No fancy or funny intro this week as I’m sure we all know that out namesake of TJR, John Canton, suffered a big loss this week with the passing of his father. It’s a real pleasure to work with him on this site and be a friend of his, so this week’s Spotlight is dedicated to him. Stay strong pal.

Our show starts with a package hyping tonight’s main event as Baymella goes against each other for the NXT Women’s Title.

Baron Corbin vs. Johnny Gargano

This is the first show that comes from UCF Arena in Orlando. Looks like a great crowd. Gargano gets a huge ovation when he comes out and the “Johnny Wrestling” chants start in full force when the bell rings. Gargano ducks a tie up and takes a shot at Corbin to start the match. Gargano wants to avoid Corbin’s size and gets another quick shot in before getting separation between the two. A couple more shots and a shop and now Corbin is mad. Corbin picks him up and throws him into the turnbuckle. Now Gargano goes for a sunset flip but Corbin blocks it. Gargano gets up and starts punching Corbin in the corner. He gets to eight on the 10 count before Corbin throws him off. Corbin gets the upper hand now while the crowd lets him know that he sucks. Gargano is whipped hard into the opposite corner and takes a hard bump down. He tries to fight back but Corbin has none of it and beats him down in the corner. Now he hooks a Cobra Clutch of sorts and wears down Gargano. Corbin picks him up for a bodyslam but Gargano slides out and hooks a sleeper. Corbin runs him back first into the corner but Gargano manages to hit a kick and then after a transition, he comes through the ropes and hits a spear on Corbin. It’s all for naught though as he tries to follow that up and ends up getting hit with Deep Six. Corbin throttles him but Gargano slips out and hits a picture perfect superkick. Corbin kicks out just in the nick of time and he stumbles his way to the outside. Gargano follows him out and shows some fire but as soon as they get back in the ring, Gargano walks right into the End of Days and Corbin picks up the win.

Winner: Baron Corbin

Afterwards, we’re shown a replay of the Triple Threat match from two weeks ago with the controversial finish for Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe. Alex Reyes is now backstage with Sami Zayn and he’s asked about his match with Samoa Joe for the #1 Contender. He says he’s disappointed that was the decision made, but he can’t fault William Regal for it. It’s just another hurdle he’s got to jump. It wasn’t easy to win the NXT Title the first time so he doesn’t see a reason why it would be the second time. He’s never faced Joe one on one, but nothing will stop him becoming the first ever two-time NXT Champion.

The Vaudevillians vignette we’ve seen before is shown again.

The Hype Bros vs. Jon Skylar and Corey Hollis

Great reaction for the Hype Bros, especially Zack Ryder as he starts the match. The story from the announcers is The Hype Bros having to rebound from their first loss as a tag team last week. Skylar hits a back elbow and forearm on Ryder but gets dropped with a dropkick and then Ryder tags in Mojo. They double team Skylar in the corner. Hollis comes in the ring and Mojo double clotheslines them both over the top rope. Ryder comes back in and dropkicks them both for good measure through the ropes. Skylar goes back in the ring and catches Ryder with a knee as he’s trying to get back in and now he and Hollis start double teaming Ryder. They work him over in the corner with quick tags but Ryder finally hits a double knees to Hollis and makes the tag to Mojo. Mojo comes in and cleans house. He hits Skylar with a Avalanche Splash and a Pounce tackle. Mojo hits the Hype Driver and then tags in Ryder who cleans it up with a Broski Boot. Mojo gets Skylar up for the Hype Ryder and that gets the win for The Hype Bros.

Winners: The Hype Bros

Alex Reyes is now backstage with Baymella and talking to them both about their title match tonight. Bayley says the only thing harder than winning the title has been keeping the title. She lists off who she’s beaten so far and although she loves Carmella, she’s not ready to lose the title yet. Carmella says this is the biggest match of her career and there’s no guarantee she’s going to get another shot. They’re asked about if their friendship will come into play tonight. Both say that they’re loyal to a fault but once the bell rings, may the best woman win.

Alexa Bliss vs. Cameron

The “mobbed at a Freddy Kreuger convention” look is back for BAMF and I am sad. I hate that look. I’m sure my buddy Jeff thinks it’s the greatest though. Cameron though? Really? Who’s the babyface here? This is going to test my writing skills. I can only imagine what the live crowd thought. The women tie up and Cameron throws Alexa down and celebrates the accomplishment. Alexa now does the same thing. Now both women tie up and don’t break. Alexa goes after Cameron and she ducks and hits Alexa with a flying something. I don’t know what it was supposed to be. The crowd is not happy. Alexa is out on the second rope and gets hit with a double knee to the back. Now Cameron wants to hit a kick to the face of Alexa while hitting the splits at the same time. She does not connect. The crowd lets her know too. Alexa goes to the outside to get a breather and then comes back in and starts to dominate the match. She beats on Cameron and then surfs on her back before curb stomping her face. The crowd appreciated that. Cameron fires back though and starts kicking Alexa in the corner, following that up with a splash. Alexa comes out of the corner and gets hit with a face plant. Cameron gets a little cocky and gets caught with a small package but manages to kick out. She kicks Alexa back down and then hits a jumping neckbreaker. Alexa kicks out again. Alexa makes a comeback and sends Cameron to the mat and then hits her back handspring double knees. Alexa taunts Cameron and then goes up top to hit her Sparkle Splash and mercifully it’s over.

Winner: Alexa Bliss

Quick Plug: The reason this week’s Spotlight is a little late is that I was the guest co-host for Main Event Madness with Jon Curry and our own Marc Madison. I was supposed to be on next week’s show, but I was called on a week early due to some scheduling conflicts not of my own doing. It was a blast to be on the show & I hope you’ll check it out. We discuss Daniel Bryan, Titus O’Neil, CM Punk, & Lucha Underground’s own Vampiro was our special interview. It’s a great show that actually runs overtime due to how much fun we were having. You can check it out on YouTube here, or find it on Itunes under Main Event Madness and it’s Episode 48. I’ll be back on with the guys for their Fastlast Preview just before the live PPV.

Enzo and Big Cass are backstage and Cass lets Dash and Dawson know that they’re are not done with them. They are the 2015 Tag Team of the Year and they’re going for Back to Back in 2016. Then the greatest thing going comes in and interrupts them, American Alpha. Gable and Jordan tell Enzo and Cass they won’t go back to back because that was 2015 and this is 2016. An Olympic year, and Gable says you know what that means. No one does though. Enzo guesses that means it’s an Olympic year thus it means its his hear? Gable is happy Enzo got it. Jordan says t doesn’t matter though cause next week they’re all wrestling back to back as they’re teaming up to take on BAMF and Dash and Dawson next week. Cass complements him on bringing it full circle. Gable wraps it up by saying they’ll be “Ready, Willing, and…” the other three say something completely different than Gable and walk off.

Elias Samson vs. Jesse Sorenson

Ironic that Jesse is in Orlando again, but probably wrestling in front of a bigger crowd than TNA ever had. Samson goes right after Sorenson and beats on him in the corner with some vicious knees and forearms. He then hits a short arm clothesline as Sorenson comes off the ropes. The crowd chants “drift away” to The Drifter. Samson hits some knee drops and then drives Sorenson’s face right into his knee into a submission of sorts. Samson goes high for a standing elbow drop. He throws Sorenson into the ropes and catches him with a high knee. He tells the already quiet crowd to be quiet and then hits his snap neckbreaker finisher for the win.

Winner: Elias Samson

A recap of last week’s main event between Finn Balor and Apollo Crews is shown. Alex Reyes is now with Apollo Crews and asks him if Apollo has any regrets for asking for his match with Balor. Apollo says no. He got the resolution in the match he wanted. He went toe to toe with the champ and although it didn’t end the way he wanted it to, he learned what he has to do to be at the top. He’s done talking now though, the next time you see him in the ring, you’re going to see a brand new Apollo Crews.

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

There’s 20 minutes left in the show as Carmella makes her way out, so unless there’s something happening at the end of the show that I don’t know about, it looks like Carmella is going to get plenty of time to prove whether she can hang with one of the best. Bayley gets another thunderous ovation as she comes to the ring. Big match introductions given for this one. Carmella definitely has nerves as it’s all over her expression. Both women shake hands and hug for a sign of respect. Bayley gets a headlock to start and then Carmella reverses it. Bayley gets out and goes to an armbar. Carmella gets out and goes with a go behind, but gets caught in a drop toe hold and now Bayley has a headlock again. Bayley ends up getting sent to the corner and then Carmella is caught with a back elbow. Bayley hits a really nice arm drag off the second rope and then both ladies have a nice transition. Carmella ends up hitting an atomic drop and then both women go for a dropkick and miss each other. They get up and slap hands to show respect once again. That was a good early sequence, especially for Carmella. Bayley gets a go behind but Carmella reverses and gets an armbar. Bayley rolls out and then gets a rollup pin but Carmella kicks out. Carmella sent to the corner and Bayley hits a jumping clothesline. Carmella gets snapmared down and then Bayley hits a seated clothesline. Bayley hits a knee drop and goes for another pin but Carmella kicks out once again. We go to a commercial break.

As of the airing we were 53 days away from WrestleMania. So we’re less than that now depending on when you watch this. Come find me if you’re going to be there.

We come back to the match with Bayley stretching out the arms of Carmella. Carmella manages to get out and turn it into a rollup, but Bayley kicks out. Carmella monkey flips Bayley and then hits a Thesz Press. She gets Bayley into the corner and hits her rolling Hurricanrana, but Bayley pops up and hits a lariat to take down Carmella. Carmella though gets a small package on Bayley but Bayley kicks out. Bayley gets Carmella in the corner and hits her combo and then picks up Carmella in a powerslam and drops her in the middle of the ring. She goes for a pin but Carmella kicks out. Bayley goes to the second rope but Carmella cuts her off and sends Bayley off the turnbuckle to the floor. Bayley fell hard. Carmella acts concerned for a second but then decides she’s got to take advantage. She hits a pretty suicide dive through the ropes that ends up being a cross body block on the floor. She goes back to being apprehensive on what to do next but then she decides to do it again and hits it! She tosses Bayley back in but Bayley kicks out. Carmella goes for two follow up pin attempts but Bayley keeps kicking out. Carmella looks a little frustrated as Bayley is hurting in the corner. Carmella hits her with a Bronco Buster and then goes for her Flatliner into the Leg submission but Bayley reverses it! Both ladies trade multiple pin attempts and after a series of reversals, Bayley gets on top of of Carmella and folds her up just long enough to get the three count.

Winner: Still NXT Women’s Champion, Bayley

Post match, Bayley goes right to Carmella and gives her a big hug and congratulates her on her performances. She raises the arm of Carmella. Cool moment as Carmella shows genuine emotion. Carmella leaves Bayley in the ring and out of nowhere, Eva Marie and Nia Jax take out Carmella on the rampway. Bayley tries to help once she sees what’s happening, but Nia takes her out. Nia carries Carmella to the ring and hits a couple of her big legdrops. Nia then picks up Carmella for The Red Queen of NXT to pick the bones. Here comes Asuka though! Eva goes directly behind Nia as Asuka stares them both down. Eva and Nia decide better of it though and back away and leave the ring. Loud chants of “Eva Sucks” rain down. Bayley is back in the ring now and Asuka faces her and smiles as the crowd chants “Yes!” She brushes Bayley’s title and then walks off.

Samoa Joe is now backstage. He’s never considered Sami Zayn an ungrateful person, but clearly that’s the case. He saved Sami’s life and career. There will be no triple threat to save him next week and he will face the inevitable. Samoa Joe will win next week and he will be the next NXT Champion. That ends our show.

K-Tank’s Final Takes

– Just as an overall view of the show, that crowd had to be wondering what they did to deserve such an odd show like that. Corbin goes over Gargano, Alexa and Cameron have an awful match, and then Elias Samson after that in the first three matches.

– Kudos to Carmella who had an outstanding effort tonight against Bayley. That was a fun match that crowd really got behind and they obviously were impressed with Carmella’s efforts. The post match work was really good too with Eva and Nia coming out of nowhere. I really like that tandom.

– We get our first sign that we’re headed for a Bayley vs. Asuka showdown in Texas at the next Takeover event. I for one cannot wait for that match when it’s officially announced. Asuka as I said last week has really done a great job with her transformation and is less creepy and more ass kicking. This should be a lot of fun.

Next week should be a much better show as we have a huge eight man tag match scheduled and then Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe go at it for the right to face Finn Balor. I’ll be here to cover all the action. Until next time, as a tip of the cap to our buddy John, tell someone that you love, what they mean to you. Take care.