WWE NXT Spotlight: 2/15/17 by Kurt Zamora
Welcome one and all to another installment of the NXT Spotlight here at TJRWrestling.net. We are working our way towards the Road to WrestleMania and as we head that way, tonight we introduce some new roster members and have ourselves the first ever UK Championship Match on NXT. Let’s see what else the Yellow and Black has in store for us.
The Authors of Pain (w/Paul Ellering) vs. Garrison Spears and Lance A’Noai
Rezar attacks A’Noai to start and then picks him up and charges him into the corner back first. He then goes over to Spears and tosses him into the ring. He kicks Spears in the midsection and then tags in Akam. Both men get an opponent up in a fireman’s carry and then give them a Death Valley Driver into the turnbuckles. Rezar is the legal man and they set up A’Noai for The Final Chapter and that’s all she wrote.
Winners: The Authors of Pain
Post match, Ellering commands his men to get thier opponents up for the Super Collider powerbomb and they oblige.
A video package for Tyler Bate is shown.
We then get an update on Shinsuke Nakamura’s condition after his knee injury at Takeover: San Antonio. He will not need surgery and he’s back at the Performance Center training.
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce vs. Liv Morgan and ???
Morgan, per William Regal last week, was able to pick a mystery opponent for this match. I’d like to believe Morgan really doesn’t have any friends, but of course that’s not how this works. Her partner is of course Ember Moon. Ember and Billie start the match. Billie knocks Ember down with a shoulder tackle but then Ember blocks a hiptoss and connects on a headscissors. Ember wants to climb the turnbuckle but Billie stops her. Ember kicks her in the face but then Peyton gets involved and Ember ends up taking a hard fall off the turnbuckles. Peyton tags in and continues the attack and then a quick tag back to Billie as they do a double foot choke in the corner. Billie goes for her big boot, but Ember catches it and then suplexes Billie. Both women make their tags and Morgan clotheslines Peyton and then hits a bulldog. She then goes for an STO on Peyton but Billie breaks up the pin. Ember comes in but she gets a big boot for her troubles and is dropped to the floor. Peyton then tags in Billie legally and they hit a double team wheelbarrow/running knee and get the win.
Winners: Billie Kay and Peyton Royce
We get a recap of Eric Young calling out Tye Dillinger last week and the subsequint battle that led to the six man tag main event. Afterwards, we go to the Performance Center where Andrea asks No Way Jose and Roderick Strong about their thoughts on helping Dillinger last week. Strong says he knows guys like Eric Young. He used to be one of them. When he came to NXT, it was Roddy vs. The World. He goes against anyone. Sanity is trying to bully Dillinger. 3-1, 4-1 isn’t fair and that’s why he stepped in. Jose says Dillinger is well respected in the locker room and possibly the hottest thing going in NXT. They had to step up to Sanity before they try and do that to everyone else in the locker room.
DIY Wants Their Belts Back… So Do The Revival
Ciampa starts by saying at Takeover: Toronto, they saw their dreams come true. Not only winning the tag titles, but when the NXT Universe voted them Match of the Year. They knew their work was about to start. Japan, Australia, and San Antonio, Texas. Gargano says the Authors of Pain are as tough as anyone they’ve ever faced. They’re big and bad, but that night, DIY saw something in AOP that they’ve never seen before. Doubt. They know they can beat down DIY but DIY will keep coming back. They may be beaten but DIY is far from broken. They want their rematch for the NXT Tag Titles.
Paul Ellering comes out with his men and says if they’re so hellbent on their self destruction, then in two weeks they can have their rematch with AOP. Make sure to make peace with their loved ones. Gargano and Ciampa tell each other that they love them, which was funny, and then Ciampa says let’s just do it now. Here comes The Revival from behind though and they take out DIY and hit Gargano with the Shatter Machine. AOP comes charging down now to get revenge for last week, but The Revival manage to bail in time.
A vignette for the return of Kassius Ohno is shown. That’s Chris Hero for anyone not yet in the loop.
We now go to William Regal in his office, who has decided there will be a triple threat match between Peyton Royce, Ember Moon, & Liv Morgan with the winner going against Asuka in two weeks for the NXT Women’s Title.
UK Championship Match: Tyler Bate (c) vs. Trent Seven
I really assumed Seven was a heel, but I think I’m wrong. As I stated last week, I didn’t watch the UK Tournament so I’m not familiar with anyone in the tournament. Bate waves a lot and Seven has a thing for his moustache. Bate is only 19 years old, which is quite surprising to me. Both men shake hands before the match and we have 16 minutes left as the bell rings, so apparently this is going to get a good amount of time.
Both men tie up and then have a clean break in the ropes as Seven adjusts Bate’s moustache for him. Seven is from Moustache Mountain after all. We now get the roles reversed. A third tie up and now Bate has a side headlock. Bate now goes for a series of shoulder tackles, but he can’t budge Seven. Seven ends up knocking Bate down with his own shoulder tackle. He then comes running at Bate with a chop and then connects with a suplex. Bate ends up escaping a hold and dropkicks Seven. Seven powders to the floor but Bate follows him there and brings him back in the ring. We go to commercial.
We come back with Bate hooking Seven in a short arm scissor. Bate lays in some uppercuts in the corner but now Seven is fired up and they’re having no effect. Seven turns one into a backslide but Bate blocks it for a bit. Seven finally gets him over but Bate kicks out at two. Seven gets caught with a knee and then Bate comes off the second rope with another European uppercut. Seven ends up on the floor and here comes Bate flying high over the top rope and on to Seven on the ramp. That was an impressive dive. Bate thinks he has him but Seven connects with a Michinoku Driver out of nowhere. Bate manages to kick out. Seven goes for his Seven Star Lariat, which is Okada’s Rainmaker, but Bate blocks it. Bate now goes for the airplane spin and goes for two cycles. Bate comes from behind and wants a German Suplex, but Seven hits an elbow and then turns it into a Dragon Suplex. He then quickly hits Bate with a powerbomb, stays on top for the pin but Bate kicks out. Seven immediately turns it into a single leg crab. Bate tries to get to the rope and Nigel McGuiness rightfully points out that his crawling tactics look very much like a tap out. Someone is gonna need to talk to him about that. Bate gets out finally and then both men start to trade blows. Bate hits a straight left jab and thinks he has the advantage, but Seven grabs him in the Seven Star Lariat and connects. Bate kicks out right at the knick of time. Seven is now going to the top rope but Bate hits him with a dropkick, just barely, to stop the attack. Bate now goes to the ropes and looks like he wants an exploder suplex but Seven blocks it and goes for a suplex of his own. Bate blocks once more and this time he does hit the exploder. Bate crawls into a pin and this time Seven is the one to just kick out in time. Bate is going for his finisher, the Tyler Driver 97, which is a Pearl River Plunge. Seven blocks it but Bate comes off the ropes with a rolling heel kick and then this time when he goes for the Tyler Driver 97, he connects and he retains the title.
Winner: Tyler Bate
Post match, both men shake hands and Seven gives Bate a hug in a nice sign of respect and that’s our show.
K-Tank’s Final Takes
– For not knowing either guy, that was a really solid main event. I think I liked Seven’s work more than Bate’s but I enjoyed a couple of the near fall spots.
– I can only assume the first Takeover: Orlando match we can be prepared for is a Triple Threat for the tag titles. Considering how impressive AOP looked in San Antonio, I’d be thrilled to see what those three teams can do together.
– A quick plug before I go, we’ll be recording the next episode of The Match Beyond podcast this weekend so if you have any questions you’d like answered on the air, any company or any era, send them in the comments below or via Twitter to me, @KTankTMB. We’re going to start to do this more often so if it’s not this episode, get some questions ready for the future.
Next week along with the triple threat #1 Contender match, we will have more UK Tournament participants debut in NXT as Pete Dunne will take on Mark Andrews. Those are two I’m actually familiar with from their work in BOLA 2016. I’ll be here for all the action so until then don’t do anything I wouldn’t do but if you do, name it after me.