WWE NXT Spotlight: 4/5/17 by Kurt Zamora

Welcome one and all to the post-WrestleMania edition of the NXT Spotlight here at TJRWrestling. Takeover: Orlando was a huge success for NXT by all accounts, but as the post Raw and Smackdown Live showed, it’s once again a new era in NXT. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tye Dillinger, & The Revival all moved on to the main roster, and per most credible news sources out there, there’s going to be a couple more at least in the near future. So while NXT shuffles its roster once again, let’s see what takes place just a few days after a successful Takeover event.

Peyton Royce (w/Billie Kay) vs. Aliyah

I really believe Peyton has the most potential out of this duo. I’m starting to really like her. The women lock up to start and Peyton with the early advantage. Aliyah comes back though so Billie tries to help Peyton, but Aliyah takes her out with a kick. Peyton has an opening though and takes out Aliyah again. Peyton with kicks in the corner. Peyton lays in the forearm shots while Aliyah tries to fight back. Peyton then hooks a submission in the ropes and hangs on as long as she can before she’s forced to release. Aliyah gets an opening though as Peyton misses a spin kick and Aliyah follows that up with Japanese arm drags and a hip toss. Aliyah comes at Peyton with a splash but Peyton kicks out of a pin attempt. Peyton turns the tables finally and kicks Aliyah right in the knee and then follows that with a knee to the head. Peyton then goes for her Perfect Plex finisher and that gets the win.

Winner: Peyton Royce

Amidst some commercial breaks, we see recaps from Takeover of the 8-person tag match, Asuka vs. Ember Moon, & Aleister Black’s debut against Andrade Almas.

Heavy Machinery vs. The Bollywood Boys

Call it a hunch, but I don’t like The Bollywood Boys’ chances here. Tucker Knight and Harv Sihra start things off. Tucker drops him with a shoulder tackle. Harv comes back with a boot to Tucker and then he goes to the second rope. Naturally it doesn’t end well as Tucker catches him in a big bear hug. Even doing an Earthquake shake for emphasis. Tucker brings Harv to his corner and tags in Otis Dozovic. Tucker tosses Harv like a rag doll to Otis who catches Harv in his own bear hug. Harv fights out pretty quickly though and catches a charging Otis with a back elbow. That doesn’t last though as he get gets caught in a massive overhead belly to belly. Otis is proud of himself for it but it allows Harv time to tag in Gurv. Gurv decides dancing is the way to catch Otis off guard. He was wrong. Tucker comes back in and they proceed to sandwich Gurv’s head. Then they do a belly bounce celebration, because why not? Gurv manages to get back in and hit Otis enough to get the tag in to Harv. The Bollywood Boys attempt a double suplex but Otis overpowers them and hits them with the suplex. Tucker tags back in and hits shoulder tackles to both guys and then a dropkick to Gurv. He hits Harv with a huge hiptoss and then gets both Bollywood Boys in separate corners and hits a big splash on both. Otis is back in the match and they pick up Gurv and Tucker proceeds to piggyback Otis who bodyslams Gurv and all their weight crushes him. Well that’s a unique finisher.

Winners: Heavy Machinery

Quick Plug: Be sure to check out this week’s episode of The Match Beyond podcast. Hank and Mark McAllen join me to discuss this year’s Hall of Fame Class, we give a complete breakdown on Takeover and what we think is next for certain competitors and the brand itself. We close up with some of our favorite WrestleMania moments and memories, both watching on PPV and attending live. It’s a fun episode that you will enjoy!

We go backstage to Oney Lorcan who will be in the main event. He says it doesn’t matter who his opponent is. He’s here to compete and learn.

We get a recap of the Tag Title Match from Takeover and then a post match interview with Paul Ellering and Authors of Pain. Ellering hypes up his men saying this win is vindication for them. They are a team of destiny. Everyone is coming for AOP, but they proved themselves tonight.

We then go to a recap of the NXT Title Match. We see the post match footage of Nakamura getting his rightful send off from NXT. That’s followed by a really cool video package of Nakamura’s time in NXT. His debut in Smackdown Live couldn’t have gone any better in my opinion.

We then go to Bobby Roode’s post match comments. Roode did exactly what he said he would do and he did it during the biggest Takeover in history. He continues to take NXT to new levels and doing things for NXT that has never been done before. It’s just going to keep going so are you ready for the GLORIOUS ride in Bobby Roode’s NXT?

After that, we then go to the big news that Drew McIntye has returned to WWE and more importantly, is signed to NXT. He was interviewed after Takeover and says that he traveled the world and won championships everywhere. He became a franchise player. But where everyone needs to be right now is NXT and that’s where he’s come to. We find out he’ll be on NXT next week.

Oney Lorcan vs. El Vagabundo

So El Vagabundo is clearly Elias Samson under a random lucha mask. So I’m just going to reference him as Samson. Before the match, Samson introduces himself as Vagabundo and wants to know who wants to walk with him. He’s got a song for everyone tonight. Lorcan cuts him off and proclaims that everyone knows he’s Samson. Lorcan wants him to drift away. Samson comes at Lorcan with his guitar before the bell rings and starts the match with the advantage after the cheap shot. Lorcan gets sent to the floor as we go to commercial.

We come back to Samson in control still. He drills Lorcan with a knee to the head and then just controls the majority of the match with punches and kicks. Big clothesline in the corner and then he goes for a pin after a snapmare but Lorcan kicks out. He then hits a suplex and goes for another pin but Lorcan still kicks out. Samson then tries to slow the pace down with a chin lock. Lorcan fights out of it but gets sent to the turnbuckles. Lorcan sidesteps Samson as he’s charging and now that Samson is in the corner, Lorcan comes at him with a crazy amount of back elbow type charges. Samson keeps trying to get out of the corner but Lorcan doesn’t let up. Finally Lorcan sells his attacks but thinks he has the advantage, which allows Samson to hit him from behind. Samson goes for a bodyslam but Lorcan decides to rip off the mask. Samson obviously isn’t happy about it and Lorcan catches him with a running blockbuster and picks up a nice win for once.

Winner: Oney Lorcan

Post match, Samson obviously has to leave the building but tries fighting it as security comes to take him away. Eventually he’s forced from ringside as our show comes to an end.

K-Tank’s Final Takes

* Lorcan can have some hellacious battles. There’s not much there presentation wise, but he can really go in the ring.

* Heavy Machinery seemed to get over with the crowd. They clearly have a unique look and I would like to see them down the road after getting established, have a legitimate shot against Authors of Pain.

Obviously a lot of fluff and recap this week so not much else to say. We’ll be back in Full Sail next week with Drew McIntyre’s official debut in NXT. The next Takeover was scheduled for May in Chicago, so we have about six weeks to get there. Until next time, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do… But if you do, name it after me.