WWE NXT Spotlight: 9/7/16 by Kurt Zamora

Welcome one and all to the latest installment of the NXT Spotlight here on TJRWrestling. After a week hiatus, we are right back on track. A lot has happened for NXT since the last time we were together, including an announcement that NXT will debut in Japan and also the announcement that the next Takeover will take place in Toronto the night before Survivor Series. Don’t know if that makes up for the decade that it’s been since Toronto last had a PPV, but it’s a start at least.

Last week on NXT, Tye Dillinger stayed on his winning ways, Liv Morgan defeated Aliyah, No Way Jose got back on track after his loss in Brooklyn, Steve Cutler and Kenneth Crawford made an appearance against each other, and Shinsuke Nakamura opened his reign of Strong Style. Now we’re back and this week we have the NXT Women’s Champion Asuka on the show and the Full Sail debut of Ember Moon. Let’s get to it!

TM61 vs. Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari

This should be a fun matchup as we continue to see some of the CWC guys used on NXT. Nese and Thorne start the match. Both men tie up and trade counters and then trade forearms and uppercuts. Nese hits a back elbow, then ducks a Thorne clothesline and then lights up Thorne with some stiff shots. Thorne comes back though and hits a seated hesitation dropkick. Both men proceed to tag in their partners now. Daivari gets Miller in the corner and then slaps him in the face. Miller fires up but Daivari cuts him off in the corner. He hits a jaw jacker on Miller and here comes Nese back in. They go for a double clothesline but Miller ducks and ends up dumping Daivari to the outside. Nese sends Miller to the outside and then comes over the top rope with a crazy, twisting dive to take out Miller. Here comes Thorne now and he gets so much air, he almost misses everyone, but connects to give his team the advantage. They get back in the ring and TM61 start to work over Nese. Daivari distracts the ref and gives Nese the opening he needs to escape and now Daivari gets back in. He goes for a quick pin but Thorne kicks out. Nese right back in after that. He goes for a delayed vertical suplex and then just dumps Thorne stomach first over the top rope and then follows that up with a kick to the face as Thorne is draped over the ropes. Daivari tags back in and hits an elbow drop. He goes to the headlock as his team continues to wear down Thorne. Daivari baits Miller to get in the ring to distract the ref, but it backfires as Miller hits a European uppercut. However, Nese is able to tag in before Thorne can get to Miller. Nese works over Thorne some more as we go to commercial.

We come back to Thorne and Daivari trading blows in the middle of the ring. Both men want a tag and Nese gets it first and tries to stop Thorne but Miller gets in anyways. Miller and Nese trade shots until Miller drops him with a lariat and then a seated clothesline. Nese kicks out of a pin. Thorne tags back in and both men double team Nese and lay him out with the High/Low but Daivari breaks up the pin. Thorne and Nese are legal and Nese manages to trap Thorne’s arm as he gets to tag in Daivari. They hit a double team slam/superkick and then Daivari comes off the top rope with a frog splash but Miller breaks it up. Miller clotheslines Nese over the top but Daivari knees him in the back to take Miller out. Thorne drops Daivari and then Miller comes back in for the Thunder Valley double team and TM61 picks up the win.

Winners: TM61

Tom Phillips does a sitdown interview with Asuka from earlier in the day. He congratulates her on her win at Takeover in Brooklyn over Bayley. He asks her what makes that match so special. She says the crowd was crazy. She respects Bayley, she was the heart of NXT. Bayley fought hard, but she fought harder. Phillips talks about the year Asuka has had and runs down the women she has taken down while here. Asuka says they’re all lucky because they don’t have to face her anymore. Asuka is asked how important it is to represent Japan as champion. Asuka says she defends the title for herself and for her fans. She then gives a message in Japanese for her fans over there. Last question for Asuka is if anyone is ready to challenge her for the NXT Women’s Title. She says something in Japanese again and then says that no one is ready for Asuka.

Steve Cutler is backstage now and is asked about his thoughts on his match tonight with Nakamura. He asks what Nakamura has actually sacrified? Wrestling all over Japan and coming over here to win the NXT Title? There’s no sacrifice there, no honor there. Cutler knows what it’s like to sacrifice for over four years to get this opportunity. He doesn’t care if you like him, love him, and damn sure doesn’t care if you hate him, but you will respect him. Solid promo.

Ember Moon vs. Leah Von

For the record, I will officially be biased towards Ember just because he declares herself from Dallas, Texas, which I love since that’s where I saw her on the indies all the time. Both men tie up and Leah does a cartwheel to reverse a wristlock but then Ember gets a headlock and then drops Leah with a shoulder tackle. Leah tries to hiptoss Ember but she lands on her feet and goes back to the headlock. Leah shoots her off but Ember springboards off the second rope into a cross body. Leah kicks out at two. Leah kicks off Ember and then gets a knee shot and a clothesline but Ember kicks out almost immediately. Leah goes to the neck of Ember and after Ember fights off, Leah sends her into the corner. She goes for a cartwheel move of some sorts but Ember cuts her off with a rollup but Leah kicks out. Ember then follows through with a kick to the gut that had some force behind it. Ember fires up and then drops Leah with a butterfly suplex. She hits a front handspring clothesline and then sets up for her top rope Stunner, and the crowd rises in anticipation. She hits it perfectly again and picks up the win. Corey Graves said that she “eclipsed” Leah Von, so I don’t know if maybe they’ll call it The Eclipse, but that would be a cool name.

Winner: Ember Moon

No Way Jose is backstage and is asked about being blatantly disrespected by Bobby Roode. Jose says he doesn’t play that game. He’s not the first that’s ever disrespected him. Has he ever changed the way he looks, even wearing all white after Labor Day? No Way. So Roode is going to find out that No Way Jose won’t stand for his actions.

A vignette for The Revival is shown.

Tommaso Ciampa is backstage with the trainers after his attack last week. Johnny Gargano comes in to check on his partner. Ciampa says his ribs are fine and Gargano says his knee is fine. Gargano says that he talked to William Regal and next week on the CWC Live Special, they’re getting a tag match opportunity to show that they are 100%. Ciampa says he wants The Revival. Gargano says they hurt them both and now they’re going to hurt The Revival where it hurts after they get through their match next week.

Quick Plug: If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the debut episode of The Match Beyond podcast that debuted this Monday on TJRWrestling and on Itunes. My first guest was Lamont Williams, owner of VIP Wrestling, and we talk about the indy scene nowadays and what it takes to put on a great show. It’s a fantastic interview. This coming Monday, I’ll be talking to Hank and Mark McAllen, fellow TJR writers, and we’ll be discussing Lucha Underground returning for Season 3 and the CWC, among other topics.

Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Austin Aries

Almas comes out in just his gear and a t-shirt, which is ironic if you heard Steve Austin’s podcast with Wade Keller last week as they both agreed he needed to get rid of his walkup gear of the suspenders and hat. Both men tie up to start and Almas counters Aries into a wristlock. Aries reverses it into a hammerlock and then gets shot into the ropes. Aries jumps over a charging Almas and gets an armdrag. Both men attack each other until Aries hits a seated dropkick and then props himself up on the top rope to embellish. Aries back to the wristlock until he goes for a dropdown but Almas hits a seated dropkick to the ribs. Almas drops Aries with a running hurricanrana and Aries needs to go outside to regroup. Almas ends up following him out there and they run around the ring. Aries gets back in and catches Almas with a running knee. Almas does his rope pose and then throws a charging Aries over the top rope. He follows Aries with a corkscrew plauncha. He goes for the pin but Aries kicks out. Almas goes to the top rope but Aries knocks him off from behind and Almas takes a big fall to the floor as we go to commercial.

We return with Aries mounting Almas and drilling him with punches. Aries hits a knee to the midsection in the corner and then snapmares him over. Aries comes off the second rope with a back elbow to the spine and neck of Almas. Aries continues the work on Almas’ neck and then chop blocks him as he tries to escape. He goes for a knee breaker but Almas flips out of it. Aries gets tangled up in the rope and gets superkicked. Aries hits a missile dropkick from the top rope and then sets up Aries for his double knees in the corner. Aries charges Almas instead though and catches him off guard with a dropkick in the corner. Almas manages to kick out though. Almas is set up on the top rope and goes for a back suplex. Almas manages to fight out and Aries takes the fall. Almas goes for a moonsault but Aries manages to roll out. Almas lands on his feet and then hits a moonsault anyways. Aries somehow kicks out. Aries hits a couple elbows and a lethal chop. Almas kicks Aries in the face and then hiptosses him into the turnbuckle. Almas goes for the double knees again but Aries goes to the outside. Almas wants another dive but Aries rolls into the ring. Almas goes for a springboard hurricanrana, but Aries reverses it into a powerbomb and then turns it right into the Last Chancery. Almas has to tap out.

Winner: Austin Aries

A “Sanity” vignette is shown. These are either for Eric Young or Crazy Mary Dobson per the rumors out there.

Next week is Bobby Roode vs. No Way Jose.

Samoa Joe comes out to do guest commentary for the main event.

Steve Cutler vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Since I missed last week, I don’t know anything about Cutler, but he has a decent look and I liked the promo from earlier. It never fails, Nakamura gets a rockstar reception every time. It’s really something else. Joe calls Nakamura the better man in Brooklyn and says his jaw is healing and he hopes to be cleared soon. No heel tendencies and comes across humble. We’ll see if that’s a set up for something later. Nakamura teases Cutler with some kicks and then goes for a test of strength, but instead kicks Cutler in the side of the head. Nakamura with a knee strike and then a kick to the sternum. Now it’s time for Good Vibrations. He goes for it again as Graves asks Joe about his personality tonight. Joe says sometimes a defeat makes you reprioritize things and he’s worried about getting healthy right now and getting back his title. Meanwhile, Cutler gets the advantage and goes for a suplex, but Nakamura blocks it and unloads with strikes on Cutler. Cutler put on the top rope and gets hit with the knee strike to the ribs, followed by the reverse Exploder Suplex. KINSHASA!!!

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

Post match, Joe stews at the announce table as Nakamura celebrates. Joe stands up and both men stare down from a distance. Joe gets up and leaves, heading back to the locker room. That’s our show.

K-Tank’s Final Takes

• Pretty good show tonight with two solid matches, especially the opening tag match.
• Loved what I saw from Ember Moon tonight. A better showcase for her than at Takeover. The crowd responded immediately to her finisher which was a really good sign.
• Very interesting dynamic from Samoa Joe tonight. I brought it up for a reason as the announcers definitely made a story out of it. Very interested to see if this leads to Joe snapping and being even more vicious than before, before he ends up going to the main roster.

So next week we’ll be back for a GLORIOUS main event. Until then, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. If you do though, name it after me.