NXT
Date:
October 30, 2014
Location:
Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators:
Jason
Albert, Renee Young, Rich
Brennan
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
We're
getting very close to the next big show and Sami's road to the title
is on fire. Other than that the main story is Hideo Itami having to
face the Ascension on his own which hasn't been working all that well
for him. Things are starting to pick back up around here and it's
made things much easier to get through. Let's get to it.
Sami
says he hasn't won the big one yet but he's still on the road to
redemption. Titus O'Neil comes in and says he's the next challenger
on the way. They agree to a match, presumably tonight.
Opening
sequence.
Tag
Team Battle Royal
Vaudevillains,
Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore, Ascension, Tye Dillinger/Jason Jordan,
Buddy Murphy/Wesley Blake
Winners
get a title shot and if one member is out, the whole team is out.
It's
the usual brawl to start with the Vaudevillains having to slide back
under the ropes early on. Dillinger
rips off a chop to Amore but Big Cass makes a save. We get back to
the brawling with Gotch saving himself over and over. There
aren't any eliminations yet and we're coming up on four minutes into
the match. Blake/Murphy
and Dillinger/Jordan are in trouble but the Ascension dumps all four
guys at once.
The
Vaudevillains bail to the floor, leaving Cassady and Amore to fight
the monsters. Enzo
jumps on Viktor's back and hammers away, only to walk into an STO.
Cassady
fights back as the Vaudevillains come back in. Well crawl to the
apron at least. Enzo and Cass are thrown into each other for an
elimination and here comes Hideo Itami to stand on the stage. The
distraction lets the Vaudevillains dump the Ascension for the
surprise win at 6:28.
Rating:
C-.
Eh it's a battle royal so what are you looking for here? The
Vaudevillains are the best option here as they're over with the crowd
and a unique act so why not give them the shot? Itami helping is a
good idea and since it's been awhile since the last distraction win,
the ending didn't make me roll my eyes as much.
Itami
comes in after the match but gets laid out again. Konor tells him to
go back to Japan or they'll send him back in a box.
Emma
vs. Carmella
Carmella's
line: “Bada bing, hottest chick in the ring.” A
quick rollup gets two on Emma but she drops down next to Carmella on
an Irish whip. Carmella
stomps away in the corner as the announcers suggest costumes for
Albert. She
stops to check her nails while choking Emma on the ropes (Albert:
“Renee are they real?” Renee: “Uhhhhh.......”) before
putting on a bodyscissors. Emma
blocks a kick and Carmella panics, allowing Emma to take over with
clotheslines, followed by the Dilemma. The Emma Sandwich gets two
but Carmella trips her up and puts on the crossface with her legs for
the submission at 4:57.
Rating:
C.
Not bad here with Carmella being another decent character to help
fill out the division. NXT's women's division is so much better than
WWE's in terms of developing personalities for the girls. Yeah
Carmella's character may be very stereotypical, but it's unique for
the division and is something different than some chick that just
happens to wrestle.
Bull
Dempsey vs. Justin Gabriel
Apparently
Dempsey didn't cry at the end of Old Yeller. Dempsey
easily stomps away as someone tries to start a Sawyer Fulton chant
for some reason. A
side slam gets two on Justin and Bull just hammers on the head. We
hit the chinlock for
a bit before Justin counters into a reverse DDT. A moonsault gets
two for Justin but he dives into a backdrop, setting up a running
Vader body attack. Bull's top rope headbutt gets the pin at 3:47.
Rating:
D+.
I'm getting a Bam Bam Bigelow vibe from Dempsey minus a lot of the
high flying stuff. He's not great in the ring but he plays the role
well enough and looks like a machine every time. He'll be a good
dragon for someone like Sami to slay later on and that's all he needs
to be.
Bayley
says if Becky Lynch wants to bring Sasha, she'll bring Charlotte.
Baron
Corbin vs. Tony Briggs
The
NXT crowd's newest cool idea: counting the time before Corbin gets
the pin at 18 seconds with End of Days. He's getting faster at it
too.
Itami
says he isn't leaving and will have a friend next week.
Marcus
Louis vs. Sylvester LeFort
Louis
isn't hiding the bald anymore and throws Sylvester down by the
throat. LeFort
tries to crawl away again but gets nailed with a clothesline. A
release Rock Bottom ends Sylvester at 1:26. Louis came off like a
killer here and
kept shouting YOU DID THIS TO ME.
Titus
O'Neil vs. Sami Zayn
Titus
throws him around to start but Zayn comes back with some chops. They
trade more chops in the corner until O'Neil plants him with a pair of
backbreakers. We take a break and come back with Sami caught in a
bearhug. Sami
gets choked in the corner as Titus mocks the OLE chant. More chops
have no effect on Titus as he just throws Sami down.
Sami
gets tossed to the floor but Titus lets him get back in, only to do
the same thing again. He
tries it again but Sami hangs on and comes back in with a high cross
body for two. A
big boot and over the shoulder backbreaker get the same for Titus as
frustration is starting to set in. Back
up and Sami grabs the exploder suplex in the corner followed by the
Helluva Kick for the pin out of nowhere at 11:30.
Rating:
C-.
It's still not a good match but this was miles better than their
first one because Sami got the win. Titus is still little more than
a musclehead but I liked his talking to make him seem all the more
arrogant. Nothing special here but it plays into the road to
redemption story and gave the fans something to cheer for.
Post
match Tyler Breeze comes out and says hang on a second. Sami doesn't
get a title shot for beating a couple of uggos. If he wants the
title shot, he has to beat the one person he's never beat. Regal has
already made the match for next week.
Overall
Rating: C.
This was all about moving the stories forward and the depth they're
reaching is great. Sami having to go back and avenge each of his
losses is a great story and the rematch with Breeze could tear the
house down. By this point I'm sure you know who Itami's friend is
going to be and the reaction is going to blow the roof off. Not a
great show this week but they have me wanting to see more. That's
something I haven't been able to say about WWE in a long time.
Results
Vaudevillains
won a tag team battle royal last eliminating Ascension
Carmella
b. Emma – Leg Crossface
Bull
Dempsey b. Justin Gabriel – Top rope headbutt
Baron
Corbin b. Tony Briggs – End of Days
Marcus
Louis b. Sylvester LeFort – Release Rock Bottom
Sami
Zayn b. Titus O'Neil – Helluva Kick
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
I've decided I'm not watching until that meathead Titus is not main eventing anymore. I have nearly Miz levels of dislike for him.
ReplyDeleteAre they pronouncing it HELLOOVA Kick now for the same reason I think they are? Or did they get a letter from the cheese spread people.
ReplyDeleteSo is this week gonna be the week that Finn Balor debuts?
ReplyDeleteI really dug the Dempsey/Gabriel match, and got damn does Carmella have personality for days.
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait for this week's show for the Devitt debut.
What a boycott this is.
ReplyDeleteCorbin Bernson>Baron Corbin
ReplyDeleteThis is his last appearance at least through the next live taping.
ReplyDeleteThank God.
ReplyDeleteWell, you have two options here: Him, or...
ReplyDeleteThat Other Guy.
Why not use Roger Dorn then?
ReplyDelete