NXT
Date:
June 3, 2015
Location:
Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators:
Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
This
is an interesting time for NXT as one of their biggest stories isn't
taking place on NXT. Instead, NXT Champion Kevin Owens has been
called up to the main roster and even defeated John Cena clean on pay
per view in his debut match. It doesn't help that he's feuding with
a bunch of people here in NXT as well. Let's get to it.
The
opening video is all about Owens beating Cena at Elimination Chamber.
General
Manager William Regal has an announcement tonight.
Tyler
Breeze vs. Adam Rose
Fans:
“WE WANT KRUGER!” Rose takes him into the corner to start and
nails some loud chops, followed by a headlock takeover: rest hold.
Back up and Breeze nails a great dropkick to put Rose on the floor.
That goes nowhere as Rose backdrops him to the floor and we take a
break.
Back
with Rose putting on a sleeper for a good while until Breeze fights
out and kicks him in the chest. Breeze, wrestling like a face here,
nails some running forearms in the corner but gets caught in a
spinebuster, which Rose transitions into a Boston crab for a nice
spot. Breeze crawls over to the ropes and comes back with the Beauty
Shot for the pin at 12:01.
Rating:
C+. Breeze is one of those
characters who is going to be turned face just due to how well he
works in the ring and there isn't much NXT can do to stop it. This
was a much better match than I was expecting, especially considering
Rose is way past his expiration date at this point.
Solomon
Crowe is glad Joe was there last week and promises to be back and
better than ever.
Dana
Brooke has been at the Arnold Classic and will be back soon.
Eva
Marie is brought to the stage for a chat and MY GOODNESS the fans do
not want to see her. The YOU CAN'T WRESTLE chants stop her cold but
she says she'll wait. Eva was at Takeover to watch the great women's
wrestling and that's why she's here now. She wants to compete with
the best and they're right here in NXT. I
know she's been training more, but she has a huge hill to overcome to
get anywhere.
Regal's
announcement is that on the big 4th of July show with
Brock Lesnar in action, Balor will challenge Kevin Owens for the NXT
Title in Japan, and it will air live on the WWE Network. Oh man that
could be awesome if they air the whole show but it sounds like just
the NXT Title match.
Carmella
vs. Alexa Bliss
Carmella
goes right at her with three straight takedowns and right hands every
time. Bliss manages to drop her face first onto the buckle for two
before cranking on a cravate. Back up and Carmella hits some running
forearms, only to get caught in a rollup with a hand grabbing the
ropes to give Bliss the pin at 3:34.
Rating:
D+. This
is where NXT's logical booking shines. It's clear that they're
setting up a six person tag and what
better way to set it up than to have the girls getting there for a
bit? Bliss has transitioned into this new role perfectly and the
character change is so jarring that it works very well.
Rhyno
says he's back to go after the top contender in Finn Balor. Tonight
he's a Gore away from being one step closer to being NXT Champion.
Video
on Sami Zayn's shoulder surgery, which fixed a torn rotator cuff.
Vaudevillains
vs. Jason Jordan/Marcus Louis
I
had been wondering what happened to Louis. The crazy Louis starts
with Gotch as the fans are very happy to have the Vaudevillains back.
It's quickly off to English for a manly knee to the ribs (Fans:
“THAT WAS MANLY!”) but Jordan comes in for a suplex to take over.
We hit the reverse chinlock on English to slow things down. Louis
tags himself in, much to Jordan's annoyance, and puts on a chinlock
of his own. English fights up and makes the hot tag to Gotch for a
quick Whirling Dervish and the pin on Marcus at 5:16.
Rating:
D+.
So the Vaudevillains seem to be faces as well. That's not the worst
idea in the world as you can put them against Blake and Murphy when
Enzo and Cass are done with them. That's one of the places where NXT
shines: they set something up for when the current feud is done and
they can transition right into the new feud. I miss that kind of
well done and planned out booking. The match was nothing special and
was mostly spent in a chinlock. I'm assuming Jordan will go partner
hunting for the next few weeks.
Video
on Sasha Banks being all Bossy.
Finn
Balor is ready for Rhyno.
Finn
Balor vs. Rhyno
Feeling
out process to start until Rhyno just runs Balor over with a
shoulder. Rhyno goes up top but gets kicked out to the floor as we
take an early break. Back with Rhyno putting on a body scissors to
slow Balor down. Rhyno mocks Balor's signature pose before putting
on a chinlock.
That
goes nowhere as Finn comes back with a middle rope forearm but the
reverse lifting DDT is countered into a spinebuster for two.
Frustration is setting in for Rhyno and the Pele makes it even worse.
The Sling Blade connects but the Coup de Grace misses. The Gore
misses as well though and Balor grabs a quick rollup for the surprise
pin at 12:10.
Rating:
C+. I liked this better than I
was expecting to with Balor being able to adapt to Rhyno's simple yet
effective power style. That's the perk of having someone like Rhyno
around: he can work well with anyone and you can easily build him
back up by having him squash jobbers, only to lose again to someone
like Balor. Nice little match here.
Rhyno
Gores Balor on the stage to end the show.
Overall
Rating: C. This
show would best be summed up as recharging. You have the
Vaudevillains returning and Breeze acting more like a face, along
with setting up some feuds for the future. This is something you
come to expect from NXT as they hit Takeover, have a week off, and
then start getting back on track to the middle of the road feuds.
Owens vs. Balor in Tokyo should be awesome and the fans are going to
eat it up.
Results
Tyler
Breeze b. Adam Rose – Beauty Shot
Alexa
Bliss b. Carmella – Rollup while holding the ropes
Vaudevillains
b. Jason Jordan/Marcus Louis – Whirling Dervish to Louis
Finn
Balor b. Rhyno – Rollup
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
I wonder why the dumped the obvious "Marcus Louis stalks Breeze" angle they had started shortly after Louis got turned into Sloth Fratelli.
ReplyDeleteI guess Jericho got screwed. He was suppose to face Finn at Tokyo Dome July 4th.
ReplyDeleteI thought they were going for more of a Gollum gimmick myself.
ReplyDeleteSo after dealing with their "indy problem" (not a problem, but Sami, Kevin, Solomon and Hideo were very important characters taking up tons of screen time) this is what NXT is probably going to look like for 70% of its episodes.
ReplyDeleteAnd it seems...pretty damn okay.
And I presume Finn beats Kevin in Tokyo. Owens needs the belt off of him, fast, and this is the place/time to do it.
For the record, Eva Marie seems reasonably athletic in the clips I've seen of her, and Kendrick has been working very intensely with her. It's true that, so far, no one has seen her put on a competent match, but I think... no, I HOPE... Eva surprises people and wins over her doubters.
ReplyDeleteNever understood why the Vaudevillains were supposed to be heels and I don't get why Cass & Enzo are faces
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see Rhyno getting a nice little end of career run. I always felt he was an underrated performer in the ring and mic.
ReplyDeletewell.. the word "villain" is right there in the name..
ReplyDeleteIs Dusty still booking NXT?
ReplyDeleteBeing only an hour helps: the not so good stuff doesn't drag, and you see different people each week.
ReplyDeleteEvery match on this show was enjoyable
ReplyDelete"What's all this buzzing about?" said Eva Marie, almost sort of getting her line right but then, of course, no.
ReplyDeleteEnzo and Cass always make certain that the crowd knows that they really want to know how they're doing.
ReplyDeleteAll you gotta do, Andy, is BO-LIEVE!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Eva Marie was secretly thrown on NXT to test Sasha, Charlotte, Becky, and Bayley and see if they can truly work miracles.
ReplyDeleteWat about joe vs Owens for the nxt title?
ReplyDeleteThey have to get the belt off Owens, so let Balor paint up and win the title.
ReplyDeleteI think Breeze has huge potential.
ReplyDeleteOne of the great things about NXT is the rogue crowd--that said, the Eva Marie segment got a little uncomfortable for me with the vitriol they poured on her. It felt a little harsh on somebody who was clearly not totally prepared for it.
ReplyDeleteThe last time she was in an NXT ring, she was so bad the crowd made her cry. It's going to be a cool moment if she gets in there and shocks them, and us, all.
ReplyDeleteAnd the best part? Should that actually happen, the crowd will admit it.
ReplyDeleteWhich reminds me that Dolph Ziggler's twitter handle is still @HEELZiggler.
ReplyDeleteI assume @LOSERZiggler was already taken.
ReplyDeleteAnd if he wasn't 5'8, 175 lbs, I'd completely agree with you.
ReplyDeleteIf there were a cruiserweight title he'd be a great champ.
ReplyDeleteIs Neville busy?
ReplyDeleteTotally agreed. He's just very obviously smaller than even the next smallest guy.
ReplyDeleteI think that's the clear end-goal here. Have her start off hated, but win them over with her development until they almost see her as someone who has grown through NXT and turned into a wrestler.
ReplyDeleteWait. Are we talking about Eva Marie or Dana Brooke here?
ReplyDeleteI don't remember Rhyno on the mic from his earlier run. (He's a ManBeast, he just needs to growl and drool...not speak.)
ReplyDeleteI think he's shown himself to be confident and strong on the mic. That's what you want. A guy that can look credible in the ring and get their point across on the mic.
Rhyno's crushing it right now...and it doesn't matter if he wins or loses (Vince's dream!)
And I don't know about integrity or intelligence, by the man has intensity coming out the wazoo!
ReplyDeleteNo
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