The Big News: Andrade “Cien” Almas improved to 2-0 against Johnny Gargano as he pinned him once again in the main event.
The Medium News: Peyton Royce advanced to Houston and the fatal four-way match for the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Nikki Cross was assaulted by Taynara Conti at the request of The Undisputed Era, which cost Cross her chance to get into the Women’s title match at TakeOver.
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Peyton Royce defeated Nikki Cross and Liv Morgan to earn a spot in the NXT Women’s Championship match at TakeOver: War Games
The winner of this match will join Kairi Sane in the fatal four-way match to determine the new NXT Women’s Champion at TakeOver: War Games next month.
The match started with Cross screaming at Royce, and this led to Cross grabbing Morgan’s arm and using a double clothesline to send Royce out of the ring. We settled down into a normal three-way from there. The crowd didn’t care for this at all, making very little noise for the most part. Royce used a reverse Octopus on Morgan that Cross broke up and caused Royce to almost land on her head.
They did a stacked-up superplex where Morgan got the worst of it. Suddenly, The Undisputed Era sent Mae Young Classic competitor Taynara Conti down to the ring and she interfered and ultimately cost Cross the match. Royce pinned Cross with a fisherman’s suplex.
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Velveteen Dream defeated Lio Rush
This was Rush’s real NXT debut. He attempted to debut last week against Aleister Black, but Velveteen Dream attacked him from out of nowhere, which brought us to this match.
Rush used his small size to his advantage as he dodged, ducked, dipped, dove, and dodged around Dream during the early part of the match. Unfortunately he didn’t dodge quick enough for long enough as Dream knocked him down and took over. Rush showed just enough to impress people who didn’t know him, but he went down for the count to a Purple Rainmaker.
After the match, Dream looked into the camera and mouthed a message to Aleister Black to say his name.
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Lars Sullivan defeated Danny Burch
This match was set up two weeks ago when Sullivan defeated Oney Lorcan and Burch ran in for the save from a post-match attack. Sullivan took almost all the offense and, again, was never taken off his feet by any offensive move given to him. Sullivan won with his side spinebuster.
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There will be an exclusive interview with NXT Champion Drew McIntyre on next week’s episode.
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The Street Profits defeated Damien Smith & Markos Espada
The Profits are easily one of the most over acts on NXT and this match was over as quickly as it began. We had a lot of shenanigans and non-action before Smith was a victim of the combo spinebuster/frog splash. I don’t believe Espada ever tagged in.
The Street Profits celebrated their win in the audience.
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Next week:
Ruby Riot vs. Sonya Deville vs. Ember Moon in a Women’s title qualifying match
SAnitY vs. The Undisputed Era
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Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Johnny Gargano
These two men wrestled at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, with Almas winning that match after Zelina Vega threw a DIY T-shirt into the ring to distract Gargano.
This was a good match and these two men have excellent chemistry together. Almas got the heat when he dropped Gargano with Christian’s reverse DDT, but on the ring apron, which is the hardest part of the ring. Gargano was on top of his game here as even when Almas would do something like counter Gargano’s slingshot spear, Johnny Wrestling would backdrop him over the top rope.
Gargano kicked out of several big moves, which frustrated Almas. Gargano was so tired that after hitting a superkick he collapsed onto Almas for a two count. Almas went for a top rope hammerlock DDT, but Gargano blocked it and then Almas blocked the sunset flip powerbomb. However, Gargano got on the Gargano Escape.
Vega freaked out and took off her leather jacket — to reveal a DIY T-shirt. Gargano didn’t fall for it, but Almas did get the ropes. They exchanged roll-ups until Almas was able to send him into the bottom turnbuckles. Two running knees to the back of the head was more than enough, but Almas still finished him off with a hammerlock DDT.
So, that does it for this week. We are one week closer to Houston, but what will happen next week? Until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
There were approximately 300 people in attendance tonight.
– No Way Jose defeated Kona Reeves (w/ Ming)
Jose hit a pop-up punch to win it.
– Sarah Logan defeated Billie Kay
A roll-up stole the win from Kay.
– Chad Lail defeated Donovan Dijak
Dijak got a big reaction, but Lail won with a spike DDT.
– Nikki Cross defeated Liv Morgan
Cross won with a fisherman’s neckbreaker.
– The Undisputed Era defeated Heavy Machinery & Kassius Ohno
This was a wild match, ending when Cole pinned Ohno after a shining wizard. The match went off the rails after a fan got involved and Kyle O’Reilly had to kick him before security caught up to the fan.
– The Street Profits defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss
Montez Ford got the pin with a frog splash.
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Fabian Aichner
Jaoude submitted Aichner with an armbar. Jaoude has a new look with a shaved head, black belt, and white karate gear.
– The Street Profits defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss
This match had a lot of taunting but was very entertaining. The crowd loved the Profits, with Sabbatelli getting “steroid” chants directed at him. He engaged with the fans and talked back to them a lot.
The Profits won with a frog splash from Montez Ford. After it was over, the referee took a sip from their Solo cup and started dancing with them. They jumped over the barricade after to celebrate with the audience.
– Lars Sullivan defeated Oney Lorcan
They had a short, physical match. The crowd was into this one too.
– Peyton Royce & Billie Kay defeated Dakota Kai & Liv Morgan
This was the weakest match so far. The crowd liked a spot where all four ran circles around the ring and chased each other for almost an entire minute, but other than that the audience was pretty restless.
– Roderick Strong defeated Hideo Itami
As expected, they had a great match. It was very physical. Strong got tons of “Roddy” chants and gave Itami a lot of backbreakers. Strong won with his suplex into a double knee backbreaker.
– SAnitY (Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain) defeated The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) by countout
Cole, Fish, and O’Reilly got a great reaction, including nonstop “Adam Cole Bay-Bay!” chants. They were on the outside and teased coming back into the ring, then waved it off and went up the ramp to give SAnitY the win by countout.
– Johnny Gargano defeated Raul Mendoza
This was the best match of the night. Mendoza went from unknown to crowd favorite, and Gargano got a huge reaction as expected. The match got “This is awesome” chants as well.
The best spot was when Mendoza had Gargano tied in the tree of woe and did a coast-to-coast dropkick to him. Gargano did his usual spear and lawn dart spots before winning with the Gargano Escape. He shook Mendoza’s hand after and left him in the ring alone for a couple minutes while the crowd chanted Mendoza’s name. Great stuff.
– Kairi Sane defeated Sonya Deville
Sane got the biggest reaction of everyone, including Gargano and Cole. The match was solid and Sane used her flawless elbow drop to finish it. It was Sane’s birthday, so the crowd chanted happy birthday for her.
– NXT Champion Drew McIntyre defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas to retain his title
Lots of people left during their entrances. They had a good match, with McIntyre retaining with the Claymore. Almas teased using chair shots in this one and McIntyre did the air guitar taunt after the crowd chanted 3MB.
Aliyah hit a northern lights suplex on Borne for the win
– Aleister Black defeated Hideo Itami
This was a hard-hitting match, though it had a slow start. Itami tried to take a kendo stick in, the ref took it away, and Itami walked right into Black Mass for the pin.
– Tye Dillinger defeated Velveteen Dream
Velveteen Dream cut a pre-match promo about Canada not having great sports. Dillinger got a great reaction in his hometown, with “10” chants going throughout the match and the rest of the show.
During the match, Dream was imitating muscle poses. He also imitated Bret Hart’s moves and open arms pose, leading to Dillinger winning with the sharpshooter. Dillinger gave a speech thanking the crowd after and said he will remember this night.
– NXT Tag Team Champions SAnitY (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe) defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss to retain their titles
SAnitY did an early attack before the match started. They later won with a diving neck breaker/belly-to-back suplex combination on Sabbatelli.
– Ember Moon defeated Nikki Cross
Moon won with The Eclipse.
– NXT Champion Drew McIntyre defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas and Bobby Roode to retain his title
Roode came out last and got a big reaction (which was almost as big as Dillinger’s). He got thrown out of the ring twice and took a hard landing.
McIntyre hit the Claymore on Almas to retain. After the match, he thanked everyone for coming out. He said he was on his phone up until coming out for his entrance because he was concerned about what’s going on with Florida with Hurricane Irma.
Roode thanked the crowd as well. He joked about holding the NXT title for 200+ days, saying “no pressure” to McIntyre.
Dillinger making a surprise appearance to open the show was over huge. Reeves got a bit of heat.
– Ember Moon & Aliyah defeated Mandy Rose & Vanessa Borne
Rose got a pretty big pop, but Aliyah received little reaction.
– Johnny Gargano defeated Killian Dain
This was a good big man vs. little man match. Gargano was fantastic, and Dain looked like a beast by dominating for most of the match.
– Aleister Black defeated Hideo Itami
Itami got busted open about three quarters of the way through the match. The referee tried stopping it, but it went on and half of Itami’s face was covered in blood by the end. The match was good while being a repeat of their TakeOver bout.
– Bobby Roode defeated Velveteen Dream
Both were massively over. They didn’t even touch for about seven minutes into it. Some of Dream’s strikes could be improved, but other than that it was a great match.
– NXT Tag Team Champions SAnitY (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe) defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss to retain their titles
Sabbatelli and Moss cut a promo that wasn’t very good before this started, though Sabbatelli made up for it with a solid showing in the ring.
– Nikki Cross defeated Lacey Evans
Cross was really over with the crowd. Evans got somewhat of a reaction, but she won the crowd over with her work in the ring.
– NXT Champion Drew McIntyre defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas to retain his title
They had the best match of the night, getting the only This is awesome!” chant from the crowd. Both guys were laying it in with slaps and chops. McIntyre cut a good babyface promo after, leading the crowd in an “N-X-T” chant to send them home happy.
The Big News: Roderick Strong will wrestle Drew McIntyre next week and, if he wins, he gets a match with Bobby Roode after TakeOver.
The Medium News: Eric Young returned to assist SAnitY in once again laying out The Authors of Pain.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas was made official for TakeOver.
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As the show began, Nikki Cross was in the ring screeching for The Authors of Pain to come out. Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain came in through the crowd as Akam and Rezar stormed down the aisle. Suddenly, as Akam got in the ring, Eric Young returned and attacked Rezar in the aisle.
Young zip-tied Rezar to the guardrail and all three male members of SAnitY laid out Akam in the ring. Rezar finally dragged the guardrail into the ring, but he was no match for Wolfe, Dain, and Young.
Wolfe and Young gave Akam a double-team neckbreaker, and for one of the first times ever, someone stood tall over The Authors of Pain. SAnitY posed with the NXT Tag Team titles before walking away.
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You know what we haven’t had in a few months? A contract signing! That will be rectified next week as Asuka and Ember Moon put their signatures on the dotted line to make their match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III official.
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Earlier today, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce were planning on giving us an iconic makeup tutorial when Ruby Riot randomly showed up in the hallway, ruining the shot. After making fun of Riot, they were in a bad mood and didn’t do their tutorial.
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The Street Profits defeated Chris & JC Metro
This was the long awaited debut of The Street Profits. Angelo Dawkins had spent several years as a TV jobber and this is his first actual push, as he teams with Montez Ford. Dawkins still does that weird, unexplained thing where he wears two headbands.
The Metros were trained by The Dudleys and dress like greasers, but they didn’t even act like greasers and were just dressing the part.
Dawkins lost a headband as him and Ford did a series of moves to Chris Metro, but the dastardly jobbers got the brief advantage with a punch to the stomach. Dawkins ran over Chris with a spear and gave JC a Sky-High, followed by Ford hitting a frog splash for the pin.
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Aleister Black was leaving the arena last week when he was attacked by Hideo Itami. Itami failed and Black seemed to not even be trying to fight as four people dragged Itami away kicking and screaming.
This led to an announcement for Black vs. Itami in 10 days at TakeOver.
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The dapper NXT general manager, Mr. William Regal, was mid-ring after commercial to introduce the combatants in the main event at TakeOver. I did not have my stopwatch out this time, but Roode only took about two minutes to get to the ring with his own personal security. The security was there to stop a raving lunatic like Roderick Strong from running out.
Roode told McIntyre that he (Roode) is entitled. He doesn’t need a second chance like McIntyre. He came in a year ago and has done everything he said he was going to do, from changing NXT to becoming the face of the brand. Whether McIntyre likes it or not, this is Roode’s NXT, stating “this is not we, this is me.”
McIntyre said Roode is a prototype and has had an amazing year, but there is one big problem and that is that he is an ass. McIntyre is starting to pity Roode because he believes the crap coming out of his own mouth. McIntyre vowed to Claymore Roode back down to reality, and in Brooklyn Roode will be staring across the ring at the new NXT Champion.
Strong stormed out onto the stage to announce that he is not done with Roode. Strong said this is not about the NXT title, but about Roode disrespecting Strong’s fiancee, family and Strong as a man. Strong said he wants to fight Roode and asks if he is a man.
Mr. Regal tried multiple times to stop Strong from mouthing off, but Roode snapped and screamed that he’ll give Strong everything he wants. He’ll give him a match with Roode, he’ll give him a title shot — if Strong beats McIntyre next week. Regal put Roode in his place, but McIntyre said he wants the match.
Regal still hesitated, but finally succumbed to the pressure and booked the match for next week.
So, next week it is Drew McIntyre vs. Roderick Strong. If Strong wins then he gets Roode in a match after TakeOver. Also, regardless of whether he wins or loses, McIntyre will still challenge Roode at TakeOver.
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Kayla Braxton interviewed Johnny Gargano. Gargano said he was a little nervous wrestling last week, but he thought back to the Brooklyn crowd last year and how the reaction DIY got from the crowd helped lead to all their successes. Gargano announced that he wants a match at TakeOver: Brooklyn.
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Danny Burch defeated Oney Lorcan
This was a rematch of a hard-hitting bout a few weeks ago where Lorcan defeated Burch. They began with some very intense grappling. The wrestling portion of our evening ended as Burch tripped Lorcan on a leap frog, which I guess for them is fighting words.
They exchanged some hard European uppercuts and Lorcan drove Burch into the turnbuckles harder than you’ve ever seen anyone take that move. Burch got tired of being hit, so he booted Lorcan in the mush and hit a missile dropkick.
Burch hit a hooking lariat, which is allegedly his finish. I don’t believe he’s ever won a match on NXT TV, but he has a finish. Lorcan kicked out of that and the Tower of London. Burch hit a knee to the face and several hard chops, but Lorcan tripped him up and went for a half-crab.
Lorcan kicked at Burch to try to turn him over, but Burch repeatedly booted him in the face over and over again. Lorcan put on the full Boston crab, but Burch rolled through and picked up the shocking win.
If this is not Burch’s first TV win, he’s definitely won less than five. Burch went for the handshake, but Lorcan slapped it away and began walking away. Lorcan then stopped himself, returned to center ring, and shook Burch’s hand. Burch held the ropes open for Lorcan as he left.
It was 8:49 and I was getting ready to sign off and thank you all for reading when they suddenly informed us that Lorcan vs. Burch was not the main event.
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Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated No Way Jose
This was the second week in a row that we got a main event that wasn’t announced during the show. Jose took longer than Bobby Roode to get to the ring as he went into the crowd to fiesta before the match. Why is it okay for him to party immediately before his match, but it’s not okay for Almas to party after his match?
Zelina Vega is Thea Trinidad’s new name and she is there to force Almas to take the match seriously. When Almas did his thing where he just lays in the ropes, Jose kicked him off and then Almas got yelled at for doing that.
I guess that worked because the match didn’t last much longer. Almas hit the running double knees in the corner and picked up the win with the hammerlock DDT. Vega did allow him to preen to the camera after winning, which was nice of her. Vega went to the announcer’s table and yelled at them that Almas now deserves the spotlight for winning.
Vega said Almas is going to accept Gargano’s open challenge for TakeOver. Next week is the go-home show for TakeOver, and until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Reports submitted by readers Pedram Noury and Brett Armstrong
– No Way Jose defeated Kona Reeves
Jose got a great reaction and he plays up really well to the crowd. He won with his pop-up punch, then got the referee to do a ridiculous dance after the match.
– Ember Moon & Ruby Riot defeated Billie Kay & Peyton Royce
Moon hit The Eclipse to get the win. Everyone got a great reaction and there was a lot of silliness from the heel team.
– A backstage promo with Velveteen Dream was shown. He didn’t get much of a reaction at first, but he got big heat when he ripped off Bret Hart’s “best there is, best there was, and best there ever will be” line.
– NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain defeated Heavy Machinery to retain their titles
This was basically a rehash of their title match from TV. The champions retained after hitting the Last Chapter. Paul Ellering wasn’t at the show.
– Aleister Black defeated Velveteen Dream
Black used the Black Mass kick to win as Velveteen Dream was going for a springboard move. The match was sloppy at points, but it involved a lot of cool spots. Dream really antagonized the crowd with his antics. He got big heat for faking like he was going for a dive and when he went for a sharpshooter.
– Lars Sullivan defeated Demitrius Bronson
No one recognized Bronson. Sullivan won with his elevated Rock Bottom finisher and then gave two more to Bronson after the match. He returned to the ring at the behest of the crowd for the third one.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Nikki Cross to retain her title
Asuka won with a German suplex and a kick to the head. She and Bobby Roode got the strongest cheers by far before their entrances.
Security had to remove two fans from the audience who had gotten into a brawl just as Strong was making his entrance. That distracted from the first three entrances a bit, but Roode came out to a huge reaction in his home country. He cut a babyface promo about Canada before insulting Vancouver, but it ended up getting universal cheers.
McIntyre pinned Almas after two Claymore Kicks and cut a promo on Roode after the match. Almas shoved Roode as they were leaving the ring, so he hit him with a Glorious DDT.
Last night’s show was sold out and there were approximately 350 people in attendance.
– No Way Jose & Big Boa defeated Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler
Jose hit his pop-up punch for the victory. This was the in-ring debut of Boa, who is one of the recent recruits from China who stands at 6’4″ and has a background in jiu-jitsu.
– Lars Sullivan defeated Nick Miller (w/ Shane Thorne)
Sullivan hit a huge gutwrench slam to pick up the win.
– Billie Kay, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville & Vanessa Borne defeated Sarah Logan, Taynara Conti, Liv Morgan & Aliyah
A big boot by Kay on Logan finished this one off.
– Hideo Itami defeated Marcel Barthel
Itami won with a GTS.
– The Street Profits did an in-ring promo until they were interrupted by Kona Reeves. Reeves put them down and took a sip from Montez Ford’s red party cup before Angelo Dawkins punched him out. The Profits then ran around the venue partying with the fans.
– Drew McIntyre defeated Dan Matha
This was a competitive match that McIntyre won with the Claymore Kick.
– Sage Beckett defeated Abbey Laith
Beckett hit a Black Hole Slam to get the pin.
– Heavy Machinery defeated The Ealy Brothers
Heavy Machinery used their double team slam for the victory.
– Roderick Strong defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas
This was a great match. Strong needed to hit his finisher twice before finally putting Almas away with the End of Heartache.
Image and report submitted by reader Steven Paul Phelps II
– Kassius Ohno defeated Cezar Bononi
The crowd was hot for Ohno, and there were a lot of “jobber” and “Who are you?” chants for Bononi. Ohno connected with an elbow strike for the win.
– Ember Moon & Ruby Riot defeated Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville
Moon hit The Eclipse on Rose to get the win.
– Velveteen Dream cut a backstage promo on the video screen ripping on the DMV (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) area and called out Drew McIntyre for a match later.
– Lars Sullivan defeated Oney Lorcan
They had a good technical match, with a superplex to the outside being teased at one point. Sullivan hit an inverted powerslam for the victory.
Sabbatelli and Moss were working as faces here. There was a funny spot where Moss went to get the shirt that Wolfe fake threw to the crowd. He couldn’t find it and got booed like a heel. Wolfe sells well, and Sabbatelli and Moss are getting better.
SAnitY won when Dain got the pin after a double team dropkick/body slam on Sabbatelli.
– Drew McIntyre defeated Velveteen Dream
There was a funny moment where the crowd was singing “Purple Rain” at Velveteen Dream and he was getting pissed. The match had a lot of comedy but it wasn’t bad. Velveteen Dream teased leaving and then tried to come back out until McIntyre caught him.
After the beginning comedy portion, it turned into a surprisingly impressive match, with McIntyre winning with a Future Shock DDT. The crowd was very hot for it.
– NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain defeated Heavy Machinery to retain their titles
Heavy Machinery got a decent pop. There were actually cheers for AOP as well, who were without Paul Ellering here. The crowd response kind of died during the match. AOP hit the Last Chapter to retain their titles.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Nikki Cross to retain her title
There was a lot of support for Cross. Asuka got the usual pop for all of her spots. The crowd was lethally hot by the end, with Asuka retaining with a kick to the head.
– Roderick Strong & Aleister Black defeated NXT Champion Bobby Roode & Andrade “Cien” Almas
Strong might have gotten the biggest pop of the night. The face team won with an inverted backbreaker to send the crowd home happy.
Reports submitted by readers Tony Earnshaw and Martin Bentley
– Lilian Garcia made an appearance to sing “God Save the Queen.” There was a moment of silence for victims of the Manchester and London terrorist attacks.
– Jack Gallagher defeated Trent Seven
This was a fun match with some comedy at the start. Gallagher hit a corner dropkick to win.
After the heels worked on Aliyah for most of the match, Riot got a hot tag and got some offense in. But Royce later hit a knee strike on Aliyah for the win.
– WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne defeated Mark Andrews to retain his title
Dunne got a huge reaction from the crowd. They had a great match, with Dunne hitting the Bitter End to pick up the win.
– Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohno & No Way Jose defeated SAnitY (Eric Young, Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe)
Jose took much of the punishment in the match, then Ohno got a hot tag and ran wild. Strong hit the End of Heartache on Wolfe and pinned him to win the match for his team. This was entertaining.
– William Regal came out to give a speech and thank the fans.
– NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss to retain their titles
The champions hit their finisher on Sabbatelli to retain after the challengers had gotten a bit of shine.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Ember Moon to retain her title
Asuka was cheered despite being the heel here. They had a good match, with Asuka reversing a crossbody and pinning Moon while holding onto her tights.
– Drew McIntyre & Aleister Black defeated NXT Champion Bobby Roode & Andrade “Cien” Almas
The crowd was into this match and everyone was over (though Almas was to a lesser extent). Black hit a moonsault to the outside on Roode while McIntyre connected with a Claymore Kick on Almas for the victory. McIntyre got on the mic after to thank everyone.
Image: @JTravisGrundon. Report submitted by reader Noah Dalton.
– No Way Jose defeated Patrick Clark
The crowd was pretty into Jose but didn’t care for Clark much. This wasn’t a bad match. Jose won with a pop-up punch.
– Ruby Riot defeated Lacey Evans
Riot got a good reaction and there was a nice pop when they announced her as from Indiana. They had a pretty good match, with Riot winning after hitting a Pele kick.
– Killian Dain defeated Oney Lorcan
SAnitY came out with Dain and they got a pretty big response. The crowd loved them all night. This may have been the best match on the show. Dain controlled most of it until Lorcan made a comeback and hit a flip dive from the top rope to the floor. The audience started to get very into the match by the end. Dain hit the One Winged Angel to win.
– Drew McIntyre defeated Wesley Blake
Blake had gear with Texas flags on his tights and boots made to look like cowboy boots. McIntyre got a great reaction and the crowd chanted “Welcome back” when he came out. He pretty much destroyed Blake for most of the match. He used lots of chops and threw Blake around with belly-to-belly suplexes.
Later on, Blake began to work over McIntyre’s arm but that didn’t last long. McIntyre was in the tree-of-woe position with Blake on the top rope when he sat up and threw him off the top and hit a running kick for the win.
– Kassius Ohno defeated Alexander Wolfe
Ohno got some “Hero” chants. SAnitY (except for Dain) came out with Wolfe and the crowd was still hot for them. This match wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the level of match you would expect from Ohno. He sold for 90 percent of it.
He began to make a comeback when Eric Young tried to interfere, but Ohno hit him with a boot and turned around and connected with a rolling elbow on Wolfe for the win.
– Hideo Itami came out in street clothes for an interview. He mostly talked about his match at TakeOver with Bobby Roode. He asked the crowd if they wanted to see him as champion, which got a mixed reaction. He said he would make Roode Go to Sleep in Chicago and he left.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Sonya Deville to retain her title
Asuka got a huge pop and the crowd loved her throughout the match. The match was just okay. It was at its best when Asuka was on offense; she was outstriking the woman with an MMA gimmick. She ended up retaining with a spinning back kick.
– Roderick Strong & Aleister Black defeated NXT Champion Bobby Roode & Andrade “Cien” Almas
Strong got a nice reaction, but Black got a noticeably larger one. Both of those didn’t stack up to the pop that Roode got. People were singing his song and he came off like a huge star.
Not a lot happened in the match for a while. Roode did lots of stalling and comedy, but the crowd ate it up. He eventually tagged in Almas. Almas got the heat on Black, who was beat up by the heels for most of the match. Strong eventually got an awesome hot tag.
Strong was beating up Almas when Roode came in with the NXT Championship, but Black hit him with Black Mass before he could use the belt. Strong then hit End of Heartache on Almas for the win.
The Big News: Hideo Itami laid out Bobby Roode for the second time with a Go to Sleep, just three days before their title match at NXT TakeOver: Chicago.
The Medium News: Kassius Ohno beat Andrade “Cien” Almas in a match between two men who will not be on TakeOver.
The Little Beaver-sized News: This really was a poor build to TakeOver, huh?
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Bobby Roode arrived at Full Sail University earlier today and yelled at the man carrying his bags to go faster.
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Drew McIntyre defeated Sean Maluta
Last week McIntyre was confronted by Wesley Blake, which theoretically set up a match this week. However, in case you are confused, Maluta and Blake are two different people.
The fans recognized that Maluta had no chance in this match and did not care at all for his offense. He hit a Codebreaker off the middle rope and it barely got the fans to raise their eyebrows. McIntyre got a welt under his eye, perhaps from a punch, perhaps the Codebreaker, but won with a Sick Kick.
Kayla Braxton came out and asked McIntyre if he’s concerned about having the attention of Blake. Shockingly, McIntyre was not concerned, however he did challenge Blake to a match next week.
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We got exclusive footage from after NXT last week, where SAnitY attacked Roderick Strong after his match with Hideo Itami. Backstage, Strong told Mr. Regal he wanted SAnitY.
This led to an Eric Young promo where he called Strong crazy for challenging them to a fight at TakeOver. Young accepted the challenge, so we have a match for Saturday.
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We got a video feature for Itami, showing his debut at NXT TakeOver: Fatal Four-Way in September 2014 where he single-handedly beat up The Ascension. That was a bigger deal then since it was the same night they lost the tag titles after 364 days.
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We got a video package for Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne, showing clips of their match from the UK Championship tournament finals in January. Shockingly, they had new interviews with both men. I am so used to watching the same two video packages that I nearly had a heart attack.
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“The Velveteen Dream” Patrick Clark is still on his way. He has a long way to go to match Nia Jax’s record for the longest build up to their debut.
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Another Itami clip aired, this time showing him beating Tyler Breeze at the WrestleMania 31 weekend NXT show.
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Asuka was being driven to the arena earlier today and being asked stupid questions. She acknowledged they are stupid questions and kept saying “next question.” Asuka arrived at Full Sail and took a selfie with the fans. That was nice of her.
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Sonya Deville defeated Lacey Evans
Lacey Evans, who is a former military member, was here to face Sonya Deville, who used to be Daria Berenato of Tough Enough fame.
The fans were not into this match except to yell “sweeeeeeet” after every two count.
Deville used a takedown and locked on a body scissors. She just bullied around Evans, who is much bigger than her. Evans finally blocked a strike and hit a bad looking punch to take over. Deville came back and won with a step-up enzuigiri.
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We jumped forward to Itami returning to NXT last month and laying out Bobby Roode with a Go to Sleep.
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This Saturday at NXT TakeOver: Chicago:
NXT Champion Bobby Roode defends against Hideo Itami
WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate defends against Pete Dunne
NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain defend against DIY in a ladder match
Roderick Strong faces Eric Young
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defends against Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot in a triple threat match
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Kassius Ohno defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas
It was then time for the main event of the show. Ohno’s gear was based off the Orlando Magic’s jerseys from the early 1990s. Ohno ran wild for three or four minutes to kick off the match, but Almas got the heat when Ohno caught himself on a dive attempt when Almas moved, but Almas booted him right in the mouth.
Nigel McGuinness said you can call Almas “ingobernable,” which was a nice wink to the people who knew and for those who didn’t, he explained that meant “ungovernable.”
This was a good back-and-forth match. There is something still missing with Almas. He’s so much better as a heel, but there’s just something not there.
Almas hit the double knees in the corner, but instead of going for a cover, he picked Ohno up, which led to his undoing. Ohno fired up after an inverted DDT, hitting a pump kick and two rolling elbows to pick up the win.
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Itami had yet another video, this one looking at his match with Strong from last week.
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We were joined by the “Glorious” NXT Champion, Bobby Roode, to end the show this week. Roode did not take his time to walk to the ring, getting it done in only 40 seconds.
Roode said that he is a man and can admit that Itami knocked him out with a Go to Sleep a few weeks ago. Mind you, he told the story that he was in the ring minding his own business when Itami walked out and did it unprovoked.
Roode said that will never happen again, and this Saturday he won’t be standing in the middle of the ring in a custom-made suit, he’ll be in his gear and prepared to do what he’s done to everyone. That’s beat them, embarrass them, and make an example out of them.
He brought up Itami constantly getting injured and being out for a long time to the point where Roode didn’t even know he worked there anymore. Roode said Itami will have to go back to Japan and tell his wife and kids that he failed again. But this time he failed because of Bobby Roode.
Itami came out and was dressed like someone who just wrestled an hour ago. Mr. Regal and a bunch of security tried to convince him to leave, but Itami flew past them to get to the ring.
Itami beat on Roode until security pulled him off. Roode ran for cover as Itami laid out two of the security guards with a Go to Sleep. Roode rolled back in for the sneak attack, but Itami cut him off with a Go to Sleep!
That does it for this week. This Saturday is NXT TakeOver: Chicago, and until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
The former Daria Berenato hit a sliding knee strike to get the victory.
– Yanbo Wang cut an in-ring promo, saying that we can call him Boa. He was interrupted by Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler before Heavy Machinery made the save.
– Heavy Machinery defeated Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler
An assisted front slam with a pile on won this for Machinery.
– Jeet Rama defeated Kona Reeves
Reeves hit a slam to pick up the win.
– Roderick Strong & Buddy Murphy defeated Cezar Bononi & Lars Sullivan
The big men got the heat on Murphy to build to the hot tag for Strong. He ran wild and eventually applied a Liontamer on Bononi for the submission. Sullivan destroyed Bononi for losing after it was over.
