Tag: Austin aries

WWE 205 Live results: Neville battles Mustafa Ali

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Big Takeaway —

Neville cemented his status as King of the Cruiserweights by defeating Mustafa Ali in convincing fashion, much to the chagrin of Austin Aries. Brian Kendrick continued to gain the upper hand on Tozawa through mind games. Noam Dar tried to find the source of Alicia Fox’s gifts while claiming them as his own, and Tony Nese defeated TJP in a one-on-one bout.

Show Recap —

We started off with Neville being interviewed by Dasha Fuentes. She asked why he requested a match against Mustafa Ali tonight. He said that the locker room needed to know why Neville was the King of the Cruiserweights.

He then ran down Austin Aries, saying that he probably wouldn’t learn tonight’s lesson, but at WrestleMania he will make him bow down to the King of the Cruiserweights. 

Tom Phillips and Corey Graves are on commentary for tonight’s show.

Tony Nese defeated TJ Perkins

TJP controlled early, wiping out Nese on the outside with a corkscrew. Nese countered with a gutbuster and worked over TJP. To say this wasn’t exciting would be an understatement. TJP eventually floated over Nese and landed a neckbreaker.

Some good back and forth followed until Nese cut off TJP and went for the running strike in the corner. TJP countered with an armbar, but Nese escaped. Nese German suplexed TJP into the exposed turnbuckle, which Nese undid earlier, then followed with the running knee for the win. This improved as time went on, but felt a little long and the crowd wasn’t that into it.

Drew Gulak was backstage with Dasha, who asked him about his comments last week about 205 Live having a problem. He said there is, and it needs to change. He said the WWE Universe are directly at fault for this, cheering for all the high level action. Athletes act like glorified stuntmen, and so on. He eventually thanked Dasha for her time.

Akira Tozawa defeated Alex Reynolds

Tozawa pinned him quickly with the German suplex.

Tozawa wanted Kendrick after the match. He started to leave, but Kendrick jumped him, dressed as a security guard. Kendrick planted him with the Sliced Bread off the apron as he told him about rule number eight, which is appearances can be deceiving.

Rich Swann and Jack Gallagher were backstage when Noam Dar and Ariya Daivari showed up. Dar was wondering about a dress. Swann said hey, whatever you do in the privacy of your own home is none of our business. Dar said he stopped a courier from delivering this to Alicia Fox, saying that one more gift from him would be overkill.

Swann asked what that has to do with them. Dar said he’s trying to sort this out like gentlemen, but Swann is being annoying so next week he’ll take care of him. Swann said fine, but Dar can’t handle this.

Austin Aries came out. Since last night’s interview with Neville went so poorly, tonight he’ll eliminate the one thing that made it go poorly — Neville.

He proceeded to ask himself his own questions. Why do you think Neville repeatedly calls himself the King of the Cruiserweights? He thinks he’s overcompensating. Why do you think you’re on Neville’s level? Well, he’s not — he’s above him. What is the most embarrassing thing he discovered about Neville while being a journalist?

We never got that answer as Neville made his way out. Aries called him a Debbie Downer, and said that’s why no one likes you. This got a “Debbie Downer” chant. Neville told him to scuttle off. Aries started to oblige, but came back and said he’s been invited to do color commentary for the main event.

Neville defeated Mustafa Ali

Neville dominated early until Ali hit a twisting crossbody off the turnbuckle onto the outside. Ali went for a tornado DDT but Neville held on and instead crotched Ali on the ropes. Ali springboarded across the corner of the ropes and hit a standing Spanish Fly off the top rope in a really cool spot.

Ali went for something off the top rope, but saw Neville recovering and instead spiked him with a DDT. He went for the imploding 450 again but Neville made it to the apron. Neville caught Ali on the top rope again and hit a German suplex off the top rope, with Ali landing face first.  

Neville paused, then dragged Ali to the outside where he swung him into the ring post. He dragged Ali over to Aries, said “this is you,” and threw him back in the ring where he quickly submitted him with the Rings of Saturn. This was a pretty good match, with Ali looking strong while also cementing Neville as the man to beat at WrestleMania.

Final Thoughts —

This continued the build towards WrestleMania, as well as the feuds going on and off over the last few weeks. They’re also doing something with Gulak, but I didn’t really get an impression of what they’re doing with him yet, which makes me not care all that much.

The rest of the programs going on right now on 205 Live aren’t revolutionary, or even hot for that matter, but the main event was pretty decent and none of the work tonight felt like it dragged for too long.

My Favorite Wrestler (This Week): Daniels, Styles, Ibushi, WALTER, more

Posted on by Zach Dominello

With ROH’s 15th Anniversary show, wXw’s 16 Carat Gold, and the opening stages of the New Japan Cup, as well as the usual 1,000 hours of WWE programming, there’s been no shortage of great wrestling over the past seven days. Our team picked their favorite wrestler of the week. Who’s yours?

This week’s panel —

Tomohiro Ishii

By Zach Dominello

Ishii is literally the best. He’s so good that he’s Nakamura’s favorite wrestler. He’s so good he once actually pulled a watchable match out of Yujiro Takahashi. More recently, he had the best match of the New Japan Cup so far when he got the upset win over Kenny Omega in the first round.

And that’s what Ishii does best. When put in a position to shine, Ishii never fails. It’s not often that Tomohiro Ishii gets to main event shows for New Japan, though it does happen from time to time. But it should happen more, because when he’s not in the main event, he’s probably outshining it, like he did in his five star match against Okada in the 2016 G-1.

Ishii is an enigma, and not the Jeff Hardy kind. He’s an actual enigma. He’s short, his physique’s not great, he’s over forty, but his mind for designing matches and his selling is beyond reproach. For those not too familiar with his body of work, go back and look at his series of matches with Naito and Honma, and his singles matches with Okada, Nakamura, Shibata, and Tanahashi.

Yes, those are all amazing wrestlers in their own right, but the common factor in many of their best matches is Tomohiro Ishii, and that’s why he’s my favorite wrestler this week, and always.

Austin Aries

By Jeremy Peeples

Austin Aries went from being a commentator who shined brightly on Raw by actually having a personality — and an impressive package of innuendo each week — to the lead face of the cruiserweight division.

While 205 Live is seemingly doomed, Aries remains one of the few cruiserweight acts on Raw who feels like he has some genuine upward momentum out of the division if they so choose. He could easily mix it up in the United States title picture later this year, and he’s already shown that he can get a move over as a killer quickly by shifting from the Last Chancery to the rolling elbow on the main roster. It’s a more visually-impressive move anyway, and gives him the feel of someone who can be a physical threat.

Christopher Daniels

By Ryan Frederick

Christopher Daniels has had a long and entertaining career spanning over 20 years and throughout a plethora of promotions, most notably TNA and Ring of Honor. He’s held several championships in several promotions, but one thing had eluded him during his career. He had never been a World Champion in a major promotion.

That changed this past weekend when he won the ROH World Championship by defeating Adam Cole at the ROH 15th Anniversary pay-per-view. It came full circle for Daniels, who competed on the first-ever ROH event, and now 15 years later, he has his first World title at 47 years old. For that, I salute you Mr. Daniels. You’re my favorite wrestler this week.

AJ Styles

By Mike DellaCamera

In all honesty, AJ Styles could, and maybe should, be my pick every single week. But this week he did something I never thought was possible. He made me excited about a Shane McMahon match at WrestleMania.

Granted I’m not over the moon about seeing Shane throw his corny, child-like body punches at the best wrestler on the planet, but I am fascinated to see how we get there. When I first heard about the proposed match, my eyes rolled so hard my neighbors across the street heard it. Now? Consider me actually excited.

I’m excited after SmackDown this week, where AJ became probably the most fleshed out, well rounded, and fully realized character on either brand. AJ’s attack on Shane and confrontation with Daniel Bryan completed the transformation from someone who was unhappy with management, to someone that’s been pushed past their breaking point and snapped.

The only question with AJ pre-WWE was if his mic/character work can hold up — and that question has been asked and answered. The next few weeks should be great, and I have the feeling I’ll be struggling to write up a non-AJ Styles piece between now and WrestleMania.

Kota Ibushi

Image: Robyn Goding

By Alan Boon

My favorite wrestler this week is Kota Ibushi. Since his dual contract with New Japan and DDT ran out, he’s spent the last year and a half doing pretty much exactly what he wants, which has so far included taking part in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, flying to Texas to fight Kaiju Big Battel’s Dr. Cube, piledriving a man into a toilet, and opening the mysterious — and possibly fictional — Ibushi Wrestling Research Institute.

This past weekend saw him come to the UK for the first time, to be hosted by the XWA, and he brought his best friend — and fellow DDT oddball — Gota Ihashi with him. They fought each other on Saturday night, on a family-friendly show in Colchester, and wowed the mostly unfamiliar crowd with a spectacle that included a bicycle (which was eventually driven into Ihashi’s face), an impromptu boxing match, and an array of dazzling aerial moves.

The next day, the pair moved on to the Resistance Gallery in Bethnal Green, where they teamed to take on the equally-unhinged Jimmy Havoc & Cara Noir, in a fight that spilled out of the tiny venue and onto the streets of east London, involving Havoc’s car and some fireworks. That’s actual fireworks, which Ibushi aimed at his enemies, his pal, the fans, the sky, a passing train, and lastly himself, before moonsaulting off the car onto Havoc and Noir.

With contract offers on the table from New Japan and WWE pretty much whenever he wants them, Ibushi is instead pushing the boundaries of wrestling, becoming the physical embodiment of wrestling research, his own institute. We don’t deserve him.

“DER RING GENERAL” WALTER

By Alan Counihan

My God……MY GOD!!!!!!

Two Match of the Year candidates, two other GREAT tournament matches and the best two-minute shoot style match that wasn’t Vader vs. Nakano from UWFI. All in a weekend’s work for WALTER.

Not only that, but while WALTER the wrestler is absolutely tearing the house down in the ring, Walter the man is a major part of running one of the most successful weekends of European wrestling ever. And he took it all in his stride. The guy was so calm and relaxed at 16 Carat, but every time he got into the ring, he TORE THE HOUSE DOWN!!!

The final against Ilja Dragunov is the greatest live experience of my life (wrestling or any other form of entertainment) and I was lucky enough to call the action from the best seat in the house. WALTER was an absolute savage in it and the story they told was perfect. I wrote more about the match in this week’s F4W, so check that out if you can.

David Starr, Marius Al Ani, Jeff Cobb, Matt Riddle, and Ilja Dragunov all stood opposite “Der Ring General” in Oberhausen last week, and they all came out of their matches looking incredible. WALTER makes guys look fantastic, but boy does he make them earn it! Ilja’s chest at the end of their match was a sight to behold.

WALTER’s performance last weekend was every bit as special as Kenny Omega’s on G1 finals weekend last year. He was THAT good.

WWE 205 Live results: Fatal five-way elimination main event

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Big Takeaway —

Austin Aries won a fatal five-way elimination match, earning a Cruiserweight title shot against Neville at WrestleMania. Alicia Fox continues to get gifts from a mysterious benefactor, all while Noam Dar attempts to claim the gifts as his own. Mustafa Ali continued to build momentum, scoring a win over an increasingly frustrated Drew Gulak.

Show Recap —

Neville started out the show, talking about how he was robbed of his WrestleMania moment last year, and to top it all off he had been forgotten by each and every member of the WWE Universe. He said people in the five-way tonight vying to win a shot at his title are irrelevant. At WrestleMania, he will make them regret having such foolish ambitions.

Mustafa Ali’s music hit, and he glanced at Neville as he headed to the ring to start off tonight’s in-ring action.

Mustafa Ali defeated Drew Gulak

This had quick action and was mostly just a backdrop to showcase Ali. He comes off as someone they can do something with — he has some charisma, a unique moveset, and has a cool finisher. He picked up the win with the inverted 450 splash.

Gulak wasn’t happy after the match, taking a mic to vent. He said week after week he does his best work in that ring and that he’s tired of being frustrated. He’s not the problem, he is not the one that needs to change. The problem is 205 Live, and this needs to change.

Ariya Daivari was getting ready backstage when Noam Dar walked in, saying he’s tired of Rich Swann getting the one up on him, hence why he requested a rematch tonight. Daivari said he doesn’t need a motivational speech. Dar said they need to win this tonight.

Noam Dar & Ariya Daivari defeated Jack Gallagher & Rich Swann

This had good action, especially when Swann was in, but the crowd was just dead for this match. Swann was distracted by Daivari and walked right into an enzuigiri by Dar for the win.

Dar said each week he spoils Alicia Fox with beautiful gifts. The real gifts, however, cannot be bought — they come from the heart. And tonight, his gift to Alicia was this win…and a teddy bear that was randomly delivered right in the middle of the sentence. The mystery man mystery continues.

Austin Aries defeated Brian Kendrick, Akira Tozawa, Tony Nese, and TJ Perkins in a fatal five-way elimination match to become the number one contender for the Cruiserweight title

The early part of the match had mostly everyone out of the ring while others traded submissions on the mat. Aries went up on the top rope but Kendrick shoved him down near the barricade. Nese followed that up with a running knee into Aries, his head smashing into the barricade.

In the ring, TJP eliminated Nese with the armbar. Nese didn’t like that and laid out TJP. Tozawa took him out, but Kendrick flew in, grabbed an unsuspecting Tozawa, and planted him with the Sliced Bread to eliminate him.

Kendrick continued his spree by sinking in the Captain’s Hook on TJP, but he escaped as they made their way to the top rope. Aries came in and took them both down. Kendrick soon managed to get TJP back in the Captain’s Hook and submitted him. Kendrick then put it on Aries but TJP broke it up. Aries tried to go for the roaring elbow but instead struck TJP.

Kendrick followed that by hitting Sliced Bread but Aries kicked out. Once again, the Captain’s Hook was applied by Kendrick. Aries made it to the ropes but it couldn’t be broken as it’s an elimination match.

They both got up on their feet, but Aries was the first to react, hitting the roaring elbow and pinning Kendrick to become the number one contender.

Final Thoughts —

This was a dead show for the most part; this was one of those weeks where the crowd just didn’t seem to care, though it picked up in parts for the main event. With the WrestleMania match for this program now set, I’m looking forward to seeing how momentum continues to build toward Aries heading into the grandaddy of them a-er, I mean, the Ultimate Thrill Ride, WrestleMania.

WWE 205 Live results: Austin Aries returns to the ring

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Big Takeaway —

Austin Aries made the transition from announcer to in-ring competitor, taking on and defeating Tony Nese in the main event. He’s made it clear that he wants Neville’s Cruiserweight Championship, but Neville has his own plans for the title match at WrestleMania.

Alicia Fox continues to get lovely gifts, and while Noam Dar says they’re from him — are they really? Brian Kendrick continued to play mind games with Akira Tozawa, who again was denied a match against Kendrick.

Show Recap —

They opened up with the big Raw angle from yesterday, where Austin Aries sent Neville reeling after being constantly berated by him during an interview.

Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves are calling the action tonight. 

Austin Aries started the show, conducting his own interview. He talked about how as a kid he was told if you wanted to make a statement, go to the strongest guy in the room and punch him in the face. That guy now? Neville. He declared that Austin Aries, expert journalist, is no more as the expert in-ring competitor is here.

This brought out Neville. He thought last night was a lapse in judgment, but now thinks Aries has gone off the deep end. He asked if Aries thinks he’s on his level. Aries said he doesn’t think he’s at his level, because Neville is at the A level while he is at the double A level.

Neville said think of your next career move wisely. Aries said he doesn’t need to be at the commentator’s table, in fact Neville can come down here to the ring and make it two days in a row where he got punched out.

Neville said Aries doesn’t have the right to share the ring with him, in fact he doesn’t even need a finger to lay a hand on him. After all, Aries has made plenty of enemies in the back. Neville won’t fight him, but said there’s a locker room out there ready to do just that. Aries said he makes plenty of checks and cashes them in every time, so he’s calling out anyone who feels that way.

Rich Swann and Jack Gallagher were backstage when Noam Dar walked in, saying their gestures were cute, but not as cute as Alicia Fox. Dar was wondering who bought those flowers for Fox last week. Swann said he thought Dar bought them.

Dar walked that back, saying of course he did, he just wanted to make sure they take notice about his match later tonight, because one day they might just come across someone as wonderful as Alicia Fox. 

Jack Gallagher & Rich Swann defeated Ariya Daivari & Noam Dar 

This was pretty decent, but just a standard WWE tag team match. Gallagher headbutted Daivari then laid him out with a running dropkick. Swann followed that with a kick and the phoenix splash for the win. 

After the match, a guy walked out and delivered a heart-shaped box of chocolates to Fox. Dar frantically took a mic and said the guy was late, then said no chocolate in the world was sweeter than Alicia Fox. It seems like they’re building up some sort of mystery admirer gimmick. 

Brian Kendrick was interviewed, saying that if Akira Tozawa wanted a fight, he was going to get one.

Akira Tozawa made his way to the ring. Brian Kendrick followed, but remained on the outside. He said he was a man of his word, saying Tozawa would fight a Brian Kendrick — but the guy he’s facing spells his name “Bryan Kendrick.” So he’s not fighting The Brian Kendrick, but A Bryan Kendrick.

Akira Tozawa defeated A Bryan Kendrick

Tozawa finished Bryan quickly with a snap German suplex.

Dasha Fuentes interviewed Neville, asking what he expects out there tonight between Austin Aries and his announced opponent, Tony Nese. Neville asked if she didn’t hear what he said out there earlier. He put down Aries again and brought up that Nese is no walk in the park. He said only one man will face him at WrestleMania, and next week that will be decided on 205 Live.

Austin Aries defeated Tony Nese

Aries controlled the match early. He hit his knee on the outside while landing, but quickly recovered. Nese caught Aries on the top rope, put him in the torture rack position, and laid him out with a gutbuster.

Aries came back and hit the pendulum elbow. Nese countered with a deadlift one-armed powerbomb. Aries took control again, hitting a suicide dive to the outside and finished off Nese with the roaring elbow for the win.

This was a good match and a great showcase for Aries as he instantly came off as looking like someone who should be in the top mix.

Final Thoughts —

This was a good show, doing a great job of transitioning Aries from a commentator to a top guy in this division looking for his title shot. 

It should be interesting to see how the WrestleMania match develops; it very much looks like it will be Aries vs. Neville, which sounds like the best match you can do for 205 Live’s biggest match of the year. The question is, where would that leave the other cruiserweights?

My Favorite Wrestler (This Week): Styles, Ospreay, Bayley, more

Posted on by Zach Dominello

Welcome to My Favorite Wrestler (This Week), the new weekly column where the Wrestling Observer team chooses exactly what the title says: their favorite wrestler of the week!

Our criteria is based on anything a wrestler has done in a given week. We may make our decision based on their work in the ring or as a promo, because of an entertaining appearance on a podcast or something interesting they said in an interview, for an appearance they made in other media, like John Cena on SNL, for a tweet they sent out or something they posted on Instagram, anything really.

This week’s panel —

Here’s our picks! Who’s yours?

The Kotatsu table —

By Zach Dominello

What a week to start this column. What with New Japan’s New Beginning, to WWE’s Elimination Chamber match, to the Women’s Championship match on Raw, to the worst thing to happen to TV friendships since Scrubs went off the air, I find myself hard-pressed to choose a favorite wrestler this week.

I was in two minds, well three actually, trying to choose between Tetsuya Naito, Michael Elgin, and Hiromu Takahashi, but then I watched DDT “DRAMATIC NERIMA THE FIGHTER 2017” on DDT Universe, and any doubt I had just disappeared. My favorite wrestler this week is the current DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion (though knowing that title, it’ll probably change hands, or in this case legs, ten times before I finish this sentence): the Kotatsu table.

Yes, a table currently holds a title in DDT. Watching a table interfere in a match, have a promo cut on it by a wrestler who then beats it down and tries to steal its title, only to be stopped by another wrestler who also tries to steal its title, but then the two wrestlers take each other out and leave the Kotatsu standing tall in the ring, is really quite something. Only in DDT.

Austin Aries —

By Paul Fontaine

My favorite wrestler for this week didn’t even wrestle but that doesn’t matter. It’s Austin Aries, and if you’re not watching him on 205 Live…well, you’re really missing out.

The highlight for me, and what makes him my favorite of the week was simply one comment after a Rich Swann promo (that was also pretty good). Swann was taunting his opponent, Noam Dar, and finished his promo by saying, “I’m dedicating this match to the lovely and talented…Alicia FAAAAAWWWWWWWWWKKKKKKSSSS,” mimicking the way Dar says Alicia Fox’s name.

Aries responded by saying, “What did he say she does?” It doesn’t take much to entertain me, but that was it for me this week!

AJ Styles —

By Bryan Rose

My favorite wrestler this week is none other than AJ Styles. This was the week that I realized just how big of an asset he is to the SmackDown brand. I don’t know one match so far this year of his that was bad — he’s consistently awesome, and he proved to be no different this week in the SmackDown main event.

It was one of the better matches I’ve seen on the show since the brand split, full of spectacular action. And this follows his great performance in the Elimination Chamber from Sunday! Just a tremendous wrestler and is the first person who comes to mind as my favorite wrestler of this week.

Trent Seven —

By Will Cooling

My favorite wrestler this week has to be Trent Seven. I felt the owner of pro wrestling’s finest beard was underserved by the WWE UK Championship tournament due to his elimination at the quarterfinal stage. He deserved better than to be lost in the shuffle. Seven has genuine charisma, with his unique look and mannerisms allowing him to instantly grab peoples’ attention.

Despite being larger than the average UK wrestler, he is able to keep the pace with smaller rivals, combining athleticism and power. Plus, did I mention how great that beard is? So it was reassuring to see him get the chance to showcase what he can do on NXT against his (*cough* tag team *cough*) partner Tyler Bate.

Obviously the WWE imposes limitations on what is and isn’t possible, but Seven seized the chance to remind people that he’s every bit as good as the WWE UK title tournament’s final four.

Will Ospreay —

By Alan Boon

My favorite wrestler this week — and for many of the weeks over the past two years — is Will Ospreay. There are times when I can’t believe it’s the same guy I didn’t get the first time I saw him but he never fails to impress with his timing, athleticism, innovation, and sheer talent.

This week, in the space of 36 hours (and with a flight from Osaka to London in between) he fought in three completely different matches. The first, against Katsuyori Shibata, on New Japan’s New Beginning in Osaka, was a hard-hitting grudge match, the culmination of weeks of them going at each other with all the brutality usually associated with Shibata. The second, also part of a feud, was the opener at WCPW’s True Destiny iPPV, where he and Ricochet had to come up with a completely different type of match to the one they’d usually have because the top rope broke in the first few minutes.

And finally, about an hour later, he pulled double-duty to win the WCPW Tag Team titles with Scotty Wainwright, in a car crash of a ladder match, with stunts and bumps aplenty. He’s got something special, alright, and we’re only just finding out how special.

Bayley —

By Joseph Currier

Monday night wasn’t the right time for Bayley to win her first Raw Women’s Championship, but none of that really mattered to me as it happened. Bayley’s title win represented the best of professional wrestling. And while the timing could’ve been better, the moment was perfect in a way that WWE rarely ever manages to achieve.

Bayley’s promotion to the main roster had been neither an overwhelming success nor a failure up until Monday night. She was a valuable part of the Raw women’s division, though often was secondary to Charlotte and Sasha Banks’ title feud.

I’m of the belief that Bayley can be a star above anyone else in the women’s division. While Banks and Becky Lynch have a real connection with the audience, Bayley’s character and her genuine personality allow her to stand above everyone else. Whether she can truly be the star that she was in NXT remains to be seen, but her Raw main event against Charlotte was the most obvious example since her promotion that Bayley is translating with the WWE audience.

The actual match was secondary to the moment, but Charlotte and Bayley put on a great showing that is a legitimate contender for the best WWE main roster women’s match ever. The finish in particular was excellent and used outside interference to elevate what was already a stellar match.

Bayley may not hold the title for long. And we’ll see if WWE can recapture the atmosphere from Monday night when she wins the title again, whether that’s at WrestleMania, SummerSlam, or some other destination. But Monday night was perfect, and Bayley is an obvious choice for my favorite wrestler this week.

Chris Jericho —

By Mike DellaCamera

My favorite wrestler this week is one who didn’t even wrestle and that wrestler is Chris Jericho.

After being a part of one of, if not, THE best segments in the last 5-10 years of Raw, Jericho continues to prove that there has never been anyone like him. The amount of characters he has played is equal parts astonishing and impressive. From a cruiserweight in the halcyon days of WCW, to the top-knot wearing troll version of Jericho, the iconic Y2J version, the suit wearing “Best in the World at What he Does,” and (my personal favorite, and the most recent edition) the devastated best friend.

We all knew what was coming Monday, it wasn’t exactly the most shocking turn of all time, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t absolutely crushing. When Jericho dropped the over-the-top shtick and told Kevin Owens that working with him was the best time of his life, and then called him his brother? My grinch heart grew three full sizes. And when he saw his name on the list? That same grinch heart shattered into a million tiny pieces.

Luke Harper —

By Ryan Frederick

My favorite wrestler this week is Luke Harper. Harper is finally getting some good momentum behind him from the fans and turned in his best singles performance against Randy Orton on Sunday at Elimination Chamber.

While he didn’t wrestle on SmackDown this week, he let his presence be felt when he attacked new WWE Champion Bray Wyatt (who was also a contender for my pick this week), laying him out with a superkick, prior to Wyatt’s triple threat match on Tuesday. It’s nice to see Harper get that push as he’s an excellent worker, and I hope it’s a sign of big things to come with him.

NXT Fresno, CA, live results: Austin Aries gets his bell rung by Nakamura (video)

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by reader Charlie Oliver

The big news on the show is the main event was cut short when Austin Ares was injured. The ref called for the X, and then doctors came out and tended to him for a few minutes. He left on his own two feet with doctor assistance.

– Oney Lorcan submitted Patrick Clark

– Ember Moon & Daria def. Mandy Rose & Aliyah

– Buddy Murphy def. Wesley “The Beautiful Body” Blake

Blake gave a promo at the onset to let us know that he was feuding with Murphy.  Blake’s new gimmick is sort of like a create-a-wrestler video game character gone bad. Murphy played face and did pretty well with the highlight being a plancha onto Blake outside the ring. Murphy won by pinfall.

– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka def. Peyton Royce

Crowd was wild for Asuka but the match was very meh. There was so much booty-based offense that it was practically a Naomi match. Peyton took most of the match when not being attacked by Asuka’s butt, but Asuka won by submission in the, well, end.

– William Regal came out after intermission and thanked the fans for making NXT what it is today.

– Authors of Pain def. TM61

TM61 got a lot of early offense but the Authors of Pain cut them off and murdered them with power moves. Even after a hot tag and running wild, the Authors of Pain won by dismemberment and pin.

– We got a serious Tye Dillinger video promo from backstage.

– Bobby Roode def. Tye Dillinger

Great entrances. The crowd loved both guys to the point that whoever was on offense got all the cheers no matter who was winning. This was a terrific matc — best of the night in my opinion — where Roode won by pin after hitting his finisher.

– No Way Jose & NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura def. Austin Aries & Samoa Joe

Crowd was wild for everyone in this match’s entrance, but Nakamura most of all, Lots of comedy spots at the onset that really worked well. Joe and Nakamura prepared to face off, but Joe bugged out and tagged Ares in. We got some comedy after that with Joe refusing to tag in and ordering Aries in.

Match continued with some back and forth until Nakamura squared off with Areis and gave him a stiff front leg kick. The ref intervened with an “X” and the bell rang. Aries was tended to by doctors who used gloves, but I didn’t personally see any blood. After a few minutes, Areis got to his feet with assistance and left. He gave a thumbs up from the aisle and the crowd cheered for him.

Joe tried to lay out the faces but they got the last laugh and posed as the show ended.

NXT Richmond, VA, live results: Cedric Alexander vs. Austin Aries; No Way Shinsuke

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by Steve Phelps from the Altria Theater in RIchmond, VA.

– Lince Dorado defeated Elias Samson

Samson played a song with his guitar doing a heel rundown song of Richmond. Dorado hit him from the back to interrupt him to the crowd’s delight. Dorado picked up the win by pinfall.

– Peyton Royce defeated Liv Morgan

Royce won by pinfall. Solid match and good reaction for both.

– The Authors of Pain (without Paul Ellering) defeated TM61

Authors of Pain won in a decent match. Typical ground and pound offense from the Authors of Pain. Some nice spots from TM61.

– A promo was shown in the back with Blake, and Tye Dillinger interrupted him to set up a match for later on.

– Cedric Alexander defeated Austin Aries

Best match of the night so far. Alexander got the win by pinfall.

– Tye Dillinger defeated Blake

Dillinger was over with the crowd like no one else. By far the biggest pop of the night. Dillinger picked up the win after an above average match.

– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Aliyah to retain her title

Big heat for Aliyah and huge pop for Asuka. Crowd ate up everything she did. Asuka carried most of the match and won with the Asuka Lock.

– Samoa Joe & Bobby Roode defeated NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura & No Way Jose

Crowd was on fire for this match. Roode was over with the crowd. Nakamura, not surprisingly, had the crowd going wild. Joe and Roode picked up the win via submission when Joe submitted No Way Jose at the 18:53 mark. Roode hit a low blow on No Way Jose to set up the end.

Nakamura cleared the ring when they try to beat down Jose to send the crowd home happy with a pair of Kinshasas

**********

.Great night overall. The place was packed and the crowd was super loud and into it during everything. Even the beginning and mid-card matches got huge ovations and both the heels and faces were showed equal respect by the crowd. 

WWE NXT results: Cedric Alexander vs. Andrade Cien Almas; Austin Aries vs. Oney Lorcan

Posted on by Arya Witner
  • The Big News: Samoa Joe threatened to destroy everyone on the show and then was never seen again.
  • The Medium News: Cedric Alexander debuted and defeated Andrade Almas
  • The Little Beaver Sized News: The Asuka-Liv Morgan feud continued

I’m back! I want to thank Paul Fontaine and Jeremy Peeples for filling in for me the last two weeks. The CM Punk fight and Backlash, back to back, left me so depressed that I beat up my computer and needed to purchase a new one.

********

The show began with a recap of the Nakamura-Joe angle from last week. Who was driving Joe’s getaway car? Will that ever be mentioned again?

********

Speaking of Samoa Joe, NXT kicks off with the former NXT Champion marching to the ring. The announcers informed us that we still don’t know Nakamura’s medical status. Oh well, it’s only been 7 days.

Despite the announcers not having it, Joe had Nakamura’s medical report, stating the current champion had back, elbow, shoulder and clavicle issues, but despite all that this, Nakamura will not require surgery but will require 6-12 weeks of rest and rehab.

Joe demanded William Regal come out and either make a title match now or strip Nakamura of the title and hand it to Joe.

Out came our dapper NXT General Manager who confirmed the medical report Joe had is legit. However, he does not know Nakamura’s status as of now. He stated that the problem Joe caused will be taken care of. Joe left the ring and told Mr. Regal face to face to make things right or he would injure the entire roster.

The last time Joe threatened that, he attacked Mojo Rawley and no one else.

********

– Cedric Alexander did a promo regarding his NXT debut against Andrade Cien Almas. He said tonight is only the start of his journey. He asked Mr. Regal for the best and so, he was given Almas.

********

– Liv Morgan has vowed to not bow down to Asuka. To show how serious she is, she took her hat off. Asuka walked up and told her let’s find out if she is ready.

********

Austin Aries submitted Oney Lorcan

Two months ago, Lorcan upset Tye Dillinger and then went away. Maybe the winner’s purse money was so much that he took an extended vacation. The two men exchanged headlocks at the start of the match, which led to a half-hearted dueling chant of “Let’s go Oney/Austin Aries” that Aries orchestrated. Lorcan did not appreciate these shenanigans, so he slapped on the headlock.

Corey Graves called Lorcan’s A Series Of Unfortunate Headlocks a “unique offense” which isn’t technically a lie. Aries got tired of headlocks and threw Lorcan over the top rope, smashing his back on the ring apron.

Lorcan screamed to signal his comeback. Lorcan did a series of corner hip attacks where he would bounce off the opposite turnbuckle first. Aries came off the top rope and Lorcan took his head off with an uppercut that looked more like Street Fighter than Cesaro. Despite all this, Aries cut him off and won with the Last Chancery.

After the match, Aries cut a promo on Hideo Itami. Aries said last week he was at home because he had better things to do than be here on his day off. He would call Itami out right now, but Itami is a coward so he would not come out now. This brought Itami out, but Aries literally ran away when Itami got in the ring.

********

We got a video package for the soon to be debuting, ripped Dan Matha, coming our way in two weeks.

********

Last week, WWE.com were catching up with Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa after their tag match on the Cruiserweight Classic finale when they were attacked by The Revival. Gargano & Ciampa got the better of it and The Revival ran away when security ran in.

********

Billie Kay pinned Aliyah

Welcome to the NXT woman’s division in 2016. This was a match between two inexperienced ladies who each need a lot more training. Billie went for her running boot, but Aliyah moved out of the way and hit a flipping neck breaker for a near fall. Billie hit the running boot on attempt #2 and picked up the win.

********

Mandy Rose from Tough Enough threatened to eclipse Ember Moon. I honestly dislike her more now that Graves has centered his “Eva Marie infatuation” onto her now.

********

They are doing Asuka vs Liv Morgan next week alleviating my fears that this was going to be like Camacho vs Adam Rose from 2014 where they built up a nothing match for six weeks.

********

Cedric Alexander pinned Andrade Cien Almas

The fans popped big for Cedric and were more than a little disappointed for Almas. Stephanie McMahon got put over for bringing Alexander to Raw and Triple H got credit for bringing him to NXT. Alright, then.

Tom Phillips brought up that Almas is a former IWGP Intercontinental champion, but doesn’t mention that he beat Nakamura for the title. Almas has this ability to turn the crowd in his favor, which is the exact opposite of how it used to be. When he debuted, he got the big reaction and then everyone turned on him. Nowadays, people are apathetic to him coming out, but he gets them behind him as the match goes on.

Cedric jumped so high on a tope that the ropes could have been six inches higher and he still would have cleared them. Almas used a deadlift power bomb for a near fall, which got him nervous when Alexander kicked out. Almas used his double moonsault that hasn’t beaten anyone and then got frustrated when he didn’t win. Alexander won with the Lumbar Check backbreaker. 

After the match, Alexander and Almas hugged as the show went off the air.

**********

That does it for another week of NXT! Until next week when Asuka sends Liv Morgan back to New Jersey, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

WWE NXT results: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Steve Cutler; Andrade Almas vs. Austin Aries

Posted on by F4W Editors

The post-Takeover champions intro airs to start things off while Tom Phillips hypes up the Era of Strong Style. Nakamura faces Steve Cutler tonight, but TM61 start the show against Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari.

TM61 defeated Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari

The crowd goes crazy for the Cruiserweight Classic team, while TM61 still come off like two generic dudes. Nese shines more than TM61 has in mere seconds with flips and superkicks. His Fosbury flop takes out both guys on the floor.

Nese and Miller have an impressive slap and kick exchange leading to a Nese and Daivari hitting a powerslam, superkick, and frog splash for two. But Thunder Valley wins the match for TM61.

Asuka says she respects Bayley, and that while Bayley fought hard, she fought harder. Asuka says she’s cleaned out of the division, and no one is ready for her.

We get a bit of hype for Austin Aries vs. Andrade Almas, and Ember Moon stands around in the grass at Full Sail University to prepare for her match tonight.

Cutler says that tonight, he will show what sacrifice means. He gave up four years of his life to get this chance, and he doesn’t care if anyone likes him or hates him –everyone will respect him.

Ember Moon defeated Leah Von

Leah Von comes out to face Ember Moon. Moon’s body movements are amazing — like Nakamura, she has complete control over every part of her body and it makes her intro stand out.

Moon outwrestles Von with a series of armbars and a headlock before getting two off of a springboard crossbody. Moon gets another near fall off a schoolgirl before hitting a hammerlock suplex and winning with the diving corkscrew stunner, which is as beautiful as Cena’s springboard stunner was ugly.

No Way Jose goes off on Bobby Roode disrespecting him and cuts a pretty intense promo tying “No Way” into how he feels about backing down. This character needed a serious edge, and they’ve given him a bit of one here.

A Revival hype video airs before Tommaso Ciampa meets with a trainer. Johnny Gargano says that his knee will be okay, and that if they get cleared, they can be in a tag match at the CWC live finale next week. The trainer clears him — so they’re a go for the CWC show.

Austin Aries defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas

Almas comes out to face Aries. Aries outwrestles him to start, but Almas comes back with a running rana that sends Aries to the floor. Aries tries to toss him out, but Almas does his waiting pose and sends Aries out of the ring before hitting a corkscrew plancha.

Almas goes up top, but Aries tosses him to the floor. A dueling chant breaks out before Aries rakes his boots on Almas’ face and an elbow gets a near fall. Almas hits a springboard dropkick, but he takes too long for the shotgun knees and eats a corner dropkick.

Almas’ double-backflip moonsault hits for two. Aries gets hip tossed into the buckle, but he avoids the shotgun knees, powerbombs out of a springboard rana, and wins with the Last Chancery.

A video for Sanity airs and Roode vs. No Way Jose is announced for next week.

NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Steve Cutler in a non-title match

Samoa Joe joins Phillips and Corey Graves on commentary, with Joe continuing Raw’s gag of getting Phillips’ name wrong. Cutler comes out to a generic song while Nakamura’s usual intro gets the crowd alive.

Nakamura and Cutler have a fairly short five-minute match that shows off Nakamura’s key spots, while Cutler gets a few shots in and shows a lot of aggression. The inverted exploder, corner knee, and Kinshasa win it for Nakamura. Nakamura poses and Joe fumes at the table as the show goes off the air.

Final Thoughts —

Solid show, but nothing too amazing.

Screenshot Gallery —

http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/udqxu0lk5u9l92iagu3mtebc1g4wdwk8

WWE NXT results: The Nakamura era begins

Posted on by Arya Witner

The Big News: If there was ever an episode that proved it’s a new era of NXT — it was this one.

The Medium News: Shinsuke Nakamura returned to Full Sail University for the first time since winning the NXT title, with the crowd giving him an ovation worthy of a champion.

The Little Beaver Sized News: Steve Cutler is getting a push.

*********

Earlier today, a doctor informed both Samoa Joe and William Regal that Joe is not cleared to compete due to injuries he suffered at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II. Joe stormed out of the office without saying a word.

*********

Tye Dillinger defeated Buddy Murphy

This was set up last week when Dillinger defeated Buddy Murphy’s former tag team partner, Wesley Blake. Murphy kept the annoying dubstep music even though he lost his girl and his tag partner.

The crowd chanted “one” at Murphy, before downgrading him and chanting “You’re a zero.” This match was much better than the Blake match, for one it was shorter, and for another, the crowd actually cared about more than just chanting.

Tye Dillinger won his second match in a row with the Tye Breaker.

*********

They showed video footage of Johnny Gargano tapping out at both TakeOver: Brooklyn and last week at the Cruiserweight Classic. This led to a backstage interview with Tommaso Ciampa. Ciampa started talking when The Revival walked up, which led to a fight between Ciampa and the tag champs.

The fight spilled into the arena with The Revival throwing Ciampa over the announcer’s table and then beating him down to the ring. Ciampa tried to defend himself, but he couldn’t get much of anything since Dash Wilder was holding his arms behind his back while Scott Dawson beat on him.

Revival kicked Ciampa out of the ring, like garbage, before grabbing the microphone.

Dawson said everyone is a tough guy until they face reality, and The Revival is that reality. Gargano and Ciampa faced the top guys in NXT and it was a reality check.

Ciampa dragged himself back into the ring and creepily smiled at the champs before he got laid out with the Shatter Machine.

*********

Steve Cutler defeated Kenneth Crawford

I make a reference to Mike Adamle every time Cutler wrestlers, but from now on it’s all about his Lash LeRoux sideburns. Kenneth Crawford is not to be confused with former WWE developmental/Ascension member Kenneth Cameron, who went on to become Bram in TNA.

Do you remember when the WWF would start house shows with a match between two jobbers? Well, this is as close as we’ve gotten since, as neither man has ever won a match on NXT TV despite doing several jobs.

Crawford kept slipping every time he would be in a situation where he had to land on his feet. He definitely needs more experience, even though he had the most exciting move, with a running shooting star press.

Cutler won with a fisherman suplex-driver.

*********

Hideo Itami was backstage and said at TakeOver, it was a huge moment to kick Austin Aries in the head. He mocked Aries claiming to be injured, saying Aries is a baby and not a real man. If Aries is not a real man then he needs to stay out of Itami’s ring or he’ll make Aries go to sleep… again.

*********

Sanity is coming!

*********

No Way Jose defeated Angelo Dawkins

Someone in the front row was so excited for Jose’s entrance that he was caught on camera yawning. This was not Dawkins’ night to get one in the win column, as it was all about getting Jose a win coming out of Brooklyn.

No Way Jose won with his windup punch and Cobra Clutch Slam. And after the match, he literally ran into the crowd and danced with the people in the cheap seats.

*********

Andrade “Cien” Almas was attempting to do a promo when Aries walked up eating a banana. Aries said Itami busted his eardrum, and Almas got angry and yelled at him in Spanish. This eventually led to a challenge for next week. Aries backed away, saying he couldn’t hear Almas.

*********

Liv Morgan defeated Aliyah

Now that they have gutted the women’s division, it’s time for someone new to step up. Will one of these ladies be the next great women’s wrestler?

The most curious thing in this match was when 300 residents of the state of Florida began chanting for New Jersey. It was a match of two halves. For half of this match, it was fun, fine, and had absolutely nothing wrong with it. But it started to fall apart in the second half.

Aliyah slapped on a kimura and then combined that with a headscissors. It turns out her kimura is not nearly as good as Brock Lesnar’s, because Morgan got out of it with no problem whatsoever. Morgan won with a spin kick that didn’t quite connect.

*********

No Way Jose was happy about his win over Dawkins when Bobby Roode walked by, straightened his suit, and walked away.

*********

It was time for the main event segment! The brand new, reigning NXT Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura is in the house! The fans sang his theme song, which is hard to do when your song has no lyrics.

Sometimes I think these chants are more pre-determined than the matches. They seamlessly transitioned from chanting “Nakamura” to “You deserve it.”

Nakamura said when he was in Japan he wanted a new challenge, and the only place to challenge the best is here in NXT. He came here and faced the best, from Sami Zayn to Finn Balor to Samoa Joe. His neck hurts, his knee hurts, and his fingers are shaking, but despite that, he became NXT Champion.

He has held championships before, but this one means the most. He has great respect for Samoa Joe, but the Joe era is over. It’s now the era of strong style.

The show ended with Nakamura playing to the crowd, and no new challengers were teased.

What happens when Asuka returns next week? Until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

NXT Jacksonville, FL, live results: Itami vs. Aries, Revival vs. Ciampa & Gargano

Posted on by JJ Williams

Results and image courtesy of @katieloud, who estimates 350 in attendance

– Richard Swann defeated Steve Cutler

Both guys were super over, Steve Cutler got a ton of heat. He’s become a good heel. He did a lot of yelling at the fans while beating Rich Swann down. Swann picked up the win with a roll into a standing moonsault.

– Daria Berenato defeated Billie Kay via DQ

The match was pretty even until Mandy Rose came out and beat down Daria Berenato. Rose and Billie Kay went to double team Berenato, but Asuka made the surprise save in the pop of the night.

Asuka cut a quick promo and challenged Rose and Kay to a match against her and Berenato for the next time they’re in Jacksonville.

– Alexander Wolfe & Sawyer Fulton defeated Adrian Jaoude & Cezar Bononi

The match was fun, it ended with Alexander Wolfe and Sawyer Fulton using a double team finisher and Wolfe getting the pin.

– Oney Lorcan defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas

Andrade Almas played heel. He teased grabbing a chair a few times, but Oney Lorcan won on a roll-up. Referee Drake Wuertz stopped Almas from attacking him after the match.

– Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival in a non-title match

This was a really fun match, it ended with Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa doing side-by-side armbars on the tag champions. Gargano got Dash Wilder to tap out.

– Bobby Roode defeated Riddick Moss

Bobby Roode had one of the biggest reactions of the night. Riddick Moss played a good heel, and Roode was fantastic. Roode won with a rotating DDT/facebuster.

– New signee Macey Estrella came out for an interview and cut a promo about how she was there to join an amazing women’s division. She mentioned her past as a marine, saying she never gave up.

– Ember Moon defeated Nikki Glencross

Ember Moon picked up the win with the top rope stunner.

– Hideo Itami defeated Austin Aries

Great match, it ended with Hideo Itami getting the GTS on Austin Aries for the win.

WWE NXT results: Shinsuke Nakamura taunts Samoa Joe

Posted on by Arya Witner

The Big News: Shinsuke Nakamura taunted Samoa Joe and faked taking the champion’s nose while Joe was angrily trying to go through a dozen security guards to get to Nakamura.

The Medium News: Bayley and Asuka put pen to paper to make their NXT Women’s Championship match at TakeOver official.

The Little Beaver Sized News: Bobby Roode’s in-ring debut, a tag team title match, and No Way Jose vs. Austin Aries were made official for TakeOver.

*********

Moments before the show began, Bobby Roode walked into William Regal’s office. They shook hands and went their separate ways before Roode rubbed his hands together and said this would be great.

*********

On the other side of the credits, Mr. Regal was standing mid-ring to oversee a contract signing between NXT Women’s Champion Asuka and Bayley. Asuka defeated Bayley for the title in Dallas, and the rematch will test if Bayley can climb that mountain one more time.

Bayley brought up that she has faced every woman that has walked in the door for the last three-plus years and she was always the underdog until last year when she won the title in Brooklyn. She said if Brooklyn was a dream, Dallas was a nightmare. 

She said she was not prepared for how tough Dallas would be, but she is prepared now. The Asuka mystique is gone for her, and she plans on beating Asuka in NXT’s return to Brooklyn for the belt.

Asuka said that she respects Bayley, but told her opponent she doesn’t have what it takes to win. Asuka extended her hand but Bayley would not shake it, instead telling her to sign the contract and be ready for the fight of her life.

After signing the contract, the two women went face-to-face, with Asuka holding the seven pounds of silver and purple aloft before walking away.

*********

The Authors of Pain defeated Nails & Ryzin

For those of us keeping count, The Authors of Pain go into this match with a 3-0 record in NXT, they’ve been on TV for 63 days, and still do not have names. At least this week their opponents have names, albeit last names only. Ryzin got pinned with the combination leg sweep/clothesline in less than a minute.

The Authors of Pain were about to beat up Nails some more when TM61 randomly ran in for the save before being killed to death in a confrontation that didn’t even last as long as the match.

*********

Shinsuke Nakamura told Cathy Kelley that he is not hard to find, but he’ll find Samoa Joe when he wants to.

*********

Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Angelo Dawkins

Andrade Almas is back for his third match and the crowd is still completely indifferent to him. Angelo Dawkins hasn’t been around in a while and is most fondly remembered for always wearing two headbands.

Dawkins did a 360 degree turn while splashing Almas in the corner, and despite being the heel, the fans were ever so slightly more into Dawkins. Almas won with a hammerlock DDT.

GLORIOUS! The greatest theme in NXT history prefaced Bobby Roode’s entrance into the arena. Roode came out and applauded for Almas, congratulating him on having the honor of facing Roode at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II.

Roode then mocked Almas by talking slowly because Almas didn’t understand English. He told Almas that no one in the arena will be paying to see him, they are paying to see Bobby Roode.

*********

Austin Aries was talking about oranges in Regal’s office, before saying NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II is not special because The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived doesn’t have a match. Regal mockingly agreed with him and booked him in a match with No Way Jose at the show.

*********

Billie Kay defeated Liv Morgan

Billie Kay is making a career off the time she did a three-minute job against Dana Brooke on SmackDown. Liv Morgan is back for the first time in a couple months, causing Corey Graves to flip out about New Jersey.

Both women looked good here but have a long way to go. Morgan is very enthusiastic, which can be good. Kay won her second match in a row with a big boot.

*********

Rich Swann, Noam Dar, and Jack Gallagher (the greatest wrestler ever) were shown at ringside. Graves and Tom Phillips talked about how the first round was still going on before they showed highlights of Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa, which was actually the last first round match.

This led to Gargano and Ciampa meeting with Regal. He put over their match last week before informing them they are challenging The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Championship at TakeOver.

Gargano and Ciampa vowed to become champions in Brooklyn.

*********

Ember Moon is debuting at TakeOver.

*********

Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated Tucker Knight & Patrick Clark

One year ago, Gargano and Ciampa debuted in NXT during the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament. And one year ago, Patrick Clark was on Tough Enough.

This was more competitive than most squash matches. Tucker Knight is a fast man for being close to 300 pounds and has potential. The number one contenders picked up the win with the double kick to Knight.

*********

Mojo Rawley was hyping himself up for the main event, saying he’s bringing the fight right to Samoa Joe.

*********

NXT Champion Samoa Joe defeated Mojo Rawley

Mojo Rawley is angry about being laid out by Samoa Joe last week, so he charged at Joe to start the match. They exchanged headbutts on the floor and both men no-sold it. For the first minute, this was the most intense (in a good way) I have ever seen Rawley.

Unfortunately for Rawley, the match went longer than one minute. Joe beat him down hard. Rawley hit a full nelson slam, but he was mostly at Joe’s mercy here. Joe screamed Nakamura’s name as he slapped on the Coquina Clutch for the submission win.

After the match, Joe put the clutch back on and screamed for Nakamura until his music played. Nakamura walked down the ramp, but a dozen security guards got between them to hold Joe back. Nakamura was content with taunting Joe while he tried to fight through security to get to the King of Strong Style.

Nakamura faked taking Joe’s nose and then slapped him in the head as the show went off the air.

We are just one week away from TakeOver, and until next week’s go-home show, thank you for reading and remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!

NXT Pensacola, FL, live results: Nakamura & No Way Jose vs. Joe & Aries

Posted on by JJ Williams

Results courtesy of @TheFrayMovement

– Mojo Rawley defeated Buddy Murphy

Mojo hit a pounce and followed up with a running forearm while Murphy was in the corner for the win. Fun match.

– Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Riddick Moss

Pre-match promo by Moss, with him going in on everyone, including Steve Austin and Finn Balor with his “cute little demon costume.” He mocked Mick Foley, Daniel Bryan, and when he got to Stephanie McMahon he said “Sup, Girl?” He said that if he’s not on the main roster in a year he will go somewhere else.

Andrade wins the match with the knees to the face in the corner, followed by a wristlock DDT.

– Billie Kay defeated Daria Berenato

The MMA fighter Berenato was rebounding off the ropes and got caught with a big boot from Billie Kay for the win.

– Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano defeated NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival by DQ

Great southern tag team match, Revival got themselves disqualified by pulling the referee out after Gargano and Ciampa had the match won with their double team finish. Revival retained their titles. After the match, Ciampa and Gargano challenged them for the titles at TakeOver.

– Bobby Roode defeated Oney Lorcan

The crowd absolutely loved Bobby Roode. He won via submission using a full nelson, and left to a chorus of cheers and worship.

– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Ember Moon to retain her title

Asuka blocked the top rope diving stunner with a knee to the face and applied the Asuka Lock for the win. Great match.

– NXT Champion Samoa Joe & Austin Aries defeated No Way Jose & Shinsuke Nakamura

Joe made No Way Jose submit to the clutch for the win, this was a hoot of a match! Crowd loved everyone involved. The show ends with Jose and Shinsuke giving high fives and lifting babies.

NXT Plymouth, England, live results: Nakamura & Finn Balor vs. Austin Aries & Samoa Joe

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by Philip Mansell & Chris Stewart

– Hugo Knox b Wesley Blake

Knox was pretty over, really green but athletic. He won with a split-legged moonsault.

– Alexander Wolfe b Angelo Dawkins

Fulton was ejected for interference, but came back down for the finish. He distracted the ref, allowing Wolfe to rake the eyes and score the pinfall. More D’Lo chants for Dawkins, but he took it with good humour and did the old D’Lo head shake as he left the ring.

– Bayley and Carmella b Alexa Bliss and Peyton Royce

Good match that got better as it went on and Bayley was involved more. Baymella win after Bayley to Belly. 

– Bobby Roode b No Way Jose

Roode wins with a spinebuster. Good pop for him after the fans realised who it was. Jose was pretty over, but the fans much preferred Roode. Big near fall towards the end with Jose hitting Roode with the discus punch for a believable near fall. 

– Andrade Almas b Tye Dillinger

Dillinger got a huge reaction from the crowd with sustained “10” chants. There seemed to be more signs and talk about him than anyone else. He cut a promo to turn the crowd against him, but the people were so into his gimmick they continued to cheer. Not much of a reaction for Andrade (although he did get some “Cien” chants towards the end). Very solid match. Crowd loved the moonsault spot to end the match.

– American Alpha b NXT Champions The Revival by DQ

These teams are just great and work so well with each other – an abridged version of the latest TakeOver match, so naturally very good. Both teams have impeccable timing. Crowd really bought the titles changing hands after Alpha hit the Grand Amplitude, but the ref was pulled out for the DQ. Alpha really know how to work the crowd.

– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka b Nia Jax to retain

Jax had decent heat for her entrance, and Asuka was really over. Asuka hit the buzzsaw kick to the win in a decent match that was almost identical to their TakeOver encounter. Asuka got a decent reaction, quite a few “Asuka’s gonna kill you chants”. Very similar to the Takeover match – they did a fantastic spot with Asuka putting a standing guillotine on Jax who turned it into a stalling suplex for a near fall.

– Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura b Austin Aries and NXT Champion Samoa Joe

A fantastic main event with the crowd completely into it. Chants for all four men who seemed to relish the atmosphere. Joe responded to crowd taunts brilliantly. Finn got the hot tag before Nakamura hit the Kinshasha on Aries and Finn hit the Coup de Grace for the win. Balor thanked the fans, calling them the heart of the NXT universe.

Brilliant event overall – a crowd that was clearly incredibly happy to get NXT action. 

NXT TakeOver Preview: ‘The End’ is near for the Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor feud

Posted on by Arya Witner

For the first time since October, an NXT TakeOver event comes home to Full Sail University! NXT’s 11th quarterly special may be living up to its own subtitle as this may be the end for several of the men and women on the show. With the WWE brand extension just five weeks away, odds are half of the competitors on this show won’t be on NXT in time for SummerSlam weekend.

Before we deal with the future, let’s deal with the now, shall we?

NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor in a steel cage match

This is the first ever cage match in NXT history and has the potential to be the most violent match in NXT history. This is the culmination of the longest feud ever in NXT and one of the longest continuous feuds in WWE, period. Samoa Joe has been NXT Champion since April 21 when he beat Balor in Lowell, Massachusetts. However, this was after Balor had defeated Joe at TakeOver events in London and Dallas. On a side note, Joe is the first man to win the NXT, TNA, and ROH titles — one of the more random accomplishments in wrestling today.

Each match was better and more violent than the previous bout, with the two men waging war on each other. Now NXT is locking them within the confines of a cage, which should only encourage the match to be more violent. My only hope is Joe does not bust himself open in the first 30 seconds causing the ridiculous sight of a cage match being halted due to blood.

– Prediction: Balor has been in NXT longer and Joe just won the belt. I’m going with Joe to win, setting up a series of matches with the winner of the semi-main event.

Austin Aries vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

NXT’s acquisition of Nakamura has led to a series of never before seen, one of a kind matches. Some have been excellent (Sami Zayn) and some not so much (The Drifter), but this could very well not only steal the show, but steal the pro wrestling month.

Aries debuted in March and has had quite the different road than Nakamura as he hasn’t had the chance to have that one amazing showcase match. While Aries hasn’t had any bad matches, he has obviously been holding out for the right time and this is it.

While not officially announced as such, this match will probably set up the next challenger for the NXT title. Aries is better off as a heel and has been teasing aturn the last few weeks, bringing up that Nakamura’s debut got all the press clippings, leaving Aries in the lurch.

Prediction: Nakamura wins, setting up future title matches with Joe, pissing off Aries more, and setting up his eventual heel turn.

NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Nia Jax 

This match has the chance to overachieve. Jax is a lot better than she’s given credit for, while Asuka is arguably the best woman wrestler under WWE contract. While the money, for lack of a better word, is in an Asuka-Bayley rematch, Jax has been a very effective monster and laid out the champ just last week.

This match has really been built up from each lady’s debut. Both ladies had their debuts being built up at the same time and had their first tv match within a week of each other. Asuka has had a series of hard hitting bouts with Emma, Dana Brooke, and Bayley, while Nia has beaten every B-level NXT woman before flattening Bayley just 3 weeks ago on TV.

Prediction: Asuka wins and leads to Asuka vs Bayley in Brooklyn, one year after Bayley won the title the first time.

NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha vs. The Revival

This is a rematch of a solid match from Dallas with both teams just getting better since. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable are easily the most popular team on NXT while The Revival have become better characters since losing the titles. This is yet another match where the losers will probably end up on the main roster, so you are left wondering if WWE needs a third super popular baby face tag team or another team of solid, yet unspectacular workers.

Prediction: American Alpha wins because WWE doesn’t care enough about tag teams to have 3 super popular teams at the same time.

Andrade Cien Almas vs. Tye Dillinger

My #1 question is wondering why they changed Manny Andrade’s name — a perfectly fine name that rolled off the tongue, while Andrade Cien Almas sounds forced and fake. Dillinger has won less than five tv matches and despite winning last week, I doubt he picks up two in a row.

The TakeOver: Dallas dark match against Chris Girard was a better match than three other matches on that show, so I am expecting a really good showing here. Dillinger has a fun gimmick and is popular with the crowd. However, his job is to lose.

Prediction: Almas wins and moves into a feud with Austin Aries.

**********

I honestly believe this could be the best TakeOver show since Brooklyn and possibly even better. Money in the Bank is being built up as perhaps the best PPV in WWE history, but after tonight, it will be second best of the month…at best.