Tonight’s attendance at the Ocala wedding tent was approximately 250 people.
– The Street Prophets defeated The Ealy Brothers
Angelo Dawkins hit a big spear and Montez Ford followed with a frog splash to win a hot opener.
– Sawyer Fulton defeated Babatunde Aiyegbusi
Fulton won it with a suplex.
– Mary Kate defeated Sarah Logan
A Black Hole Slam by Mary Kate ended this one.
– Dory Funk Jr. made his usual appearance in Ocala. He came out for an interview but was immediately interrupted by Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler. Roderick Strong evened things up and we’ll have Strong and a partner vs. Blake and Cutler as our main event.
– Oney Lorcan defeated Jeet Rama
Lorcan hit a running blockbuster to get the win.
– Buddy Murphy defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas
This match had great action from two of the best in NXT. Murphy won with flying double knees off the top.
– Lars Sullivan defeated Kona Reeves
Lars hit a big slam for the victory. His power is impressive.
– Ruby Riot defeated Sonya Deville
This was a battle. Riot hit an up-kick to pick up the win.
– Roderick Strong & No Way Jose (w/ Dory Funk Jr.) defeated Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler
The crowd was all over the self-proclaimed “products of the system” Cutler and Blake. The babyfaces won and then celebrated with Funk to send everyone home happy. They were dancing and wearing cowboy hats.
– Lars Sullivan defeated Steve Cutler (w/ Wesley Blake)
Sullivan destroyed Cutler with a big slam.
– Sonya Deville defeated Liv Morgan
An arm submission got the win for Deville.
– Oney Lorcan defeated Adrian Jaoude
Lorcan escaped an airplane spin and scored the pin with a roll-up.
– Killian Dain defeated Raul Mendoza
This was a great showing by Mendoza. He used flashy offense and took punishment from the powerful Dain. Dain eventually destroyed him with a shotgun dropkick and hit the One Winged Angel for the victory.
– Aleister Black defeated Cezar Bononi
Black has his match down perfectly. His work looks excellent and he won with the Black Mass kick.
– Eric Young (w/ Alexander Wolfe) defeated Montez Ford (w/ Angelo Dawkins)
A wheelbarrow slam by EY ended this one.
– Ruby Riot defeated Mandy Rose
Riot picked up the victory with her up-kick finish.
– Roderick Strong, No Way Jose & Buddy Murphy defeated NXT Champion Bobby Roode, Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss
There was comedy early where Jose tried to trick the opposition into dancing until Roode declared there would be no dancing in his NXT. Jose taunted Roode with a “Glorious” pose of his own to stir things up.
Roode avoided Strong as much as possible in this match, and Murphy ran wild before getting pulled off the apron by Roode. The heels worked him over until the hot tag to Strong, who ran wild and hit his suplex into a backcracker for the win. His team celebrated to close the show.
– SAnitY (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe) defeated The Singh Brothers (Bollywood Boyz) and Street Prophets (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) in an elimination match
The Singh Brothers kept shouting things about Jinder Mahal being champion soon, which led to a huge “Jinder sucks” chant. The Street Prophets eliminated The Singh Brothers when Ford hit his running shooting star press for the pin. SAnitY then picked up the win after the usual distractions from Killian Dain and Nikki Cross.
– Oney Lorcan came out for a promo and started to offer his t-shirt to the crowd, but was interrupted by Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli. They told him it wasn’t his promo anymore and tossed him out of the ring.
Lorcan kept coming back in only to get thrown out until he ducked a clothesline from Sabbatelli, who hit Moss instead. Lorcan then hit a running uppercut to Sabbatelli and his neckbreaker on Moss to send them packing.
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Cezar Bononi
Jaoude submitted him with a guillotine choke.
– Kassius Ohno defeated Dylan Miley by DQ
They had a solid big guy match. Miley grabbed Ohno by the throat and put him on the top turnbuckle and continued to choke him. The ref tried to break the hold, but Miley shoved him to the ground, causing the DQ. Three more refs came out to stop Miley as he raged over the loss.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Mandy Rose
This wasn’t a bad match. Rose worked well and Asuka played a tweener with a more aggressive style than usual. The champion won with a head kick.
– Jack Gallagher defeated Ariya Daivari
A corner dropkick by Gallagher ended this one.
– Lana (w/ Bianca Blair) defeated Liv Morgan
The lights went off, and when they came back on, Lana was in the ring with a chair and did her dance routine. Morgan was setting up for her finisher when Blair got on the apron. Morgan dropkicked her off, which allowed Lana to hit a roundhouse kick and pick up the win.
– Hideo Itami & No Way Jose defeated Patrick Clark & Andrade “Cien” Almas.
They had a fun match. Itami was setting up for the GTS when Almas ran in. Almas got caught with a pop-up punch from Jose, and Itami hit the GTS on Clark to get the win. No Way Jose then convinced Itami to dance with him to end the show.
Approximately 200 people were in attendance tonight.
– Liv Morgan defeated Mary Kate
Morgan was roughed up all the way through until rolling up Mary Kate with a bridging pin.
– Heavy Machinery & HoHo Lun defeated The Ealy Brothers & Kishan Raftaar
Heavy Machinery did their belly bump slam with Lun on Tucker Knight’s back to finish off Raftaar.
– The Bollywood Boyz cut a promo in the ring. They declared that they are “410 because that’s twice as good as anyone on 205 Live.” The crowd was all over them and their heel routine.
– Oney Lorcan defeated Chris Atkins
This was fast-paced when Lorcan was on offense. Atkins looked good. Lorcan fired up and hit a dive to the outside and a running blockbuster to win it.
– Dylan Miley defeated Steve Cutler by DQ
Miley had the match won with a claw and a slam but Wesley Blake made the run in to save his usual tag partner before being destroyed as well. Miley is a force already.
– Killian Dain (w/ Nikki Cross) defeated Montez Ford
This was an entertaining match, with Ford trying to outwrestle and quick Dain yet being absolutely overpowered. Cross ran distractions at ringside as per usual. Dain hit the One Winged Angel to win it.
Cross and Sarah Bridges got into it during the match and Angelo Dawkins had to make the save to get Dain away from Ford.
– Buddy Murphy defeated Brennan Williams
Williams kept control of Murphy until Murphy fired up and scoop slammed his much larger opponent. The crowd loves Buddy Murphy on the Florida loop.
– Nikki Cross defeated Sarah Bridges
This match was set up earlier tonight and was a total brawl. Cross hit a swinging fisherman neckbreaker to win.
– No Way Jose & Roderick Strong defeated Riddick Moss & Tino Sabbatelli
The crowd was all over Sabbatelli early and loved Jose. There was wild action all over the place, leading to a Jose hot tag and pop-up punch to win it.
Tonight’s show was in front of a packed crowd of 400 people.
– Roderick Strong defeated Cezar Bononi
The crowd loved Strong. He hit a Sick Kick to win it.
– Patrick Clark defeated Dan Matha
Matha was actually the face here. He hit a huge Rock Bottom backbreaker, but Clark was able to survive and hit a famouser to win.
– Hideo Itami defeated Oney Lorcan
This was one of the better matches on the Florida loop this year, with hard-hitting chops and strikes. Itami looked great and Lorcan is always the most intense wrestler on the card. Itami won with the GTS.
– Daria Berenato defeated Aliyah
Berenato won with an enzuigiri after they had countered each other with a few near falls.
– Tye Dillinger assisted Kayla Braxton in naming who won the WrestleMania raffle that’s been going on this month down here. After they named the winner, we heard those guitar strings and The Straggler (The Drifter under a mask) taunted Dillinger and the crowd. Riddick Moss then joined The Straggler (or Straggs as he called him) and wanted to take on Dillinger as well. Dillinger then asked if anyone in the back wanted to team with him and that led to the next match.
This was the most exciting match in Florida so far this year. Nakamura tried to remove Straggler’s mask, but there was a second mask underneath, so Nakamura put the mask on himself and proceeded to do some excellent lucha with arm drags, rolls, and he even teased a dive. Moss snatched the mask off Nakamura and Nakamura was devastated. Solid action followed and a Kinshasa won it for the good guys.
– Montez Ford (w/ Angelo Dawkins) defeated Brennan Williams
Williams used nice looking power moves. Dawkins caused a distraction, which allowed Ford to steal a quick pin.
– Ember Moon defeated Kimber Lee
Moon won the match with a sit-out driver of some type.
– No Way Jose, Kassius Ohno & Ruby Riot defeated SAnitY (Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe & Nikki Cross)
This had action all over the place. Riot hit a dive to the outside. Ohno and Dain had a slugfest. Jose took the hot tag and hit his wind-up punch on Wolfe to win and send the crowd home happy.
The Big News: The main event six-man tag ended in a double disqualification and Heidi Lovelace (theoretically under her new name, Ruby Riot) debuted afterwards, taking out Nikki Cross.
The Medium News: After defeating Oney Lorcan in an excellent match, Andrade “Cien” Almas was told he would face Aleister Black at TakeOver: Orlando.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Kassius Ohno and Elias Samson agreed to a loser leaves NXT match.
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Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Oney Lorcan
This match was set up last week when Almas was bullying HoHo Lun and Lorcan made the save for the little guy. These two have wrestled multiple times, with Almas winning on almost every occasion. Will that continue tonight?
Almas tried to avoid Lorcan like the plague until Lorcan tried to dive off of the ring steps outside the ring, but Almas caught him and dropped him with a powerslam to get the heat. Lorcan made a hot comeback and almost got the win with a running blockbuster, but Almas kicked out.
Almas blocked the half-and-half suplex, but got sent flying out of the ring after a series of European uppercuts.
Lorcan didn’t give Almas a breather and dove off the top rope with a senton. Back in the ring, Lorcan hit three running corner forearms and feigned exhaustion before hitting two more and hitting the half-and-half suplex…and Almas kicked out!
After a brief flurry, which included a back handspring kick to Lorcan’s head, Almas hit a vicious knee in the corner and picked up the win with the hammerlock DDT. It built to a damn good match.
*********
DIY cut a promo about traveling the world together. They wrestled because they loved it and this is what they always wanted to do. They said this was fate that Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa, who never teamed before, ended up getting signed by WWE and eventually becoming NXT Tag Team Champions.
They dedicated the upcoming match to all the fans that helped make them who they are.
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Another video package for Aleister Black aired.
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We finally got a video on Billie Kay, who two weeks ago was injured by The Eclipse from Ember Moon. Not sure if this is just becoming a running joke or what, but instead of updating us on Kay, we got a tweet from Liv Morgan predicting a win by Ember Moon at TakeOver.
Asuka has been undefeated for 17 months and has been champion for just under a year. Zuniga is not ending the undefeated streak.
Asuka was so unconcerned she cut a promo before the match saying “Ember Moon, this is your head” before kicking Zuniga’s off her shoulders. Zuniga tried to defend herself and slapped Asuka, then she tried to run away by bouncing off the ropes and right into Asuka’s hip attack.
Asuka kicked Zuniga some more, hit a delayed German suplex, and would have won with a kick to the head, but she picked Zuniga up at two. We went from kicks to knees as Zuniga got used as a punching bag and finally we got the Asuka Lock and the submission.
Asuka didn’t want to break the submission afterwards, but did when the referee waved his hands. She cut a promo in Japanese after.
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The Revival cut a promo about how they are better than all the best teams in wrestling history. Ultimately they fight for money and they don’t do flips, but they are the only team to lay out the Authors of Pain.
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Next week: Akam vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Dash Wilder.
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We got a lengthy video package building up Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. It included the photo of Roode in Team Canada in TNA, with Scott D’Amore in the background. The video thoroughly recapped both men’s year since NXT TakeOver: Dallas and how it brought them both here.
*********
Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose, and Roderick Strong cut a promo about their six-man tag against SAnitY tonight. They said this is the first time SAnitY doesn’t have the numbers advantage.
No it’s not. They literally had a six-man tag a month ago.
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Heavy Machinery is re-debuting next week.
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Andrea D’Marco interviewed Kassius Ohno last week regarding his loss while he was leaving the arena. Suddenly, Elias Samson appeared and sung that he’ll never win the title.
Ohno said The Drifter needs an ass kicking and Samson said Ohno doesn’t belong here. This led to a challenge for a loser leaves NXT match, which was accepted.
*********
Aleister Black will debut at TakeOver: Orlando against Andrade “Cien” Almas, which was the subject in Almas’ promo. He said he will make Black believe in him.
*********
SAnitY vs. Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong & No Way Jose ended in a double disqualification
It was then main event time. This was a rematch of the six-man tag a month ago that I guess never happened. We got a six-way brawl outside the ring before the bell rang. This somehow led to the smallest babyface, Strong, in the ring with the largest heel, Killian Dain.
Strong fared better against Alexander Wolfe and was able to tag out. He did get back in later and managed to take out Wolfe and Dain on a giant dive over the top.
Eric Young spent the early part avoiding Tye Dillinger, shouting that Dillinger will get his. He finally cut off No Way Jose after a distraction by Nikki Cross. Jose eventually battled back and made the hot tag to Roderick Strong, who went backbreaker happy.
This broke down into a six-way brawl, which caused the referee to throw it out and declare the match a double disqualification.
The babyfaces got the best of the post-match until Cross jumped on Dillinger’s shoulders. She was taken care of when a debuting woman (Heidi Lovelace) ran in and took her out. The babyfaces sent SAnitY running away as the show ended.
That will do it for this week. Next week is already the go-home show for WrestleMania weekend. Until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
The Big News: Bobby Roode had his Glorious Celebration after winning the NXT Championship at TakeOver.
The Medium News: SAnitY went 2-0, winning the tag team opener and the six-man main event.
The Little Beaver-sized News: The Revival challenged The Authors of Pain for NXT TakeOver: Orlando.
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Nigel McGuinness has officially taken over for Corey Graves. Plus they have already updated the opening video package to include footage from TakeOver.
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SAnitY defeated The Bollywood Boyz
The fans cheered for Harv and Gurv Sihra, but they also recognized they were the lambs being led to slaughter. Alexander Wolfe and the very hairy Killian Dain were the representatives of SAnitY. Harv and Gurv both got run over by Dain. Neither had any luck on their own nor when they tried to double team.
Dain used a Wasteland on Gurv and then powerbombed Harv on top of his brother before he finished off The Bollywood Boyz with the One Winged Angel. Wolfe never tagged in and never needed to.
Nikki Cross bellowed to bring her Asuka after the match and then slammed her head into the turnbuckles. Eric Young cut a promo about how he humbled Tye Dillinger and is telling Dillinger he belongs with SAnitY.
**********
Liv Morgan defeated Billie Kay
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce’s ring entrance was absurdly long and Liv Morgan had to stand there and watch. Morgan kicked out of Eat Defeat a minute in. She made her comeback and won with a roll-up when she knocked Kay into Royce, who had jumped up on the apron.
**********
Tye Dillinger was staring off into the distance backstage and said that he was not humbled by SAnitY and will also not be joining them. Dillinger was about to talk about being in the Royal Rumble when SAnitY attacked him! They beat on Dillinger all the way to the ring when Roderick Strong and No Way Jose ran in for the save.
The three of them teamed up to send SAnitY fleeing for the back.
**********
William Regal was backstage and announced Tyler Bate vs. Trent Seven for the WWE UK Championship next week.
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce stormed into the office and demanded a match against Liv Morgan. They wanted a handicap match, but when Mr. Regal made a tag team match (allowing Morgan to team with anyone) they began laughing saying Morgan has no friends.
**********
The Revival defeated Heavy Machinery
Heavy Machinery is Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic, and they have officially re-debuted on TV. They originally wrestled together during the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic after being a regular team on the NXT house show circuit.
Knight and Dozovic towered over The Revival. At one point Knight had Dash Wilder up with a bearhug and then literally threw him into the arms of Dozovic, who had his own bearhug.
The former two-time champs got the heat on Dozovic. Knight got the hot tag and ran wild on The Revival. Knight went to tag out, but Wilder pulled Dozovic off the apron. Knight chased Wilder all around the ring, but when he rolled back in, Scott Dawson kicked him in the gut and pinned him with a DDT.
The Revival cut a promo, reminding people that they are the greatest tag team in NXT. They stated that they were the Tag Team of The Year, which led to a few fans chanting that they deserve it. Revival said DIY never deserved to be Tag Team Champions, which was proven when they got demolished by The Authors of Pain. They said they have carried the tag team division and said that at NXT TakeOver: Orlando, they will make the AOP a footnote.
Before they could leave, out came the new NXT Tag Team Champions, The Authors of Pain. Revival ducked out of the ring, pantomiming that they won’t wrestle until money and the championships are on the line.
As AOP backed up the aisle, The Revival ran in from out of nowhere, attacking Akam and Rezar from behind! They knocked Akam off the ramp, kicked Rezar a few times, and then ran away.
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SAnitY vs. Dillinger, Strong & Jose was made for tonight’s main event.
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To prepare for his title defense against Trent Seven next week, we got a video package for Tyler Bate.
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It was time for the Glorious Celebration! For the first time since becoming the NXT Champion, Bobby Roode has arrived in Full Sail University. Roode must have watched Billie Kay and Peyton Royce’s entrance from earlier as he decided to somehow take even longer walking to the ring.
I just wanted to mention, as a quick trivia note, when the current NXT debuted in June 2012 and crowned their first champion, the TNA Champion was Bobby Roode.
Roode said he is not the guy to walk around and say that he told you so, but then began laughing, saying he is totally that guy. From the moment he stepped into an NXT ring, he told everybody that he was on a completely different level. Night after night, TakeOver after TakeOver, he proved just that.
Roode said Shinsuke Nakamura dominated Japan for a decade (he stopped to tell people what a decade was) and then he came to NXT and defeated every person he got in the ring with…except Roode. Nakamura hit him with everything he had, including the Kinshasa, and despite that he still didn’t get the job done.
He said winning the title was the single greatest moment in NXT history because now they have a real champion. He did a little bit of a Ric Flair strut and said it is no longer “We are NXT,” it is Bobby Roode’s NXT. He finished by saying this NXT is simply glorious.
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Next up we got a Trent Seven video package, discussing Mustache Mountain and showing highlights of the UK title tournament.
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SAnitY defeated Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong & No Way Jose
SAnitY was in the opener and the main event this week. After each babyface had made their individual entrances, they attacked SAnitY on the ramp.
Jose and Wolfe grabbed each other’s hair and beard, but Jose got the better of their interaction. Young tagged in and Jose again got the better of EY. Finally Dain tagged in and got sustained offense on Dillinger while screaming at the other babyfaces.
Dain tagged out, which allowed Dillinger to make the hot tag to Strong. Strong heaved Wolfe into the air for a backbreaker. Strong went for a Sick Kick on Young, but Dain tripped Strong. Dillinger hit the Tye Breaker on Young but, behind the referee’s back, Nikki Cross gave Dillinger a hurricarana over the top rope.
While that was going on, Dain ran over Strong and Young pinned him, giving SAnitY the win.
So that does it for this week. Thank you all for reading and until next week remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
The Big News: It was Corey Graves’ last night so they aired a lengthy tribute video to him.
The Medium News: Tyler Bate made his first appearance since the UK Championship tournament and defeated Oney Lorcan.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Kassius Ohno returned in a backstage segment, consoling Shinsuke Nakamura after Nakamura lost the title.
*******
The show started with a video recapping NXT TakeOver: San Antonio. As I mentioned on Saturday, this show greatly exceeded expectations and I would make sure to check it out if you haven’t already.
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Corey Graves is still on the show. I know this was taped before TakeOver, but they did imply that Nigel McGuinness would be taking over this week.
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Ember Moon defeated Aliyah
Aliyah is seemingly an unknown babyface. She got almost no reaction coming out except for a few people booing who assumed she was a heel.
Moon used an abdominal stretch where she pushed Aliyah’s head down further, to the point that her body was completely bent over. Aliyah got some offense, just enough to show that she is far from ready for a bigger role. Moon walked up the ropes with a moonsault press for a two count and then finished off Aliyah with The Eclipse.
*******
We got an Eric Young promo from after TakeOver. Then they showed Tye Dillinger in the Royal Rumble and him being excited about taking part. They also had a post-match promo where he said that the whole experience was surreal.
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That brought us to the Asuka video package. Asuka said her match was tough, but she is still champion. Asuka laughed about Ember Moon challenging her, asking if Moon actually works here.
*******
Ember Moon cut a promo after being told what Asuka said about her. The interviewer recited the question in record speed. Moon said she is happy Asuka won because she wanted to be the one to dethrone her and Asuka will know who Ember Moon is.
*******
WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate defeated Oney Lorcan
Bate walked to the ring waving to everyone. This was a solid match that the crowd got into. Bate used the airplane spin and then the Tyler Driver ’97 for the win. Bate did the same thing he did in the UK tournament where he did the spin, stopped and teased being too dizzy, and then continued for a few more rotations.
*******
Roderick Strong cut a post-TakeOver promo, saying beating Andrade “Cien” Almas was a statement and he is continuing his quest to be NXT Champion.
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We move to the NXT Tag Team Championship match from Saturday. Paul Ellering, after the match, said they are the new sheriff, the new law, they will show no mercy and take victory at all costs.
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Then we got the recap of the NXT title match. We got footage of after the show went off the air where Shinsuke Nakamura was helped to the back and treated by the trainers. Chris Hero/Kassius Ohno made his return on TV, telling Nakamura that the situation really sucks.
Bobby Roode was elsewhere and offended that he would be asked if he still would’ve won if Nakamura hadn’t been injured. Roode said that when he debuted he said this was his NXT and now the Bobby Roode era has begun. Of course, he finished by saying his title reign would be glorious.
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Next week will be Bobby Roode’s glorious celebration.
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Tom Phillips wished good luck to Corey Graves, since tonight is his last night on commentary in NXT. We got a lengthy video package covering Graves’ career, from in the ring and then to the broadcast booth.
This was a really good video package. It’s available to watch below:
*******
No Way Jose defeated Elias Samson
Graves spent minutes flipping out that the last match he was calling featured The Drifter. As always, Samson got the go away heat from people not wanting to hear his song.
Samson ran across the ring with a dropkick at the start of the match, but Jose took over quickly. Graves was suddenly thrilled with leaving Samson, Tom Phillips, and Percy Watson behind when he was reminded that he still had to deal with Byron Saxton.
Samson finally got the heat when he crotched Jose on the top rope. Jose made his comeback, hitting chops and won with the pop-up punch to the face.
So that does it for this week. Thank you all so much for reading and until next week, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
– Wolfgang defeated Aaron Solow in a squash match after hitting a moonsault. Wolfgang was from the UK tournament
TV Taping:
– Ember Moon defeated Aliyah with the Eclipse (off the top stunner) in a short match. Moon is originally from Dallas, so she got a nice reaction.
– WWE UK Champion Tyler Bate defeated Oney Lorcan with the Tyler Driver ’97 (sit-out double underhook powerbomb). Bate’s airplane spin was over with the crowd, getting them to chant to 10.
– No Way Jose defeated Elias “The Drifter” Samson after hitting the fastball punch. Samson was the only person to get a good heel reaction this far while Jose was loved as he cut off Samson’s pre-match promo.
Other Notes:
– On the pre-show, it was announced that Nigel Mcguinness will take over for Corey Graves on the NXT announce desk after tonight.
I’m here at the new Orlando NXT live event venue, with an estimated crowd of 450.
– Dan Matha won a 15-man battle royal
Oney Lorcan, Tino Sabbatelli, Tucker Night, Niko Bogojevic, Dan Matha, Kenneth Crawford, Gabriel Ealy, Uriel Ealy, Angelo Dawkins, Patrick Clark, Bin Wang, Adrian Jaoude, Brennan Williams, Dallas Harper, and Babatunde Aiyegbusi were in the match.
– Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Lince Dorado
Fast paced match until Almas suckered Dorado in with a handshake before jumping him. Almas punished him and finally won with his leg sweep DDT.
– Daria Berenato defeated Mandy Rose
Rose was no match for Berenato in this one. Berenato won with a shining wizard.
– Riddick Moss defeated Cedric Alexander
Very good match, crowd was all over Moss and were into Alexander. Alexander hit a big dive to the outside, and he had control until Moss stole the win with a roll-up. Moss kept stomping a mudhole in Alexander after the match until he fought back and hit a lumbar check to send Moss packing.
– Hideo Itami defeated Beautiful Blonde Blake
A lot of taunting by Blake and he even blew a kiss. Itami was having none of it and won it with a GTS. Female referee Nikkan Lee worked this match.
Nikki Cross was going ballistic at ringside as per usual. The heel team put a hurting on the quicker TM61. Thorne and Miller got a few hope spots, but Fulton and Wolfe hit their double team overhead side slam for the win
Nikkan Lee also refereed this match. Kay used an early distraction to keep control of this one before Asuka was able to run wild, knock Royce off the apron, and apply the Asuka Lock for the win
– NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, No Way Jose & Tye Dillinger defeated Buddy Murphy & The Authors Of Pain
All types of comedy spots in this match. Nakamura kicked Murphy in the mid section, then did the cross arm swaggy taunt. He kicked Murphy again near the ropes, which doubled Murphy down to the YeaOh position so Nakamura ran to the opposite side of the ring and did a YeaOh of his own.
The Authors kept control of Jose when they were involved in the match to build up the hot tag. Shinsuke ran wild and hit the Kinshasa for the win.
Notes from Erik Patrick Thibault, Andrew Lee, and Chris Harrington from the Roy Wilkins Auditorium
– Rich Swann defeated Tino Sabbatelli with Rolling Thunder (9:30)
Tino would show his abs to get some heat and Swann would pose for a pop. They traded push-ups for some more crowd reaction, and then traded clapping push-ups. Swann won with a somersault into a senton.
– Peyton Royce defeated Daria Berenato with a fisherman’s suplex (10:00)
Peyton used the ringside time keeper to buy time. Zero moves in first two minutes of match. The story of the match was Peyton would run away from Daria but Berenato would dominate if she took control. Daria looked good after a nice takedown and then she hooked a guillotine. Peyton’s strikes need work. Peyton escaped a bad-looking heel hook, hit a nice knee to the head and fisherman’s Suplex for the win.
– Hideo Itami defeated Austin Aries with the GTS (10:45)
Austin Aries came to ring billed from Wisconsin and wearing Green Bay Packers green and yellow Zubaz for easy heat. Itami raised the hand of a Vikings fan at ringside. That led to “Let’s Go Zubaz, Zubaz sucks” chants. Aries wrestled the entire match in the We Are NXT shirt, a Packers headband and the Zubaz. Aries was frustrated he couldn’t beat Itami. He went for a chair and as the ref was pulling it away from him, Hideo pulled down Aries’ Zubaz, exposing His underwear, and then Itami hit the GTS for the huge pop and the win.
– Bobby Roode defeated Tye Dillinger (10:45)
Roode received a huge pop. Dillinger’s 10 chants over too. Both wrestlers did their signature poses to each other to stall before the bell rang. Comedy match to start but the fans loved it. Really clever spot where Dillinger stomped on Roode’s hands and Roode was shaking them out like Dillinger’s hand movements and the crowd would chant “10”. Tye went for the Tye Breaker but Roode tore off the turnbuckle. As the ref was putting it back on, Roode raked the eyes, hit a low blow and hit the Impaler DDT for the win.
Roode then attacked Dillinger after the match. Roode went for another Impaler but Dillinger countered into the Tye Breaker and we went to intermission.
They showed Riddick Moss cutting a promo in his first match in Minnesota in four years.
– Shane Thorne defeated Dash Wilder (11:00)
Match was supposed to be TM61 vs Revival. Dawson came out with a crutch, and cut a promo saying they can’t defend the titles in Milwaukee, and then Minneapolis. (Show is in St. Paul.) TM61 baited Wilder to come to the ring saying all the “real top guys” went to Raw or Smackdown. Crowd was dead silent for most of the match. Dawson would interfere occasionally. Thorne showed some great fire during his comeback, and won with a standing hurricanrana after Dawson tried to interfere with the crutch but Dash accidentally hit his partner.
– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka submitted Ember Moon (10:45)
Moon got a decent pop when she came out. Asuka was super over too. Dueling chants and “women’s wrestling” chants. Ember hit a beautiful middle rope cross body to the outside which got loud NXT chants. Asuka put on a beautiful submission. Ember countered a suplex beautifully. Ember’s comeback featured a fall away slam, somersault splash into the corner, and a beautiful springboard middle rope corkscrew moonsault. Ember missed a top top move and Asuka did a flying armbar and converted it to the Asuka lock. They got a standing ovation and hugged in the center of the ring after it was over. Great match.
– NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura & No Way Jose defeated Samoa Joe & Riddick Moss (16:00)
Not much of a reaction for Moss. He turned the crowd on him by saying his favorite part of being from Minnesota was packing his bags and leaving.
Crowd loved Joe and No Way Jose but Nakamura had everyone pumped up. Biggest pop of night. Nakamura threw his neck brace down on his way to the ring. Joe’s left elbow was really taped up. Nakamura took a few bumps towards the end, and Jose was in for almost the entire match. Jose took out Joe with a cross body block on the outside and Nakamura hit Moss with the Kinshasa for the win.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Sanity is coming!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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No Way Jose was happy about his win over Dawkins when Bobby Roode walked by, straightened his suit, and walked away.
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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!
Image c/o @WWENXT. Results gathered via Twitter. Estimated attendance of 400.
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Tino Sabbatelli
This was a fast upset win for the Brazilian Jaoude. Sabbatelli then took the mic proclaiming he wasn’t ready and would take another match. He bailed in a hurry when The Authors of Pain’s music hit.
– Ember Moon, Liv Morgan, & Danielle Kamela defeated Nikki Glencross, Aliyah, & Mandy Rose
– Angelo Dawkins defeated Dan Matha
– Sawyer Fulton & Alexander Wolfe defeated Patrick Clark & Kenneth Crawford
– Hideo Itami defeated Noah Potjes
– In-ring promo with The Ealy Twins, Gabriel and Uriel. These men are huge. They’ve worked security for most shows the past year and should be wrestling more soon.
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.
