WWE NXT -August 5, 2015
by Samoa Rowe
-From Winter Park FL, in memory of Rowdy Roddy Piper. Our hosts are Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, and Rich Brennan.
Charlotte vs. Bayley
The story here seems to be that Bayley got left out of the Divas Revolution on Raw and she wants to prove she’s among the best. These two former enemies share a respectful handshake and evenly trade holds. Charlotte traps Bayley in a head scissors and flips her around. Bayley doesn’t quite deliver a drop-kick under the turnbuckles but the camera work protects her. Charlotte starts working the head through a commercial break. Bayley makes a comeback, complete with a flying forearm. Bayley tightens her ponytail and hits an overhead suplex. A Bayley-canrana earns a near fall. Neckbreaker/spear sequence gets Charlotte a 2 count. Bayley reverses the Figure 8! Bayley absorbs some chops and backslides Charlotte into a 2 count. The Belly to Bayley Suplex connects but Charlotte kicks out! Charlotte survives a German suplex and school boys Bayley into the turnbuckles. A top rope Belly to Bayley suplex finishes Charlotte at 9:21! Holy upset! Really exciting back and forth match, with some surprising moves tossed in, ***¼.Winner: Bayley
-Bayley puts a headband on a young girl in the front row, causing the girl to wipe tears from her eyes afterwards. That’s hella sweet. Memo to WWE: DON’T SCREW THINGS UP WITH BAYLEY. Pushing her the right way is permission to print money.
-Michael Cole has a sit-down interview with Kevin Owens. Kevin gets offended by insinuations that his apology last week wasn’t sincere. Owens has an amusing line about needing the NXT title back because it reminds him of what he did to Sami Zayn. Kevin is worried about getting screwed in his upcoming title rematch with Finn Balor in Brooklyn and asks for a ladder match. Cole asks if Kevin thinks he can beat the demon, prompting Owens to storm out. Excellent segment that makes me angry about the news that Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn aren’t behind Owens because he’s fat.
-Bull Dempsey watches his workout montage on a phone. This inspires him to get into shape for real and heads back to the performance center for another montage. Things seem to be going better, until he drops some weights onto his chest and needs help.
Baron Corbin vs. Steve Cutler
The End of Days connects at 0:22. No crowd counting this week. Not encouraging, but too short to bother me.Winner: Baron Corbin
-Bayley visits William Regal in his office. She humbly asks if she can have another NXT Women’s title match. Regal agrees that she’s been working hard and books her against Becky Lynch in a #1 contenders match. Bayley resists the urge to hug Regal and shakes his hand instead.
Tyler Breeze vs. Aaron Solo
Breeze is lobbying for a feature match at Takeover: Brooklyn and puts the boots to Solo. Breeze absorbs a chop and unleashes a flurry of punches. The Beauty Shot ends it at 0:55. Good enough, and I kind of like having two short squash matches in the same segment.Winner: Tyler Breeze
-Breeze poses for his selfie stick when William Regal interrupts. Regal says he scoured the Earth for an opponent for Breeze and found Jushin Thunder Liger! Cue the Liger hype video, introducing him to all the North American fans who may not be familiar with him.
-Uhaa Nation, who still hasn’t been given a WWE name, talks about wanting to be the best while training footage shows just how awesome he is. Actually, he’s now Apollo Crews and will debut at Takeover: Brooklyn.
-Byron Saxton interviews NXT Champion Finn Balor in an awkward face-to-face standing interview in the locker room. Balor isn’t surprised that Kevin Owens struck William Regal because he’s gotten to know Owens well since they came to NXT together. Saxton asks about Sami Zayn, whom Finn considers a friend, but he’ll resist the urge to make the rematch about revenge. Finn doesn’t commit to a ladder match, but vows to prove that his title win at Beast in the East wasn’t a fluke.
Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder vs. The Hype Bros. (Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley)
Rawley manages to outwrestle Dawson, which must be pretty embarrassing. Ryder continues the momentum with a flapjack. Wilder distracts long enough for Dawson to counter Ryder’s turnbuckle punches and take control. Dawson slams Wilder onto Ryder during a short heat sequence. Mojo gets a lukewarm tag and plows through Wilder. Mojo hoists Wilder up for a flying Rough Ryder for the win at 3:34. The Hype Bros. have a tiresome gimmick, but I love that finisher, *½.Winners: The Hype Bros.
-Dawson and Wilder are sore losers and beat up the Hype Bros. after the match. The put Ryder down with the 3D into Codebreaker, which they’re calling the Shatter Machine.
-William Regal chats with the Vaude-villains in his locker room. He grants them a title rematch against Blake and Murphy, and even though they aren’t willing to put their hands on Alexa Bliss, they should consider finding a way to contain her.
-Back to Bull Dempsey’s training, it turns out he was able to handle the weights after all! Other trainees gather around as Bull struggles to flip over a huge tire but ultimately succeeds! These segments are winning me over.
Samoa Joe vs. Rhyno
I’d call this a dream match, but I’m pretty sure I saw them face off in TNA a few times, but it’s been long enough that it feels novel again. They exchange holds and hard shoulder blocks. Joe jabs Rhyno into the corner but Rhyno responds with a knife edge chop. Joe nails a nice suicide dive but Rhyno brawls his way back into the contest. Spinebuster by Rhyno gets a 2 count. Cue the commercial! Back from break, Joe counters with an STO to stay in the match. Joe builds steam, hitting a back senton for 2. Rhyno returns the favor with a Samoan drop. Leaping big boot by Joe but Rhyno comes back with a belly to belly suplex. Joe blocks the Gore, but Rhyno blocks the Rear Naked Choke. Rhyno looks for a Rhyno Driver, but Joe nails an enziguri and Muscle Buster for the win at 8:52! Good hard-hitting match that never quite left second gear, **¾.Winner: Samoa Joe
Final Thoughts: Two good matches bookend quite a bit of midcard development for Takeover: Brooklyn. Easy Thumbs Up.
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