WWE NXT 12-18-2014 Review and Results

We get kicked off with the highlight package of NXT Takeover REvolution. That was followed by Adrian Neville making his way to the ring.

Neville talked about Sami Zayn and his match with him at Takeover. Neville said that it should be Sami out in the ring but he isn’t there tonight and that’s because of Owens. Out comes Owens. Neville told Owens what he did was shameful. Owens said if he wanted a fight he’s going to get one.

Following up was Becky Lynch interview, saying she realized that she only needed herself and Sasha Banks. This was followed by a video of Tyler Breeze saying he isn’t going to be around for a few weeks.

Becky Lynch vs Bayley

Becky came out with new gear, its pretty sweet. Bayley took control early and showed a ruthless side. Bayley dominated! Becky couldn’t get anything going until Becky targeted the injured knee. This was another fun Women’s Match. The NXT division destroys the main roster Divas division. Becky was able to apply a 4 legged clover on Bayley’s injured knee to get the win. Winner by Submission Becky Lynch

This was followed by a wwe.com interview with Charlotte. Charlotte gave Sasha credit but said Charlotte proved shes the most dominant women in NXT. It was announced after, that the Sasha vs Charlotte rematch will be next week.

Followed up the Vaudevillains show Regal a video of last weeks tag match, that shows the legal man wasn’t pinned. Regal tells Vaudevillains they will be rewarded a future rematch.

Bull vs Jobber

Bull destroys jobber and wins via flying headbutt, out came Baron. Winner Bull Dempsey

Baron vs Jobber #2

End of Days in 14 seconds, for the win for Baron. Winner Baron Corbin. Afterwards Bull shoved Baron and bailed through the crowd.

They then show us Sami being taken out on a stretcher last week. Enzo, Cass, and Carmella followed making their way down to the ring. Enzo, and Cass did their thing on the mic. Out came Ascension

Enzo and Cass vs Ascension

Cass dominated Viktor until Enzo tagged himself in. Enzo distracted because he was staring at Carmella, got caught by a STO. Viktor pinned Enzo. Afterwards, Ascension said the battle with Hideo and Finn isn’t over. Winner Ascension

Adrian Neville vs Kevin Owens

Owens did the usual heel moves of rolling to the outside every time Neville tried to get something going. This kept going until Owens annoyed Neville to the point he followed outside and Owens took over. They went to a break and came back with Owens in control. Owens hit Neville with a running splash to the corner. Owens dominated from this point. This kept going until Adrian got out-of-the-way of a Stinger Splash type move and Adrian started with the quick strikes speed moves.

Neville went for another top rope move but Owens caught him and countered into a firmans carry gut buster followed by a standing senton. Neville got advantage back with countering a super plex. Owens then got his advantage back by knocking Adrian off the top rope and then a spike DDT from the top rope. Neville hit a suicide cork screw on Owens and Neville landed on his feet! Great match! Finish saw Owens launch Neville into the corner post and it ended in a double count-out. Owens was not happy with that decision and he took it out on Adrian Neville. Owens hit Neville with an Apron Bomb just like he did Sami. Double Count Out

Very good main event and rest of the show was average. Which you have to expect with them coming down from the WWE card of the year. I give it a  B-

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WWE NXT Takeover REvolution Preview

It hasnt exactly been a banner year for the world wide leader in sports entertainment. With the whole CM Punk fiasco, The delay of the Network launch in the UK, being well under the subscription goals for the Network in North America, and top money making stars missing substantial amount of time due to injury, WWE just wants 2014 to end. There has been a shining light through all of this and that is NXT, especially the NXT specials and we get another one on December 11th. From Arrival in February until now each NXT special had the wrestling world buzzing in a good way, I dont expect this one to be different. REvolution is headlined by the NXT Title match between Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn, Neville has headlined every NXT special so far. Also on the card will be the Womens title match between Sasha Banks and champion Charlotte, the tag team title match between Vaudevillains and champions Lucha Dragons, and the grudge match between Finn Balor/Hideo Itami and Ascension. Time to jump right in on it all.

NXT Championship Match Adrian Neville (c) vs Sami Zayn, If Zayn loses hes gone from NXT

Sami Zayn is in the same boat as the WWE when it comes to 2014. Sami has built a reputation this year of not being able to win the big one, as a matter of fact he hasn’t won a match on a NXT special yet. Sami lost a classic to Cesaro at Arrival, Sami lost to Tyler Breeze at Takeover, and he didn’t win the fatal 4 way at Takeover 2. The thing that makes these matches interesting is they were the Match of the Night on each of those cards. Sami puts on a show for Full Sail every time that’s why he is clearly the crowd favorite against everyone but the WWE has to realize that Sami has to start winning some of these matches or the crowd is going to stop caring.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Adrian Neville. If I were Neville I wouldn’t want 2014 to end. Adrian has not lost a match on a NXT special yet and like mentioned before, he’s headlined them all. Adrian won the title at Arrival in a ladder match against Bo Dallas, successfully defended it against Tyson Kidd at Takeover and then successfully defended it again at Takeover 2 against Tyson, Tyler and Sami. Adrian is in the running for hottest superstar in WWE, not just in NXT, but because of the constant Neville winning, the NXT Universe has gotten bored, they are chomping at the bit to see a new champ. Neville doesn’t have the mic skills to keep them interested.

So how is this match going to go with such an interesting matchup? I think it’s going to be a last minute entry into Match of the Year candidacy. They’ve had matches before but I think they were being handcuffed by WWE due them not being on a NXT special. Zayn needs to win, WWE needs Zayn to win to make us believe him as a legitimate threat to anything. Neville is the longest reigning champion in history so he’s going to bring it. I see Zayn walking away with the NXT Championship and turning heel in the process. Maybe this is where Zayns real life close friend Kevin Owens makes his debut, helping Sami?

NXT Womens Championship Charlotte (c) vs Sasha Banks

It’s usually sad when best friends have a falling out, then make it their mission to ruin each other but not in Professional Wrestling! When it happens in Pro Wrestling we get rivalry gold and that’s what this has been. This thing between former BFF’s Charlotte and Sasha has worked well for both. Sasha has shown she can talk with the best females in the business and has the heel role down to a science. Sasha promos and actions when dealing with Charlotte is helping Charlotte come off as the great champion that may not be able to be beat straight up, and transitioned her into a full fledged face. I can’t say enough good things about Sasha performances lately, she has a few small things to work on in the ring but she has the It factor that gets thrown around a lot. This is going to be the first title match of many between these 2 over their careers in the WWE. I have Charlotte retaining but Sasha is the MVP of this rivalry so far.

NXT Tag Team Championship Lucha Dragons (c) vs Vaudevillains

The tag team division in NXT has come a long way in a calendar year. We’ve gone from Ascension destroying Jobbers weekly because there was no other teams to one of the deepest tag divisions in the business. Off the top of my head I can think of at least 8 legitimate tag teams, that is more than the main roster has. WWE has done a great job of transitioning the Ascension away from the title picture so they can smoothly call them up to main roster. In their place is Vaudevillains. Aiden English and Simon Gotch have picked up the heel ball and ran with it. After weeks of videos mocking Lucha Dragons with midget wrestlers and no response from the Dragons, Vaudevillains get their title shot. Kalisto seems to be the chosen one to take over for Rey Mysterio as the big Lucha wrestler in WWE, so I don’t see him losing the tag titles just yet. Lucha Dragons retain in what is most likely the opener to the show.

Hideo Itami/Finn Balor vs The Ascension

Hideo made his much anticipated debut at the last NXT special, Ascension welcomed him quite rudely. The battle has been on ever since, with the Ascension beating down Hideo most of the time, until Hideo finally brought in a friend. In an even more anticipated debut for me Hideo brought in Finn Balor, the Irish sensation who can do it all. Ever since then Hideo and Finn have been destroying the Ascensions world. I don’t see that stopping in this match. The Ascesnion are on their way to the main roster and this will be their NXT Swan Song. Hideo and Finn win this one.

 The Debut of Kevin Owens

Also being advertised is the debut of Kevin Owens aka Kevin Steen. Owens is the last of the big summer signings for the WWE to debut. The question is in what capacity does Owens debut? They could put him in a squash but with Corbin and Bull doing that every week it loses its awe factor. They could introduce him like they did Hideo but that would be a little too boring and safe. They can debut him by getting involved in a match, which I think they should do. I think they will do that, its going to be either the NXT Championship match or the Hideo/Finn vs Ascension battle. Sami and Owens are both from Montreal, came up through the Indy’s together, had a classic rivalry in ROH and have a very close friendship. I say Owens interfares on behalf of Zayn, gets him the win because hes tired of seeing his friend fail in the big matches. Zayn down the road takes exception with it, setting up a match at the next NXT special. Thats how I would and how I think Owens will debut tonight.

I don’t have anything left for you to read to get ready for the show, so go sit back and enjoy the show. For those of you that can’t, look for the review of the show after. Ill have all the fall out for you.

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WWE NXT 12-4-2014 Review and Results

The go home show for NXT REvolution was kicked off by the Womens Champion Charlotte.

Charlotte vs Mia Yim

Great to see Mia in a WWE ring but this was a squash, Charlotte beat her very quickly with the Natural Selection. Afterwards Sasha Banks comes out and after a terrible back and forth, Bayley came out. Bayley said Sasha need to shut her Ratchet mouth. Sasha attacked Bayley. After a distraction from Becky, Sasha hit the Back Stabber on Charlotte. Winner Charlotte

We got another Vaudevillains video of them making fun of Lucha Dragons.

Vaudevillains vs Team Fit

After this whole Vaudevillains vs Lucha Dragons thing is over I hope Team Fit gets a better push. Murphy and Blake are really fun to watch and deserve it. Vaudevillains got the win after they hit the Whirling Dervish on Murphy. Winners Vaudevillains

Regal is with Tyler Breeze, Regal blames Breeze for Louis disappearance seen last week. Tyson Kidd comes in and says he wants a rematch with Balor, but Regal makes it a tag with Itami/Balor vs. Kidd/Breeze.

Bull Dempsey vs Jobber #1

22 seconds and its over Bull gets the win. Afterwards out comes Baron Corbin for his Squash match. Winner Bull Dempsey

Baron Corbin vs Jobber #2

Bull stayed and watched on ramp. Corbin won in 13 seconds. Corbin beats Bull again. This is shaping up nicely for a big time battle! Winner Baron Corbin

Kevin Owens vignette followed. This was the best one yet.

Tyler Breeze/Tyson Kidd vs. Hideo Itami/Finn Balor

This was a good match to get the faces over before their match with Ascension next week. Hideo kicked Breeze in the back of the head while Breeze was seated to get the win. Afterwards Finn grabbed the mic and told Ascension to bring everything they have next week because Finn is bringing something they’ve never seen before. Winners Hideo Itami/Finn Balor

Final face off between Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn. Neville brings up that Zayn can’t win the big one. Neville also said Zayn was too nice and that’s his downfall. Out came Zayn and Zayn tells Neville that he isn’t his babysitter and that Zayn has done alright in his career. Neville tried to shake Zayns hand but that ticked off Zayn even more and the segment and show ended with Zayn slapping Neville, then walking off.

This was a decent go home show, it out over everyone on the card and made Charlotte look vulnerable since winning the title. B-

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WWE NXT Review and Results 11-20-2014

We get shown a highlight video of last weeks NXT title match, that is followed by the first match.

Becky Lynch vs Bayley

Bayley got control and dominated early. Becky didn’t get much offense in but did manage a roll up and pin after grabbing the tights. This was a quick match. Afterwards Charlotte came down before Sasha and Becky can do anything to Bayley. Winner Becky Lynch

We get a video of the Survivor Series main event and that is followed by the Vaudevillians. Vaudevillians call out the tag champs, they wanted their title shot now. They brought out midgets dressed like Lucha Dragons.

Vaudevillians vs Mini Lucha Dragons

Vaudevillians play around and squash the little guys. English hit one with a neckbreaker for the win. Winners Vaudevillians

We got a Kevin Owens vignette and I can not wait for this debut. 12-11-14 was shown at end of it.

Baron Corbin vs Jobber

End of days in 22 seconds and Baron gets the win Winner Baron Corbin. Bull Dempsey music played while Corbin was leaving and a Corbin vs Dempsey showdown was teased.

Bull Dempsey vs Jobber #2

About a minute and the flying headbutt from Dempsey. Winner Bull Dempsey

Tyson Kidd vs CJ Parker

Another quick match with Tyson hitting a dragon screw and then Sharpshooter for the win. Afterwards Tyson challenged Finn Balor to a match on NXT. For the love of everything right, give them time! Winner Tyson Kidd

Video of WWE 2k15 is shown. Followed by another funny video back stage of Cass, Enzo and Carmella. Enzo said you cant teach hand speed, you actually can.

Enzo and Big Cass vs Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson

Wilder and Dawson get very little offense in. Cass hit a big boot and Enzo followed up with the pin. Ascension came down after and took out all 4 participants in the match. Hitting Fall of Man on Dawson. Ascension then called out Hideo Itami and Finn Balor. Winners Big Cass and Enzo

We are followed by Sami Zayn in Regals office thanking him for giving him the time to go out and speak his mind.

Sami came down to the ring and asked Adrian Neville to come down. Sami asked for one more chance at the championship. Neville says that isn’t his call. Adrian is really plying up the limp. Out came Regal, Regal made it official for next NXT special Evolution on 12-11-14. Zayn added the win or done stipulation himself. Adrian didn’t want to put it in there.

Solid show, story lines progressed but matches were way too short. C+

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WWE NXT Review and Results 11-13-2014

This NXT was loaded with the future of this business, and one of those guys kicked us right off with Finn Balor coming down to the ring. Finn said he was the future, and was interrupted by Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel. Kidd told Balor he didn’t know anything about respect. Kidd and Gabriel cornered Balor until Hideo came down to make the save. William Regal made this match official.

Hideo Itami and Finn Balor vs Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd

Just saying those 4 names, did you expect a bad match? If so, shame on you. Finn landed a flipping dive to the outside on both Gabriel and Kidd, almost immediately. Kidd and Gabriel looked like a great team in this. Hideo was the recipient of the hot tag. Hideo and Finn hit the running corner drop kicks and Finn followed that up with the Double Stomp off the top rope on Gabriel for the win. Winners Finn Balor and Hideo Itami

We got highlight video of the first time Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn wrestled each other in NXT. Last year in a #1 contenders match for the NXT Title. Neville won the match via Red Arrow.

Sami was interviewed in the back after. Saying tonight feels different, that tonight is his destiny.

Sasha Banks vs Alexa Bliss

This was a very good match with Alexa looking pretty impressive. Alexa even hit a sunset flip Bomb but shortly after Sasha hit the Bank Statement to get the win. Winner Sasha Banks. Sasha challenged Charlotte to a title match after.

Adrian Neville was interviewed in the back and he brings up Sami not being able to win the big one.

Lucha Dragons vs Team Fit non title

This was a good tag match, Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy hit a bunch of fantastic moves. Dragons were at their usual greatness. Finish saw Kalisto hit an impressive Cork Screw dive off out of the ring and Sin Cara landing a Senton in the ring for the win. Winners Lucha Dragons

Vaudevillians have a quick interview in the back basically saying they are going to beat the Lucha Dragons for the titles.

NXT Championship Adrian Neville (c) vs Sami Zayn

Crowd was heavily for Sami. Entire building chanting Ole! Sami! and Sami’s better! Zayn got the advantage early being one step ahead of Neville. This match got going with a Flipping Dive to the outside from Zayn, followed by an Electric Chair Drop reversed transitioned into a Power Bomb by Zayn. I don’t know what it is but Adrian bores me. Sami set up for the Helluva Kick but Neville went down clutching at his knee until Sami got close and rolled him up into a small package for the win. Winner Adrian Neville. The show ended with Neville in the background talking to doctors and clutching his knee while Sami shook his head on the mat frustrated.

Good in ring work all show and interesting end to the main event. This Neville/Zayn thing isn’t over yet. I give it a B

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WWE NXT 11-6-2014 Review and Results

We got a Sami Zayn highlight video of his Road to Redemption wins so far.

#1 Contender Match Tyler Breeze vs Sami Zayn

Started this episode off with a huge match. Zayn and Breeze started off slow with Breeze trying to get in Sami’s head by bringing up how many times Breeze has beaten Sami. After a few hip toss from Sami, Breeze was able to ground Sami and take over for the better part of the match. In the middle of Tyler dominating Tyler hit a decent running back elbow into the corner. Sami kept trying to get something going but Breeze beat him at every turn including a twisting neckbreaker to get out of the Blue Thunder Bomb. Zayn went for a dive off the top rope but ate an impressive dropkick for his troubles. Breeze was very impressive in this one. Sami kicked out of the Super Model kick. Breeze started to get frustrated. Sami caught Breeze with an Exploder Suplex into the corner and that lead to a Helluva Kick for the win. Same set up that beat Titus. Very good match. Winner Sami Zayn

We then got Renee Young interview of Adrian Neville. Neville played the fighting champion and friend of Zayn role. Neville also brought up Zayn not being able to win the big one.

Dash Wilder vs Tyson Kidd

Side note before the review of this match, Byron Saxton sounds like Dave Penzer. Tyson dominated this match, including a viscous sling shot for the bottom turnbuckle. Nothing much else to say about this one, just Tyson dominating the match and getting the win by Sharpshooter. Winner Tyson Kidd

Backstage with Louis with a towel over his head talking to himself, saying that they will stop making fun of me, over and over again. That was followed by Renee Young interviewing Sami Zayn. Zayn said this road to redemption is very real to him. Sami said he is righting all the wrongs in his career. Sami wants the title shot next week.

Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch vs Charlotte and Bayley

Bayley and Becky started it off with Bayley showing the mean streak again but Becky got the advantage and tagged in Sasha. Bayley tagged in Charlotte but Sasha ran and tagged Becky back in. I really like Becky, Charlotte is clearly the class of the division in the ring but Becky is #2 in my opinion. Charlotte kept throwing Becky into the corner to let Becky tag out but Banks didnt tag in. Sasha wanted no parts of Charlotte. Sasha only got in when Bayley was in or Charlotte was down. Sasha grabbed Bayley tights on a roll up reversal to get the win for Sasha and Becky. Winners Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. I love how this Sasha and Charlotte rivalry is developing, Charlotte is chomping at the bits to get a hold of Sasha.

We then go to William Regals office were Renee gets the answer she was looking for. Zayn vs Neville next week for the NXT Title.

The Ascension came out to the ring to call out Hideo Itami. Viktor talked first, he said they tried to be patient but Hideo didn’t get the message. Connor then grabbed the mic and called out Hideo. Out came Hideo by himself. Hideo stopped on the ramp, smiled looked at the back and Finn Balor appeared on the screen. Its Prince Devitt! They hit the ring and the fight was on, NXT crowd chanted Yes! Balor and Itami hitting running corner dropkicks on both members of Ascension. Viktor was all alone in the ring, Balor hit a Pele which was followed by a running knee from Hideo. Connor came in and Hideo lead him into a Double Foot Stomp from Finn. This was done to chorus of “This is Awesome” chant from the crowd. This is what all us NJPW marks have waited for. Prince Devitt is one of the best in the world, on the mic and in the ring. This is Awesome.

Great start and end with a continuation of the Banks/Charlotte rivalry. Show is a B+ for me

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WWE NXT 10-23-2014 Review and Results

Ascension vs Tye Dillinger and Jason Jordan

Viktor and Jordan started it off, the beat down started quickly. Viktor and Connor started beating the brakes off of Jordan. Jordan did eventually manage to get a tag to Dillinger but he fared worse. Ascension landed the Fall of Man, got the pin. Total destruction. winners The Ascension Hideo Itami comes down to the ring to fight Ascension by himself. Hideo gets destroyed and eats a Fall of Man.

A video about Susan G Komen was showed.

CJ Parker vs Tyler Breeze

Match started out quick with Breeze hitting a launching Drop Kick from the middle of the ropes. MoJo Rawley came down to ring side and didn’t take his eyes off Tyler. Breeze eventually ducked the side kick and landed the Beauty Shot for the win. MoJo just stared at Tyler the whole time. winner Tyler Breeze

We got a quick interview backstage with Titus O’Neil, saying he was going hurt and punish Neville’s mind and soul. Titus said he’s going to win the title tonight. That was followed by a Baron Corbin vignette.

Vaudevillians vs Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake

Are Murphy and Blake calling themselves team fit or thick? Either way I’ve liked them teaming together. NXT has something with them. Gotch and English dominated most of the match while the crowd chanted “That was manly” a lot. Wesley Blake got the hot tag and cleaned house but a blind tag for Vaudevillians lead to Gentleman’s Congress for the win. winners Vaudevillians

Bayley vs Sasha Banks

Another Rainmaker style pose from Bayley, she needs to knock that off! Banks was hesitant to start but then they got going with a very good back and forth match. Not a better women’s division in wrestling. Sasha got the win after a Bank Statement out of no where. winner Sasha Banks Sasha attacks Bayley afterwards but Becky Lynch came down to make the save. It was a trap! Lynch attacked Bayley too. Lynch aligned herself with Sasha.

Backstage Promo with Carmella, Enzo and Big Cass. Enzo tells Carmella that he got her a match with Emma and then gets rejected by Carmella again.

NXT Championship Adrian Neville (c) vs Titus O’Neil

Neville tried to get his speed going early like Zayn did last week but couldn’t do it in the beginning. O’Neil got a hold of him and started throwing him around. Titus sat Neville on the rope and pushed him to the outside, hard fall for Neville. Titus rolled him back in but Neville kicked out. Titus continued throwing Neville around like he was rag doll. Titus started to have a tired look on his face as the match went on. An out of no where finish happened when Neville drop kicked Titus and then hit a Red Arrow for the win. winner and still NXT Champion Adrian Neville

Fun show, got a heel turn but I didn’t like the finish in the main event. B-

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WWE NXT 10-16-14 Review and Results

Baron Corbin vs Jobber

It was literally just Corbin hitting his finisher and nothing else. Winner Baron Corbin

Sami Zayn comes out and talks about being tired of losing, and that he’s better than that. Kidd interrupted him and they went back and forth until they challenged each other to a match.

Lucha Dragons vs Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake

Riley mentioned that Blake and Murphy are calling themselves Team Thick. What a stupid name. Looks like they will be an actual tag team in NXT and not just a squash team. Kalisto it an impressive 360 cross body off the ropes. Finish saw Sin Cara hit a Sunset Bomb on Blake to get the win. Fun quick match. Winners Lucha Dragons

MoJo Rawley cut a promo from the trainers room, and MoJo said it looks like he’s going to be out with a shoulder injury for a while. MoJo said he’s coming back with a vengeance because he stays hyped.

Charlotte vs Becky Lynch non title

Renee said that Charlotte had her eyes on the prize tonight and that prize is Becky Lynch. What!?!? so if Charlotte wins she gets Becky Lynch? Gets her in what way, Renee? I’ve said it before that Charlotte can do stuff in there that no other woman can. Charlotte is going to be a star. Lynch held her own in this getting a couple of near falls. This was another fun match that didn’t get a lot of time. I would love to see this again on a NXT special so they get more time. Charlotte hit the Natural Selection out of a neckbreaker for the win. Winner Charlotte

Ascension interview backstage. Connor told Hideo told to stay out of their way or he will get what Funaki got. Viktor than says he will put it in terms Hideo can understand, Sayonara. That’s borderline racist.

Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs The Legionnaires

Louis snapped on LeFort and took him out right when the match started and it was over. No official decision announced. Enzo and Cass grab the mic and says that they have time for another so they call out Ole Blue Pants aka Leva Bates. They then introduce her opponent Carmella.

Carmella vs Blue Pants

Carmella hits a drop kick and then applies a submission finisher that the commentators didn’t have a name for. Squash match. Winner Carmella

A back stage segment with Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. Lynch tells Banks that what Banks did is reprehensible. Sasha brings up Becky losing to Charlotte twice and that Becky should worry about that.

Neville is interviewed in the back. Neville says he’s tired of the Raw and Smackdown guys coming down to NXT thinking people should be afraid of them. Neville said he’s going to show the opposite next week against Titus O’Neil.

Sami Zayn vs Tyson Kidd

Extended feeling out process with Zayn cutting off Kidd at every turn. Kidd got the advantage with an impressive soccer style kick on the apron. They cut to a commercial and came back with Kidd still having the advantage. After some action, Sami hit an impressive flying Cross Body and Blue Thunder Bomb. Kidd fought back and eventually got the Sharpshooter but Sami got to the rope. Exploder Suplex into the corner was the setup to the Helluva Kick and Zayn got the pin. 3rd fun match of the night but not enough time, but that’s what you get when the show is only a hour. Winner Sami Zayn

Solid, Solid episode of NXT the matches were fantastic. Solid B grade for the show.

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Let Them Fly!

Close your eyes (but don’t really because how will you be able to read the  next part?), sit back and take a trip down imagination lane with me. Imagine a tournament, a 8 person WWE tournament for a championship. This tournament will last a month, being aired on all WWE main roster shows, culminating with the final of the tournament at a WWE Network Show, WWE PPV or special event. Now to the participants of said tournament:

1. Adrian Neville
2. Sami Zayn
3. Tyson Kidd
4. Justin Gabriel
5. Finn Balor aka Fergal Devitt
6. Kalisto
7. Sin Cara
8. Enzo Amore

Imagine the match possibilities when the tournament progresses from the above list, impossible right? Wrong! The WWE is loaded with world-class talent in the Junior Heavyweight/Cruiserweight division, it is now time to bring back that division and title. The WWE is struggling to make mid to lower card titles relevant. Let’s be real here they are struggling to keep the WWE World Title relevant. A breath of fresh air is needed. Insert the Junior Heavyweights.

NJPW arguably the best company in the world right now when it comes to in ring matches features 2 notorious Junior Heavyweight divisions that put on Match of the Night and Year candidates almost every show. 2 of the most talked about indy wrestlers out right now the Young Bucks, are a part of those divisions. They have the buzz right now that WWE needs in a mid card division. When you think of the top talent in Indy wrestling now, most of the talked about ones are at Junior Heavyweight. WWE can bring in people like Chris Sabin, Ricochet, Kota Ibushi. The list goes on.

Another argument I’m tired of hearing is once labeled “Junior Heavyweight” always labeled “Junior Heavyweight”. There are several examples of men that have successfully made the jump from Junior Heavyweight champion to Heavyweight champion. Rey Mysterio, considered one of the greatest of all time, he started as the best Junior Heavyweight in the world. Eddie Guerrero, Jeff Hardy, Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho all made the jump. Look at one of WWE current top stars, Seth Rollins is a Junior Heavyweight. Outside of the WWE there are current examples as well, Austin Aries and Kazuchika Okada come to mind.

A couple of weeks ago on Monday Night Raw, Smackdown and Main Event WWE had depleted rosters do to injuries and the roster making their way to Europe for the UK tour, WWE let 4 people from the above list get air time, and they didn’t disappoint. Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd continued their rivalry they have had all summer and fall. Kidd and Zayn had a fantastic match on Main Event. Tyson Kidd had a match of the year nominee on Smackdown.

These guys like Tyson deserve active main roster spots, showing what they can do. A Cruiserweight division will do that. WWE catches a lot of flak for not emphasizing the 2nd W in its acronym. Wrestling. Simple fix to that is letting these Cruiserweight’s loose. You will see qulaity in ring wrestling and you can keep the story line angles. Triple H is looking for new ways to keep the wrestling alive and I think Triple H will eventually bring it back. When Triple H does, sit back and watch quality wrestling.

As always,

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WWE NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way Preview

One of the 2 main reasons I purchased the WWE Network at its launch was NXT (the other being all WWE PPV). The weekly NXT shows always have top-notch matches and segments with characters like Tyler Breeze and CJ Parker putting it over the top as one of the best things going in Pro Wrestling. Part of NXT appeal is the 2 hour specials they do every few months. Starting with Arrival on 2-27-14 that saw Match of the Year candidate Sami Zayn vs Cesaro. That momentum was carried to Takeover and now Takeover: Fatal 4 Way. Fatal 4 Way is tomorrow night, the card looks to be stellar once again.

NXT Championship Fatal 4 Way
Adrian Neville (c) vs Tyler Breeze vs Sami Zayn vs Tyson Kidd

Were to start with this one? Zayn, Neville, Breeze, and Kidd have all been on fire since being put as the focal points of NXT, but let’s start with the Champ. Adrian Neville has main evented all 3 NXT specials and had match of the night contenders in the first 2 so far. Neville won the title in a ladder match at Arrival off of Bo Dallas and since has showcased why there is nobody in the world who can fly like the Man that Gravity Forgot. There are a few that can keep up with Neville but no one is better. Neville on the microphone however is a different story. Neville has yet to impress with a single promo, churning out mediocre promo after mediocre promo. This has hurt Neville’s reign and may end up being the reason he may drop the belt tomorrow night.

“Olé, Olé, Olé” Sami Zayn is one of the most anticipated main roster call ups of recent memory. From his classic 2 out of 3 falls match with Cesaro to the Match of the Year candidate rematch at Arrival to his Match of the Night with Breeze at the first Takeover, Zayn simply delivers on the big stages. Zayn is the most polished of the yet to debut main roster competitors, having wrestled all over the world from ROH-Japan. Zayn is ready for the jump, had been for a year and I think if it wasn’t for the injury that sidelined him for months, he’d be up. It’s a matter of time so I really don’t see WWE putting the NXT title on a soon to be called up wrestler but with WWE who knows, we may just see Zayn Helluva Kick somebody’s head off to win that title.

Prince Pretty, King of Cuteville, the Definition of Delicious, whatever nickname Tyler Breeze picks for that day doesn’t matter because in my opinion Tyler Breeze is the best thing going in NXT at the moment. Breeze has it all, the gimmick, the promo skills and the in ring work. From the ring announcer randomly informing us that Tyler is in the building to Breeze selfies, Tyler picked the ball up that Bo Dallas left when Bo got called up and ran with it. My favorite to win this whole thing, Breeze has to walk out the champion, he just has to.

The final participant is Tyson Kidd who has had a resurgence since going down to NXT after being out with injury for a year. Kidd was an afterthought, his WWE career wasn’t going anywhere and people started to know him simply as Nattie’s husband. Tyson is the veteran of the 4, with experience all over the world and a very underrated skill set. Kidd is the last graduate of the Hart dungeon and we all know if you graduated from that dungeon then that means you can flat-out go with the best of them. Even though he’s a long shot to win, Kidd has brought the best out of Neville and Zayn in singles competition and no reason to believe he won’t bring out of the other 3 tomorrow night.

NXT Divas Championship: Charlotte vs Bayley

The next generation of Flair is having a hell of a year, Charlotte distanced herself from the BFFs and struck gold at the first Takeover. Charlotte and Nattie had a great divas match for the title and Charlotte pulled off the win. Charlotte’s first big title defense will be against the lovable only wants a hug Bayley. Bayley has really come into her own in recent months and vaulted her way to a title shot. Bayley last week on NXT made the biggest statement of either Diva when she told Charlotte that she better take Bayley seriously because Bayley is seriously taking her title and then Bayley planted Charlotte with a Bayley to Belly suplex. From that moment it has officially been on!

NXT Tag Team Championship : The Ascension (c) vs Kalisto/Sin Cara

The tag team division in NXT has been a joke for the better part of a year and that coincides with the Ascensions title reign, that isn’t the Ascensions fault either. The WWE failed the Ascension by not giving them any practical title contenders. We’ve seen jobber team after jobber team get destroyed by the Champs and we got bored. Kalisto and Sin Cara are the first team that feel, look and act like a team. This match will be power vs speed, and Kalisto’s second time in as many Takeover shows challenging Ascension for the tag titles. I wouldn’t be surprised if the titles change hands here, it will breathe life into the division, free up the Ascension to move to the main roster and revive the Sin Cara character all in one swoop.

Hair vs Hair Match Enzo Amore vs Sylvester LeFort

The title says it all in this match, this rivalry has escalated to the point were either LeFort or Amore will lose their hair if they lose. Amore and Big Cass have been very entertaining since Amore’s return from injury and I expect them to be the next challengers to whoever wins the tag titles. Other than that this will be the comedic relief match even though both LeFort and Amore can wrestle.

MoJo Rawley vs Bull Dempsey

I’m not going to spend too much time on this for one reason, Mojo Rawley is terrible. Mojo is awful in the ring, and his promo’s stink. The jury is still out on Bull however, its young in his NXT career and he has shown promise with his in ring work, the sample size for his promo’s is too small. Bull should win this one rather easily.

KENTA is also being advertised to be at Takeover, but in what capacity is unknown. KENTA needs to be in a NXT ring immediately. KENTA has been signed for some time now and its time NXT fans, WWE fans and North American fans see how special he really is.

This should be a good show, NXT always brings it when in the spotlight and this will be no exception. Look for the main event to be a match of the year candidate

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