The Princess Rant for NXT 8-26-2015

I’ve been looking for a writing project to get me back on the site regularly instead of just doing the Monday night threads and posting in the daily discussions. So after scanning through the Network for a couple of months I finally settled on picking up NXT around the third quarter of 2015. Mainly because this seemed to be right about the time that NXT started to find their stride. They had turned over some of the roster with Neville, Kevin Owens, Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks either moving to the main roster or in roster transition and working on the main shows while tying up loose ends in NXT. Meanwhile the next NXT roster was starting to take shape and Triple H was beginning to get much more aggressive in signing talent.

So we are going to pick this up after the first NXT Takeover: Brooklyn show.

The Princess Rant for WWE NXT August, 26, 2015

From Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Hosted by Rich Brennan and Corey Graves

We start the show with a review of NXT Takeover: Brooklyn and for reference here are the results of that show along with Scott’s ratings. His rant can be read here.

The results of that show are (with Scott’s ratings):

Justin “Thunder’ Liger def. Tyler Breeze (**1/2)
The Vaudevillians def. Blake and Murphy (NXT Tag Team Championship ***1/4)
Apollo Crews def. Tye Dillinger (**)
Samoa Joe def. Baron Corbin (***1/2)
Bayley def. Sasha Banks (NXT Women’s Championship ****1/2)
Finn Balor def. Kevin Owens (NXT Championship, ladder match ****1/2)

And now for the first match of the show.

Colin Cassidy, Enzo Amore & The Hype Bros vs. Dash Wilder, Scott Dawson, Jason Jordan and Chad Gable

The not-yet-named Revival and not-yet-named American Alpha are the heels tonight. Needless to say Enzo & Cass’s shtick is WAY OVER in New York. I can’t deny Enzo’s energy level either. The Hype Bros are of course Mojo Rawley and Zach Ryder.

Dash and Rawley start off and the Hype Bros do a snazzy double team for a one count. Dawson comes in as the crowd chants “We want Enzo”. Top-rope dropkick from Ryder gets two and the crowd gets what they want as Enzo tags in and does his rudimentary stuff before all eight men come in for a brawl and the faces clean house. Rawley hits Dash with a corner splash and Ryder follows with a Broski boot. Enzo dives over the top onto the other three as we take a break.

(Coming this fall: WWE Breaking Ground, Stone Cold Podcast with Edge and Christian, the final episodes of WWE Swerved, 24: NXT and WWE Live from MSG featuring Brock Lesnar.….all sounds amazing)

We’re back and the heels have taken over as Jordan pulls down his straps and hits Enzo with the running shoulder for two. Tag to Gable who gives Enzo an elevated armbar off the ropes. Ouch. Tag to Dawson, who continues the beating on Enzo. Double team and Dash gets a two count. The heels continue to cut the ring off as the crowd gains steam for Enzo. Gable comes in and Enzo sends him into the middle buckle but Gable gives him a monkey flip to deny the tag. Dash comes in and Enzo gives him a DDT off the ropes but Jordan cuts him off before the tag. Jordan misses the shoulder and Enzo fights off Gable to get the super hot tag to Cass.

Cass takes on a couple of guys and drops Gable with the boot and nails the empire elbow but Jordan makes the save. Ryder gives Jordan the rough ryder but gets a Shatter Machine for his efforts. Mojo gives Dash some sort of inverted samoan drop and Cass gives Gable a spinning bossman slam to set up the rocket launcher for a three count. Perfectly acceptable stuff to get the crowd pumped **1/2. I’ve said it before. Enzo and Cass were the perfect opening act for the main roster and anything more than that was overreaching.

— Neville asks Commissioner William Regal if he can take part in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Invitational and Regal obliges.

— Recap of Balor vs. Owens from the Takeover. Balor says he is on to bigger and better things in NXT. I think that was Owens’ final appearance in NXT before the call up.

— A special look at Emma from her beginning in NXT with the Emmalution and her goofy character to her call-up and then return to NXT as a much more serious character. I am a big Emma fan and I wouldn’t be surprised if she returned to the WWE at some point.

— Charlotte and Becky, at this point new members of Team PCB, talk about their upcoming 4-way and they agree to let the best woman win.

— A special look at Becky long before she became “the Man”.

Carmella vs. Eva Marie

Oof…the things I do for my people. Carmella was still working out the kinks to her intro. No moonwalk yet.

They do a little basic chain wrestling and the crowd is already on Eva Marie. Carmella with a shoulder block, atomic drop and a dropkick as both these chicks are working at a pretty basic pace to avoid disaster. Eva Marie drops Carmella with a punch and gets a surprisingly decent looking senton for two. The she goes for the resthold two minutes in. Carmella fights back with a top rope frankensteiner and does the Staten Island shuffle and running shoulder for two. Eva Marie comes back with a face smasher and sliced bread for the three count. This was probably better served as a scrimmage match in the performance center because they were moving at about 50% speed to avoid any significant botches. At least It was quick. 1/2*

— A recap of the Breeze-Liger match

— Breeze says that even though Liger won, he’s still Prince Pretty and Liger has to wear a mask.

— Quick interview with Emma and Dana Brooke

— A special look at Dana Brooke

— A recap of the Bayley-Sasha match, which arguably changed the course of women’s wrestling in the current WWE.

— Interview with Bayley, who is emotional and crying as her family joins her. It’s all super cute.

— Regal announces the opening match of the Dusty Rhodes tournament next week as it’s Baron Corbin and Rhyno vs. The Ascension

— Soon we’ll see the new & improved Bull Dempsey

— Kevin Owens leaves the arena after his loss.

“The Drifter” Elias Samson vs. Bull Dempsey

Well this was sooner than I expected for the new and improved Bull Dempsey. Dempsey, from the Greenpoint neighborhood in Brooklyn, gets the big hometown pop. He’s also trying out some of his “Bull Fit” gear that would be his final gimmick before he left. Samson is wearing some gear that John Morrison apparently forgot to pack. Dempsey takes over early and they fight over a headlock. Dempsey with an elbow but Elias fights back with a mule kick. Elias is mostly a kick and stomp guy at this point. A fist drop gets two for Elias and he goes back to the headlock. Dempsey fights it off and starts hulking up. Bull with a headbutt and the top-rope sit down splash gets the easy three count. This was really bad. DUD

— A recap of the Samoa Joe/Baron Corbin match.

— Joe talks about the fans in Brooklyn and how they got him through Corbin. He says that “Samoa Joe is here and he means absolute business.” You think this is a game? Hell no!

— Nia Jax is coming soon.

— Apollo Crews said that the Apollo nation has arrived and he is only moving forward from here.

— Recap of Vaudevillians vs. Blake and Murphy

— Blake and Murphy say they didn’t lose, they were robbed and Alexa is ready to get a hold of Blue Pants and it’s going to happen next week.

— A special look at Charlotte. She says she will main event Wrestlemania. Well shit…tell me the Powerball numbers while you’re at it Ashley.

Fatal 4-Way: Emma vs. Dana Brooke vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte

All four women in there at once. Charlotte tosses Dana, Becky tosses Emma so the Horsewomen can lock up but the end up giving Brooke a double dropkick and posing together. Let’s try this a second time. Becky wins a test of strength and does some nice arm work to take Charlotte down. Crowd is SOLIDLY behind Becky proving this isn’t a new thing. Charlotte with a snap mare and a unique variation of an Oklahoma roll that the crowd appreciates. Emma and Dana get back in the ring and takeover. They send Charlotte to the floor and double team her. Dana is not good at all and her wrestling gear is hideous. They send Charlotte into the covered barricade and we take a break.

Back in the ring and the mean girls are double teaming Becky while keeping Charlotte out of the ring. They take turns beating up Becky and give her a double suplex. Charlotte tries to save but Emma sends her back to the floor where Dana can rough her up. Emma with a double undertook slam and a cover but Dana breaks it up. Now the mean girls start arguing and Becky rolls Emma up for two. Dana hits Emma with an enziguri but Charlotte slides back in the ring and hits Dana with a neck breaker. A running boot for Emma and Charlotte gives the mean girls a double DDT for two. Becky hits Charlotte with a top rope drop kick and drops Emma and Dana with clotheslines. A nasty exploder suplex for Emma and one for Dana that gets two.

Emma back in and she gives Emma sandwiches to Becky and Charlotte and got the THREE count?!?! That looked bad. Like the referee or someone missed their cue. Even Emma wasn’t expecting that. Really disappointing and Dana was not ready to be in the ring with three upper-level workers. Team PCB gets their heat back by beating up the mean girls. Probably would have been better suited as a tag match to put the NXT talent over one last time. **

Bottom Line: Nothing offensive here but it’s going to get so much better. Nice to see a match that featured some of the tag teams that would be a big part of NXT for the next year.