The Princess Rant for NXT 9-2-15

First week got pretty good numbers and good feedback so let’s keep it going.

Tonight is the start of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

The Princess Rant for WWE NXT September, 2, 2015

Taped from Full Sail University in Orlando, FL

Hosted by Rich Brennan and Corey Graves

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinal: The Ascension vs. Baron Corbin and Rhyno

The crowd gives the Ascension a nice pop and “welcome back” chant. Viktor and Rhyno start it off. Viktor with some uppercuts and a shoulder block before both guys tag out. Konnor drops Corbin with a shoulder and then a double-team shoulder block gets two. Another quick tag and a double team before Konnor stomps a mud hole in Corbin and walks it dry for two. Viktor is back in and drops Corbin with a beautiful jumping knee but Rhyno gets involved and Corbin sends Viktor into the ring post. Viktor comes back with uppercuts in the corner but Rhyno gets a running tackle and tags in Corbin. Not much from Corbin but he cuts off Viktor’s rally with a spinning slam. He misses a running punch though and gets floored with a lariat. Hot tag to Konnor, who pounds on Rhyno and drops him with an uppercut. Corbin misses a clothesline and Konnor takes out both men. Rhyno misses a Gore and Konnor hits a flapjack. Ascension set up the Fall of Man but Corbin pulls Viktor out and Rhyno hits Konnor with the Gore to get the pin. Corbin showed nothing here but Viktor seems like he’s worth a re-packaging at some point. **

— Neville and Solomon Crowe will be tagging and Crowe says it’s an honor to be a partner with the greatest NXT champion of all time.

— Nia Jax is coming…eventually

Alexa Bliss vs. Blue Pants

Alexa is announced as being from Cleveland and both commentators comment on that by wondering if she moved (she’s from Columbus, Ohio)….little things like that I love from an announce team that’s allowed to think for themselves. It shows a knowledge of who and what they are watching. Although Blue Pants was treated as a big deal at the Takeover where she helped the Vaudevillians win the tag titles, she was just enhancement talent for the most part.

Alexa just goes to town on her with ground and pound. Lots of screaming and hair pulling from Alexa, she’s got all the mannerisms and character aspects down but she was really basic otherwise, not much has changed. Blue Pants tries to fight back but Alexa continues pounding on her in the corner. Crowd tries to get behind Blue Pants…figuratively so don’t get any ideas. Blue Pants hits a forearm and a northern lights suplex for two but misses a corner charge. Double knee from Alexa and the sparkle splash finishes it. Basically a squash.

— William Regal meets with Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa…Wow Ciampa looks weird with a dark mohawk. Tyler Breeze interrupts the meeting and says he NEEDS to win the Dusty Rhodes classic and asks Regal to find him a partner. Regal admonishes Breeze for interrupting him and calls Gargano and Ciampa “the hottest free agents in the entire industry”…man was THAT some foreshadowing. Regal says Breeze will get a chance to get in the tournament by facing Ciampa and Gargano and gives him Bull Dempsey as a partner. Breeze is not happy. Of course Ciampa and Gargano just standing there for the whole segment, saying one line between them.

— Apollo Crews is next.

— A quick recap of Emma winning the Fatal 4-way match last week and Emma says she started the Diva revolution and needed to remind everyone that there’s no Diva revolution without her.

Apollo Crews vs. Martin Stone

Stone is the original alias for Danny Burch. Crews gives him a couple of arm drags and a very nice dropkick before going back to the arm. He misses a corner splash, however, and Stone comes off with a clothesline and mocks Crews with a pose. Crews comes back with a standing enziguri and a couple of clotheslines. The corner splash hits this time and Crews follows with a hanging clothesline. The press slam and standing moonsault finish it. Crews was full of charisma and life. He really needed a nice run in NXT as a top guy because he has the goods but they called him up way too early and stuck him in loser gimmick.

— The not-yet-named American Alpha and they say history is written by the winners and that will be them. Very good promo as they were still working out the kinks but there was some serious chemistry there.

(Jordan, in particular, has that look. He could have been an amazing heel in the Rick Rude sense or maybe he was the guy that the Authority could have gotten behind. He is super handsome with a great body but he also has the facial features that say “smug asshole”.)

— Interview with Finn Balor, when he’s is introduced as Samoa Joe’s partner in the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Right away they were being subtle but clear about Joe’s real intentions.

Eva Marie vs. Billie Kay

Yay…more Eva Marie matches…and there are actually dueling chants cheering for both women. Interesting. Eva Marie does a reversal and blows a kiss to Kay so Billie casually kicks her in the face for two. Eva comes back with shoulder blocks and a snap suplex for two. She goes for a hammerlock submission but Billie Kay reverses into a small package for two. “Let go Eva”…”Eva sucks” chants began. Corner splash and senton get two for Eva Marie. Eva goes back to a stretch hold and…I hate to admit but I’ve seen a LOT worse than her. Maybe that’s a credit to Billie Kay. Kay gets out of it with a hip toss and a lariat. Hanging suplex from Kay gets 2 and three-quarters for exceptional crowd heat. Man that was a solid troll job on Full Sail. Eva Marie comes back with a couple back elbows and sliced bread for the three count. Hey this wasn’t bad! **, which is like *****1/2 on the Eva Marie scale.

(The commercial is a trailer for Vendetta, starting Dean Cain and the Big Show. Looks like it was pretty much straight to video and one of the reviews say it’s “ the sort of B-movie violent auctioneer that makes you feel your testosterone level rising as you watch it.”. Cool.)

— Enzo Amore, Colin Cassidy and the Hype Bros celebrate their victory last week. They are ready to party. Cass is heading to Manhattan, Zach is heading back to Long Island and Mojo is heading “wherever the chicks are”.

— Next week in a Classic quarterfinal it’s Balor & Joe vs. The Lucha Dragons.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinal: Jason Jordan and Chad Gable vs. Neville and Solomon Crowe

Neville is going by his main roster name and no longer “Adrian Neville”. Crowd gives him a really nice welcome back pop. Gable and Crowe do a little technical chain sequence based around a headlock. Gable puts on a clinic, turning an ankle takedown into an armbar into a rollup for two as the crowd chants “We want Neville”. Flapjack from Crowe gets two and the tag to Neville. They grapple and Gable tags Jordan in who takes Neville down but Neville gets a rollup for two. Jordan goes for a German suplex but Neville flips out and hits two sidekicks so the soon-to-be American Alpha regroups as we take a break.

Back in and Jordan gives Crowe a waist lock takedown and tags Gable who stretches Crowe with the waist lock, back to Jordan and he destroys Crowe with an overhead suplex. Shoulderblock stampede from Gable and Jordan and then Jordan hits the running tackle as Crowe takes a powder. They were actually really good heels but they were so over they organically became faces. Crowe back in the ring and gets a kitchen sink knee for two. Jordan tagged in and he gives Crowe a modified camel clutch. Tag back to Gable and he ties Crowe in a bow and arrow that Crowe reverses for two. Both men tag but Neville is the hot man and drops Jordan with a variety of strikes. Pele kick for Gable and one for Jordan in the corner. He goes for Red Arrow but Gable pulls Jordan from the ring so Neville gives him a moonsault on the floor. Crowe hits Gable with a suicide dive.

Back in the ring Jordan catches Neville off the top and just casually tosses him halfway across the ring. Neville comes back with a super kick and Crowe hits a running knee in the corner. Jordan, however, destroys Crowe again with an overhead and a running shoulder. The not-yet-named Grand Amplitude (assisted German suplex) folds Crowe in half and gets the three count. Quality match ***1/2. If this wasn’t Crowe’s last match he was close to being done and heading back to the Indy circuit.

The Bottom Line: Catching American Alpha in their early days is well worth it and this was a great reminder of the type of talent that Neville is.