NXT
January 8th, 2015
Welcome to the second NXT Cap of Re! This week we can look forward to a NXT Tag Team Championship rematch between The Vaudevillains and the Lucha Dragons . The story there being the wrong Villain got pinned at [R] Evolution! The other hyped bit of bidness for this the most wonderful hour of wrestling? Sami Zayn returns from his vicious beatdown at the hands of Kevin Owens (whose shirts FLEW off the shelf so fast that I didn't get MINE on the listed delivery date, December 26th, but yesterday January 7th!) So give me a second to pull on my "KO" t-shirt. We ready? Good!
Opening Montage (GONNA NEED A MONTAGE!) ends, crowd chants "NXT" and boom.
MUSIC!
We're starting off with Sami Zayn's music. Zayn is out in the favored T-shirt of Hall of Famers married to Beth Phoenix! Crowd starts the "OLE'S" and gives the NEW! NXT Champion a standing ovation. So he decides to ditch the mic and takes off into the crowd to celebrate! Awesome scene. Very cool impromptu celebration. He's back in the ring. Huge "You deserve it chant". Echoes of the night after Mania with Daniel Bryan. Good promo about what the belt means to him. About "Doing YOU! and being yourself". He then says the NXT Championship isn't HIS… its OURS! Sweet. brb…
**Scott Updates resume to say: NXT Champion**
and… we're… back. Uh oh… Sami dropped the "W" word. We here at cheap-heat would like to wish him well in all his future endeavors. Sami just named his fans the "Zayniacs", and we all play instruments and make the music. "OLE" breaks out. He turns the corner and gets to Owens. Letting Owens know he hurt him, but didn't end him. He's ready to defend that NXT Championship anytime anywhere.
MUSIC!
Out comes Adrian Neville to interrupt. Neville gives him props. Congratulates. Hand Shakes. Sami says Neville is entitled to a rematch!
MORE MUSIC!
Out is Regal. Crowd chants his name he quickly says its not about him, its about the men in the ring. He lauds them and the match they had at [R] Evolution, saying he's proud they're competing under the NXT Banner. He confirms that Neville is afforded a rematch and that NEXT WEEK!!!! We'll be getting Zayn vs. Neville for the NXT Championship. Giddyup! Sami's music plays. He exits. My feed lags. I curse… loudly.
REMINDER! – NXT Moves to Wednesdays at 8 starting NXT week. So if you want to make Wednesdays a three hour wrestling day, you'll be able to.
BACKSTAGE! … in BLACK AND WHITE!
Vaudevillains say why they're gonna be the NXT Tag Team Champions and how they're WAY More Manlier than we are. English did all the talking. Gotch just did squats and said "Thank You." English looks like Cesaro. When they can't figure out what to do with Cesaro in 4 months, again? They could call English up as a Cesaro Cousin.
REMINDER 2! – NXT Moves to Wednesdays.
IN RING!
Time for our first match of the evening. Hideo Itami's music hits. I forgot this match was made last week! Curtis Axel is out next. This could be a good match. Axel filling the void of a veteran presence down here could be very good. Plus its not like Axel has been doing much. Axel talks trash and gets the early advantage with kicks and chops. Itami is able to turn the tide with a running kick.
Line of the Match: "Will you guys focus on the match, PLEASE!" – while two of the three man booth are debating on Albert's ability to fit a hat over his giant cranium. I may not mark harder for anything else in this show.
Back in the ring. Axel is clubbing Itami. Hits a drop kick. Yells some nonsense. Tells crowd to shut up. Crowd laughs. Reverse Chin Lock… Of… DOOM! For the record ALL RCL's are "OF DOOM!" – even if I forget it from time to time. Axel hits a nice knee lift for a two count. Axel asks "Who is this guy?" Crowd glad to chant "HI-De-O" to remind Lil' Perfect. Huge leaping clothesline from Itami turns the tide. Tornado hot shot. Flying clothesline off the top rope gets a 2 and change count. Crowd starts chanting "GTS". They have a quick exchange of counters. Itami snap mares Axel and hits a spinning kick kind of like Kofi's "Trouble to Paradise", to a seated opponent. 1..2..3! Decent contest, not spectacular. Tough spot for both guys, imo. Hideo wants to make a mark in singles competition, and Axel is kicking off a bit of a NXT Reclamation, but in this spot no way is Axel winning, so he ends up dominating the offense, when people really need to see what Itami can do.
BACKSTAGE!
Nattie and Kidd are with Byron. Cat talk, apparently Kidd feeds his sick cats, mouth to mouth. Kidd shares his ambitions. He will be the NXT Champion and also the face of the SPCA. I'm awaiting him to say, "you can't spell FACT, without CAT."
HYPE!
Bull and Baron spotlighted as well as their impending issues.
IN RING!
Alexa Bliss is out. Announcers selling Banks breaking Bliss's nose last time they faced. Banks is out next. You know… Sasha wears kick pads, but does she use them? Announcer calls a modified sunset flip a power bomb. It was high velocity… NOT a power bomb. Bliss with a couple rolls ups with near falls. Banks gets Bliss in the ropes, and does her signature double stomp. Sasha hits the Banks Statement. She won't let it go to deliver a message, and plus she's a bad boss. Bliss taps. Banks rolls. Be interested if they CONTINUE with Charlotte/Banks. It feels like they may, but odd to have the heel chasing.
IN RING!
Breeze is out for a match. Breeze hasn't been around much. He took a holiday, or something. When Mizdow turns on Miz shortly, Breeze really is ready made to be part of Miz's "Entourage". Breeze working in WWE in a tag team is probably a good way to bring him up. Could keep Miz in the tag division which is good, as there are two WWE tag teams that have started the breaking up process. Chad Gable in his best Kurt Angle singlet. Gable is an Olympian. Immediately takes Breeze down and does some mat work. Crowd behind Gable. Breeze with the REVERSE… CHIN LOCK… OF DOOOOOOM!!!! Breeze trash talks while Gable tries to get to his vertical base. Gable with a nice throw. Gable locks in a rope assisted arm bar, breaks at four, but comes in and eats a beauty shot. Thanks for playing Chad Gable. Prince Pretty with the Pin.
If your'e wondering WHO Chad Gable is? He's the one in this picture you don't recognize.
BACKSTAGE!
Finn Balor speaking on his match next week with Kidd. Kidd gonna need more than nine lives to survive Finn Balor, and that is a FACT. Next week is shaping up nicely with Kidd/Balor and Zayn/Neville.
BEFORE THE BREAK!
While Breeze was celebrating a creepy blurry dude was watching from the uh… top of the arena? I think it looked like Marcus Louis, announcers played up the "mystery".
IN THE RING!
Vaudevillains are out for their Title Match. Lu! CHA! Out next. Crowd is telling me to put my dukes up, what they don't understand is I can't type this if my dukes are up! Dragons start off quickly. Sin Cara locks in a nice submission and turns it into a backslide for 2. But Gotch gets out, tags in English and the tides they are a changing. English tries to school boy Sin Cara through the ropes, but Cara lands on his feet. He drags Aiden out to an uncomfortable landing. Lucha Dragons hit stereo suicide dives and we go to commercial.
COMMERCIAL! – Daniel Bryan will be in ACTION on Smackdown's move to Thursday. Interesting.
Back in the ring Kalisto going for a running up the ropes, flipping arm drag, but Gotch grabs English's leg on the outside so Kalisto crashes and burns. A nice cradle side suplex from Gotch, and they begin to work over Kalisto. Quick tags. Lots of covers as they attempt to wear Kalisto down. Punt and then a tag while doing a head scissors. Sin Cara in and drops English. Cara hits the sunset bomb out of the corner. (announcers name for it.) Sin Cara ends up inside cradling English and hoisting him into… kind of a power bomb position. Kalisto goes to the top rope and does a corkscrew… uh… SOMETHING off the top rope in a flashy looking tandem finisher. Makes me feel good to know the announcers have no idea what the hell to call the move either.
AND STILL Your NXT Tag Team Champions!
We close with the tag champs celebrating and hearing one final reminder that our next dose of NXT is only SIX days away!
FINAL THOUGHTS!
Good, but not great show. It was about moving forward. Having Balor vs. Kidd and Neville vs. Zayn next week is pretty awesome from an in ring standpoint. Hopefully they get some time. Crowd energy was pretty flat, but this was the tail end of a tv taping. It'd be great if they taped bi-weekly. In ring nothing really clicked or stood out. Wasn't exceptional, but wasn't dreadful. I'm very interested i what they're doing with two of the divisions. While the NXT Championship is hotly contested and has all kinds of potential. But Women's Champion? We still getting Banks/Charlotte? and Unless the Villains can some how weasel another title match. The thing with the tag division? Is who lines up for the Lucha Dragons next? That division seems ultra thin right now.
