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December 21st, 2016 On commentary tonight, at Full Sail University, are Tom Phillips, “Showtime” Percy Watson, and Corey Graves. Opening Segment Singles Match: Billie Kay w. Peyton Royce vs. Daria Berenato Berenato’s in blue, Kay’s in black for this tilt. Berenato surprises Kay with her intensity and takes her down to the mat. Kay gets a little advice from Royce and she’s up on her feet. Kay circles around so as to allow Royce to attempt to trip Berenato. This allows Kay the opportunity to attack with a unique arm-hooking suplex for a 2 count. She follows up with a few taunts, to which Berenato responds with two heavy forearms. Berenato continues to strike with knees to the torso and then a spear off the ropes! The gloves are coming off and Berenato’s throwing bare knuckle punches on Kay. Royce rescues Kay and brings her to the outside to check on her. Berenato meets them on the ramp. She clocks Royce before rolling Kay back into the ring. Before she can return to the ring, Royce charges at Berenato and slams her into the ring apron while the referee was checking on Kay. He’s none the wiser as Kay delivers her big boot to Berenato’s head. That’s the knockout blow. Winner: Billie Kay via pinfall in 3 minutes Post-match, Royce unceremoniously throws Berenato to ringside. Kay gets a mic and says this is a lesson to everyone in the women’s division. This is your fate when your cross us. Royce calls out Asuka for saying there’s no competition left. Your competition is right here...when you have the guts to face them. One cool point for the clever teamwork of Kay and Royce. Their in-match strategy is but a microcosm of their reasons for teaming up in the first place. They are much stronger and successful together than they ever would have been separately. Wins like this give their alliance credibility and with Royce officially calling out Asuka, it seems they feel ready to bring their game to the next level. I know what the fans will be chanting when these women eventually fight... Second Segment Tag Team Match: Authors Of Pain w. Paul Ellering vs. John Ortagun and Anthony Bowens It’s the Authors’ first televised match since winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament last month. Bowens and Akam start this one...or should I say, Akam starts because he throws Bowens upside down into the turnbuckle. Rezar tags himself in. Akam lifts Bowens to sit on the turnbuckle and Rezar clotheslines him flat to the mat. He’s out. Now Rezar stares down Ortagun who’s on the apron. Ortagun drops down and heads for the ramp but Akam is waiting for him there. Ortagun says he’s not afraid just as Rezar splashes him in the corner. This is outright destruction. Akam and Rezar each pick up one of their opponents and proceed to powerbomb them, but not before doing their trademark where they bring their opponents up and hit them back to back. Ortagun is slammed first and Bowens is slammed second, his head knocking into his partner’s head or shoulder in a nasty way. The Authors try to set up their next double team move but Bowens is out cold, on his feet, and the referee stops the match. Winners: Authors of Pain via referee stoppage in 2 minutes. Post-match, Paul Ellering gets the mic and says all roads lead to San Antonio. They don’t care if it’s #DIY or The Revival, his Authors of Pain are on a seek and destroy mission to become nXt Tag Team Champions. One cool point for the Authors of Pain’s domination of their opponents. Probably didn’t plan to hurt them that badly but it works in their favour for building up how threatening they are to the Tag Team Division. Looks like a tag team title reign is just a matter of when, not if. Third Segment Recap: Earlier tonight, we see how Berenato lost to Kay. Graves compliments their teamwork. We see Royce and Kay dish an open challenge to Asuka. Backstage, Asuka has the nXt Women’s Championship over her shoulder and she’s asked for her response. Asuka says they are no competition for her. She looks to her left and sees Nikki Cross from SAnitY at the backdrop of the set, smiling. Asuka smiles back. That’s the second time their paths have crossed. Recap: We see highlights from last week’s qualifying matches for the #1 Contender’s Fatal Four Way match. Dillinger says it’s not the way he envisioned winning but he’ll take it. He needs to be the #1 Contender for the nXt Championship. Almas says No Way Jose is a nobody. He’s the only superstar and he only cares about himself. He spoke in Spanish for the interview. Roderick Strong has worked hard for a long time and this is the next step in his career. Roode says a star of his calibre should be holding the nXt Championship. He beat Almas in his first match. Dillinger, he beat him at his homecoming. Strong? He’s been here 10 minutes. He’s got no chance. Up Next: Fatal 4 Way #1 Contender Match Final Segments Fatal 4 Way Match to determine the #1 Contender for the nXt Championship: “The Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Roderick Strong vs. Bobby Roode Almas is in no hurry to wrestle. Neither is Roode who rolls out of the ring. Dillinger meets him there, as does Strong and Roode pays for his move with slaps, chops and punches. Almas kicks Dillinger through the ropes and joins them at ringside. Strong with a flying front kick through the ropes and that knocks everyone down again. He and Strong return to the ring where Almas winds up with a loud slap to the chest. Off the ropes, it’s Almas with a double running front kick and he lands on the mat, in style, lying with his head resting on his hand as if he were on the couch. *Commercial Break* On the return, Almas delivers another running front kick to Strong’s head and pins him for a 2 count. He keeps Roode from entering the ring and continues his beatdown of Strong in the corner. Dillinger’s up on the apron and he gets slapped off of it. Almas runs towards Strong in the corner, stops, and slaps him. Offensive! Strong notices and fights back with chops and forearms. Almas counters a gutbuster off the ropes and suplexes Strong to the mat. He mounts the turnbuckle but Dillinger clubs him in the back. He mounts the turnbuckle, too. Almas elbows him till he falls right next to Strong on the mat. Almas goes for the moonsault, lands on his feet, springs back for a back splash and gets kneed by Strong! Dropkick by Dillinger on Almas. He and Strong stare down one another in the centre of the ring. Roode rushes in and clotheslines them both! Roode throws Dillinger to ringside and begins laying into Strong in the corner with punches and chops. Strong fights back with right hands. He whips Roode off the ropes. Roode with the shoulder tackle. Roode stops his momentum. Strong catches him off the ropes, lifts him up and delivers a nasty backbreaker. 1-2- kickout by Roode. Dillinger rolls up Strong for a 2 count. He whips him off the ropes. It’s reversed. Beauty dropkick by Strong. Another on Almas, preventing him from entering the ring. Roode catches him though and delivers a glorious suplex. 1-2- kickout by Strong. Roode knees Strong in the back. Leaping knee to Strong’s head. Another close 2 count. Dillinger’s back in the ring...for a few seconds, until Roode tosses him out. He chokes Strong along the middle rope. Strong gets a few moments to punch back but it’s Roode replying with a neckbreaker. Another 2 count pinfall attempt and Strong is failing. Roode won’t let anyone else enter the ring. He goes to run the ropes but Strong follows. Knee to the gut. A modified Olympic slam! Roode stumbles on the outside where Dillinger and Almas have gathered. Naturally, Strong sees the three and proceeds to do a somersault splash on them! *Commercial Break* On the return,Strong rushes from his corner to Roode’s...and gets an elbow to the face. Roode pins him and uses his legs on the ropes for leverage. The referee catches him and stops the count. A warning is given. Roode’s firmly in control. It takes a few minutes for Strong to fight back again. He counters a suplex attempt with a Gordbuster! Running knee to Roode’s head. He lifts him up on to the turnbuckle and joins him there for a superplex. Almas clubs Strong in the back and puts his head under Strong’s legs. Dillinger rushes in to powerbomb Almas while Strong suplexes Roode. Devastation! Roode’s out at ringside. Dillinger’s lowering his knee pads and preparing to take out Almas. The two trade punches and chops. Almas charges at Dillinger and is lifted up and over the ropes to the apron. Strong tries to hold him in place and receives a dropkick from Almas for his efforts. Dillinger with an inside cradle pinfall attempt on Almas...gets the 2 count. The two trade punches. Almas gets more right hands in and then a big boot to the face of Dillinger. He taunts and puffs up a bit and rushes in with a running knee. He can’t follow it up though cause it’s Strong with a Sick Kick! 1-2-3. Elimination: Andrade “Cien” Almas by Strong via pinfall in 11 minutes The referee checks on Dillinger and determines he is okay to continue. Strong stumbles to his feet and begins stomping on Dillinger’s body. With both men back on their feet, Dillinger fights back with punches until Strong replies with a unique back to belly side slam. 1-2- kickout by Dillinger! Dillinger stays down. Strong goes to check on him and tries to lift him. Dillinger surprises him with a Tye-Breaker! He goaded in him. 1-2-3! Elimination: Roderick Strong by Dillinger via pinfall in 13 minutes Now Roode re-enters the ring and Dillinger nods at him. The rematch is here. The two men trade right hands. Dillinger gains speed off the ropes and a flying forearm takes Roode down to the mat. He retreats to the corner where Dillinger stomps him to the “ten” counts of the fans. Dillinger attempts the Tye-Breaker but Roode defends by grabbing the top rope. He kicks his way to the mat, trying to pull Dillinger down. Dillinger drops to his knees and covers Roode for a 2 count. Both men are quick to their feet. Dillinger goes for a superkick; Roode counters with a clothesline. Momentum is shifting. Roode calls for the nXt technical crew to exit their chairs. He brings one in and intends to hit Dillinger...SUPERKICKED by Dillinger. 1-2-...NO! Kickout by Roode. How did he manage it? That was Dillinger’s moment and he could not close the deal. On the ring apron, the two men grapple. Roode drops to the floor, grabbing Dillinger’s head and slamming his neck on the top rope. He climbs the turnbuckle. Dillinger retrieves him on to his shoulders. Roode quickly slips to the mat and hits him with a spinebuster! Roode yells out for his finisher. Dillinger counters with a second Tye-Breaker! 1-2-... ANOTHER KICKOUT! The crowd is hot for Dillinger to win this one. Dillinger can’t believe what’s happened. He’s hurting as he meets Roode at the turnbuckle and the two men climb to the top rope. Dillinger puts Roode on his shoulders. He’s going for a super Tye-Breaker. Roode blocks it and lies flat on the top rope. Dillinger grabs him again. Roode escapes and slams Dillinger, seated, on to the top rope. Roode seizes this moment and delivers the jumping DDT. 1-2-3!!! It’s over! “Hallelujah!” says Graves Winner and new #1 contender: Bobby Roode via pinfall in 19 minutes Post-match, Roode basks in the glory of his victory with outstretched arms. One cool point for everybody, right off the bat, because this was a very enjoyable fatal 4 way match. Sure it was filled with one-on-one mini matches and didn’t feature much in the way of all 4 men fighting at once. And I understand how that can seem unrealistic at times. Still, the mini-matches were well executed. Almas and Strong, although they were the first to be eliminated, both looked good. The reprise of Roode vs. Dillinger from Takeover: Toronto was clearly what the fans were hoping would occur. Another cool point for Bobby Roode who kicked out of Dillinger’s finisher twice. That made him look like a beast and Nakamura should be very concerned about his resiliency. Roode is so good at taking advantage of Dillinger’s mistakes, too. This match result will hurt Dillinger greatly in the sense that he’ll feel quite inadequate for losing again to the Glorious One. In another sense, it may provide him the motivation he needs to take his game to the next level. 2017 will be a big year for both men. Looking forward to your thoughts and cool point suggestions for tonight’s episode. Peace!
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