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February 17th, 2016 On commentary tonight, at CFE Arena in Orlando, are Tom Phillips and Corey Graves. Opening Segment Eight-Man Tag Team Match: Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore and American Alpha vs. Blake & Murphy w. Alexa Bliss and Dash & Dawson (c) Enzo & Cass do their usual entrance shtick on the mics, and the crowd lovingly spells “SAWFT” for Big Cass. In fact, all four teams get an appropriate response from a jam-packed arena of nXt fans. It’s Gable and Dawson who get the first shift in this one. They lock up and nothin’ doin’. Each mang regroups and then a second lockup, followed by a scramble on the mat for leverage. Dawson scampers to the ropes to break the hold. His teammates feed him some affirmations and he challenges Gable again. He forces him back to the corner; Dash tags in and the ring quickly fills up with all 8 men, with 1 referee trying desparately to stop them from fighting. He moves out of the middle and there’s a melee. The villains are sent packing to the outside and then they all come back in to try again, being thrown over the ropes by Enzo, Cass & American Alpha for a second time. So we go to commercial. When we return, Blake has Gable on the mat in a side headlock. When Gable gets to his feet, Blake attempts a suplex but Gable turns it into a rollup for a 2 count. Dawson tags in, tries to pin Gable but the match continues. Heavy elbow, quick leg drop and another 2 count. He tags Dash, and delivers Gable’s head to his partner’s knee. Dash follows that up with another pinfall attempt. Back in the home corner, now it’s Murphy’s turn to lay into Gable with boots to the torso. Angry European uppercut and the tag is made to Blake who continues with the punches and stomps. Quick tag to Dawson. Big clothesline. 2 count. Gable’s taking a lot of punishment here. Suplex and then he tags in Dash, picks him up and slams him down on Gable for a legdrop. 2 count! Dash resumes the side headlock to try and wear Gable out some more. Crowd chants give Gable energy to get to his feet. He’s trying to get closer to his corner but Dash stops him. Dash tries to knock his opponents off the ring apron, but he gets hurt for it, then he and Gable collide in the centre of the ring. Each man is able to tag in their partner! Jordan delivers the dropkicks to Dawson and Blake, then sends Murphy’s face directly into a big boot from Big Cass. Dash charges at Jordan and he’s thrown up high in the air only to fall flat on his front. Cass with the tilt-a-whirl slam on Dawson. Then, Jordan delivers a beautiful overhead belly-to-back suplex. Cass press slams Dash into Buddy & Murphy on the outside. Wow, this is quite a change in energy. Jordan spears Dawson, tags in Gable and they deliver the double team back suplex for the 1...2....Dash breaks up the count. Gable throws Dash out, tags in Enzo who, with Cass’ help, executes the rocket launcher (top rope splash) for the victory! Winners: Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore and American Alpha via pinfall in 9 minutes One cool point for the taste of amateur wrestling Gable and Dawson provided to kick off the match. I’d love to see more of that in the future. One cool point for the energy Jason Jordan provided in that match and for his flawless execution of offensive moves. He hasn’t had to endure much pain in recent matches, though, and that’s something he will need to learn to overcome, to make his energy bursts more effective in longer matches. This was a great opening match and roused the crowd’s attention. The nXt tag team division is in excellent shape, spearheaded by these four teams. Backstage, Al Reyes asks Deonna Purrazzo about her chance at redemption, facing Asuka who knocked her out in their first match earlier this year. Deonna credits Asuka with being an amazing wrestler. She says it was a good experience and, in nXt, you have to be ready for anything. Cue Dana Brooke and Emma who say they run nXt and ask if she’s been living under a rock for the past year. They go on to say Asuka was lucky to win, so if Deonna thinks she can do what they didn’t, they scoff at that. Dana taps Reyes on the head and that’s a wrap. Coming Up: Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe in a #1 Contender’s match for the nXt Championship Second Segment Singles Match: Asuka vs. Deonna Purrazzo Asuka begins with kicks to the thigh, then to the back and chest of Deonna, leaving the rookie crawling on the mat. Once on her feet, she punches Asuka, which prompts her to run the ropes, capture Deonna in a body scissors to the mat, and follow that with a knee bar attempt. Deonna gets to the ropes though. Asuka charges in the corner. Deonna counters. Off the ropes, Deonna ducks a clothesline and returns with a crossbody splash for a pinfall attempt. Asuka yells at Deonna a few times, after getting punched and slapped. Then, she smiles, licks her lips and returns with a punch of her own. Thrown to the corner, Deonna leaps to the top rope, jumps at Asuka and gets kicked in the abs hard. Asuka goes for the ankle lock. Deonna tries to escape, bounding on one foot for a while until Asuka delivers a German Suplex for a 2 count pinfall. Asuka, in 1 fluid motion, latches an armbar on to Deonna. Deonna tries to get out of it and begins receiving chops to the head, followed by a roundhouse kick from the powerhouse which knocked out Deonna. Pinfall and another victory for Asuka. Winner: Asuka via pinfall in 2 minutes and 30 seconds One cool point for Asuka’s versatility in executing submissions. She has so many ways she can wear down an opponent or beat her that it’s easy to see why she’s such a talented wrestler. She has the ability to own the Women’s division in a matter of months. Promo: A look back at last week’s finish to the Bayley/Carmella match, and the interference from Eva Marie & Nia Jax. Backstage, Eva Marie & Nia Jax say that everyone knows that Jax should be the #1 contender. Asuka needs to stay out of their business or else she’s going to end up like the rest of the women’s division: broken. We see Samoa Joe preparing for the match later tonight. Third Segment Singles Match: “The Perfect Ten” Tye Dillinger vs. Alex Riley Graves says that Dillinger is a perfect ten, a guy who retweets compliments. He then insults Alex Riley for looking slovenly while the two guys grapple until Dillinger hip-tosses Riley to the mat. Dillinger gets Riley in a side headlock until Riley throws him off the ropes and then delivers a hard clothesline. In the corner, a loud slap to the chest. Riley with punches and an elbow drop, covering Dillinger for a 1 count. Chinlock that Dillinger forces himself out of, following it up with slaps to the chest. Reversal by Riley, reversed by Dillinger. Running the ropes, Dillinger connects with a Lou Thesz Press, then an Atomic Drop but Riley retorts immediately with a right hand. He attempts a sleeper but Dillinger drops to his butt and rolls up Riley for a sneaky victory. Post-match, Dillinger does a victory lap, flashing the “ten” sign to the crowd. Winner: “The Perfect Ten” Tye Dillinger via pinfall in 4 minutes One cool point for Dillinger's crafty win. He always seems to get the fans on his side. I think these two could develop quite a decent feud if given the chance. Riley's angry attitude and stiffer style of wrestling fit right in on nXt and he could have a decent run, pissing off his peers and the fans. Al Reyes is with Finn Balor, backstage, and he asks him about the #1 Contender’s match. He doesn’t come out and pick a favourite, admitting that each man has the desire and the aggression needed to win. After that, we see Sami Zayn preparing for his match coming up shortly. Fourth Segment In General Manager William Regal’s office, Baron Corbin approaches the GM and says it’s not too late to make a change to the #1 Contender’s match. He wants in. Regal says his decision is final. Corbin says he’s the type of guy who believes in “an eye for an eye”. Next Week: American Alpha vs. Blake & Murphy anddddd Bayley & Carmella vs. Eva Marie & Nia Jax in a main event tag match nXt Championship #1 Contender’s Singles Match: Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn Big “Ole” chant to start this match as the two grasp at each other’s hands to initiate a grapple. Joe misses a roundhouse kick. Wristlock by Zayn, reversed by Joe who brings the Canadian to the mat. Both men up on their feet, Joe pushes Zayn into the ropes and then delivers a cheap shot to the chest as the referee breaks them up. The crowd chant Sami’s name, which he acknowledges, and the two wrestlers grapple again. Joe with a side headlock. Zayn tries to run the ropes but Joe stops him, keeping the hold on him. Zayn throws Joe off the ropes, ducks, and uses Joe’s own momentum to knock him to the mat. Zayn and Joe initiate contact again. Zayn with the wristlock which is reversed fairly quickly into a side headlock. Joe’s pushed off the ropes and this time, Zayn pulls on the opposite top rope sending Joe over and out! He immediately goes for the outside dive but Joe walks away so Zayn jumps up, sits down on the top rope and backflips back into the ring. That’s a good time for WWE’s time-honoured new millennium tradition of going to a mid-match commercial. When we return, these two are still jockeying for position. Joe motivates Zayn to the corner and laces into him until the referee breaks it up. Joe sends Zayn off the ropes. Zayn leaps backwards over him, gets fancy dishing a hip toss and can’t follow it up with a corner charge because Joe catches him with his right arm and delivers a kind of rock bottom slam. Joe’s mad, folks. He lays into Zayn with some right hands as a portion of the audience chants “Joe’s gonna kill you!” Both men trade punches until Joe gets frustrated, and sweeps Zayn’s legs out from under him with his whole body. Snap suplex. 2 count pinfall. Joe with a vicious kick to Zayn’s face. Zayn stumbles into the ropes and receives punches to the torso, to which the referee breaks up. European uppercut. Chop to the chest and Joe thinks why not deliver a second? Off the ropes, Zayn with a stiff clothesline. Another one. He throws Joe off the ropes who gives him a kick in the face. Zayn responds with another clothesline and the crowd’s getting fired up. He tries to lift Joe, but Joe elbows him. Zayn reaches for Joe again and connects with the Blue Thunder Bomb! 1-2...kick out by Joe. Zayn fights to get Joe into the start of a suplex but Joe retorts with an atomic drop, a big boot and a senton splash. Ouch. 1-2- Zayn kicks out! Zayn’s on his knees as Joe kicks him in the side and chest. He raises Zayn up by the chin and slaps him a flurry of times. He goes for a clothesline but Zayn attempts the Koji Clutch. Joe with the powerslam! 2.5 count. Close call. Zayn is hanging on and Joe is wondering what else he needs to do. He delivers right hands until Zayn delivers them back. Flurry of punches in the corner. Zayn’s Irish whip is reversed by Joe who, upon reaching the opposite corner, delivers an enziguri. Joe charges at Zayn who defends with an exploder suplex! Now it’s Zayn’s turn to charge the corner where Joe is waiting for him with a Coquina clutch. Back to the corner, Joe wraps his legs around Zayn to bring him to the ground. Ref breaks it up but the damage is done. Joe sits Zayn up on the top rope, places him on his shoulder, going for the muscle buster but Zayn gets loose! He gets a running start and delivers a Helluva Kick! He falls awkwardly on Joe for the pin. 1-2-3! The referee looks on curiously at how Zayn pinned Joe, noticing something odd. We watch the replay and then the referee addresses both wrestlers, telling them neither man won. They both had each other pinned. GM William Regal comes down to get an answer. The referee explains that both men had their shoulders pinned. Therefore, the match is a draw. Regal wants a #1 Contender, but the referee stands firm in saying it’s a draw. Zayn and Joe are quite upset and the episode ends with the referee walking away. Why don’t they just restart the match? Regal has that authority, does he not? Winner: DRAW in 16 minutes Two cool points for both men who earn themselves the rare draw in this match. Although Joe didn’t make as many submission attempts as I might have expected, his striking offense was on point. Zayn’s tenacity was on display as he continued to fight back from everything Joe threw on him. The Exploder suplex is a vicious move, too. That’s a real game changer. Once again, an episode of nXt ends without a new opponent for Finn Balor, who will likely need a few matches in the meantime to avoid ring rust once this contendership gets figured out. Honestly, not a bad match on the card tonight. The only guy that I noticed missing was Apollo Crews and the only girl was Women’s Champion, Bayley. Perhaps they were enjoying some well deserved time off. We’re roughly six weeks from the next Takeover and some pretty exciting feuds are developing momentum. Also, have you noticed that each episode of nXt this year has alternated men’s and women’s main event matches? One cool point for that. Feel free to share your thoughts on the night, as well as your cool point suggestions on tonight’s episode. Peace!
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