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January 11th, 2017 On commentary tonight, at Full Sail University, are Tom Phillips, “Showtime” Percy Watson, and Corey Graves. Opening Segment We begin with footage from something that happened just before the show began. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce attacked Asuka outside the Full Sail arena. It ends with Kay pouring water on Asuka’s head and bystanders saying they should get a doctor... Too bad those bystanders didn’t intervene sooner. Tag Team Match: Billie Kay & Peyton Royce vs. Macy Evans & Sarah Bridges From the opening bell, Kay & Royce execute quick tags to keep control of Evans and to keep her in their corner. On one of the tags, Kay holds Evans for a spinning heel kick which connects with nothing. Evans ducks and dives for her corner, tagging in Bridges. Bridges connects with a double kick on Kay & Royce. She gains momentum even reversing an Irish whip attempt from Kay, sending her neck first into the ropes. Pinfall attempt is stopped by Royce’s interference. As the referee sends Royce back to her corner, Kay rakes Bridges’ eyes. She tags in Royce and Royce slams Bridges’ face directly into Kay’s knee. This knocks her out and Royce pins her for the quick victory. Winners: Billie Kay & Peyton Royce via pinfall in 3 minutes Post-match, Royce and Kay have microphones. The crowd half-heartedly starts an “Asuka’s gonna kill you” chant. Kay says they are the most dominant force in the women’s division. Royce says Asuka’s title belongs to them. Don’t they know only one woman can hold it? Suddenly, it’s a shaky Asuka stumbling down the ramp, due to her previous injuries. Referees try to stop her but Asuka pushes past them and, at ringside, gets boots to the face from the Australians. Asuka rolls in and is being kicked in the ribs by Kay. But, wait! Nikki Cross of SAnitY charges into the ring and spears Royce to the mat. Kay launches into her with punches but Cross fights back and ends up chasing both Kay and Royce out of the ring. She mounts the turnbuckle to jaw at Royce and Kay as they leave the ring. Asuka finally gets to her feet and Cross dropkicks her from the turnbuckle! She gets in Asuka’s face and then stands over her as her music plays. One cool point for the most surprising moment of that entire segment: Nikki Cross standing tall after clearing the ring of 3 of the top wrestlers in the nXt women’s division. Great seeing Cross assert herself as a real threat to Asuka’s championship, taking advantage of the work already done by Kay and Royce. Coming Up: The nXt Tag Team Championship is on the line as #DIY defend against The Revival and there will be an exclusive interview with nXt Champion Shinsuke Nakamura Second Segment Did you know that “Monster” by Starset is an official theme song for nXt Takeover: San Antonio? It will be available for digital download and streaming on January 20th. We are shown what happened during the break. Asuka freaked out about what had happened to her, shoving away the referees who were only trying to help her. Backstage, Cross is walking with her SAnitY pals, Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe, when she’s approached for a comment. Cross says she will take the nXt Women’s Championship- take, take, take. Young says it starts with this. As the camera pans to the right, Big Damo has his arms crossed and he’s watching them... Back to the entrance ramp, the crowd boos as “The Drifter” Elias Samson sings a song on the stage, ending with “What it is is what I am”. He’s heading for the ring for his scheduled match. Singles Match: Elias Samson vs. Jonathan Cruz Cruz and Samson lock up. Samson shoves Cruz into the corner, messes with him a bit and the referee breaks them up. The two stare each other down as the crowd chants “you’re not cryptic” to Samson. Samson squeezes Cruz’s left hand hard and holds on as he lifts Cruz off of his feet. He continues to hold on as he hits Cruz with shoulder thrusts. Cruz punches back a few times then slaps Samson. Samson chops him back. He whips Cruz diagonally across the ring. Cruz springs off of the turnbuckle and tries to roll up Samson. 1 count. Two consecutive rollup attempts by Cruz fail. Off the ropes, Cruz goes for a spinning head scissors and partially connects with it but Samson’s up on his feet and clotheslines Cruz flat to the mat. Samson holds his left pectoral muscle as he launches into right hands and forearms on Cruz in the corner. The referee pulls him away. Samson whips Cruz into the turnbuckle. He wraps Cruz’s midsection around the ring post to contort his body. Samson’s in charge as he connects with a jumping knee to Cruz’s face on the ring apron. Back in the ring, Cruz uses Samson’s legs to get to his feet. Cruz is still fighting back but to no avail. Big boot from Samson. Vicious neckbreaker and this match is all over. Winner: Elias Samson via pinfall in 4 minutes. One cool point for Samson who continues to try and impress the nXt audience with his music and his wrestling ability. I don’t think they’re sold on either but, to be fair, Samson’s been consistently hard-nosed and aggressive inside the squared circle. A bigger profile feud against a guy like No Way Jose or Tye Dillinger could be necessary for him to be taken more seriously. Recap: A look back at the nXt Tag Team Championship match at Takeover : Brooklyn II between The Revival and #DIY when The Revival came out victorious. Third Segment Pre-match, we see footage from their match, 2 weeks ago, when Lorcan won. Singles Match: Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Oney Lorcan Almas and Lorcan circle one another, fists raised. Almas shows off his lounging abilities on the mat after Lorcan attempts to bring him down the hard way. The two shove one another. Lorcan throws Almas towards the ropes but Almas lounges on the middle rope when he gets there. Showoff! Lorcan kicks him off of the rope and on to the floor. Almas walks around the ring to the ramp and Lorcan leaps off of the ring steps into him. He stuns Almas with a slap and rolls him into the ring for a 2 count. Lorcan grabs Almas from behind. Almas counters, feigns the backbreaker and clotheslines Lorcan to the mat. Almas feigns a running knee, stops sharply and slaps Lorcan in the face. He continues with stomping on his chest in the corner. Almas brings Lorcan to his feet. He attempts a crucifix pin but Lorcan counters it with a back elbow to the face. Off the ropes, Almas with the dropkick and a 2 count. He immediately transitions to an armbar on Lorcan. Lorcan struggles through it but flips over, gets up to his feet, and punches back. Lorcan and Almas trade punches. Fireman’s carry by Almas. Lorcan answers with clotheslines. Off the ropes, vicious European uppercut on Almas. In the corner, Lorcan delivers a back suplex to Almas. Lorcan charges again and this time Almas blocks it, sending Lorcan sprawling to the mat. Back on his feet, Lorcan receives the brunt of a striking offense, elbows and punches and kicks, by Almas. Spinebuster counter by Lorcan, directly into the turnbuckle, and Almas is flat on his back. Referee won’t let Lorcan follow it up since Almas is in the ropes. Almas seizes the moment and DDT’s Lorcan for the pinfall victory. Winner: Andrade “Cien” Almas via pinfall in 5 minutes. Post-match, Almas tells the crowd to shut up as he’s asked what’s in store for him in 2017. He said it will be his year to shine. One cool point for both guys, for wrestling a very even match. Lorcan is slowly but surely gaining more fan appreciation and Almas is great at being arrogant. Good to see him getting some match time and he’s proving why he may be a rising star to watch in 2017. Recap: Highlights from the Takeover: Toronto Best 2 out of 3 falls match between The Revival and #DIY are shown. That’s the night where #DIY finally beat Dash & Dawson to become nXt Tag Team Champions Final Segments It’s another theme song for Takeover: San Antonio. This one’s called “Square Hammer” by Ghost. Earlier today, Tom Phillips interviews Shinsuke Nakamura. He congratulates him on regaining the nXt Championship over Samoa Joe. Nakamura is proud to have beaten him. Phillips asks about Nakamura’s reaction to the new #1 Contender, Bobby Roode. Nakamura likes him but says he’s not strong enough. Phillips tried to get a comment from Roode but all Roode would do is give him something for Nakamura. It was a Wrestlemania 32 ticket from Dallas. Nakamura’s not sure of the meaning of it. The two of them will have their contract signing next week. nXt Tag Team Championship Match: #DIY (c) vs. The Revival Gargano and Dawson are out first. Dawson hits Gargano hard with an uppercut as the referee tries to break them up in the corner. Pretty quick start as both men run the ring, evading one another’s moves until Dawson receives an atomic drop off the ropes from Gargano. Tag is made to Ciampa who knocks Dawson off of his feet. Wilder enters the ring but it doesn’t help. The champions clothesline their rivals out of the ring to the outside as... We go to commercial break. On the return, Gargano and Dawson continue to battle. Dawson lifts Gargano on to the turnbuckle but the referee forces him to back off for a 4 count. Gargano leaps over Dawson towards his opponent’s corner. As he lifts Dawson for an inverted atomic drop, Dawson reaches behind himself and tags in Wilder. Gargano completes the move, sending Dawson stumbling away. Wilder gets punched by Dawson and rolls out. As Gargano focuses on Dawson again, Wilder runs in and chops Gargano in the leg from behind. Gargano’s writhing in pain. Wilder continues to attack the left knee of Gargano. He tags in Dawson to help continue the targeted assault. Dawson hyper-extends the knee, elbows it, smashes it and prevents Gargano from getting to Ciampa. Dawson tags in Wilder who smashes Gargano’s knee into the ring post. The referee calls them to give Gargano space. Wilder retrieves Gargano from the outside and the attack continues. Tag to Dawson. Suplex into the turnbuckle, hanging Gargano in the tree of woe as the Revival clobber Gargano. As Wilder lifts Gargano to his feet, the champ tries to fight back. He knocks Dawson off of the ring apron, accidentally, and as Wilder tries to lift Gargano, Dawson slides under the ring ropes. He pleads with the referee about what happened just as Gargano rolls up Wilder. The referee doesn’t see it but Gargano had this match won! The referee only got there to count 2. Meanwhile, the double team attack on Gargano continues as Dawson is tagged in. He unmercifully chucks Gargano to the floor as the referee begins a count. Wilder goes to bring Gargano in, but Gargano slams Wilder into the ring post. Dawson rolls his tag partner into the ring so he can tag himself in. Gargano seizes the opportunity to run back in the ring but gets tackled mid-air by Dawson! Ciampa is beside himself on the apron, desperate to get into the match, so he enters anyway. As the referee deals with him, Wilder leaps from the second rope with a leg drop on Gargano as Dawson held him across his knee. Pinfall attempt...1...2... kickout! How is Gargano still conscious? Commercial break On the return, Dawson is applying a single leg crab submission to Gargano’s left leg, which has been targeted most of the match. Wilder’s tagged in, only to receive an enziguri from Gargano. Gargano’s free to tag Ciampa...and he does! Ciampa lets loose with multiple takedowns on Dawson. Running high knee to the head in the corner. A trifecta of German suplexes, including one that doubled as a back body drop on Wilder who tried to interfere. Ciampa psyches himself up in the corner and rushes Dawson with a running knee to the head. 1...2...kickout by Dawson! Ciampa is shocked. Ciampa grabs Dawson from behind and wraps his arms in close, preventing a tag to Wilder. Dawson elbows Ciampa in the head and makes the tag anyway. Wilder springs in, leaping over Dawson for a sunset flip. He can’t bring Ciampa down so Dawson helps with a strong clothesline. Bridging pinfall attempt is no good. Ciampa kicks out. Wilder is frustrated. He punches Gargano which prompts him to enter the ring. The referee heads him off. Dawson enters to run the ropes. Before he can finish his idea of clotheslining Ciampa who has been lifted up by Wilder, Ciampa ducks and Dawson receives a high kick to the face by Gargano! Simultaneously, Ciampa forces Wilder to the mat with the armbar submission. Dawson tries to get to his partner but Gargano blocks his path for a few moments. Finally, Dawson just pushes Gargano into Ciampa to break the hold. Ciampa and Wilder are visibly in pain as Wilder tags in Dawson. The two throw Ciampa off the ropes. Gargano slaps his partner’s back as he bounces off and throws Wilder out of the ring. Dawson throws Ciampa out. Gargano enters, tries to roll up Dawson. He can’t but, from the mat, he rolls again and kicks Dawson in the face. Dawson’s stunned in the corner but not stunned enough because he lifts Gargano on to the ring apron. Off the ropes, Dawson runs right into a spear attempt by Gargano. He blocks it. Gargano attempts the sunset flip after he was lifted up for a potential Shatter Machine, which was prevented by a Ciampa tackle on Wilder. Dawson just sits on Gargano’s shoulders for a 2 count. Frantic action here! Gargano barely kicked out of that last pinfall attempt. Gargano tries to get the kinks out of his left knee. Dawson goes for a submission but is kicked out through the ropes. Ciampa with a running knee on Wilder who attempted to get in the ring. Ciampa holds the middle rope down to allow Gargano a running plancha attempt on Dawson. He gets a face full of ring barricade for his efforts, barely scratching Dawson. Ciampa runs the apron and launches himself at Wilder on the outside and, he, too, hits more of the timekeeper’s table than his opponent. Ouch. Gargano manages to roll Dawson into the ring. Ciampa staggers to their corner and tags in. They stand at opposite corners and it’s Wilder grabbing Gargano’s leg, dragging him under the ropes and pushing him into the side of the ring. Ciampa chases Wilder but Dawson catches him. He attempts a slingshot suplex. Ciampa counters. Back and forth, Dawson pushes Ciampa to the ropes where he receives an eye rake from Wilder. This stuns him enough to bounce back, into Dawson, to receive a DDT! 1...2...NO! Ciampa kicks out! Dawson is in disbelief! Wilder climbs the turnbuckle for The Revival’s next double team move. Gargano pushes him off and pushes Ciampa out of Dawson’s grasp. High knee from Ciampa on Dawson. Enziguri by Gargano on Wilder as he approached the ropes. Both Revival members sprawl on the mat as Ciampa tags in Gargano. DOUBLE RUNNING KNEES! Gargano and Ciampa each pin an opponent and the referee counts to 3. Winners: #DIY retain the Tag Team Championships via pinfall in 15 minutes Post-match, Authors of Pain Manager Paul Ellering arrives on the stage...to distract #DIY as the Authors of Pain attack from behind! Double powerbombs on Gargano and Ciampa, which show off the strength of Akam and Rezar. Ellering rubs his hands as he watches his team hold up #DIY’s tag team titles for the cameras. Possible foreshadowing? nXt General Manager William Regal is asked about what just happened to #DIY. The Authors of Pain will get their opportunity to fight for the Tag Titles at Takeover: San Antonio. The Nakamura/Roode contract signing will take place next week. Then, Asuka barges in and cries for Regal to book the Takeover match. Regal asks for who and Asuka says for all of them. She’s quite upset as the camera fades to black. Two cool points for Gargano & Ciampa’s successful title defense, even when it appeared they might lose this Takeover: Toronto rematch on multiple occasions. The “never say die” attitude of both men was the difference in this one. Ciampa rebounded from a nasty self-inflicted crash into the timekeeper’s area and a brutal DDT from Dawson. Gargano endured plenty of punishment to his leg yet fought through it to be in the right spot at the right time. Speaking of the leg injuries, one cool point for the way The Revival targeted Gargano’s left leg for the better part of the match. They got away from their gameplan too much when Ciampa was able to tag in, but, even then, there was a moment where Dawson attempted a leg submission on Gargano. That’s some effective cerebral work by a great tag team. Also, this episode achieved a lot in its closing minutes. We learned that The Revival will likely miss their first Takeover in a year and a half due to their loss to #DIY. Authors of Pain get the official booking against the tag champs by Regal and Asuka decides she’ll take on all of those ladies who wronged her earlier in what will be a Fatal Four Way. Interesting times, folks! Looking forward to your thoughts and cool point suggestions for tonight’s episode. Peace!
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