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March 23rd, 2016 On commentary tonight, at Full Sail University, are Tom Phillips and Corey Graves. Opening Segment Singles Match: Elias Samson vs. Johnny Gargano Phillips notes that Samson is undefeated so far in nXt as the two lock up. After a few moments, Samson corners Gargano, stomping him down until the ref breaks it up. Gargano gets a few punches in but when they run the ropes, it’s Samson with a vicious clothesline. He takes a few moments to stare weirdly out at the audience. The crowd chants “Johnny Wrestling” which seems to propel him to succeed at getting a few vicious kicks in on Samson. He evades one corner attack from Samson but can’t do the same on the second when he tries a dive through the ropes only to get caught by a jumping knee by Samson. Samson stalks Gargano, picks him up and attempts the jumping knee again but Gargano counters it into a small package rollup…and he gets the pin and win out of nowhere! Winner: Johnny Gargano via pinfall in 2.5 minutes Post-match, Gargano is stunned and Samson immediately attacks him from behind. The crowd boos as Samson delivers his notable neckbreaker move. Samson tosses Gargano out of the ring and continues his attack on the outside as the referee pleads with him to stop. Samson yells, “I am what they need” as he throws Gargano into the steel ringpost. Another jumping knee against the ring apron and Gargano’s in noticeable pain. Graves says the guy needs a shrink or a hotline to deal with what’s happening in his head. Samson tells the crowd to shush and he’s about to get Gargano again when Apollo Crews runs down the ramp and gets in Samson’s face. That deters the “Drifter” from any further violence. This was Samson’s first loss on TV. One cool point for Gargano’s surprise victory and it really was a surprise to me, along with the duration of the match. One cool point for Samson who continues to display some maniacal tendencies. His strange and unsettling behaviour makes him a unique presence on the nXt roster and Crews’ interference may be the beginning of his first major feud. I’ve said for a while now that Samson needs a real shot at proving himself and I’m intrigued to see if he can keep up with Crews, whereas others may be wondering if Crews is capable of being more than just a high spots-guy. Backstage, we see Finn Balor who is preparing for a non-title match next. Second Segment Singles Match: Finn Balor (c) vs. Rich Swann Good seeing Balor getting in some practice before his nXt championship match against Samoa Joe. He and Swann start with some mat wrestling. Balor locks the left wrist of Swann and Swann shows off his incredible core strength with some lateral back to feet jumps. Still, he can’t break the hold, even after a monkey flip attempt. Balor turns that lock into a side headlock and he continues to wear down Swann, slamming him down to the matt, wrenching in that hold. Swann breaks free and delivers a spinning hurricanrana with a pin for 2. Balor wastes no time, answering with a hammerlock, securing Swann’s left hand behind his own back. Swann is lifted up and he breaks free. Off the ropes, Swann does a front flip over Balor to answer Balor’s leap. Amazing! He follows it up with an enziguri attempt, a springboard front flip to move off of Balor and, finally, a successful enziguri. Balor’s backed into the corner. Swann approaches as Balor goes to the second rope. Hurricanrana! A dropkick to Balor sends him to the ramp. Swann doesn’t have time to follow that because Balor runs into the ring to clothesline Swann. Balor throws Swann out of the ring and then connects with a jumping dropkick. Out on the ring apron, a swift soccer kick to the head knocks Swann clear off his feet. Balor brings Swann into the ring, waits in the corner and then delivers a running front dropkick. Ouch. Coup de grace. Bloody Sunday. It’s over! Winner: Finn Balor via pinfall in 5 minutes One cool point for Rich Swann for doing a lot to show off his agility and aggression in a short match against the champ. It wasn’t your typical jobber match, that’s for sure. One cool point for Balor. He’s got a good finishing combo going with the running dropkick, Coup de grace and the Bloody Sunday DDT. Not sure he’ll have such an easy time with that against Joe though. Backstage, Alex Reyes asks Emma what will be different this time against Asuka. Emma says she’s put a lot of training into this one and 2 minds are better than 1, right, Dana? Dana says she’s been injured since Takeover: Respect and though she may look fine, inside she’s not. Otherwise, she’d fight Asuka herself. Emma says she should be having the championship match against Bayley next Friday. Asuka’s not going to last past today. Dana Brooke doesn’t do the head tap because tonight’s too important. Psych. She did it anyway. Third Segment Corey Graves reminds us that GM William Regal booked a massive match for nXt Takeover: Dallas: Sami Zayn vs. the newest arrival to the roster, Shinsuke Nakumura. A video package shows Nakumura signing his contract, meeting with Triple H, Vince McMahon and his arrival at the WWE Performance Center. It ends with a recap of the segment from last week, marking Nakumura’s video which interrupted Sami Zayn in-ring. Singles Match: Alexa Bliss w. Blake & Murphy vs. Sarah Dobson Dobson’s quite perky and cheery as she showcases her quickness, her tumbling and her takedown ability getting Bliss twice before Bliss responds with a beatdown on the mat. Two count and the match continues. Bliss stands on Dobson’s back, near the ropes, and stomps down on her multiple times. Blake & Murphy shout in Dobson’s face, doing a fine job supporting their lady. Dobson tries to sneak a pinfall but Bliss kicks out. Bliss wrenches Dobson’s left elbow back, bringing her to the mat. The referee asks if she will submit but Dobson yells no. Bliss breaks the hold and opts for strikes instead, clubbing her opponent on the back and tcccccccccche head. She chokes Dobson in the ropes with her knee. Shoulder thrusts in the corner are followed by another toss to the corner. Dobson pulls off an HBK like flip over the ropes to the apron. Bliss meets her there and Dobson gains the advantage with a boot to the head. She ascends the ropes and connects with knees to the face for a 2 count. Ouch. Bliss is pissed. Blake to distract the ref and Murphy to assist Bliss in evading Dobson’s cartwheel attack. This allows Bliss to set up and execute the Sparkle Splash for the victory. Winner: Alexa Bliss via pinfall in 4 minutes One cool point for Alexa Bliss who wrestles like a true heel, using some dirty chokeholds and getting her lads to interfere on her behalf to turn the match in her favour. The women’s division is very competitive right now so it was good for Bliss to get a match and a win to keep her in the minds of the fans. Backstage, Reyes is with Samoa Joe, asking him what he thinks about the upcoming nXt Championship match and about Balor’s performance against Rich Swann. Joe stares him down and abruptly walks away. Coming Up: Emma vs. Asuka Fourth Segment Did you know that “Mayhem” by Halestorm is one of the official theme songs for nXt Takeover: Dallas? Singles Match: Bull Dempsey vs. Danny Burch As Bull Dempsey is walking to the ring, Samoa Joe attacks him from behind and locks in the Coquina Clutch on the rampway. Right after that, Danny Burch becomes Joe’s next victim as he also succumbs to the Coquina Clutch. Joe yells at the camera and asks Balor if he sees that? That’s you, he says. He’s coming for Balor and he will take his nXt championship. Joe poses for the crowd after his rampage. No match. One cool point for Samoa Joe who makes a statement to Finn Balor and the nXt universe. He ain’t messing around and he looks like he’s hyped up plenty for the championship match in 9 days. Next Week: nXt Championship match at Takeover: Dallas: The Revival (c) vs. American Alpha. A video package is shown of Jordan and Gable’s success so far, as well as some footage of their amateur wrestling days, going as far back as their respective beginnings as children. Jordan and Gable each share one of their failures as singles wrestlers in the amateur sport and how they know what it’s like to want the championships…maybe all they needed was a partner to back each other up. At Takeover: Dallas, they’re going to win the gold. Coming Up: Emma vs. Asuka Next Week: Apollo Crews vs. Alex Riley, Samoa Joe vs. Bull Dempsey Final Segment Singles Match: Emma vs. Asuka (#1c) The two girls use the entire space of the ring during their tie-up, showing off their quickness and balance. Asuka with the front headlock, brings Emma to her knees for a bit. Off the ropes, Asuka with the shoulder block. They run the ropes and Asuka mocks Emma before capturing her with a jumping armbar. Emma scrambles to break the hold by reaching the ropes. Emma on the ring apron feels the wrath of Asuka’s running hip attack and… We go to commercial. Back in the ring, Emma tries for a suplex but Asuka captures the arm, trying for an armbar, then a hammerlock, which she secures. Emma tries rolling out of it but Asuka just rolls with her. Asuka lets go on her own accord briefly. Emma tries to get in some offense but Asuka answers with another hammerlock, then an ankle lock, which Emma rolls out of, flipping Asuka to the outside. Emma trips Asuka on the ring apron as Dana Brooke yells it’s all about Emma. She unloads on Asuka with punches and kicks. It’s Emma in control now as she executes the usual hair pull, using her feet to step on Asuka’s hair. On the mat, Emma stretches Asuka’s arms high above her arms, getting a few 2 counts in the process. Emma transitions this into a front headlock. The crowd claps for Asuka as Emma keeps the lock in place as Asuka suffers. A brief cover attempt, then another but only for 1 count. Emma stays in charge for a while, Asuka occasionally fighting back. Emma throws Asuka into the corner and lays the boots to her. She places Asuka in the tree of woe position. She lifts Asuka’s head and delivers knees to the back of it and her kidneys. Then a hair pull for 4 until the referee breaks it up. Emma tries a pinfall again but Asuka’s having none of it, kicking out after 1. The crowd chants her name as Asuka struggles to stand up. Both ladies run the ropes, each evading the other until, on the third pass, Asuka connects with her hip attack! Then come the strong kicks to Emma’s sternum. Emma catches one, misses a clothesline, avoids a heel kick and punches Asuka in the face. Asuka on her knees receives a dropkick to the chest, into the ropes, and she returns with a hip attack. Pinfall attempt…and this match will continue. Asuka grabs Emma’s hair and Emma tries to win by putting her legs on the ropes during a pinfall attempt. The referee notices and catches her. They argue about it and Asuka seizes the opportunity, catching Emma’s leg and then delivering a German suplex. Then a nasty jumping front dropkick. This sets up the Asuka lock and Emma Winner: Asuka via submission in 14 minutes Two cool points for both ladies who put on a fine match, full of counters and high impact manoeuvres. I don’t think anyone’s surprised with Asuka winning, except maybe how quickly Emma tapped out. I enjoy watching these two wrestle one another and I liked how many submission attempts they each made, since both can wrestle the style quite well. If this match is any indication of what we’ll see at Takeover: Dallas when Bayley fights Asuka, we’ll be in for quite an entertaining title match. Equally interesting though is the fact that Emma’s developing quite a chip on her shoulder for continuing to lose the big matches. I’d like to see that turn into a vicious mean streak but I’m not sure that’s in the cards since there are quite a few heels jockeying for position: Eva, Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss… We’ll see what happens in April but a lot will depend on who wins the championship match…so I pose that question to you… Is it Asuka’s time to shine or will Bayley’s championship reign continue? That’s all for tonight, folks. Feel free to share your thoughts and cool point suggestions on tonight’s episode. Peace!
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