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November 2nd, 2016 On commentary tonight, at Full Sail University, are Tom Phillips and Corey Graves. Opening Segment This week, we open the show with previously recorded footage from last Friday in San Jose. Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarter-Final Match: Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. TM61 Aries comes down to the ring in street clothes. He may not be in shape to compete tonight due to a previous match with Nakamura at an nXt live event. After TM61 gets to the ring, Aries clears the air regarding his injury. He takes his sunglasses off to reveal a busted eye. He begged and pleaded to wrestle but nXt officials said no. Aries tells TM61 to forfeit and save themselves the embarrassment of a beating and a loss in this tournament. This prompts nXt General Manager William Regal to the stage. He confirms that Aries cannot compete but he is able to compete next week. Regal mentions Dusty Rhodes’ competitive spirit and says one of TM61 should face Roderick Strong. The winner will advance their team to the Semi-Finals. So, a singles match will determine who will advance and it’ll be Shane Thorne vs. Roderick Strong! Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarter-Final Match: Roderick Strong vs. Shane Thorne (Winner advances their team to next round) The two tie-up. Thorne captures Strong in a side headlock. Strong escapes and applies a wristlock. Thorne shows off some ab work with a standing backflip. Then, he takes out Strong, who was running the ropes, with a spinning back kick. Thorne twists Strong’s left arm. He sends him towards the corner. Strong springs up so Thorne misses him. They run the ropes again and this time Thorne catches him with an elbow. Standing moonsault! 1-2- kickout by Strong. Thorne charges Strong in the corner, flips over the top rope on to the apron, and chops Strong to his knees. He mounts the top rope and is distracted by Aries. Strong seizes the opportunity and mounts the turnbuckle to drop Thorne directly on to the top turnbuckle, spine first! He writhes in pain on the outside as... We go to commercial. Strong and Thorne are back in the ring. Strong charges Thorne in the corner and gets a boot to the face. He returns to pick up Thorne but gets beaten down. Off the ropes, Thorne with a huge jump and dropkick!. The two trade punches and uppercuts, mid-ring. Thorne is dishing some real stiff fists and uppercuts, even a running one into the corner. He goes for another but leaves his feet and Strong catches him, slamming him to the mat for a 2 count. In the corner, the crowd reacts to a stiff punch from Strong. He lifts Thorne on to the top turnbuckle and joins him there...but Thorne headbutts Strong and then connects with a double stomp on Strong while he was trying to lift himself back to the top turnbuckle. Strong’s firmly in control now, slamming Thorne face first on to the mat. 2 count! Thorne will not give up. Forearms to the head and a back elbow only prompt Thorne to clothesline him and then connect with a Falcon Arrow! 1-2- Strong kicks out. Strong can’t get to his feet though and Thorne destroys him with a sitout powerbomb. Aries distracts the referee though so Thorne can’t get the official pin. As Aries drops down, Strong connects with a vicious flying kick to Thorne’s head. 1-2-no! Thorne kicks out. But Strong sees Miller approaching Aries on the left and he dropkicks Miller hard. This works against him because Thorne quickly rolls up Strong and tangles him up so he can’t escape. This match is over! Winners: TM61 via pinfall in 8 minutes Post-match, Aries berates Strong as they walk up the ramp. One cool point for TM61 who, as a previously formed tag team, certainly belong in the Semi-Finals of this tournament. Weird way to get there but to keep on schedule with the matches, they had to decide what to do with Team Aries. Giving Strong a little more ring time was a positive as he needs that time to get fan reaction. I wonder if the loss will cause an immediate feud between he and Aries. Seems too easy of a choice but there are only a few weeks before Takeover: Toronto, a card that needs matches. Also, Thorne gets high with his dropkick! Second Segment Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarter-Final Match: #DIY vs. The Revival (c) As #DIY is waiting in the ring, Dash & Dawson come out to the stage and Dawson has crutches. He says that WWE’s world class doctors have diagnosed him with multiple knee injuries, including a broken meniscus. If he was a normal Joe Blow like #DIY, he’d be seriously crippled. Dawson said it ain’t gonna happen. We’re gonna work through the pain and beat up #DIY. The doctor says your career will be over if you do that. Therefore, the Mercedes-Benz of the Tag Team Division, the MVPs, will have to pull out of the competition. Dash says not to be upset. This is a golden ticket to the next round. They are saving Gargano & Ciampa from losing again to The Revival, so you’re welcome for this gift. Gargano & Ciampa are none too pleased with this development. Winners: #DIY via forfeit One cool point for how hilarious Dawson was when listing his knee injuries. There were 4 in total which amounted to his knee being destroyed. Suffice to say, I was not expecting there to be no match between these 2 teams. Could this suggest a tag title match at Takeover: Toronto? Last year, the Semis and Finals were fought at Takeover so the chances of #DIY fighting a tournament match and a tag title match in the same night might be slim. Either way, these guys likely have most the fan support moving forward. A tournament win would make a lot of people happy. Backstage, it’s Cedric Alexander who has learned that one needs a mean streak to survive in nXt. He wants to thank Cien for that, in person, in the ring, anytime. Third Segment Remember: “Devil’s Calling by Parkway Drive is one of the official nXt Takeover: Toronto theme songs. Backstage, Gargano and Ciampa are not surprised by The Revival’s actions. They intend to proceed to win the tournament and then become nXt’s new top guys in the Tag Team Division. This next match was also previously recorded in San Jose, CA. Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarter-Final Match: No Way Jose & Rich Swann vs. Authors Of Pain w. Paul Ellering Let the dancing begin! Both Swann and Jose get the crowd moving until they are interrupted by the music of the Authors Of Pain. Jose and Akam start it off and Akam stops the dancing early on. Akam chokes Jose in the corner, whips him to the other, but Jose springs up and tries to flip Akam to the mat. He can’t so he wiggles a little and evades Akam’s charge, sending him to the outside. Akam jumps back in immediately and connects with a shoulder block. Jose tries to roll Akam up and gets a 1 count. He tags in Swann and the two beat up on Akam in their corner before Jose lifts Swann up and Swann wraps his legs around Akam’s leg for a hurricanrana. Rezar tags in to face Swann who is much too quick for Rezar’s charges. Swann punches Rezar in the face and Rezar shrugs it off. Swann bounces off the ropes and gets caught in a bearhug by Rezar. Swann attempts a sunset flip but Rezar resists. He lifts Swann by the head and Swann hits him with a dropkick. Rezar charges and Swann jumps up so that Rezar ends up outside the ring. Swann dives to the outside only to be caught by both Authors of Pain. He’s about to be slammed when Jose leaps from the top turnbuckle closest to them and splashes on all 3 men! The crowd goes nuts for this. Manager Paul Ellering tries to calm down his team as the referee asks them to return. Swann delivers chops to Rezar. Rezar pushes him away. Swann charges again and he’s manhandled by the Authors who eventually throw him into the turnbuckle, hard. And again. Now it’s Rezar with a foot to the throat of Swann to choke him. With the referee not looking, Ellering even gets in a choke of his own against the bottom rope. That’s the first time we’ve seen him do anything in an Authors of Pain match! Now it’s Swann stuck in a backbreaker submission, on the shoulders of Akam. He kicks his legs until he is freed and connects with a back kick to Akam’s chin. Rezar tags in and prevents Swann from diving towards Jose. He holds on to the left foot and receives an enziguri. Rezar attempts an elbow drop on Swann who is too fast for him and the hot tag is made. Jose delivers his two handed pushes, clotheslines and right hand punches to Rezar. Akam enters the ring and gets punched out where Swann lands on him with a somersault splash. In the ring, Jose connects with a TKO! 1-2- kickout by Akam! Jose tries to get his partner’s attention but sees Akam chuck Swann into the steel steps instead. So, Jose throws Rezar off the ropes. Akam blindly tags in and, off the ropes, Jose is captured for their patented double team clothesline/leg sweep finisher. 1-2-3. Authors win. Winners: Authors Of Pain via pinfall in 5 minutes One cool point for Jose & Swann for actually leading the majority of this match. The Authors have been so dominant during their tenure so far that I was happy for the surprising flow to the match. One cool point for the Authors of Pain for seizing opportunity. Despite the speed of their opponents, they were actually quicker in returning to the ring from the outside, tagging in one another, and in recovering from the attacks of their opponents. #DIY will need to quicker in all of those areas to win next week. Up Next: The fourth Quarter-Final match will be shown next!. Final Segment Next Week: Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-Finals Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarter-Final Match: TJ Perkins & Kota Ibushi vs. SAnitY (Sawyer Fulton & Alexander Wolfe) Wolfe and Ibushi kick things off. They circle one another before Wolfe charges in and grapples Ibushi to his knees with a side headlock. Ibushi muscles his way out but Wolfe re-applies and wrenches it in. Ibushi forces Wolfe’s left arm away and frees himself for a right hand to the nose. Ibushi gets fired up and connects with a beautiful dropkick to Wolfe’s chest. Off the ropes, Ibushi waits for the back body drop but Wolfe kicks him instead. Perkins flies in from the apron, having tagged himself in, and gets caught by Wolfe. He attempts a sunset flip. Wolfe tries to sit on him but Perkins evades it and locks in a knee bar. Wolfe scrambles to his corner and tags in Fulton. Now it’s Fulton who’s locked in the knee bar by Perkins. Fulton tags in Wolfe and Perkins is quick enough to evade an attack and commandeer Wolfe to his corner. He tags in Ibushi and the two whip Wolfe off the ropes for a few dropkicks. Perkins has time to garner some cheers from the crowd as... We go to commercial. On the return, Ibushi is bringing the kicks to Fulton. He tags in Perkins who mounts Fulton in the corner for some right hands. Quick tags being employed by the cruiserweights to keep Fulton occupied. They connect with double dropkicks on Fulton, sending him sprawling to the floor outside. Wolfe rushes in and gets tripped up by Ibushi and kicked by Perkins. Ibushi with the Triangle Moonsault on Wolfe! Perkins springs over the top rope into Fulton’s arms and is slammed, spine first, on to the apron. Not once, but twice. Perkins is laying in a heap of pain as Fulton pins him for a 2 count. He tags in Wolfe who lies down, knees up, on the mat for Fulton to slam Perkins down. Ouch. Now it’s Wolfe weakening Perkins with a chin lock of sorts as Eric Young and Nikki look on, egging him to do more damage. Perkins fights to his feet and tries to tag in Ibushi but receives a backbreaker for his efforts. 1-2- kickout by Perkins. Fulton is tagged in. He picks up Perkins for Wolfe to deliver a knee strike and then presses him for a 2 count pinfall attempt. Perkins won’t give up just yet! Fulton steps on Perkins’ back as Wolfe chews on the tag rope. He picks up Perkins for a bearhug, squeezing the energy out of him. Perkins tries to free himself but he’s slammed into the corner as Wolfe is tagged for a repeat of their earlier double team move. Perkins slips free and slams Fulton’s head into Wolfe’s knees. He dives for the tag to Ibushi! He gets it! Knees and high kicks from Ibushi on Wolfe. Standing moonsault. 1-2- Fulton breaks up the pin. Perkins with a top rope dropkick on Fulton to knock him out of the ring. Just as Ibushi powerbombs Wolfe, the other SAnitY members distract the referee from making the count. Fulton clubs Ibushi in the head to break the pinfall attempt and runs back to his corner to receive the tag from Wolfe. He picks up Ibushi and the two slam him down for the win. Winners: SAnitY via pinfall in 9 minutes One cool point for Perkins & Ibushi for making this a much more interesting match than I expected. Similar to the Jose/Swann vs. Authors of Pain match, the smaller, quicker team had a lot more time in control than I expected. In fact, it was almost silly how dominant they looked going into the commercial break. They only lost because of the distraction by Young and Nikki so they have nothing to be ashamed of, save for not bringing a posse to this match. One cool point for Fulton and Wolfe for another strong outing. I especially liked the slams on the apron by Fulton. Brute strength there. Their finishing move was kinda silly but that might be just part of my frustration with the announcers not having a name by which to call it. Shouldn’t these moves get names before they’re used? If someone knows the name of that finisher, please share it! Our Dusty Rhodes Classic Semi-Finals are complete. Who out there called TM61, Authors of Pain, SAnitY and #DIY? I expect a fair number of you did but to pick a winner from this bunch will prove to be challenging. One can make a case for each team. Looking forward to your cool point suggestions and comments on tonight’s episode. Peace!
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