Survivor Series 2015 preview

Back in late 1998 I started watching wrestling. The first major pay-per-view that came up was Survivor Series. I didn't watch it at the time, I didn't realise it was available on Sky Sports, for free (remember those days?). Instead I bought it on VHS months later.

I knew what happened at the show though, thanks to recaps and whatnot. A tournament was held to crown a new world champion, the title having been vacated two months earlier after Undertaker and Kane had pinned reigning champ Steve Austin at the same time. It was a long, convoluted series of matches that should have been cut down and had some opening round matches moved to RAW but that was never going to happen under Vince 'More is More' Russo. The show ended with 'People's Champion' The Rock aligning himself with Vince McMahon to form The Corporation.

Seventeen years later history has, somewhat, repeated itself. A real life injury to Seth Rollins has forced a vacation of the WWE championship. A tournament has been held across two weeks of TV shows and will culminate with the semi-finals and final matches at the PPV. The man most people expect to make the finals is Roman Reigns, who was originally going to challenge 'The Future' for the gold before the injury occurred.

Reigns is The Rock's cousin. That, the fact that Survivor Series is playing host to a tournament final, and the fact that the show will forever be synonymous with The Montreal Screwjob, mean we are almost guaranteed a swerve finish to the evening's final match. And that it will feature Roman Reigns.

Of the two semis one seems painfully obvious while the other is a closer call. The obvious one is Roman Reigns versus United States champion Alberto Del Rio. I'll be amazed if we see ADR in the final. It seems safe to say he's made it this far to give Reigns a safe match where the crowd dong revolt against him. That's the same reason his quarter final victory over Cesaro was tucked away on RAW.

The other semi is Dean Ambrose versus Kevin Owens. Ambrose winning and having a showdown with his best bud and former Shield teammate seems like the obvious thing to do, and WWE isn't a company that likes to shy away from the obvious. The only wrinkle is that KO has been doing sterling work lately and his advancement to the final would surprise without seeming innocuous. Were this tournament taking place this time next year or had Owens debuted a year earlier I'd argue in favour of him getting the win over Ambrose and facing Reigns in the final. As it is he's not been around long enough to be a truly convincing finalist against a Chosen One like Reigns.

Which leaves me predicting a Reigns v Ambrose final. With the talent WWE had available for the tournament this is probably the most natural final they could have gone with. Yeah, it would be nice to see Cesaro there but it would have been too much to ask. A slow build is what's required for Cesaro at this point, he's not been built up as credible enough for a pay-per-view main event in which he may win the world title.

The prediction I'm happiest making is that we'll see some sort of shmoz finish, very likely playing on Survivor Series '98 or the Montreal Screwjob. Or both. An Ambrose heel turn, victory and alignment with The Authority isn't impossible but a Reigns victory seems likelier. I'm convinced one will turn on the other (a huge waste of a previously wonderfully solid wrestling friendship) but I don't know which. Which makes me think WWE has slightly mishandled this tournament because I should be getting excited about seeing who makes it to the final to crow a new champion.

I'll settle on Reigns winning and Ambrose going heel because of jealousy. Because Reigns is the clear favourite and Ambrose is so over that it would be stupid to try and turn him. Which means WWE will.

Outside of the tournament Survivor Series is looking unspectacular. The Paige v Charlotte Divas title match has been overshadowed by Paige's (entirely scripted yet still) controversial comments about Reid Flair, Charlotte's dead brother, being a quitter. 'The Nature Girl' will almost certainly overcome these terrible, terrible (entirely scripted) comments and retain her championship. Because she needs another strong defence if she is to be the star the company wants her to be.

Dolph Ziggler and Tyler Breeze will finally have a match after around a month of teasing. I can't imagine either guy having a bad match so it should be good. The trouble is that it's been left to simmer too long and their issue (basically summed up as "Summer Rae") and it feels like they're just killing time here. Which is a shame. 'Prince Pretty' being the new boy who's only beaten R-Truth so far means he should win. Plenty of time for 'The Show Off' to get wins later in the feud.

The final match (other than a traditional Series match with no wrestlers confirmed for it) is The Undertaker and Kane versus two members of the Wyatt Family. Which doesn't seem particularly interesting considering the event marks 'Taker's twenty-fifth anniversary in WWE. I understand this match has probably been rejigged because of injuries and the necessary tournament but it's pretty rough that this was the best WWE could come up with to begin with. Could 'The Dead Man' not have had one last solid non-'Mania singles outing against someone like Cesaro or Ambrose or Owens or Ziggler? A storyline for that would have been easy enough t come up with: a face like Cesaro or whoever wants the honour of facing Undertaker on his anniversary, a heel like Owens wants to embarrass and humiliate him on it by defeating him.

A singles match letting someone underutilised shine would have been better than pairing him with Kane against unadvertised opponents. Speaking of which my view is that if the Wyatts are represented by anyone other than Luke Harper and 'The Eater of Worlds' someone somewhere in the company doesn't have their priorities straight. Wyatt is the star of his act and Harper has tonnes of potential should a decent mid-card ever happen. They are the best two wrestlers of the faction too.

I'm usually all for younger wrestlers beating older wrestlers because WWE needs to get new stars established. I'm not going to argue in favour of that here. After twenty-five years in the company Undertaker winning this match (by which I mean the one WWE have booked him in) is the right call. That said a Wyatts win would be fairly unexpected and could actually give Bray the credibility shot he needs.

All in all Survivor Series will be memorable because of the tournament finals. But there's little else on offer outside of that right now. New stars are needed. And soon.

***

Predictions summary:

Roman Reigns to defeat Dean Ambrose to win the WWE championship
Roman Reigns to defeat Alberto Del Rio
Dean Ambrose to defeat Kevin Owens
Undertaker and Kane to defeat the Wyatt Family
Charlotte to defeat Paige to retain the Divas championship
Tyler Breeze to defeat Dolph Ziggler

NXTweet 28.10.15

An episode of NXT which saw Hallowe'en (note the apostrophe) mentioned a few times. Sadly there was nothing as monumental as John Cena debuting a rapper gimmick and saving his career. There was some nifty rasslin' though. Swings and roundabouts...

Intro

Tweet 1: Watching NXT... NOW.

Tweet 2: Didn't we get Dash and Dawson v Enzo and Cass last week? Maybe I'm misremembering...

Emma v Shazza

Tweet 3: Emma. #heelsweargloves

Tweet 4: Shazza bears a resemblance to Alexa Bliss when she debuted and was buffer than she is now.
Tweet 5: Feel kind of sad for Emma. She was in the women's division when it was first getting good then got called up and paired with Santino.
Tweet 6: When she got dropped back to NXT a bunch of other women had grabbed the top spots. She has really bad timing.

Alexa Bliss 2.0 tapped.

Tweet 7: Emma > Mutoh

Tom Phillips interviews James Storm

Tweet 8: Recapping James Storm's debut as a big deal. Good lord.

Tweet 9: Backstage interview for James Storm here. NXT suddenly has the stink of Impact to it.
Tweet 10: I enjoyed Tom Phillips acting like a giddy mark for Storm there.

Jason Jordan and Chad Gable v Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa

Tweet 11: Jordan. Gable. #toplads

Tweet 12: Tommaso Ciampa should make use of his initials and start referring to himself as 'Topcat'.
Tweet 13: Astounded by Gable's ability. Deserves those Angle-esque chants. The lad's a natural.
Tweet 14: I can see elements of Angle, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels in Gable. No idea if anyone would agree. Don't really care either tbh.

Big fan of Gable. Indifferent to Ciampa.

Tweet 15: Johnny Gargano's spear still needs to be dropped.
Tweet 16: Jason Jordan's one weakness is that he wrestles in sneakers.
Tweet 17: He throws a way better spear than Gargano though.
Tweet 18: When Gargano signs a full contract he'll change his name to Gary Garygano.
Tweet 19: "Man they are fun to watch!" - Corey Graves, stealing one from the JBL playbook

Devin Taylor interviews Bayley

Tweet 20: "Bayley, what's your opinion of Alexa Bliss hating you?"

Tweet 21: Bayley here, branding herself an inspiration. The heel turn is on the horizon.

Eva Marie live from Paris

Tweet 22: EMNN update: she's still on holiday in Paris.

Nia Jax v Kay Lee Ray

Tweet 23: Nia Kong with her second TV match here. Probably won't last long.

Tweet 24: At one minute this has already lasted longer than I expected.

Power, apparently.

Tweet 25: Nia Jax no-selling drop kicks. That works against NXT enhancement but she couldn't pull a stunt like that against The Nikki Bella.

Big Cass and Enzo Amore v Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder

Tweet 26: Last week: Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder gave Enzo and Cass a kicking.

Tweet 27: Surprised Enzo's shtick being interrupted didn't get more heat tbh.

The Brainbusters v Kevin Nash and Road Dogg: the feud we thought we'd never see!

Tweet 28: Big Cass Nash selling like a champ here. His dad Kev would be appalled.
Tweet 29: I'm a fan of Scott Dawson's jelly baby physique.

Tom Phillips interviews Alexa Bliss, featuring Blake and Murphy

Tweet 30: I'd pay good money to be called a human mic stand by Alexa Bliss. #justsaying

Tweet 31: 'The Hollywood Fashion Plate' Wesley Blake.

Samoa Joe v Tyler Breeze

Tweet 32: Oh, hey. It's Tyler.

Tweet 33: Remember when Tyler Breeze hooked up with Summer Rae and appeared on SmackDown? Rich Brennan sure does!
Tweet 34: Samoa Joseph doing the flies there. That's how you know this is a main event.
Tweet 35: Lol at Breeze doing a lungblower type move and the commentary lads putting over his strength. He's just falling.
Tweet 36: A few women in the audience with a "Breeze is gorgeous!" chant there. Going to assume it's a hen party.
Tweet 37: Do they even have "hen parties" in the colonies?

Not even tassels can overcome the power of big Joe.

Tweet 38: If Joe stays in NXT forever and never makes the main roster, as seems entirely possible, will he make it into the Hall of Fame?
Tweet 39: Sad that Joe choked out Breeze but it was a fun match and a not at all surprising outcome.
Tweet 40: At least Breeze is getting to work with Ziggler. Those should be good matches.
Tweet 41: Still hoping for Breeze v Doug Williams at Takeover: London.

Finn Bálor promo

Tweet 42: Another backstage finish here. Weird.

Tweet 43: Big Match Finn putting over Apollo Crews. Good lad.
Tweet 44: Good show that. Good hustle.

NXTweet 21.10.15

The most memorable thing about this week's episode of NXT? The debut of James Storm. No, that doesn't sound promising but it turned out okay thanks to strong performances from Asuka, Alexa Bliss and promos from Tyler Breeze and Samoa Joe. The less said about the flat main event the better...

Intro

Tweet 1: Going to watch NXT. Immediately excited by this recap of a generic battle royal from last week.

Tweet 2: Remember when Breeze heelishly eliminated Samoa Joe even though he was already out of the match and the crowd cheered him for it? #goodtimes

Asuka v Billie Kay

Tweet 3: So bored of this company-name-as-chant trope.

Tweet 4: Not bored of Asuka though.
Tweet 5: Billie Kay isn't smiling or waving and is bragging about having long legs. In WWE that passes for heel.
Tweet 6: Big fan of a lone child in the audience chanting for Asuka.

I'm a fan of Asuka.

Tweet 7: "Submission specialist" - Rich Brennan on an armbar
Tweet 8: Asuka wins via Bob Backlund tribute.
Tweet 9: Bob Backlund being Asuka's manager would be the greatest thing to ever hit the NXT's women's division.

Baron Corbin vignette

Tweet 10: "Let's take a very special look at Baron Corbin!" Alright, Corey mate.

Tweet 11: And it's written and pronounced Barry.

Tyler Breeze promo

Tweet 12: Tyler Breeze here, giving us a hilariously peculiar promo.

Tweet 13: Talking about slicing bacon. What the hell, Tyler?

Enzo Amore and Big Cass v Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder

Tweet 14: How many people look at Big Cass and Enzo at an airport? Probably quite a few. That's how Cass's dad Kevin Nash measures success.

Tweet 15: Halloween promo. Big Match John's route to the top.
Tweet 16: Hope Dawson uses his devastating chop block as a finish from now on.
Tweet 17: Enzo and Cass winning is surprising. Doing it via a cheap rollup by 'zo is excellent though.

#beatdown

Tweet 18: Anyone else feel this interaction between Cass and Dawson be Triple H's way of paying homage to Arn Anderson and Sid?

Eva Marie live in Paris

Tweet 19: EMNN update.

Tweet 20: I'd accept Eva Marie as a present. I wonder if that was a genuine offer she just extended to me through a laptop screen.

James Storm v Danny Burch

Tweet 21: Danny Burch is from Kent. Not London.

The state of this.

Tweet 22: Disgusted by these people marking out for TNA veteran James Storm.
Tweet 23: Interesting to note the commentary lads have referred to him being signed.
Tweet 24: I'd be interested in a rebranded Beer Money in NXT. Storm solo? No thanks.
Tweet 25: Which TNA megastar will turn up next? Rockstar Spud? Abyss? Gunner?!

Alexa Bliss v Peyton Royce

Tweet 26: Oh? Heel Alexa Bliss? Pffffft... That's fine. Whatevs. I'll sit through this I GUESS.

Tweet 27: Don't understand why exactly Bliss is a heel.

Alexa Bliss: red hot heel.

Tweet 28: Peyton Royce walked out with a flower in her hair. It's gone now and I didn't see her take it out.
Tweet 29: I like Buddy 'The Boy' Murphy selling more than Alexa on every mode she takes.
Tweet 30: Devastating sparkle splash there. You're not seeing alleged super worker Big Match Hiroshi doing that are you?
Tweet 31: Earrings on Blake though. Worthy of Batista.

Baron Corbin v Rhyno

Tweet 32: Wolf versus rhino here. If this happened in the wild the wolf wouldn't stand a chance.

Tweet 33: Barry's obviously going to win this so I hope they take us on a #journey
Tweet 34: "Like a monster truck colliding with a bulldozer" - Corey Graves on Rhyno v Barry Corbin
Tweet 35: Crowd doesn't seem bothered by this. Surprised considering how over Rhyno usually is.
Tweet 36: Let's not forget that Barry Corbin has a tattoo of a phone.

The best picture on offer for this match. No idea who's doing what.

Tweet 37: Guy in the crowd checking his phone there. Sums up this reaction.
Tweet 38: Graves comparing Barry Corbin to Mike Tyson there.
Tweet 39: Spinebuster. Textbook big lad move.
Tweet 40: Corbin kicks out of the Gore and in doing so guarantees that he will one day ascend to main event status.
Tweet 41: Gore into the End of Days, while shakily done, was a good finish.

Samoa Joe promo

Tweet 42: Backstage Samoa Joe's going to pontificate us off air. Maaaaaate...

Tweet 43: Is it audacious of Breeze to call out 'Mr TNA' Samoa Joe? I don't think so. It's wrestling, Joe. Toughen up.
Tweet 44: I liked him channeling Chris Jericho at the end there though. Hilariously naff.
Tweet 45: Good show. Good hustle. Goodnight, everybody!

NXTweet 14.10.15

Coming off a Takeover this episode of NXT had to set things up for the next couple of months. And it did so very well. Bayley was confronted by Alexa Bliss, making it clear that's the champ's next programme. Bliss is a good choice. She's massively over as a heel and hasn't been in the title scene for quite a while. Plus Blake and Murphy should give her matches a different feel to the other women's title matches we've been having lately (not that the trend has been bad).

The New Brainbusters combo of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder made it clear they want another match for the NXT tag straps because they hold a non-title win over The Vaudevillains. It wasn't made clear that they'd get the match they're after but chances are they will. As heels they strike me as a good pair to take the belts from Gotch and English before dropping them to Gable and Jordan.

Finally Apollo Crews won a battle royal to earn a future match with Finn Bálor. The match was booked well, with Joe and Coribn both looking strong and lasting until the end. Interestingly Joe got some boos. That, coupled with his heelish outburst with Regal earlier in the show, could lead to him becoming a lead bad guy for the brand should Apollo win defeat Bálor. Or if Bálor retains for that matter.

Intro

Tweet 1: Need to keep myself busy today. What better way to do that than by tweeting about NXT?

Tweet 2: Hey, remember when there was a Takeover show last week? This video package does.
Tweet 3: Eva Marie, in her robe, being in the opening credits. Kinda lol, mate.

Promo Bayley, featuring BAMF

Tweet 4: Bayley better not come out with any hot garbage about first ever women's main event or anything here.

Tweet 5: Lita and Steph were main eventing RAW a decade and a half ago, bruv.
Tweet 6: Bayley putting over the roster and the women's division. Guessing this is leading to a heel wandering out.
Tweet 7: Crying at Blake and Murphy joining Alexa for this interruption.

Takeover: London semi-main event? I'd be down.

Tweet 8: Idiot scumbag tag teams don't come much finer than Wesley and Buddy.
Tweet 9: Heart-eyes emoji for heel Alexa.

Samoa Joe challenges Finn Bálor to an NXT championship match

Tweet 10: Big Finn and Joseph From Samoa posing with a trophy and chatting with Big Billy Regal here. Great stuff.

Tweet 11: Joe slapping the title belt like a #lad there.
Tweet 12: Joe getting heely here over his undefeated record. Should've brought Tazz in with him. That combo was UNSTOPPABLE.

Tye Dilinger, Apollo Crews and Rhyno cut promos about the battle royal

Tweet 13: What's with these nicks all over Tye Dillinger's head?

Tweet 14: Apollo Crews, big fan of hand gestures.
Tweet 15: Rhyyyyyyyyyyyno! "I was the last ECW world heavyweight champion!" - Last ECW world heavyweight champion, Rhinoceros 'Rhyno' Rhinington

The Vaudevillains v Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton

Tweet 16: #Vaudevillainspop

Tweet 17: Big fan of The Vaudevillains but they've been tag champions two months now and their reign's not been that memorable.
Tweet 18: Not that that's their fault.

New look for Fulton and Dawkins. Dawkins' is basically just a headband though.

Tweet 19: This LOD type look on Sawyer Fulton though.
Tweet 20: Sickened that this allegedly smart crowd didn't chant "Where's your hair gone?" at 'The Drama King'.
Tweet 21: Sawyer Fulton kayfabe wrestles with thumbtacks sticking into his soles? Lolwut? What a weird gimmick.
Tweet 22: Who are the next tag contenders though? I think we all know it SHOULD be Gable and Jordan.

Devin Taylor interviews the Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder

Tweet 23: Oh, but what do we have here? Brainbusters 2.0.

Tweet 24: The Ring Jacket Lads doing a damn fine job of getting over their characters and their motivations here. Strong stuff.

Evie v Nia Jax

Tweet 25: Evie wrestling in a Divas match here. Remember when they embraced it being the women's division? Guessing that's gone.

Tweet 26: Oh. Nia Jax. Finally. Looking forward to her being presented as Triple H's version of Awesome Kong.

Amazing Jax.

Tweet 27: Wondering if Jax will pay tribute to her proud Samoan heritage by using the Samoan Stinkface.
Tweet 28: Jax won? I was expecting big things from that Evie gyal.

Recap of Sasha Banks v Bayley from Takeover

Tweet 29: Becky Lynch going full hyperbole and saying they changed "the world".

Tweet 30: Rein it in, Becky.

Baron Corbin and Tyler Breeze cut promos about the battle royal

Tweet 31: Baron Corbin cutting promos from a car park to get himself ready for a hot run in WWE And Paul Levesque Present EVOLVE.

Tweet 32: Breeze shoot deserves an NXT title match.

Eva Marie vignette

Tweet 33: Eva Marie live from Paris there. I'd watch that as a Network special. Eva wandering around Paris being conceited and that, yup.

Tweet 34: Looking forward to Eva getting some RNN style injury updates at some point.

Battle royal for an NXT championship match

Tweet 35: Danny Burch-slash-Martin Stone being in this match is excellent. He went from jobber with a contract to jobber without a contract to this.

Tweet 36: Might as well bring in Trent Question Mark.

The lads.

Tweet 37: Most over man in this match right now? Johnny 'Probably Has No Contract' Gargano.
Tweet 38: Heat on Terry Creed for eliminating Johnny Gargano there. This crowd is weird.
Tweet 39: The number of tag teams involved in this match highlights how few singles lads of substance NXT has right now.
Tweet 40: I wish Lucky Cannon was around for this current incarnation of NXT.
Tweet 41: Lots of people still in this match. Hoping Rhyno goes on a Gore spree.
Tweet 42: Respect for this sequence of the super over mid-card lads eliminating one another.
Tweet 43: Lol at it ending with Barry Corbin.
Tweet 44: Rhyno yet to hit a Gore ffs.
Tweet 45: Murphy spamming skinning the cat like a champ here.
Tweet 46: Strong final four of Breeze, Crews, Joe, and Barry.
Tweet 47: Crowd were most into Breeze. Joe eliminated him, natch.
Tweet 48: Breeze eliminating Joe and the audience thanking him. Mate, a Joe heel turn would WORK. #justsaying
Tweet 49: Liking Crews and Barry just having a match to end this. Good call.

He can win a battle royal, but he can he beat a man with a demon living inside him?

Tweet 50: Crews won. Pfffffft should've been Danny Burch...
Tweet 51: Only one match of substance but that was a good show. Clear where they're going with the singles belts. Good hustle, everyone.

NXT Takeover: Respect review

Women headlining wrestling shows isn't unheard of. It happens on every SHIMMER and SHINE show. But with those being all-female rosters that's less impressive than it sounds. It's a rarity in mainstream wrestling where weekly TV shows are involved. In fact the last time I can remember it happening in WWE is the Stephanie McMahon versus Lita women's championship match on 21 August 2000. Even if it has happened since (which is entirely possible) that this is the last instance I can remember demonstrates how rare it is.

Takeover: Respect gave us a long overdue more recent example. Sasha Banks and Bayley got to main event this card in a title match and that's a big deal. A competitive match between two of the best in WWE's women's division getting the headline spot in one of the company's acclaimed Takeovers is a significant step forward for the way women are presented by the company (and in the careers of the wrestlers in question too). What's nice is that they weren't handed it as a stunt or an empty gesture, they and the rest of the division earned it by proving they can put on matches befitting the position.

As is always the case with Takeovers this wasn't a one match card, evidenced perfectly by the NXT champion wrestling in the opener. Finn Bálor teamed with Samoa Joe to take on Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson, a team that once upon a time went by the excellent name The Mechanics, in the first semi-final of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Not only did the match work as the tribute to Dusty it was intended to be it also worked as a satisfying opener and fulfilled one of the stated goals of NXT: giving wrestlers a platform to improve. Dawson and Wilder got to share the ring with talented veterans Bálor and Joe. They may have been tagging for years but they've not shared matches with names like them that often.

This is why they were called The Mechanics!

Dawson and Wilder isolated Finn for the majority of the match, stoking the crowd like pros to keep them invested in the champ's plight to make a tag to his burly comrade. He eventually broke free and hot tagged Joe, who cleaned house and set Wilder up for a Muscle Buster. Bálor pleaded to get back into the match legally and end things for his team. Joe acquiesced, tagging out before hitting his move and hit his move. Bálor followed up with the Coup de Grâce and got the pin for his team but he hurt his knee in the process. It was a development that would (obviously) come back to haunt him later in the night.

The second semi-final saw Jason Jordan and Chad Gable face Rhyno and Baron Corbin. It was an amazing match, not least because of how raucously the fans reacted to everything Gable did. After opening with some slick teamwork Gable and Jordan got split, Gable being cut off by the heels. He eventually managed to escape to his corner after Rhyno missed a top rope splash. JJ battered everyone. After the match broke down with big moves and near falls Corbin caught Gable with End of Days and pinned him. It was a disappointing result because Gable and Jordan v Joe and Bálor could have been incredible but the match was still damned fine. And they did at least have a reason for this ending: continuing to build up big, bad Barry Corbin for better things by sharing the ring with NXT's two most significant regulars. A run at the NXT title can't be too far off for him.

Dat entrance gear doe.

Match three saw Asuka make her in-ring debut for both WWE and NXT. She faced Dana Brooke, who I maintain is good and constantly improving, although she clearly wasn't in the league of ten year veteran Asuka. They had a spirited match with Asuka easily upstaging Brooke and working over her arm with multiple armbars. Emma interfered but it came to nothing. Asuka tapped out 'The Total Diva' with the arm-centric Asuka lock and mocked her signature poses afterwards.

After the match Asuka fended off an attack from Brooke and then intimidated mean girl Emma at ringside. She left smiling. The segment made her look like an absolute beast. As an intro this couldn't have been better. We saw her trademark stiff work and her charisma as she mocked Brooke's posing. The NXT women's division has been made very strong with her addition.

After a shot of Finn Bálor being looked at by a doctor, while Samoa Joe had what looked to be a right old go, and a vignette for the still-yet-to-debut Nia Jax it was time for Apollo Crews versus Tyler Breeze. Their match was fast and filled with good stuff: 'Prince Pretty' going on an extended period of offence after an attack outside the ring; Breeze using a Sharpshooter; Apollo lamping Breeze with a leaping super kick; a great close two off a super model kick; Apollo catching a Swanton bomb and turning it into a power slam; Breeze getting his knees up on a standing moonsault and turning it into an inside cradle for two; and the match winning belly-to-back into a power bomb by Crews.

They didn't get as long as they could have (the match was just shy of ten minutes) but they did lots with what they had. The crowd were into everything the pair did and, even though it was frustrating to see 'The King of Cuteville' stare at the lights on another Takeover, it featured the right result. Breeze is the more established of the two within NXT. Crews is just starting out in the company and a win here was required to illustrate that he is the big deal he's made out to be.

The tournament finals were preceded by a reminder that Finn Bálor had a hurty knee from the opening match and that Corbin and Rhyno are Big Lads. Bálor continued to sell the knee as he entered. Corbin and Rhyno continued to be big lads. So did Samoa Joe for that matter.

Bálor started the match for his team, immediately going for quick rollups on 'The Man Beast' before drop kicking Corbin and tagging out to Joe. It was a sequence designed to demonstrate that he was feeling the injury. It did exactly that. Once it was established that the champ was hurt Joe was isolated by the heels (Corbin getting loud boos whenever he tagged in) as the commentary team teased that Joe was possibly trying to go it alone to improve his team's chances of winning by not tagging out.

Naturally he did end up tagging Bálor in. Despite a minor twinge he controlled the pace against Corbin. But he couldn't overcome a cheap shot from Rhyno or the targeting of the knee that 'The Wolf Shaman' followed up with. Bálor got flattened for several minutes before getting a desperation slingblade on Corbin and tagging back out to Joe, who cleaned house before getting hit with a Gore. Bálor broke up the following pin attempt and threw Corbin out of the ring. The faces then hit their Muscle Buster-Coup de Grâce combo for the win at just over eleven minutes.

Note the lack of Stardust.

Dusty's family hit the ring to congratulate the winners. Cody Rhodes (as Cody Rhodes, obviously) gave a heartfelt speech talking about Dusty's impact and significance in wrestling and NXT specifically. His dad's Common Man theme then hit as the audience chanted "Thank you, Dusty!" It was the perfect cap to the tournament. Nice to see that it wasn't used to hotshot a Joe and Bálor feud too. That was teased and I wouldn't have been against seeing it but there was something nice about two mates winning and celebrating together.

That left only the main event: a half hour iron woman match for the women's championship. Bayley defending against Sasha Banks. It was preceded by a recap of the Bayley versus Banks feud, which was obviously great, and a shot of Lita, Stephanie McMahon, Charlotte and Becky Lynch chilling at ringside. Because I'm sure Steph hangs out with the talent all casual like all the time. This wasn't designed to paint her in a specific light at all. Definitely not.

Their last match before Bayley gets called up to join 
the other Horsewomen on the main roster.

"Women's wrestling" and "You deserve it" chants rang out at the start of the match. The pair were slow to get going, understandably not wanting to rush when they had half an hour to play with. Banks was first to get advantage, going for flash pins on the champ. Bayley retaliated in kind. 'The Boss' would come back with a drop kick and the top rope arm drag before trying a Bank Statement. Bayley sandbagged her then offered a handshake. Banks accepted only to sling Bayley down to the mat. Because hey, she's a devious heel and Bayley was naive to trust her. Bayley fired up and came back to hammer Banks with clotheslines and her drop kick through the turnbuckle spot.

Back in the ring Banks tried a rope assisted rollup but the ref caught her in the act. He didn't catch her thumb gouging Bayley's eye seconds later though. That was enough to get Banks the first three count of the bout.

'The Hugster' threw Banks head first into a turnbuckle. Sasha turned the tables and tried her double knees. Bayley escaped and got her Bayley-to-belly for a three count. Banks rolled out of the ring looking for space. Bayley followed and tried for her turnbuckle drop kick again but Banks caught her and tossed her into steel stairs. Then she picked her up and tossed her in twice more before getting herself some crazy heat by rubbing her success in the face of Izzy (Bayley's ever present ringside super fan) and rammed her into the LED board in the entranceway to earn herself a count out victory (and set up Bayley for the big comeback, natch).

Banks had a 2-1 lead when Bayley crawled back into the ring. She immediately tried to extend it to 3-1 with a cover but Bayley kicked out. Sasha ran her mouth and cut off a comeback with a backbreaker and the Lion Tamer. Bayley made the ropes and then surprised the challenger with a hurricanrana to even the score to 2-2.

Bayley continued to fire up with clotheslines, forearms, elbows and a spear before popping off the second rope with a back elbow and a suplex into the tree of woe to set up an elbow drop. Banks fought back with her corner hung double knees and a tree of woe of her own. Bayley pulled herself up to avoid a spear from Sasha then drop kicked her outside the ring and slammed her hand into the steel steps, a call-back both to Sasha's actions earlier in this bout and their collision in Brooklyn back in August.

Bayley leapt off the steps with a clothesline then got kicked back into them by the challenger. As the clock hit five and a half minutes Banks flew out of the ring with a suicide dive, only to be caught and Bayley-to-bellied on the outside. Back in the ring Sasha kicked out. Then they headed to the ropes for a reprise of their exchanges at Takeover: Brooklyn. Bayley got a second rope Bayley-to-belly but Banks saved herself from the pin by getting her foot onto the ropes.

Desperate for a decisive win, Bayley hauled Banks to the second rope again, this time hitting an inverted hurricanrana. Banks rolled through and hit a belly-to-belly of her own then clamped on a Bank Statement. The crowd lost it at that, a combination of the two women telling a great story and the timing of bringing out such an over and protected move. It's been so well-established as a match-ender that people could easily believe Bayley would tap and be left prone to further pins from Banks.

Bayley fighting to survive Banks' devastating finisher.

Bayley was still in the hold at the one minute mark. She loosened Banks' grip then slammed her hand to the mat (another nice call-back). Banks again went for the Statement but Bayley reversed it, an armbar with some nasty torque. Banks gave up to the hold seconds before the match ended. It was absolutely worthy of the main event slot. A great match between great wrestlers for a belt that means so much.

After the match champion and challenger were greeted with a standing ovation from the entire roster in the aisle. Banks got a "Thank you" chant from the crowd, this very obviously being her last regular appearance at Full Sail. Meanwhile Bayley was congratulated by Triple H in the ring. It was the perfect end to yet another top notch NXT Takeover.

***

Results summary:

Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe defeated Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semi-final
Baron Corbin and Rhyno defeated Chad Gable and Jason Jordan in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semi-final
Asuka defeated Dana Brooke
Apollo Crews defeated Tyler Breeze
Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe defeated Baron Corbin and Rhyno in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals
Bayley defeated Sasha Banks 3-2 in an iron woman match to retain the women's championship

NXTweet 30.09.15

Next week is a Takeover special and this episode was just shunting bits and pieces into place. I'll leave the lengthy chat for the Takeover review.

Kyle Edwards recaps the Dusty Tag Classic so far

Tweet 1: Going to squeeze in some NXT. May pause though. Don't like doing it but whatevs.

Tweet 2: Hot start with Kyle Edwards and his Tenth Doctor cosplay.
Tweet 3: Flashbacks to Michael Cole on Livewire.
Tweet 4: Pleased to see my boys Gability and 'The New Double J' getting a win.
Tweet 5: And Dash and Dawson, the Not-Mechanics, are still my picks to win.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Enzo Amore and Big Cass v Samoa Joe and Finn Bálor

Tweet 6: What's up with Carmella's dancing? Pubic lice?

Tweet 7: Actch promo from The Realest Lads. #treat
Tweet 8: Billy Gunn would be in the Hall of Fame right now if he'd spelt out his two words.
Tweet 9: Finn Bálor thinking his leather jacket is all that and a bag of snazz. Nah mate. Joe's towel is where it's at.
Tweet 10: I did like WWE's shameless pilfering of the Bullet Club font though.
Tweet 11: Corey, Joe's good but he doesn't move like a lightweight.

Unbeatable combo? Sure... for now!

Tweet 12: Imagine Big Cass getting pinned off an STO. Takes more than that to put down Kevin Nash's spiritual son.
Tweet 13: Who'd have thought Enzo and Cass would lose that?!

Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa discuss their NXT careers then get interrupted by Tyler Breeze

Tweet 14: 'Sweet' Johnny G and 'Wreck-It' Tommy Champ.

Tweet 15: These lads being on NXT is still pretty surreal. Getting promos. Sharing the screen with Tyler Breeze. When did WWE adopt this approach pls?
Tweet 16: Apollo Crews v Johnny Gargano. Winner gets an EVOLVE championship match.
Tweet 17: Waiting for Ethan Page to run in.

Museum piece, apparently.

Tweet 18: "That drop kick belongs in a museum because it's a work of art" - Byron Saxton, confusing museums and galleries
Tweet 19: Hope Johnny Gargano starts calling this abdominal stretch the Johnny Abdominal because why not?
Tweet 20: Looking forward to Sami Zayn coming back and Triple Paul booking an ROH v WWN thing.
Tweet 21: The guy with the contract won? I'm shocked (I'm not).

William Regal, Emma and Dana Brooke backstage

Tweet 22: #Regalpop

Tweet 23: Emma and Dana acting like naughty school kids here. Lol stuff.
Tweet 24: "Looks like a high-heena" - Dana Brooke
Tweet 25: Regal showing two women a video of another woman grunting and making slapping sounds. Sexual harassment in the workplace!

Dana Brooke and Emma v Billie Kay and Peyton Royce

Tweet 26: Dana Brooke. Now with added gloves.

Tweet 27: Heel Emma with her Heel Music and her Heel Gloves that don't cover her palms. She should've never been broken in the business!
Tweet 28: Third match in a row with obvious winners. The first two were good enough for that not to be an issue. Can this be too?!
Tweet 29: "Emma isn't my friend, she's my strategic ally."

Raw power.

Tweet 30: Peyton and Billie wearing matching gear, desperately trying to entice a women's tag division. I reckon NXT could handle it.
Tweet 31: "C'moooooooon!" - 'White Meat' Peyton Royce
Tweet 32: 'White Meat' got got by Dana's Alex Shane tribute.

Jason Jordan and Chad Gable talk to Devin Taylor then get interrupted by Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder

Tweet 33: JJ embracing his status as Jeff Jarrett's heir.

Tweet 34: Jamoke. Strong words, mate.

Tommaso Ciampa v Tyler Breeze

Tweet 35: Ciampa v Breeze. O rly?

Tweet 36: Assuming Breeze will win but it's the least obvious thing on this show so far.
Tweet 37: Ciampa being like "Breeze is stiff" though. FFS.
Tweet 38: Did I do a Tommy Penmanship gag last week? Think I did.

Snug.

Tweet 39: Ciampa reveling in his stiff ring work here. Whaddaguy.
Tweet 40: Good match this. Ciampa getting built up is pretty cool.
Tweet 41: Barry and Big Terry have this tourney sewn up. Don't believe me? Ask 'em.
Tweet 42: Ending on a vid so I'm going to say that this show had some good hustle now. The video in question will obviously be great.

NXTweet 23.09.15

As episodes of NXT go this was a strange one. It was very heavy of backstage promos and catch-up videos. They've become more common in NXT since it was stretched from forty-five minutes-ish to an hour each week but this is the most we've had in a while. The show was also light on matches. There were only three on offer: Eva Marie v Carmella, Breeze v Dempsey, and a tag title rematch from Takeover: Brooklyn. Of those only the Vaudevillains and BAMF produced anything worthwhile. The other two bouts were both underwhelming, although they did at least serve a purpose in continuing Eva's push, keeping 'Prince Pretty' strong, and giving Dempsey and Carmella some air time.

Future NXT women's champion? My money's on yes.

The main thing this episode is likely to be remembered for is the debut of Kana and her name change to Asuka. Her contract signing ceremony was interrupted by Dana Brooke and Emma. After taking a pop at the new girl they instructed her to leave. Breaking from WWE babyface tradition Asuka did, pausing briefly at the top of the entrance ramp to glance back at NXT's resident mean girls.

This was odd booking for a company that generally doesn't have its good guys back down from a fight under any circumstances. Presumably it will lead to Asuka "finding herself" and possibly a tag partner for a match against Brooke and-or Emma at Takeover: Respect where she'll get her first WW win before she's built up as a challenger for Bayley or Eva Marie in a few months time. At least I hope that's what they go with because this sort of booking, while fine in isolation, will do Asuka no favours if it's the long term plan.

Intro

Tweet 1: Early morning NXT watch go!

Tweet 2: Immediate shill for Takeover. Excellent work, Rich.

Eva Marie v Carmella

Tweet 3: 'Red Queen' Eva Marie? Does that mean she's a communist?

Tweet 4: Does Eva having red queen written on blue gear have a hidden meaning?
Tweet 5: Carmella. *puts ear plugs in*
Tweet 6: Carmella being a female Enzo is not cool.
Tweet 7: Running knee Nakamura would be proud of from Eva there...

Such power in that right knee.

Tweet 8: Eva has said "How you doin'?" more times than Carmella. Create your own shtick and use it, luv. It'll pay off.
Tweet 9: WWE teasing a story where a referee has a crush on Eva Marie in 2015. My word.
Tweet 10: Big Match Eva wins again!
Tweet 11: HAHA! SHE WON BY COUNT OUT, MAGGLE!

Bull Dempsey v Tyler Breeze

Tweet 12: Dempsey v Breeze. If Adam Rose doesn't appear I'll riot.

Tweet 13: Bull Dempsey, the love child of Bam Bam Bigelow and The Taz.
Tweet 14: Lol at some girl screaming during Breeze's entrance.
Tweet 15:  Shades of Kamala from big, bad Bull there. #whataworker

Breeze doing some big bumps to make an undeserving Bull look good.

Tweet 16: This match is a chore. I blame Bull.
Tweet 17: I preferred Bull when he was an ineffective bad ass who couldn't live up to being Taz: The Next Generation.

Recap of NXT's Texas tour

Tweet 18: Texas tour recap, Maggle.

Tweet 19: I remember Finn Bálor. He's that lad who used to wrestle on NXT's weekly show.
Tweet 20: For some reason I'm surprised that Dana Brooke is getting house show title matches. I assumed Trips would save that for a Takeover.

Kana becomes Asuka, signs a WWE developmental contract, and gets scared off by Dana Brooke and Emma

Tweet 21: Regal introduces Kana. Konor from The Ascension comes out. It's awkward.

Tweet 22: Like a Graeme Harper episode of Doctor Who, Asuka is full of pace and energy.
Tweet 23: Emma and Dana Brooke. #feelings

Putting this here for #ratings.

Tweet 24: Tag match at Takeover? Alundra Blayze as Asuka's tag partner.
Tweet 25: So Asuka actually left? Weird.

Tyler Breeze walks along a corridor, Apollo Crews blocks his path

Tweet 26: Apollo Crews openly bullying Tyler Breeze there. Someone needs to smarten that kid up to Being A Star.

Hype Bros promo

Tweet 27: Mojo Rawley cosplaying as Ash Ketchum here for whatever reason.

Tweet 28: Dash and Dawson are my picks to win this tournament. Feels like Tripper's way of building up a team.

NXT tag team championship: The Vaudevillains (c) v BAMF

Tweet 29: I wish Jim Ross was still around so he could call a BAMF entrance. "Look at this pair of yahoos! These two young punks!"

Tweet 30: RIP JR's WWE commentary career.
Tweet 31: Saddest part of Ross's WWE career is that it didn't just end. It died slowly over years, via SmackDown, part time work and Todd Grisham.
Tweet 32: Saddened to see Alexa Bliss leave ringside.

Aiden English casually suplexing two men there.

Tweet 33: Nice to see Blake and Murphy still can't remember who's who and have retained the names on gear gimmick.
Tweet 34: 'Bigtime' Buddy Murphy still looks like a short, young 'Mean' Mark Callous.
Tweet 35: Kicks. Innovative offence apparently.
Tweet 36: "That's it, we're gonna have new tag champs!" - Corey Graves, letting us know the Vaudevillains would retain
Tweet 37: Good match that. I'd have to rewatch both but it was possibly better than their Brooklyn one.

Big Cass and Enzo and Samoa Joe and Finn Bálor promos

Tweet 38: Why end on a match when you could end on promo?

Tweet 39: Enzo and Cass reckon they're beating Joseph Samoa and Finn(lay) Bálor. I don't like their chances tbh.
Tweet 40: Dusty Rhodes was Finn Bálor's mentor. Apparently.
Tweet 41: There's nothing subtle about the Joe v Finn tease.
Tweet 42: Good show. Good hustle.