Straight to the music this week, and I'm grateful we got Coheed & Cambria for as long as we did. I'm used to this new theme song now, but I'll always miss "Welcome Home".
Segment One
Recap:
- Tyler Breeze defeated Marcus Louis, successfully squelching his gag reflex long enough to berate the uggo for his hairless head and hit his finisher.
- The Frenchman snaps, first by blaming the crowd for his appearance again, then by walking out into the Florida night in a catatonic trance.
- Enzo & Big Cass serve as emcee and ring announcer for Carmella rematch against the Kitty Pryde lookalike she beat in her debut - a rematch with the same outcome as said debut.
- A backstage interview spot with Finn Bálor uneventfully sets up tonight's main event.
Reactions:
- Prince Pretty vs. the Phantom of Full Sail. This is the kind of inspired pairing we need. A downside of NXT's brief runtime is that hot mid-card feuds are rare. Pitting these two against one another could change that, and give Tyler something to do in for the first time since the last live special.
- Don't know if it's the performers or something that the powers-that-be in Orlando do with them, but NXT is full of great wrestling actors. Watching Breeze retch and tell the referee "no" was priceless, and Louis runs a range of emotion that should seem ridiculous but that he sells every step of the way.
- A Lord of the Rings snap seems out of character for the Duke of Delish, and he kind of bungled the delivery. Tyler made up for it with the vicious "no one will ever love you" rant that set up his victory. The bookers seem to be trying things to get heel reactions for some of their fan favorite bad guys, and I applaud them for that.
- Can't be mad at Full Sail Live for cheering rudos on a night where they brought their 'A' game like this, though. They were on all episode, but I think my two favorites were chanting "Oui" as Marcus made his entrance and "This is Awkward" during his meltdown.
- Carmella needs to be a heel. I mean, Enzo & Cass walk the main roster "dick face" line as much as anyone in Developmental, but at least they're underdog blowhards. Why should I cheer this woman who tells me how "hawt" she is and is at best dissing Amore and at worst trying to play the Realest Guys off one another?
- Based on the crowd support for Ole Blue Pants, I'm not alone in this. I don't think I rooted for anything on this show as much as I did for the Kitty Pryde cos-player to humble the Princess of Staten Island.
- Was a little disappointed that the Certifed Gs didn't mention their getting merked by The Ascension last week. Enzo and the seven footer need a feud, unless their serving as mouthpieces for Carm is another way to keep them out of the ring while they keep training...which isn't that horrible an idea either, come to think of it.
- Can we stop interviewing Finn right after he gets done working out, or being mauled by ferrets, as the scratches all over his upper torse and neck made it look tonight? There's "laid back badass" and there's "wake up, dude". We could see a little more character, or at least verbal fire - especially as WWE fans form their initial opinions about him.
Segment Two
Recap:
- Tag champs Lucha Dragons get a win over Jason Jordan & Tye Dillinger, due in part to the ongoing communication issues between the enhancement talent team.
- A new Kevin Steen promo spot promotes his character as a family man who fights for his wife & kids, and officially reveals his WWE name as Kevin Owens.
- Bayley ignores Charlotte's advice and hits the ring to cut a promo calling out Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch as bullies. Those same bullies show up and beat her down, injuring the Hugster's knee in the process.
- The other half of the main event is approached by the faceless backstage interviewer. Tyson Kidd and Natalya are back to talking over each other in these spots, but Kidd is more concerned with putting himself over as the second coming of "Uncle Bret", and checking on their cats.
Reactions:
- Still can't put my finger on it, but I'm still unmoved by the Dragons since they won the belts. The spots are fun, but now that we know what's coming, they're nothing that sticks with you or that you really want to hype up after they happen.
- They really missed an opportunity to get the audience invested in them as good guys by not having them respond to Simon Gotch & Aiden English's stunt last week, too. They're both bilingual, and the bit where Kalisto translates for Sin Cara all interview before the Faceless One signs off in English would help get them over with adults. Neon shirts and high flying moves by themselves aren't going to bring about the next Rey Mysterio. They're going to get you two Sin Caras.
- It'd be nice if Jordan & Dillinger got some wins or something so this break-up they keep teasing means something when it happens.
- Owens is being set-up as a fan-friendly character, which could just be them being realistic about the pop he's going to get on December 11th, or it could be misdirection. I like him as a face, but I LOVE him as a heel, so this should be interesting. Super-hyped either way, and these videos are only ratcheting up my excitement.
- Speaking of ratchet, Sasha is not. Her shirt says so.
- Bayley, Bayley, Bayley. This was a solid little promo from our heroine, and I get that they're playing up her naïveté, but - WOW - am I ready to resume the character development we were seeing during the Charlotte program heading into Fatal 4Way. Don't think I'd be as frustrated with her character's current stagnation if we hadn't started to see her grow up. Her being aggressive in standing up to the new BFFs would be a nice start, if she didn't come across as foolish for setting herself up to be outnumbered.
- Becky's parting taunt to "call your momma and tell her you met some cowards" was the second best thing a wrestler said in the ring tonight. She's finding her way quite nicely since the turn.
- Really wish we'd left the Total Divas relationship drama for Main Event or whatever, but I'll allow it because (1) Natty looks great in the dresses they costume her in on NXT and (2) it sets up conversations about Facetiming with cats that I previously thought only occurred between my better half and me.
Segment Three / Main Event
- The #1 contenders for the tag titles made a silent film designed to further embarrass Kalisto & Sin Cara ahead of the now official championship bout between the Vaudevillains and Lucha Dragons at Takeover: R Evolution.
- Kidd & Bálor start off slow, but end up turning in a hard-hitting main event with some innovative offense from both guys. Before Finn can hit his finisher, however...
- Konnor & Viktor attack their Irish nemesis. Tyson skedaddles as Hideo Itami runs in to even the odds. A major brawl that a ton of referees and unknowns from the Performance Center are unable to stop closes the show.
Reactions:
- Just when I think they've figured out how to get heel heat on acts like Gotch & English, they drop this masterpiece on us aimed right at our smark weaknesses. Simon is sparring with a bear, fercrissakes! Everything about this was wonderful, but - aside from interspecies fisticuffs, which is always going to be the best thing about anything that contains interspecies fisticuffs - Aiden's "lines" about the refreshingness of running and thwarting robberies, the 'X's over the Lucha Loompas eyes after they've been foiled and the disclaimer about no Lucha Dragons being harmed during filming were particularly sublime.
- Only thought the subtitle for Takeover 3 was dumb before, but knowing they're pronouncing it "our evolution" makes my eyes roll. The card has the potential to be the best yet, though.
- For a while, I was worried that Finn was having the same issues Itami's had adjusting to the WWE style. I appreciated the mat-based start to the main event, but my attention was waning by the time we got to the face-in-peril second act. Business picked up in a big way, though, enough so that I retroactively appreciated the early going as old school set-up as opposed to 21st century stalling.
- Kidd's offense was just vicious looking and Bálor sells it convincingly without ever overdoing it or getting hammy. "Ask him in Irish" was the best thing a wrestler said in the ring tonight.
- Was still reeling from the brainbuster suplex when Finn snapped off a freaking Penalty Kick. That's a move I really never expected to see, because it is too similar to Randy Orton's punt, so for both duplication and safety/image issues I figured it would stay on the shelf.
- Pleasantly surprised that Tyson was protected by the finish, at the same time that I'm bummed we didn't get a finish to a really good match. I am relieved that we didn't go to the "Natalya refuses to help him cheat" well again, especially since that was never really resolved - she just stopped accompanying him for a while after it happened, until she started acting as his valet again last week.
- Would have been nice if they had held off on announcing the match at TO3 between The Ascension and Hideo & Finn until after this finish, but I guess it's not a huge deal. They better find something for Tyson to do on the 11th, though...Fact.
Solid show, but both because it was light on actual wrestling and because the back-to-back 'A' shows from a few weeks back set such a high bar, it just misses a top grade. Almost everything is building to something, but only the Vaudevillians segment and the main event are required viewing.
Grade: B+
What say you, faithful NXTers?