The three-man booth of Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips and Tensai bring us in. And it's quickly apparent that this is being treated as a good old-fashioned go home show for next week's live Arrival special on WWE Network, As they should.
The Ascension (c) vs. These Guys
- But first, it's the longest reigning tag champs in NXT history that no one cares about! Sweet T says their opponents, who got the jobber entrance, are Casey Marion and "Like" Mike Laboska. Please forgive mistakes there, we never got a graphic.
- Viktor and Marion start off, and there's a cool spot where Casey is whipped into spearing his opponent on the outside. I kind of think that should constitute a tag, but I'm not licensed to referee in the state of Florida (or anywhere else for that matter), so what do I know?
- Phillips says that The Ascension describe their offense as "telepathic carnage". Can we get more info on that? If these two are going to be clogging up my Thursday nights for the foreseeable future, can I get some bat$#!+ crazy explanation for with they spell their names with 'K's and look like steampunk time-travelers stuck in Old Testament Egypt?
- Konnor comes in for a their tandem back drop spot, before tagging back out so that his partner can record the pin post-Fall of Man.
The Ascension defeat These Guys in approximately one and a half minutes via pinfall when Viktor pins Casey Marion
Mrs. Rhodes, who is still identified as Eden Stiles here even though they refer to her as Brandi all the time on WWE.com, handles the "Tyler Breeze has entered the building" announcement very well before introducing our next match.
Summer Rae vs. Emma
- The commentators (without special women's correspondent Renee Young! Hopefully, we're not the only ones who noticed how badly that was working out) play up the Raw rivalry of our competitor - which is both cool and a little disconcerting at the same time. I'm super-excited for these women, but I also like my NXT separate from my main shows. It's not that this one mention is the end of the world, but I worry.
- Tensai, who continues to show real promise as a color man, joins Eddie Mac in missing Emma's bubbles. She has them here, along with Bayley and a sign that mocks Summer's teeth. I don't really think the sign gimmick is much more than a distraction, and I also could stand to have a women's feud that doesn't involve making fun of each other's looks - especially if the babyfaces are the ones making the jokes.
- Summer Rae, who is accompanied by her Beautiful Fierce Females (BFFs) Sasha Banks and Charlotte, goes to rip up the sign at the start and almost gets rolled up for her troubles. After working the dancer's arm for a second, The First Lady counters a Dil-emma attempt by kneeing her opponent in the head, putting her in control for the bulk of the match.
- Fandango's partner has come so far - it's really one of my favorite things about having been NXT guy as Cageside for the past year or so. She's an actual wrestler now, and her mastery of "the little things" is off the charts. She now does dance moves around her downed opponent while working rest holds, and there's a fantastic bit where she catches the ropes on a whip counter by Emma and gives a quick evil "HA" to the Aussie as she bounces off them while her opponent's drop kick lands nothing but air.
- Phillips talks about Emma as being "awkward yet cocky", and it's the latter that's missing from her Raw character so far. Part of her connection to the audience is her belief in herself despite her foibles. The good thing is that I think as along as she's getting television time, she can work that into her presentation. Even if it around making out with The Milan Miracle.
- Tom also corrects Tensai when he refers to the NXT females as Divas, cementing his status as my favorite play-by-play guy. WE CALL THEM WOMEN ON WEDNESDAY NIGHTS!
- Sidestepping a charge gives the face the opening she needs to lock in the Dil-Emma and then hit the low crossbody after the referee forces a break. She goes for an Emma Lock, but Summer kicks her off - and right into a slap from Banks that allows her fellow BFF to roll-up her opponent for a near fall. But the #1 contender reverses a whip and sends SR crashing into Sasha on the apron, which provides the opening she needs to cinch in her submission finisher.
Emma defeats Summer Rae in approximately seven minutes via submission
Devin Taylor catches up with the now-in-the-building Tyler Breeze, who can't bring himself to mention his opponent tonight, Adrian Neville, in the same sentence as the 'F' word (rhymes with space). Which will be a problem if Neville defeats Bo Dallas at Arrival, since it would make him the face of NXT.
Following Triple H's booking of their latest clash last week, Renee Young has both Sami Zayn and Antonio Cesaro in for a sit-down interview. It's interesting that they're referencing Cesaro's spot in the Elimination Chamber title match, but also still using his first name.
This segment is as wonderfully set up and executed as everything involving these two men. The structure is that Cesaro is stepping on all of Sami's answers (Zayn tries to complement him on getting into the Chamber match, the Swiss cuts hime off to talk about what a great accomplishment it is for him and how the NXT-er could be facing the WWE World Heavyweight champ at Arrival, etc). A personal favorite is when he calls Young "beautiful, if Canadian".
Finally, despite stipulations that would cost either man title shots at their respective levels should things get physical, Zayn stands up and gets in his opponent's face. His promo about how their issues are beyond personal leaves Cesaro, who had been running his mouth at every opportunity, speechless as they stare each other down.
As Beyoncé would say: Flawless.
Backstage-a-palooza continues with a faceless interviewer catching up with Emma. She no-sells a question about the BFFs but does mention her sign, so, yeah, I guess that's definitely gonna be thing in her gimmick now. She then says that she'll address Paige "next week".
Is there a Hulu episode before Arrival? One last Wednesday night hurrah on the streaming service before moving to its permanent home on WWEN?
Also, I'm really looking forward to Emma and Paige's rematch, but the Anti-Diva's absence from not only ring work, but all things NXT has made the build pretty weird. What kind of injury was she reported to have had again?
Tyler Breeze vs. Adrian Neville
- This has quietly been a really strong feud. And, at least for me, it hasn't diminished Breeze even though he has lost every straight-up encounter between the two. It's a neat trick, and one they need to figure out how to pull off more often. I fear it's probably just how good Prince Pretty is more than a formula they can repeat, however.
- After a lock-up, the model stomps Neville in the corner until the ref pulls him off. That gives Breeze an opportunity to yell "don't touch me" - which is great.
- Most of this match is set-up as Tyler having Adrian scouted. It starts when Neville goes for his cartwheel escape and bounces right into a drop kick to his face. Even when the Jumpin' Geordie thinks he has the counters countered, like when he stalls his springboard crossbody to avoid another drop kick, he ends up running right into a super-kick.
- There's a brief period mid-match where Neville gets control, and it's an important moment for the development of his character. For one thing, he's noticeably pissed off and almost heelishly stalks Breeze as the announce desk puts over that he's sending a message to his Arrival opponent, NXT champion Bo Dallas. For another, he catches The Gorgeous One in powerbomb position, but before delivering the move, he carries him around for half-a-minute as a show of strength. One of my concerns with Adrian is that he can come across as a spot monkey in matches, with everything just being window dressing for the inevitable corkscrew shooting star press. Things like this made him a more well-rounded in-ring performer.
- Eventually, after a period with Breeze back in the driver's seat, a couple of stiff-sounding enziguris leave The Man that Gravity Forgot in position for his finisher, and a Red Arrow gives him the victory.
Adrian Neville defeats Tyler Breeze in approximately eight and a half minutes via pinfall
Neville asks for a microphone, but before he can say much, the champ appears. Bo delivers his usual condescending smarminess, calling Adrian a "good kid" and snickers at his own unintentional pun when he comments on the Brit having "climbed the ladder of success" in NXT (they're in a ladder match next week - GET IT?).
The challenger responds with a decent but bland promo about how Dallas is scared of him, and how his mouth is smiling but his eyes aren't. He dares Bo to hit him, and after the champ postures for a while by dropping the mic, taking of his jacket, rolling up his sleeves...he leaves.
Decent wrap-up to what has been a pretty well built program. But I hope that match goes on first (the Red Arrow from the top of ladder spot will get the crowd amped), because no one wants to follow Cesaro vs Zayn.
A nice return to form, just in time for the big coming out party. The fact that they had to rely on the top guys and girls to make their comeback might indicate a depth problem, but we'll worry about that later.
Grade: B+
How was it for you, Cagesiders?