WWE NXT recap, reactions, video highlights from March 25, 2015: Bring the demon

Did you know that NXT was proud of their trip to Ohio? Well, they still are. Conveniently, their video package proclaiming as much also sets up everything you'll get on this week's show!

Recap:

• JoJo and the rest of the gang try to give Bliss vs. Banks: The Rematch a big fight feel, but Full Sail isn't feeling it. The Sparkley One provides her usual mix of glitz and green, and hesitates just long enough for the champ to make a Statement for the tapout win.
• Kevin Owens thinks Finn Bálor's little make-up deal is cute, in a promo so good they had to use it immediately in a video package hyping tonight's men's title fight.
• If Bayley won't listen to Dark Emma, she will feel her slap.
• Dumb questions from Devin lead to challenges from Hide-ous Itami, but Tyler Breeze still hasn't accepted a two-out-of-three falls tiebreaker for next week.

Reactions:

• Haven't ranted about Full Sail in a long while, and it's a minor one, because I thought they were their usual great selves for most of this episode. Plus, there is a little something missing from the booking and the performance in this program that rushed Alexa to prominence over women that most of us expected to be in this spot - namely Bayley and Becky Lynch. But, the first few minutes of the opener were as bad a case of a crowd trying to go into business for themselves instead of giving what they were offered a chance as I've seen in a while.
• Ms. Bliss does make it tough at times, though. I'm not ragging on her, because as we all know, this is Developmental and not everyone has ten years of working in American Legion halls under their belt. She definitely won the crowd over at the end with some of her big moves - the Sunset Flip Powerbomb gets me every time, and either she hit the Glitz Flip much better or it needs to be shot at the angle they used this week. But for her flashes of Trish Stratus, she still has her moments of Kelly Kelly. I look forward to seeing where she goes from here, and not just because I find her form pleasing to the eye.
• Would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bummed that The Boss didn't just wipe her out, though. Not sure how much the Columbus native benefited from the loss - she still goes to the back of the line and will need to be re-established before we buy her as a title contender.
• Weirdly paced match, too, probably due to having to book two lengthy bouts for the Pixie in a row. Banks and commentary sold that Bliss was easy to scout, somewhat covering for it, but she was still a little too unnatural in transitioning from one phase of the match to the next. It stuck out where when the referee was counting the champ out again, and at the finish.
• Our dancing Aussie is officially the most 'Reality' Era character ever now. I'll always miss the delusional, bubble-blowing dancing queen, but if this puts us back on a path toward a decade long rivalry between Emma and Paige, everything that's happened since her call-up might have been worth it.
• Hugster for life, don't get me wrong. But how many of these lessons is Bayley going to need before she either turns or wins the Zayn-esque big one? Feels like she's gotten these tough love lessons from just about every women she's shared a locker room with by now.
• Owens is good at talking. WWE is good at making videos. WWE making videos where Owens talks is unsurprisingly very good.
• Everybody knows that I want Breeze and Itami to feud forever. What no one knew, including me, is that having Devin Taylor stand in between them and kind of make faces would make their feud even better. Here's to Prince Pretty and Hideo as much time next week as tonight's main event got.

Recap:

• Dana Brooke exercises in low-cut tops while wearing a lot of make-up.
• In case you were thinking about cancelling your Network subscription tonight, WWE takes about a half-hour to sell you on keeping it until at least Sunday night.
• The Irishman makes his case for being deemed "The Future" (Seth Rollins should demand equal time) and we're reminded what either Finn or The Demon will face tonight with some clips that explain why Rich Brennan & Corey Graves are only a two-person booth this week.
• All of our questions about what they're doing with Carmella and The Realest Guys...still aren't answered, but the tag champs peace offering of costume jewelry makes the questions more "hmmm?" than "whaa?"

Reactions:

• Jokes about the amount of commercials for something you already own aside, the WrestleMania shilling did remind me of that execrable pre-'Mania advert they put on Hulu a couple of years back and pretended was an episode of NXT. This product has come a really long way in a not very long time.
• My oft-stated concerns about Finn's babyface character are being nicely addressed with the way their handling his "demon". Saw some concerns on social media that it might be a semi-mystical thing that sticks out on this show, kind of like The Ascension, but as long as they continue to handle it as a cross between a mental health issue and the way a football player psyches himself up for a big game, it should avoid any issues like that - and be a very interesting twist on a handling a character who is going to be cheered by 21st century crowds.
• Don't know what that story 'Zo was telling when Blake & Murphy interrupted him. And I bet he doesn't know either.
• Let's just leave Graves & Brennan alone at that table with the microphones. What do you say, Haitch? It's ridiculous how novel it seems to  simply have two people talk about the story that lead to the match we're all watching, and the action going on in the ring.
• Not sure if it's where they're going yet or not, but having Carm switch allegiances to the tag champs pretty much solves two problems, right? If they could somehow bring back Marcus Louis with a promo that establishes why Jason Jordan turned on Tye Dillinger, we'd be set! Wait, that still wouldn't explain what's up with Simon Gotch and Aiden English...oh well, I tried.

Recap:

• Were they given twenty-five minutes, or did they take it? Finn and KO earned the honor of a showcase on the eve of WrestleMania with a masterpiece that proved they deserved it.
• Round and round they went, but the exposed metal of the Full Sail ramp claimed another victim - and the champ knew what to do to a high flier with a bum knee.
• The challenger wasn't about to quit, but on something less than two good legs everything came up a little short. Even the Coup de Grâce, which hurt Bálor almost as much as it did Owens. Unable to cover after his own finisher, he was easy prey for the champ's.

Reactions:

• You know how sometimes I'm just like, "What do you want me to say? Go watch the match!" about a NXT main event? This is another one of those times.
• Just to kiss and make up with Full Sail Live after bitching about them above. Except for the unnecessary "Better than Raw" chant towards the end of this contest, they were awesome for its not insignificant run time. Actually cheering the babyface and booing the heel feels as fresh as the two-man booth. And this is just the best:

• For real though, Kevin freaking Steen has a bunch of independent wrestling smarks booing him. That is impressive.
• In a match that included numerous enjoyable violent acts, including but not limited to a Sling Blade, a Bloody Sunday, too many clotheslines, lariats and dropkicks to mention and a superplex countered into a top rope Fireman's Carry Suplex...my favorite thing might have been that Owens' response to ref trying to stop him from delivering a third straight cannonball to his wounded opponent is TO RUN STRAIGHT AT THE REFEREE.
• Better wrestling minds than I have pointed it out lately, but main roster WWE is pretty much the only place where losses almost always hurt the character taking said loss. The psychology here was great, because not only do we have the gimmick question of "did Finn lose because he didn't bring the demon?", but the only reason his finisher didn't finish the champ is because of his lame limb.
• This Zayniac definitely wants his Sami back, and that means sending him straight at his fellow French-Canadian, but I could watch me a few more of these. Will the almost 34 year old Bálor be sticking around long enough to get a full series of matches between them on this brand, though?

We'll be watching to find out, that much is for sure.

The main was pretty much enough to get this one high marks, but that they also advanced three other singles' angles and the tag title program around it...put Becks in Bliss' place and this was darn near a Takeover.

Grade: A-

Who's got something other than "DAT MATCH, THO" for me?