WWE NXT recap, reactions, video highlights from March 4, 2015: Who run this mother?!

Fun fact about this episode...in a 51 minute runtime, they didn't have enough match footage to release three video clips of actual wrestling.

Recap:

• Last week's NXT Breakdown feature doubles as our opening segment, putting the focus right where every regular viewer of this show wants it - on Alex Riley.
• Continuing the "because no one demanded it" vibe, Adam Rose returned to Full Sail.  Thankfully, Tyler Breeze showed up to ward off the Rosebuds with his selfie stick and save us.
• Enzo & Big Cass belatedly respond to the creepy heel turn tag champs Blake & Murphy pulled on them a couple of weeks back.
• Nose and psyche healed, Alexa Bliss is coming for The Boss - title be damned.
• The tag champs get the proverbial "impressive win" over Angelo Dawkins & Sawyer Fulton, a team playing the role they were in a month ago.

Reactions:

• A year later (the gimmick debuted last March 6), and I'm still salty about the whole Leo Kruger->Adam Rose thing.  At least the crowd here still loves him.  The character does feel like a better fit for this environment, and I bet Rose and Prince Pretty could work a pretty great comedy match given the time.
• Anything I have to say about Breeze, I've already said.  I marked out in a big way over tonight's main event, and still almost had to use the above pic for the header because, I mean, c'mon...how great is it that he parted those Uggos with that Gorgeous selfie stick?
• Man, everyone has a ninja turtle these days.  The Rosebud one isn't as great as these guys, though.
• Okay, I might have been completely wrong about the Carmella heel turn, since she's played face valet/manager ever since Wesley & Buddy decided to mack on her.  She's even receptive to (or at least not openly disgusted by) Amore's affection.  It could work, and if nothing else, it's good practice playing different facets of the same character.
• Still wish Enzo would drop "sweet boy" as a recurring insult, but it just annoys as opposed to outrages me.  Cass mentions that they'll go after the belts once they become #1 contenders, so presumably we'll have another match or tournament for the Realest Guys to work on their in-ring act.  Perhaps they can use the opportunity to get another storyline or two going in the division, too.
• On the topic of multiple storylines per division, Alexa Bliss cut a nice little promo explaining where she's been and what her plan is moving forward.  These segments are so great if for no other reason than their brevity - take note main roster dialogue writers.  I dig that she's motivated by kicking Sasha Banks' butt more than the Women's championship.
• Last we saw Angelo Dawkins he was a backpack rapper, while Sawyer Fulton was a nightclub bouncer, I believe.  Not sure interracial Steiner brothers is an upgrade, but it's something.
• Thought the tag match was fun, if too short.  Blake & Murphy could get over with a character overhaul...they should work a more fleshed out version of Lucha Dragons gimmick.  Their athleticism is infectious - I particularly popped for the tandem leapfrog and the distance Blake covers on that splash finisher - and their wrestling doesn't match up with lecherous heels at all.

Recap:

• The Nature Girl doesn't want Bayley's well wishes, and Emma tries to give the Hugster some food for thought based on her main roster experience.
• LOLCorbinWins.  Meanwhile, Kevin Owens shows up behind the announce desk to pick the wings off a fly named A-Ry.
• Back from Abu Dhabi but still not mentally prepared to return to NXT, Sami Zayn is walking the streets of Montreal trying to figure out what he's going to do to Owens.
• Interrupting a chat between the General Manager and CJ Parker, Riley agrees to renounce his commentary gig and earn William Regal's seal of approval in order to get a shot at KO.
• The battle of the unsightly singlets is won by Solomon Crowe, extending Bull Dempsey's losing streak to "ever since Mojo Rawley".

Reactions:

• Charlotte's a jerk, but that's nothing new.  Very much into the long game they're playing with Bayley, and Dark Emma could be an awesome part of that story - even if I am a little worn out by 'Reality' Era kayfabe of the type the Aussie was spitting tonight.
• Even in the fleeting seconds it took Baron Corbin to hit his admittedly grand finisher, the color commentators provided an example of the one thing (a big improvement over last week's "everything" - props to my man Rich Brennan) they did this week that stuck in my craw.  Jason Albert gushes about Corbin's toughness for surviving the no DQ match with Bull Dempsey match at Rival as he and A-Ry wonder if he's #1 contender material.  You might remember that as the no DQ that contained zero spots that would have prompted a disqualification.  During the earlier tag match, they mused if anyone could possibly beat Blake & Murphy - a team they were saying needed to prove themselves just two weeks ago.  I get that they have to move angles ahead of what we've seen so far, but don't blow smoke up my ass.
• Also of note during our latest Corbin squash - which, seriously, how long are we gonna do these? - Full Sail's chanting Brock Lesnar at Tony Briggs, and Briggs rocking the leftover Spirit Squad costume.
• If Alex Riley would just keep his mouth shut, Owens might actually be able to get heat while bullying him.  The glorious part of this segment was the way he gave Riley his back, essentially saying "here you go, Mr. "I'm a man" - take a shot if you dare".  And, of course, the Boston College product didn't, choosing instead to run to Mr. Regal's office.
• Could see an argument that we're going back to the "soul-searching" well too quickly with Sami, but he delivers these Mick Foley-esque promos so well, and I so desperately want to see him inflict punishment on his old rival from Montreal, that it doesn't bother me.
• Enjoyed the heck out of CJ Parker being CJ Parker again this week.  However, when I said I was okay with Riley being fed to Owens as a stalling tactic, I did not mean that I wanted to watch a bunch of Alex Riley matches on Wednesday nights.  I will be tuning in next week to hope that CJP gets his first win in a while and ends the #FreeRiley movement with a quickness.
• Is Crowe even a hacker?  I don't get what they're doing with him at all, because I don't think they know what they're doing with him.  If I hadn't watched him on the indies, I might already be out on him.  A win over Dempsey is worth only slightly more than a win over Parker at this point.  The Boing Splash can't be a finisher, and even as a set-up move it has to not look like a headbutt to the lower abdomen.
• Much more worried about Solomon at this stage than I was for, say, Hideo Itami, because I knew KENTA's style could be adapted to the WWE style pretty seamlessly.  I know his sub finisher is coming, but the whole Sami Callihan package ain't gonna fly with Vince.  Waiting and seeing, but...

Recap:

• An evenly split crowd sees the challenger dominate the early going of our main event - a Women's title match.
• WrestleMania week on WWE Network bring us Finn Bálor vs. Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship!
• The commercial break that brought us that news also lets Sasha Banks get back in the match with Charlotte.  When she can't get The Nature Girl to quit, she heels it up and cheats to retain her belt.

Reactions:

• They let them go on last - YUS!
• Like any good series of wrestling matches, Sasha and Charlotte built on the story they'd told in their earlier encounters, providing callbacks to previous points in the feud while still ratcheting (pun intended) up the intensity level.  I'm not ready to rank this one, but I will say that I think The Boss brings out the best in Ric's girl.  They may not have better chemistry than Charlotte and Natalya, but the chemistry they have produces a match I enjoy more than the mat-based stuff the legacy gals do together.
• If Finn's getting his shot before the next live special, why are we killing time with Riley?  I'm not complaining about not having to wait for Bálor vs. the champ, mind you, but I'm kind of not looking forward to the Alex Riley story clogging up my NXT...in case you hadn't noticed.
• I'm not someone you'd characterize as a Charlotte fan.  In fact, I kind of hate her as a babyface.  And Sasha is in my top five favorite wrestlers at any level in any promotion right now, so kayfabe goes out the window when she's wrestling.  Even with all that, I got pumped when The Nature Girl broke free of that insane Straightjacket and fired up the comeback.  I didn't even want her to win and she took me along for that ride.  That's the first time I can say that about one of her performances, and to get me that way under these circumstances is doubly impressive.
• That said, I'm very glad that The Boss retained, and I have no problems with how she did it.  The only reason the champ doesn't have two submission victories over her rival is because the Dirtiest Diva in the Game is damn near indestructible.  Banks is one of the only people who can take her to the brink, and she's still crafty and, yes, unscrupulous enough to beat her even though she can't break her.  That's how you book it so both parties come out looking strong.