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It’s the final show from Sept. 15’s taping at Full Sail (spoilers from which are here), where NXT will continue building toward TakeOver: Toronto (unless they try to squeeze something in before November). Here's what to expect.
The Headliner
Unless you read spoilers (and there’s a link right above these words if you’re still thinking about doing so) or house show reports, we know very little about the new stable which makes its debut tonight. In fact, the only way we know it’s not just one wrestler is because they’ve been entered into the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Who do these anxiety-inducing promos herald? Will it just be two men, or an army? Are we looking at the next Shield, or another Ascension?
While we ponder those questions, we can discuss what we do know. SAnitY will face the newly former Gorgeous 10. Tye Dillinger reluctantly accepted Bobby Roode’s offer of a team-up because he wants to honor his mentor, the American Dream, by winning the tourney named in his honor. But based on just one interview segment last week, the Perfect 10 doesn’t appear to be vibing with the Glorious One all that well. Can they stay on the same page and advance, especially when they know so little about their opponents?
The Title Scene
So far, the Ealy Twins and Dan Matha have seen their television debuts ruined by Samoa Joe’s crusade to cause havoc until General Manager William Regal gives him another shot at NXT champ Shinsuke Nakamura, or vacates the belt and hands it to the man who put Nak on the shelf. Regal’s been quiet on the issue, claiming he hasn’t spoken to his champion. Is this the week it all comes to a head, or does another rookie pay the price for the GM’s inaction?
Tag Team champions The Revival are already through to round 2 of the Dusty after a win over Cedric Alexander and Andrade “Cien” Almas last week. Potentially awaiting them in that second round? #DIY. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa have not only been thorns in Dash & Dawson’s side, they’ve promised to win the tournament, then take the belts off the self-proclaimed best team on the planet.
No one is ready for Women’s titleholder Asuka. But the newly (re)formed team of Billie Kay & Peyton Royce might be game to try.
Other stuff to keep an eye on:
- Almas finally made a lot of fans happy, and at least piqued the interest of a few others, when he attacked Cedric after their tag loss last week. In a post-show interview Cien expressed outrage that fans would cheer Alexander over him. We’ll see what Ced has to say this week.
- Former tag champs Blake & Murphy lobbied to get into the Dusty, but couldn’t stay on the same page while petitioning Regal in his office. These poor dudes have never recovered from Alexa Bliss kicking them to the curb.
- Dancing duo Rich Swann & No Way Jose were interviewed about how excited they are to be a team last week, so their first round match against the Raw duo of Tony Nese & Drew Gulak should be soon
- TM-61 vs. the Performance Center duo of Riddick Moss & Tino Sabatelli is definitely on the docket.
- New tapings tomorrow night! Those should take us through to TakeOver: Toronto.
NOTE: Spoilers are out there for these pre-taped broadcasts (including here), but many Cagesiders don't partake. If you are going to post or discuss spoilers for this show before they happen, or results of future shows, please use the spoiler bar in your comment.
See you tonight for NXT, Cagesiders!