WWE NXT
Location: Orlando, FL
Date: August 31, 2016
Immediately, the camera is in the training room with NXT General Manager William Regal, former champion Samoa Joe and his trainer, discussing the jaw injury Joe sustained at Takeover: Brooklyn. The trainer says Joe has other injuries too so he can’t clear him to wrestle tonight or anytime soon. Joe walks off upset as Regal looks on.
On commentary tonight, at Full Sail University, are Tom Phillips and Corey Graves.
Opening Segment
Singles Match: “The Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger vs. Buddy Murphy
Dillinger gets to open two shows in a row and tonight he faces the other half of the former NXT Tag Team Champions, Murphy & Blake. Neither of those guys is doing so well in singles competition since their breakup a few months ago.
The two men lock up. Each man applies a side headlock before the rope run begins. Dillinger evades low, then high, then Murphy flashes the ten hands to him. Dillinger pauses and watches. Murphy shakes his wet hair in Dillinger’s face and gets pushed to the corner for his arrogance. Dillinger applies another side headlock, brings Murphy to the mat briefly, before the two get back to their feet. Another rope run. This time it’s Murphy evading Dillinger until he gets caught for an inverted atomic drop. Snapmare. Cartwheel and its Dillinger flashing “ten” at Murphy as the crowd chants!
A back elbow by Murphy shuts Dillinger up. He goes off the ropes right into Dillinger’s elbow. Dillinger brings Murphy to the corner and prepares to punch him. Murphy sneaks under his legs, charges, gets flipped to the apron but slams Dillinger to the mat anyways. Running forearm into the jaw of Dillinger for a 2 count.
Murphy focuses on punching Dillinger’s face instead of the crowd chanting “What?!” The two trade chops until Dillinger is sent through the ropes to the floor. Murphy meets him there, chops him and then rolls him back in. He climbs the turnbuckle and flies…Double Knees! The impact lands right on Dillinger’s face. We have a pin attempt…1-2..Dillinger kicks out as…
We go to commercial.
On the return, Murphy’s in control and Dillinger’s dazed and on the mat. Another pinfall attempt but Murphy can’t get the pin just yet. He tries to wear Dillinger down with a side headlock but Dillinger fights out of it, runs the ropes and tries to throw Murphy over them. Murphy lands on the apron, climbs the turnbuckle and tries an axe handle.
Dillinger catches him in the gut with a punch. He throws him into the turnbuckle. Murphy bounces back and gets flipped over Dillinger’s head. Dillinger stomps Murphy down in the corner. He exposes the knee. Murphy charges. Big clothesline. Tye-Breaker with Murphy’s head landing right on the exposed knee. It’s over. 1-2-3.
Winner: ”The Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger via pinfall in 8 minutes
One cool point for both guys who caught the crowd’s attention early on. Murphy’s theft of the “10” sign and Dillinger’s response were amusing. Murphy’s high-flying was surprisingly on point with the double knees. Dillinger got to show off his finishing set of moves, but, otherwise, nothing too fancy from him. I’d say Dillinger won more because of Murphy’s mistakes than Dillinger’s dominance. Still, The Perfect 10 is keeping the win streak going and that is nice to see. Would love to see him face Roode and I’ll keep saying it until it happens.
Recap: Highlights from the Tag Team Championship match at Takeover: Brooklyn were shown, focusing on Gargano. 4 days later, he fought in the Cruiserweight Classic and his leg injuries worsened after losing due to a leg submission by TJ Perkins. NXT interviewer catches up with his partner, Tomasso Ciampa.
Ciampa, wearing a blue Gargano t-shirt, says Gargano is all heart. His leg will be alright. He stops speaking because The Revival show up to interrupt. Ciampa attacks them and the fight spills out into the commentary area. Wilder & Dawson throw Ciampa on to the announce table, punch him there and roll him off of it towards the ringside area. An official tries to stop it but The Revival aren’t listening. They bring Ciampa into the ring and continue to lay a beatdown on him. They punch and kick him repeatedly as NXT officials call out to them to stop.
Dawson and Wilder get on the mic and say they’ll make an example out of Ciampa. The segment ends with Ciampa being hit with a Shatter Machine double team finisher. Heavy boos as the two leave. It’s unknown if the injuries Ciampa has sustained are serious.
Second Segment
Singles Match: Steve Cutler vs. Kenneth Crawford
Cutler cuts a pre-match promo, trying to get some attention from the NXT fans. Certainly, he has an opportunity, just as Crawford does, to get a much-needed win.
In the opening sequence, Cutler gains the advantage with a wristlock. Crawford kips up and out of it, reversing the hold until he gets thrown off the ropes. Cutler flips Crawford over his shoulders. Crawford lands awkwardly on his feet while Cutler looks away, and it’s Crawford who reapplies the wrist hold, keeping Cutler down. Cutler fights out of it, pushing Crawford into the corner, delivering forearms and knees. He whips him away and back into the turnbuckle. Pinfall attempt for a 1 count.
Cutler chokes Crawford on the middle rope while he stands on the outside. The ref counts to 4 and he lets go. Another pinfall attempt results in a 2 count. Cutler continues to wear Crawford down with a chinlock. The crowd cheers for Crawford to break free and he does. He and Cutler exchange elbows and punches. Crawford with a jumping right punch! Clotheslines x2. A beautiful dropkick and he’s on a roll. Wow. An amazing standing shooting star splash. 1-2- Cutler kicks out! That looked effortless.
He leaves Cutler for too long though and when Crawford charges the corner, Cutler lifts himself up and stomps on Crawford’s head. Back to the center of the ring, Cutler slams Crawford with what looks like a Michinoku Driver. This one’s over, folks.
Winner: Steve Cutler via pinfall in 5 minutes
One cool point for Crawford’s shooting star splash, one of a handful of innovative offensive moves. He ends up looking really good despite the loss. One cool point for Steve Cutler’s big win because those don’t come often for him.
Backstage, Hideo Itami discusses Austin Aries. He thought Aries was a real man but, instead, he’s just a big baby. Itami says he might have to make Aries go to sleep again. Yikes!
Recap: Highlights from the Nakamura/Zayn match from Takeover: Dallas are shown, it being Nakamura’s first match in NXT and a match of the year candidate.
A reminder that Nakamura will be here to celebrate his title win later tonight.
Third Segment
Promo: A promo for TM 61 is shown where they state their desire to become the NXT Tag Team Champions, amidst highlights of their in-ring action.
Singles Match: No Way Jose vs. Angelo Dawkins
Jose begins the match with some dancing before the two men grapple. Jose pushes Dawkins into the corner and starts shuffling again, showing off his footwork. Even mid-grapple, he’s still stepping. Dawkins stirs the pot after he knocks Jose down off the ropes. Then, the two show off their rope-running and leaping over one another. It’s Jose with a few hip tosses which do not deter Dawkins in the least. Dawkins resorts to right hands, fends off an Irish Whip from Jose and snapmares Jose into a headlock.
Jose stays in it briefly but the pace of this match continues along at a brisk pace, and shortly Jose bounces off the ropes to kick Dawkins in the head. The two trade blows and its Jose who lands the most punches and two-handed chops. Here comes the windup…and the chop! It’s good. Full Nelson Slam from Jose and Dawkins is done.
Winner: No Way Jose via pinfall in 4 minutes
Post-match, Jose dances in the audience with the crowd at FSU. They love it.
One cool point for No Way Jose for rebounding from Takeover quite well with a win over Dawkins. He found time to dance, strike and slam. It wasn’t a great match. It wasn’t a good match. It was an average match that continues to demonstrate how much the fans like this guy. Dawkins has some potential, too. Wonder if he’ll get a chance to shine soon?
Backstage, Cien is asked how he’ll rebound from his first loss in NXT. Austin Aries interrupts with his frustrations about other people taking his spotlight. At Takeover, Aries beat No Way Jose but everyone’s talking about Itami’s return…except he’s not sure because his eardrum is ruptured from the GTS. Cien speaks some Spanish to Aries but Aries doesn’t understand. Aries asks him to speak English. Cien does but Aries still can’t hear and walks away. Could be a feud brewing there.
Recap: Highlights from the Nakamura/Balor match from the July 13th NXT episode are shown. A reminder that Nakamura returns to FSU tonight to celebrate his NXT title win.
Fourth Segment
Singles Match: Liv Morgan vs. Aliyah
It’s Aliyah who leads the match with forearms and a clothesline before pinning Morgan for a quick 2 count. Aliyah whips Morgan into the turnbuckle but Morgan jumps up, her legs landing on Aliyah’s shoulders, and she takes down Aliyah with a head scissors takedown. It’s followed by a drop toe hold and a 1 count. Aliyah’s pissed! She retorts with punches and kicks to Morgan’s body. Whip into the turnbuckle and a sideways splash during which she slides through the ropes on to the apron. She continues the attack which ends with a pinfall attempt…and another, but Morgan kicks out both times.
Morgan throws punches from her knees. Aliyah tosses her back to the mat and applies a fancy arm submission, almost like a Kimura/Arm Scissors combo. She’s got Morgan trapped with nowhere to go in the middle of the ring. Morgan forces the left leg away and Aliyah breaks the hold with a punch and a 2 count pinfall attempt.
Aliyah slams the mat in frustration. She picks up Morgan by the hair. Morgan creates space and lands a dropkick. That’s followed by 2 clotheslines. She bounces off the ropes and catches Aliyah with a bulldog. Lots of energy from Morgan all of a sudden. Spinning heel kick for the 1-2-3. Wow. Where did that come from?
Winner: Liv Morgan via pinfall in 6 minutes
No cool points for either wrestler. My frustration is as follows:
Aliyah’s performance was actually more impressive, especially the submission maneuver she had on Morgan. The fact that she lost this match after dominating the whole way through reveals her inability to finish and I can’t reward that in this instance.
Morgan, on the other hand, had a great finish but wouldn’t Aliyah’s offense from the rest of the match hurt her just a little more? Maybe this says more about Aliyah than it does Morgan…hmmm. No, Morgan shouldn’t have won so easily.
Backstage, No Way Jose is interviewed and he says he has the heart of a lion. The fiesta he brings with him is going straight to the top! Bobby Roode walks by and tells Jose he has nice hair. So it seems Roode and Aries are trading opponents? We’ll find out soon.
Recap: Highlights from the NXT championship match at Takeover: Brooklyn II between Samoa Joe and Nakamura are shown. Of course, this is the match that Nakamura won to become the new NXT champion. We’ll see him UP NEXT!
Final Segment
Finally, what has been promoted all evening is here, Shinsuke Nakamura’s opening address as NXT champion.
The fans greet him with chants, including a “You Deserve It” chant.
Nakamura begins by saying he has accomplished what he set out to do. When he was in Japan, he knew there was only one place he wanted to go to become greater: NXT.
He wanted to challenge himself. He has faced the best in Sami Zayn, “The Icon” Finn Balor and Samoa Joe. Nakamura says he’s still aching from that match but he’s still the champion.
He’s held championships before but this one means the most to him. He respects Joe but the Samoa Joe era is over. Now, it’s the era of strong style.
The crowd sings along with his theme music as Nakamura shows off in-ring, dancing and bowing.
Source: www.lordsofpain.net