By Jason Powell
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NXT on WWE Network
Taped in Dallas, Texas at WrestleMania Axxess
The opening video kicked off the show… Tom Phillips and Corey Graves were on commentary and they hyped footage of Samoa Joe capturing the NXT Championship at Thursday’s live event in Lowell, Massachusetts…
1. NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Eva Marie in a non-title match. There were “You Can’t Wrestle” chants directed at Eva. Graves asked why it was a non-title match. Phillips said it’s because Eva hasn’t done anything to earn it. Graves also acted as if he thought the chants were directed at Asuka, which was comical. Asuka knocked Eva Marie to ringside. Nia Jax walked out to comfort “the Red Queen” (as Graves put it) heading into the break. [C]
Eva was on the offensive coming out of the break and Jax remained at ringside. She ran the ropes poorly and threw a weird looking big boot, then followed up with a running senton for a one count. Eva went for another big boot and this time Asuka blocked it and turned it into a backslide for two. Asuka followed up with a missile dropkick from the second rope a short time later. In the end, Asuka caught Eva with a kick for the win.
Afterward, Jax approached Asuka, who threw a phantom kick at her. Jax didn’t back down and continued to stare at Asuka until she eventually left the ring with Eva…
Asuka beat Eva Marie in a non-title match in 10:20.
Powell’s POV: First off, I’m filling in for Zack Zimmerman this week because allergies got the best of him. He will be back tomorrow with an All Access audio review of this television show. As for the match, I wish it had taken place at Full Sail University. The Full Sail crowd would have had a lot more fun with Eva than the Axxess crowd did.
Footage aired of Joe being interviewed by an anonymous man behind the camera after he won the title. Joe recalled saying he was the inevitable. He said Balor barely survived twice before, but tonight he did not… The broadcast team hyped Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Elias Samson, and The Revival in action… [C]
Powell’s POV: I like the idea of having a title change on the live event and the way it creates the feeling that anything can happen. I also liked that it happened at a time when NXT live event business is strong. They certainly didn’t need to create this vibe to sell tickets, but doing so made the live event experience that much better.
2. The Revival vs. Jeff Parker and Chad Lee. Graves mocked the enhancement team for skipping leg day. Dash and Dawson dominated the match and performed their finisher for the win. They also put the boots to them after the match…
The Revival beat Jeff Parker and Chad Lee in 3:20.
After the match, Dawson boasted about being the best team on the planet. The fans chanted Alpha. He said they were putting all teams on notice. He said none of them are safe and they won’t stop until they get the NXT Tag Titles back that complete them… [C]
Powell’s POV: A logical squash match win for Dash and Dawson coming off of their loss of the tag titles to American Alpha.
3. Blake and Murphy vs. Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley. Mojo did the “he ain’t hype” bit and the live crowd eagerly chanted along. Mojo hoisted up one opponent and swung his legs so that he hit the head of his tag partner. They followed up by hitting the Hype Grinder for the win…
The Hype Bros beat Blake and Murphy in 5:00.
After the match, Dash and Dawson ran out and attacked The Hype Bros from behind and left them lying…
Powell’s POV: Here’s hoping The Revival’s fall after winning the tag titles isn’t as significant as Blake and Murphy’s has been since they dropped the NXT Tag Titles. I don’t think it will be, as their match and that quickie angle shows they are still being featured prominently.
4. Carmella vs. Aliyah. Carmella did her pre-match mic routine and didn’t get much of a reaction when it was time for the crowd to do their part. The broadcast team noted that Carmella was flying solo now that Enzo Amore and Big Cass moved up to Raw. Carmella won by submission with a triangle leg hold…
Carmella beat Aliyah in 3:20.
Powell’s POV: Aliyah was featured on the Breaking Ground reality show early on. She got some offense in, but the match was more about Carmella. I’d like to see Carmella shake up her act a bit now that Enzo and Cass are gone. It was a bit odd to hear the broadcast team talk about things that happened at or after WrestleMania as if they were factors in these matches, which were taped at WrestleMania Axxess. They also questioned whether Ryder was completely focussed on his match given that he lost the Intercontinental Title. I get it, though, as it makes the matches feel more timely.
Backstage, Elias Samson spoke about William Regal booking him in the match. He said he would show Shinsuke Nakamura that he is The Drifter and that Nakamura never should have drifted into NXT…
Austin Aries was hyped for next week’s show… Ring entrances for the main event took place…
5. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Elias Samson. There was a loud Nakamura chant as the match started. Nakamura had the early advantage until Samson caught him with a clothesline. Samson’s offensive run didn’t last long, and Nakamura put him away with a knee strike. Nakamura celebrated in the ring to close the show…
Shinsuke Nakamura beat Elias Samson in 4:15.
Powell’s POV: Was this show a rib in that the highly popular Nakamura and Asuka faced two of the least popular acts in Samson and Eva Marie? It was a pretty basic hour of television. It went by at a decent pace because the matches were kept short. Business should pick up now that they are returning to Full Sail University with new tapings on Thursday night. Thus, I assume the new batch of television shows will begin airing next week when Zim returns for live coverage. Check back tomorrow for Zim’s audio review, Darren Gutteridge’s NXT Hit List, and hopefully NXT TV taping spoilers tomorrow night.
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