By Zack Zimmerman
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NXT on WWE Network
Taped July 13 in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University
The opening video played… Inside the arena, fans chanted for “NXT” as Tom Phillips noted that Bobby Roode would be making his debut tonight. Hideo Itami’s music hit and after more than a year away due to injury, he made his entrance. He was in the same gear as he wore pre injury. Fans chanted “welcome back” before CWC competitor Sean Maluta made his entrance. Fellow CWC competitors Zack Sabre Jr., Tony Nese, and Drew Gulak were shown watching in the crowd.
1. Hideo Itami vs. Sean Maluta. Itami fired off right away with shots and connected with a penalty kick to the chest. Itami feigned a knee drop but just swept his boot across Maluta’s face. Itami was rolling until Maluta caught him with a diving Codebreaker for a two-count. Maluta remained in control and teed off with stiff kicks to the chest, until Itami fired up. He caught Maluta with a Helluva-style kick in the corner and a rapid series of strikes. Itami nailed Maluta with the hesitation dropkick and then caught him with the Bicycle Knee for the win.
Hideo Itami beat Sean Maluta in about 3:50.
Asuka was hyped in action later in the show… [C]
Zim Says: A fine return showing from Itami. He shouldn’t face the learning curve this time around considering how long he’s been around, so I’ll be looking forward to seeing him pick up momentum going forward. Maluta has looked good in his couple of TV showings, so I’m wondering if he’ll be part of the cruiserweight division when it kicks off on Raw.
A recap from two weeks ago showed the Authors of Pain attacking American Alpha prior to their match, and subsequently beating them… The Revival were standing by backstage and were asked if they’re feeling pressure. They said no because they’re the best tag team on the planet. TM61 walked in and said that the planet is a pretty big place, and they had spent some time traveling around the planet challenging the best. They wanted a title shot, but The Revival told them to get a ticket and head to the back of the line.
Just then, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa walked in. Gargano was ringing an imaginary bell saying that it’s time for their tickets to be called. Ciampa said The Revival don’t want to give them a title shot because they’re scared. Gargano and Ciampa riled the champs up until a flustered Dawson said that they had already agreed to a match with TM61 so they can’t face Gargano and Ciampa right now…
Back in the arena, Mojo Rawley made his entrance. His opponent was already waiting in the ring. Mojo Rawley was promoted as a Smackdown draft pick.
2. Mojo Rawley vs. Chris Atkins. Mojo trucked Atkins and has him pinned, but Samoa Joe hit the ring and the ref stopped his count.
Mojo Rawley vs. Chris Atkins went to a no-contest in about 0:25.
Joe disposed of Atkins and teed off with shots on Mojo before dumping him out of the ring as well. He grabbed a mic and yelled for NXT GM William Regal. He said that since Regal doesn’t feel the need to consult him on contenders, he’s not going to consult Regal on when he rampages. Joe declared that he will destroy Shinsuke Nakamura, but suddenly he was jumped from behind by Mojo. Mojo hit him good and took him to the mat, but they were separated by refs. It seemed to be over, but then Joe ran up and locked the Coquina Clutch on Mojo on the apron. Referees finally got Joe off, but Joe yelled that that’s what he’s going to do to Nakamura…
Backstage, Bayley was asked how she’s approaching her match with Asuka this time around. Bayley said she’s clearly not the same person she was in Dallas. She said that she’s been getting pushed and pushed and now she has to adapt. She said she’s been studying up and focusing on how Asuka moves, and she’s ready. Asuka walked up and said “Think you’re ready? Come watch…”
TM61 vs. The Revival was hyped for later in the show… [C]
Zim Says: This tag division is staring to get very fun. Almost as fun as Joe being a total savage and beating up Mojo.
Back in the arena, Bayley was making her entrance to join the commentators. Alliyah made her entrance, followed by NXT Women’s Champion Asuka. Before the bell, she took a chair from ringside and placed it right in the center of the ramp. She pointed and ordered Bayley to sit, and Bayley left the commentary booth. Bayley walked down and kicked over the chair, but stayed at ringside to watch.
3. NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Alliyah in a non-title match. Alliyah tried to show a little bit of fight, but Asuak ran though her with a flying hip attack. Asuka teed off with kicks to the chest and then choked Alliyah in the ropes right in front of Bayley. Asuka hit another hip attack to Alliyah’s back while she was against the ropes. Alliyah tried to jump off the turnbuckles, but Asuka caught her with a kick. Asuka made the cover, but pulled Alliyah up before three. She beat her up some more before yanking her down into the Asuka Lock and forcing the submission.
Asuka over Alliyah in about 2:30.
Asuka hung on way after the bell until Bayley entered the ring. Bayley checked on Alliyah while Asuka stood over her with the NXT Women’s Championship belt held up…
A recap showed Oney Lorcan (f/k/a Biff Busick) upsetting Tye Dillinger with the win last month. An interview with Lorcan had him saying that a lot of people called his win an upset, but he only knows that he won. He said the competition in NXT is picking up, and if he wants to succeed in this group, he has to go back to his roots…
Bobby Roode’s debut was hyped up next… An Ember Moon (f/k/a Athena) vignette aired. she was hyped for 8.20.2016…
Zim Says: Can his roots please be a different name? Anyway, I’m not crazy about these vignettes for Moon, nor do I have any idea what her character is supposed to be, but I do know that she’s very talented and well overdue on NXT TV, so her addition to the roster is most welcomed.
Back in the arena, Bobby Roode made his entrance in a suit with some modern Queen-ish sounding music that emphasizes the words “glorious” and “victorious.” The crowd ate it up. He said the wait is finally over. He noted that he had the privilege to sit and watch Takeover in Dallas, and he knew then and there that NXT was the place for him. He said no place has revolutionized the business like NXT has. He gave a rah-rah “we are all NXT” speech. He said that he’s there to raise up NXT because NXT needs Bobby Roode and the NXT Universe needs Bobby Roode.
He said NXT has been looking for a superstar to represent NXT to the world and make it a global power, and that talent has finally arrived in Bobby Roode. The crowd tepidly applauded. Rhode said he’ll be on billboards, commercials, and will take the company to Wall St. to make it a better place. More fans dropped of in applause and there were a smattering of boos. He said that soon, he’ll be looking out in the crowd and see future presidents, not the badly dressed idiots in the crowd right now. With that, they turned on him.
He said that he’s a superstar because he looks like one and dresses like one. He said that NXT has never seen anyone as glorious as Bobby Roode, and he’s at the helm of the new NXT, and it will be glorious. His music hit and he soaked it in before slowly leaving the arena.
Zim Says: Good stuff from Roode there. His promo was pretty standard and he’s not the most flashy guy, but I enjoyed the ride that promo took and I think something as simple as him latching onto the “glorious” thing could work. Better than “off the chain,” right?
A contract signing between Asuka and Bayley for Takeover Brooklyn 2 was hyped for next week…
Back in the arena, TM61 made their entrance. NXT Tag Champs The Revival were out next.
4. NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) vs. TM61 (Nick Miller and Shane Thorne) in a non-title match. Dawson tried some mat wrestling with Miller, but he got taken to school quickly and scrambled to the ropes. Miller once again got the better of Dawson and TM61 used a double shoulder tackle before connecting on their moonsault/fist drop combo. Thorne was in control of Dawson until he kicked Dash’s hand away and the referee was distracted momentarily allowing Dawson to take control. The fresher Dash tagged in and The Revival began to roll for several minutes.
Thorne fired off a series of dropkicks before TM61 hit tandem back body drops to clear the ring going into the final break. [C] Back from break, Dawson wore out the arm of Thorne and pinned the arm behind the back on a Northern Lights suplex. Dash tagged in with a sledge to the arm, and the Revival continued to isolate Thorne. Miller finally took the hot tag just shy of the seven-minute mark and he ran wild on both members of The Revival with splashes in the corner. Miller planted Dawson with a spinebuster for two, while at ringside, Dash took out Thorne by crashing him into the apron. A brief distraction and a spike DDT later, and Miller was pinned by Dawson.
The Revival beat TM61 in about 8:00.
Post-match, Dawosn took a microphone. He said it doesn’t matter where on the planet you come from, The Revival are better. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano interrupted. They called The Revival Arn and Ole before running down the list of guys they’d beaten, including American Alpha, The Hollywood Blondes, Kermit and Ms. Piggy, and Pikachu and Charmander. The crowd chanted “pokemon” because that’s what everyone is into this month. Gargano said he didn’t have time to collect them all yet because his focus is on collecting the NXT Tag Team Championships. They said that they’re the one team The Revival hasn’t and can’t beat.
The Revival said that all Ciampa and Gargano have are words and they need to go back to their basement. The two teams began to brawl before Dawson was cleared from the ring. Gargano and Ciampa hit their finisher on Dash and Gargano made the pin while Ciampa counted. They celebrated with the tag titles to close the show…
Zim Says: Solid tag match main event and good interaction to close. The Revival are very entertaining and Gargano and Ciampa have been made to look like completely viable challengers. I’ll reiterate that I’m really enjoying this era of the NXT tag division. Overall, this was an entertaining and easy to watch show, as have all of the episodes since the “new NXT.” There seems to be a more consistent emphasis on stories, and they’re doing a good job of establishing the next wave of talent. I look forward to the progress they’re making each week and the longer-term focus that they’re putting on Brooklyn not only makes that show feel l=bigger, but gives juice to the build-up shows week to week. Good stuff from the NXT crew of late. Thanks for reading, now be sure to tune over to my CWC live coverage!
Members can check back tomorrow for the DotNet NXT Audio Recap, and Darren Gutteridge’s NXT Hitlist will be available to everyone.
Throw comments, questions, criticisms, or corrections @DotNetZim or DotNetZim@gmail.com; always happy to discuss.
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