By Zack Zimmerman
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NXT on WWE Network
Taped August 20 in Brooklyn, New York at Barclays Center
A video package recapped this past weekend’s NXT Takeover Brooklyn II show with match highlights and finishes. The final line was that the new stars of NXT took over in Brooklyn… The opening video played…
Inside the Barclays Center, Tom Phillips welcomed viewers before Tye Dillinger made his entrance to 10,000+ fans chanting “10.” He was wearing his vest that creates a light-up feature behind his head. Wesley Blake was out next to very unfitting music and a generally unwelcoming response from the Brooklyn crowd.
1. Tye Dillinger vs. Wesley Blake. The crowd chanted “10” and “Blake’s a zero” in the opening minute. Blake sank in a headlock and the crowd booed loudly before Dillinger made a ton of cool movement to execute a simple snapmare. A cartwheel from Dillinger popped the crowd big before he went off on Blake with chops in the corner. Blake used a thumb to the eyes seconds later to regain control. [C]
That was a very long commercial. Anyways, Blake was still in control with basic rest holds. The crowd finally rallied with “10” chants and Dillinger fought back to his feet. He snuck in a small package for a pin attempt, but Blake escaped and used a rope-hung backstabber for a near-fall. Blake blew a kiss and went up to the top rope, but Dillinger avoided a frog splash and then hip tossed Blake into the turnbuckles.
Dillinger fired up and started to roll. He hit a knee to the back, a side leg sweep, and a stomp to the head before dropping his kneepad. Dillinger lifted Blake and connected with the Ushigoroshi, which they’re calling the Tye Breaker, and scored the pinfall.
Tye Dillinger over Wesley Blake in about 6:40.
A replay of the finish aired and Dillinger celebrated as the crowd chanted for him… The commentators turned to Bobby Roode’s glorious in-ring debut at Takeover. Corey Graves narrated highlights of the match and he said that Almas had Roode on the edge of defeat before Roode’s veteran instinct kicked in and got him the win…
Backstage, Bobby Roode was approached by the roving reporter. Roode said Almas is good but he’s certainly not glorious. Roode said that this was step one in him taking NXT to higher ground. He said he was late for dinner with some CEOs on Madison Ave and took off… TM61 vs. The Authors of Pain was hyped as the main event… A look back at Asuka vs. Bayley for the Women’s Championship from Takeover was hyped up next…
Zim Says: That opener was boring and bad. At least the hot Brooklyn crowd kept it from feeling super dead, so there’s that. What the hell are they doing with Dillinger? Crap or get off the pot.
A brief recap of Austin Aries’s win over No Way Jose at Takeover was shown, before Hideo Itami made the save and hit the GTS on Aries… Backstage, the roving reporter caught up with Austin Aries. Aries vented that even though he got the win he didn’t walk out with his head held high because another guy showed up trying to steal his moment. Aries said people keep thinking they’re going to make a name for themselves at his expense, but Baron Corbin didn’t, No Way Jose didn’t, and Itami wont. He said he’ll take out anyone in his way including the roving reporter…
Back in the arena, the commentators Corey Graves and Tom Phillips threw to a look at the Asuka and Bayley feud leading into Takeover. The video package that played before their match aired, and then a lengthy and detailed series of highlights recapped the whole match, complete with crowd reaction and commentary bits. It showed Asuka leaving the ring to Bayley after defeating her, and then Bayley’s curtain call was shown spliced in with highlights of her NXT career from beginning to present-day. It was narrated with her reading the essay she wrote as a little girl about wanting to be a wrestler. She walked out of the Barclays and the echoes of the fans chanting thanks closed out the package…
Backstage, the roving reporter caught up with Bayley. Bayley said that coming back to Brooklyn after last year made her feel like she had home-court advantage. She said that she really felt prepared this time, but the first time she passed out and this time she was knocked out so she has to give credit to Asuka. Suddenly, she was approached from behind by Ember Moon. Moon said that despite the outcome, Bayley took Asuka to the limit and should be proud. Ember said that Bayley helped put the NXT women on the map and even admitted that she’s there to be like Bayley. Bayley congratulated on her debut and said that maybe someday, they’ll cross paths at a Takeover…
Bayley’s debut on Monday Night Raw this past week was shown, with her confronting WWE Women’s Champion and long-time rival Charlotte… The Authors of Pain vs. TM61 was hyped in the main event… A look back at Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship was hyped up next… [C]
Another Corey Graves-narrated highlight package showed The Revival retaining the NXT Tag Titles against Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa at Takeover…. Backstage, the roving reporter was standing by with The Revival. Dash said they’re making everybody look stupid because they tell everyone they’re the best time after time and they win time after time. Dawson said there isn’t a team in their league on this planet. He called out Gallows and Anderson, as well as the Usos and Breezango because he said they’ve beaten all NXT has to offer. They clanked title belts and said “top guys, out…”
Back in the arena, Phillips and Graves admitted that The Revival back up their talk. They then turned attention to the main event from Takeover. Nakamura’s entrance was featured before a music video played along with highlights of the match, which of course Nakamura won… They hyped that Nakamura would make his first appearance as champion on next week’s episode, and questioned whether Samoa Joe would show up. They also recapped Joe’s “dislocated jaw…”
Backstage, Paul Ellering was shown giving the Authors a pep talk before their match… [C]
Back in the arena, TM61 made their entrance to new music which is not an improvement. The Authors of Pain were out next, led by Paul Ellering as always. They were wearing scary black make and towels over their head which will probably have Taz crying gimmick-infringement.
As is becoming the norm with the Authors, they attacked their opponents before the bell. They tried to whip TM61 into each other, but one went high and the other low before they managed to clear the Authors from the ring. Thorne hit a big crazy flip dive over the ropes to wipe out one Author at ringside and then Miller hit a not-so-crazy dive with no flips to wipe out the other. After Ellering managed to regroup his team, they hit the ring and the match was underway.
2. The Authors of Pain (w/ Paul Ellering) vs. TM61 (Nick Miller and Shane Thorne). Miller tried to make some movement, but he ran into a hard shoulder block. Thorne tagged in and actually had one of the authors reeling with a series of chops to the face and a big leg lariat in the corner, but a distraction from the apron caused Thorne to turn right into a hard clothesline. Moments later, the Authors sent Thorne crashing into the ringpost. Notably, Phillips mentioned that the Authors finally have names with the tattooed one being Aikem (sp?) and the other Razar (sp?). [C]
Back from break, Razar was working over Thorne before Thorne created some space with a jawbreaker and enzugiri to make the hot tag. Miller came in slapping the hell out of Razar. He wiped Aikem off the apron twice and took Razar down with two hard clotheslines. Miller came off the top with a crossbody for two and the commentary team put of the significance of a near-fall on the seemingly-unstoppable Authors. TM61 rolled on with a series of strikes and a high-low for another two-count.
TM61 hit the ropes, but Aikem pulled one out to ringside and Razar planted the other with a spinebuster. The Authors powerbombed Thorne and Miller into each other and then down to the mat before connecting with their side leg sweep and clothesline combo on Miller for the pinfall.
The Authors of Pain beat TM61 in about 5:25
Paul Ellering was shown looking on as a series of replays aired. The Authors stood dominantly in the ring with Ellering standing between them and that’s how the show closed.
Zim Says: TM61 are a good team for the Authors because they make a lot of movement and bump well. This match wasn’t great, but it was the best Authors match to date, and the seeds are planted for the growth of TM61 as a team with the Authors being their measuring stick. I like it, I don’t love it.
This show was just a recap show more than anything, as we’ll see the next few weeks feature the actual fallout. My thoughts on Takeover can be heard in the site’s audio archives when I joined Jason Powell for a special live show the Sunday of Summerslam, so look into that for more of my thoughts. For me, this episode of NXT was more notable for being the most internet-issue-plagued coverage in my time at DotNet. It can only go up from here. I’m late for a date with CWC coverage, so tune over to that! Thanks for reading!
Throw comments, questions, criticisms, or corrections @DotNetZim or DotNetZim@gmail.com; always happy to discuss.
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