By Jason Powell
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NXT on WWE Network
Taped August 25 in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University
The opening video aired… Tom Phillips and Corey Graves were on commentary… Samoa Joe headed to the ring for a promo. He said that he was a disgrace in his pursuit of the championship. Joe said he makes no apologies because he wanted to be champion of the hottest brand in the WWE Universe.
Shinsuke Nakamura made his entrance and the crowd popped huge and sang along with his music. Once Nakamura was in the ring, Joe said there are a lot of guys who pop off on social media to do what ever it takes to get people to watch.
Joe said that whatever he says is what he means. He said they didn’t even need that hype given how the attendance at Barclays Center. Joe said that while he meant what he said, he also pulled back on saying Nakamura wasn’t a worthy contender, he was not only a worthy contender but he is also a worthy champion.
Joe told Nakamura that he wants his rematch as soon as he is healthy. “Rematch?” Nakamura asked. Nakamura played it up and then said, “You’re on.” Nakamura’s entrance music played as Joe was about to leave the ring. Joe stopped and approached Nakamura with a handshake offer.
Nakamura hesitated and then accepted Joe’s handshake. Joe left the ring and Nakamura’s music played again. Joe backed up the stage and headed to the back while Nakamura played to the crowd. Nakamura went to the stage and took a bow.
Samoa Joe attacked Nakamura from behind on the stage. Joe took Nakamura to ringside and continued to work him over. Nakamura threw some punches in response, but Joe threw him into the ring steps and then gave him a uranage onto the steps.
“I did this to you,” Joe barked at Nakamura. The medical team put Nakamura onto a stretcher and then applied a neck brace. William Regal came out to check on Nakamura, and the broadcast team laid out to the point that Graves joined others in checking on Nakamura. The fans clapped as Nakamura was helped up the ramp… [C[
Powell’s POV: A strong segment with Joe doing a great job of coming across apologetic without going so far that that it seemed sappy or obvious that he was going to attack Nakamura. The stretcher job was well done and I like the way the broadcast laid out and you could hear the medical staff talking as they treated Nakamura.
The broadcast team recapped the angle… Regal looked for Joe outside the building. Joe drove off before Regal could speak with him…
1. Liv Morgan vs. Rachel Fazio. Phillips said Nakamura had been taken to a nearby medical facility and they hope to have an update before the end of the show. Graves put it over by acting somber and flustered as the match continued. Morgan quickly won via guillotine choke.
Liv Morgan beat Rachel Fazio in 1:50.
After the match, Morgan said that when you start off a sentence by saying “no offense” you usually offend someone. She said no offense to Fazio, but she just tapped out. She said the word on the street is that the women’s division is cleared out and there is no one left to challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship.
Morgan said she is ready to fight. She said people think she has a death wish, but she wants the championship and Asuka. Fans chanted “Asuka is going to kill you.” Morgan said she is coming for Asuka. Graves said that Morgan is confident, but wearing a striped shirt doesn’t make you a tiger…
The broadcast team hyped No Way Jose vs. Bobby Roode for later in the show… [C] An ad aired for the NXT tour of Australia and New Zealand… A Sanity video aired…
Powell’s POV: I don’t think anyone really views Morgan as a threat to Asuka, but the cupboard is pretty bare in the division and the beauty of pro wrestling is that they can find ways to make her look credible in a hurry if they book it right.
2. Hideo Itami vs. Drew Gulak. Gulak slapped Itami across the face. Itami returned the favor. Itami threw some wicked kicks throughout the match, and finished off Gulak with the GTS…
Hideo Itami beat Drew Gulak in 5:15.
The broadcast team hyped The Authors of Pain in action after the break… [C]
Powell’s POV: Itami is clicking more since returning from his shoulder injury than he was in NXT prior to the surgery. We’re still waiting for that great Itami match in NXT, but it feels like it’s only a matter of time now.
3. The Authors of Pain (w/Paul Ellering) vs. Chris Payne and another wrestler. A total squash with AOP teaming up for a vicious double powerbomb and then hitting their clothesline/neckbreaker combo for the win…
The Authors of Pain won a squash match.
Backstage, Tye Dillinger spoke about losing to Oney Lorcan and taking a step back to take two steps forward and he has done just that. He said he will always be a Perfect 10… The broadcast team hyped Jose vs. Roode… [C] Phillips plugged the Conor’s Cure fundraiser…
4. Bobby Roode vs. No Way Jose. Roode stood on a small spinning platform for his Full Sail entrance rather than the big platform he had at Takeover. Jose was in control heading into the break. [C] Roode ducked Jose’s punch and hit a neckbreaker. In the end, Roode finished off Jose with a DDT…
Bobby Roode beat No Way Jose 8:45.
Powell’s POV: Roode looked good in his first televised Full Sail match and had a lot of supporters thanks in part to his Glorious theme song. Overall, a solid show that peaked with the opening angle involving Joe and Nakamura. It’s hard to top that, but it was the right move to put that angle on first rather than end the show on a downer moments before the Cruiserweight Classic. Speaking of which, join me for live coverage on the main page.
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