By Zack Zimmerman
NXT on WWE Network
Taped May 25, 2017 in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University
A hype video advertised Kassius Ohno vs. Aleister Black as the main event… The opening video played…
Inside the arena, fans chanted and the commentators talked about a backstage altercation between Bobby Roode and Roderick Strong which would be shown later on… A graphic advertised Kassius Ohno vs. Aleister Black for later in the show…
Peyton Royce made her entrance accompanied by Billie Kay. The returning Ember Moon was out next.
1. Peyton Royce (w/ Billie Kay) vs. Ember Moon. Moon got the better of Royce and went up top for her finisher early, but Billie Kay yanked her down across the top rope and Royce took control. [C]
They performed a choreographed sequence of kick reversals which ended with Moon taking Royce off her feet with a ‘rana. Once again, Moon went to the top turnbuckle and once again Kay got involved, this time pulling Royce to ringside. Moon changed plans and wiped out Kay with a dive to ringside.
Back in the ring however, Royce got the better of Moon and connected with a Widow’s Peak neckbreaker for a near-fall. A short time later, Moon avoided a charging Royce who went shoulder-first into the ringpost. Moon followed up with the Eclipse off the top rope for the win.
Ember Moon beat Peyton Royce in about 7:27.
Moon celebrated her win… A graphic advertised the main event… Backstage, Kassius Ohno was warming up when he was approached by Hideo Itami. Itami admitted he hasn’t had the same success in the US as he had in Japan and that’s been getting to him. He apologized for pushing Ohno and yelling at him.
Ohno accepted his apology and confessed that he also knows what it feels like when people expect things from you and you don’t deliver. He said that neither of them are done and they still have plenty to give. Ohio said he’ll start tonight with Aleister Black. Itami gave him a nod of seeming approval and took off, leaving Ohno to continue his warmup… [C]
Zim Says: The ladies match was fine. Not as good as it probably could’ve been for a seven-plus minute match, but there was nothing particularly worth nitpicking about. I will say however that at this point, Ember Moon no longer feels like the right person to dethrone Asuka.
Once again, footage from the backstage altercation between Bobby Roode and Roderick Strong was advertised for later in the show…
Back in the arena, the Ealy Brothers made their entrance. They’re physically impressive twins who appear to be very green. Two members of Sanity made their entrance next.
2. Sanity (Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe) vs. The Ealy Brothers (Gabriel and Uriel). Sanity beat up one of the twins, until the other tagged in, then they beat him up. There was a moment at the three-minute mark where the Ealys had a chance, but it was not to be, Sanity hit a combo back suplex and diving neckbreaker for the win…
Sanity over The Ealy Brothers in about 3:21.
A replay of the non-finish from last week’s Women’s Championship match aired, with both ladies crashing each other through tables… A graphic revealed that next week, Asuka will defend the Women’s Championship against Nikki Cross in a Last Woman Standing match…
A Sonya Deville vignette aired and she was advertised in action next…
Back in the arena, Rachael Evers (a/k/a Rachel Ellering) made her entrance. Sonya Deville was out next, making an entrance kind of like an MMA fighter, and kind of not.
3. Sonya Deville vs. Rachael Evers. Deville showed that her style consists largely of doing something basic, and then standing around for a while, before doing another basic thing, and standing around more. Evers fought back with a couple of right hands around the two-minute mark, but Deville sold it like she enjoyed being hit.
Deville took off her gloves and landed some body shots on Evers. She rolled through into a very unconvincing kimura and Evers submitted.
Sonya Deville won in about 2:40.
Zim Says: Unimpressive back-to-back squashes. I think the Sanity match was boring as hell and Deville has not made improvements nor is she stand-out enough to warrant a re-debut like this.
Backstage, Bobby Roode was doing a photoshoot when Roderick Strong walked by with his wife Marina and their baby. Roode took notice and talked some trash. He whistled and told Marina when she’s ready for a “real man” to give him a call.
Strong calmly escorted his wife and the stroller off set, before coming flying back in on his own to beat the hell out of Roode. The two brawled briefly with Strong getting the better of it before they were pulled apart…
A graphic advertised the main event of the 400th episode of NXT, which will take place in two weeks: Bobby Roode defending the NXT Championship against Roderick Strong…
The main event was advertised up next… [C]
A graphic advertised the Last Woman Standing match for the NXT Women’s Championship next week between Asuka and Nikki Cross…
Back in the arena, Kassius Ohno made his entrance in vintage Chicago Bulls-inspired gear. Aleister Black made his lengthy entrance next.
4. Kassius Ohno vs. Aleister Black. The two spent the opening few minutes trading armlocks and working to clean breaks. Ohno fired off a hard chop to the chest and Black shot back with a hard kick. Moments later, Ohno slipped to ringside to avoid the Black Mass spinning kick, and Black did his fake dive before sitting criss-cross in the ring.
Back in the ring, Black caught Ohno with a hard knee strike but Ohno came right back with a hard elbow of his own. [C] Back from break, Ohno crushed Black with a leaping senton for a two-count. Ohno mocked Black and kicked him hard in the face for another two-count. Ohno continued to talk some smack, before he ran into a wicked leaping stomp from Black that drove him hard into the mat.
Black began to rally with a Lionsault to a standing Ohno and followed up with a head kick for a two-count of his own. Ohno caught a kick attempt and rocked Black with a knee strike. The two traded a series of kicks to the head with Ohno getting the better of the exchange. He set up the Death Blow, but Black slipped out and teed off with a series of strikes and knee to the head for a near-fall.
Ohno managed to stagger Black with an enzugiri and followed up with the Cyclone Kill boot for a near-fall. There was another wicked exchange of strikes which ended with Ohno dropping Black with a rolling release suplex. He set up for the rolling elbow, but as he moved forward, Black struck with the Black Mass spinning back kick for the pinfall.
Aleister Black defeated Kassius Ohno in about 15:09.
The show closed with Black sitting calmly in the middle of the ring…
Zim Says: Really nice main event. The two have worked closely with one another and it shows in the best ways. I enjoyed that a lot. I would even go so far as to say it was the only thing on this show worth watching other than the Roderick Strong/Bobby Roode backstage exchange. I didn’t think any of the squashes stood out, and Ember Moon’s return felt much lesser than it should’ve, which is unfortunate. I’ll have much more to say in audio form, as tomorrow will be a double dose covering last week’s and this week’s episodes back-to-back. Be sure to tune in! Thanks for reading along!
Throw comments, questions, criticisms, or corrections @DotNetZim or DotNetZim@gmail.com; always happy to discuss.
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