By John Moore, Prowrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Aired June 13, 2018 on WWE Network
Taped May 10 in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University
The NXT intro theme aired. Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, and Percy Watson were on commentary. Nigel McGuinness hyped up Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the UK Championship. Mauro hyped up the advertised Aleister Black promo…
1. “War Raiders” Hanson and Ray Rowe vs. Ricky Martinez and Justin Storm. The enhancement guys had no chance. Hanson showed off an impressive cartwheel while dominating Storm. Martinez punched Rowe but Rowe no sold it. Rowe gave Martinez a discus forearm. Rowe lifted Hanson and slammed him on top of Martinez. The crowd chanted “war”. Storm got in the ring and ticked off Hanson which got him beat the hell up. War Raiders hit Fallout on Martinez for the win.
The War Raiders defeated Ricky Martinez and Justin Storm via pinfall in 2:35.
The highlights focused on the many moves of War Raiders. Hanson had a microphone. He addressed “The Mighty”. Rowe said “We’ll show you who’s mighty”. War Raiders hit Justin Storm with a double team flapjack slam…
The camera man showed Undisputed Era getting ready in the parking lot area of Full Sail. Adam Cole caught the camera man and chased him off telling him that he wasn’t allowed to film them. The commentators then hyped up upcoming segments on the show… [C]
John’s Thoughts: We’re still in holding-pattern mode for War Raiders, but with the plethora of moves that these guys can do I think it is a great approach to take to show off the moveset slowly over weeks to establish this moveset rather than have them come off as any old indie tag team. Heading into the commercial, I liked Adam Cole yelling at the camera man as it sets up the show as a sporting event rather than a TV sitcom.
Percy Watson thanked Chris Jericho and Fozzy for prroviding the song “painless” to the show. A Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa video package aired where both men explained their motivation for hating the other person. Both men also blamed each other for Candice LeRae’s interjection in the feud. Johnny said he wasn’t coming to Chicago to wrestle, he is coming to beat the hell out of Ciampa. Tommaso Ciampa told Gargano to leave his family at home because it is going to be ugly…
2. EC3 vs. Kassius Ohno. Kassius Ohno wore his boxer themed gear this week. EC3 and Ohno shoved each other before the bell. EC3 tried a single leg takedown but couldn’t take down Ohno. Ohno chased down EC3 all around the ring. Ohno ran through EC3 with a running shoulder block and then followed up with a Senton Splash. EC3 hit Ohno with an STO and then put the boots to him in the corner. EC3 hit Ohno with a running blockbuster and then locked in a nerve hold. Ohno escaped and then hit a series of forearms on EC3. Ohno then hit a cyclone kick and then a series of senton splashes on EC3. EC3 tried to roll to ringside for recovery but Ohno hit a running senton on EC3 on the outside. EC3 hit the TK3 on Ohno for the win.
EC3 defeated Kassius Ohno via pinfall in 4:03.
EC3 headed up the ramp celebrating his win… [C]
John’s Thoughts: A good match that ended a bit abruptly. I felt like we were missing a bit more back and forth between Ethan and Kassius. Kassius has good matches against everyone and is really good at keeping the energy up. EC3 has done a good job looking pretty good in the ring compared to when he started bulking up and lumbering in the ring. Hopefully EC3 moves on to an actual program now and hopefully he’ll do it as a heel (but this NX3 thing is confusing as it’s garnering a babyface reaction).
3. Bianca Belair vs. Aliyah. Belair was a bit more energetic (just the right amount) during her entrance. Aliyah wore red to the ring and looked a bit like Nikki Bella, or like the fusion of Nikki and Carmella. Bianca started the match with a strong forearm. Bianca used a backflip to add to her running shoulder block. Belair went for a delayed vertical but Aliyah locked in a guillotine choke. Aliyah had an annoying yell. Belair reversed with a suplex and then hit a running frog splash on Aliyah. Belair then deadlifted Aliyah into a military press and then tossed her like a lawn dart into Snake Eyes. Belair then hit a modified Burning Hammer/Falcon Arrow for the win.
Bianca Belair defeated Aliyah via pinfall in 2:52.
A Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki Cross hype video package aired with the Takeover “Uncomfortable” theme playing by Halestorm. Good package…
John’s Thoughts: The one criticism I had of her was her horrid finisher and then she combines two of my personal favorite finishers to correct that issue. Bianca Belair is a star in the making and continues to grow every single week. What I like about the new finisher is it does emphasize her godly strength. In two months or so, NXT might bring itself up to being the best women’s wrestling division in the world (they are kinda like that already, but that’s because there isn’t a premier women’s division in wrestling at the moment with a large audience).
Pete Dunne was shown getting ready, also in the parking lot for some reason, for his match against Kyle O’Reilly… [C]
Cathy Kelley interviewed Dakota Kai about her last title attempt against Shayna Baszler. Dakota Kai talked about how she finally overcame her fear of Baszler and that she might be able to win the title if given one more chance at it. Kai’s interview was interrupted by Bianca Belair who went savage via promo on her. Belair said she should be interviewed because she’s the EST of NXT. She talked about all of the “est’s” she is. She mocked Kai for her “Team Kick” catchphrase and for crying to Baszler. Kai said Baszler’s mind games did work on her but Belair isn’t getting to her. Kai challenged Belair to a match and said she’ll win. Belair said she likes that, but Kai won’t do a thing. The challenge was presumably accepted and will happen next week…
John’s Thoughts: Oh my word. I’m getting my wish, and that looks like it can be a good program. Belair had that TJP problem of looking lackadaisical and has turned that all around in one night (TJP is doing a similar job on 205 Live which is why I bring him up). This feud should be great and Kai can lose this one. This can be like how Sami Zayn lost to Tyler Breeze, Neville, Tyson Kidd, and Bo Dallas and had to fight his way through them to become champion.
Kyle O’Reilly made his entrance doing his air guitar thing. Mauro and Nigel had a debate over a Canadian possibly winning the UK Championship and Nigel was against the idea big time. Percy talked about how it would add more gold to Undisputed Era. Kayla Braxton handled formal ring introductions (thumbs up to Kayla for also no-selling the “one fall” thing that indie fans tend to do)…
4. Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the WWE UK Championship. O’Reilly went for the leg takedown while Dunne blocked the legs. The crowd fired up more than usual for this match. O’Reilly managed to get a few pin attempts. Dunne locked in a Kimura while O’Reilly used his Jujitsu to counter and escape. Dunne did his finger snap spot on O’Reilly. Dunne then hit O’Reilly with a stiff lariat. Dunne hit O’Reilly with an X-Plex on the ring apron. Dunne locked in a combination surfboard and wristlock on O’Reilly. Dunne tried to do his signature backflip in the corner but O’Reilly kicked the injury tape of Dunne. O’Reilly hit a back suplex and locked in an Achilles lock which focused on the injured knee of Dunne.
Dunne escaped with his own joint manipulation. O’Reilly went for the dragon screw but both men brawled and Dunne hit an enziguri on O’Reilly. Dunne hit his anime punches on O’Reilly. Dunne landed on his feet to block a German Suplex. Nigel noted that Dunne was showing leg pain. Both men traded a series of unique submission. cissors. O’Reilly came out on top and then hit a penalty kick on Dunne. O’Reilly hit a brainbuster on Dunne for a nearfall. O’Reilly hit Dunne with some precision martial arts strikes on Dunne but Dunne managed to get some separation. O’Reilly reversed the Bitter End into a guillotine with a body scissors.
Dunne hit the Bitter End into a cross arm breaker. O’Reilly countered into an ankle lock. Dunne yanked O’Reilly into him to cause both men to knock each other out with headbutts. Both men had a DBZ punch exchange. They then traded enziguris. More cool strikes ensued and Dunne took out O’Reilly with a tough right hand. The crowd was en fuego. O’Reilly hit some shortarm forearms on Dunne. Nigel was also fired up. O’Reilly took out Dunne’s mouth guard. Dunne quickly snapped the fingers of O’Reilly and then hit him with the Bitter End for the win.
Pete Dunne defeated Kyle O’Reilly via pinfall in 10:38 to retain the WWE UK Championship.
The rest of Undisputed Era ran out to put the boots to Dunne and were followed by Burch and Lorcan to even the odds. Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan managed to clear out Roderick Strong and Adam Cole from the ring to leave the Tag Champions lying… [C]
John’s Thoughts: That was a great Takeover/PPV worthy match. It was ten minutes of absolute fun, brutality, and technicality. It was fun as hell and go out of you way to check that out. There’s no way that the tag title match on Sunday match can be this good right? Probably not, but it should be fun as hell tough. Dunne is on fire with the fans and reminds me a bit of the reaction people give Pentagon Jr.
Aleister Black made his usual entrance and then cut a promo in the ring. Black talked about how Lars Sullivan rattled him by blocking his unstoppable strike. Black then talked about how everything will fade to black. Lars Sullivan made his entrance. Sullivan stormed the ring and was met by Black’s kickboxing. Sullivan powered through with a lariat. Sullivan hit the Freak Accident to leave Black lying in the center of the ring. Sullivan lifted up Black and then planted him with another Freak Accident. Sullivan lifted up Black again and then hit a third freak accident. Sullivan pulled Black to ringside with the title belt. Sullivan put Black on the announce table. Sullivan yelled “you will fade to black and cleared the announcers. Sullivan stood over Black over the announce table with the title at hand. Mauro compared the announce table to a religious altar. Sullivan stood tall to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: This was a good segment to put some heat on Sullivan. I could do without Black cutting longer promos, but at least they kept from Sullivan cutting an extended promo. I liked the scene at the end, but might it have been too little too late for this. I already said how letting both men cut five minute in-ring promos hurt this feud a few weeks ago. This was the approach they should be taking. What also hurts this feud is so many things on this show overshadow this match.
Overall, this was a great show and a decent go-home show for Takeover. We got a Takeover level match in Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly on this show. I’ll be by tomorrow with my audio review for Dot Net Members along with a NXT Hit List…
Bianca Belair is just incredible. She should be the biggest star in women’s wrestling within a few years. Who wants to bet good old Vince has her shuckin’ and jivin’ when she gets to the main roster?