And all The Authority could do was say "Yes."
Down in NXT Land, the BFFs continue to make life unpleasant for anyone else, the Ascension continued their path of total maximum carnage, Xavier Woods looked for retribution against Alexander Rusev, and Bo Dallas went up against BIG CASS.
Apologies on the long delay in this blog entry. Various things relating to work and home and so on prevented me from sitting down to watch the show and then write the blog.
Before we get into NXT, I would like to bring up an article on WWE.com about one of the trainers at the WWE Performance Center. I've mentioned her before in this blog, as I'm familiar with her work on the indie scene. The trainer in question, of course, is Sara Amato-- the former Sara Del Rey-- who is helping train the next generation of WWE Divas. The article is a very glowing piece that praises her work ethic and skill, with quotes from Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, and even indie promoter Dave Prazak. Some Divas are quoted as well-- Aksana and Summer Rae among them-- who credit her with helping them improve in the ring and show them that they can be beautiful and strong.
The end of the article also intimates that Sara wouldn't rule out a run in the Divas division herself. She's quoted as saying, “If the opportunity comes up, I definitely wouldn’t say no. After all, that’s why we train.”
NXT Stars Making Good
There's not a lot to say about our former NXT stars on the main roster, unfortunately. They continue to push this insipid Emma/Santino "klutzy romance" angle that just isn't really clicking for me. Emma got over on NXT gradually, and it wasn't by shoving her down our throats. Her kooky dancing got over without the one of the announcers chuckling in a fake laugh about her "dancing skills," and she proved she was an extremely capable wrestler by wrestling against the ladies, and not just pulling out the Emma Lock out of nowhere.
Big E
Alexander Rusev and Lana haven't done anything this last week except continue to be hyped with live, on-stage promos. A foreign, pseudo-Russian heel (yes, I know Rusev is Bulgarian, but the average fan is going to hear a Slavic accent/language and think 'Russkie!') is a surprisingly topical one, although obviously the WWE couldn't have expected the Crimean crisis between the Ukraine and Russia to have become such a major international news story. If they're smart, they'll insert him in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Brother) and have him win, and keep him looking strong.
This week's commentary team was comprised of Tom Phillips, Alex Riley, and the man formerly known as Tensai, Jason Albert. I'm glad that he's dropped the 'Tensai' name, with his transition from in-ring hand to analyst/color commentator. Albert, of course, is a nod to his first WWE run (as Prince Albert, then just Albert, then A-Train), while Jason is apparently his actual middle name. He's been playing up his Boston heritage lately, with his 'Bahston' accent becoming more prevalent. He's also been name-dropping obscure, but known, stars when talking up the NXT roster. This week, for instance, he name-dropped Bull Nakano, in reference to Paige's new submission finisher.
Renee Young joined the team briefly, but not, as it happened, for the women's match. This was unusual, but it's a welcome change.
Match #1: Paige vs Sasha Banks (w/ Charlotte & Summer Rae cut-out head)
The commentators were making a point of talking up Paige's title defense at "NXT Arrival," where she debuted the Scorpion Cross Lock submission hold. They were also talking up Charlotte's return to in-ring action last week, where she channeled her father and cheated to get an opening to pick up the victory. Since they're building Charlotte up as a potential challenger for the NXT Women's Championship, this makes sense, but I do think they should have spent a little more time talking up Sasha Banks, as the BFF actually competing.
Paige came out with one of her new T-shirts, which Sasha took away angrily and started throwing around. Paige kicked her ass for it, grabbing the shirt back and whipping her with it before throwing it to the audience. After the initial burst of offense from Paige, Sasha took control and used her girl-bully offense by flailing away at Paige's back, which was actually very clever. Commentary didn't really make a note of it, but Paige's back was worked over heavily by Emma during "NXT Arrival," and by wearing down her back, it makes it more difficult for Paige to lift Sasha up for the Scorpion Cross Lock.
Paige eventually got back in control, clobbering Sasha in the corner, then delivering a few short-arm clotheslines, punctuated with one of her primal screams in the face. She finally tied Sasha up in the Scorpion Cross Lock for the immediate tap out victory.
After the bell, Charlotte immediately jumped in the ring and slammed Paige face-first into the mat. The BFFs were quickly scared off by Natalya, who chased them away, then raised Paige's hand.
Sami Zayn Backstage Exclusive:
This brief interview was prefaced with a look back at last week, where Corey Graves called out Sami Zayn, attacked Yoshi Tatsu and tapped him to the Lucky 13 submission. Sami Zayn came out to challenge him to a match, where the Canadian sensation rolled him up for a victory.
In the interview, Sami was asked if he thought he's silenced Graves. Sami said that he had no issue with Graves prior to last week, but Graves called him out for "never winning, but I just beat him. As far as I'm concerned, this issue's done. But if he wants to take issue with me, I'm not hard to find."
I have no problem with a Graves/Sami feud. Sami needs to build up some more momentum before going after the NXT Championship again, and Graves needs a solid feud to build up his reputation for those fans that only started watching NXT on the WWE Network.
Hype for the Hype Man
This brief segment was first comprised of snippets of commentary and still shots from "NXT Arrival," where Mojo Rawley had a brief squash match. It transitioned to Mojo backstage, pacing in the locker room, talking to himself, saying, "We're just gettin' started. We don't get hyped, we stay hyped! Let's go!" and then charging out of the locker room.
A brief nothing of a segment, mostly just there to remind us that Mojo still exists, and that he's still hyped.
Match #2: The Ascension vs These Guys
This week's These Guys are Travis Tyler and Cal Bishop. Diligent viewers may remember Bishop from Sylvester LeFort's "audition" process, where he was rejected for having cauliflower ear.
Commentary was talking up the Ascension's long title reign-- the longest in NXT history-- and described their tactics as "total maximum carnage," a phrase that Konnor and Viktor have used when talking to the commentary team. They were being compared, as well, to LOD or Demolition, which isn't quite a bad thing, although I personally disagree. LOD and Demolition had a much more intimidating presence about themselves, which wasn't down to the face-paint, I should add. There was their promo ability, which was rough, no-nonsense and promised destruction. Konnor and Viktor, by contrast, say very little, which gives them an aura of mystery, but Konnor's chain-mail vest and the loin-cloth drapes (which they have, at least, started removing before the match) don't really work the physical presence angle.
Viktor started the match off with a somersault lariat on Tyler, then tagged in Konnor, who mowed him down with a series of shoulder blocks. Viktor came back in and took him apart with chops and uppercuts in the corner. After some more offense, he went to the apron, clobbered Bishop with a right hand when he tried to intercede, but then Tyler grabbed his arm and snapped it off the top rope and tagged in Bishop. This was surprising, since it marks the first time that one of These Guys managed actual offense on the Ascension, nad managed to tag in his partner! (The Ascension's match against Too Cool at "NXT Arrival" doesn't count, because Too Cool aren't 'These Guys.')
Bishop kept the focus on the arm, while the fans wanted Konnor to bludgeon These Guys into paste and chanted "We Want Yah!" to show it. Viktor got out of the corner with a clothesline, then an STO before tagging Konnor, just as Bishop tagged in Tyler. Konnor got to These Guys' corner before Tyler could get in the ring, so the big man just bealed Tyler over the ropes, then kicked away at him in the corner to "Yah" chants. Konnor crushed him with an avalanche in the corner, and the Ascension went to work beating Tyler down for the sin of getting offense in on them. They capped this off with Konnor whipping Tyler into a flying knee from the top-rope by Viktor, a move that is apparently called "The Guillotine." Konnor tagged himself in as Viktor dropkicked Bishop off the apron, leaving Tyler wide open for the Fall of Man for the three-count.
I've often said that I love seeing the development of the wrestlers on NXT, as the Ascension have worked on honing their in-ring skills. Konnor, in particular, is someone that has pushed himself to improve, and he's imparted some of that on Viktor. The Ascension's victory is a given, but changing it up this week by allowing These Guys to get actual offense in on them was a bold move, and if anything, it just further cemented The Ascension as unstoppable.
Match #3: Mason Ryan vs Wesley Blake
This was the match which had Renee Young join the commentary team, which was unusual, but a welcome change of pace.
Wesley Blake is one of the "named jobbers" that we've seen in recent weeks, one of the "real-life cowboys" that was first spotted on NXT 200 during the lumberjack match. Mason Ryan looks as ripped as ever, (Renee used the old line of "he has muscles on his muscles" to describe him), and the smark-y NXT Crowd played up a common comparison as they chanted "Better Than Batista" at him. When Ryan first got signed by WWE, smarks labeled him "the Welsh Batista" (or shortened to "Welsh-tista"), and it's clearly never been forgotten. Albert took some credit for Ryan's physique, claiming that the Welshman came to him a few months back and that Albert "gave him some secrets." Riley quipped, "Yeah, he's looking a little softer today," which was an amazing burn.
Ryan dominated the overwhelming majority of the match. Blake managed to get some offense in, but Ryan just kicked his ass for it. Ryan planted him with a spinning powerslam, but eventually charged and hit the post with his shoulder. Blake actually got a near-fall off some more shoulder work, but Ryan arm-dragged his way out of it and hit some big right hands, before going for his ending flurry-- stun-gunning Blake on the ropes, running him over with a big boot, and then planting him with a cobra clutch slam for the three-count.
Ryan looks much better than in his initial "CM Punk's New Nexus" run, as his physique has improved, as has his in-ring skill. He's still got room for improvement, and giving him a chance to cut promos, even if briefly, will help as well.
Backstage with Bayley
Devin Taylor talked with NXT's loveable hug-bug, who was geeking out over the WWE Network on her tablet. She talked about Natalya, and how she got to meet Bret Hart because of her, and she's watching one of his matches right now on the Network.
This cued the arrival of Charlotte and Sasha Banks, who mocked Bret Hart, "whose only claim to fame is a match that he lost." This was a great heel line, since on the one hand, it is true that Bret Hart's best known by a lot of fans for the infamous Montreal Screwjob, but on the other, patently false, because Hart is renowned for being one of the best technical wrestlers ever and has multiple world title reigns to show for it. Charlotte went on to describe Hart as looking "homeless."
Bayley grabbed the Summer Rae cut-out from Sasha, and talked to it, "Hey, Summer, why aren't you here with your BFFs this week?" before mocking Summer's voice and saying, "Ugh, because they're ugly and they smell like cheese, Bayley! I think if you were to get in the ring with Sasha, you'd totally win! Ha ha ha!" The BFFs weren't happy and tried to bully Bayley about this, but Natalya walked up, laughing about the Summer Rae cut-out and quipping, "That's just where Summer's head needs to be."
Charlotte, in full arrogant bitch mode, mocked the two of them, mocking the hugs, and called Natalya "the Diva's Champion from a hundred years ago... the only thing you're famous for is drunk-dialing your boss on a reality show." Natalya acknowledged this slight, but then went back Bret Hart, bringing up a story he told last year at the Hall of Fame, when he told the story of how he won the world title off of Ric Flair (Charlotte's father), which was when he (Flair) left the company. "Such unforgettable moments." She said she and Charlotte both come from such a long line of talented wrestlers, and the two stared each other down before Sasha pulled Charlotte away.
Charlotte still needs work cutting promos, but this new direction for her, as an entitled bitch who looks down on people's accomplishments (or "what they're famous for") is an interesting direction. I hope that one of her rivals fires back with some line about "and you're only famous for being the daughter of someone more talented than you," but this may be too much to hope for.
Match #4: Xavier Woods vs Alexander Rusev (w/ Lana)
Two weeks ago, during "NXT Arrival," Woods and Tyler Breeze's match was interrupted by Rusev coming out and beating the hell out of them in order to make a statement on a live show. Woods, furious over the interruption, is looking for retribution. As such, when he came out to the ring, he had his game face on, and there was no dancing to be done.
However, the next person to come out was Tyler Breeze himself, doing his full entrance routine, before he grabbed a microphone. In between his cell phone preening, he said, "Hello, Woods. Now, I know that you and I aren't friends, but after what happened at 'NXT Arrival,' when Rusev put his hands on my goregous face?" (Cue "Not the Face!" chants from the crowd.) "I'm asking you tonight to please let me get my revenge, and kindly leave." Woods just laughed at this, but before he could respond, Lana came out to introduce Rusev.
As the Bulgarian Brute made his way to the ring, Woods and Breeze were arguing over which of them would fight him, and Breeze ended up cheap-shotting Woods before leaving. Rusev ignored Woods as he did his full entrance schtick, and then even allowed Woods to drag himself up before going on the attack with repeated kicks and stomps, flooring Woods again with the short-arm high kick. Commentary was again talking up Rusev's Muay Thai and sumo background during the attack.
Woods eventually got his knees up to block some kicks, then fired back with offense of his own to drive the big man back. However, it seemed to be angering Rusev more than anything, and when Woods came off the ropes, Rusev hurled him up for a modified (or possibly botched) Samoan Drop that looked damn ugly. At this point, Lana signaled for the end. Rusev planted Woods with a spinning side slam, then tapped him to the Accolade, once again not breaking it until Lana called him off.
It appears they may be setting up a Woods/Breeze feud out of that initial argument and the cheap shot, but otherwise this was a vehicle to further assert Rusev's dominance. I like his "you're just making him angry" reaction to being attacked, and that should make for an interesting bit to his character on the main roster when he finally starts competing.
Backstage with Adrian Neville
Devin Taylor was trying to talk to the new NXT Champion, asking Adrian Neville about his upcoming rematch with Bo Dallas, but before Neville could even answer, Bo himself walked up and interrupted.
"Two weeks, two weeks and I get my rematch, and this terrible nightmare can finally end. Thank goodness for my Bo-lievers being behind me in these trying times. They truly are the wind Bo-neath my wings. Neville, me and you have been through a lot. But this has to end now! My Bo-lievers are sick of you, they're sick of your face, they're sick of your ears, they're sick of your flips! Adrian, I'm sick of you. You're out of your league--" at which point, Neville slapped him and walked off.
This was important to keep selling Bo's delusional heel routine, and it was followed up with a letter to the WWE Universe, posted on WWE.com. More to the point, it kept Neville's promo time (one of his weaknesses) to a minimum, and it allowed him to shut Bo up by just smacking the taste out of his mouth, something everyone wants to see.
Match #5: Colin Cassady vs Bo Dallas
As one expects, BIG CASS is still very over with the NXT Crowd, doing his fist-bumps with the front row on his way out and spelling out S-A-W-F-T on the apron before getting in the ring. As Bo Dallas made his way out, commentary was talking up the ladder match at NXT Arrival, where they noted that Bo wasn't pinned, something Bo himself pointed out last week. Typical heel spin-doctoring, of course, but it's a valid point.
Cass overpowered Bo to start, which the fans pointed out makes the ex-champion "SAWWWFT!" Bo went behind for a headlock, but got shot off into the ropes and into a shoulder block that floored him, in opposite to how it usually goes. Cass further taunted him by spelling out S-A-W-F-T. Bo bailed to the floor and took his time getting back in, while commentary questioned whether Bo had "choked" in the ladder match. As if in response, Bo managed to get Cass in the corner and hit some forearms and elbows, but then a whip was reversed and the Queens native powered him up for a bodyslam and a series of elbow drops for a near-fall. Bo again bailed to the floor and took his time getting back in, while the fans taunted him with "Sloppy Jalopy" chants.
Bo went back to the headlock, but this time grabbed Cass' hair to avoid getting shot into the ropes and ground in the headlock again. Once again, BIG CASS just powered him up and dumped Bo over the top to the floor, where Bo furiously yelled that he was NXT Champion as we went to an ad-break. When we came back, Bo was bailing back to the floor again, trying to maintain the pace as he wanted it, but Cass just reached over the top rope and grabbed him by the hair, hauling him up to the apron. Bo took advantage then, hot-shotting him off the top rope, and then took control with stomps and knee-drops to the head as the fans chanted "No More Bo."
A running elbow-shot got Bo a near-fall, then cranked in a cravate hold on the ground. Cass tried twice to power up out of the hold, but the first time, Bo just wore him back down. The second time, Cass got free, and hit some big right hands, but when he went off the ropes, Bo followed behind, catching Cass by surprise with a big lariat for a near-fall. Bo kept showing that 'darker' side of himself, showing aggression and anger as he set Cass up for his trademark short-arm elbow shots to the head. The fans were certainly rallying behind his opponent, as they shifted from chanting "Bo-cahontas" and "Bo-ring" to "Let's Go, Cass!"
Cass started firing back again, but got hit with a hard forearm in the corner. Bo went to whip him across the ring, but Cass reversed and sent Bo crashing into the corner hard. Albert brought up Bo's old kidney injury, which was a brilliant piece of analysis, as a collision like that probably would feel like agony to someone who once suffered a lacerated kidney. Cass came at the former champ with big right hands, then a high knee before bending Bo over for the S-A-W-F-T clubbin' blow to the back for a near-fall.
Cass set him up for another bodyslam, but Bo elbowed free and went off the ropes, but ran into a big boot that gave Cass a two-count. Bo crawled to the apron, but Cass grabbed his leg and leaned in to try to get a better grip. At this point, Bo snapped the middle rope back into his face, then hurriedly hooked him up for the Double-Arm DDT to give him the victory.
Bo Dallas has come a long way from the bland-as-milk vanilla babyface he was initially pushed as on NXT. They clearly wanted him to be one, but it just kept falling flat. His delusional "thinks he's beloved" heel character works especially well in front of the Full Sail University crowd, and it's worked wonders. His recent "darker" side hints that there's an evil in him. During this match, he looked in disbelief, even angry, that someone was fighting back against him, or at least daring not to get beaten. Couple this with Bo's cunning use of the ring itself to his benefit-- exposing turnbuckles, pulling the apron out of position to distract the ref, or snapping the rope into someone's face-- and you have an excellent heel.
That's all for this week.
Weekly Rundown
- Paige defeated Sasha Banks with the Scorpion Cross Lock.
- Sami Zayn said he had no issue with Corey Graves, but said he wouldn't be hard to find.
- Mojo Rawley is still hyped.
- The Ascension defeated Tyler Travis & Cal Bishop with the Fall of Man.
- Mason Ryan defeated Wesley Blake with a cobra-clutch slam.
- Natalya stopped the BFFs from bullying Bayley.
- Alexander Rusev defeated Xavier Woods with the Accolade.
- Bo Dallas got the taste slapped out of his mouth by Adrian Neville.
- Bo Dallas defeated Colin Cassady with a double-arm DDT.
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