...and that's just what they did, booking the trio in a handicap match against 11 midcard heels, a numbers game that even The Shield couldn't overcome for long, and in the end, they were beat down and left vulnerable for Orton, Batista, and Triple H, who laid them out and told them, "Believe in Evolution."
Down in NXT Land, BIG CASS restarted his rivalry with the Artiste, Oliver Grey returned to action against Camacho, the Great Khali left a big carbon footprint on CJ Parker's face, the tag team scene heated up a little more with a new team's arrival, and Brodus Clay threw his considerable weight around on Adrian Neville.
Not much else to say going into this week's ep. I've fallen behind in doing these on time, so let's get back into it.
A Word on This Week's Commentary
After Rich Brennan's debut last week, we got a full four-person desk all night this week, as Tom Phillips, William Regal, and Byron Saxton were joined by Renee Young for the whole show. Normally she's only out there for one match before leaving.
I generally prefer a two-man desk, if the two men have good chemistry, and as long as the heel apologist announcer doesn't get too overbearing. (I'm looking in your direction, JBL.) Three men is all right, again, if the chemistry works out well, and all three men contribute in a sensible and equal fashion. Four people for a whole hour? Too much.
Match #1: Colin Cassady vs Aiden English
Something that amused me is during his entrance, Cass' chyron/subtitle said "Colin Cassady," but the ring announcer introduced him as "BIG CASS." He did his usual long-distance fist-bumping and spelled out SAWFT with the fans, before being interrupted by the clearing of the throat of Aiden English, who called for the spotlight.
You can't sing with me,
It's not even worth it,
You'd better not even try,
For if you do, you'd just be embarrassed,
I'd blow a kiss-- goodbye!
And now you'll see, oh yes,
You'll finally see, there's no one here greater than me...
The greatest performer in WWE!
The fans chanted for an "Encore!" but English just snapped, "You wish!"English came out of the gate with a kick and some strikes, before Cass reversed and took him into the corner to clobber him. After hitting a huge knee-lift, Cass taunted him, "Yeah, how you doin'?!" before clubbing him in the chest a couple of times. This was followed by an impressive high jumping knee from Cass, who spelled out SAWFT before hitting English with a running big boot for a two-count. English bailed to the apron, trying to keep his distance from Cassady, suckering him in close so he could kick out the left knee, then kneeing him in the head. He took control with some clubberin' blows of his own, for not even a one-count. English added in some trash talk, "I am so sick of you!"
Commentary did point out that it was Cass' left knee that has been a frequent target for the Artiste in their previous matches, as shots to that knee had allowed English to capitalize and hit the Director's Cut in the past. Cass did have a bit of a brace on his knee, and this was also pointed out.
English kept up the aggression in the corner, slugging him in the chest. "This is my show, Cass!" A kick to the head got him a count of two, and he poured on more trash-talk before kicking Cass in the spine. After some more offense, we got a series of reversals into the finish. Cass caught him off a crossbody, setting up for a swinging side slam, but English slipped out and went for the Director's Cut. Cass reversed this with a snapmare and hit a big boot, then went for the swinging side slam again, but English landed on his feet, hooked the bad leg, and rolled him up, grabbing the tights for good measure, and picked up the three count.
=AE beats on him in the corner, slugging him in the chest. "This is my show, Cass!" Kick to the head for a two-count. AE with more trash-talk and a kick to the spine. AE with an elbow to the back of the head and a choke on the rope. AE whips, but Cass reverses and hits a back body drop. Cass catches a crossbody, but AE slips out and looks for the Director's Cut. But Cass reverses and hits a big boot. Cass looks for the swinging uranage, but AE slips out and hooks the bad leg for a roll-up, and grabs the tights for good measure for the three-count.
Cass protested after the match to the referee, and yelled at English, about the aforementioned tights getting grabbed. English just took a bow on stage while roses were thrown to him.
Backstage with Tyler Breeze.
Devin Taylor was backstage, and introduced the Gorgeous One, but Breeze held out his phone, and she had to read it out. "The King of Cuteville, the most super-good-looking piece of Gorgeousness you will ever see, Prince Pretty, Tyler Breeze." She said he wanted to address the NXT Universe, and asked if he had something to say. "Actually, no, I just thought this episode needed someone who was 'Gorgeous.'" And he walked away.
A great summary of Breeze's character there. It lets anyone who just walked in know that he's a self-absorbed, self-aggrandizing, vain pretty-boy. As soon as he stepped on camera, he spent the rest of the interview preening in his phone before leaving.
Paige Makes Good
We were treated to a hype video about Paige, a bit different than the past ones, talking about her journey, learning the ins and outs of the business since the age of 13. It also highlighted Paige's debut on Raw last week, where she picked up a surprise upset win over AJ Lee to win the Divas Championship in her first match. Clips were shown of her breaking down in tears backstage and getting hugged by all the Divas.
This then segued into an interview taped during Raw, last week, as Tom Phillips introduced the NXT Women's Champion and the new WWE Divas Champion, Paige. She walked in, in her street attire, and had both titles. He asked how she's been acclimating since winning the title. "It's actually completely mind-blowing, it actually doesn't feel real, still. I mean my dream after nine years has finally become a reality last night, and it's... it's mind-blowing, it really is. It's on my shoulder right now, and I keep forgetting, and it's right there!" (She's clearly still geeking out about it.)
He asked if she's got a big target on her, holding both championships, from both WWE and NXT Divas. "Well, first of all, when I came backstage after my match with AJ, it was all smiles and hugs, congratulations, and then... you know, they want you to do good, just never better than them. So their little hugs and smiles turn into side-looks and sneers and whispering, but the thing is: girls, you're wearing microphones, so I could hear every word you're saying!" (A clear dig at Total Divas.) "But let's go down to NXT, my home, where Sasha Banks and Charlotte have just been talking trash this whole time, but I get it: I'm the NXT Women's Champion, people want it. I understand. And let's roll back to AJ Lee. She got very, very comfortable, she got very complacent, she thought she was unbeatable. But the thing is, I studied her, in fact, I not only studied her, I studied every single Diva on the WWE roster and the NXT roster, and that's exactly why I am a double-champion now. But I'm not going to get complacent. I'm not going to get comfortable. I'm not going to sit back, kick off my boots and relax, because I know they'll all be coming after me, for one or both my titles. And you know what, Tom? I look forward to them trying."
This kind of interview needs to be shown on Raw or Smackdown, not just buried in Network/App exclusives, because it will very quickly establish Paige's character. Yes, she thinks she's better than all the Divas, but it's less "crazy entitlement" (a la AJ) and more "driven preparedness," and it also gives a solid explanation for how a "rookie" could pick up a win over AJ Lee so suddenly.
Match #2: Camacho vs Oliver Grey
Last week, Camacho interrupted Grey's return interview to talk trash about Adam Rose, taking exception to Rose's partying ways, while Camacho had had to struggle to survive in the barrio. Grey had taken exception to the interruption and challenged him to this match. Regal dropped some trivia about Grey, that he was a "southern area judo champion" and that he's a blood relative of King Edward III, which is I guess supposed to be an explanation about Grey's upper-class airs.
Grey caught Camacho with a go-behind off the initial lockup, but Camacho went to the ropes. Grey did it again, but Camacho caught him with a back elbow. A third time around, Grey ducked the elbow and nailed him with a dropkick. Now he grabbed a wristlock, but Camacho kneed him in the stomach and sent him into the ropes for an elbow smash. Camacho talked a little trash while stomping a mudhole in him, then yelled at the referee when he pulled him back.
Camacho followed this up with a running powerslam for a two-count, then laid in some clubberin' blows before Grey fired back with strikes of his own. These just served to make Camacho angry, however, as he hoisted him up for a big Samoan Drop for the three-count.
It appears that Camacho is to be Adam Rose's "going away" feud as the Adam Rose Experience is going on to the main roster. Camacho's a solid hand, if a bit dull as a character and in-ring.
Backstage with Bo Dallas
Devin Taylor interviewed Bo Dallas about his failed attempt to occupy NXT. "Devin, my Bo-lievers are law-abiding citizens. They just didn't want to do anything... unlawful. Which made Occupy NXT slightly underwhelming, but the Bo Dallas Hotline is ringing off the hook with support for the Bo Movement. My drive for the NXT Championship will never die, and neither will the Bo Movement." (Awkward pause.) "Devin, don't stop Bo-lieving." Devin just gave him a pitying look as he leaves.
Nice spin-job from Bo to explain why his Occupy NXT segment failed last week. The fact that "Bo Movement" could so easily be shifted to "Bowel Movement" cannot possibly be an accident, which is just another great bit that Dallas has worked into his character.
Match #3: The Ascension vs These Guys
Commentary talked up the fact that the Ascension has been on a tear, and stated they have left a standing open challenge to any team in WWE or the world. This week, These Guys were Wesley Blake & Cal Bishop.
Blake started out with Konnor, and tried to get his shots in early with a punch and a kick, but then Konnor mowed him down with a huge clothesline. A few shoulder blocks sent Blake to the floor, but Viktor tagged in and went to town on him. Trapping him against the apron, Viktor unloaded strike after strike, chops and uppercuts, not unlike the "Violence Party," as it is known on the indie scene. Back into the ring, Viktor sized him up, then whipped him into the Ascension's corner before tagging Konnor.
Konnor stalked him before delivering some kicks, with the NXT Crowd giving an "Ohhhh - YAH!" in punctuation for each kick. He played to the crowd as well, by winding up before each one, and finally they started chanting "One More Yah!" Blake started trying to make his tag, and Konnor yelled "Crawl!" at him before tagging Viktor. The Ascension's "scalpel" cut him off at the pass, taking Blake down again. Tag to Konnor again, and Viktor took Bishop off the apron before joining Konnor to cut Blake down with the Fall of Man.
The Ascension are running out of bodies, but a match later in the show suggests they're working on building up the NXT tag ranks again, which should give Konnor & Viktor some much-needed competition.
Backstage with the BFFs
Devin Taylor was backstage with Sasha Banks and Charlotte, and brought up Sasha's back-to-back losses to Emma and Bayley, and asked what's holding her back. Charlotte interrupted immediately, "First of all, Devin, that's a nice watch. Where'd you get it, Goodwill? Second of all, giving Sasha the reins the last two weeks was an epic fail." Sasha was clearly surprised at this turn of events and started in with a sarcastic, "Oh, I'm sorry--" but Charlotte cut her off. "Yeah, you should be! And third of all, I'm going to take down every Diva in this division. So starting next week, you and I have a tag match against Emma with a partner of her choice. Which is kind of funny because Emma, that double bubble head, doesn't have any friends."
Sasha laughed, "Of course she doesn't have any friends--" but once again, Charlotte shut her down, "I don't know what you think is so funny. It's about time someone took charge. Someone with a little more flair."
Interesting new tack for Charlotte, and methinks this may spell the end of Charlotte's association with the BFFs. This will only be a good thing, since if they're aiming to make Charlotte a threat to Paige's championships, they need to separate her from Sasha Banks and her losing record. It otherwise taints Charlotte by association.
Match #4: CJ Parker vs The Great Khali
After making his usual entrance, Parker grabbed a microphone. It's worth pointing out that the fans booed and started chanting "NO" before Parker even spoke. "When I try to sleep at night, I just lay in my bed and stare at the ceiling. Just wondering what this planet would be like if there was no such thing as the NXT Universe. Plain and simple, it'd be a place I'd be proud to call home. There'd be no litter in my street, there'd be no animals in my zoos, there'd be no such thing as an SUV, everything would be fuel-efficient. How can you boo a guy that wants to be the change that you should all wanna see in this world? How can you boo a guy who cares?"
Cue Khali's music. The smarky NXT Crowd actually started chanting "Khali's Gonna Kill You" and "Chop His Brain!" On commentary, Renee called Khali "the SUV of people," and that prompted a "Prius vs SUV" comparison between the two.
Parker started out by chopping him in the chest, but Khali just clobbered him for it and muscled him into the corner. Khali shushed the crowd before hitting a huge smack to the sternum, which the fans loved, so they asked, "One More Time!" Khali delivered, then clotheslined him over the top to the floor, where Parker's head banged off the ramp.
Khali started to follow him to the floor by stepping over the top rope, but Parker cut him off and clipped his knee off the top rope. The Moonchild went on the attack, and yelled at the ref when he was pulled back. "I just want to change this world!" Khali shoved him away, only to get a dropkick on the jaw. The fans, further damning Parker to heeldom, actually chanted "Global Warming!" Parker went to the top rope, but Khali smacked him in the chest in mid-air. From there, Khali hit him with a big boot, a couple of clotheslines, and then finished him off with the Punjabi Plunge.
Backstage Exclusive with Emma
A roving cameraman stopped Emma backstage, asking her about the tag-team challenge from the BFFs. She's asked if she's found a partner yet. "No. I have not. Or have I?!" And then she dances off.
Backstage Exclusive with Sami Zayn
The roving cameraman approached Sami Zayn, asking him about the ref stopping the match two weeks ago, and how he's feeling today. "Yeah, I'm fine, thank you for asking. I'm fine, there's not really much I can do about that, in this day and age, with head injuries... again, I'm fine. I'm not gonna question the ref's call, but I could've hung in there. He caught me. I'm feeling fine now, and I'm looking forward to next week when I team with the Usos to take on Corey Graves and The Ascension. I don't wanna get riled up now, but this thing with Corey Graves, it's not just about the attacks, anymore. It's not about head injury anymore. I don't like him. I don't like this kind of guy, he's the kind of guy who needs to be put in his place, and that's exactly what I'm going to do." He's asked if the Usos can expect him to be 100%. "Yes, they can."
Match #5: Jason Jordan & Tye Dillinger vs More of These Guys
Jordan & Dillinger are apparently a new tag team, since they have matching trunks and an actual entrance theme. These Guys were Sawyer Fulton & Baron Corbin.
Jordan and Corbin started out with a lockup, and Jordan-- himself coming from an amateur background-- went behind, only to get caught by an elbow and a side headlock. Jordan backed him into the ropes for a blind tag from Dillinger, and into a combination of strikes: Jordan doubled him over with a kick, Dillinger popped him back up with a running knee, and Jordan nailed him with a sweet dropkick for a near-fall. Dillinger followed this up with a big chop in the corner, but his whip got reversed, so he went up and over a charge, then one more time, before Corbin creamed him with a lariat. (And William Regal emphasized it was a lariat, not a clothesline.)
Corbin wore Dillinger down with some slugs to the head and body, then tagged in Fulton, who caught him off a whip with a clothesline/backbreaker move before delivering some grounded strikes. Fulton stared down Jordan on the apron before driving Dillinger into the hostile corner to tag in Corbin, who heaved him up for a stalling suplex for a near-fall. Commentary was talking up Fulton's oddness, as Saxton said Fulton claims he keeps tacks in his boots to keep him on edge.
Corbin wore Dillinger down again with a rear chinlock, then hit a big body slam when he fought to his feet. He went for a second-rope dive, but Dillinger put a boot up. Seeing it, Corbin landed on his feet, smacked the boot down, and dropped an elbow, but Dillinger rolled out of the way, setting up the hot tag to Jordan. Jordan came in hard on Fulton, knocked Corbin down, then hit Fulton with a big back body drop. Getting fired up, Jordan hit another sweet dropkick on Corbin, then tagged in Dillinger. Jordan speared Fulton back into the corner, then lifted him up for their team finisher, which is MNM's old "Snapshot" finisher-- an elevated DDT. Dillinger hooked both legs, and the new team picked up the win.
Both teams actually had some good dynamics going, and I think Corbin & Fulton should team up as well. they're two big beefy guys with brawling styles, and they could make an interesting match for the Ascension with a little seasoning together. But for now, Jordan & Dillinger are the new team on the block. All they need is some more characterization and a team name. I'm always of the belief that a proper tag-team has a team name.
Match #6: Brodus Clay vs Adrian Neville
This feud got its start a few weeks ago, when a frustrated Clay stormed into NXT, full of rage and bitterness over how he's fallen, and immediately challenged Neville for the title. Neville, although a fighting champion, said that challengers need to earn a title shot. Clay called out Neville last week, but backed down from the fight, saying it would happen on his time, not Neville's.
Clay was announced as hailing from "The Concrete Jungle," which I think is a fitting aspect to his character.
Neville marched right up to Clay, who shoved him back, but Neville came back with a charging forearm, then went to town with strikes and kicks, evading Clay's lunges. Eventually Clay whipped him into the ropes, but Neville went between the legs and grabbed a sleeper. Clay snapmared him to the mat, then started slugging away in the corner. Neville went up and over off a whip to the corner, then did a bunch of handsprings to the opposite corner and blocked a charge with a boot.
The Jumping Geordie then went for a leaping move off the top, almost getting dropped or bringing Clay down with a move (it's not clear which), but Clay muscled him back up for a T-bone suplex for a two-count. Clay hit a couple of elbow drops, then actually busted out a heart punch! It only got him a two-count. Clay softened him up further with some thumps to the chest, then clamped on a trapezius pinch. Neville fought to his feet, but Clay put him back down with a Mongolian chop and kept the hurting on.
Clay delivered a modified Banzai Drop for a two-count before Neville tried to kick out his thigh. Clay just shrugged this off and went for the powerbomb, but Neville went low and evaded, only to get caught in the corner, where Clay choked him out with a boot and stood on his back. A snapmare set up a double trapezius hold, but once again Neville fought his way up and slugged away at the midsection and kicked away at the thighs, but Clay would not break the hold until he was caught by a jawbreaker.
Once again, Clay went for the powerbomb, but Neville landed on his feet and took out the knee with kicks, then a dropkick. Clay tossed him to the apron, then ate an enzuigiri and a springboard Superman Punch. Neville then tried to drag Clay to the corner for a 450 Splash, but the big man rolled away, so Neville rolled through on the move, landing on his feet into a somersault, then turned around into a charging headbutt. Neville rolled to the floor, but Clay pursued him out there.
Clay hit a slam on the floor, then went for the diving splash from the steps, only for Neville to roll away. The referee had started his count, and Neville made it back in at the count of nine, leaving Clay to get counted out. Clay got to his feet, realized he'd lost, and was furious about it. He tried to storm back in the ring, but Neville dropkicked him off. "Monstrous" Brodus Clay left up the ramp, declaring, "It ain't over."
Clay has a solid grasp of how to use his big man offense very well. He'll never be very quick, but he can put on bursts of speed when he needs to. That powerbomb of his looks like death, so it should definitely be his finisher, even if the splash is how he keeps his victims down. Part of me wishes he'd bring back the "Fall of Humanity" running crossbody, because that looks even more devastating than just the splash, because you get the sensation of whiplash for the victim from the collision.
Next week: Sami Zayn & The Usos vs Corey Graves & The Ascension!
Weekly Rundown
- Aiden English defeated Colin Cassady with a schoolboy and a handful of tights.
- Paige still welcomes all comers.
- Camacho defeated Oliver Grey with a Samoan Drop.
- Bo Dallas hasn't stopped "Bo-lieving."
- The Ascension defeated Wesley Blake & Cal Bishop with the Fall of Man.
- The BFFs challenge Emma to a tag match next week with a partner of her choosing.
- The Great Khali defeated CJ Parker with the Punjabi Plunge.
- Emma has not yet chosen a partner for her tag match next week. ...or has she?!
- Sami Zayn says he'll be 100% next week.
- Jason Jordan & Tye Dillinger defeated Sawyer Fulton & Baron Corbin with an elevated DDT.
- Adrian Neville defeated Brodus Clay via count-out.
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