Meanwhile, the Wyatt Family has gotten into John Cena's head as they care less about wins and losses and more about just breaking him physically and mentally.
Down in NXT Land, it's Vengeance Week with several issues stemming from "NXT Arrival" and the month since come to a head, as CJ Parker looks to avenge his loss to Mojo Rawley, Xavier Woods looks for retribution against Tyler Breeze, Yoshi Tatsu looks for revenge against Corey Graves, Natalya looks to shut up Charlotte, and Bo Dallas cashes in his rematch clause against NXT Champion Adrian Neville.
A Brief Word from Winger
This marks Week 26, half a year of this blog. I'll admit the updates sometimes slip, but I'm doing my best to update it for every episode of NXT. I don't know that anyone really reads it, but I still appreciate very view that it gets. I fully intend to go the full year with this, not just to Week 52, but to the end of the calendar year as well. After that, we'll see how it goes.
A Word on This Week's Commentary
The team this week consisted of Tom Phillips, Alex Riley, and Jason Albert. Riley seems to have settled into a sort of doofus heel role, defending the actions of the heels, while periodically saying something asinine that he gets called on. For instance, while defending CJ Parker's environmental awareness, Riley was asked what kind of car he drives, to which he said, "I drive a ... kiwi."
A different, and more concerning, case of this came during the Woods/Breeze match, where he said he looked up "charisma" in the dictionary, and got comments from both of the others that they were surprised he could spell the word. This same train of thought also led to A-Ry claiming he found a picture of Eddie Murphy under "charisma" in said dictionary, along with a picture of Xavier Woods, saying the two look like cousins. I can't quite tell if this is meant to be a casually racist "they all look the same to me" kind of line, or just something stupid that Riley decided to say. In either case, it's a comment that he should avoid repeating in the future.
Jason Albert has settled into his exuberant face commentator role, still playing up his Boston accent and casually poking fun of himself as he does it. It's great to see that he's having fun in his role, and I'm sure he appreciates being closer to home Stateside so he can spend time with his family, instead of frequently being overseas in Japan wrestling for NJPW. Albert sometimes straddles the heel divide, as he does talk positively of whomever's in control of the match, and makes no apologies for it. (Riley even called him a "fair weather fan" this week.)
Match #1: Mojo Rawley vs CJ Parker
These two had an unannounced match on "NXT Arrival," where NXT's 'Hype Man' steamrolled through Parker with his usual boundless energy. Parker took exception to it, and in the weeks since continued his "more environmentally conscious than thou" attitude, looking at Mojo as a man who gorges on fast food and empty calories while driving gas-guzzling SUVs, promising to "humanely dispose" of him.
On commentary, Albert didn't approve of Parker using NXT as a platform for his eco-justice, saying he "should go join Greepeace" if he wants to save the world, that a wrestling ring is not the place to do it. He also complained, "The smell of patchouli oil makes me sick!" Riley quipped that "I thought it'd make you hungry," but Albert just poked fun of himself by saying, "I'm always hungry."
Riley, when he wasn't defending Parker's beliefs, wasn't too keen on Mojo, calling his perpetual positivity "fake" and said he doesn't trust him because of it.
Parker controlled some of the early part of the match with a much more aggressive style, going behind and clubbing away and using a lot of strikes to keep Mojo from building momentum, bouncing his head off the turnbuckles. Mojo did manage to get some punches of his own in, but he whiffed on a Stinger splash and ate a clothesline for a near-fall. This allowed Parker to take control again, and eventually connected with his double-knee charge in the corner, but he stalled before running across the ring, presumably to set up another charge, only to have Mojo come running in behind him and absolutely cream him with a Stinger splash. A second splash set up Mojo's finishing flurry, with the butt-butt and the Hyperdrive giving Mojo the win.
Post match, CJ Parker pitched a fit in the ring. I liked some of the newfound aggression here, as a heel needs that aggression to be seen as effective. Mojo still needs to change up his finisher, since I'm not sold on the Hyperdrive as-is as a finish.
Last Week: Graves, Zayn
Last week, Sami Zayn was supposed to compete against Tyler Breeze, but in mid-entrance, Corey Graves ran out and bashed his head off the ring post, causing Zayn to be unable to compete. We were treated to a clip shot last week as the doctor was checking him out for signs of a concussion. The doctor said that all the symptoms he'd shown at ringside had resolved and that he should be fine. Zayn confirmed this, saying he just got his bell rung, but he's fine.
Match #2: Xavier Woods vs Tyler Breeze
A month ago, at "NXT Arrival," Woods and Breeze were scheduled to face each other, before Alexander Rusev interrupted and laid them both to waste just to send a message to everyone watching. The following week, Woods faced Rusev for vengeance himself, but Breeze interrupted and said he wanted Rusev first. When Woods wouldn't step aside, Breeze cheap-shotted him, allowing the 'Bulgarian Brute' to easily dominate Woods.
Riley showed more of his "doofus heel" commentary during Breeze's entrance, saying one of the reasons he "respects and admires" him is because he's "an ambi-turner. He can turn both ways, left and right. Most models can only turn left or right, but Breeze can turn both ways!" It was weird and utterly pointless heel commentator drivel, and it's probably a Zoolander reference that went over my head. (I've never seen Zoolander because I can't stand Ben Stiller.) He also went on his "charisma" bent before the match, as I noted above, while adding, "Charisma, something you do not have, Vanilla Tom," which is a valid comment about Tom Phillips.
The two were evenly matched to start, although Breeze started to get some momentum with a kick and a shoulder tackle, but then Woods blocked a suplex with a small package for a near-fall. The two showed some signs of scouting as Breeze tried to splash Woods in the corner, only to have Woods dodge out of the way. Breeze managed to put on the brakes, but then got taken down and catapulted face-first into the corner anyway.
Breeze showed some more depth to his moveset as he came back with a jawbreaker/stunner, then hooked Woods' head for an absolutely vile running bulldog into the turnbuckle. Even Albert had to admit that looked impressive. A pinfall only got him a two-count, and Woods blocked an Irish whip with a back elbow to create some separation. He came back with some kicks and swept the leg before coming back with a running soccer kick to the face for another near-fall.
At this point, Woods called for the Honor Roll ("It's morphin' time!"), but Breeze ducked out of range into the corner. Woods pursued him and lifted him up as if for a powerslam, but Breeze grabbed the top rope and got free, then immediately nailed him with the Beauty Shot when Woods turned around to pick up the win.
I feel kind of bad for Woods. He had a solid thing going as 'That 90s Guy' on NXT before getting called up as R-Truth's partner, where Woods was immediately used as the impetus to break up Tons of Funk and turn Brodus Clay heel. Clay has done precisely nothing since then, while Sweet T Tensai became Jason Albert, and now Woods is barely used on the main roster anymore.
Tyler Breeze has a great heat-magnet gimmick with his male model character, and what should be a one-dimensional character has some great range in the ring, showing some cunning heel tactics. He still might not be destined for anything past the midcard, but he'd still make for a solid addition to a tag team with Fandango.
Backstage: Bo Dallas
Devin Taylor interviewed Bo Dallas (rocking a suit) about his thoughts heading into the rematch tonight. "Adrian Neville has my championship. He climbed a ladder and he unhooked it from a carabiner, he didn't beat me. He didn't pin me. So he's better at climbing! Lucky for me, we're not in a jungle-gym climbing competition. Tonight, I will be NXT Champion again. You can Bo-lieve that."
Match #3: Corey Graves vs Yoshi Tatsu
Three weeks ago, Graves cut a promo before a match with Tatsu, where he called out NXT Management for not putting him on "NXT Arrival," and called out Sami Zayn, noting "When was the last time he even won a match?" Graves teased letting himself get counted out against Tatsu, suckering the Japanese martial-artist into pursuing him on the outside and getting beat down for it. Graves let him get counted out before going on to challenge Zayn later that night.
Riley and Albert talked up Graves during his entrance, with A-Ry noting that Graves is "fully committed" to everything he does. Albert said he'd asked around Pittsburgh about Corey Graves, and said the name "carries a lot of respect - and fear."
Tatsu came out aggressive to start, so Graves slowed him down by ducking into the ropes. He cheap-shotted Tatsu with a kick before slugging and chopping away. Tatsu fired back with some strikes and kicks of his own, even managing to put Graves on the mat with a high brain chop for a one-count. Graves then took control by kicking out the knee and dropping some fists. He continued to target the leg, softening it up for the Lucky 13, performing some leg twists to do it, showing off his cavalier attitude by snapping "Who cares?" at the ref's admonishments.
Tatsu did manage to get some more offense in, but otherwise Graves wore him down with perfectly serviceable leg work, before finally coming back off a whip and clipping the bad leg with a collision that looked ugly, in the best way. From there, Graves locked in the Lucky 13 for a tap out victory.
After the match, Graves got a microphone. "Sami Zayn, last week I think you got the message. Don't be a fool. Stay. Down."
Match #4: Charlotte (w/ Sasha Banks & Summer Rae cutout head) vs Natalya (w/ Bret Hart)
Charlotte, the daughter of Ric Flair, initially debuted on NXT as a face, and one who was trying to step out from her father's shadow. It wasn't long, however, before she turned heel and joined Summer Rae and Sasha Banks in the BFFs. Following "NXT Arrival," Charlotte started playing up her heritage, dubbing herself 'The Dirtiest Diva in the Game.' Last week, she called Bret Hart a "stringy-haired homeless bum," a remark that Natalya took exception to, leading to this match.
Renee Young joined the lads on commentary, and she was quick to play up her Canadian heritage during Natalya's entrance, as she was joined by her uncle, Bret Hart himself. Renee was furious about the "homeless bum" trash-talk about Bret, saying, "You do not talk about Bret 'The Hitman' Hart like that!"
Charlotte gave a "Woooo!" to Natalya's face and took control off the initial lock-ups, but the two were presented as evenly matched. Charlotte kept up the trash-talk as the two traded holds and escapes, but then Natalya's Hart Family Dungeon training came into play as she took Charlotte down with an armbar. For her part, Charlotte used her long legs to her advantage, snaring Natalya's head to escape, but Natalya quickly escaped that and trash-talked her right back.
Natalya soon took control by escaping a wristlock, slapping Charlotte in the face and taking her down with a snapmare. Natalya then used her new signature combination-- a running stomp to the back of the head, followed by a low running dropkick to the face. Natalya got a little cocky herself by doing a seated pin for a near-fall.
Charlotte played up more of her Flair heritage when she was whipped to the corner, doing a gymnastic variant of the Flair Flip by going upside down and curling back over the post, then coming back down onto her feet. However, she immediately turned around into a discus lariat from Natalya. The Canadian Diva went for the Sharpshooter, but Charlotte immediately went to the ropes before it could get locked in. Charlotte unloaded some fierce strikes of her own and went for Natalya's knee, showing some great technical work on the knee to soften it up for the Figure Four, but Natalya rolled her up for a near-fall when she attempted to lock it in. As punishment, Charlotte took her down hard with a clothesline.
Charlotte grounded her with a kneebar, but Natalya reversed it into an armbar. Charlotte came back with a dragon-screw leg-whip, but Natalya kicked her away from another Figure Four attempt. Charlotte started delivering some stomps, but once again Natalya's experience came into play as she took her down and locked in the Sharpshooter. Sasha Banks immediately jumped in the ring to break it up and draw the disqualification. For her part, Natalya just grabbed Banks and immediately tied her into the Sharpshooter. The BFFs retreated as Natalya stood tall with Bret Hart.
Charlotte is remarkably talented in the ring for someone so new to the business. She still needs some work in the promo department, but she is going to be a Diva to watch as she gets better.
Backstage Exclusive: Adrian Neville
A roving cameraman came across the NXT Champion, who asked him about his match with Bo Dallas, and how the match tonight will be different from the one at "Arrival." "Obviously there's no ladders, so that changes the dynamic. But in reality, I don't think it'll be that much different. I've had some of my most grueling matches of my career with Bo Dallas. Bo may be deluded, but in the ring he's no slouch. But at the end of the day, I have this on my shoulder and I have momentum behind me, so I'm not gonna stand back and let that change."
Match #5: NXT Championship - Adrian Neville defends vs Bo Dallas
Many people had pegged that Bo Dallas would lose the NXT Championship to Sami Zayn after their feud last year. However, the rise of Adrian Neville and Zayn's distraction with his feud with Cesaro led to a rivalry forming between the champion and the 'Jumping Geordie.' The two were no strangers to each other. Dallas had stepped in to serve as tag partner for Neville when he needed to defend the NXT Tag Team Championship against the Wyatt Family, although they ended up dropping the titles to them. When Dallas became NXT Champion, Neville soon found himself on a collision course with him, as Dallas pulled out every dirty trick he could to keep sneaking way with a victory. (The best would still have to be the way Dallas immediately dropped to the floor to get counted out when Neville made it back in the ring, allowing him to retain the title.)
Then came "NXT Arrival," and NXT's first-ever Ladder Match. Dallas continued to bring his new aggressive streak and cunning heel tactics, but he couldn't overcome Neville's indomitable will. In the weeks since, Dallas has been quick to point out that Neville never pinned him and the title is "rightfully" his to reclaim. Riley defended this sentiment, noting that Dallas was the longest-reigning NXT Champion, "he got beat on one night, that does not make Neville a better champion." Albert responded to this by noting, "You're only as good as your last game." This is a fair point to make; it doesn't matter if Dallas had defended his title successfully for 280 days, because on that one day, he didn't. Neville's been a fighting champion, as Tom Phillips pointed out; Neville competed in the very first match the next week on NXT after winning the title.
Dallas and Neville received the special in-ring introductions before the match, which is always a nice touch. I enjoy a little pomp and circumstance for important matches like championship bouts. I've said in previous blogs that some foreign and indie companies will do those kinds of introductions for title matches, usually accompanied by a special pose-for-posterity photo op. WWE and NXT don't need to go that far with it, but a little bit of pomp around big matches needs to come back.
As the match started, Dallas made a couple of quick take-downs, with Neville coming back with some equally-quick kick-outs. They locked up after this, with Dallas shoving Neville back, but a second lock-up and Neville shoved Dallas back instead. On the third lock-up, Dallas grabbed the hair and used it to pull Neville back in the corner, but got a series of punches from Neville.
The two showed signs of scouting one another-- always an important thing to show in longer rivalries-- as what happened next. Neville was whipped across into the corner, but he went up and over a charge from Dallas, complete with a series of flips and handsprings to the opposite corner. Dallas tried to cut him off by charging in behind this, but Neville had scouted that approach and caught him with a boot to the face. Neville put him down with a second-rope missile dropkick, then went up top for the Red Arrow. Dallas evaded by going to the floor, but Neville just repositioned and wiped him out on the floor with a moonsault press to loud "NXT" chants.
Dallas was sent back into the ring, where Neville went for a springboard maneuver, but Dallas ducked underneath it and tried to catch him with a clothesline. Neville countered this with a crucifix pin for a near-fall, then got tossed to the apron. Neville tried to go for another springboard, but Dallas rammed him to the floor with a shoulder to the midsection.
At this point, another call-back to previous matches came up. Neville was slow to get back in the ring, leading to the referee starting a ten-count. Dallas tried to stop him counting, since he remembered that he can't win the title on a count-out. When the ref wouldn't stop, Dallas went outside and laid Neville out with a lariat. This made it more difficult for Dallas to drag his limp body back in the ring, but managed it at the count of '7' for a near-fall.
Dallas started delivering a series of knee-drops to the head as the fans chanted "Let's Go Neville." Dallas kept up the grounded offense as we went to an ad-break. When we came back, Dallas had evidently been doing his short-arm elbow strikes and was winding up for the short-arm clothesline. Neville ducked it and took him down with a sole butt kick, then went to the ropes, but Dallas followed him and Neville turned around into a huge lariat for another near-fall. Dallas started showing signs of frustration as he made repeated pin attempts, but could not get the three-count he needed. Neville rolled to the apron for separation, and an exchange of blocked moves led to Neville attempting a sunset flip from the apron. Dallas sat down on it and grabbed the ropes for a pinning attempt, but the ref spotted the rope-hold at two and stopped the count. This allowed Neville to hook the arms with his legs to complete the sunset flip for another near-fall.
Dallas stunned him with a forearm, then started to set up for the Impaler DDT, but Neville got free and fired off a flurry of offense that put Dallas down. Neville went to the apron, where he connected with a springboard Superman punch that probably has Roman Reigns envious. Neville got shoved away from the corner by Dallas, only to eat a charging uppercut. Neville attempted another whip, but Dallas put the brakes on by hooking the ropes and pulled him in for a stiff forearm shot. Neville returned fire with one of his own, but Dallas again reversed a whip attempt and tried to send Neville back into the corner, almost sandwiching the ref. A roll-up off the distract scored another near-fall for the former champion.
Neville finally connected with an enzuigiri from the apron, then went up to the top for the Red Arrow, but Dallas got the knees up! Neville still managed to kick out at two, and both men were slow to get to their feet. Dallas tried to pull him up for the Impaler DDT, but Neville rammed him back into the corner. Dallas tried another clothesline attempt, but Neville countered and went for a Tornado DDT, only to be shoved away, then sent face-first into the top turnbuckle. Dallas charged into to capitalize-- and ran straight into a superkick!
From there, Neville showed everyone why he's 'The Man That Gravity Forgot.' The Red Arrow had already been scouted and countered, so Neville dipped into the well and pulled out something new-- an Imploding 450 Splash. Take a regular 450 Splash, but face toward the corner instead of away from it. It's a dangerous move to attempt, since if you don't get enough horizontal distance, you could smack head-first into the turnbuckle or post, and if you don't get the rotation right, you could hurt your ankles or knees. It's a testament to Neville's skill that he nailed it perfectly, and picked up the three-count to retain the title.
I look forward to finding out what other jaw-dropping aerial moves Neville may pull out in the future. Both men showed why they're two of the top guys in NXT right now, and it built perfectly off their previous matches to show scouting and escalation.
Next Week: Sami Zayn vs Corey Graves
Weekly Rundown
- Mojo Rawley defeated CJ Parker with the Hyperdrive.
- Tyler Breeze defeated Xavier Woods with the Beauty Shot.
- Corey Graves defeated Yoshi Tatsu with the Lucky 13.
- Natalya defeated Charlotte via disqualification when Sasha Banks interfered.
- Adrian Neville defeated Bo Dallas with an Imploding 450 Splash to retain the NXT Championship.
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