TV Review: WWE NXT #190 (Joe vs. Dempsey)

Check out last week's NXT review, including thoughts on Asuka vs. Emma here

On 30th March 2016, WWE aired the 190th episode of NXT, having previously taped the episode on 27th January 2016 at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, USA. The show featured #1 Contender to the NXT Championship Samoa Joe facing off with Bull Dempsey...but was it any good? Let's take it a look.

nxt #190 match card

Match 1 - Tag Team - #1 Contender's to the WWE NXT Tag Team Championship American Alpha vs. Corey Holis & John Skyler

Match 2 - Singles - Baron Corbin vs. Mike Cuelarri

Match 3 - Tag Team - NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival vs. Steve Cutler & Tucker Knight

Match 4 - Singles - Apollo Crews vs. Alex Riley

Match 5 - Singles - Bull Dempsey vs. #1 Contender to the WWE NXT Championship Samoa Joe

american alpha defeat holis and skyler

American Alpha are a lot fun to watch, especially when on the offence, therefore them plowing through ROH star Corey Holis and PWX's John Skyler in just over four minutes was a lot of fun to watch. Chad Gable's gorgeous overhead belly to belly suplexes, Jason Jordan's slick as fuck fire-up sequence and of course their lovely Grand Amplitude combination finisher were all on display as they dominated their opponents throughout more or less the entire bout. A great piece of set-up for their WWE NXT Tag Team Championship shot in 2 days time and we'd get to see some of their opponents, The Revival later on in the show as well!

fast-forward...There was some interesting presentation as WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor cut sit-down promo on his title defense against Samoa Joe in Dallas...Baron Corbin squashed Mike Cuellari (bka QT Marshall) formerly of ROH...A hype package for the debut of NJPW star Shinsuke Nakamura in two days aired, including a lot of footage from London based promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling...

the revival defeats cutler and knight

Not as quite as much of a home run as American Alpha's squash match in terms of entertainment, but this one still managed to make The Revival's Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder look like beasts. Full Sail University didn't seem to be particularly into this one and continued to be fairly muted just like they have been across the entire set of tapings, with most chant attempts being pretty quiet and dropping off quickly. The big man Knight did show signs of promise on his comeback, I'd be interested to see more of him in the future. The WWE NXT Tag Team Champions picked up the victory with an impressive Shatter Machine on Knight, building towards what promises to be a competitive title defense against American Alpha on Friday night in Dallas.

fast-forward...Bull Dempsey cut the best promo of his entire career on his main event bout with Samoa Joe later on in the evening...

crews defeats riley

Apollo Crews picked up a surprisingly quick victory over Alex Riley, pinning A-Ry in less than two minutes after hitting a Spin-out Powerbomb. Things really aren't looking good for Riley after quick losses to Tye Dillinger and now Crews over the last month or so, to be very honest I'm surprised that Riley wasn't released in the last run of firings. The match was set-up for the continuation of Crews' fledgling feud with Elias Samson, with The Drifter coming out post-match to a sing a little song. I couldn't quite catch all of Samson's lyrics, however it seemed to get some really strong heat with Full Sail University. A bout at Takeover: Dallas between the two could potentially do great things for both men, as both men have struggled over the last few months. They need to put of a real show on Friday night.

fast-forward...Baron Corbin cut a killer promo on his upcoming bout with Austin Aries...A cool hype video for Asuka challenging for Bayley's WWE NXT Women's Championship in Dallas aired...A promo from Sami Zayn about his bout with Shinsuke Nakamura on Friday didn't quite hit the spot...

joe defeats dempsey

Continuing the theme of the show Samoa Joe dominated Bull Dempsey and picked up a submission victory in just over a minute and a half! Not the most satisfying main event, but one that build Joe up as a machine heading into his NXT Championship match with Finn Balor in 2 days. Joe holding onto the Coquina Clutch after the bell also added an extra viciousness to his character that we've seen develop more and more over the last month or so. It's getting easier and easier to hate Joe and that can only be a going thing. It was a shame that this week's Monday Night RAW and TNA Impact Wrestling both included pull apart brawls, as while Balor coming out and scrapping with Joe to close the show might have been the best of the bunch it suffered from being the third that had aired across TV on the same week. Still with just 2 days left until Takeover: Dallas it was a neat way to lead into the live special.

finally...

atpw scale rating - 3.93/10

Let's be honest, taken on it's own merits this wasn't the strongest hour of television that you will find available at the moment. However, what it was was a great piece of build towards Takeover: Dallas with just two days until the show. Every match on the card was strengthened in one way or another, whether that be through a squash match, a promo, a hype video or an altercation, each storyline was featured. Every second of the show was about giving the viewer reasons to watch on Friday night and that's exactly what NXT should be about, especially so close to one of their biggest shows to date. 

See you on Saturday for our NXT Takeover: Dallas review. Enjoy the show x