TV Review: WWE NXT #211 - Tye Dillinger v Buddy Murphy 2

Aired - 31st August 2016

For the second week in a row, Tye Dillinger found himself in the main event of NXT, this time taking on former Tag Team Champion Buddy Murphy, but would that be enough to end NXT's summer with a bang? 

This week's headline encounter saw "The Perfect Ten" Tye Dillinger continue to build momentum with a victory over Buddy Murphy in what was a solid outing for the pair. Whilst Dillinger is clearly a crowd favourite thanks to his Perfect Ten gimmick, I was particularly impressed with Murphy here, as he not only worked hard to allow Dillinger to look as good as possible, but also had a couple of promising moments himself. Whilst he may look like a boot-leg version of Triple H circa 2002, Murphy showed that he's got a little more about him this week, which included hitting a tasty meteora for a two count. Dillinger seemed to be resting on his Perfect Ten popularity to pull him through the match, as his comeback was especially basic here, not really containing anything to get too excited about, en route to getting the pinfall with the Tye Breaker [Fireman's carry neckbreaker]. I feel like if Dillinger wants to continue to main event NXT, then he needs to add a little bit more to his in-ring work, especially if working as a babyface. 

After thirteen previous attempt, Steve Cutler finally got himself a televised victory with a quick win over Kenneth Crawford, thanks to a Fisherman suplex slam, in the semi-main. I wasn't at all impressed with Cutler in his triumph however, as not only did he look like the budget lovechild of Baron Corbin and Corey Graves in his pre-commentary days, but he was pretty damn sloppy in the ring. The crowd clearly didn't have much time for him either, showering the bout with the sound of complete indifference. Crawford showed some moments of promise, including a nice running shooting star press, but also had his own fair share of slips and trips during the match. Considering Cutler has been in NXT since 2014, had a years worth of Indy experience before being signed and has faced talents now on the main roster like Baron Corbin, Chad Gable and Aiden English on a regular basis, he's nowhere near where you'd expect him to be at this point in his career. 

No Way Jose looked to build momentum following his Takeover: Brooklyn II loss to Austin Aries, with a swift success over Angelo Dawkins. This was a real nothing match, in which there seemed to be a vacuum on entertainment or anything notable before Jose got the pin with a Cobra clutch slam. If I'm going to criticise Steve Cutler for his tenure in NXT, then I need to bring up that Dawkins has been with the company since 2012 and lost 21 TV bouts in a row. His character is undefined as he comes to ring doing a weird stirring motion, whilst wearing two headbands like a shit Bobby Lashley and being extremely cocky for a chap who has lost 21 matches in a row. Jose finished things off by dancing in the crowd, which was nice. 

In his first appearance in the Full Sail Arena since winning the NXT Championship from Samoa Joe at Takeover: Brooklyn II, Shinsuke Nakamura came out and said a few words about his win. The crowd love The King of Strong-Style and they hang of his every word as he explained that he was still hurting from his match with Joe, but that doesn't matter because he has the belt in his signature charismatic style. It would certainly be impossible to criticise what was present on screen across the 6 minute segment, but I can't help feeling that it lacked any feel of drama and didn't advance anything in terms of story. As cool as it was to have Nakamura speaking directly to the crowd, everything that was done could have been done in a backstage interview, with this time given over to a lengthier main event or something with a bit more drive behind it. Closing the show with a promo that no matter how enthralling, was still a straight forward promo was a odd decision that didn't pay off completely. 

In the weakest contest of the evening, Liv Morgan and Aliyah worked a sloppy and illogical match in front of a crowd that was as dead as a dodo. There was some promise early on, but the match quickly showed up both women as not quite being ready for this kind of spotlight. Things like Aliyah not moving Morgan away from the ringropes when going for a pin shouldn't be happening by the time talents have come up to television, whilst Aliyah's wear down hold looked more like a finisher, which effected the flow of the contest and made it hard to believe that Morgan could actually have escaped it. Morgan picked up her first TV win with a nasty looking Reverse Roundhouse Kick, that needs a lot more polishing. With Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Alexa Bliss, Emma, Charlotte and Carmella all departing the roster over the last year or so, it's left Asuka holding up a skeleton of a division that Morgan and Aliyah aren't ready to contribute positively to. 

Best of the Rest 

• With Johnny Gargano out injured, Tag Team Champions The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) to advantage of the situation, attacking Tomasso Ciampa during an interview before destroying him in the ring.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 2.95/10 

Man, this was not a good episode of NXT. When the highlights are an average main event between Tye Dillinger and Buddy Murphy and an inconsequential promo from Shinsuke Nakamura, you know that the hour of TV that you've just watched probably wasn't that good. The three squash bouts left a lot to be desired, with no one involved coming off all that well. There's some talent down the lower portion of NXT's roster that currently aren't up to scratch, which is worrying considering the length of time that some of them have been attending the Performance Center. 

I'd expect the show to improve over the next few weeks, there's plenty of stars on the roster to do that, but there's questions that need to be asked about why more home-grown talent like Steve Cutler and Angelo Dawkins aren't cutting the mustard.

Words - James Marston
Banner Credit - Kai Stellar

TV Review: WWE NXT #208 - Mojo Rawley v Samoa Joe

In the penultimate episode of NXT before Takeover: Brooklyn II, a number of the building blocks for the 20th August show would fall into place. With the NXT Champion in action in the main event, how would the yellow brand look to build momentum? 

The main event bout between Samoa Joe and Mojo Rawley was a much stronger affair than I was expecting it to be, with Rawley upping his aggresiveness to match Joe, with a crowd that sided strongly behind Rawley. Despite the new Smackdown performer being slightly off with the timing of some of his offence, the pair were able to put together some nice sequences, highlighted by Rawley's massive leap into an STJoe. The NXT Champion picked up a convincing victory with the Coquina Clutch, however shouting out his 20th August opponent as he locked in the move produced the most interesting part of the show. A very different version of the pull-apart, as Joe was held back by security and officials whilst #1 Contender Shinsuke Nakamura continually wound him up by grabbing his nose. Very entertaining stuff that adds to the build of the upcoming title match. 

Another match would be added to the 20th August supercard, after Andrade Almas had bested NXT stalwart Angelo Dawkins in a couple of minutes. The match was a short squash, although Dawkins did manage a sweet spinning version of the Stinger Splash, with Almas pulling out a complicated hammer lock DDT/leg sweep situation for the victory. It was the confrontation afterward with newcomer Bobby Roode that would produce the intrigue though, as Roode did a brilliant job working the crowd in order to get them on the side of his opponent. Almas is still struggling to get over with the Winter Park crowd, but Roode speaking slowly to him, as he attempted to explain that they'd be having a match at Takeover: Brooklyn II seemed to go, at least, some way towards that. The upcoming match between the two should solidify both men's places on the NXT roster.

A contract signing segment between Women's Champion Asuka and #1 Contender Bayley, hosted by General Manager William Regal was an engaging piece of television as the two rivals attempted to build the tension between them, ahead of their 20th August title bout. The majority of the strain was developed in their body language in the latter portion of the segment, as their initial back and forth on the microphone was let down by Asuka's broken English. It appeared like the Women's Champion got a couple of words in the wrong order or choose the wrong words at points, as I'm not entirely sure what she was attempting to say, luckily it didn't effect things too much as the confrontation that followed was strong enough to cover it up. It is notable however, that the Full Sail Arena seems to be cooling Bayley, perhaps because of the length of her time on the show, when she really should've been called up a few months ago.

It was however clear to see why Bayley had been kept on the yellow brand, as Billie Kay and Liv Morgan's contest was not the greatest showcase for either woman. Honestly, the thing I enjoyed most about the entire contest was the entrances, which had some cool juxtaposition going on. The match itself did very little for though, mainly down to Morgan who seemed to be a step off at most points, with sloppy offence and delayed selling. At 22 years old, there's still time for her to improve, but after two years in the Performance Center, I'd at least be expecting her to handle a three minute squash. I haven't seen enough of Kay to be convinced by her yet, I'm hoping that we get to see her have longer matches against the likes of Asuka, Ember Moon, Bayley and Peyton Royce sooner rather than later to see what she truly has to offer. 

The #1 Contender's to The Revival's Tag Team Championship's got a run out this week also, picking up a swift victory over Tucker Knight and Patrick Clark. As squash tag team bouts go, I found this to be a fun watch with Knight and Clark doing their jobs well, making Ciampa and Gargano look great, whilst also heeling it up nicely to allow the #1 Contender's to make a spirited and exciting comeback. Gargano and Ciampa continue to improve as a team and after only teaming up a year have become one of the smoothest duos around at the moment, with their slick comeback routine and finish on Knight showing just a taste of what they're going to do with Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder on 20th August.

Best of the Rest

• The Authors of Pain (Gzim Selmani & Sunny Dhisa) continued to dominate with a victory over Rob Ryzin & Adrian Nails.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.55/10

Some strong stuff on this week's show, like the Joe v Rawley match and Joe's subsequent confrontation with Nakamura, as well as Asuka and Bayley's contract signing and Roode v Almas being confirmed for Takeover: Brooklyn II, as the brand continues to load it's supercard for 20th August. The rating then looks a little harsh, however as always the ATPW Scale takes into account the entire show and unfortunately the show was let down by the Kay v Morgan match that just wasn't good enough. The Women's division has been decimated over the last year with Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax and even Eva Marie departing and some talents are really going to have to keep upping their game to fill that gap. The likes of Kay, the yet to debut Nicola Glencross, Morgan, Aliyah, Mandy Rose and more have the potential to do so, but only time will tell.

All content - James Marston 

WWE NXT 19th June 2013 Review

Whilst, the majority of the “WWE Universe” is awaiting the debut of The Wyatt Family, those of us that watch NXT have been getting a little sneak preview over the last year or so. If this show is anything to go by the rest of the WWE is in for a treat when The Family finally debuts on Raw.

Adrian Neville vs. Bray Wyatt w/ NXT Tag Team Champions The Wyatt Family

This match felt like a great way to kick off NXT. Finally seeing Adrian Neville get his hands on the man who injured his tag team partner Oliver Grey back in February, was an entertaining prospect, helped by the fact that both men are great to watch in the ring. It was disappointing then that only two minutes into the contest it was cut short, after Luke Harper and Eric Rowan pulled Neville down from the top rope, to give Neville a disqualification victory. The newly face Kassius Ohno and Corey Graves made the save for Neville fighting off Harper and Rowan, with Bray Wyatt watching on from the ring. NXT Commissioner and WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes then got a case of the Teddy Long’s and seeing an equal number of faces and heels around the ring, headed into the arena to create a Six Man Tag Team Match, for the Main Event.

Adrian Neville, Kassius Ohno & Corey Graves vs. The Wyatt Family

 I may have been excited to see Neville vs. Wyatt, but this was an equally exciting prospect. Ohno and Graves have had their own problems with the Wyatt Family over the last few weeks and this contest had a similar feel to one of The Shield’s bouts on Raw or Smackdown. The main difference for me between The Shield and The Wyatt Family would be the dynamic of the two different groups. Whilst The Shield has no clear leader and usually attacks as a pack, The Wyatt Family is clearly led by Bray Wyatt, who holds the control over his Family, Harper and Rowan, who tend to do most of the dirty work with Wyatt only ever getting involved when he absolutely has to. It will be interesting to see if the two ever cross paths on the main roster.

The match started quick with the face team taking early control of The Wyatt Family, with all three men using a number of innovative moves, including Ohno reversing an Irish Whip by flipping himself over the top rope. We even got to see a little more between Neville and Wyatt early on, with The Man That Gravity Forgot actually getting the better of The Eater of Worlds with a number of reversals. The pace of the match changed as we came back from commercial, with The Wyatt Family working quick tags and keeping Corey Graves in their corner, with some classic tag team action. With Graves eventually getting the hot tag to Ohno, the pace quickened even if Ohno wasn’t in control for very long, after going over the top rope and pushed into the ring apron by Harper.

It was then Ohno’s turn to get work over by The Wyatt Family. I haven’t quite got used to Ohno as a sympathetic character on NXT yet, I think this is down to him having no mic time to explain his sudden change of heart. We head towards the end of the match when Ohno got the hot tag to Neville, who pulled a Daniel Bryan and took out the entire Wyatt Family with some quick high flying offense, including a nice somersault plancha to take out Rowan. With Wyatt down, Neville headed to the top rope for the Red Arrow, only for Harper to pull Wyatt out of the ring causing Neville to hit the ring hard. For a lesser performer than Adrian Neville that could have been a very dangerous bump to take. Bray Wyatt took advantage and picked up the victory for the win. It was a very good contest between these three and hopefully we get to see Neville vs. Wyatt sometime in the future, as well as some more development for the team of Graves & Ohno, who have a number one contenders match next week (more on that later) 

Best of the Rest

The NXT Women’s Championship Tournament continued this week, with Summer Rae taking on Sasha Banks. This tournament has been interesting so far, with both Paige and Alicia Fox progressing to the Semi-Final stage, and both of the previous two matches have been entertaining contests. NXT probably has a stronger Diva’s roster than the main WWE at the moment, and if a number of these girls were thrown into the mix on Raw or Smackdown, it would certainly help to cement the current push on the Diva’s Division.

This was another good bout, Summer Rae’s viciousness throughout the match certainly helps her heel persona and having Sasha Banks fight from underneath for most of the contest certainly got over her as an underdog type of face. There was a nasty looking front leg sweep from Summer which looked like it might have got Summer the victory. With Summer dominating most of the match, it built up well for a Sasha comeback, including some questionable slaps to Summer’s chest, which they might not have gotten away with on Raw! The finish came with some surprisingly good chain wrestling, with some classic cat fighting thrown in for good measure, with Summer picking up the victory with an Inverted Leg Drop Bulldog. I’d expect Summer to get to the final of this tournament, with a Final match between long-time rival Paige, being a mouth-watering prospect.

Sami Zayn also appeared this week on NXT in a contest with Angelo Dawkins. It was quite as good as the matches we’ve seen previously out of Zayn, but I think that was more down to Dawkins inexperience than anything else. Zayn picked up a quick victory with a Springboard Tornado DDT. It was after the contest that was the most interesting with Zayn being interviewed by Renee Young. Zayn challenged Cesaro to rubber match in a good promo. Hopefully we get to see this contest sooner rather later, as we’ve seen before from these two it could be an unbelievably good match.

Xavier Woods returned to NXT this week. Firstly with a charismatic promo that was a joy to watch, and built his character up well. He went on to have a match with Jake Carter, who I don’t think we’ve seen win a match on NXT yet. He’s the son of Big Van Vader but for some reasons looks like The Miz! It was a good short match between these two, with Xavier looking impressive with a number of signature moves already in place that I can see getting over with the “WWE Universe”. He won the contest with Lost in the Woods, a move similar to Gail Kim’s Eat Defeat. The only issue I have with Woods is the gimmick he has been given, which once again focusses on dancing, I’m not sure what it is with WWE and dancing at the moment but it’s definitely a gimmick that is being over used by the company.

Bo Dallas also appeared in a taped segment from inside his car. He talked up winning the NXT Title and going to Disneyland. This was probably the best promo I’ve seen Dallas do, and continued to tease a turn in character which could be good to watch. Dallas keeping his smiling over the top gimmick whilst working as a heel could work very well for both NXT and Dallas, if given the right opponent to work a programme with.

There was also appearances from Scott Dawson and Garrett Dylan with manager Sylvester LeFort as they went to Dusty Rhodes to ask for a title shot. There was funny moment with Dusty unable to say Sylvester’s name, as he eventually gave Dawson and Dylan a number one contenders match next week against Kassius Ohno and Corey Graves. I’m still not sold on the partnership Dawson and Dylan have with LeFort, and I think it could do with some extra explanation and maybe some vignettes to help their partnership sit a little more comfortable.

A vignette also aired for the return of Leo Kruger. Kruger has had a number of returns since NXT started and for some reason keeps disappearing from television. I’m not sure if he’s injury prone or NXT isn’t quite sure how to use him. It was a good moody vignette that attempted to get Kruger over as a vicious loner type character. I’ve enjoyed Kruger on NXT so far and he seems to have potential as a superstar if the right gimmick is found, I look forward to his return.

Finally…

What have we learnt from this weeks NXT?

1. Dusty Rhodes went to the Teddy Long school of General Management.

2. NXT Diva Division is stronger than it's WWE counterpart. 

3. NXT isn't the same without William Regal on commentary.

Announced For Next Week's NXT

Big E Langston.