WWE NXT Review // 28th March 2018

On 28th March 2018, WWE aired its 293rd episode of NXT, filmed at Center Stage, Atlanta, GA on 7th March. Our main event was a Dusty Classic semi-final as the newly formed team of Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne took on former NXT Tag Team Champions, SaNitY. The show also featured another Dusty Classic Semi in the form of Authors of Pain vs Street Profits as well as action from Lars Sullivan, Dakota Kai, Andrade Almas & Aleister Black. As always, I do ask you, dear audience, was it any good?

On his way to the arena, Tommaso Ciampa is hounded by fans and the press, he complains to William Regal that Gargano has been attacking him in the ring, stalking him at his physiotherapy sessions and at his house. Regal tells him it is becoming a spot of bother and books a match for TakeOver: New Orleans, but as Gargano doesn't work here anymore, it has to be an Unsanctioned Match. If Gargano wins, he gets his job back, if not, he's gone forever.

William Regal Has An Announcement

William Regal welcomes everyone to the arena and then announces that the announcement he announced last week was that NXT is introducing a new secondary men's championship, something to determine who is the best competitor in North America, the NXT North American Championship. As he's talking about this, up turns the man who's won practically everything there is to win in Impact and is now here in NXT, EC3. He talks about how good it is to be here and how he looks forward to making a shit-ton of money for the company and how he has a banger of a theme (he does). He then thanks William Regal for knowing that the best in North America was coming so making a title just for him. Regal tells him that while he has a chance at the title off the bat, he doesn't get anything without earning it, so he'll be competing in a Ladder Match at TakeOver to crown the first champion. EC3 responds it doesn't matter how many men you put in his way, he's still leaving with that champion. This was a really good opening, already cementing EC3 as someone who is going to be important in the yellow brand going forward as well as making another big match for TakeOver.

Charly Caruso is in the NXT Control Centre, giving us a recap of what we've missed so far in the Dusty Classic.

TM-61 are being interviewed back at the Performance Centre about their loss in the first round and how they need to change their attitude as this has halted their returning momentum but they're not down and out because they're the Mighty and the Mighty... get interrupted by a fight breaking out behind them between Shayna Baszler & Ember Moon because Baszler was bullying someone or just generally standing around waiting for Moon to punch her. This was more fun than I've made it sound.

Dusty Classic Semi-Final // Authors of Pain def. Street Profits // Pinfall

Quick squash m8. Ford came in first but quickly bailed when he felt a slap to the face from an Author, Dawkins actually fared a little better, out-striking his opponent and clearing house with a spinebuster to the other, sadly the loss for the team came when Ford, on the outside, got distracted offering his solo cup to Ellering who slapped it away, causing Ford to stalk him up the entrance ramp, opening up a distracted Dawkins to be hit with The Last Chapter legsweep-clotheslin combo. I don't know what they were going for but if the plan was to make Street Profits look like fucking idiots, they achieved it.

We go back to Charly in the Control Centre for an update. Thank you, Charly.

Cathy Kelly is interviewing William Regal about whether any other competitors are officially announced for the North American Title Ladder Match, he confirms Adam Cole will be in it. Velveteen Dream turns up and demands a spot, Regal agrees. This is shaping up nicely, isn't it?

Lars Sullivan def. John Silver // Pinfall

Quicker squash m8. In the battle of Long vs John SIlver, Long won, I think the closest Silver got to any offence was successfully locking-up with Sullivan at the beginning before he realised he had no reversals and Sullivan repeatedly hit murder. Lars eating tiny men is always fun and this did exactly what it had to. Sullivan won with a big diving headbutt and the Freak Accident modified side slam for the pin.

Cathy Kelly is interviewing Regal again when Sullivan walks by, just in time for Regal to offer him a spot in the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match. Lars looks forward to this but before he gets there, he wants Killian Dain . Regal tells him Dain is in the Ladder Match as well but because Regal likes booking matches, Sullivan goes tete-a-tete with Dain next week.

Dakota Kai def...Hey What's That Going On Over There?

Dakota Kai made her way to the ring but before a match could start the cameras cuts to Andrade Almas and Zelina Vega attacking Aleister Black in the car park. Almas battered Black through the arena, nearly drowning him at one point and beating him all the way to the ring, walking away, hoisting his title having got his own back on the Dutch shitkicker for what he said about him at the Contract Signing he never turned up to. This was a great, little segment to build to the TakeOver main event but I have to say, my favourite thing was watching Kai try and sneak away unnoticed in the back of the shot. 

Dusty Classic Semi-Final: Strong X Bitter def. SaNitY // Pinfall

In a move that will surprise no one, this was a really good main event. What was clever was how it played off Strong's past, having feuded along with Tye Dillinger, Kassius Ohno, No Way Jose and Ruby Riott with SaNitY, to build an intensity and animosity as well as a desperation from both teams to succeed, this helped frame the face v face action with some stakes and storytelling to stop it being just a split-support from the crowd. They worked a good, exciting finale to the episode, with all four men looking good and getting in a lot of their signature stuff with Alexander Wolfe getting in another reminder of how overlooked he is considering his incredibly fun performances. It wasn't a match without its problems though, as it lacked a certain sense of drama down the home-stretch that could have done perhaps with a little more in the way of tag work as it felt far more like four singles competitors than two teams though that does play well into the fragile truce between Strong and Dunne, this also felt more like the exhibition 'spotfest' style of tag match at times which while entertaining, did feel a little unnecessary. The finish came as Strong hit End of Heartache on Young before Dunne tagged in and they hit a double team Bitter End. Fun stuff, but still not quite essential. Much like the rest of this Dusty Classic so far, it's had good moments but it's all felt a little too rushed to seem, well, classic.

Cathy Kelly is backstage hoping to hear from William Regal who the sixth competitor is for the ladder match. Regal says she's in luck and he goes to fetch him. Trevor 'Ricochet' Mann would emerge from Regal's office to canned applause, looking like he was buttoning up his suit so what he had to do to get that spot, I don't know. The pre-recorded crowd chant his nickname to end the show.

Finally...

Considering the amount of heavy-lifting this show had to do with setting up the North American Title, the Ladder Match for it, Gargano vs Ciampa, continuing to build to the Tag Title match and also continuing the builds for Black v Almas and Baszler v Moon, it's impressive that the show managed to do all of it without collapsing under its own weight. The problem of this is that so much of it ended up being enjoyable but passable as beyond the opening segment, nothing felt like it got quite enough time to properly build. That said, with four very good sounding matches confirmed and two very good teams in the Dusty Classic final, we could be set for an all-time great TakeOver special.

Written By Jozef Raczka // @NotJoeRaczka

WWE NXT Review // 14th March 2018

On 14th March 2018, WWE aired its 291st episode of NXT, filmed at Center Stage, Atlanta, GA on 2nd February. Our main event was an NXT Championship match contract signing for the WrestleMania weekend rematch of Aleister Black & Andrade Almas. The card also featured Adam Cole challenging for Pete Dunne's UK Championship, two first-round matches in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and MYC competitors, Dakota Kai and Lacey Evans, in competition. But was it any good?

Dusty Rhodes Classic First Round // SaNitY (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe) def. Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss // Pinfall

Quick squash m8. This wasn't so much a match as it was a continued set-up for the slow dissipation of the Tino-Riddick partnership as Riddick blames Tino for being the one who has taken the pin in consecutive matches but Tino blames Riddick for a miscommunication leading to him getting punched in the head. Still, the right team won and whether it's Lorcan & Burch or Moustache Mountain (or another team as Tyler Bate is currently injured), it seems we're going to be getting a good second round match.

Tommaso Ciampa came down to the ring again, this time crutchless, to a chorus of boos and a spread of Johnny Wrestling signs so uniform they could only have been handed out by the production crew. The crowd chant at him for so long, he can't be bothered to talk to them again. To be honest, I can't blame him. Is it bad I want Ciampa to just Air Raid Crash everyone in the crowd?

Dakota Kai def. Lacey Evans // Pinfall

Quicker squash m8. Early on Evans went for the previously injured (by Shayna Baszler) arm of Kai but very quickly, Kai was able to reverse an armbar attempt into a quick roll-up. This was more a set-up for the post-match shenanigans but it's nice to see Kai getting put into the mix as she's one of the more underrated talents to come from the Mae Young Classic.

Post-match, Shayna Baszler music hits as she came down to the ring and backed Kai menacingly into the corner, till Moon came down to the ring as well. She told Baszler that if she wanted to do this one more time, they could finish it at New Orleans. Moon then attacked Baszler as the two brawled around the ring. Eventually Moon went to the top but Baszler hit her with a boot to the head and tried to work the arms till Kai came back with a kick off the apron allowing Moon to hit a one-armed Eclipse on Baszler and stand tall. It's official, New Orleans will see Moon v Baszler III.

Dusty Rhodes Classic First Round // Street Profits def. Heavy Machinery // Pinfall

Mauro Ranallo said that with this Dusty Classic, the stakes have never been higher, what about the weights? This was a fun, little match with Ford and Dosevic playing early on for comedy before the big lads played their Beef advantage for all it's worth. The finish came as Knight had Dawkins set up for the Trash Compactor but as Dosevic ran to the ropes, Ford pulled down the ropes sending Dosevic flying out, Dawkins hit a DDT and tagged Ford who hit a Frog Splash for the pin. This did as much as it could for the two teams in the short time and most importantly for a Face vs. Face encounter, both teams came out of it with the crowd still on their sides. With only one more first round match to go, the brackets now look like this:

WWE United Kingdom Championship // Pete Dunne (c) def. Adam Cole // Disqualification

It's been a while but since his Extreme Rules match with Aleister Black, Cole seems to have finally worked out how to make his style work in WWE. This was an interesting match as Dunne was clearly positioned as the de-facto face but being a dickhead at heart, he still never played it as a good person, just someone who is quite as happy to beat up three men as one. They worked a good back-and-forth match, throwing in some fine near falls including a Last Shot by Cole that was so close, I thought he might be about to take it for a second. Even though he let Cole take the heat in the match, Dunne still approached the match from his normal clinical, brutal style, attacking the fingers and continually trying to stomp out his arms. Of course, with the tag champs on the outside, this was never going to be a clean fight and Dunne tried to fight Fish and O'Reily on the outside to neutralise their threat, but as Dunne was about to hit a Bitter End, in they came and kicked the heck out of Dunne for a DQ victory. I don't think the finish hurt the match as even with the near falls, it didn't seem like a title change was likely on TV and it keeps Cole from taking another pin which keeps him looking strong. It wasn't the best defence Dunne has had but with the ridiculously high level of quality he's maintained, even that isn't a notch against this. Oh, and Adam Cole kicked Dunne in the head while Dunne was backflipping off the ringpost which was dope.

Post-Match: Dunne tries to fight off the Era but the number's game is too much for him, Roderick Strong comes down for an assist but is also beat down, before Cole can take Strong's head off, Dunne comes back with a forearm and the two clean house before a show of something approaching respect. What could this mean? Could there be a begrudging partnership forming between the two former foes? Keep watching NXT to find out.

Aleister Black and Andrade Almas Contract Signing

So who knew Aleister Black was either an improvisational genius or has spent the last week just writing jokes about Zelina Vega's diminutive stature? Black, dressed in Aleister from head to sockless toes came out first, followed by a lone Vega who proceeded to explain that she was there because this wasn't worth Almas' time before Black proceeded to move the table to the side and Black would go into his Satan's full lotus pose before explaining that now they were on the same level, he could begin. The two went back-and-forth trading insults until Vega gave Black a stinging slap on the cheek. After Black had signed and left the ring, he announced that he was glad she'd come alone because he hadn't and out came Candice LeRae who battered Vega around the ring and back in to hit a tornado bulldog to stand tall, sending us home happy. I love a good contract signing and this one had everything you could want. If Black and Almas can deliver on the build here, we might be in for another classic at TakeOver.

On The YouTubes

Tino and Riddick are still having problems but Moss doesn't want to give up on the good thing they have, whatever that is. They're going to go and review the tapes.

It's another edition of Street Talk but this one is neither on the street or involving talking to anyone other than each other. They say they're going to win the Dusty Classic. Don't forget, you've got Authors of Pain in the next round, lads.

Finally...

Another week, another very good episode. Is it too early to declare NXT to be on a new hot streak? I hope not because I think with a great match between Cole and Dunne, some great world-building around it and some hot stuff still to come in the Dusty Classic, this definitely feels like how a hot streak feels.

Written By Jozef Raczka // @NotJoeRaczka

WWE NXT 283 Review // 18th January 2018 // Street Profits vs. Authors of Pain

On 18th January 2018, NXT aired its 283rd episode of NXT, taped at Center Stage, Atlanta, GA on 4th January. Our main event saw former NXT Tag-Team champions Authors of Pain take on rising stars, Street Profits for a title match at TakeOver Philidelphia. We also had in-ring action from Lacey Evans & Aliyah, Roderick Strong & Fabian Aichner and Heavy Machinery against Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss, but was it any good?

Riddick Moss & Tino Sabbatelli def. Otis Dosevic & Tucker Knight // Pinfall

We get some recap footage that once again, this match has been booked because Heavy Machinery were messing with Sab and Moss' jointly owned car, Dosevic and Sab to start, lockup but Dosevic pushes Sab away like a child, dropick by Sab and he throws Otis to the corner but this annoys the thicc lad, Dosevic hits a shoulder barge, run the ropes, leapfrog by Sab is caught for a bodyslam, staggered to the corner and Dosevic hits a big splash and hits a tag to knight who hits a slingshot senton for a 2 before grabbing Sab into a headlock guillotine giant swing, he throws Sab to his corner allowing him to tag in Moss, Knight grabs Moss immediately into another guillotine, throws him to the ropes, Moss fights out with forearms but gets caught in another headlock giant swing, tag to Dosevic, they do a tribute to the Bushwhackers walk and hit a double splash before Dosevic does the worm elbow drop for a cover but Sab breaks the pin, Dosevic picks up Moss in an Argentine carry but Sab grabs his partner by the ankles, pulling him back and off, allowing Moss to hit a chop block and a tag to Sab who works some ground and pound before working some quick tags as they keep Dosevic grounded, Moss gets a rear chinlock on Dosevic, keeping it held for longer than most Lars Sullivan matches, DOsevic eventually powers out with a belly-to-back suplex and crawls back to Knight for a tag, he works a decent hot tag hitting shoulder tackles, hip tosses, corner splashes and a big dropkick sending Sabatelli to the apron, Knight clotheslines Sab off the ring but Moss uses the distraction to roll up Knight, putting his feet on the ropes for leverage he gets a surprise 3 count.

So Dosevic hit the big lad worm which was, as always, delightful and if SabMoss are going to hang around, they needed at least one win. Just one. That's what they got here, beyond the aforementioned worm, the match wasn't much to shout home about with SabMoss' heat section lacking any particular response. I hear they've been doing fun work at house shows but without any evidence of that in their television encounters, I remain uninspired.

Undisputed Era are hanging about backstage again, Cole says TakeOver is their event, it's been about them for a reason, at Philly he goes on-on-one with Black, there are a million ways he can defeat and mangle Black and he is going to break and embaress him, O'Reilly says it doesn't matter which team wins as everyone wants a shot at their titles as this is their era and we're all just invited, Fish says that all other teams are competing for the right to step up and get dropped by the undisputed tag champs.

We get a video package of clips of Cole and Black combined with just straight up clips of insane shit from hardcore matches. No Zandig though.

Roderick Strong def. Fabian Aichner // Submission

Strong is straight in with a headlock but Aichner reverse to a hammerlock with Strong going to a hammerlock of his own, Aichner tries to punch his way out but can't escape, a whip to ropes and Aichner shoulders his way out instead but runs into a leg lariat from Strong for a 2, a knee by Aichner as he takes control and whips Strong to the corner but Strong hits a  back elbow by Strong, he takes the moment to jump off the second rope straight into Aichner's arms who slams him straight into the ad-break, back from the break and Strong escapes an abdominal stretch but is right into a back-press slam for a 2, Aichner works corner chops and stomps, dragging him to the centre of the ring, Aichner goes for a bomb but Roddy escapes, lighting up the Italian with chops, a leaping lariat, more chops, a running forearm and goes for an olympic slam but Aichner turns it into an armdrag but Roddy doesn't give him an inch and hits a backbreaker for a 2, he tries to slam Aichner off the ropes but Aichner holds onto the ropes, sliding out of hold hitting a forearm and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a 2, he goes for a springboard but pauses, giving Roddy the time to regain composure hitting a backbreaker and transitioning to a Liontamer hold forcing Aichner to tap.

Let's put things simply, Aichner is too good to be stuck in just 5 minute matches, taking losses on TV, I'm not saying he's ready for a championship but certainly with a good dose of character work, he's going to be someone we'll all be talking about by the time the year's out. We all obviously know Roddy's great and even in short matches like these, knows how to showcase his opponent as well as if not more than himself. This wasn't the best work of either man but for what it was, it was fun.

After the match, Strong gets a mic. He says that last week someone came out looking for a fight, and his words have been echoing his head as he feels the same, since joining NXT he's run through the competition like this man, when he stepped in the ring with this force it was like nothing else which makes him happy as he wants to destroy it, he's talking about Lars Sullivan. K.

WHO ARE TM61

TM61 are coming back and their bringing with them the closest thing we're going to get to a Best Friends promo in NXT. This turns out to actually be a really lovely segment, covering their meeting in Explosive Pro Wrestling back in their native Australia through to winning the GHC Tag Team Titles over in Pro Wrestling Noah. While the interplay between Shane and Nick is a lot of fun, this lacks so far the same emotional interplay as previous 'Who Is/Are' segments like the Roderick Strong edition but it's still a very fun way of reintroducing the Aussie lads back. Hopefully, they'll get some good stuff to sink their teeth into when they're back properly.

Lacey Evans def. Aliyah // Pinfall

Aliyah is a heel again, I think, but then Evans also seems to be a heel now, I don't know, lockup to begin as Evans gets a wristlock, Alliyah cartwheels into a wristlock of her own but Evans is back on top throwing down her opponent, Aliyah gets back up but Evans grabs her by the ear and forces her down but Aaliyah turns it to a pin for a 2, Evans picks up Aliyah who escapes with a clumsy backslide a bit of a clothesline and something definable as a roll-up for a 2, Evans jumps the ropes and pulls Aliyah along them before hitting a slingshot elbow for a 2, she slams Aliyah to the corner and works over with forearms and kicks before hitting a handstand bronco buster for a 2, Aliyah tries to fire back with forearms and an uppercut, he hits a second rope diving clothesline and a northern lights suplex for a 2 but Evans is back in with a jawbreaker, Aliyah runs into a forearm and is down, Evans takes advantage, covering for the pin.

I don't know what to think, if this was their way of trying to introduce Evans as a threat, well, she did work on top so there's that but Aliyah seems to be constantly one step behind performers of a similar age and level of experience. There's still time and she seems to genuinely want to get better but there comes a point where you wonder, will it ever happen? Then again I said the same thing about Angelo Dawkins and look at him now...

Evans asks how Regal can let low-class trash walk around the locker rooms, it's time a proper sophisticated, powerful women ran the division and she might start by taking out Nikki Cross or Ember Moon or, then Shayna Bazsler turns up and Evans fucks off because she can't be dealing with that, Shayna walks to the ring and locks in the Kirufuna Clutch on Aliyah, refusing to break despite a ref pulling on her, Moon in he ring gear, hits the ring and Bazsler slides out cocky as anything, in a week she's gone from Dunne to Suzuki levels of dickhead, Moon dares Baszler to try bullying her, Moon tells her to get in the ring and they can fight now Baszler tells her she's not got her gear, she'll see her for her title, Moon tells her name her time and place and to bring her gear and she'll kick her ass, Baszler suggests Philidelphia, funnily there's a TakeOver there.

Christy St. Cloud is asking William Regal about what just happened, Regal says it's against his better judgement but if it's what Moon wants, she gets a match with Baszler at Philly, up turns Vega, she tells Christy to stay aswell, everybody knows Gargs has 0 chance of winning, the facts are he was carried by Ciamps and Almas has already beat with twice, he has no chance, Dream had a point, he deserves this shot more than Johnny and if Johnny is confident he should put the title opportunity on the line against him, Regal says he wouldn't advise him to do this, Vega calls him a loser, Vega says before leaving that she and Almas are happy to oblige if Regal wants to watch the most embarrassing NXT title match in history. Clearly she hasn't watched Bo Dallas vs Leo Kruger.

No Way Jose says 2017 had ups and downs like a rollercoaster but it's just good fun and 2018 is going to be the year of NWJ so get on board, the party guy is back soon.

The commentary lads are chatting when Johnny hits the ring and gets a mic. He says that he just watched the conversation backstage, he hears the buzz, he knows what everyone's saying behind his back, Vega and Dream, maybe even Regal, they doubt he can beat Almas, he is done being doubted, he is not broken, he is not a loser, this is not a fluke, this is his time, his opportunity and no one will stop him, the crowd love him, he asks if they can hear the chants, Dream if he wants the opportunity, Gargano puts it on the line next week, he gets his shot because for the first time in forever he knows who he is, Johnny Gargano, Johnny FREAKING WRESTLING, the next NXT champion. 

This was impassioned, motivated, focussed and showed a lot of character development. Babyfaces everywhere, take note, this is how it's done. Almas might need the title more than Gargano but I can't see anyone not wanting Johnny to win it after this.

NXT Tag Team Title Number One Contender's // Akam & Rezar def. Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford // Pinfall

AOP ARE IN THEIR TURTLES GEAR, YAY, Ford and Akam start, they lockup as Ford tries to get a headlock but Akam quickly overpowers with a shoulder, a kip-up by Ford but he's hit with another shoulder, thrown to the ropes, Ford runs under a clothesline, jumps but is caught and dropped in the corner, a tag to Akam and they wear down their opponent with strikes for a 2, more strikes and a tag to Rezar who hits yet more strikes and another tag to Akam who applies a full nelson, Ford fades and Akam hits a uranage-esque slam for a 2.5, tag to Rezar and even yet more strikes lead to a grounded full nelson that sends us into the break, back from the break and a cover for a 2, tag to Rezar and a guillotine facelock, this keeps him grounded for quite a while, Ford works back to his feet but Rezar does't break, Ford, unable to break the hold, forces Rezar backwards towards his corner, Rezar releases to knock off Dawkins but Dawkins dodges, Ford rolls under and tags, Dawkins hits both authors getting a dropkick on Akam and double arm strikes on Rezar and a 360 stinger splash, he picks up Rezar and tags Ford hitting a dropkick-spinebuster combo for a pin but Akam breaks it up and levels Dawkins with a clotheslines, he picks up his tag partner and they hit the Supercollider double powerbomb on both and the Last Chapter legsweep-clothesline combo for the pin.

Yeah, this was, it was good enough. It was interesting seeing Street Profits built up so much only to have them work almost completely from below. Authors of Pain are an entertaining act but this lacked a certain amount of excitement. I don't think this is going to hurt Street Profits too badly as basically everyone loses to Authors of Pain but I can't really get too excited about what merely good. Ford continues to be better than what he's given.

On The YouTubes

For reference, here is the Best Friends promo that TM61 may have lovingly 'been inspired' by.

Finally...

If you ever looked up 5/10 in the dictionary...well it wouldn't list this episode because that's normally how dictionaries work but hey, it's an accurate way of describing the episode. Johnny's promo work, the Baszler-Moon encounter and the first part of 'Who are TM61?' were all very well put together, it's just a shame the in-ring action was nothing to shout home about.

Article By Jozef Raczka (@NotJozefRaczka)

NXT 280 Review // Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black vs. Killian Dane vs. Lars Sullivan

On 28th December, WWE aired its 280th Episode of NXT, filmed at Full Sail University in Winter Gardens, FL on 29th November. Our main event was a Fatal Four-Way for the position of Number One Contender to Andrade Almas' NXT Championship. Our four contenders were Killian Dain, Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black & Lars Sullivan. Also on the show were Absolution member Sonya Deville trying to take the NXT Women's Championship to RAW as she faced Ember Moon & Street Profits taking on 

Street Profits [Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins] def. Kris Starr & Riley Apex // Pinfall

Ford and Starr (who has been working Evolve shows as Shane Mercer) to start, lock-up to start as Ford whips into leapfrogs around Starr and hits a shoulder block and a bodyslam before tagging in Dawkins and they hit a bell-to-back splash before hyping up the crowd, this give Starr a chance to tag in Apex who runs straight into a rolling forearm, Dawkins hits a splash on Starr and a corner 360 forearm splash on Apex, he then drops him with a Pop-Up Spinebuster allowing for a tag to Ford and a Frog Splash for the pin.

Quick squash m8. It did what it had to do and nothing more. If WWE decide to run with Ford, they might just have money on their hands.

Post-match, the Profits celebrate their win in the crowd. On the mic, they say how in 2017 the Profits came, they saw and in 2018, they conquer. Then they run down the NXT Tag Team division. Or most of it, they forgot Heavy Machinery and Sabbatelli & Moss but heck, what have they done?

NXT Women's Championship: Ember Moon [Athena] [c] def. Sonya Deville [Daria Berenato] // Pinfall

Deville recently defeated Ruby Riott in a No Holds Barred match so it makes sense that she'd get a title shot, they lock-up to begin as Deville gets a waistlock takedown, she holds on picking Moon back up who gets a standing switch but Deville is straight in with a kneebar, Moon breaks, they circle and returning to a lock-up position and Moon gets a headlock, Deville escapes and runs the ropes but runs them straight into a deep armdrag, they both dodge a succession of kicks, Deville tries to get Moon into a test of strength but when close enough, psyche, she just kicks her in the stomach but Moon immediately returns with a single leg dropkick sending Deville out of the ring and into the ad-break, back from the break and Deville kicks Moon in the gut for a 1, she grounds her with strikes and plants her back down for a 2, she maintains her grounding strikes and picks up Moon into a bearhug, just as Moon is fading, she nails a wheelbarrow facebuster onto the turnbuckle to buy herself some time, Deville goes in for a crucifix but Moon turns it into a butterfly suplex, hits a baseball strike, a low kick, a high kick and a straight right for a 2, rushing Deville in the corner, she gets kicked away and Deville hits a high stomp for a 2, Deville is straight back in but misses whatever she was going for allowing Moon to hit a springboard dropkick, a corner forearm and The Eclipse for the pin.

This was just good enough. Moon looked every bit the champion, selling Deville's offence to make her look good but there just wasn't enough here to make Moon seem in any jeopardy. Deville looked confident out there but this lacked the intensity of her encounters with Riott. Hopefully, with the post-match shenanigans, better things are coming in 2018.

Post-match Kairi Sane comes out, probably to ask Moon if she has any better names for the Insane Elbow, she taunts wanting a Women's Title match. Moon seems into the idea of a match, but out comes Shayna Baszler chokes out Sane on the ramp in an act of revenge for the Mae Young Classic finals. Moon doesn't help out because she's got her title to hold up.

Paul Ellering is hanging out near an old, steel wall. He warns The Undisputed Era that they will not be writing the next chapter, he tells them this is their house, they are judge, jury and executioner and the Era is on borrowed time. So I guess we know what the NXT Tag Title match will be at TakeOver: Philidelphia...

Christy St. Cloud asks Moon what she thinks about the post-match shenanigans, Moon knows the title is a target on her back but should it be Sane or Baszler, she wants to settle it in the ring and that's where they'll find her. So I guess we know what the Number One Contender's match is to find out what the NXT Women's Title match will be at TakeOver: Philidelphia.

We get a video package of the build-up to tonight's Fatal Four-Way.


In Two Weeks Time: SaNItY invoke their rematch clause for the NXT Tag Titles. Next week is the Best of 2017, probably.

NXT Championship #1 Contender's Fatal Four-Way // Johnny Gargano def. Killian Dain, Lars Sullivan & Aleister Black // Pinfall

The four men size each other up till the two bigger lads remember they are big lads and go in with strikes in the corner, Dain destroys Gargano but Black begins kicking everything. knocking Sullivan out of the ring to allow Black to do his fakeout moonsault into a full lotus, goes to the apron, Dain tries to strike but he gets kicked away, Black goes for the asai moonsault onto Sullivan but is caught and we're meant to believe dropped to the apron but Sullivan somehow DDTs himself, Gargano follows with a slingshot crossbody but is also caught and dropped to the apron but this time without obvious damage to Sullivan's head, talking of damage to Sullivan's head, Dain hits Sullivan with a big lad tope suicido onto the ramp and into the ad-break, back from the break, back from the break and Dain hits a corner splash on Gargno for a 2, Sullivan throws Dain out of the ring and rams him to the post before hitting a corner splash on Gargano for a 2, Dain pulls Sullivan out of the ring but Sullivan throws him back into the post, Black is back up and kicks Sullivan up the ramp but Sullivan throws him straight off it, Gargano comes in and tries to light up the man we knew as Dylan Miley but Sullivan just gorilla presses him onto Black, Sullivan tears apart the announce table and tries to powerbomb Gargano through it but Gargano clings to a nearby pillar allowing Black to come in with a knee strike as Gargano superkicks him onto the table and Dain his a running crossbody sending Sullivan through it, Black and Gargano head back to the ring and both are over as fuck, they circle before Johnny runs in with a forearm, Black kicks and sends Johny to the apron, running in Johnny sends him back with a kick, goes for the slingshot spear but is caught with a knee to the head, they continue to throw moves at each other unable to get anything until Gargano lands a SUPERKICK and locks in the GargaNo Escape, before Black can tap, Dain returns with a senton to break it up, he picks up Black hitting a fireman's carry slam and a senton for a pin but Gargano breaks it up, for this Dain hits him with a powerbomb and an elbow drop but can't get a pin without Black breaking it, Dain places Black on the top rope, they tussle for control and Black slides out, unable to hit a move on his own Gargano joins in and they hit a double super-bomb, Sullivan makes his way back to the ring taking down Black and Gargano and hitting a double clothesline sending Black out of the ring, he hits a twisting slam on Gargano but Dain prevents a pin, Gargano is sent out of the ring as big lad things happen, they trade strikes before Sullivan hits a clothesline and Dain responds with a lariat, they run at each other, hitting simultaneous clotheslines dazing each other allowing Black to come in and nail them with all the kicks before hitting a straight-leg moonsault on Sullivan and murdering him with Black Mass but before he can get a pin, in come The Undisputed Era to pull him out but Black easily boots both of them away, he tries to get back in the ring but Adam Cole pulls him out and nails the Last Shot only for Gargano to take him out with a tope suicido, rolling Black back in, Sullivan intervenes but Gargano dodges as he goes into the steps, Dain tries to stop him with a powerbomb but Gargano hits a rana on him into the ring steps, back on the apron and Gargano hits a Slingshot DDT on Black for the pin. Johnny's going to Philly, Boys!

While a lot of fun, this match fell just shy of greatness. It worked well as all four men threw themselves at each other thick and fast with Black being the standout showing a unique integrity to his moves as everything he did was crisp and clean but looked painful as all hell. While Dain played his part well, sadly the disappointment here was Sullivan who never quite seemed confident in his place in the match but then I guess this is developmental so at leat he showed enough to suggest that he could be more convincing with a few more big matches under his belt. This however, was Johnny Wrestling's show. Since Johnny and Tomasso lost the tag titles in January, Gargano has been on something of a rebuilding, having great matches everywhere but not really getting the win (much like Travis Banks' iconic 2016 in Fight Club Pro), it was so gratifying to see him get this and clearly was a great moment as the crowd fully came alive. Depending on how healed up he is, don't be surprised if come January, whether Johnny claims his first WWE singles gold or not, if a certain Mr. Ciampa gets involved.

On The YouTubes

Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford encourage a small child to take up casual drinking by gifting him a solo cup.

Johnny Gargano gets an ovation as he walks backstage but Andrade Almas is there to remind him he beat him. Twice.

Finally...

It wasn't the slam-dunk that last week's episode was but it was still pretty good with the ending of the main event featuring a pop that I don't think has been rivalled this year. It's been one hell of a year for the yellow ropes and this was a good way to end it with the heart of NXT getting one step closer to being the face of the brand. Now let's just see what the new year brings...

Article By Jozef Raczka (@NotJozefRaczka)

NXT 276 Review // Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Pete Dunne & Mark Andrews

The last month on NXT...

272 Review // saNItY vs. The Authors of Pain
273 Review // Roderick Strong vs. Adam Cole
274 Review // Andrade Almas lays out Drew McIntyre in the middle of the ring
Takeover: WarGames Review // The Undisputed Era vs. saNIty vs. Roderick Strong & The Authors of Pain
275 Review // Pete Dunne vs. Johnny Gargano

On 30th November 2017, WWE aired its 276th episode of NXT, taped at the Aztec Theatre in San Antonio, TX on 17th November. Our main event saw the United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne reforming Flips and Forearms with long-time rival/frenemy Mark Andrews again the team of Tyler Bate and Trent Seven or as we know them, Moustache Mountain. The card also featured Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane taking on The half of the Iconic Duo she hasn't beaten, Peyton Royce & a rematch between Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) and Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss. But was it any good?

Street Profits def. Riddick Moss & Tino Sabbatelli // Pinfall

It was only at NXT 274 that we last saw these two teams and much like that match, it's Dawkins and Moss who start, they lock-up to begin as Dawkins powers Moss to the corner, clean break but Moss slaps Dawkins who pushes Moss out of the ring, it's at this point I need to point out how bad Moss' facial hair is but if we take continuity, it's impressive that he grew it in two weeks, waistlock takedown by Moss but Dawkins responds with two of his own, one more time chants lead to another waistlock takedown, whip and a shoulder barge into a bodyslam from Moss but Dawkins follows with one of each for the goateed dickhead, tag to Ford and Dawkins uses a back body drop to allow Ford to hit an elevated spinning splash but a leapfrog and a slam from Sabbatelli takes him down, I guess Sab is tagged in now, they run the ropes and Ford hits a double dropkick before Moss and Dawkins are back in allowing the Profits to hit a double flapjack sending Moss out of the ring while the audience adore the Profits, giving us a convenient time to go to some ads, back from the break and Ford is about to do a springboard when Sab elbows him off the apron, rolling Ford back in, Sab keeps him grounded and indeed, pounded, whip to the corner and in comes Moss as the former American Footballers hit tandem strikes and flying forearms, Moss taunts Ford by grinding above him, he tries to get up but just gets punched, Moss taunts Dawkins by doing the pudding-stir thing, Ford is back up and tries to escape, hitting some nice slaps but Moss levels him with a running back elbow for a 2, Moss keeps Ford down till he goes for a charge, Ford dodges, using the opening to hit a hot tag to Dawkins as Moss tags in Sab, Dawkins brings the swag like nobody can hitting forearms, dropkicks and a bulldog to Sab, spinning stinger splashes to both men, Sab hits a back elbow and rushes straight into a mega punch from Dawkins for a pin but Moss breakes it up and knocks Ford off the apron, Dawkins fights off both men, throwing Moss out and rolls up Sab for a 2, a quick elbow by Moss staggers Dawkins allowing Sab to pin him as Moss holds down the feet from outside but Drake Wuertz notices and disallows the pin, Ford takes out Moss outside, heads back in, Dawkins tags in Ford and they hit the Spinebuster-Frog Splash combo for the pin . 

Street Profits continue to impress with their ability to get the crowd behind them and Ford, if handled right, could be a mega-star in waiting. This as tag matches go, was as standard as they get, not really seeming all that different from the last time the two teams faced each other. It might be that I'm still struggling to be impressed by the heel team but this is a feud that has managed to only really successfully put the winners any higher in my rankings. Let's hope as a rivalry, this is either going to kick up a notch or move on.

Moustache Mountain are backstage being interviewed about their match later with Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews, Trent talks about how just a few weeks ago Peter had a chance to save Wolfgang from the Undisputed Era but just took his title and did one, it didn't sit well with them and they want to teach him a lesson, in regards to Mandrews, well, they aren't even a real tag-team but Moustache Mountain are.

Mandrews is asked why he's teaming with Peter, it's because if they win, he gets a title match. Simple as. 

There's a Lars Sullivan hype-up package. He sure is a big lad.

Kairi Sane def. Peyton Royce // Pinfall

The Duo are in matching I Heart Billie/Peyton vests, they're adorable, bit of tussling into a straight forearm from Royce to start and a whip into a hip toss, Royce goes for another but Sane transitions into a wheelbarrow roll-up by Sane for a 1.5, they run the ropes as Sane catches Royce with a headscissors and a dropkick for a 2, a spinning heel kick by Royce gets a 2 but a roll-up by Sane also gets a 2, Royce beats down Sane, leaving her lying on the floor into the ad-break, back from the break and Royce has Sane's head on lock, Sane powers to her feet and rolls up Royce for a 2, Royce puts her down with a kick, she whips Sane to the corner but Sane dodges, hits a gutpunch and a spear , gutpunch and a spear, she follow with forearms and a running blobkbuster sending Royce to the corner for the baseball sliding elbow, goes up top, possibly for a standing elbow drop but Royce dodges and hits a knee strike for a 2, she tries to follow with kicks but Sane catches and lays into Royce with axe kicks, stomps and rolling forearm, Kay is up on the apron but Sane knocks her down and hits the (*sigh*) Insane Elbow for the pin. 

Yeah, sure, it's another win. Sane, while hyped up as an insane talent from Japan has been having to work too much of the standard from-below babyface match and has yet to be given a real chance to impress with much of her offence in this match being leverage pin attempts. I wanted to like this a lot more, especially because The Iconic Duo's heel act is superb when on form but this didn't utilise their strengths enough and while it gives another win to Sane, didn't really improve anyone's standings.

Next Week: Ruby Riot v Sonia Deville: No Holds Barred & Andrade Almas has a Championship Celebration.

Tyler Bate & Trent Seven def. Pete Dunne & Mark Andrews // Pinfall

This is surprisingly a first-time recorded match between these four, though F&F have taken on Bate along with fellow UKCT competitor Dan Moloney under their Young Wolves guise in Southside Wrestling previously. Dunne and Bate start and they lock up, Dunne powers to a front chancery, Bate tries to escape but Dunne rolls with, Bate escapes and gets a lateral press for a 1, they break with begrudging respect, Dunne backs off going for a tag to Mandrews but uses it as a fakeout to punch Bate's lights out, like a prick, actual tag to Mandrews who goes for a craat hold, roll through snapmare into flips, yet more flips and a dropkick by Bate, Euro uppercuts force Mandrews to the Mountain's corner to give Trent a tag, fireman carry slam sets up Bate for a shoulder lift reverse meteora and a senton from Trent for a 2, he whips Mandrews to the corner but Mandrews flips away hitting a dropkick for a 2 and immediately going for an armbar, tag to Trent who goes for the fingers in a manner much like a prick, Trent escapes with some of the best chops in the game, he goes for another big chp but as Dunne blocks, he uses the fake-out into a DDT for a 2, Dunne is back up and Trent walks into a back elbow for a 2, tag to Mandrews who comes in but the ref didn't see it and sends Mandrews back, DUnne uses the distraction to hit a thunderous forearm on Trent into the ad-break, back from the break and Dunne is doing what Dunne does and wrenching the fingers, tag to Mandrews and an arm-trap legdrop earns the Welsh high-flyer a 2, back into the transitional armbar and Mandrews powers Trent to the corner but Trent forearms Mandrews away, Dunne tries to tag but Trent blocks him, Mandrews runs back for a monkey flip but Trent catches him, blind tag by Dunne and he hits a backstabber on Trent into an unintentional diving double knees combo, some painful joint manipulation as Dunne kicks at the shoulder joint, tag from Mandrews who takes over on the shoulder, slapping tag from Dunne who tells Mandrews to fuck off out his ring and keeps kicking Seven's shoulder but Wolverhampton's finest powers out and hits a Seven Star Lariat giving him the opening to tag in Bate, who grapples Dunne in the corner with his feet and hits a knee, second-rope diving uppercut and a running corner uppercut, a whip by Dunne sends Bate to the corner, he runs at him but is caught into a delayed exploder suplex and a standing SSP for a 2, picking up Dunne, he goes for a Tyler Driver but Dunne escaps and tags Mandrews who kicks Bate on the apron, flips over him, grabs him into a wheelbarrow roll-up double stomp and a standing corkscrew moonsault for a 2, rushing Bate in the corner he hits another grappling knee before climbing up but Mandrews hits an enziguri before going up top, setting up for a rana but Dunne tags from behind, throw him he says, 'k' says Mandrews as they hit a frankensteiner-tiger driver combo for a 2, Dunne slaps and kicks Bte on the floor till he's picked up and Bate introduces Dunne to Bop-BANG allowing for a tag to Seven for a snap dragon suplex, tag to Bate and they hit a STO-powerbomb combo, Bate gets a jacknife cover but Mandrews breaks it up, Trent goes for a slap but Dunne catches it and throws it at Bate with a slap of his own before hitting a step-up enziguri on Trent but Bate hits Dunne with a rolling kick, Dunne crawls to the tag, Bate tries to stop him getting him in a deadlift, Dunne gets the tag but not before Bate Germans him, Mandrews hits a moonsault for a 2, back up top and he goes for an SSP but Bate dodges as Mandrews lands on his feet running into a long-ass aeroplane swing from Bate, Dunne tags in, rolls up a dizzy Bate for a 2, forearms Bate into the ropes but Bate hits a shoulder rebound forearm and a Tyler Driver '97 for the pinfall. 

This could not have really been more fun, there can be gripes about this, namely it could have done with more Trent Seven, it had a lot of Trent Seven but you can never have enough Trent. For the second week in a row, they've let Pete Dunne take the main event and the UK talent has been really excelling with every opportunity they've been given creating a fast-paced, exciting tag match and the storytelling, especially between Dunne and Mandrews was superb with Mandrews trying to win because he wants his title shot but not wanting to go full-heel because, well, he's not there yet. While presumably with a win here and no televised rematch yet, we have to assume there's a Dunne-Bate singles match on the horizon, I'm going to keep saying it, NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, can we please have Dunne v Seven v Bate v Mandrews? Please?

Post-match, Mandrews goes to help Dunne up post-match but Dunne rushes him with a forearm to the back of the head and sulks out like a prick but he's back in and hits a Bitter End before posing with his title, like a prick.

On The YouTubes

So it's not too much of a spoiler to say that there'll be a match to determine a new no.1 contender to Andrade Almas' NXT Championship is it? Well tonight, there's going to be a battle royal to determine who gets a spot in a singles match to get a spot in a fatal four-way to get a singles match. That's not complicated right?

Finally...

A mixed bag this week as the first two matches ranged moment-to-moment from serviceable-to-disappointing but that main event was so much damn fun. At this point, I don't know why they don't just go all out and make a weekly show. I know it's because money but still. This was nicely stitched together, taking some house show matches and using them to create space until NXT proper returns next week. Do seek out that main event but maybe skip straight to it.

Review by Jozef Raczka (@NotJozefRaczka)