WWE NXT #252 Review

On 14th June, WWE aired the 252nd episode of NXT, taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on May 25th. The show's main event saw Asuka defend her NXT Women's Title against Nikki Cross & Ruby Riot in an eliminations match. With matches also featuring Drew McIntyre, Velveteen Dream, Authors of Pain and the newly contracted CWC competitor Raul Mendoza, why was all of this so dull?

McIntyre def. Ryzin

Drew McIntyre's out against a newly red-haired Rob Ryzin, they lock up to begin with Ryzin transitioning to a waitslock followed by a chinlock, Drew hits a big belly-to-belly and... you know, I can't be bothered. Drew hits a Claymore to win, it's fine, I yawned at one point and missed the match. Doing these matches to build up new signees is fine but don't just keep doing them because you have nothing for them.

• Talking of people in need of a fucking storyline, here's an Aleister Black package. Seriously, just do the Bull Dempsey-Baron Corbin storyline with Black and McIntyre, do anything with them just give them something to do.

Authors of Pain def. Dominguez & Freyday

Akam is in first and he hits a big boot taking out Wilmer Freyday before in comes Anthony Dominguez to get taken out as well. Dominguez is thrown practically onto the ramp before Akam hits a Modified Death Valley Driver for the win. Another day, another NXT squash match that does little but add another notch to AoP's belts.

• After the match, the AoP hit the Super Collider on Dominguez and Freyday. Paul Ellering calls out Heavy Machinery claiming that they haven't read the book of pain and that they're about to write a new book, the book of dominance, this one has music in it, in fact, it's where music comes from. Also that, Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight will be a footnote in the book. Out come Heavy Machinery for a four way big lad staredown. Intense, I guess.

• Roderick Strong tweeted about Bobby Roode. Huge if true.

• Sonya Deville gets a package. It's pretty good at aping the style of MMA video segments. She's in action next week. I can't wait.

Dream def. Mendoza

As Velveteen Dream makes his entrance, Tom Phillips makes a reference to a 'sign of the times', do you get it? Dream is like Prince! Ha! Dream plays with his Raul Mendoza to begin with using his collegiate wrestling background to wrestle him to the mat and then literally walks over him to taunt at the audience. They lock up, Dream hits a Little Red Corvette sized shoulder block, Mendoza rolls up but only for a 1 count. The two trade strikes till Dream cuts off Mendoza with a boot as Mendoza attempted a springboard. Dream makes Mendoza's chest look like a raspberry beret in the corner and throws a belly to back suplex. A Purple Rain of chops onto Mendoza's chest light him up. Mendoza comes back with a high kick and chops, but just as he's beginning to party like it's 1999, a flapjack, a rolling death valley driver and a Glam Slam Top Rope Elbow Drop from Dream earn him the pin. After picking up the win, he eye-fucks the camera, so much. Both men look solid but frankly, there is nothing achieved here. Still, hopefully Dream can build on this potential and move into an actual story.

• Kassius Ohno is interviewed backstage and he regrets sinking into frustration like Hideo Itami and he's leading by example in a match with Aleister Black, now that's more like it.

• Ember Moon package, she's back and facing Peyton Royce next week. The way Royce has been performing recently, this could be very fun.

Asuka vs. Cross vs. Riot ends in a No Contest

So, um, what was that? I'm not even commenting on the performance of the three women who are arguably three of the best performers in WWE at the moment but somehow they took the template of a match that was a fun mess a few weeks ago and re-created it as something that doubles down on how much of a mess it was but in terms of fun... 

It had promise as a match, especially if you love multiple dropkick variations as after all three women brawled to begin with. Cross hit Riot with a front missile dropkick, Asuka hit Cross with a side missle dropkick, Cross and Riot team up to get Asuka out of the ring before doing the lets fight each other but also keep Asuka out the match. The sections like this which focus in on Cross and Riot work best as they continue to suggest that when we actually get a singles match with these two it will be mental and amazing. Riot hits a superkick to Cross to take us into the Ad break. Post break, Asuka is back and hits Riot with running bum (because let's face it, she doesn't really use her hips) but Riot responds with a hurricanrana, Cross does her crazy attacking thing but Riot retaliates with her Wind-Up Overhead Kick finish going for a cover but Asuka breaks it up getting some Riotous slaps for her effort. Asuka kicks Riot in the head and gets a two count, Cross pulls Asuka out of the ring, Riot hits both of them with an apron dropkick on both women. Back in the ring and Riot hits a shotgun dropkick on Cross, she heads up top but Asuka pushes her out of the ring before attempting a dropkick, Cross with her Fisherman's Neckbreaker finisher but Asuka rolls out before she can be covered, Riot hits a Saito Suplex. From here on out, the fragile thread holding this match seems to fall apart without Riot as lets note that Tom Phillips makes every effort to remind us that this is all under Triple Threat rules so no countouts or DQs, only pins, submissions and maybe KOs but certainly no way that this is going to have to be thrown out on a double countout. 

So the two women fight in the ring briefly before taking it to the outside again, after a few near falls, they brawl near the audience and out into the wing and the referee throws out the match. For one thing, throughout this and the previous match, the most impressive performer has been Ruby Riot, so of course she is the only one to take a legal pinfall in both matches. For another, it may have been a symptom of the crowd being completely dead but this match just felt supremely messy and its finish was completely nonsensical. If you wanted to build up Cross to keep her on Asuka's level, there are cleaner ways to do it than just throwing out storytelling. It might have all been redeemed if the match had something we didn't get in the Chicago Triple Threat but this felt as much as rehash as a rematch at times. I wanted to like this so much more than I did. As it is, I think we're finally hitting the point where Asuka has almost jumped the shark. She's been built to look so unbeatable that when someone, be it Cross or Moon, eventually does beat her, it will be that much more difficult to make it believable.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating: 3/10

I'm bored of this, I'm going for a twix.

WWE NXT #251 Review (7th June 2017)

On 7th June, WWE aired the 251st episode of NXT, taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on May 25th. The show's main event saw the returning No Way Jose battle the man who injured him, SaNItY's Killian Dain [Damian O'Connor]. In-ring action also saw the likes of Peyton Royce, Hideo Itami [KENTA], Oney Lorcan [Biff Busick] & Heavy Machinery with appearances from Roderick Strong and NXT Champion Bobby Roode. With a solid line-up like this, what could go wrong?

Heavy Machinery def. Sullivan & Andrews

Lars Sullivan [Dylan Miley] and Tucker Knight to start, they do a big lad lock-up which is like a normal lock-up but they're big lads, Sullivan powers Knight to the corner, break, headlock by Knight, there's an odd moment as Sullivan is referred to by Nigel McGuinness as Lenny from Of Mice and Men, don't use this match as evidence in your GCSE English kids. The two big lads trade shoulder barges till Sullivan hits a clothesline, Irish whip to the corner but Knight reverses with an uppercut and a boot before hitting a huge dropkick by which I mean a standard dropkick but he's a big lad. Knight runs at Sullivan only for Sully to catch him for a slam, now Sullivan should really consider what he's doing here as he tags in the much smaller Victor Andrews who gets in no offense as Heavy Machinery rag-doll him about before hitting their Compactor tag finish for the pin. The audience seems to love Heavy Machinery though I'll never understand why, I guess it's like with the Hype Bros. Sullivan seems set to be the next Performance Centre mega-push. That taken into account, this was fine.

• After the match, Heavy Machinery start shouting about how they want the Authors of Pain and Sullivan gets annoyed at another person for failing him so decides to beat him up, just don't tag them in if you don't think they have a chance, it's your own time you're wasting.

• Christy St. Cloud tries to interview SaNItY about No Way Jose's return, Killian Dain is angry and Irish.

Strong tries to play the Roode Lottery

Roderick Strong is in pumps, skinny jeans and a plain grey tee, make an effort lad, you're on telly. He talks about how he's making a statement, how being in NXT, having a lovely wife and son is making him feel on top of the world, how he feels he's exposed the true him to the fans and they reward him with support, long story short: he wants the NXT title. As if by magic, so appears the NXT Champion Bobby Roode, wearing a very nice suit, Roddy! Roode delivers one of, if not, his most blistering promos since coming to NXT running down Roddy for coming here and assuming he's owed a title shot for his above-average win record, reasonably hot wife and seemingly normal son (his words not mine). His buzz-term that the commentators can refer back to for this is 'the Bobby Roode lottery' as he laments the working man's attitude that for a small amount, people hope to luck out and win big instead of earning their money. What works particularly well here is that Roode's motivation while it could be perceived as standard heel cowardice, is also well motivated in a surface desire to elevate the title by making people earn their shots. Equally good is how it realises that Strong doesn't need much more than a desire for the title, he doesn't have much in the way of a character beyond being a genuine human being so putting him against the Streets of Rage villain become real that is Bobby Roode creates a wonderful immediate clash of styles. Here's hoping that they can deliver in the ring on the potential built here, though I've no doubt they can.

• Nikki Cross [Nikki Storm] is being mental backstage. Talking about wanting to play again and headbutting stuff, it's nothing new but it certainly is disturbing.

• Paul Ellering reads from the Book of Pain which is long and boring, no one can lift the damn thing, it's full of facts on potential opponents and instructions for wrestling.

Royce def. Logan

More expert reporting from Nige as we find out that Sarah Logan [Crazy Mary Dobson]'s first match was as a child against a goat. Logan locks up and is powered to the corner by Royce, Irish whip to the other corner, fireman's carry takedown into an armbar by Logan, beautiful roundhouse by Royce for a two count, crosschin (or whatever you want to call a crossface on the chin), leverage pin by Logan, Royce hits a two amigos and a death valley driver for a two count, big slaps and headbutts by Logan for another close two. Royce fights back and hits the Bridging Fisherman's Suplex for the pin. A very fun match with some well-paced stretches of violence only ruined by a lack of heat for the heels. As good as their iconic mannerisms are, somehow the clean victory here almost makes their partnership feel less important as it implies they don't need each other to get a win. Hopefully the duo get something good to do soon, they're too iconic to be pushed to the sidelines.

• We cut back to an interview with Andrade Almas [La Sombra] after he lost to Cezar Bononi last week, he's walking to his limo with three ladies when Thea Trinidad [Rosita] turns up asking what has become of him before giving him a slap and walking off but Almas is too damn tranquilo to care.

Itami vs. Lorcan ends in a No Contest

This match was just full-on bonkerballs. The two men lock-up, Oney Lorcan over-powers Hideo Itami pushing him to the ropes and separates like a nice lad, graps happen, standing headlock pushes Lorcan to the ropes, as they separate a stiff slap to the cheek by Itami who's not as nice a lad, Itami gives Lorcan a stiff AF shot for a two count, Lorcan back up, strikes and runs the ropes only to be caught by a knee to the gut, back up and the same thing happens again for another two count. Into the corner and a boot and a running blockbuster from Lorcan sends Itami to the outside, Lorcan heads for a tope only to be caught on the apron by a brace of kicks, onto the top rope and a flying lariat from Itami gets another two count. Itami continues to pummel Lorcan who catches Itami in a roll-up for another two. Out of the roll-up and Lorcan decided to throw some slaps of his own but Itami decided no, he will only sell for the stiffest strikes, as Lorcan wriggles out of a GTs, Itami shows him what the stiffest strikes look and feel like as he delivers The Stiffest Strikes, Lorcan fights back, Itami to the outside and a tope rope plancha by Lorcan, back in the ring and Itami is acting 'injured' til Lorcan gets close enough to kick straight for the knee and strike him all the way to fuck and hit a GTS, while Lorcan is out, Itami thinks about going for the pin, only to hit two more GTS' and be attempting to hit a fourth when Kassius Ohno [Chris Hero] runs out...

... Ohno screams before Itami gets annoyed and shoved him, Ohno shoves back much harder, pushing Itami to the floor, Itami, giving Ohno full murder eyes, rolls away to a chorus of boos. This was not only a superb match for the time it was given but the ending managed to use the brutality of the GTS brilliantly with Lorcan doing some of the finest knocked-out acting I've seen. While some could argue that potentially this could have been called as a win for Itami by referee stoppage, it still makes Itami look like a nasty fuck and sets up not only a rematch with Lorcan down the line but a match with Ohno that could be a violent treat indeed.

• We get a Drew Packagetire, covering his time in WWE before in brief but also his re-arrival in NXT. Next week: Drew McIntyre vs someone.

• Also next week: That big women's title re-match from Takeover: Chicago.

• Christy St. Cloud is the busiest interviewer in NXT as she grills Ember Moon [Athena]. Moon talks about her missed opportunities but before she goes for the title, she needs to deal with the Iconic Duo.

Dain def. Jose

So, when do we discuss that the Nigel McGuinness-Tom Phillips-Percy Watson experiment isn't working? Can it be now? I know that chemistry isn't an immediate thing but even in early editions of teams like the heyday of 205 Live's commentary with Mauro Ranallo, Corey Graves and Austin Aries or CWC's Mauro Ranallo and Daniel Bryan or if Smackdown had literally just been Mauro Ranallo, there were suggestions that something could be made from it. Heck, even Tom Phillips has developed a decent act with Corey Graves but the three men just manage to sound constantly like they have recorded in three different rooms at three different times with only occasional interactions. I can see that NXT is the developmental brand still so it makes sense to use it as a proving ground for new commentators as Michael Cole is only awake three days a year and they need to train up the next generation but Percy Watson has managed to show both a lack of personality or insight in his time in the booth, Tom Phillips seems more distracted by sending people saucy snapchats than the matches leaving Nigel to try and actually remind them they have to do some story telling. During this match, they just about get round to talking about how No Way Jose is out for revenge after SaNItY put him on the injury shelf briefly while adding nothing that the showing of the clip from WM Axxess didn't. In an interview with the AVclub, Jim Ross spoke about how watching great wrestling like classical music and how the commentary team's job is to provide the lyrics atop that music (notice how much better the calls were when Jim and Nigel were calling the UK title match at Takeover), I am willing to give Nige, Tom and Percy time to work out their harmonies but if they keep going this way, I think it's time to try someone new. Also, please just move Nigel over to RAW/205 Live, he was great with Michael Cole and I think he would mesh well with Graves.

In regards to the match, it was a bit dull. Killian Dain got the pin off an Ulster Plantation. The most notable things were the new SaNItY music with added pan flute because if you didn't know, Dain is Irish and also the crowds interesting chant at Dain of 'Fuzzy Wuzzy'.

Finally...ATPW Scale Rating: 4.8/10

The middle section of this week's show was dynamite with Itami and Lorcan putting on the best sub-8 minute match NXT has had in a long time, possibly since Samoa Joe v Tomasso Ciampa, Royce v Logan being surprisingly fun and a great promo from Bobby Roode. It's just a shame that the opening and the closing segments were so plodding and free of excitement that it cut off the episode at the legs. Still, with no Takeover's booked until August's return to Brooklyn, it's good that they are focusing on building feuds outside of just the titles while always keeping the prize in sight.

WWE 205 Live #27 Review (30th May 2017)

On 30th May, WWE aired the 27th episode of 205 Live from Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia live on the WWE Network. The show featured Noam Dar facing Rich Swann, as well as appearances from Austin Aries, Cruiserweight Champion Neville, TJP, Drew Gulak and Mustafa Ali. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

• ICYMI - Cruiserweight Champion Neville and Austin Aries' split screen interview from #26, with clips of their feud and Aries' tapping out Neville on RAW #1253.  

• Commentary team Corey Graves and Tom Phillips ran down the evening's card, focusing on Drew Gulak taking on Mustafa Ali and Austin Aries talking about getting Neville to submit on RAW.

Dar def. Swann

After the match on this week's RAW set up the idea of Sasha Banks being able to counter Alicia Fox at ringside, this bout a day after wasn't particularly needed. The bout was given more time, but ultimately was just an elongated version of the match from the previous night, with Dar controlling the arm, before a high tempo comeback from Swann and some interference from Fox being countered by Banks at ringside. Obviously we had a reverse of the result with Dar ducking a clothesline in the corner and hitting a running enziguiri for the victory, but there was nothing new that warranted a rematch. The promos before hand were okay, with Dar seemingly enjoying himself as he called Fox his "fluffy button" and described Swann and Banks as "friends with no benefits", but the women arguing about hair (followed by their cat fight at ringside heading into the finish) wasn't my cup of tea. 

• Cedric Alexander defeated Corey Hollis after the Lumbar Check in a short bout. Alexander continues to grow after returning from injury last week, hopefully we'll see him move into another storyline soon. 

• A video package looking at Akira Tozawa, after his Street Fight victory over The Brian Kendrick last week. 

Gulak def. Ali 

This match started hot with Mustafa Ali hitting a tope conhilo as Drew Gulak was delivering his "No Fly Zone" schtick walking to the ring. The spot was well timed and well directed with Ali coming flying through the right hand side of the screen with Gulak in the center. The match had it's moments but never felt like it completely hit it's stride. Gulak dominated after pushing Mustafa off the top rope and to the floor, with Ali beginning to sell his knee straight after. Ali sells well and Gulak's bruising style when in control is nice, but there seemed to be a little something missing from this portion of the match, perhaps having Gulak focus in on the injury would've given it a bit more impact. Ali's comeback is one of my favourite things about 205 Live, so I was disappointed to only see the rolling neckbreaker, before Gulak reversed a crossbody and got the pin. The dive to start things and Ali's bump off the top were the highlights, but as an overall package I'm not sure this bout came together quite as well as it should have. 

Neville Put an End to Aries' Gloating

In the final push for their Extreme Rules submission match, Austin Aries and Neville got the best reactions of the episode and concluded with an intense angle. The segment was driven by an Aries promo talking about Neville tapping out on RAW #1253, in which The Greatest Man That Ever Lived showed the footage on the screen a total of three times. Whilst Aries promo verged into heel territory at times as he kept repeating the same rhetoric, the response when Neville came out showed that the monologue had worked as the crowd quickly showered the Cruiserweight Champion with "You tapped out" chants. The segment concluding with TJP jumping Aries and eventually allowing Neville to lock in the Rings of Saturn and not let go raised the stakes of the feud and felt like the logical progression after Aries' got a little carried away in his rejoicing. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.19/10 

Not a great outing for the purple ropes boys in their go-home for Extreme Rules. The Austin Aries/Neville/TJP angle that closed the show was the strongest element of the episode, however, the wrestling action didn't match it as the two longer matches (Rich Swann v Noam Dar, Drew Gulak v Mustafa Ali) both didn't seem to fully hit their stride. There was nothing technically wrong with either, but there also wasn't anything that grabbed me beyond Ali's tope at the start of his match.