I REITERATE, ONLY... KINDA
What was I wrong about? Well, nothing entirely. I expected this show to be underwhelming, but it wasn't as great as it could have been, and I stated that Bayley vs. Sasha had a pretty high chance of being average because their past matches were nothing special. So I guess two half-wrongs makes me 1 wrong?
JUSHIN "THUNDER" LIGER vs. TYLER BREEZE
'average'
**1/2
There was certainly nothing 'off' with the match apart from WWE concerning themselves with Liger when he turned 50, but there was nothing stellar whatsoever either. I fully expected some issues in the match where neither guy seemed to know what they were doing, because Liger working in WWE and Breeze working with a foreign guy kinda makes that inevitable, so I'm not going to be annoyed about some of the little mini-botches, but the match did suffer a fair bit because of it. Easily one of the most 'average' matches I've seen in a while, but again, completely expected. Anything better would've surprised me greatly.
THE VAUDEVILLAINS vs. BLAKE & MURPHY (c)
For the NXT Tag Team Championship
'good'
***1/2
Allow me to preface this by saying RIP DUBSTEP COWBOYS. YOU GOT THE MOST HEAT ON THE SHOW. I'M PROUD.
Also I'm not against the Vaudevillains being the champions like some people seem to be. I don't think they're a bad team at all. They're solid in the ring, they're solid out of the ring, they have decent characters, and hell if you don't like their characters, at least they fucking have characters.
They're fitting for NXT Tag Team Champions because they're a good team, who still need to stick around in developmental, and they're entertaining in the ring. I would've preferred BAM to win, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I marked at English posing when doing submissions and Gotch going crazy after getting the tag part way through. That roll into the cross-armbreaker was immense, holy hell.
Oh and I have to mention that NUCLEAR heat again. It's rare to see actual decent talent get booed these days, so that just makes BAM better than before.
The ending was alright. It was really awkward with Bliss being unable to do anything about a jobber I'm fairly sure she beat once before, as well as Blake just watching Murphy get decimated and pinned. I'm not sure if that last bit was intended though. Maybe it was, but it looked really weird if it wasn't.
Also I loved the subtle and likely unintentional jab at Enzo & Cass just being too stupid to beat BAM, as the Vaudevillains' manageress (who sucks btw) actually did something, and the team themselves constantly outsmarted BAM.
APOLLO CREWS DEBUTS vs. TYE DILLINGER
THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE. OHHHHH MYYYY.
'great'
****
Right, before you wonder why I rate a glorified squash match four stars, understand that it is a glorified squash match, and I'm rating it four stars because it did great at what it was supposed to do. There was no story, there wasn't meant to be one. There was no need for anything but a display of Apollo's offence and defence.
As for everything else, that entrance was incredible. It was unlike any entrance I have ever seen. Apollo seemed so humbled by the fact he was debuting in front of thousands and thousands of people who have actually been anticipating his debut, and a good portion of those people cheering just for him being there. I'm sure I wasn't the only person who could see the genuine nervousness and humbleness in his eyes and face when he came out and was walking down the ramp.
And that is yet another thing that just makes me want to believe Apollo Crews will be a huge star in WWE. Along with the reports (and commentary enlightening us) of him wanting to become good at promos so he is a truly well rounded wrestler, of course. It makes him seem like such a down to earth guy outside of wrestling and someone who is really dedicated to wrestling, not just there to think he's great because people chant his name, but because he wants to be great. If he goes on with this he'll be in that group of people like Bryan, Owens and Sasha (among others I can't think of right now) that fans realise their dedication and passion.
The ring work itself was fantastic. Not a single misstep on either part (unless they had to re-do that superkick spot from Tye) and both guys had a great showing. Tye was the perfect guy for Apollo to debut against without a doubt. And those jumps, flips, leading into a fucking military press and an incredible standing moonsault just cemented it for me. Though I would've loved to see more, I guess that's going to be kept for a later date.
Fantastic debut, great match for a display of his abilities.
BARON CORBIN vs. SAMOA JOE
'alright'
***
I expected shit. I expected Corbin doing virtually nothing out of the ordinary (which is maybe three things max) and Joe doing the same (which is maybe five things max). However I also expected Corbin would win. So I guess none of my expectations in this match were met, good or bad.
Corbin showed a decent offence. Nothing incredibly but a lot more than what people give him credit for. Most of it was very basic stuff, but the basic stuff he did was pretty well done. His striking is fantastic, especially when you compare it to Joe's absolutely abysmal striking the commentary try to put over, and I really think that if Joe was a bit more stiff or at least realistic with his striking, that little 20 seconds of a strike off in the middle of the match could have been a lot better.
Joe definitely let me down a lot more than Corbin did in this. The guy is touted as a sixteen year wrestling vet but constantly makes things look awkward as if he hasn't been wrestling longer than a few months, and his strikes suck as I just mentioned.
The ending was the only horrible part though. Corbin's big modified chokeslam getting treated like nothing even though it got that piped "OHHHHH" louder than anything else in the match, and then just falling asleep in the submission. Sure, it's a good submission and it's nice to see sleepers again, but THAT quick?
AND THAT REFEREE? Why was the arm not lifted three times? It looked really bad for that referee. Submissions like this have worked like that for years and years. I hope it's not only for the faces so they can get the little Hulk-up before the third drop.
BAYLEY vs. SASHA BANKS (c)
For the NXT Women's Championship
'stunning'
****3/4
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I really had low expectations for this match. Not because I believe the two are lacklustre talents (Sasha is amazing and Bayley is respectable at the least), but the two just never really meshed well in the past. Their matches were never bad, but never good either, just kind of 'there', and really felt like filler. The feud was always good and has been well storied, which made this pay-off absolutely incredible especially considering the pre-match vignette.
Which by the way was extremely well done. It's as if they KNOW a huge portion of NXT fans only started watching after Sasha and Bayley began, and a portion of them don't even know their history goes so far back. The explanation was quick and well done, and probably one of the best pre-match vignettes in recent NXT history.
The match itself, was all ups, and no downs. It got better after every minute, and the first minute started off on a high note with Sasha mocking Bayley like only Sasha can mock, along with Sasha laughing while on the offense for the next few minutes too.
The quick changes of offense were timed well, everything was so fluid, and it only took me about three minutes to realise I made a huge mistake almost completely writing this match off.
As it went along and Bayley hit some nice reversals I wouldn't have even thought about (especially the first counter in the corner) and some bigger ones (like throwing Sasha off the top rope to the outside) I was watching anticipating every move, and I don't think I even felt that way with Becky and Sasha, which prior to this was my favourite females match of the year.
Almost every movement meant something. After Sasha began targeting Bayley's injured hand, every movement meant something, and both women upstaged everyone in this match by selling everything through every part of their body.
Many arguments can be made that Bayley gave up selling her hand injury for certain parts of the match, but I always argue that historically, adrenaline, especially for faces, often takes over their injury. As long as they don't entirely forget about it, they're doing it right. It's okay to work through the (fake) pain for a couple of things, like axe handles and a single submission, as long as there's a limit and you remember to continue. Bayley did exactly that, and she did it very, very well.
Sasha working the hand was damn good too. The wedging between the steps, and especially the brutal flurry of stomps during the crossface. Which by the way, the reversal of Sasha's crossface into the same by Bayley was sort of awkward but still quick, so it was alright, and the match not ending in that situation was also a great decision.
Continuing the match at a slow pace thereafter really set up the adrenaline at the finish, and the lead up to the inevitable victory was fabulous. There are rare moments where knowing the end is coming is better than being caught off guard, and this was definitely one of them. Knowing that it was coming, hearing the crowd, and being certain in this situation, was the key ending for a great match.
I myself am a bit disappointed with the end. It's nice and all, but this 'four horsewomen' thing feels more forced week after week. And I know it makes a lot of sense considering the story behind the four of them (minus Summer Rae for some reason), but the fact NXT seems to do these 'showings of respect' over and over and over. Sasha and Charlotte did it earlier and I mentioned how I disliked it then because of how much they do it, and it feels bad to say I dislike they did it here, because all four of them were obviously emotional, especially Sasha because I'd say it means most to her, but because NXT want to waste handshakes after matches on shite like Balor and Neville or Zayn and Neville, it makes it seem so... disingenuous.
KEVIN OWENS vs. FINN BALOR (c)
For the NXT Championship
'alright'
***
Ladder matches. Lost arts, apparently. Some are boring, some are more boring, and few are decent. This was... borderline boring and decent to me. Everything Owens does is worth watching in honesty, and most of what Balor does is not, so this kinda balanced out if not leaned more towards probably being boring.
And it was borderline boring. What's the point of watching a match where we all know who's going to win, when it's the third match of a feud, just got inevitably outclassed by the match before it, and has only one worthwhile wrestler in it? People who need to see what makes it matter to the bookers, I guess.
I really hope Balor stops getting along on his goddamn name because he has done nothing interesting at all since debuting. Everything about him is boring or lacklustre, and his special entrance is overdone now. Maybe it's a good thing this is likely the last we'll see of Owens on NXT because then maybe Balor won't get entirely outclassed by his opponent all the time.
But hey, the match had some alright spots. Owens throwing Balor over the table and him tumbling into the corner was nice. And uhh... the reversal to the powerbomb where Owens landed on the, err, bendy thing of the ladder, was cool as well.
Yet they FUCKING RUIN THE ENDING by Owens teasing a suplex off the top of the ladder into the ladder laid out beneath, only to have Balor essentially nudge Owens off to land on his back. And then have Balor, instead of grabbing the title which was clearly in reach, dive off for his finisher on Owens who wasn't going to get up anyway, only to climb and grab the title again.
For a match that went so long there was a hell of a lot of pointless filler garbage, as it seems many Finn Balor matches are. Good thing Owens is done with him, the lazy, useless geek.
