It’s hard to argue with six matches, even if three were pure squashes. With depth in the mid-card, Tag Team and Womens’ divisions, NXT can survive on nights when they keep their optimum talent off the card. This past week’s episode was a perfect example of that.
With the continued development of Aiden English, Simon Gotch, Hideo Itami and Sami Zayn, NXT fans are beginning to see a new wind of top-flight stars.
Things are about to seriously change. With Itami set to bring in Prince Devitt and Zayn prepared to take on Adrian Neville, the card is about to get a full injection of spice.
Matches:
NXT Tag Team Battle Royal for #1 Contender Shot: Viktor and Konnor vs. Colin Cassady and Enzo Amore vs. Jason Jordan and Ty Dillinger vs. Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy vs. Aiden English and Simon Gotch: The rules were if any team member got eliminated, both members were. All five teams held their own through the early going with several near eliminations. Viktor and Konnor got sick of the stalemate however and eliminated Murphy, Blake, Dillinger and Jordan, leaving Amore and Cassady left with The Ascension, while the Vaudevillians were on the outside. After Viktor and Konnor eliminated Cassady and Amore, Gotch and English crawled back in the ring. Hideo Itami then hit the ring and with The Ascension’s back turned, Gotch and English eliminated them for the win. After the match, Itami attacked Konnor and Viktor before they retaliated with a vicious monied double slam.
Carmella vs. Emma: A solid Divas match as Emma guided Carmela along and made sure the rookie sold and earned her stripes. From the Tarantula to the Side Splash in the corner, Emma was on the offensive. But after she countered Emma’s signature Emma Lock submission, The Princess of Staten Island won with her Head Scissor submission.
Bull Dempsey vs. Justin Gabriel: Dempsey was in control for most of the match in spite of a Reverse DDT and some High-Flying theatrics from Gabriel. After some strikes and an Avalanche, Dempsey ultimately won with the Diving Headbutt.
Baron Corbin vs. Tony Briggs: Corbin quickly won with the End of Days on the debuting Briggs.
Sylvester LeFort vs. Marcus Louis: LeFort sold and eventually lost to a Louis Chokeslam variation.
Sami Zayn vs. Titus O’Neil: Although he nearly lost after O’Neil hit the Canadian Backbreaker, Zayn won with the Exploder Suplex in the corner and the Helluva Kick. After the match, Tyler Breeze hit the ring and told Zayn that if wanted a shot at Neville, he had to go through him first.
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