January 20, 2016
Episode 317
(taped January 7, 2016)
City: Winter Park, FL
Venue: Full Sail University
Commentary: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Dasha Fuentes
Intro Video
“Roar of the Crowd” by CFO$
Match 1
Sami Zayn vs Adam Rose
(referee: Shawn Bennett)
Rose starts off with a wristlock. Sami twists out and applies one of his own. Sami bounces off the bottom rope and hits a float-over arm drag into an armbar. Rose guards against a kick but Sami leaps over him and hits a low dropkick from behind. Rose responds with strikes to put Sami down on the mat.
Rose hits an inverted atomic drop and a short-arm clothesline. He continues to attack Sami and is in control. Sami starts to fight back. He climbs to the top but Rose shakes the ropes. Rose hits a head-butt from the top. Suddenly, Sami hits a reverse STO and puts Rose in a Koji Clutch.
Result: Sami Zayn wins via submission with a Koji Clutch
Time: 5:27
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match and a nice way to start the show. Sami had the speed and technical advantage early, but Rose started to dominate part of the way through the match. The ending was pretty sudden, but it worked.
Backstage
Rich Brennan asks Johnny Gargano about his match with Samoa Joe. Gargano knows about Joe. He’s a bully. Gargano will not be intimidated. He will not back down.
** Gargano never said he would win, just that he wouldn’t back down. Tommaso Ciampa said something similar before Joe beat him not too long ago. **
Video
Earlier today, Jordan and Gable complain about not being nominated for tag team of the year. They come up with a team name.
** They’re kind of annoying. Not sure if that’s good yet. Gable says “sick” too much and they’re kind of passive-aggressive in their complaints. I like to watch them wrestle though. **
Match 2
Tye Dillinger vs Apollo Crews
(referee: Drake Wuertz)
Crews powers Dillinger into the corner and they break cleanly. Dillinger puts Crews on the mat with a wristlock. Crews gets up but is taken back down with a headlock takeover. Dillinger is proud of himself and taunts Crews.
Crews hits a very high dropkick. Dillinger goes for a suplex but Crews performs a stalling suplex instead. Dillinger heads out to the floor and trips Crews as he follows. Dillinger dives through the ropes to hit Crews. He rolls Crews into the ring and hits The Perfect 10. Crews kicks out. Crews hits a spear and a kick to the head followed by a spin-out powerbomb for the win.
Result: Apollo Crews wins via pinfall with a spin-out powerbomb
Time: 4:35
Match Thoughts
Another pretty good match. Dillinger really sold the match with his reactions. Crews was fine, but without Dillinger there to react I think the match would have felt more like a squash.
Ring Area
After the match, Crews gets on the mic and asks for a match with Finn Balor.
** Like Graves said on commentary, get in line. **
Backstage
Alex Reyes tries to get a word with Blake and Murphy. Alexa Bliss takes over. She’s unhappy about being humiliated in London by Blake and Murphy. She’s going to lead by example by beating up Bayley and Carmella.
Video
A black and white video shows the Vaudevillains going from happy to angry. The film reel melts.
Match 3
Baron Corbin vs Rich Swann
(referee: Shawn Bennett)
Swann tries to stick and move, but he gets caught and thrown to the mat. Swann manages to land a few kicks but gets elevated and does a front flip into the mat. Corbin has a hold of Swann but Swann climbs the ropes to escape. He uses his speed to build momentum and gets a 2 count from a kick to Corbin’s head.
Swann climbs the ropes but misses his attack. Corbin hits a Deep Six for the win.
Result: Baron Corbin wins via pinfall after a Deep Six
Time: 3:16
Match Thoughts
An okay match. Corbin seemed to take Swann lightly which led to some fast offense, but it never felt like Swann could win. It was just a matter of time until he got caught.
Backstage
Rich Brennan asks Carmella about becoming the number one contender. She’s excited to face her best friend. Bayley seems happy too. Dash & Dawson show up and congratulate Carmella by insulting Enzo and Cass. Carmella gets upset but Bayley calms her down.
Match 4
Emma w/ Dana Brooke & Alexa Bliss vs Carmella & Bayley (Women’s Champ)
(referee: Danilo Anfibio)
Emma and Alexa attack Bayley before the match starts. Bayley seems hurt, but she insists on starting the match. She immediately gets taken to the corner and double-teamed but Emma and Alexa.
-commercial-
Alexa has Bayley down on the mat. Bayley fights to her feet and hits a back elbow from the second rope. Alexa makes the tag and Emma takes out Carmella before Bayley can tag her. Bayley builds some momentum with strikes and a suplex on Emma. Dana Brooke distracts Bayley and Alexa attacks her. Emma hits a running cross body in the corner.
Alexa tags back in. She and Emma make some tags and continue to aggressively isolate Bayley. Bayley fight out of the corner and tags Carmella. Carmella dominates Alexa and hits a bronco buster. Emma approaches from behind but Carmella tosses her to the floor. Carmella hits a reverse STO and puts Alexa in a figure-4 head scissors for the win.
Result: Carmella makes Alexa sumbit with a figure-4 head scissors
Time: 5:41 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
A good match with some nice heel tactics. Attacking Bayley before the match really felt like it made a huge difference in the entirety of the match. Bayley was in trouble the entire match but managed to hang around long enough to find an opening and make a tag. The end was pretty sudden, but it was expected given the number one contender status of Carmella.
Backstage
Alex Reyes asks Balor about Crews’ challenge. Balor says he’s already spoken to Regal and had the match set up.
Match 5
Johnny Gargano vs Samoa Joe
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Joe forces Gargano into the corner and rakes his face. He does it a second time. After a third time Gargano comes out of the corner with elbows. Joe fights him off, but Gargano hits a kick that has Joe roll out to the floor. Gargano jumps out to the apron but gets tripped.
Joe goes on the attack in the ring. Gargano lands some strikes, but Joe’s power is overwhelming. He boots Gargano to the floor. The ref counts and Joe stands back. Gargano just beats the count and throws some elbows. Joe slaps him repeatedly. Gargano responds with kicks and hits a jumping DDT from the apron. 2 count for Gargano.
Joe lifts Gargano to the apron. Gargano jumps in but takes a kick from Joe. Joe applies the Coquina Clutch for the win.
Result: Samoa Joe wins via submission with the Coquina Clutch
Time: 4:28
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. It really showed the power and near-unstoppable nature of Joe. Gargano had some offense, but it didn’t have much of an effect for the most part. Everything that Joe did looked like it hurt though.
Show Impressions
An okay show with some okay matches. Nothing really stood out too much and it did feel like it was more of a week of story building more than anything else. Having number one contenders (or potential number one contenders) in most of the matches made the outcomes fairly unsurprising. It was still an entertaining show though.
Match of the Night
Johnny Gargano vs Samoa Joe
I guess this one stoof out the most to me because it made Joe look the strongest. Gargano did a good job of helping Joe look unstoppable. It was kind of a squash, but none of the matches on the show were terribly competitive.