July 27, 2016
Episode 346
(taped July 13, 2016)
#WWENXT
City: Winter Park, FL
Venue: Full Sail University
Commentary: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Greg Hamilton
Intro Video
“Roar of the Crowd” by CFO$
Earlier Today
Blake tells Murphy that he carried the team. Murphy says “good luck,” he’s challenging Kota Ibushi.
Match 1
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Wesley Blake
(referee: Shawn Bennett)
Result: Shinsuke Nakamura wins via pinfall after Kinshasa
Time: 4:31
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Blake was kind of out of his class, but it was a good exhibition for Nakamura. They did work well together to make it entertaining, having some pretty funny antics early in the match.
Ring Area
William Regal comes out to the stage and announces that Samoa Joe will put his title on the line against Nakamura at Takeover: Brooklyn II.
** Can’t wait for that match! **
Match 2
Billie Kay vs Santana Garrett
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Billie kay wins via pinfall after a big boot
Time: 3:07
Match Thoughts
An okay match. Both ladies were solid enough and put on an entertaining match. They both seem seem to have a lot of potential.
Backstage
Bayley tells William Regal that she’s ready for her rematch with Asuka, and she wants to do it in Brooklyn. Regal thinks it’s a good idea.
Match 3
TM61 vs Rob Ryzin & Adrian Nails
(referee: Danilo Anfibio)
Result: Shane Thorne pins Adrian Nails after Thunder Valley
Time: 3:06
Match Thoughts
An okay match. TM61 are fun to watch, but they didn’t really treat this like a real match. They were just showing off. They would hit some nice double-team moves but then not go for a cover. Also, it was a bit of a squash.
Video
Hideo Itami will return next week.
Match 4
No Way Jose vs Steve Cutler
(referee: Shawn Bennett)
Result: No Way Jose wins via pinfall after a cobra clutch slam
Time: 1:54
Match Thoughts
An okay match. It was a squash, but it showed Jose’s aggressive side (after a little dancing).
Ring Area
After the match, Jose gets on the mic and calls Austin Aries a coward for running when Jose attacked him. Next time, there will be no escape.
Match 5
Buddy Murphy vs Kota Ibushi
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Kota Ibushi wins via pinfall after a sitout powerbomb
Time: 5:21
Match Thoughts
Good match. I think everyone expected Ibushi to dominate, but Murphy looked good. He shut Ibushi down for a good part of the match and had some nice, hard-hitting moves. Ibushi was really good though. When he got control of the match, he was impressive. This match was pretty competitive and fun to watch.
Backstage
Samoa Joe tells Charly Caruso that he feels disrespected by William Regal’s announcement of his next title defense.
Ring Area
Samoa Joe heads to the ring. He wasn’t consulted before Regal named Nakamura as the number one contender, so he will not be competing for the title. William Regal comes out and says Joe will fight who he tells him to fight. Joe strongly suggests that they go to the back and decide a way to decide a contender that he feels in deserving. Regal says if Joe refuses to fight Nakamura then he will consider it a forfeit of the title. Joe agrees to the match, but issues a warning to Nakamura. Nakamura comes out and Joe is pissed.
Show Impressions
This was a pretty good show. Not great, but it had some good parts. I liked the use of Blake and Murphy trying to outdo each other as the bookend for the show, each one challenging a different guy that no one really thinks they can beat. It was also just cool to see Ibushi in NXT.
I liked the Women’s match too. It wasn’t fantastic, but it was solid and showed that even though the main roster has kind of picked apart the NXT women’s division lately, there are still ladies with potential coming up in NXT.
I like the young wrestlers shown on this show, but TM61 needs to start wrestling matches and stop treating their ring time just as showcases for flashy moves.
Match of the Night
Buddy Murphy vs Kota Ibushi
Murphy surprised me, and Ibushi delighted me. Good stuff.