August 31, 2016
Episode 352
(taped August 25, 2016)
#WWENXT
City: Winter Park, FL
Venue: Full Sail University
Commentary: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Andrea D’Marco
Backstage
Earlier today, a trainer told William Regal that Samoa Joe is not cleared for any physicality tonight or in the near future.
Intro Video
“Roar of the Crowd” by CFO$
Match 1
Tye Dillinger vs Buddy Murphy
(referee: Danilo Anfibio)
Result: Tye Dillinger wins via pinfall after a Tye Breaker
Time: 6:18 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. I thought Murphy looked better than Dillinger with some good agility, but the crowd was solidly behind Dillinger. The match was fine, but an unfortunately placed commercial break near the end of the match hurt the momentum from a viewer’s perspective.
Video
Clips of Gargano getting injured at Takeover and the Cruiserweight Classic.
Backstage
Charly Caruso welcomes Tommaso Ciampa. Ciampa starts to give an update on Gargano when The Revival walks up. Ciampa attacks, and the brawl makes its way into the arena and into the ring. While dispatching Ciampa, The Revival says they are the top guys.
Match 2
Steve Cutler vs Kenneth Crawford
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Steve Cutler wins via pinfall after a fisherman Michinoku Driver
Time: 3:32
Match Thoughts
An okay, short match. Crawford showed some nice, if unrefined, agility. Cutler used power and anger. I think both have potential.
Backstage
Dasha Fuentes asks Hideo Itami about Austin Aries. Itami calls Aries a “baby” because he has an injury…
Video
A mysterious promo for “Sanity.”
Video
A promo for TM61. According to them, they are ready to win the tag titles.
Match 3
No Way Jose vs Angelo Dawkins
(referee: Drake Wuertz)
Result: No Way Jose wins via pinfall after a Cobra Clutch slam
Time: 2:42
Match Thoughts
Not a great match. It was very short, and there seemed to be some awkwardness in the middle of the match.
Backstage
Charly Caruso asks Andrade Almas how he will react after getting his first loss. Austin Aries interrupts and complains about his ear.
Match 4
Liv Morgan vs Aliyah
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Liv Morgan wins via pinfall after a reverse roundhouse kick
Time: 3:29
Match Thoughts
Another match that wasn’t great. I actually liked what Aliyah was doing. She was aggressive and brawled a bit. She also had an interesting arm lock/head scissors submission. Liv’s comeback was unbelievable and even though her finishing move didn’t connect, they still went with it. I just think Liv Morgan needs a lot more work.
Backstage
Dasha Fuentes asks Jose about his win over Dawkins. He starts to talk about how great he is when Bobby Roode walks by. Roode tells Jose that he has a “nice head.”
Ring Area
The new NXT Champ, Shinsuke Nakamura, heads to the ring. Nakamura talks about facing the best of NXT and becoming champ. He says that he respects Samoa Joe, but the Joe era is over. It is now the era of Strong Style.
Show Impressions
The wrestling was a little lacking on this episode. A good number of matches, but the quality just wasn’t there. This episode felt like a placeholder while they start to rebuild feuds after Takeover.
Match of the Night
Tye Dillinger vs Buddy Murphy
This one had the most personality and the best action, even though I wasn’t particularly blown away by it.