November 2, 2016
Episode 361
(This show was taped on two separate dates at two separate locations.)
#WWENXT
Taped: October 13, 2016
City: Winter Park, FL
Venue: Full Sail University
Taped: October 28, 2016
City: San Jose, CA
Venue: San Jose University Event Center
Commentary: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Intro Video
“Roar of the Crowd” by CFO$
WWE Performance Center
Charly Caruso updates everyone on the second round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Ring Area (San Jose)
Roderick Strong comes out for a match, but his partner, Austin Aries isn’t dressed to wrestle. TM16 heads to the ring next. Aries gets on the mic and informs everyone that he has a broken eye-hole and he’s too valuable a commodity to risk permanent injury. He suggests to TM61 that they forfeit the match to save themselves from being embarrassed by Roderick Strong beating them both at the same time.
William Regal comes out to the stage and confirms that Aries can’t compete tonight will will be cleared next week. Regal suggests to TM61 that one of them compete against Strong tonight, and the winner of the match will have his team advance to the next round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. TM61 agrees to the idea.
Match 1
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Round 2 Match
Roderick Strong w/ Austin Aries vs Shane Thorne w/ Nick Miller
(referee: Drake Wuertz; location: San Jose)
Result: Shane Thorne wins via pinfall with a small package
Time: 7:05 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
A good match. Strong looked good with some very big moves. Thorne looked pretty good too, but the winner felt a little inevitable because of the injury to Aries.
Ring Area (Winter Park)
#DIY heads to the ring for a second round match in the Dusty Classic. The Revival comes out next, but Scott Dawson is on crutches. He has an injury which he seems to be slightly exaggerating. He says he told the doctor that he was going to wrestle anyway, but his doctor insisted that he not. Dawson says that The Revival is pulling out of the Dusty Classic. Wilder says that they are saving DIY the embarrassment of tapping out to The Revival again.
Backstage (Winter Park)
Dasha Fuentes welcomes Cedric Alexander. Cedric says that his time in NXT so far has been a learning experience.
Backstage (Winter Park)
Dasha Fuentes asks DIY for their reactions to The Revival pulling out of the tournament. They aren’t surprised, but their goal remains the same: to win the tournament and go on to win the NXT Tag Titles.
WWE Performance Center
Charly Caruso updates the tournament brackets and introduces the next match.
Match 2
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Round 2 Match
Rich Swann & No Way Jose vs Authors of Pain w/ Paul Ellering
(referee: Danilo Anfibio; location: San Jose)
Result: Rezar pins No Way Jose after a Last Chapter
Time: 7:17
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. I think it dragged a little, but there were some nice bursts of action here and there. Jose actually hit a TKO on Akam which led to an almost believable near fall.
Video
Mickie James is back in WWE and is looking to become the NXT Women’s Champ at NXT Takeover.
Match 3
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Round 2 Match
TJ Perkins & Kota Ibushi vs Alexander Wolfe & Sawyer Fulton w/ Eric Young, Nikki Cross
(referee: Danilo Anfibio; location: Winter Park)
Result: Sawyer Fulton pins Kota Ibushi after a tandem suplex and powerslam
Time: 9:15 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. TJP and Ibushi took control of the match early with some good teamwork and strong individual efforts. SAnitY eventually started to take over and isolate TJP through their sheer size and strength. Ibushi came in and showed some power of his own, but the numbers of SAnitY proved to be too much. The outcome of the match wasn’t necessarily surprising, but some of the action was. In a good way.
Show Impressions
This was a good show. It was a little disappointing having two of the second round matches affected by injuries, but the matches we got to see were food.
Match of the Night
TJ Perkins and Kota Ibushi vs SAnitY
I kind of wish Perkins and Ibushi were in a different bracket so we could see more of them, but they still had a good showing in the tournament.