- It’s NXT time and we’re coming off the back of an awesome Takeover Dallas and the apparent promotion of Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews to the main roster.Is it just me, or does this suggest that having a good look is more important than connecting with the audience in WWE?
- And… It looks like a recap show, euphemistically called a ‘very special episode’, hosted by Cathy Kelley. I’ll give it 10 minutes.
- We start out with highlights of the American Alpha vs Revival tag match, followed by Jordan and Gable’s reactions after the match. Jordan is emotional and Gable gives him props for all the time he put into NXT, which is a nice touch.
- Next up we get a recap of Asuka vs Bayley, which was a great match and an awesome video package. Bayley is graceful in defeat and puts over Asuka as being on another level, but promises to get back up and come back even better. How can you not love Bayley?
- And because you need some bad stuff to make the good stuff look better, we get a quick Elias Sampson video package, and a promise of a match against Apollo Crews. Wait, didn’t that match already happen on the pre-show at Takeover?
- Corbin vs Aries recap, then an interview with the Greatest Man that Ever Lived. AA talks about himself and basically calls Corbin a tool, which is hilarious and a nice counterpoint to Bayley’s subdued reaction.
- Finn vs Joe recap, and this was another fine match. Balor seems legitimately exhausted, and describes the match as a bloody war, which seems fair.
- Attempted interview with Joe, who just looks pissed off but keeps walking. At least he managed to stop the bleeding…
- Elias Sampson vs Apollo Crews started out with Sampson singing and a ‘you suck’ chant from the crowd. Yep. Apollo comes out to a muted reaction, but many are just happy that the singing has stopped. Sampson plays the chickenshit heel for a while before Crews starts tossing him around. Somewhat boring back and forth before Crews hits the combination and sloppy toss powerbomb for the win and dropping Sampson on his shoulder. I swear, it’s only a matter of time before he seriously hurts someone with that move.
- The show closes with a recap of the amazing Zayn vs Nakamura match, which is hopefully a look forward at a future main event at Wrestlemania. Nice post match interview with Sami with a big bag of ice on his neck. Nakamura is using a translator for some reason, even though he speaks very good English. Strong style has arrived indeed…
