It’s NXT time and we’re kicking off with a divas match!
Match 1: Emma vs Charlotte
Emma is wearing Bayley’s shirt, but she doesn’t look too happy about it. Lock up into chain wrestling to start, and Charlotte gets the advantage. Emma reverses a headlock with a leg vice, but Charlotte kips up and the two have a stare down. Kick to the gut from Emma but Charlotte reverses a head slam into the turnbuckle and delivers one of her own.
Charlotte continues to work the neck, but Emma takes out her legs as she climbs the turnbuckle and she takes a nasty bump to the canvas. The ref holds Emma back as he checks on Charlotte, but Emma pushes him out of the way and lays into her opponent with boots!
Dropkick to the knee and Emma is in control, rolling to the outside and draping Charlotte’s knee over the bottom rope. Back in the ring Emma locks in a reverse surfboard leglock and drives Charlotte’s face into the mat with her foot. Pin and a two count.
Emma picks Charlotte up but the Nature Girl fires up and hits Emma with some stiff forearms. Emma slips out of a scoop slam and takes out Charlotte’s knee, then sets her up in the corner and continues the assault. Pin gets two and Emma keeps working on the knee, laying in kicks and slams.
Half crab from Emma is locked in deep, but Charlotte manages to crawl to the bottom rope. Charlotte is on one leg as she fires up with knees and a neckbreaker, followed by a spear for a two count. Emma tries a rollup but Charlotte slips out and hits the natural selection for the pin and the three count.
Good opener from the divas. After the match Bayley comes to Emma’s aid and they hug it out, but Bayley suddenly hits the Bayley to belly and takes her shirt back.
Becky Lynch interview and video package. Her accent is getting a bit better.
Michael Cole interview with Kevin Owens. Family, money, title. He refers to Cole as a journalist at one point, which is pretty funny.
Match 2: Bull Dempsey vs Rhyno
Rhyno is fired up as they lock up, then break as neither man is able to gain superiority. Another lockup and knees to the gut from Dempsey, followed by forearms. Rhyno responds with chops and a punch to the head, then takes Bull out with a shoulderblock.
Rhyno dodges a charge in the corner and hits the belly to belly, then hits the gore for the pin and the three count.
Another blink match from Rhyno as Bull Dempsey is reduced to enhancement talent, which seems fair to me. Rhyno calls out Baron Corbin at Takeover. Whoopee.
Sasha Banks promo. She ain’t afraid of Becky Lynch.
William Regal welcomes a new superstar to NXT, and we get a slickly produced video package introducing him. No idea what his name is, though.
Match 3: Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder vs Enzo Amore & Colin Cassidy
Dawson and Wilder are rocking a denim hillbilly sort of gimmick which the less politically correct might call white trash. Enzo and Cass music plays twice, but there is no sign of the realest guys in the room.
We cut to the back to see the tag champs beating the crap out of Enzo as Cass lay unconscious on the floor. Match abandoned.
Sami Zayn interview. This time it’s personal.
Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks Contract signing. The usual shenanigans ensue.
Recap of Kevin Owens beatdown of Alex Riley, followed by a video message from the Rager. He likes to take risks.
Match 4: Hideo Itami vs Tyler Breeze
Finn Balor is at ringside for the match, and he’s dressed in a sharp black suit.
Lockup to start and they move back and forth across the ring, neither man able to get the immediate advantage. Armdrag from Itami but Breeze rolls out of the way of the running kick, bailing to the outside.
Back in the ring and Breeze grabs a headlock, rolling to the outside as soon as Itami powers out. He protests that he’s ‘not getting kicked’, which frankly seems a little unlikely. Breeze takes his time getting back in the ring and uses the distraction of the ref to kick Itami in the gut.
Punch in the face from Breeze but Itami reverses an Irish whip and hits a big knee to the gut, followed by a running kick. Breeze rolls to the outside again as we go to the final ad break.
Back in the ring and Itami is in control, punching Breeze repeatedly in his beautiful face. Breeze reverses and hits a spinning neckbreaker for a pin and two count, then throws Hideo into the corner and lays in some boots. Choke in the corner to Itami, and Breeze drags him back to the centre of the ring for a leg drop and a two count.
Reverse chinlock from Breeze as he talks some trash, but Itami finally fights out. Big dropkick from Breeze gets two, and he goes to the second rope. Unfortunately, he takes too long looking at Finn Balor longingly and Itami catches him with a punch to the gut on the way down.
Itami with a pair of clotheslines followed by a running knee in the corner. Spinning DDT over the top rope drops Breeze to the mat, and Hideo climbs to the top turnbuckle. Flying clothesline from Itami gets two, then he picks up Breeze and hits the strike combination. Breeze rolls to the outside again, and Itami tries to take him out but instead hits Finn Balor! That’s what you get for sitting at ringside, Finn. Why do you think the commentary table is so far away?
Back in the ring Breeze misses with the beauty shot, Itami counters with the running shotgun kick and covers Tyler for the pin and the three count. After the match Breeze attacks Itami from behind but Balor makes the save, picks Itami up only to be taken out by a supermodel kick from Breeze. Beauty shot on Itami leaves Breeze looking strong despite losing the match.
Not a great episode of NXT, marred by the brief presence of Bull Dempsey and the always tedious contract signing. Solid matches from Emma and Charlotte as well as the always reliable Itami and Breeze, but this episode really felt like it was missing the NXT big guns.
