Once more, NXT delivered with yet another memorable show from top to bottom, many fans were concerned that the NXT roster was depleted following the brand split, however after last night it’s safe to say that NXT is back at its best, sure I have a few nitpicks from last night but on a whole I thought it was a glorious show.
Bobby Roode vs Tye Dillinger
As I correctly predicted in my preview article, Roode and Dillinger kicked off the show, in front of a raucous Toronto crowd. Roode received a real superstar entrance, with a choir singing his theme tune as he made his way down to the ring. Dillinger made his entrance and the crowd went wild, there were “10” chants galore and he got the upper hand to begin with and showed his credentials, however the veteran Roode fought back and targeted the Perfect 10’s neck, he almost sneaked a win with a roll-up with his feet on ropes, but the referee spotted the classic heel move.
Dillinger would pay homage to Bret Hart by locking in a Sharpshooter onto his Canadian counterpart but Roode would survive and grab the ropes. Roode would counter the Tye-breaker and once again inflict more pain to the neck by throwing his opponent into the ring post and would hit an Impaler DDT for the victory.
I can’t say I’m too surprised by the result, however Dillinger showed that he could go with the very best in NXT. What’s next for Roode? I’m not sure, especially following the main event as I can’t see him in a title match for some time. I for one won’t be disappointed if Tye and Roode meet again in an NXT ring soon.
TM61 vs Authors of Pain (Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Final) (Paul Ellering locked in a shark cage above the ring)
I’d say that this was the weakest match of the night, even though it provided for the spot of the night, as Thorne would climb the scaffolding that held the cage up, and hit a Swanton Bomb like dive onto both members of the Authors of Pain. It was your typical David vs Goliath match, with the dominating heels controlling Thorne until he got the hot tag to Miller. Miller would then impressively chuck both members of the Authors of Pain around the ring like a ragdoll and then hit a picture perfect Moonsault. The finish to the match was sloppy in my opinion with the referee being distracted, Ellering would pass a chain down to one of the Authors of Pain who would try and hit Thorne with it, he missed and it flew into the crowd, not sure if that was meant to happen or not and the Authors of Pain would hit the last chance to win.
#DIY vs The Revival (NXT Tag Team Championship Match, 2 out of 3 falls)
Yet again these two teams stole the show and arguably produced a MOTY candidate and at a stretch the best match in NXT history. I’ve said it before and damn it I’ll say it again; The Revival are the best tag team in WWE today and if you haven’t watched this match I strongly recommend that you do.
#DIY are my favorite tag team in the whole of WWE, they have a non-stop style of wrestling that’s mind-blowing. The first fall was a relatively quick, Gargano and Ciampa would start fast and offensive, but The Revival would hit a Shatter Machine onto Gargano for the first fall.
Keeping everyone in suspense for that bit longer we would see this match go to 1-1 with #DIY hitting their tag finisher onto Wilder and Ciampa would pin and win the second fall.
Then the third and final fall, would see everything that makes a great tag match, near falls, opponents getting hit by their own finishing moves and the crowd elation when #DIY finally winning the big one.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt upset that The Revival’s great tag title reign was over, but #DIY showed last night that they’re the future of the tag division in NXT.
As for The Revival, tweets from both Dash and Dawson hinted that their time in NXT is up, I for one hope this is true, and we see The Revival debut on the main roster as soon as possible and beat The New Day for the Tag Titles.
Mickie James vs Asuka – NXT Women’s Championship
In Mickie James first match in WWE in 6 years, she faced one of the most fierce and dominant women wrestlers in some time Asuka.
Mickie showed that she’s never lost it and if she’d been 10 years younger she would have been a mainstay on the main roster and its pity that back when Mickie was in WWE, female wrestlers were treated as eye-candy, and I guess that’s why both Mickie James and Gail Kim were never really given their chance to fully show their skills.
I think it’s safe to say that Mickie provided Asuka’s biggest challenge, hitting a hurricana on the outside. Asuka would get a strong amount of offence as well hitting a brutal German suplex on the outside, this for me would lead to one of the more annoying parts of the show, as the crowd would chant “10” every time the ref would count, sadly 12,000 people can drown out one referee easily so it got easily confusing for me at least to think that Asuka had won by count-out.
The finish of the match seemed rushed, Asuka would lock in a chicken wing cross face and Mickie would tap out almost straight away.
Asuka would refuse a handshake from Mickie and would swagger off with the title in her hand.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was impressed by Mickie’s performance last night, hopefully it’s not the last time we see her in a WWE ring again, and with the report of there being a Women’s tournament on the WWE Network in 2017, having Mickie James in the tournament will provide some experience and recognisable name for casual fans much like Brian Kendrick and Tajiri did in this Summer’s Cruiserweight Classic.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Samoa Joe – NXT Championship
This had to be one of the most physical and stiffest bouts in recent memory, and it topped their clash at NXT Takeover Brooklyn 2.
Joe would target Nakamura’s knee early on, which should of course restrict Nakamura’s damage strikes, unfortunately that was my only nit-pick for this match, as Nakamura would soon recover and hit all his kicks without any lasting pain.
It appeared we would have a similar finish to their match at Brooklyn, as Nakamura countered a Musclebuster and hit a Kinshasa, but Joe kicked out and blocked a Kinshasa and locked in a Coquina Clutch, Nakamura would manage to escape and would roll out of the ring, Joe would then hit a Uranage onto the perfectly placed Steel Steps, and bring Nakamura back into the ring and deliver a Musclebuster to win, that’s right win.
Yet again NXT delivered, with 4 of 5 matches, producing memorable moments, but unexpectedly the match that I believe was the best match of night, had to be the 2 out of 3 falls tag titles match.
The only thing that I have left to say is good luck main roster, NXT yet again raised the bar, can the main roster top it, I’m not sure but hopefully they will prove me wrong!
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