By George Chiverton, PWTorch NXT specialist

Latest Network Era Rankings

(1) Sami Zayn
(2) Charlotte (NXT Women’s champion) (-1)
(3) Adrian Neville (NXT champion)
(4) The Ascension
(5) Tyler Breeze
(6) Bayley
(7) Tyson Kidd
(8) Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
(9) The Vaudevillians
(10) Lucha Dragons (NXT Tag Ccampions)
(11) Sasha Banks
(12) Becky Lynch
(13) The Legionnaires
(14) Alexa Bliss
(15) Bull Dempsey
(16) C.J. Parker
(17) Mojo Rawley

A slight but significant movement ahead of Takeover as Charlotte falls from atop the throne alongside Sami Zayn to second place. Zayn has shown in recent weeks that he has the quality to deliver an incredible match, an incredible promo, and an incredible feud. Charlotte has a lot to her game, but does she have all this? No. She is the total champion, but Zayn is the total everything. So he takes the top of my rankings. Next week I will be integrating a lot of new talent and possibly also having a shuffle. So, you know, keep an eye out for that (plug plug plug).

11/27 Episode Analysis

- So here we are a week out from "Takeover" and jeez am I on the hype train for this one. This episode of NXT is an important show that needs to bring one final focus on to every single match at R-Evolution. Let’s see if they get things right.

- The show opened in Full Sail and the entrance of the NXT Women’s champion Charlotte. She would be facing ‘local competitor,’ who was none other than Mia Yim who you may know from Ring of Honor amongst other things. So anyway the bell rings, people cheer for Mia, and then Charlotte starts kicking her ass. Natural Selection and that was that. The crowd, who seemed familiar with Yim, clearly wanted more of a contest between two great women wrestlers and hence were lukewarm after the match.

Here comes Sasha Banks. She demanded the title, ‘cause she was just gunna win it anyway. Yawn. Charlotte started a ‘Sasha’s ratchet’ chant, before Banks finally woke up and cut a proper promo running down Charlotte and her dad Ric Flair. Weirdly enough Bayley then limped into frame. She was on a crutch with a knee brace, but decided this was a good time to confront Banks. What an idiot. She told Banks to shut up before Banks kicked her in her knee. So Charlotte makes the save, then Sasha came back only to get carried to the ring by Charlotte who procedes to beat her up. Then, Becky Lynch arrives on the scene (of course) and distracts Charlotte, allowing Banks to hit a lungblower. Blah blah blah what a mess.

Overall, there were way too many moving parts for my liking, but, hey, Banks stood tall over Charlotte to close the bit and that’s the main thing, sort of. Essentially the main issue they were trying to overcome is that the match that has been built over the last couple of weeks is Sasha vs. Bayley instead of Charlotte vs. Banks. They needed a couple of weeks to correct this properly, but instead had to settle for one segment. In fact they did the same thing last week in this feud. A bit more planning next time chaps?

- An ad said that Sami Zayn will come face-to-face with Adrian Neville in the main segment. Good to see the show building to this.

- The Vaudevillains had another silent film bit which this time saw Gotch fight a lion. The mini luchas were back and it was as demeaning as ever. Sigh.

- Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy were out next. These two have had a lot of matches recently and despite losing their stock is certainly on the up. They were facing the Vaudevillains in a tune-up. The response to the Vaudevillains was generally positive with an air of confusion.

Aiden and Wesley Blake started off with a good pace about them. Aiden started snapmaring and headlock-take-overing (that’s a stretch) Blake in such a way that Blake’s legs hit the ropes. Nice innovation to add some nastiness into the manoeuvres. Gotch and Aiden continued working Blake's legs as Jason Albert did his best to get them over. Gotch’s old-school style shone through keeping the knee-targeted offence interesting and unique. The pacing was also good as, although they kept things slow, Blake kept just enough offence going to keep the crowd invested.

This eventually culminated in a hot tag to Murphy, who began running over Aiden with clotheslines. He then hit a beautiful reverse calf kick and kipped up. With Full Sail solidly behind him, Murphy did the Evan Bourne double knee off the top thing to a grounded English, which forced Gotch to break up the subsequent pin. Blake limped in to even up the odds only to be tossed over by Gotch. Murphy then threw Gotch over, but Gotch managed to land on the the apron. As a result he got to his feet and managed a blind tag, then sprinted in with a forearm to Murphy from behind. A European Uppercut to the back of the head from Gotch, followed by a neckbreaker by Aiden English signalled the end of Murphy. Good match this and Murphy once again showed he is going to be a player in the future.

- Backstage were William Regal and Tyler Breeze. Regal said he couldn’t find Marcus, and hence Tyler had the night off. In came Kidd saying he wanted a re-match with Finn Balor. Regal had a think and then booked Tyson and Tyler against Hideo Itami and Finn in the main event. As they left to prepare Tyson said, ‘This better not be cat fur,’ in regards to Tyler’s furry jacket. Amusing, and that is a good match to finish off in ring proceedings ahead of Neville and Zayn’s closing segment. It was nice to actually see Regal booking a match, too, rather than a ring announcer.

- Bull Dempsey was out next in what will not be a long match. He’s been semi-feuding with Baron Corbin, so let’s assume we’ll see him soon, too. The audience started counting and soon Bull won the match. Like. It was a bodyblock followed by a diving heading. That was that. Hey, what did I say, here comes Baron, who blanks Bull on his way to the ring. He has a remarkable presence about him and it’s about time for Baron to get some real matches under his belt. Not tonight, though, as poor Steve Cutler got demolished in about eight seconds. Bull stayed to watch proceedings. I’m not sure why this match isn’t a thing at R-Evolution, but hopefully it gets added on the night.

- A Kevin Owens promo and again it was phenomenal. He talked about all the indie talent he has worked with before closing after every profile with, ‘They called him first,’ but ‘it's my turn now.’ I AM EXCITEMENT PERSONIFIED.

- Team Ty vs. Hideo and Finn time. I predict this being utterly exhausting for me. Tyson had Natalya with him who got all the acclaim on the way to the ring. Hideo got a solid response (which is good as up to now his booking has been pretty appalling) although you’d have to say it was Finn who got the loudest cheers during his theatrical entrance. It’s really growing on me this, as he backs up the hype of his entrance with remarkable performances in the ring. There’s something old-school about it.

Tyson and Tyler bickered to start over who would start the match, but eventually they settled and Kidd and Itami started off. Chain wrestling to start saw Kidd quickly bail out to Breeze. Hideo wrestles so mean that even a simple wristlock looks purposeful. He tagged in Balor who came over the top with a stomp to a grounded Breeze.

Finn seemed to have control over Breeze, but Kidd blind tagged in to attack Finn from behind and take control going into the break. On the other side of said break, Breeze was putting the boots to Finn, solidly in control. Referee Drake Wuertz (R.I.P. #Drink4Drake) struggled to control Breeze, as Byron bigged up ‘Prince Pretty’ as the rightful number one contender. This was fine, as Byron is a proper heel commentator who I like lots.

Finn almost made a comeback, but Kidd managed to stop himself off of a (very) Irish Whip from Finn, meaning Balor took a big back bump off a dropkick attempt. Kidd and Breeze continued to boss the Irishman about before a flash Pele kick from Finn allowed him to get the hot tag to Hideo who dished out some brutal kicks to Breeze. Way to earn your pay check, Tyler. Breeze bravely got to his feet in the corner only to eat a kick to the mouth. Hideo then looked to sprint to the opposite turnbuckle, booting an oncoming Tyson on the way. Then he hit a huger hesitation dropkick onto Tyler. He’s having a rough night, and Kidd had to make the save off the pin. Kidd managed to cleverly distract Hideo, but unfortunately this also distracted the ref. In the background, Finn ascended the ropes before BOOOOOM double foot stomp from hell on to the back of Tyler Breeze’s head. Poor Tyler.

Then there was suddenly a really loud crowd noise which sounded hideously piped in. If you were the student who did this a Full Sail I hope you got an F (but then go on to learn from your mistakes and succeed in life). Hideo hit a Tajiri-style Buzzsaw kick for the pin on Breeze. Let’s just hope Breeze is being paid well as that was brutal. Fun stuff and a solid climax to the show’s wrestling segments. Finn got a mic to close the segment and promised the Ascension something they’ve never seen before at Takeover. Face paint? Me thinks so.

- Face-to-face time. Neville in a suit (which always looks odd on such a toned bloke) made his way to the ring. On a side note, Neville and Zayn were on Jericho’s podcast this week and it was pretty good so maybe, you know, check that out. Neville took a mic and said he would be facing his long-time friend Sami Zayn. He said he wasn’t conflicted and he would win at any cost. He asked if people thought he was proud about how he won the title on the last two occasions. The audience chanted "Yes," but Neville said if he had it his way it would have gone totally differently, but that is the difference between him and Zayn. He would do what he needs to win while Sami Zayn lacks a killer instinct. For that reason Sami wouldn’t be the NXT champion. ‘Sami, you’re too nice. And that has cost you.' Neville’s character is complex at this point to the point where to label him heel or face would perhaps be unfair. I rarely like these kinds of characters, but in this storyline Neville has been utterly fantastic.

Sami made his way to the ring in his flat cap looking purposeful. Neville said he wanted Zayn to know that he has been thinking and he wouldn’t feel responsible if he won next week and Sami retired. Zayn said that’s good as he has also been doing a lot of thinking about what Neville has been saying ‘and it’s beginning to really piss me off.' MMMMMM. Sami saying Neville talking down to him is ridiculous saying almost patronisingly: ‘I’ve done pretty well for myself’ before declaring, ‘You don’t have control over my fate, I do.' The fire and delivery from Zayn is trouser-wettingly good. ‘Woah woah woah, Sami, listen,' Neville cut back in, saying he meant no disrespect and that they have had a long friendship. He said he respected Sami and next week it would be an honour to have the match before extending his hand.

This felt very genuine and Sami seemed conflicted. He paused and began to extend a hand. He almost shook, but turned away pacing as the audience too began mixed chants trying to decipher themselves what Sami should do. Sami threw his hat off repeatedly saying no, before saying this is where he goes wrong every time. He tries to do the right thing and be the nice guy before saying ‘This isn’t about respect. Do you understand that?’ Then BOOM, he slapped Neville across the face. He then screamed again ‘DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?’ Full Sail went bananas before a loud ‘Yes!’ chant. Sami was about to leave the ring, but turned and full of rage and passion screamed ‘You’re not ending anything! You don’t get to end me! I end you and your story as NXT Champion! I’m taking that title!’ before throwing the mic down. Zayn bailed to the ramp as Neville stared him down furious in the ring.

Do I need to say anything? This is the best feud of 2014 and that was one of those segments I will go back and watch over and over again. The moment where Neville extended his hand, the emotional investment of me, the audience, and Zayn just left us all afflicted. Do you shake the hand of your tormentor just because he used to be your friend? Was it genuine? Is it the right thing to do? And then Zayn cashed in on all of that by not just firing up and delivering a dynamite promo, but with a slap heard around the world. This was so phenomenal and I could not be more excited. Maybe premature, but I can’t help but think that next week we may have a 1-2 of Zayn and Neville on my rankings as well as a match of the year contender. WOOOOO.

So after a weak overbooked start to the night, the episode achieved everything it needed to. I will be watching R-Evolution live (if I can find the means to in the U.K.) so keep an eye on my twitter @GeorgeChiverton if you fancy reading some tweets on proceedings. Otherwise I can’t wait to see you next week for my full breakdown of proceedings and new rankings.

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