WWE NXT Report
April 8, 2015
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor

[Q1] NXT this week is from WrestleMania Axxess before WrestleMania. They are broadcasting the tournament that led to Hideo Itami earning a spot in the pre-show Battle Royal.

Video package from Axxess. Kevin Owens is upset that a comic book has Sami Zayn in it but not him, and Zayn is the size of Ryback. A fan has dressed up like Kevin Owens and gets a laugh from Zayn. Generic quotes from WWE main roster players.

Recap of Finn Balor beating Baron Corbin and Tyler Breeze beating Bull Dempsey in the first round of the tournament. Hideo Itami beat Jason Jordan and Adrian Neville beat Kalisto. That would have been a nice match to see.

1 - HIDEO ITAMI vs. ADRIAN NEVILLE

Itami lightly shoves Neville to start. Neville jogs around Itami. They lock up, but Itami kicks Neville in the side. Rapid trading of waistlocks and wristlocks. They break and rest and interact with the crowd a bit. Headlock takedown from Neville. Itami shoves him off, but takes a shoulder block. Itami makes a comeback with kicks. Big Shining Wizard from Itami, then a clothesline send Neville out of the ring. Neville takes a break on the outside. Neville with strikes in the corner, then a bodyslam for one. Neville stomps Itami in the face on the mat, then lands a snap suplex for two.

Neville runs into a dropkick and Itami fires up. Tornado DDT into the ropes, flying clothesline gets a nearfall for Itami. Neville blocks a suplex, schoolboy for two. Itami with a sleeper hold and Neville is fading. Itami transitions to a Dragon Sleeper, but Neville slips out. Suplex gets Itami a nearfall. Itami teases a Go To Sleep, but Neville gets out only to take kicks to the chest.

[Q2] Itami wants the hesitation dropkick, but Neville pops out of the corner with a superkick for a close nearfall. Neville to the top for the Red Arrow, but Itami rolls under, hits a huge clothesline in the corner, then a hesitation drop kick, and finally running kick for the win.

WINNER: Hideo Itami in 11:30. Really good match only marred by the outcome being known in advance. Too bad this was given away with no build.

2 - FINN BALOR vs. TYLER BREEZE

Breeze runs to the ropes to frustrate Balor. Lock-up and an armdrag sends Balor to the mat and Breeze into the corner to lounge. Shoulder block puts Balor down, but a dropkick sends Breeze to the mat. Balor lounges in the ropes to mock Breeze. Lots of high-impact back-and-forth action here. Enziguiri takes Breeze off the top ropes and into a two count. Breeze fights away from the lifting DDT and attacks in the corner. Breeze runs right into the Slingblade, then the dropkick into the turnbuckle. Coup De Grace ends it.

WINNER: Finn Balor in 5:18. Nice match. Again, a shame to see this given away like this.

Video package on Dana Brooke at Axxess. She plays herself as being excessively proud of her body, with lots of men at Axxess fawning over her.

Video package with Triple H showing the very large venue that NXT played in at WrestleMania. Pretty impressive, it's the size of a house show in a mid-market city. Scott Hall talks up NXT as the hottest wrestling show on TV. Sound clips from Shawn Michaels. More from Triple H. John Cena says that they sold 5,000 tickets in two hours, that's definitely a mid-market house show crowd. Stephanie McMahon says it is only the beginning.

[ J.J.'s Reax: Over the last few weeks there have been a number of video packages changing the presentation of NXT as being nearly on-par with the main roster. I'm not sure how much of this is just puff pieces and how much is serious, but I feel like NXT may lose some of what makes it so special if it becomes a touring brand. ]

[Q3] Sami Zayn vs. Rhyno is advertised for next week.

3 - HIDEO ITAMI vs. FINN BALOR

Very, very rapid trading of holds. They are about to punch each other in the mouth and both pull short, take some separation and return to holds. Camera shot seems to show Cory Graves and Rich Brennan, they are on an elevated platform facing away from the ring and doing the call off the monitors. More back-and-forth. Dropkick earns two for Balor. Itami with some offense, then a stretch of back and forth. Itami wants his Tornado DDT into the ropes, but Balor stands up and puts Itami onto the ropes and an enziguiri for two.

DDT into the ropes, then a clothesline from the top for two. Itami wants the GTS, but Balor slips out. Huge roundhouse drops Balor but he responds with a Pele kick. The ref starts a double count. They trade forearms. Itami forces Balor into the corner, hesitation dropkick and Balor is stunned. Itami runs into the Slingblade. Dropkick into the turnbuckle, Coup De Grace attempt but Itami crotches him, GTS attempt but Balor slips into a roll-up. Running kick from Itami to end it.

WINNER: Hideo Itami in 8:05. Excellent, excellent match. High speed, high impact really showed off the best these two have to offer.

[Q4] Post-match show of sportsmanship between Itami and Balor.

Video package on Hideo Itami. He's prepping for the Battle Royal. Hulk Hogan welcomes Itami to WWE in Japan. Hogan talks about the reception Itami got in Japan and how it blew him away. Next is a walk-through Itami's journey in NXT. Daniel Bryan says that Itami is a better kicker than he is. Clips of their final match at Axxess that just aired.

Next is Itami coming back through the Gorilla position after his match with Balor getting a big congratulations from Hunter and others. Itami's two children are shown. Itami managed to hit a GTS on Tyler Breeze in their match at the larger arena and everyone talks it up. Stephanie McMahon and Hulk Hogan talk about the reaction that the GTS got. Dean Ambrose and Paige say that Itami is the perfect candidate to go to main roster.

Cena brags on the education at the Performance Center to prepare folks for the main roster, then Seth Rollins congratulates Itami on his quick rise. Clips from the Battle Royal are shown. Itami eliminates Bo Dallas, then fights Big Show only to get knocked out. Big support from the crowd as Itami goes back up the ramp. Lots of congratulations from other main roster stars. Rollins and Big Show out of character giving him props. Triple H says "in every way imaginable, he won."

[ J.J.'s Reax: That was surreal. A nearly 15 minute video package on Hideo Itami that felt more like a short documentary. Great content. I'd picked Balor to go to the main roster before Itami, but Itami's made great progress in his in-ring work and his English and it looks like WWE is firmly behind him. He got the ultimate babyface portrayal here. ]

Final Reax: Some good matches here marred by the knowledge of the outcomes and it basically being a random tournament leading to a meaningless match. Looking forward to business as usual next week.

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