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WWE NXT TV Taping Report
June 9, 2016
Full Sail University
Report by Josh Parry, PWTorch NXT correspondent
One night after the “NXT Takeover: The End” special, WWE taped the next set of episodes building to “NXT Takeover: Brooklyn” on August 20.
Dark Match: Tucker Knight beat Patrick Clark.
Episode 1 – airing June 15, 2016
(1) The Authors of Pain (w/Paul Ellering) handily crushed two jobbers with the same double-team moves they used on American Alpha last night at NXT Takeover.
(2) Carmella squashed Tessa Blanchard.
(3) TM61 beat Blake & Murphy, who were magically back on the same page… until a disagreement/distraction, which led to the finish.
(4) Andrade “Cien” Almas beat Tye Dillinger in a Takeover re-match. Longer-form version of last night’s match. Almas facing Tye at his current level of popularity is causing a bit of crowd resistance.
Finn Bálor made his way to the ring in street clothes and soaked up a great reaction with a look of reflective appreciation on his face. No mannerisms or arm gestures tonight. Finn reflected on his journey before asking… “What’s next?”
Right on cue… Shinsuke Nakamura emerged. Nakamura said Finn Bálor is an icon in NXT. If Nakamura wants to become NXT champion, he has to go through the icon. Finn and Shin shared a wacky moment of vibrations and funny faces before Finn accepted. The two embraced, and it looks like we’re on. This was just surreally epic.
Episode 2 – airing June 22, 2016
They’ve re-mixed the NXT theme song. Same vocals, heavier more grungy instrumentals. It was symbolic of a reset leading into Brooklyn…
(1) Amber Moon beat Mandi Rose.
(2) Omie Lorcan (f/k/a Chris Girard and Biff Busick) beat Tye Dillinger. Uh oh. Looks like a losing streak gimmick incoming for Tye. Let’s see where it goes. Both men were really impressive, but this crowd is so ready to cheer for Tye in a prominent role. It was as if they were expecting a big pop for the surprise underdog victory, but that was not the case.
(3) No Way Jose squashed Josh Woods.
Post-match: Austin Aries interrupts Jose’s dance celebration to say that pro wrestlers are not defined by their victories but by their defeats. His defeat against Nakamura has made him re-think things. Aries says Jose reminded him that this about having fun, and thanked him. Blatant heel turn swerve incoming…. or not? The two danced in the ring and around ringside together, and up the the announce table…. Here we go. Aries shoved Jose to the floor before diving off the table into an all-out assault. Aries applied the Last Chancery on the ramp as referees emerged to hold him off.
This was a mix of weird, hilarious, savage, and ultimately, effective. So nice to see real fire from Aries, and Full Sail lapped it up.
(4) Bayley squashed Deanna Purrazzo. Full Sail was VERY happy to see Bayley back.
(5) Nia Jax squashed Liv Morgan.
Tye Dillinger came back out in his gear from the last episode and called out Andrade. It looks like a reshoot.
The same ref came back out and they reshot what looked like a portion from the middle of their last match before Dillinger said enough and left to the back. No opening or closing bell. That was so awkward.
(6) Shinsuke Nakamua squashed Buddy Murphy.
Episode 3 – airing June 29, 2016
(1) Alexa Bliss beat Carmella. Refreshingly, not a squash!
(2) Andrade “Cien” Almas squashed Noah Kekoa.
(3) Johnny Gargano & Tomasso Ciampa beat The Hype Bros. (Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley).
Post-match, Gargano & Ciampa cut a promo on The Revival. American Alpha interrupted to let them know that the line for a title shot starts behind them. Regal booked The Revival vs. The Alphas in a Best of Fhree falls match “next week” for the Tag Titles. Suddenly, Authors of Pain rushed the ring and took out both teams as Ellering looked on from the stage. Ominous prospects for The Alphas next week…
End of Episode #3.
Dark match: NXT champion Samoa Joe beat Omie Lorcan.
A really briskly paced three-show taping with some fun developments. Tons of squash matches, but our group thought it was an effective way to reset heading into the big Brooklyn show.
The writing on the wall for Brooklyn looks as follows, though nothing is confirmed, and could be at the next set of tapings…
- Finn vs. Shin (unless it’s on TV first)
- Aries vs. Jose
- The Revival vs. Gargano & Ciampa
- American Alpha vs. Authors of Pain
- Asuka vs Bayley
- Joe vs. ??? for the NXT Title
NXT returns for Full Sail for a rare Friday night taping on June 24.
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