12/10 NXT in Venice, FL: PARKS’S in-person report of Sanity, cruiserweights

NXT Live Event Report
December 10, 2016
Venice, Fla.
by Greg Parks, columnist

The host and ring announcer for the evening was Kayla Braxton.

(1) Jack Gallagher beat Noam Dar. The crowd was solidly behind Gallagher. The perfect opening match, really. A dropkick in the corner by Gallagher put away Dar.

(2) Nikki Cross defeated Daria Berenato. The rest of Sanity was at ringside for Cross (including Damo, in for Sawyer Fulton). Cross won with a twisting fisherman suplex. It was fun for the five minutes or so that it lasted.

(3) Angelo Dawkins & Kenneth Crawford beat Ho Ho Lun & Tian Bing. Dawkins and Crawford came out dressed all in black, working a new tag gimmick. They talked a lot to draw heat during the match. They won at 9:25 when Crawford pinned Lun after Dawkins punched him in the face behind the ref’s back.

Dan Matha cut a promo on the cruiserweights. The fans loudly heckled him throughout.

(4) Noah Reeves defeated Gran Metallik. Reeves won with the old Play of the Day finish at 10:44. It was a surprising result. Reeves went on the attack after the match, with Metallik getting the better of the exchange and standing tall to close the segment.

(5) T.J. Perkins beat Steve Cutler. Perkins was over with the live crowd. He won at 13:15 with a knee-bar submission. Cutler took most of the match on offense.

(6) Mandy Rose defeated Macey. Rose picked up the victory at 7:50 of the match. This wasn’t always smooth, but Mandy has certainly improved in the ring.

(7) Alexander Wolfe & Damo beat Tucker Knight & Otis Dozovic. This was a superheavyweight tag battle that saw the Sanity team come out on top at 7:57. Eric Young then made an open challenge after the match. Roderick Strong accepted.

(8) Roderick Strong defeated Eric Young. Dozovic and Knight ran out to make the save when it looked like Wolfe and Damo were going to get involved just before the finish. The two teams brawled to the back. Strong won at 9:53, then hung around and greeted everyone around ringside, shaking hands and taking pictures.

For a more detailed report of the night’s matches, check out Greg’s column in next week’s Torch newsletter.