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NXT TV REPORT
JUNE 28, 2017
TAPED AT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
AIRED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY JUSTIN JAMES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson
[Q1] Mauro Ranallo is in the announcer booth tonight with Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson. This will please NXT fans greatly. Tonight is the NXT women’s Championship match between Nikki Cross and Asuka.
Velveteen Dream starts the in-ring action tonight. Ranallo calls him “eccentric” and “flamboyant”. McGuinness says “peculiar”. Hoho Lun is coming out to be his opponent. He has been used as enhancement talent in the past.
(1) VELVETEEN DREAM vs. HOHO LUN
Lun torques a wristlock but the larger Dream pushes him into the corner. A ref break, and Dream invites Lun to bring it. Lun takes advantage of a telegraphed body drop, but Dream weathers it. Delayed jackhammer, then Dream heads to the top. Macho Man elbow for the win.
WINNER: Velveteen Dream in 1:54. Good to put over Dream like this. NXT clearly sees something in him and I do not disagree.
“Earlier today” with Asuka in a limo. The car is suddenly stopped because Nikki Cross is on the windshield, then she somehow wrenches the doors open, but Security drags her away.
Video recap of the evolution of the Kassius Ohno – Hideo Itami relationship over the last few weeks. Oney Lorcan is booked to face Itami next.
Heavy Machinery and The Authors of Pain are arguing in William Regal’s office. Regal books them to face in two weeks in a Tag Team Championship match. Heavy Machinery depart. Ellering questions where Regal fought them, Regal says they are no joke.
(2) ONEY LORCAN vs. HIDEO ITAMI
[Q2] Lorcan just wrecks Itami out of the bell with European uppercuts. He is selling this as a pure revenge match. Itami looks stunned inthe corner, and is busted open. He may have a broken nose. The ref has gloves on, trainers are in the ring. Itami calls Lorcan over, there is blood everywhere. Match is called for medical.
WINNER: Oney Lorcan in 1:25 via referee stopppage. Wow that was hot. Lorcan looked like he was ready to kill Itami, the injury (which we never hope to see happen) just made it more buyable.
Video package on next week’s championship match between Bobby Roode and Roderick Strong. Roode has been good in NXT, but he has been so great on the mic the last few weeks in this feud.
Itami is returning to the ring to big cheers. He has something jammed up his nose, and is demanding Lorcan to come out again.
[ J.J.’s Reax: It’s going to be hard to get Itami over as a heel with that reception to him coming back to the ring. ]
(3) ONEY LORCAN vs. HIDEO ITAMI
The bell rings just as Itami nails Lorcan with a Yakuza Kick. Lorcan is draped over the top rope, Itami to the top, nails a knee drop to Lorcan’s head. The crowd is going nuts for Itami as he knocks Lorcan to the outside.
[ Break ]
Lorcan an ditami are trading shots out of the break. Running uppercuts then a running blockbuster draw two for Lorcan. This is the hottest match Wednesday night has seen in a long, long time. Itami suckers Lorcan in, then tries a GTS but Lorcan escapes. Top rope move gets Itami two. Itami calls for the end. Lorcan escapes again. Lorcan is selling a knee injury. Itami ignores the ref’s instructions to back away, Lorcan says he can go on, Itami immediately gets the GTS. Itami is bleeding again.
WINNER: Hideo Itami in 4:38. Wow, what a great match for the length. If they were planning to really turn Itami heel, this just undid that effort.
Post-match, Itami asks Kassius Ohno to come to the ring. He is very polite about it. Ohno comes out. Then suddenly Nikki Cross, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe come out. The Sanity males beat up Itami and Ohno. Wolfe has a mic. Wolfe says they need to end the false friendships and lies with… and Dain says “chaos”. He says that Eric Young is working on a master plan, but tonight is Cross’ night to start things.
The problem with the booking of Asuka and Cross, is that Cross is being booked as the babyface who just can’t win due to the evil heel… but she is also an evil heel. And Asuka just isn’t viewed as a heel, more like a Brock Lesnar “force of nature”.
[Q3] (4) NXT Women’s Champion ASUKA vs. NIKKI CROSS – NXT Women’s Championship Last Woman Standing Match
They lockup for a moment then break. The wrangle near the corner. Let’s hope no duct tape (trademark John Cena) is involved. They trade big moves. Cross trappes Asuka in the apron Finlay style, then tears at Asuka’s face. Asuka is still trapped as Cross looks under the ring for a bunch of chairs. None are good enough for her and she keeps digging.
[ Break ]
Cross is trying to suplex Cross onto the pile of chairs ringside out of the break, but fails, so she throws asuka into the steps. The ref starts counting but only gets to three. Asuka sends Cross into the ring steps. Asuka pulls Cross up at five, throws her into the ring, and gets a trash can. Asuka puts the can on Cross’s head and delivers Yes! kicks. Then a dropkick to Cross with the can on her. The count gets to eight, and Asuka returns to deliver knees and an axe kick. Asuka gets chairs. Cross recovers, they tussle over a chair, Asuka hits the barricade, Cross comes off the apron but gets caught with a knee.
[Q4] Ranallo tells us that Ohno and Itami are booked against Wolfe and Dain next week. Good plan. Cross and Asuka are fighting on the apron. Reverse DDT on the apron and the ref is counting Asuka out. Asuka recovers at five, and Cross has a pile of punches waiting for her. Cross gets thrown onto the chairs, then hits a suplex on Asuka into the chairs. Double count.
[ Break ]
Kicks to Cross, Cross is just smiling from the mat. Asuka whiffs a kick, then slides away from a swinging neckbreaker. Then Cross manages a fisherman’s neckbreaker. Asuka gets up at five. Cross its four mour neckbreakers and the ref starts to count. Cross gets the belt from the timekeeper and Asuka recovers at nine. Cross wants a belt shot, but Asuka kicks the belt into Cross’s face. A kick drops Cross to the mat as soon as she gets up. Cross is up at eight, and she low bridges Asuka. Asuka lands on the apron, and wants a suplex over the ropes and into the chair pile. Cross hotshots her on the ropes, slips under and powerbombs Asuka into the chairs ringside. Asuka gets up at nine and a half, then nearly collapses again. Cross drags Asuka up the ramp, then Asuka recovers and eventually punches Cross off the ramp. Hip attack from the ramp onto Cross. Cross stumbles to her feet at eight. Asuka tries to kick Cross near the booth, but kicks a light instead and sells an injury. Cross pulls her up, hits a neckbreaker with Asuka suspended from the raining by the fans. The little kids in the audience are begging for Asuka to get up. They both recover at almost ten. Spinning backfist drives Cross away, but she grabs a ladder and hits Asuka with it. Asuka is down as Cross prepares a table below the announcer booth.
Cross sets up the ladder next to the table, Asuka is taking a nap on the table. Cross lays Asuka on the table and starts laying into her with punches. Cross climbs the ladder, Asuka grabs her foot, then climbs the ladder. The announces make tracks as they both head to the top of the ladder. Asuka superplexes Cross off the ladder and destroys the booth. Asuka gets to her feet at the last possible moment.
Winner: Asuka at 20:30.
[ J.J.’s Reax: That was a heck of a match. It was not a technical masterpiece by any means, Last Man Standing matches never are. Cross is definitely the strongest threat to Asuka, but she has now blown three? four? title matches in the last few months, there is no way we can believe that she can really beat Asuka at this point. The last person in NXT to get this many title shots was Sami Zayn, and he was booking himself in a “win or retire” match on match #3.]
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was the most memorable, relevant Wednesday night NXT episode in a very long time. The Lorcan – Itami matches were great for what they were. I would like to see a rejuvenated Itami and Ohno crush Sanity and then chase the Tag Team titles. The Last Woman Standing match was very satisfying, it ran the playbook well, had some hardhitting, “Oh no they won’t yes they did!” spots, and no duct tape was involved.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 6/21 NXT TV REPORT: Aleister Black vs. Kassius Ohno, Ember Moon vs. Peyton Royce, Ealy Brothers vs. Sanity
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