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NXT TV REPORT
DECEMBER 6, 2017
TAPED IN ORLANDO, FLA. AT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
AIRED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY JUSTIN JAMES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson
[Q1] Pre-credits from William Regal’s office. He confirms Drew McIntyre’s injury, and books four singles matches, the winners go to a Fatal Four-Way to determine the no. 1 contender to face Andrade “Cien” Almas. Tonight is Killian Dain facing Trent Seven, and Kassius Ohno facing a mystery opponent; he would face Velveteen Dream, but he was injured at Takeover. The announcers remind us that tonight we see Ruby Riot and Sonya Deville in a No Holds Barred fight.
-Andrade Almas and Zelina Vega start the show, Almas is in a suit. Vega tells us we are witnesses the beginning of a historic championship reigh, and tells us to respect Almas. Scattered boos. He thanks Vega, and says he told us. Almas brags about beating McIntyre, injuring him, and speaks in Spainish a bunch.
-“Earlier tonight” interview with Lars Sullivan. He says Roderick Strong is a good competitor and good looking. He sets himself as the opposite. He doesn’t talk about his family, he doesn’t have one. He will face Strong in two weeks as a qualifier for the Fatal Four Way match. Being the champion will show that he is the top flight competitor he always knew he was.
-Trent Seven comes out, then Killian Dain for a rare singles match.
[J.J.’s Reax: Interestingly, Seven’s jacket talks about “British Strong Style” and says “Tyler, Trent, and Peter.” I know that is their “thing” in the UK, but it feels discongruent to have Seven advertising Dunne, who he is a bitter enemy of on NXT.]
(1) TRENT SEVEN vs. KILLIAN DAIN – NXT Championship Qualifier Match
[Q2] Dain stops Seven’s quick offense with a big shot, then lands a dropkick. Seven is old cold in the corner and Dain stomps on him. Dain brings Seven to the feet, Seven is too stunned to fight Dain off. Bodyslam, cover, and a weak kickout from Seven at two. Dain applies a neck crank. Seven returns to his feet and hits chops. Kick to the stomach and a quick DDT surprise Dain. Seven wanted the Seven Stars lariat, Dain blocks. Seven hits the ropes and runs into a crossbody, cover for a nearfall. Seven is barely moving. Dain calls for the end, fireman’s carry, Seven slips out. Seven Star Lariat, Dain kicks out. Seven tries to pick Dain up, Dain slips out. Wasteland then a senton from Dain, Vader Bomb for the win.
WINNER: Killian Dain in 3:13. Not an awesome match by any means. I feel like Seven works well as the big man in a tag match with three smaller wrestlers. Against someone the size of Dain, he is too big and slow to feel like the agile underdog, but too small for it to truly feel like a monster vs. monster match.
-Backstage with Undisputed Era. Adam Cole says that they are running NXT and proved it in the War Games match. Cole talks up his match with Aleister Black. He says that Black has a great record, but he hasn’t faced anyone as good as Cole. In two weeks, O’Reilly and Fish face Sanity for the tag team championship. They vow to win them.
-It looks like they added a second “T” to Ruby Riott’s name. The announcers mention their main roster debuts.
(2) RUBY RIOTT vs. SONYA DEVILLE – No Holds Barred Match
Hot start, with Deville tossing Riott to the mat, then again. Deville blocks a spear and hits a suplex. Riott with forearms in the corner, and a back elbow fends off Deville. Kicks and a suplex, cover for only one. Riott wants a drop down enziguri, Deville sees it coming, catches the foot, and locks in an ankle lock. Riott gets to the ropes but there is no break. Deville continues to yank the ankle, Riott uses the ropes to pull herself up, yank Deville into the ropes and land double knees to Deville’s back. Deville sells her neck and Riott is clutching her ankle into a break. [c]
Riott has Deville in a hold on the mat, so Deville jams a thumb in Riott’s eye, then hits a sick kick to Riott, then a sliding knee. Cover for two. Riott is still struggling to see so Deville unloads on her. Riott can barely breathe. Snapmare, slinding knee to the back, cover for two. Riott fights up from the mat. Leaping lariat, two.
[Q3] Riott is flailing, but Deville has a triangle from the side. Deville takes Riott down while maintaining the hold. Riott elbows out. Deville looks for a Superman Punch, gets countered by a STO. Deville with a handful of hair, Riott with wild strikes, then starts to hit her stride. Riott is stumbling around. Springboard DDT of sorts catch Deville for a two count. Riott with a suicide dive through the ropes, looks almost like a spear on the landing. She rolls Deville into the ring, Deville recovers, roundhouse, then locks in a triangle through the ropes. The ref ends the match, as Riott is unresponsive. Thanks to the hold, they didn’t do the “hold the hand up” farce, making it feel very unique.
WINNER: Sonya Deville in 9:18. While this match doesn’t hold up to the greatest of the women’s matches NXT has had, such as Charlote vs. Natalya, it was a solid match.
Ember Moon at one of these weird NXT press events. She says she will be the best Women’s Champion ever. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce interrupt. They point out that Moon pinned Nikki Cross, not Royce, so Royce should be the no. 1 Contender. Kaya nd Royce argue over who should face Moon. Moon says they have an “iconic problem.” Royce and Kay are friends by the end.
[ J.J.’s Reax: Wow, that promo made Ember Moon sound lame. The last thing we needed from her was dad jokes. ]
-Pete Dunne is scheduled to face Tyler Bate for the UK Championship in two weeks. Recap video of Tyler Bate winning the UK Championship in January.
-William Regal gives Kassius Ohno a pep talk.
-A short promo for a mystery person. It says “Soon” with the “o”‘s replaced by spade symbols.
-Next week Aleister Black facing Adam Cole, and Peyton Royce will face Ember Moon in a no-stakes match.
-Kassius Ohno is out for his match. Dramatic pause for the mystery opponent… and it is Johnny Gargano. Ohno seems cool with it.
(3) KASSIUS OHNO vs. JOHNNY GARGANO – NXT Championship Qualifier Match
The crowd is very 50/50 on this match as they just pace around the ring a big for a minute. Handshake to show respect, lockup, and Ohno picks Gargano off and throws him. Ohno looks cocky. Lockup, Gargano shifts to a wristlock, Ohno slides out and around. Nice display of technical wrestling going on here. Takedown from Ohno, he runs the ropes, arm drag into a bridging cover gets Gargano two, then he his a dropkick. Spear through the ropes gets caught by Ohno, he ties Gargano in the ropes and hits a big elbow. [c]
[Q4] Ohno has Gargano in the corner out of the break. Knee drop to Gargano’s head. Ohno drops a knee pad and hits another knee drop. Gargano springs to life in the corner, but it isn’t enough and a big boot sends Gargano to the mat. Cover for two. Gargano with a quick left, but Ohno has an elbow in return good for a nearfall. Ohno is frustrated at dominating the match but not getting the win. Ohno looks for a running senton, but Gargano gets knees up. Gargano with punches, Ohno wants a suplex, Gargano slips away and hits clotheslines, Ohno returns with a right. Head scissors from Gargano and Ohno is outside. The trade positions, Ohno runs right into the slingshot spear and Gargano covers for a nearfall. Gargano kicks Ohno in the face and Ohno laughs. Ohno and Gargano go back and forth with signature moves, Ohno hits the senton and Gargano rolls onto the apron. Gargano is barely standing on the apron, hanging off the ropes. Ohno looks worried, Gargano won’t drop. Big boot sends Gargano off the mat, Gargano slips into the ring, shoots a suicide dive into a tornado DDT driving Ohno’s head onto the ramp.
They reset the match on the outside. Gargano rolls Ohno into the ring, but Ohno gets to his feet first. Enziguri to Ohno, cyclone kick in response for a nearfall. Ohno looks more and more frustrated. Gargano is barely awake at this point as he pulls himself into the corner. Ohno picks him up, hits a wild right. Ohno wants an electric chair, Gargano with elbows, a roll up for a two and a half. Gargano fires up, a big boot cuts the rally off, leaping elbow to the back of Gargano’s head, Gargano barely kicks out. Ohno can’t believe it. Ohno removes his sleeve, a kick stops the discus elbow, head scissors into the Gargano Escape, and Ohno taps out.
WINNER: Johnny Gargano in 13:09. Really strong match here, with an unfortunately abrupt ending. Looking at the clock, they were very close to the time limit, which is likely why the end came out of nowhere. Gargano really showed a ton of heart here, and Ohno looked good. Unfortunately this was “no win booking” as both Gargano and Ohno desperately need wins right now. This was a “battle of gatekeepers.” NXT does face vs. face matches really well.
-Post-match, they show respect to each other.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Some good action here between Riott – Deville and Ohno – Gargano. Story lines are building. They keep giving Lars Sullivan opportunities and I feel like he continues to take good advantage of them. Sullivan, Black, and Dream are my favorites in NXT right now in terms of their believability and entertainment value with regards to my ability to buy what they are selling. Will be interesting to see who the mystery wrestling coming soon will be.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 11/29 NXT TV Report: Street Profits vs. Sabbatelli & Moss, Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce, Mustache Mountain vs. Dunne & Andrews
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