SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report originally published 5 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…
KELLER’S NXT ON USA REPORT
OCTOBER 30 2019
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT FULL SAIL
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, EDITOR
Announcers: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix
[HOUR ONE]
-They opened with a live performance of “I Disagree” by Poppy with highlights from NXT on the big screen behind them. Then Io Shirai came out and they sang “Scary Mask.” The lead singer followed Shirai into the ring. Then Candice LeRae made her ring entrance.
(Keller’s Analysis: That was maybe the coolest opening to a pro wrestling show ever. Just great production work on the video, great camera angles of the live performance on the stage in the foreground, and just a great fit for a song getting everyone riled up for a live wrestling show. I mean, put that in a major arena under a Smackdown banner on Fox and WWE would be sending a message that it is a new beginning. Instead, it’s on the under-appreciated NXT opposite of AEW and the World Series game seven. The song was great, the performance was pitch perfect, and the transition from “I Disagree” to “Scary Mask” for Shirai was so well done. It just felt like a great live band club scene or rave atmosphere. That’s the type of music – not the awful track record of most of Smackdown’s opening themes for the last 20 years – that can go a long way to giving a pro wrestling a more cool alt-vibe that can bring in a new fanbase if the rest of the product matches the tone set there.)
(1) CANDICE LARAE vs. IO SHIRAI
After a flurry of action in and out of the ring with an accompanying barrage of pop culture references by Mauro, the match settled into Shirai on offense. When Candice had a bloody nose, Mauro said: “Candice’s nose leaking like a political document.” LeRae made a comeback. When she climbed to the top rope, Shirai charged and knocked her to the floor. They cut to a break at 5:00, but stayed with action on split-screen. [c]
Back live, LeRae battled back and hit a running dropkick, her nose still bleeding. LeRae landed a tornado DDT off the middle rope for a two count. Shiari sold a neck injury. When Shirai came back and went for a moonsault, LeRae lifted her knees. LeRae scored two count with a small package. Shirai came back with a quick head scissors on the mat. LeRae put her foot over the bottom rope to force a break. Mauro wondered if LeRae was affected by Finn Balor’s attack on her husband last week. When Shirai brought a chair into the ring, the ref yanked it away. LeRae then schoolgirled her for a two count. LeRae full nelson face-planted Shirai and then superkicked her face. She went for a quebrada next, but Shirai moved and LeRae landed on the chair instead. Shirai made the cover and scored the three count.
WINNER: Shirai in 13:00.
-Afterward, Shirai attacked LeRae. Rhea Ripley made the save, and picked up the chair to send Shirai running. Fans chanted “Rhea! Rhea!”
(Keller’s Analysis: Really good match start to finish. Shirai is working hard to stay heel despite being so damn good. Grabbing that chair helped in that regard. As did the post-match attack.)
-Nigel said Sports Illustrated broke the news that Keith Lee chose Matt Riddle to face Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish. They went to the announcers on camera. Mauro threw to a video package on Balor’s heel turn.
-The video package included new comments from Balor weaved in from last week’s FS1 “Backstage” show saying it felt good to make a return and even better kicking Johnny Gargano in the head. They showed TMZ interviewing Balor in an airport about it. They showed various website headlines and Tweets about Balor. Balor said, “This is the real Finn Balor.” Balor said: “For me, Raw and Smackdown is like Hollywood, it’s easy to hide behind all the special effects and bright lights. NXT is like Broadway; there’s no where to hide, and I need to test myself. Let’s just say the prince is back.” (A reference there to Prince Devitt.)
(Keller’s Analysis: So well done. Instead of just a standard video package, mixing in new Balor comments, the TMZ clip, media headlines, and more Balor comments made it must-watch and forwarded the storyline beyond last week’s angle. Interesting comparison between Raw/SD and NXT from the first wrestler to “make the jump.”) [c]
-They showed Damien Priest giving Pete Dunne a low kick to beat him two weeks ago. Phoenix announced Dunne vs. Priest next week on NXT.
-Finn Balor then made his ring entrance. They went to a long shot of the stage that really captured the excitement of Balor coming out onto the stage. Balor did his arm extensions to the beat of his music, then made a cocky strut out. He entered the ring and began, “It’s funny how things work out.” Some fans chanted “Thank you, Finn!” Balor said: “Two months ago I’m laying down for what’s supposed to be the hottest new thing in the business just because he put on a new mask.” Fans “oooh’d.” He said, “Well, I just took my mask off and now I’m the hottest thing in the business.” He said as usual everyone has their opinions, including the fans, the office, the boys in the back, and a bunch of “Twitter tough guys” on social media. He said there’s too many fans in the locker room “when they should be sitting out here with these people.” He said, “Let’s make one thing clear – I don’t watch this business, this business watches me.”
Balor leaned on the top rope and looked right into the hard camera. “Which brings me to Johnny Gargano, the heart of NXT.” He said it with a tone of snark. He said he heard he was hospitalized. He said if he has his way, he’ll send him straight back next chance he gets. “And you won’t be Johnny Wrestling, you’ll be Johnny Watches Wrestling, exactly the way it’s supposed to be.”
(Keller’s Analysis: Really really good. I could have done without the attempt to “generate buzz” with one of those “it’s a shoot, brother” lines about “laying down” for Bray, but it didn’t distract too much and it got right back on track. Balor is a great heel, and he’s got a great landscape to feast on.)
-A video package aired on Asuka and Kairi Sane hyping their appearance later.
(Keller’s Analysis: That 30 seconds of clips was the best thing done on Asuka & Kairi since they teamed.) [c]
-A brief vignette aired on Tyler Bate including teaming with Trent Seven and punching out Cameron Grimes last week.
(2) SHANE THORNE vs. BRONSON REED
Thorne exploded with a dropkick at the bell, surprising Bronson with a barrage of offense. Then he charged, but Bronson knocked him out of the air with a clothesline followed by a thunderous senton. They stood and exchanged chops for 30 seconds with the crowd “woo’ing” along to each one. Thorne scored a two count a minute later after powering the much larger Reed over with a back suplex. Thorne threw some roundkicks with alternating legs. Reed came back with a nasty looking released German suplex followed by a crazy looking Gory Driver for a believable near fall. Remember to tuck on that one! Throne high-kicked Reed off balance on the top rope, then met him up there with some chops. He set up a top rope move, but Reed shoved him out of mid-air to the mat. Then he frog splashed him for the three count.
WINNER: Thorne in 4:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Thorne has been elevated lately, and it wasn’t a given he’d be the one losing here. I would have guessed they’d avoid a clean finish somehow to “preserve both.” The win by Reed indicates they like what they’ve seen with him lately and it’s time to build him up a bit. That match should have increased the stock of both.)
-Kathy Kelley interviewed Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox backstage about getting a shot against the Kabuki Warriors later. They put up a front of confidence, but gave off a sense of suppressing nervousness about this being too much too soon. [c]
-A Mia Yim vignette aired. “I am the rose that grew from concrete,” she said.
(Keller’s Analysis: What an economical 12 seconds of TV. This is precisely what AEW should have been doing for their roster since week one to introduce them to a national audience. NXT continues to improve in little ways each week that are really adding up. The pacing of this show so far is tremendous. They’ve fit in a crazy amount of content in 47 minutes without seeming the least bit rushed or frenetic.)
Check out the latest episode of “PWT Talks NXT” with Kelly Wells and Nate Lindberg, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
(3) ASUKA & KAIRI SANE vs. TEGAN NOX & DAKOTA KAI – WWE Women’s Tag Team Title match
Mauro compared the Kabuki Warriors to the Crush Gals and the Jumping Bomb Angels. A couple minutes in, with Asuka and Kairi taking it to Nox and Kai at ringside, they cut to a break. [c]
Asuka went after Kai’s legs and applied an anklelock. The heels isolated her and flaunted their advantage.
[HOUR TWO]
After a cocky series of taunts by Sane, Mauro said, “My have things changed since we last saw Sane.” Mauro wondered if Sane and Asuka have studied the Minnesota Wrecking Crew because they’re following their policy of targeting one body part. Kai eventually made a comeback with a rapid-fire series of strikes, but Kai dropped her with one palm strike to the chest. They cut to another break. [c]
The heels continued to dominate Kai. After a series of double-team moves, Sane leveraged Kai down with a jackknife cover for a near fall. Kai fought back and ducked a charging Sane. She crawled over toward Nox, but Sane cut her off. Kai kicked Sane, but then grabbed her knee in pain. Kai finally taxed Nox just as Sane tagged in Asuka. Nox took it to both heels with charges into alternate corners. Nox scored a two count on Asuka with a flying body press. She went for the Shiniest Wizard next, but Asuka grabbed her leg and applied a kneebar. Nox countered Asuka into an armbreaker. Sane stomped on Nox to break it up. Kai entered, but got German suplexed by Asuka. Nox superkicked Asuka. All four were down and slow to get up. Fans chanted “NXT! NXT!” Nox tagged in Kai who went to work against Asuka. As the ref yelled at Sane for leaning through the ropes, Asuka escaped Kai’s fireman’s carry and sprayed her with green mist. She then gave a blinded Kai a roundkick to the face and then Sane landed her signature Insane Elbow for the 1-2-3.
WINNER: Kabuki Warriors in 24:00 to retain the Women’s Tag Team Titles.
(Keller’s Analysis: Maybe – maybe – a bit too long for a top-of-the-hour segment. This was more of a “captive audience” PPV-style match than something to put opposite a stellar Cody and Chris Jericho contract signing over on TNT. That said, this was really really good. Even the long stretch of the heels working over Kai’s leg was well-executed and compelling. The final few minutes were exciting and crisp and refined in their execution. Kairi is really growing into her heel role and doesn’t seem like a nice person pretending to be bad anymore.)
-As Nox comforted Kai, Shayna Baszler, Marina Shaffir, and Jessamyn Duke came out looking like they had the perfect opportunity to do their thing against vulnerable exhausted “lessers.” Beth Phoenix decried their actions. Rhea Ripley then came out to her entrance song, so the three heels stood still and looked at her. Duke and Shaffir knocked the other two out of the ring while Baszler held her ground. Shirai charged out and attacked Ripley. Then Bianca Belair ran out and joined in the fight, followed by LeRae. When the dust settled after a minute of chaos, Ripley looked up at Baszler who was standing her ground in the ring. Ripley entered the ring and speared a charging Baszler. Everyone else charged in and joined in the fight. Mauro said everyone wants to be Women’s Champion. Phoenix said, “This is chaos!” Mauro said, “It is a lawless society when it comes to the NXT Women’s Division.” NXT G.M. William Regal saw enough and came out, calling for the referees to separate them. He was fuming mad at the disorder. He said he had a very simple solution for this: “War Games!” The crowd popped. Mauro said they’re going to make history at Takeover. It came down to Baszler, Shaffir, Duke, Shirai, and Belair at ringside and Rhea, Nox, Kai, and LeRae in the ring looking down at them.
(Keller’s Analysis: Hot angle and a really organic way to create a War Games out of a collection of wrestlers who normally don’t team. Regal is so good in his role.) [c]
-They replayed clips of Regal announcement. Then they went to the announcers who excitedly talked about the first-ever women’s War Games match.
(4) TYLER BATE vs. CAMERON GRIMES
When the bell rang, Bate kept his eye on the usually fast-charging Grimes. They locked up mid-ring. Bate dropped Grimes, but Grimes twisted free. Bate did a cartwheel. They squared off again. Grimes settled into an armbar. Mauro talked about Bate employing yoga, sensory deprivation tanks, stretching, and meditation, plus a vegan diet. Mauro said everyone should employe meditation. Bate dropkicked Grimes after a series of moves, so Grimes rolled to the floor. Grimes re-entered and slammed Bate down for a two count. [c]
Grimes gave Bate a rolling back suplex into a bridge for a near fall. Mauro was impressed. Grimes stayed on Bate with a series of running knee drives to Bate’s head. He torqued Bate’s wrist. Bate upkicked Grimes and then connected with a kneelift and a diving European uppercut. He stayed on Grimes and then hit an exploder suplex. He kipped up and then landed a running shooting star press. Bate ducked Grimes. Grimes lifted Bate not his shoulders. Bate twisted and snap huracanrana’d him for a two count. Amazing sequence. Bate and Grimes colluded mid-air and Grimes ended up on top for a near fall. Bate landed a rebound clothesline and a jackknife cover for a near fall. Mauro said, “The future of NXT is the present.” Bate set up a Tyler Driver ’97, but Grimes blocked it and then back elbowed out of it. Bate clotheslines Grimes over the top rope, then landed a kappa kick He then flew over the rope onto Grimes. Fans chanted “NXT!” Killian Dane walked to ringside and distracted Bate briefly. Grimes then surprised Bate with his double stomp for a three count.
WINNER: Grimes in 13:00.
-Dane attacked a vulnerable Bate with a senton. McGuinness said Pete Dunne broke Dane’s fingers, and he’s taking it out on Bate. Dane attacked Bate with a running cannonball against the ringside steps. He then bent down and told Bate to tell his friend Dunn he means business.
(Keller’s Analysis: Bate vs. Grimes would have been a dream match six months ago, and it’s great they’ve landed in the same lace and had the real estate here to showcase what is hopefully the first of many meaningful matches between them for years to come. That lived up to expectations. Both guys benefited. Grimes is fitting right in and proving his indy rep was well-earned.)
-They showed O’Reilly and Fish warming up backstage kicking pads held up by Roderick Strong.
-An ad said NXT would re-air immediately after the live show ended.
(Keller’s Analysis: Is that a one-timer because of the World Series, or a strategy to give AEW viewers a chance to see a show they’re very proud of afterward if they choose to watch AEW first?) [c]
-A vignette aired on Angel Garza. He talked about his family roots in pro wrestling. They showed pictures of Hector Garza in WCW. He said he wants to be like his uncle and do everything he did and more for the next generation and to make him proud and expand the Garza dynasty.
-Cathy Kelley talked about Regal’s War Games announcement. She said CBS Sports just broke the news that Baszler and Ripley would captain each team.
(5) KYLE O’REILLY & BOBBY FISH vs. KEITH LEE & MATT RIDDLE
O’Reilly and Fish tried to double-team Lee early, but he managed to double crossbody both of them. O’Reilly bailed out and Lee focused on Fish. When Lee charged, O’Reilly and Fish pulled the top rope down. He stopped short, then knocked O’Reilly to the floor with a side elbow to the chin. Fish and O’Reilly regrouped at ringside. Riddle kicked O’Reilly. Fish backed away, and “escaped” into the ring where Lee shoulder blocked him. Riddle tagged in and chopped Fish’s chest as Lee held him. Lee double-chopped FIsh’s chest. Riddle speared O’Reilly and then gave Fish a jackhammer for a one count. (That felt like a dig at Goldberg by having O’Reilly kick out of the Jackhammer at one. The look on Riddle face indicated he knew it was.) [c]
They went to a break, but stayed with the action on split-screen. Back live, Fish finally took over on Riddle and then tagged in O’Reilly. Riddle eventually came back with a sleeper, but Fish backed Riddle hard into the corner to break, then tagged in O’Reilly. O’Reilly kicked Fish by mistake, but then applied a leglock on Riddle mid-ring. Riddle heel strikes himself free. Riddle swung at O’Reilly, but O’Reilly backed away to avoid them. Fish knocked Lee off the ring apron and this he missed Riddle’s attempt to tag him in. Riddle threw some roundkick at Fish and O’Reilly. They fired back with pop-up stereo roundkicks. After a Fish brainbuster, Lee broke up the cover. Phoenix said Lee was tired of all the double-teaming by Fish & O’Reilly. Nigel said they were within the five count and hadn’t broken any rules.
O’Reilly applied a guillotine on Riddle. Riddle stood up. Fish charged at Lee, then got kicked by Riddle. Riddle then hot-tagged in Lee. Lee collided with the two heels, then crushed them in opposite corners. Then he double-clotheslined them. O’Reilly swept Lee’s legs as he lifted Fish, Fish landed on his face. O’Reilly swatted O’Reilly away and then went for a second rope moonsault, but Fish moved. O’Reilly tagged in and he axe kicked Lee. Fish lifted Lee and gave him a Samoan rop. O’Reilly made the cover and scored a two count, then shifted into a quick cross armbreaker. Lee lifted O’Reilly with one arm. “He’s curling Kyle O’Reilly!” said Mauro. Great line! He then powerbombed O’Reilly. Riddle tagged in and went after Fish and O’Reilly with exploder suplexes. He then landed two Bro-tons (sentons) and then a penalty kick. He showed fire. Strong and Adam Cole ran out and went after Riddle. Riddle fended them off and then springboarded onto all four with a twisting Asai moonsault. He threw Fish back into the ring and hit a ripcord knee strike. Lee then knocked Cole into the air, sending him crashing into Strong. Fish and O’Reilly, though, then hit the high-low on Riddle for the win.
WINNERS: Fish & O’Reilly in 14:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Well, that was fun and lived up to expectations.)
-Undisputed Era attacked Riddle and Lee. Tomasso Ciampa ran out with his crutch to make the save. He took ’em out one at a time as he made his way toward Cole. Cole backed off. O’Reilly jumped in. Ciampa threw him the crutch, then kicked him and stomped on him. Riddle then gave O’Reilly a Final Flash knee. Lee gave the crutch back to Ciampa, then pressed O’Reilly and threw him onto his three partners at ringside. “A measure of justice!” exclaimed Mauro as fans chanted “NXT! NXT!” Ciampa held the mic and looked down at the NXT Title belt. Fans chanted “Goldy!” He said, “Goldy, you’re gonna have to wait, Daddy’s going to war!” That seemed to set up the men’s War Games.
FINAL THOUGHTS: There is such pride evident in this product start to finish, week after week. So much talent being utilized so well with state of art wrestling that doesn’t fall outside of the bounds of crisp, logical, artful application of today’s great range of moves. There’s smart self-editing by wrestlers who aren’t falling to the temptation to overdo it with cuteness or cleverness or elaborate phony looking sequences, because a lot of these wrestlers are capable of “more,” but they stick to the range of what looks good and realistic and also fits within the team-concept of knowing their role on the show and their place on the card. It’s just smart, efficient, and a pleasure to watch when done this way week after week. I also have to say again that the opening to this show with the live band and video was shot so brilliantly and brought such a contemporary, cool energy and vibe to the product without seemingly corporate, slick, or trying too hard. They accomplished a lot in terms of setting the stage for War Games and also following up with Balor.
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s NXT Hit List: Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jacy Jayne and Fallon Henley, Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane vs. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson, Oba Femi vs. Luca Crusifino, Tatum Paxley vs. Jaida Parker
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.