SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report originally published 10 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…
WWE NXT REPORT
JANUARY 14, 2015
TAPED AT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
AIRED ON WWE NETWORK
BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
-As Tyson Kidd made his ring entrance, they went to the announcers Renee Young, Rich Brennan, and Alex Riley.
(1) TYSON KIDD vs. FINN BALOR
Baylor opened with a dropkick and some chops. He landed a basement dropkick, then climbed to the top rope. Kidd bailed out to ringside. Balor pursued him. Kidd tackled him into the guard rail to take control. Renee talked about Kidd dedicating this match to his cat. Kidd settled into a chinlock. Riley touted Kidd for being smart and a student of the game who studies his matches afterward on video.
Balor came back with a Pele Kick. The announcers marveled at a wrap-around flying clothesline takedown. Riley called it a “floating spinning neckbreaker of some kind.” Balor kicked Kidd off of the top rope. Kidd spilled to the floor. Balor then flip dove onto Kidd at ringside. The replayed the flying clotehsline/neckbreaker in slo-mo and the flip dive after that. Renee said matches like this drive the NXT Universe to continually sell out Full Sail University consistently.
Kidd came back with a running kick to knock Balor to the floor. Back in the ring Kidd applied a sharpshooter. Balor crawled toward the bottom rope, but Kidd dragged him back to the middle. Balor powered his way to the bottom rope on a second try. The crowd chanted “This is awesome!” Balor avoided a guillotine legdrop on the ring apron, then took Kidd down with what Brennan called a “lifting underhook DDT.” Balor then leaped at Kidd with a kick off the top rope for the win.Renee said week after week, Balor’s star rises on NXT.
WINNER: Balor in 10:00.
(WK Reax: Nice match. Kidd continues to be a veteran anchor of this division, and Balor is ready for the main roster whenever Vince McMahon see the right place to feature him properly.)
-Back to rinside with the announcers. They threw to a video package on the main event of the program featuring Adrian Neville’s rematch against Sami Zayn. Then they hyped Bull Dempsey vs. Baron Corbin.
-Devin Taylor interviewed Dempsey backstage. He said Corbin isn’t the only undefeated Superstar in the match. He said it’ll be a quick fight and it will be Corbin’s “End of Days.” He said Corbin will be on his back looking up at the last of a dying breed and he’ll hear “Bull! Bull! Bull!” [c]
-A commercial aired for Daniel Bryan’s return to the ring on Smackdown the next night on SyFy.
(2) BARON CORBIN vs. BULL DEMPSEY
At 1:00 Dempsey missed a top rope dive, then hit an End of Days for the win.
WINNER: Corbin in 1:00.
(WK Reax: All that hype for a match barely over a minute long? Felt anti-climactic.) [c]
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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) SASHA BANKS & BECKY LYNCH vs. NATALYA & CHARLOTTE
Renee noted that Natalya and Banks teamed together in Japan nine years ago and this is the first time they’re on opposite teams. When the heels bailed out to regroup, Natalya and Charlotte slidekicked them from under the bottom rope. Then they gave Lynch a double suplex. Charlotte dropped Natalya onto Lynch for a two count. Renee compared the move to the Lucha Dragons. Banks made a comeback against Natalya a minute later. She dropped her knees on her in the corner and scored a two count. Charlotte gave Banks a neckbreaker. Lynch broke up the pin attempt. Renee praised the illegal interference by Lynch for some reason. Banks surprised Charlotte with a neckbreaker and a yank of the tights for the sudden win.
WINNERS: Banks & Lynch in 3:00.
(WK Reax: Good action here. That sets up Banks for a title shot even though the finish felt flukey and she cheated to win. The announcers really do need to decry cheating. It’s so unfair to the heels that the announcers are so nonchalant about cheating to win. How are heels supposed to get heel heat when nothing they do seems to faze the babyface announcers?) [c]
(4) SAMI ZAYN vs. ADRIAN NEVILLE – NXT Title match
They shook hands before the match. When Alex gave some analysis of the key to victory in this, Renee said he put on his smart pants tonight. Zayn opened with a headlock.
(WK Reax: Because Neville is so short, Zayne looks 6-4 out there when facing him. It’s an example of why Randy Savage never wanted Nick Patrik refereeing his matches. Perception of height is so easily changed based on who else is in the ring. It’s why Stephanie McMahon shouldn’t be wearing high heels when standing next to Daniel Bryan… or Big Show, for that matter.)
At 6:00 Neville flip dove onto Zayn at ringside. They cut to a break. [c]
Zayn landed a top rope crossbody for a two count. Neville made a comeback out of nowhere with a mid-ring huracanrana for a near fall. That drew a “This is awesome!” chant. Riley said Zayn wins, it proves his win at R-Evolution wasn’t a fluke. Zayn hit unreleased consecutive German suplexes. Neville blocked the third attempt. Zayn shifted to a Northern Lights, but Neville landed on his feet. He then took Zayn over again with a huracanrana. Brennan said that was it, so of course it wasn’t; Zayn kicked out.
Neville tried to pick Zayn up afterward, but Zayn was dead weight. He pulled on his head and neck, but Zayn didn’t move. The ref checked on Zayn, who seemed out of it. Neville gently lifted Zayn a foot, but then Zayne flipped to the ground. Zayn said something to the ref. The crowd was quiet with concern. As they replayed the Neville move, Zayn out of nowhere surprised Neville with a faceplant DDT into an attempted Koji clutch. Neville escaped. Zayn gave Neville an overhead suplex and then charged the corner. Neville rolled to ringside. Zayn followed him and set up the dive through the ropes in the corner. Neville met him with a boot to the face.
Back in the ring Neville climbed to the top rope. Zayn moved out of his path when he went for his Red Arrow. Neville landed n his feet and rolled up Zayn and bridged backwards for a dramatic believable near fall. Zayn fired right back with the exploder suplex into the corner followed by the running boot to the face for the win.
WINNER: Zayn in 15:00.
(WK Reax: That was a lot of fun. I was not crazy about the spot where Zayn sold getting a stinger, but then suddenly made a comeback. Was he faking it? Is that foreshadowing a darker side coming out? Why didn’t the announcers ask more questions about what happened there? He went from dead weight to full offense pretty quickly. If it was just meant to add drama, it just brings up the question you don’t want viewers to ask, which is what’s the difference between knocking someone out to score a pin and really knocking someone out and not going for a pin? Does it make sense to be concerned that your move did what you move was supposed to do, only better than usual?)
-As Zayn celebrated, guess who? Kevin Owens entered the ring and powerbombed him. The crowd was quiet except for cat calls. Owens nonchalantly left the ring, chomping on his gum as the ref checked on Zayn.
(WK Reax: This is good basic Booking 101, and it doesn’t have to be more complicated than this. Have a likable good hard-working athlete like Zayn contrasted with a heelish foe attacking him from behind to try to take shortcuts to the top. Owens is good playing his character convincingly.)
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s NXT Hit List: The Rock’s appearance, Trick Williams vs. Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe for the NXT Championship, Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia for the NXT Women’s Championship
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.