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 Results
May 13, 2015
Taped at Full Sail University
Report by Justin James, PWTorch contributor
The NXT roster seems to have had a bit of a shake-up thanks to injuries. Sami Zayn is not being advertised for upcoming live events Thursday and Friday in Philadelphia and neither is Hideo Itami. Zayn’s status is currently unknown for Takeover, and Itami is reportedly out for quite some time.
[Q1] A pre-credits video recaps Sami Zayn’s U.S. Championship match against John Cena last week on Raw, when he hurt his shoulder.
The announcers are Corey Graves, Rich Brennan, and Byron Saxton. JoJo is back in the ring announcer position.
Solomon Crowe comes out with a new haircut. The announcers are trying to put him over as a “voice of the voiceless” deal. He’s facing Baron Corbin, not a good sign for Crowe unless a run-in is planned.
1 – SOLOMON CROWE vs. BARON CORBIN
Crowe unloads on Corbin as soon as the bell hits, but a lariat cuts him off. Corbin tosses Crowe into the corner a few times. Corbin looks arrogant as he steps on Crowe’s head. I guess this is the heel turn for Corbin. Big slap from Crowe to a “Baron’s gonna bore you!” chant. Crowe gets fired up, but Crowe walks into End of Days.
WINNER: Baron Corbin in 2:15. This is the second time we’ve seen Corbin in a match over a minute or so and his still hasn’t shown much past “squasher” capabilities. I guess this makes Corbin the heel in his match against Rhyno.
Post-match, Rhyno comes out from the back to confront Corbin. He just wants to match sure they are own for Takeover. As a response, Corbin attacks Rhyno. They brawl and a bunch of scrubs in blackshirts break it up. Corbin gets dragged out the ring and Rhyno goes a blackshirt in frustration.
[ J.J.’s Reax: Rhyno is strangely compelling right now. ]
Backstage sitdown “earlier this week” with Finn Balor. He is asked if he would rather face Sami Zayn or Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship if he wins the Triple Threat. He vows to win the Triple Threat match and puts over Tyler Breeze and Hideo Itami with respect. He doesn’t care who he faces for the NXT Championship, Owens and Zayn are both great and he will beat them, too.
Backstage sitdown “earlier this week” with Breeze. He’s asked the same question. Breeze says it doesn’t matter who he faces, he will be #1 contender just like before. And he doesn’t matter who he faces for the Championship either. Same promo as Balor… just more ego-filled and disrespectful.
2 – NXT Women’s champion SASHA BANKS vs. Unidentified Jobber
[Q2] The Jobber tries a couple of quick covers, but Banks gets out. Banks runs to the outside to recover. Banks runs in the ring and gets the first hit in. Cross-body plants Banks for two. Banks knocks her opponent down and unloads on her. Double knees in the corner ropes. Banks mocks Becky Lynch’s mannerisms as she picks her opponent apart. Backstabber into the Bank Statement for the win.
WINNER: Sasha Banks in 2:30. Quick squash to put Banks over pre-Takeover.
Backstage, Devin Taylor talks to Charlotte and Bayley. She asks Charlotte about what Dana Brooke has to say. Charlotte says that Brooke is just jealous. Bayley interrupts to talk about Emma. Charlotte interrupts to bring up Takeover. They propose a tag team match against Emma and Brooke.
Vignette with the unnamed new wrestler (Uhaa Nation) introduced last week. He still doesn’t have a name in NXT.
Carmella is out to face Alexa Bliss. She’s without Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady. Bliss is back to her glitter blowing routine.
3 – ALEXA BLISS vs. CARMELLA
They lock up, then split after a moment. And again. Bliss blocks an armdrag and hits a backslide for one. She then tries crucifix for two. Bliss wants a suplex but Carmella blocks, then hits one of her own. Two count for Carmella. Carmella with heelish offense. Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy stroll out, and Carmella yells at them to stay out, as she has Bliss locked into a full nelson using her legs. Bliss leans back, forcing Carmella’s shoulder to the mat, so she breaks the hold.
Bliss fires up. Carmella wants to armdrag Bliss off the top rope, Bliss counters and rolls over Carmella and kips up. Bliss Flip gets two. Bliss walks into a drop toe hold, Carmella wants a submission hold but Murphy and Blake distract her. Bliss takes advatange, then hits to the top for her spinning splash (“Sparkle Splash” as named by the announcers) for the win. Bliss thanks Murphy and Blake with her eyes as she walks up the ramp.
WINNER: Alexa Bliss in 3:50. Eh match. Since when do men act as distractions in women’s matches?
Post-match, Murphy and Blake enter the ring. The crowd chants “no means no!” and Carmella points to the crowd to make her point. Blake says that when you hang out with trash like Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, you end up smelling like garbage. Carmella says that Amore and Cassady will beat Murphy and Blake for the Tag Team Championship. She does the S-A-W-F-T to the Tag Team Champions.
[ J.J.’s Reax: I haven’t been too high on the Carmella character, but she totally owned that moment and may have gotten herself over as a babyface in the moment. ]
Backstage “earlier this week” with Hideo Itami. He will beat Balor and Owens, and he wants to face Owens for the title because Owens is a bad person with no respect for the title.
[Q3] Devin Taylor is backstage with Emma and Dana Brooke. Emma volunteers to slap more sense into Bayley. Brooke says she isn’t jealous of Charlotte, she is doing Charlotte a favor by letting her know she will be surpassed. They accept the match and leave. Brooke comes back to pat Taylor on the head.
[ J.J.’s Reax: I don’t know when exactly it happened, but Devin Taylor has really grown into her role as backstage interviewer. It was tough to be Renee Young’s replacement without a doubt, but she has started showing the little mannerisms and touches of personality that go a long way in the role. ]
Adam Rose has been bizarrely inserted into a Tag Team match between the contenders for the #1 contender slot.
4 – FINN BALOR & HIDEO ITAMI vs. TYLER BREEZE & ADAM ROSE – Tag Team match
Rose chops Itami, Itami repsonds, and Balor tags in. Slingshot foot stomp gets one. Balor dumps Rose to the outside, then Breeze tries to interfere but runs away when Balor sees him coming.
[ Break ]
Rose with a sunset flip, but Balor rolls through right into a basement dropkick to the face. Breeze interferes, giving Rose the change to recover and kick Balor off the apron. Breeze finally tags into the match. Breeze yells at the ref for touching him to get a break, letting Rose get some cheap kicks in. Balor is isolated by the heels. Spinebuster from Rose gets a two count, then Rose transitions into a Boston Crab mid-ring to pop the crowd. But, Balor gets to the ropes.
Rose argues with the ref, so Breeze sneaks in a leg drop to let Rose get a two count. Graves keeps putting Breeze and Rose over as a team. Foreshadowing? Sleeper from Rose. The hold, not the match quality. Pele Kick draws a double count. Double tag. Itami with fast offense. Itami to the top, Breeze rolls away, Rose into the ring, eats a flying clothesline, and Itami crushes Breeze.
[Q4] Balor blind-tags in and Itami looks annoyed. Rose tries coming in again, but takes the Slingblade. Balor wants the Coup De Grace, but Itami blind tags in, argues with Balor, letting Breeze sneak in a cover for the win. Balor’s a bit slow to break it up.
WINNERS: Tyler Breeze & Adam Rose in 9:15. Nice to see Balor playing the “face in distress” role instead of Itami.
Post-match, Balor and Itami argue until Breeze cheap-shots them. Supermodel Kick to Itami, then Beauty Shot to Balor. Rose celebrates with Breeze, which doesn’t work out well. Supermodel Kick to Rose, too.
They go to another recap of the Zayn vs. Cena match from Raw, focusing on Zayn’s shoulder injury.
“After the match” interview with Zayn. He says he felt something wrong in his shoulder waving his arms on his way to the ring, and early in the match he felt it get hurt landing after a suplex. He’s super pumped about his match and the crowd response, but he’s worried about his shoulder. He says he won’t let the injury interfere with his focus in his match with Owens.
[ J.J.’s Reax: If Raw/Smackdown did more interviews like this, it would go a long way to getting them to a more sports-like feel. ]
Back at Full Sail, Zayn is out to confront Owens one last time. Before Zayn can even talk, Owens’s music hits. Zayn talks over Owens’s music and says they aren’t here to fight. He may be hurt, but their match is on for Takeover. He just wants an explanation from Owens. He knows Owens’s explanations have some truth, but aren’t the whole picture. Owens doesn’t respond. Zayn asks if it is jealousy because he was called to NXT first. No response. Is it more personal than jealousy? Owens looks down. Is it about Owens’s son? That got his attention. Is it because Owens’s kid would rather wear a Zayn shirt to school than an Owens shirt, or he runs around the house with a Zayn wristband? Owens looks at the ground and teases talking. Owens heads to the steps, then the ramp, looking down at his feet. Zayn’s furious. Owens has nothing to say?
Owens talks with his back turned to the ring. Everything Zayn has said was irrelevant. Owens knows the truth. Zayn didn’t go home after he lost the title to “clear his head” because he was hurt. Owens knows Zayn is still hurt. He knows he is the one who hurt Zayn, he knows where the injury is, how it happened, and at Takeover he will do it again. But, this time Zayn isn’t coming back.
[ J.J.’s Reax: In a feud filled with great promos, that was the best. Zayn took it to some very personal places, and Owens came out looking like a legit killer. ]
FINAL THOUGHTS: Great show to wrap up the “Takeover: Unstoppable” hype. Owens and Zayn are so crazy good at what they do. The injury situation for Zayn and Itami is worrying, though.
Updated Takeover Line-up
– NXT Title match: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn.
– NXT Title #1 contender match: Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami (to be scratched) vs. Tyler Breeze.
– NXT Tag Title match: Blake & Murphy vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass.
– NXT Women’s Title match: Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch.
– Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno.
– Bayley & Charlotte vs. Emma & Dana Brooke.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.