6/29 WWE NXT Results – James’s Report on Ciampa & Gargano vs. Hype Bros., Balor & Nakamura interviews, more

WWE NXT Results
June 29, 2016
Taped 6/9 at Full Sail University
Report by Justin James, PWTorch NXT contributor

[Q1] No pre-credits video. The theme song retains the annoying laser noises. Yes, I know that lasers do not make noises. American Alpha is returning tonight, and there will be “exclusive comments” from Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura. Alexa Bliss kicks off the night with a singles match.

1 – ALEXA BLISS vs. CARMELLA

They shove off out of the lock-up. More struggling for control. Shoulder block and Carmella is on the ground. She tries rolling under Bliss, but Bliss uses the ropes to put boots to the back. Sudden roll-up from Carmella, two. Carmella lands on her feet out of a snapmare attempt.

Carmella demonstrates some new moves and Bliss goes outside to recover. Headlock takedown keeps Bliss grounded. Bliss transitions to a hold of her own. They continue to trade holds. A hair grab lets Bliss send Carmella head-first into the apron to get the advantage.

[ Break ]

Bliss has an armbar out of the break. Carmella breaks out for a moment but Bliss re-applies the armbar even tighter. Bliss continues to work the arm with her legs. Bliss Flip (now renamed “Insult to Injury”). Argument with the ref lets Carmella recover enough to land a punch.

Carmella starts her offense. Superkick stuns Bliss to set up the bronco buster. Surprise sunset flip out of the corner gets Bliss two. Really nice move there. Bliss to the top be Carmella takes her off with a huracarana of sorts.

Bliss suddenly gets a chokehold and slams Carmella on the mat. Sparkle Splash (renamed the “Twisted Bliss”) wins it.

WINNER: Alexa Bliss in 9:38. Nice to see Bliss’s moveset get new, more aggressive names. She desperately needed this win to justify the split from Murphy and Blake as well as present a backstop to Nia Jax as a heel.

[Q2] Recap of how we got to Balor-Nakamura. Sit down with Nakamura. He talks about his long history with Balor and says he supported Balor when he came to NXT. Now that Nakamura is in NXT, he needs to be something like Balor but not exactly like Balor. He wants to face one of the best before becoming champion, he needs to fight Finn Balor. He knows Balor’s potential and this will be very exciting. He promises a sensational match.

[ REAX: I liked Nakamura here. He came off as 100 percent unscripted and unrehearsed, which hurt the delivery but lent real authenticity. ]

Cathy Kelley interviews Bayley. Bayley is happy about her win returning to action last week. She feels great and is ready for her rematch with Asuka. Bliss butts in and says that Bayley has blown her chances. Bliss declares herself to be the gatekeeper to the title.

Noah Potjes comes out. We saw him a month ago or so. He is facing Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas.

2. ANDRADE ‘CIEN’ ALMAS vs. NOAH POTJES

Almas easily turns a wristlock around. Almas with a beautiful set of moves. Almas ends up lounging in the ropes because Potjes moved. Forearms knock Almas to the mat and Potjes starts a bar fight offense. Crowd support gets Almas out of a chinlock. Springboard dropkick, then a wheelbarrow bulldog. Running double knees in the corner and it is over.

WINNER: Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas in 2:50. Another fun match from Almas who has been really nice to watch.

Andrea asks Austin Aries about the attack on No Way Jose. He runs down the fans for not feeling privileged to see him in the ring. No Way Jose hasn’t done anything in his career, but the fans love him. It is the fans’s fault he attacked Jose.

[Q3] Sit down with Finn Balor. When he got to Japan, Nakamura was one of the first to help him get used to wrestling in Japan. Nakamura is a real friend, not just a work friend. He echoes Nakamura’s thoughts on their friendship. He was super excited to find out that Nakamura was coming to NXT and he has been able to help Nakamura adapt to the U.S. and NXT. He is excited for the match.

Shots from “earlier today” of American Alpha arriving at FSU.

Up next are Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano facing The Hype Bros.

Alexa Bliss facing Bayley is billed for next week.

3 – TOMMASO CIAMPA & JOHNNY GARGANO vs. THE HYPE BROS. (ZACK RYDER & MOJO RAWLEY)

Lots of support for Gargano as he starts against Rawley. Mat work until Rawley tosses Gargano across the ring. Rawley does his three point stance, then Gargano comes at him and gets clipped. Teamwork from The Hype Bros. Dropkick lets Ciampa tag in.

Ryder takes double-team action for a two count. Faceplant gets Ryder one, then Rawley tags in. Ciampa fends off the double team blind tag from Gargano, who takes out the Hype Bros., but he gets plowed by Rawley on the outside.

[ Break ]

Rawley has Gargano on the mat. Enziguri for a double tag. Leaping forearm puts Ryder on the mat, but he gets knees up in the corner. Tag to Rawley. Rawley is like a bowling ball with legs, but Gargano breaks up a tag. Hype Ryder, but Gargano stops it before it happens.

Clothesline for a nearfall for Ciampa. Double superplex attempt, but Rawley turns it into a double powerbomb. Elbow drop from Ryder at the top for a very close nearfall. Gargano with a surprise cover for a nearfall. Ryder escapes a double-team, but gets creamed by Ciampa on the apron on the Broski Boot attempt. Double kicks to the face puts Rawley down for three.

WINNERS: Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano in 8:45. Really solid match here. Rawley is still loosey goosey but his moveset has expanded, and he looked much more serious and is finding his groove.

[Q4] Post-match, Gargano reminds us that they recently beat The Revival. He says this puts them in the title picture. American Alpha intervenes. Gable reminds them that they have a re-match. And if Gargano and Ciampa get a title shot, it will be against American Alpha. Jordan says they will take out the Authors of Pain, too.

The Revival break up the argument. They are flattered that folks are fighting over the title shot. Dawson will let us on a “top guy secret.” They are calling the shots. He doesn’t think either team needs a title chance. Wilder runs down “Gargonzola” and “Chippy” and the “Betas.”

William Regal’s music hits. Triple Threat tag match for the titles? He reminds us that this is NXT and he books the matches. He says that Gargano and Ciampa are in line, but not at the front. We need to know who the best is, though. He books The Revival vs. American Alpha, next week, in a two out of three falls match, for the titles. Regal and The Revival depart. American Alpha shake hands with Ciampa and Gargano, who leave.

Suddenly, The Authors of Pain suddenly show up and ambush American Alpha. Ciampa and Gargano try to make the save, but they get sent out of the ring. The distraction lets American Alpha recover and try to retaliate, but it isn’t enough. Paul Ellering stands on the ramp to inspect the damage. Is the match for next week now off? Is this the “out” for American Alpha to lose?

Final Reax: A fair amount of talking tonight, but some good action, too. I really liked seeing the development of Mojo Rawley and the slight re-branding of Alexa Bliss. The tag team title match next week should be insane.