7/12 NXT TV REPORT: Aleister Black vs. Bobby Fish, Heavy Machinery vs. Authors of Pain, Borne vs. Hachey

NXT TV REPORT
JULY 12, 2017
TAPED AT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
AIRED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY JUSTIN JAMES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

[Q1] Pre-credits video recapping the #DIY breakup. Clips of Roderick Strong backstage last week, he’s happy to be with his family but emotional. Bobby Roode will be addressing the audience tonight. Heavy Machinery is facing The Authors of Pain in the main event for the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Aleister Black is out for a match. He’s facing the debuting Bobby Fish. Very good reception for Fish.

(1) ALEISTER BLACK vs. BOBBY FISH

Between the video packages and entrances, the bell rings nine minutes into the episode. Fish and Black feel each other out without much contact, then move to holds and escapes. Black ducks a big kick then they pick up the pace. Black fakes out Fish by suddenly dropping into a sitting position. Kick takes Fish down. Fish wit a variety of kicks and Black looks rattled, which we have never seen before. Black looks for a kick, Fish catches it, then Black unloads a large number of kicks to drive Fish out of the ring. More postering from Black, then they tussle in the ropes. Fish with a sleeper over the ropes, so the ref breaks it. Leg sweep from outside trips Black outside and Fish is able to reenter the ring.

[ Break ]

[Q2] Fish is controlling Black after a lengthy break. Slingshot senton gets Fish two in the first cover of the match. Black tries to trip up Fish, but a knee drops cuts that off. Fish delivers a sequence of striking combinations that look video-game slick. Fish wrests Black into a single leg crap, but Black rolls through and into a cover for one. Fish tries picking a leg but Black has punches so Fish moves into a sleeper mid-ring. Black gets to the corner to break it, then Fish re-applies it, back into the corner. They trade kicks. Exploder suplex sends Black into the turnbuckles and Fish covers for a two count. Fish disrespects Black a bit, drawing some boos and angering Black. Stiff kicks from Black rock Fish. Lionsault, then a jumping knee put Fish in real jeopardy. Black raises Fish to a standing position and hits Black Mass.

WINNER: Aleister Black in 10:05.

[J.J.’s Reax: What a great debut for Fish. A few moments in there were so well done, the match never felt slow or boring. Tough to know who to root for – the charismatic Black, or the exciting Bobby Fish. NXT’s roster will definitely benefit from Bobby Fish.]

Reminder of what happened last week in the tag team match between Hideo Itami and Kassius Ohno facing Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain.

“Last Week” backstage, Ohno catches up with Itami. Itami blames Ohno for the loss. Ohno loses his temper and tells Itami to own his loses. Ohno says he is down talking, he is about action.

Vanessa Born will face Jayme Hachey next in a qualifier for the Mae Young Classic.

Street Prophets appear in a video package.

Two weeks ago, one of the interviewers catches up with Velveteen Dream. He doesn’t think that it is the right place to be interviewed. He tells her to find a better way to do the interview.

[ JJ’s Reax: That just made little sense. Dream has some obvious, real potential but the presentation from WWE is hiding it under this bizarre character. ]

Both Borne and Hachey get a full entrance, so neither of them feel like a jobber. Hachey is presented as a Dana Brooke-type of character, muscular and we are told she is a former physique competitor. Hachey seems to be a former cheerleader or something along those lines.

(2) VANESSA BORNE vs. JAYME HACHEY

Hachey with a shoulder block, then a sunset flip, Borne rolls through, then over, and lands a kick to the back. Knee then a sidewalk slam get Hachey one. Hachey backs her way to the corner to escape a hold, then lands strikes. Some back-and-forth. Spinning side slam wins it for Borne.

WINNER: Vanessa Borne in 1:50. Neither of these women showed much here. The match was clunky and felt like extremely choreographed despite its length.

[Q3] Last week, Sanity annoys Drew McIntyre by sitting on his car. Wolfe and Dain beat him up. For some reason thre are three refs in zebra shirts hanging aorund outside.

In William Regal’s office, Regal talks to Bobby Roode. He mentions that both Dain and McIntyre are undefeated and want the title shot. Roode talks about money. Roode claims he will beat them both, but suggests that Dain face McIntyre. Regal knows that Roode just wants to see Dain and McIntyre injure each other, but Roode denies it. Regal likes the idea and books it for next week, and makes it a #1 Contender Match, the winner to face Roode at Takeover: Brooklyn.

Johnny Gargano comes out, he still has the #DIY Tron. He is dressed in street clothes, and gets a big reception. He says he misses the reception and the audience. The #DIY music used to excite him because the fans would get to see something special. He brings up Chicago to boos, and says he never saw it coming, that the guy he was “willing to take a bullet for would pull the trigger” on him. Gargano can’t understand, and will never understand, why this happened. He isn’t there to dwell on the past, he is looking forwards to the future. He can control his reaction to these things. He needs to be Johnny Gargano at Brookyn more than ever. He needs to be Johnny Wrestling. Some new music hits, I guess Gargano is getting a new song.

“Tale of the Tape” for the NXT Tag Team Championship match. There is 1205 pounds of billed weight in that ring.

Ember Moon is scheduled to face Ruby Riot next week in the battle of “people who can’t beat Asuka”.

Heavy Machiner’s singlets are in danger of trademark violations on Caterpillar with the recognizable yellow triangle on black.

(3) HEAVY MACHINERY (TUCKER KNIGHT & OTIS DOZOVIC) vs. NXT Tag Team Champions THE AUTHORS OF PAIN (AKAM & REZAR w/Paul Ellering) – NXT Tag Team Championship Match

[Q4] Knight and Akam start. Who expected that much chain wrestling from wrestlers this size? Knight gets Akam in the corner, delivers splash after splash until Akam gets an elbow up and a double tag happens. Dozovic and Rezar go head to head, until Rezar hits a headbut, but bounches off Dozovic on a clothesline. Dozovic absorbs Rezar’s offense then knocks Rexar down in a huge visual. Everyone is in the ring and the ref is trying to get control.

[ Break ]

Rezar has Knight in a facelock. On the break, AOP got the better of HM with a low bridge. Knight is getting double teams, cover for two. Rezar with a neck crank on Knight. Rezar with big punches to Knight on the mat. Knight is reaching for Dozovic but Rezar is in between them. Tag to Akam. Knight fighting from the mat but a big knee puts him down for two. Knight shows like life, but Rezar lifts him up and Akam nails him with an elbow drop off the ropes for two. Sudden clothesline off the mat puts Rezar down, but Knight is pretty beat up. double tag, and Dozovic is 300+ pounds of house fo fire. Rezar comes into the ring, Dozovic with an insane released belly-to-belly and Rezar is flying. Powerslam from Dozovic to Akam, then he slams Knight onto Akam for a nearfall. Dozovic back in, but Rezar enters to stop the double team. DDT lets Akam tag, the Last Chapter ends it.

WINNERS: The Authors of Pain in 8:55. That was an insanely fast-paced, exciting match, and you don’t event need to add “for a big man match” to it. Heavy Machinery made a ton of new fans tonight with their heart and how strong they looked in their moments of offence. Dozovic in particular is an absolute blast when he is on a roll.

Sanity’s music hits, and Dain, Wolfe, and Nikki Cross come out. Paper falls from above them. It’s supposed to be pages from “the book of pain” but honestly it looks more like a 1040 to me.

FINAL REAX: Wow, a great opening match and a super-solid main event. A lot of talking and the women’s match was one of the worst NXT has seen in the FSU era, but cut that match out and this episide was reallye exciting, a word that has not been recently associated with Wednesday nights until the last few weeks.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 7/5 NXT TV REPORT: Ohno & Itami team against Sanity, but do they get along? Twenty minute Roode vs. Strong main event