Hey, once again guys and welcome to my review of the go-home edition of NXT as we head towards Saturday and NXT Takeover: Orlando. Saturday is going to be a hot show so this was a final chance to gain some momentum, and for others to gain notice. Let’s get right to it folks!
As always we were introduced to the commentary team of Tom Philips, Percy Watson and Nigel McGuiness who hyped the evening’s show and Saturday’s show.
Johnny Gargano VS Akam VS Dash Wilder – Triple Threat Match
This match was a half preview of what we will witness in Orlando when DIY and The Revival challenge The Authors Of Pain for the NXT Tag Team Titles. The contest kicked off with both Johnny Gargano and Dash Wilder attempting to take out Akam and they succeeded in eliminating him from the ring to do battle by themselves. This was always going to be a match where all three men were going to get some good action and offence in. For the moment Akum of The Authors was getting the better of it but Johnny Wrestling got right back in and the crowd definitely helped him in that regard. For those who hadn’t caught on, this match had sort of turned into a one on one match as The Revival left before the commercial break. Back from the break and as Gargano was getting the better of Akam, a brawl broke out between Razar and Tomasso Ciampa outside the ring. This caused some form of distraction and Akam landed his trademark Powerbomb on Gargano. Akam could have had it won, however, he was distracted by the returning Revival (namely Scott Dawson) while Dash Wilder sprinted back into the ring to cover the fallen Gargano. Match over. It wasn’t a long contest, but it absolutely served its purpose, that purpose being 1-To intensify Saturday’s Triple Threat, and 2-To give one of these teams the momentum going forward. It was very sneaky by The Revival, yet genius. Great work here, I can’t wait for Saturday!
Dash Wilder Beat Johnny Gargano And Akam (Johnny Gargano By Pinfall) – Powerbomb From Akam
Another great promo aired for the upcoming Aleister Black debut, and the matchup with Andrade Cien Almas on Saturday at Takeover.
Heavy Machinery (Tucker Knight And Ortis Dozovic) VS Local Competitors
This was a long awaited re-debut of sorts for the Heavy Machinery team. For anyone who is/was previously a Ring Of Honor fan, you may have noticed that one of the opponents, Mike Marshall was formerly ROH’s QT Marshall. This was all about the debut of Heavy Machinery and making them look dominant, which was exactly the case here, the result was never in question. Tucker Knight and Ortis Dozovic showed a great display of power and strength and the crowd were loving it. These two guys were looking mighty. There was pretty much no offence at all from the opponents in the few minutes that the match lasted, just flat out domination. And it was over in dominating fashion: Dozovic held up his opponent for Knight to perform a running Body Collision, followed up with Dozovic Body Slamming Knight on top of the same opponent. Done and dusted just like that, it was over quickly and if I may say so, Heavy Machinery looked great in their rebirth. We can look forward to seeing what comes for this team.
Heavy Machinery Beat The Local Competitors By Pinfall – Double Team Body Slam
We were taken backstage where, in NXT General Manager William Regal’s office, there was a contract signing for this Saturday’s NXT Women’s Title match between champion Asuka and challenger Ember Moon. This contest has been brewing for weeks now, this won’t disappoint. They kept it short and sweet: Ember Moon says that although Asuka’s fate is to be the great women in NXT, her fate is to dethrone Asuka. Contract signed. Asuka replies saying that although she knows who Ember Moon is, Ember Moon is not ready, to which Moon disagrees. Contract signed. The match is on, and I am excited about it.
Just like last week, we were treated to a great in-depth look at the Bobby Roode/Shinsuke Nakamura story. These two will be clashing in the main event this Saturday for Bobby Roode’s NXT Title, a long awaited and very highly anticipated rematch that again I am excited about. The in-depth looks are always awesome to watch, they always give you the opportunity to just dive into the investment of each story.
Backstage are The Authors Of Pain with Paul Ellering, who talks a bit about destruction, and finishes off saying that the fate of both teams (DIY and The Revival) are in the AOP’s hands. On a counter note, the inevitable 8-Person Tag Team match has been made official for Saturday, when Sanity takes on the team of Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose, Roderick Strong and their new female partner who will be looking to both impress, and take care of Nikki Cross. The battle comes to a head in Orlando. Main event time.
Kassius Ohno VS Elias Samson – Loser Leaves NXT
This match had very high stakes here and the loser would be forced to walk away from NXT. This match all stemmed from Elias Samson confronting Kassius Ohno, telling him he does not belong in NXT, which lead to the loser leaves NXT challenge from Ohno. On to the match at hand. Back and forth trades by both men to start off and Ohno even went for a quick pin, much to Sampson’s frustration. Ohno had the upper hand for a while but was quickly countered when Sampson whipped Ohno into the steel steps outside the ring for a quick momentum switch. As we came back from the final commercial break, the heel Samson was in complete control, all over Ohno.
The Drifter furthered the offence when he managed to lock Ohno in the Crossface to attempt the submission victory, however, Ohno got the escape. That didn’t change the fact that Samson was still in charge for the time being, which eventually led to a punching trade between both men, but Ohno just could not get on top of Sampson. I must say Elias Samson was looking great in his showing. Things started to turn around for The Knockout Artist when he landed a brutal and great looking Cyclone Kick to the face of Sampson for yet another switch of momentum and a great near fall. There was some awesome stuff going on in this match, both men were absolutely brilliant. Punches, knees, kicks, it had it all, it was flat out action. The amazing contest came to its close when Sampson attempted a Neckbreaker, only for out of nowhere, Ohno to land his Knockout Elbow. 1..2..3..Game over, and now Elias Samson has to ‘drift’ away from NXT.
Awesome match here, match of the night for me personally. Post-match, Elias Sampson attempted a run only to be caught by security. And Kassius Ohno decided to smash up Samson’s guitar to leave The Drifter leaving NXT raging.
Kassius Ohn Beat Elias Samson By Pinfall-KO Elbow
Overall Thoughts
Now next up is what is sure to be the amazing NXT Takeover Orlando. I really can’t wait for this. The Revival have the momentum heading into Saturday based on what happened tonight. We got another promo leading to the debut of Aleister Black, and the upcoming match against the impressive Andrade “Cien” Almas. We finally got the re-debut of Heavy Machinery and they looked fantastic, and you never know, if there happens to be spare time on Saturday’s show, they can find themselves in the contest. And finally, the main event was superb as far as I am concerned, and although someone had to leave, this should surely mean that Elias Samson is on his way to the main roster. So, to The Drifter, congratulations in advance. Thanks to anyone who joined me for the go-home review, and be sure to leave comments. Take care guys.