SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT REVIEW
FEBRUARY 15, 2017
TAPED AT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
AIRED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY JUSTIN JAMES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
[Q1] Pre-credits package reminds us that Tyler Bate faces Trent Seven for the UK Championship tonight.
The announcers promise an update on shinsuke Nakamura, who seems to have returned to the NXT house show circuit. The Authors of Pain make their way out for a match.
(1) NXT Tag Team Champions THE AUTHORS OF PAIN (AKAM & REZAR w/Paul Ellering) vs. JOBBER TEAM
Quick squash to show the dominance of the Authors of Pain.
WINNERS: The Authors of Pain at 1:10. We’ve seen this before, and AOP didn’t need this time. The Revival or #DIY did. NXT Champions shouldn’t be in non-title matches without reason.
Post-match, AOP hit the jobber team with the Super Collider to make their point clear, as Ellering applauds.
The announcers state that Nakamura has returned to training.
Billie Kay and Peyton Royce strut to the ring for their match against Liv Morgan and a partner of her choice. And she has Ember Moon in her corner. Which makes absolutelyno sense from Ember Moon’s perspective. She’s easily beaten everyone in this match already.
(3) EMBER MOON & LIV MORGAN vs. BILLIE KAY & PEYTON ROYCE – Tag Team Match
[Q2] Moon to start the match against Kay. Moon is down off a shoulder block. Dueling arm drags, Moon with a boot to the middle then head scissors into a cover for one. Moon wants a moonsault but Royce interferes from the apron. Teamwork from Royce and Kay gets a two count. Moon breaks free and tags Morgan, who steamrolls Royce. Running bulldog and Morgan kips up. STO but Kay breaks up the cover at two. Kay clears Moon who tries to take her out of the ring. Morgan is double teamed and Kay covers for the win.
WINNERS: Billie Kay & Peyton Royce at 3:19. Really weak match here. No energy or flow at all. The Kay – Royce pairing feels super lame, and there was no good reason for Moon to be in this match, never mind made to look bad for getting cleared out of the ring so easily.
Recap of Eric Young’s promo on Tye Dillinger and Dillinger’s interview (and ambush by Sanity) afterwards. Roderick Strong and No Way Jose made the save.
Interview with Jose and Strong in the Performance Center. Strong says that he used to be a bully like Eric Young. But he is stepping up because three onone, four on one isn’t fair. Jose talks about how defending Dillinger is important so Sanity doesn’t ruin NXT.
#DIY makes their first appearance since losing the Tag Team Championship.
Ciampa talks about how proud they were to capture the NXT Tag Team Championship and then have that match voted match of the year. He turns his attention to AOP. Gargano puts over AOP. Gargano claims he saw doubt in their eyes, and vows to come back. Ellering comes out, and offers them the rematch in two weeks. And tells them to “make peace with your loved ones” so Ciampa tells Gargano he loves him. The Revival show up out of nowhere to hit ambush #DIY and hit a Shatter Machine, then they sneak out the back as AOP charges the ring.
Video package on Trent Seven.
Video package re-introducing Kassius Ohno. Lots of clips from his initial NXT run when he was a pillar of the early FSU era.
[Q3] William Regal in his office books Royce, Morgan, and Moon in a Triple Threat next week in a #1 contender match. The Championship match will be against Asuka in two weeks.
Both Tyler Bate and Trent Seven get a good reaction from the crowd.
(3) UK Champion TYLER BATE vs. TRENT SEVEN – UK Championship Match
Lockup and the larger Seven backs Bate to the ropes, then gently touches Bate’s mustache on the break. Another lockup and Bate uses leverage to get Seven to the ripes, then tweaks Seven’s mustache. Shoulder block from Bate and Bate kind of bounces off and looks perplexed. Seven invites another one, Bate tries it and stuns himself again. And again, but Bate rebounds and slams Bate with one of his own. Suplex from Seven into a cover for one. Bate speeds things up, lands a dropkick and kips up to send Seven to the outside. McGuiness mocks Percy Watson for playing American football and wearing pads.
[ Break ]
Bate has Seven grounded after the break, but Seven gets to his feet. Seven invites Bate to hit him, and Bate gives it everything he’s got. Seven looks for a backslide but Bate blocks, Seven then hits it and covers for a close two count. Seven charges, Bate gets a foot up, Seven catches it but takes a forearm, then Bate scrambles up top for a flying European uppercut. Bate soars over the top with a crossbody and they are both down on the mat. The ref starts a double count. Bate throws Seven into the ring instead of trying a count out win or double count out. Seven surprises Bate with a powerbomb for two. Bate kicks away from the Seven Star Lariat, and gets Seven up for an airplane spin. Bate looks woozy, then returns to life and spins the other way. He puts Seven down and looks to hit a German suplex. Seven suddenly hits a suplex of his own, powerbomb into a cover for two, transitions into a half crab.
Bate breaks loose of the crab. Bate lates blows and dodges Seven’s responses, but as he poses, Seven catches him with the Seven Star Lariat for a very close nearfall. The crowd is on their feet cheering the match. Seven heads to the top rope with Bate down mid-ring. Bate recovers and hits a dropkick, then meets Seven at the top. Bate looks for a superplex, but Seven has elbows for him. Seven transitions to a super Gordbuster, but Bate fights out, then gets his exploder suplex from the top rope, cover for a nearfall. Bate stalks Seven, but Seven is pretty much out cold. Seven recovers and escapes the Tyler Driver, spinning backfist from Seven, rolling kick from Bate, Tyler Driver ’97 wraps it up.
WINNER: Tyler Bate at 13:26. Really outstanding match here. A different style then we usually see on NXT, but both men have oodles of charisma and bring it in the ring. I hope to see more from both Bate and Seven soon.
Post-match, Bate offers a handshake over the title, and Seven accepts, then brings Bate in for a hug.
FINAL THOUGHTS: NXT seems to be wrapping up a lot of loose ends in the next few weeks so they can get a number of matchups out of the way and set up the final storylines for Takeover: Orlando on WrestleMania weekend. I feel like we may be seeing a three-way tag team title match in Orlando. Moon should be facing Asuka in two weeks, unless Royce manages to pull off a win with some sort of outside help from Kay. The NXT Championship scene is a complete mess, with Nakamura’s injury and no one else anywhere near the title scene. The people who should be looking at becoming the #1 contender after Nakamura are embroiled in a go-nowhere six-person feud.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 2/8 NXT TV REVIEW: Nigel McGuinness replaces Graves on commentary, Nakamura knee injury update, Regal announces European Title update
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