WWE NXT TV Tapings
September 25, 2014
Full Sail University
Report by Josh Parry, PWTorch NXT correspondent

Doors for the event opened in the midst of our daily Florida deluge, so everybody was very wet, and eager to get indoors!

The advertised autograph signing was changed from Hideo Itami to Cesaro. I'm relatively unfamiliar with Itami's pre-WWE work, so this was a pleasant surprise for me, as a big Cesaro fan. He was very humble and courteous. Great experience!

Of note, the middle rope is pink, and the stage graphics and arena lighting have been turned pink for breast cancer awareness month.

A return date of Thursday, October 23 was announced, with special guest, Seth Rollins.

Dark Match: Dash Wilder beat Chad Gable. Gable came out dressed in uncanny Kurt Angle gear, and caught some flak from the fans. From move set, attire, to mannerisms, Gable was obviously a deliberate Angle rip-off.

Episode 1 - Thursday, October 16

A handheld video from Enzo Amore and Big Cass kicked off the show on the Titantron. Enzo and Cass were showing Carmella around the Performance Center, but Enzo couldn't stop looking at Carmella and eventually fell off his treadmill. The opening credits aired.

(1) Baron Corbin beat an unnamed enhancement wrestler. Corbin's got a very strobe-heavy new entrance. The two men engaged in a quick lockup, before Corbin pushed his opponent off the ropes and caught him in position for his swinging complete-shot finisher. Corbin continues to be very popular.

Sami Zyan was out next to a big reaction. Zayn waited out a very long and loud "Ole" and "Sami" chants. This guy's charisma is off the charts. I'll be shocked if he isn't Daniel Bryan levels of over when he gets to the main roster.

Sami addressed the crowd and admitted that he was embarrassed to have been beaten by Titus O'Neil in front of this audience, which has watched him grow and excel from the beginning of his journey in NXT. He vowed that here onwards, he will not be stopped on his journey to become the NXT champion.

At this, Tyson Kidd came to the ring to rub in the fact that Sami's been coming up short lately. After exchanging some really funny one-liners, Sami challenged Tyson to a match tonight, which he accepted. Brilliant segment!

(2) NXT Tag Team champions The Lucha Dragons (Sin Cara & Kalisto) beat Buddy Murphy & Wesley Blake in a non-title match.

(3) NXT Women's champion Charlotte beat Becky Lynch in a non-title match. Lynch continues to be very popular with the crowd. She has a Lita-esque sort of edge to her.

(4) Les Legionnaires (Marcus Louis & Sylvester Lefort) vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass ended in a No Contest when Louis randomly snapped and turned on Sylvester, before storming from the arena.

Post-match, Amore got on the mic and said that he thinks they have time for another match. He called out his friend "Blue Pants" to the ring. A woman dressed in, you guessed it, blue pants, came to the ring. Cass then introduced Carmella. "Ba da bing, hottest chick in the ring."

(5) Carmella beat "Blue Pants" with a figure-four headlock. Carmella's still very green, but she's so charismatic. The crowd is way into the Enzo and Co. act.

(6) Sami Zayn beat Tyson Kidd with the Helluva Kick. This was an awesome main event caliber match. NXT is going to sorely miss these guys whenever they find their way up to the main roster.

Episode 2 - Thursday, October 23

(1) The Ascension beat Jason Jordan & Tye Dillinger with the Fall of Man.

Post-match, Hideo Itami came down the ramp looking for a fight, but got totally laid out. He looked a little stupid for doing that with no back-up for the third week in a row, and he garnered very little crowd sympathy.

(2) Tyler Breeze beat C.J. Parker with the Beauty Shot. Mojo Rawley came out during the match and awkwardly walked around the ring selling his arm injury inflicted by Breeze from last taping.

(3) The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch) beat Buddy Murphy & Wesley Blake.

(4) Sasha Banks beat Bayley. Good, long-form women's match. Post-match, Sasha tried to attack Bayley again, but Becky Lynch came out and made the save. After running Sasha off, Lynch suddenly floored Bayley by grabbing her hair and pulling her down while her back was turned. A two-on-one attack ensued in the ring before Sasha and Becky left to the back arm-in-arm.

(5) NXT champion Adrian Neville beat Titus O'Neil to retain the NXT Title. Titus looked really stiff, and Neville is such a good bumper, so it made for a fun dynamic. Definitely check this out.

Post-match, as Neville made his way back up the ramp, Sami Zayn emerged on-stage and came face-to-face with Adrian. Zayn let Neville know he has something he wants around his waist. Neville said that he's confident enough in the fact that Zayn can't win the big one to grant him his title shot whenever and wherever he wants it. Interesting. It wasn't clarified whether or not this would be a MITB style privilege or otherwise. It would be a really interesting twist to see Zayn cash in on an incapacitated Neville to win the title.

An awesome couple of episodes here so far.

Episode 3 - Thursday, October 30

(1) Tag Team Battle Royal for the number one contendership to the NXT Tag Team Titles: The Vaudevillains beat Enzo Amore & Big Cass, Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy, Jason Jordan & Tye Dillinger, and The Ascension.

Post-Match, Hideo Itami hit the ring to attempt an ambush on The Ascension, but was once again taken out. Fans were chanting for the expected intervention of Funaki, but it never came.

(2) Carmella beat Emma with a figure-four headlock.

(3) Bull Dempsey beat Justin Gabriel with a diving headbutt.

(4) Baron Corbin beat an unnamed enhancement wrestler. The crowd counted along with the match time from 1 to 23 seconds, bell-to-bell. Baron continues to be impressive.

(5) Marcus Louis beat Sylvester Lefort.

(6) Sami Zayn beat Titus O'Neil with the Helluva Kick. Better than Zayn's previous match with Titus, and better than Neville's match with him on the pervious show.

Post-match, Tyler Breeze came out on stage and noted that Sami has found himself on quite the role lately. While he poses a threat to the NXT Championship, he can't expect to beat Neville unless he can beat the man who has never lost to him, Tyler Breeze. Breeze challenged Zayn to a match "next week," which he accepted.

Episode 4 - Thursday, November 6

The crew changed the middle rope back to yellow, and we're back to standard arena colors heading into November.

Hideo Itami makes his way to the stage. He says that his stint of bad luck with The Ascension ends now. Tonight, he is brining a partner.

(1) Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch beat Charlotte & Bayley.

(2) Tyson Kidd beat Dash Wilder with a Sharpshooter. This was a good way to put Kidd back on the map after coming up short on his title aspirations.

(3) Sami Zayn beat Tyler Breeze with the Helluva Kick. Awesome, awesome match. I'd say just about on-par with their outing from Takeover I. They did some good work playing up the drama of Sami needing to win in order to continue his roll, going into a title match with Adrian Neville.

The Ascension made their way to the ring. They declared that tonight, they're going to put Itami out of his misery. Itami emerged on stage and pointed to the back. The lights went out, and slow-building, ominous music played. Suddenly, "Prince Devitt" flashed across the screen and a dark rock track hit. I could have been at WrestleMania, the crowd pop was so loud! When Devitt emerged on-stage, the video wall changed to say Finn Bálor. Finn and Hideo stormed the ring, taking it to The Ascension with kicks and areal assault. Bálor hit an incredible foot stomp from the top rope all the way to the arena floor, onto Viktor, then came back into the ring and did the same to Konnor. Itami followed up with a running knee for good measure. The crowd erupted in "Yes!" chants. This episode ended with Bálor and Itami posing in the turnbuckles before heading up the ramp together, as Ascension lay motionless in the ring.

End of taping.

A post-show dark match of Jack Swagger vs. Rusev was held, but I did not stay to watch.

Wow... NXT really knows how to rebound from its lows and deliver massively in the follow-up. Every episode that was taped tonight had at least one can't-miss segment. The biggest thing from this set was obviously the surprise debut of Finn Bálor, but Sami Zayn truly stole the show with five total segments and three excellent main event showings. Make it a priority to keep up with NXT in the coming months!

From here, the following set of tapings will take them up to December 4. I presume they'll air the next live special with the anticipated Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville title match on December 11.

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