NXT TV PRIMER
DECEMBER 6, 2017
PRE-TAPED
AIRING ON WWE NETWORK
By Joey Galizia (@RamJam89), PWTorch contributor

ANNOUNCED BY WWE:

• New NXT Champion Andrade Cien Almas celebrates his impressive title victory from Takeover WarGames.
• Qualifiers for the no. 1 contenders match: Kassius Ohno vs. Velveteen Dream, and Trent Seven vs. Killian Dain
• Ruby Riott and Sonya Deville clash in a No Holds Barred Match

“EL ‘IDOLO”

If you are a follower of these PWTorch Primers you are aware that I have nothing but positive things to say about Andrade Cien Almas, especially his pairing with the dynamite Zelina Vega who may be billed at five feet tall, but has the presence of someone much bigger. Cien’s triumph in Houston over Drew McIntyre was as exciting as it was surprising, and with the Big Scotsman injured, El Idolo can focus on a proper champions celebration this evening. However, he won’t want to drop his guard for too long. General Manager William Regal is already thinking ahead to Takeover Philadelphia, and has set up a number of qualifier matches ahead of a Fatal Four-Way No. 1 Contenders match to determine who Almas will face the weekend of Royal Rumble. The first to go at it tonight will be the knockout machine Kassius Ohno and the light of any darkness Velveteen Dream. Both men are coming off a loss from Houston, but will look to bounce back to enter the NXT Title picture.

The other qualifier for the evening will be one-half of Mustache Mountain Trent Seven, going up against the muscle of SANITY Killian Dane. As charming as Trent is, I sure do feel bad that he has to be in the path of a very angry Dane. He and his SANITY brothers have had a pretty rough time since they captured the NXT Tag Titles. Speaking of…

“IT IS PURPOSE THAT DRIVES US”

Eric Young put up a valiant effort inside the cages of WarGames, but was the man who ate the pin. That should be more than enough of a reason for the Undisputed to claim they deserve a tag-title opportunity. Adam Cole will have his own qualifier for the Fatal Four-way against Aleister  Black, but that’s not tonight so he gets to take the evening off. The Authors of Pain meanwhile still haven’t received a proper title rematch without interference since Brooklyn, and will most likely be hanging around Wednesday Nights until they get a proper send off.

“ONE LAST TIME”

The other big match announced for this evening is a rematch of Houston’s preshow. Ruby Riot(T) has been making waves on Smackdown Live with her “Riot Squad” composed of herself, Sarah Logan, and Liv Morgan, but will she be able to leave NXT with a victory? Sonya Deville has also been having a major main roster impact but on Monday nights with her new bestie Paige. Sonya was a victim of Ruby’s enziguri in Houston, can she even the score at 1-1?

“FIND YOUR SMILE”

-Johnny Gargano needs to do some serious soul searching. He hasn’t had a victory since he disposed of Tino and Riddick almost two months ago, and failed to capture the United Kingdom Championship a few Saturday’s ago. Will Johnny take place in this tournament? Hopefully, because the only place for Sir Wrestling to go from here is up.

-Pete Dunne chose Mark Andrews as his partner last week, but that wasn’t enough to best Tyler Bate and Trent Seven. The former U.K. Champion scored the deciding pinfall over his great rival, and one wonders when we will receive Bate/Dunne 3.

-Ember Moon doesn’t get the same champions celebration Andrade is getting, but she also needs to focus on who her first challenger will be. Most likely, Kairi Sane who scored a W over Peyton Royce just seven days ago. Will the Eclipse be enough to finish the INSANE Elbow?

As always a warning that spoilers are out for these tapings. If you want to go in fresh, it should be a pretty fun episode. You watching?

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NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: 11/29 NXT PRIMER: Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce, Street Profits vs. Tino & Riddick, Mustache Mountain vs. Pete Dunne