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NXT TV REPORT
NOVEMBER 28, 2018
TAPED IN SAN JOSE, CALIF.
REPORT BY JUSTIN JAMES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuiness
[Q1] NXT is coming from San Jose, filmed in November. Nigel McGuinness and Vic Joseph are on the mic.
(1) ONEY LORCAN & DANNY BURCH vs. THE MIGHTY (SHANE THORNE & NICK MILLER)
Burch and Thorne start, Burch controls and takes Thorne to his corner to bring in Lorcan. Rapid tags and chain wrestling. Thorne tugs an ear and seems to grab an eye, tags in Miller but Lorcan gets away from the corner. Rollup gets Lorcan two, he transitions to a single leg crab and a crossface from Burch keep Thorne away until Miller gets to the ropes. The Mighty use a distraction so Miller to attack Lorcan from behind. Nigel McGuinness bizarely compares Thorne to a Great White shark, an alligator, and a crocodile. Basic heel tag team offense until Burch gets the hot tag to heat things up. McGuinness calls him “The Governor” for reasons I do not understand. Burch takes out Thorne and Miller by himself, tags Lorcan to set up their team finisher, but Miller breaks it up. Thorne and Lorcan with some back-and-forth. Sweet suplex from Lorcan followed by a plancha. Lorcan and Burch are super over with the crowd for their offense. Lorcan and Burch try another team move, Thorne fends them off, The Mighty try a team finisher but a tackle from Burch ends that, and they both cover The Mighty for a stereo pin.
WINNERS: Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch in 7:51. Yet another match with The Mighty getting the bulk of the offense that felt 10 minutes longer than it really was.
Post-match, The Mighty ambush Lorcan and Burch to spoil their win. The Mighty needed heat a lot less than Lorcan and Burch need to stay strong.
Mia Yim is set to face Vanessa Borne, and Lars Sullivan is booked against Keith Lee.
Recap of EC3 getting taken out last week with a chair by Bobby Fish after defeating Adam Cole.
EC3 is facing Marcel Barthel next.
[Q2] “Earlier today” with Kairi Sane, Io Sharai, and Dakota Kai. Sane knows the referee’s decision is final, but she isn’t done with Shayna Baszler. Kai reminds us of her history with Baszler, and Sharai says that Sane is her best friend and hugs her. They want all three of the Horsewomen.
(2) EC3 vs. MARCEL BARTHEL
Lockup, then they break. EC3 says they have a fight. Another lockup and break. Barthel embarasses EC3 on the third lockup, then breaks and shouts “Nein!” EC3 returns the favor, then ducks a wild swing and cinches in a side headlock. Barthel backs EC3 into the corner, then hits a mildly cheap enziburi, then stomps in the corner. EC3 gets wrapped up in the ropes so Barthel dropkicks him, then poses in the corner. The crowd dumps “USA” chants on Barthel. EC3 fights out of a hold and delivers punches and an elbow and a body slam. Running elbow drop, then the One Percenter ends it.
WINNER: EC3 at 4:08. That match also felt longer than it was. Nothing really wrong with it, just a lack of excitment for me.
Post-match, EC3 cuts a promo saying that someone tried to take him out and he won’t tolerate it. He says it isn’t about Undisputed Era, it is about Bobby Fish. Nice, serious promo here until he started slipping his catchphrase in.
[ J.J.’s Reax: Take out a bit of the silliness at the very end of the promo, and this was definitely something that could turn me around on EC3. ]
Dijakovic vignette. Good stuff.
“Earlier this week” at the Performance Center, a reporter bugs Candice LaRae but she doesn’t even acknowledge his presense.
[Q3] McGuinness goes full-on Corey Graves with Mandy Rose on Vanessa Borne. He even pretends she is a big threat, which she hasn’t been. With the announcers reminding us of Mia Yim’s beef with Bianca Belair, it feels like the stage is set for her to make an appearance.
(3) MIA YIM vs. VANESSA BORNE
Yim offers a handshake, Borne takes it then slaps Yim, which angers her. Arm drags are followed by a hold, but a handful of hair puts Yim on the mat. Yim takes Borne down then mounts her. A thumb to the eye behind the ref’s back gives Borne the advantage. Reverse Bronco Buster where Borne doesn’t slide off and chokes Yim in the ropes. Cover gets two on Yim. Yim finally gets an armbar, but Borne slips out, then trips Yim into the corner. Yim surprises Borne with a tarantula through the ropes. Yim finally rallies. Eat Defeat for the win.
WINNER: Mia Yim at 4:19. I know that NXT is afraid to create another Asuka situation, but bringing in people like Mia Yim and Matt Riddle and Keith Lee and then giving Borne or Luke Menzies or Marcel Barthel 3 minutes of offense against them in a 4 minute match is not effective in my mind.
“Earlier this week,” War Raiders are shown in the Performance Center’s trainer room, they are “banged up” after their War Games match.
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa has found a shipping crate to cut a cell phone promo. He reminds us of all of the promises he has fulfilled. He expects everyone to follow his lead next week when he returns to NXT.
(4) KEITH LEE vs. LARS SULLIVAN
They shove each other. Lars wants a shoulder tackle but Lee shrugs it off and wags a finger at him. They jaw. They ram each other. Lee wants to leapfrong, Sullivan catches him and shoves him in the corner. Lee pries Sullivan’s hands off him, then staggers Sullivan. Sullivan knocks Lee down and gloats. Lee slips out of a bodyslam and hits a crossbody for only one. Lee charges, Sullivan flips him over the ropes, then Lee tries a slingshot move and eats a boot.
[Q4] Sullivan is battering Lee around the ring. Sullivan does his pickup and throw to Lee, covers for one, then Sullivan hits a sliding clothesline followed by a headbutt off the second rope for two. Lee is trying to shake feeling back into his hand. Crossface blows from behind, then a chinlock. Sullivan beats Lee into the mat. Sullivan continues to grind Lee down. Lee gets free but Sullivan re-applies the hold. Lee tries to break free again but Sullivan turns it around and Lee hits the turnbuckle. Lee jumps over Sullivan who posts himself. Lee fires himself up. They trade punches. Slingshot crossbody from the apron gets Lee two. Double chops from Lee, blows from Sullivan. Lee with a shoulder block then a plancha to the outside, rolls Sullivan into the ring for a nearfall. Lee heads to the second rope, but whiffs a moonsault. Sullivan hits the Freak Accident for the win.
WINNER: Lars Sullivan. Decent long form match to show us Lee’s more athletic moves. That said, while it’s impressive to see a man of that size maneuvering like that, it still feels clunky. That said, I do not understand the booking here at all.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was exactly what it felt like on paper, a taped house show. Having Sullivan (who is getting main roster vignettes at this point) go over Lee, who needed a big win, made zero sense. Now Lee is defined down as being less than Sullivan, and Sullivan is enhanced even though we are expecting him to go up at any minute.
•Latest NXT Podcast – “PWT Talks NXT” PWTorch Livecast
In this episode, Kelly Wells, Harley R. Pageot, and Justin James cover Lars and those backstage who love him, what sets Burch and Lorcan apart, EC3 giving a believable promo, and more.
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NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 11/21 NXT TV REPORT: Nikki Cross vs. Candice LaRae, beginning of a heel turn, Keith Lee and Lars Sullivan featured in squash matches
Breaking News: Keith Lee sucks