Bobby Roode def. Tye Dilligner
This was the match I expected would start things off, featuring the homegrown Tye Dilligner and Roode’s Glorious entrance. Sort of surprised at the result here as I was honestly expecting Tye to get the win in his home country here, although this may signal his main roster call-up soon. The match started off kind of slow, but I think it was because they were taking their time to tell their story. The match picked up rather nicely, with spots such as the Sharpshooter and Roode’s consistent underhanded tactics being foiled. I believe that they were trying to build up sympathy for Tye throughout the match and I think that led to many people believing that Roode would be going over. If this was indeed Dilligner’s last stand in NXT, it was a good one. A very solid bout to open things up in my opinion. Though I have to say, first it was a gutwrench finisher at Brooklyn and now Edge’s Edgecution DDT tonight. Hopefully they work on Roode’s finisher, because it’s looking more and more generic. He’s still glorious though. ***1/2
Authors of Pain def. TM-61 – Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Final
Looks like just banning Ellering from ringside was just too simple, eh? I wasn’t really paying attention to all the theatrics regarding the cage, so I’m really just going to focus on the in-ring quality of the match. It was alright. Many people wanted TM-61 to win, just because it would be a good story, but the bottom line is that The Authors of Pain are an old school style tag team, with an old school manager, so it would only make sense for them to win. All these months of running rough shot through tag teams may have meant nothing if they didn’t win this, so the decision to put them over works for me. As for the in-ring quality, it’s pretty much every Authors of Pain match you’ve seen. So not necessarily bad, but nothing you’d regret missing. It was a good bout, but nothing I’d probably want to watch again. Let’s just say I was hoping for a more entertaining match for a tag team classic tournament honoring Dusty Rhodes. Nothing bad, but nothing blow-away either. It sort of was just there, despite the big stakes. Some nice high spots off the structure and some nice dives to the outside, but nothing you can’t go without seeing. The ending was also kind of flat to me. **1/2
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa (DIY) def. The Revival (C) – NXT Tag Team Championships (2 out of 3 Falls)
I called this as the match of the night, and saying I was right was a massive understatement. I mean, I’m shaking writing my review right now because of what I just saw. Folks, it doesn’t get closer to perfection than what we just witnessed. The mark of a good match is in its in-ring quality. The mark of a GREAT match is storytelling, and this match had that in spades. I won’t go through the countless moments that had me on the edge of my seat, but I could just preface the numerous near-falls, the sheer chemistry these two visibly share with each other and the way each team functions. Dash and Dawson’s old school heel style works so fluidly, and they work it to a tee. Whether it is distracting the referee, or consistently getting it into a 2 on 1 situation so frequently and all the trimmings. They also manage a pace in the match where they don’t tune the audience out. meanwhile, Gargano and Ciampa did a terrific job in playing the role of babyfaces in peril who have to overcome obstacles to achieve victory. I especially loved the storytelling towards the end of the third fall when Gargano was in a similar predicament as he was in Brooklyn and refused to tap out for a second time. This, in turn, also teased Ciampa turning on Gargano should he fail again. However, the moment of the match came for me when Gargano and Ciampa stole The Revival’s finisher, but Dawson saved the match and the very last minute in what had to be one of the closest near falls I have ever seen. It’s really hard for me to give this anything less than the full monty in all candor. There really isn’t anything that I could use to degrade the match. The only other match that I’ve rated as five stars since I started reviewing these shows was Zayn and Nakamura’s match in Dallas. This tag match, in terms of entertainment value, was better to me and just a great 20+ minute match of awesome storytelling, incredible chemistry and an ending that you have to see. The match is deserving of every bit of praise it gets. Words cannot describe the sorrow I feel for Asuka and Mickie James, who have to come out after this spectacle. I don’t know if this means we’ve seen the last of The Revival in NXT, but it appears a main roster call up in the future may be in the works. Perhaps they are the team to end The New Day’s historic reign? Is it a stretch to call this the greatest tag team match in any WWE affiliated match in history? I don’t think so. It was that damn good. Watch it again. And again. And again. And fall in love with it each time. *****
Asuka (C) def. Mickie James – NXT Women’s Championship
I was a bit skeptical as to how Mickie James would handle coming back in a WWE ring, especially with someone as physical and hard-hitting as Asuka, but she held her own for me. Though, I did wish that WWE hadn’t use that theme for her return. The company played well off of James’ history with the company and I’m glad that they also pushed her as a viable threat to take the title off of Asuka in the match. With the ending sequence of Asuka turning down a handshake in lieu of mocking her with the title, I can only assume that these two are going to get at it again sometime in the future, and that’s fine with me. While Asuka’s matches with Bayley were better because it had a faster, concentrated pace, I thought Mickie did a good job telling a story with Asuka in this match with their back and forth. A good watch, though the ending tap out for me was sort of abrupt and sort of cooled off any steam the match had going for it. ***1/4
Samoa Joe def. Shinsuke Nakamura (C) – NXT Championship
In a way I am surprised, but also not surprised that Joe took the title back. I mean, if you look at the way he was booked and how he bulldozed people that got in his way since losing the NXT Title in Brooklyn, it could have been deemed awkward to book him as this unsatisfied monster who loses a second straight time and then heads up to the main roster. It’s shocking in the fact that Nakamura has yet to lose and many people thought either Hideo Itami or Bobby Roode would be the ones to end his reign, not Joe in a rematch just three months after winning the belt. Anyways, I thought this match had better pacing than their Brooklyn match. I also liked Joe concentrating on taking away Nakamura’s best weapon, being his knees for the Kinsasha. What took away from the match for me was the inconsistent selling of the knee by Nakamura. He’s a classy vet and knows his way in the ring, but I thought that they should have played up his injured knee in the finish more. Because it was really when Nakamrua was slammed onto the steel steps just like he was before and then a finisher to end the match after working the knee all match didn’t make sense to me. It didn’t take away from the quality of the match, because both worked a physical style and the two clicked. I was expecting a little more, but don’t color me disappointed, because I’m still amazed at the tag title match we saw. And based on how the crowd reacted, so were they as well. Now, I don’t know who will be beating Joe soon to the take the NXT Title off him, or whether or not he gets called to the main roster with the belt like Kevin Owens was, but it was a very good main event, no matter how you slice. I probably won’t remember it five months from now, but for what we got and for a one nighter, it was a good watch. ****
Conclusion:
NXT does it once again. There was nothing bad on this show and NXT gave Canadian fans their money’s worth tonight. However, and I cannot stress this enough, that tag team match must be replayed over and over again. It will never get old watching two teams with such undeniable chemistry leave it all in the ring. In all honesty, the tag team match was so damn good, you could live without seeing the rest of the matches on the card and just be satisfied with that. I wish I was kidding. I am so serious. It’s that great. You must see it to believe it yourselves. So overall, what more can I say? The tag team title match alone gives this show a thumbs up, but because there wasn’t anything egregious on the card, we had shocking finishes, Mickie looking good in her return and the tease of their feud being continued and more talent being built up, this show accomplished many things, and did what it needed in spades. So this gets a thumbs way up from yours truly. Until next time.
