Welcome to NXT Future Five on Last Word On Sports, where each week we analyze the latest episode of World Wrestling Entertainment Network’s hottest program, NXT and rank the five performers who made the biggest impact.
Highlights of the Night
Eva Marie vs Carmella: NXT was smart in capitalizing on the botch in her match from a few weeks ago. They had Eva thank the referee in one of those interview box gimmicks from Superstars in the 1990s. Carmella came out doing her schtick to polite response. Carmella started by rushing Eva and beating her down in the corner. She tossed Marie to the outside, but one she returned, Eva took control with a knee to the gut and a snap suplex. Marie took the fight into the corner with shoulders to the abdomen, then followed up with a big boot off the ropes that only earned a two count. Out of the corner we got another suplex and another two count. Some idiots in the crowd started a Super Dragon chant which thankfully died quickly. Eva slapped Carmella and taunted the NXT Universe by asking them how they were doin’. There was some choking on the ropes and then a surfboard submission from the red haired vixen. The crowd got behind Carmella and she fought back, turning things around with a head scissors and a pair of Thez Presses. Carmella threw Eva into her boot and went for a cover, but Marie had her foot on the rope. Frustrated, Carmella went after Eva again, but Maire used her leverage to toss the Princess of Staten Island to the outside where she banged her head on the ramp and was counted out.
Bull Dempsey vs Tyler Breeze: Breeze tried to dodge Dempsey and lock on a headlock. Bull threw him off and attacked with a shoulder tackle. Breeze went for a clothesline but Bull ducked and tussled Prince Pretty’s hair. Tyler continued to try and pull off dazzling moves, but Dempsey had an answer for everyone. His lucky finally ran out when attempting his Bull Punches on the apron. Breeze was able to knock him down to the floor, although Bull got back in at the count of six. With Dempsey back in the ring, Tyler went to work on his larger opponent with rough stomps. Back from commercial we found Bull trapped in a chin lock and Breeze going after his eyes. Bull eventually shoved off Breeze, but Tyler came back with elbows to the trapezius. The crowd began chanting Bullfit and it inspired Dempsey to fight out of the hold and perform a back body drop to break out of Tyler’s clutches. Breeze fired off shots, but they only seemed to make Dempsey mad. Bull fired back with his Bull Punches, and ended it off with a headbutt, knee lift, and belly shot. One avalanche splash later Dempsey was scaling the top, but Breeze rolled to the apron. Dempsey pulled him back in and went up top again, but Tyler shoved him off and hooked his leg on the bottom rope to steal the pin fall victory.
Texas Live Event Recaps: It started with shots of Big Cass asking each crowd how they were doin. Then, we saw various clips from the show spliced in with crowd’s reactions and comments. This kind of stuff makes the live events seem like must see experiences. It’s very smart marketing on their part. It finished off with various pictures the superstars took throughout their travels and Finn Balor thanking the crowd. You won’t find a better commercial for the live product
Asuka Signing: We started with NXT General Manager William Regal in the ring, who introduced Kana. She came out in a business suit, wearing her doll mask. The name on the video screen changed to her new name Asuka, and she played to the crowd. Regal asked if there was anything she wanted to say, and in response she let out a scream of joy and said she was happy to be there in NXT. She must have been watching Apollo Crews promos. In her broken English she got across that she wanted to be NXT women’s champion, then signed her contract. The crowd accepted her immediately and chanted her name while she signed her contract. The party was interrupted however by Dana Brooke and Emma, claiming to be NXT’s welcoming committee. They wanted to let Asuka know that they are in charge. They claimed to have run Charlotte and Becky Lynch out of NXT and warned her to play nice. Asuka exited the ring, but paused on the ring apron, only to walk down the stairs and up the ramp. Once she got to the top, she turned around to flash a smile at Emma and Brooke in the ring, leaving her fellow divas looking confused.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Update: Kyle Edwards gave a run down of the tournament so far and then showed footage of Dawson & Wilder upsetting the NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillians in San Antonio to advance. Then Edwards went into hype mode, advertising next week’s tournament match between Fin Balor & Samoa Joe vs Big Cass & Enzo Amore. He moved to the other side of the bracket, where the Hype Bros and the team of Chad Gable & Jason Jordan both cut promos. Dedicating this much time to the tournament adds to the prestige. No complaints here.
Blake & Murphy vs The Vaudevillians: Blake and Gotch locked up to start things off. We got the traditional universal and a foot grab from Alexa Bliss on the outside. This brought out Blue Pants who chased her into the ring and lead to a cat fight, eventually chasing Bliss up the ramp. Back in the ring, Blake continued to be double teamed by the champions until they slowed things down to lock in a chin lock. Blake made his way to his feet and went after English’s ear to slap on his own side head lock. Aiden got back up at the urging of the crowd, ate a shoulder tackle, then missed a drop kick attempt. Blake and Murphy went for a double clothesline but instead got caught with a double Japanese arm drag. The fight spilled to the outside where Aiden got caught by Murphy, landing a back suplex on the apron before heading into commercial. After the break, the attack on Aiden continued with double stomps and chokes in the corner. Murphy hit a European uppercut and went for a pin but only scored a two count. Some more classic double team moves and pin attempts from the challengers saw them get no closer to recapturing the championship. With a chin lock locked in, English fought back, eventually throwing Murphy out of the ring, When he tried to re-enter, English nailed him with a powerful uppercut, then scored the hot tag to Gotch. Simon used forearms in the corner and set up Blake for a rolling senton, swanton combo, but Blake got his knees up. Murphy followed up with diving knees that earned a two count. Frustrated, Murphy got caught in a roll up, but was able to kick out. Moments later, Murphy was dumped to the outside, leaving Blake to eat a Whirling Dirvish and lose their shot to recapture the gold.
Enzo Amore & Big Cass/Finn Balor & Samoa Joe Promos: A pair of impassioned promos from both teams main eventing next week’s show. Enzo was emotional, talking about how important Dusty Rhodes was to him, while Cass emphasized the respect they have for Balor & Joe at the same time sending them a warning that next week that respect goes out the window. Joe and Balor had an interesting promo where Finn spoke proudly of Dusty and Joe seemed to play his hype man. One again, Joe made sure to refer to Balor as champ and touch the NXT Championship. More seeds planted in a subtle way to close the show.
The Future Five
5. Eva Marie: Eva Marie continues to make slow progress each week, but she is still getting valuable time in front of the camera and learning how to become a capable superstar. One thing I am impressed with is her determination to roll with whatever she is faced with. Crowd hates her? She embraces it. Botched a move last week? She works off of it. It is naïve to believe that she will be exceptional with such little experience, and while the argument could be made that WWE should know better, Eva continues to try her best, even if her #RedEverything campaign should be changed to #GreenEverything.
4. Tyler Breeze: Despite the fact that his opponent Bull Dempsey was in complete control of their match, Breeze did out-smart the Bullfit Guru and managed to sneak away with a victory, despite the questionable tactics he used to get there. It would also appear that Tyler might have moved on from Dempsey to the true blue Apollo Crews. If that truly is the case and Prince Pretty has left Bull in the dust, then he not only won the battle, but the war as well.
3. Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder: These two rough necks didn’t technically have a match this week, but they did make a huge impact when we got to see footage of them defeatingthe NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillians in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament match. Not only did the win advance them in the tournament, but one has to believe that a future title shot will not be far behind for this team that is really starting to come into their own.
2. Blake & Murphy: Even though they didn’t manage to reclaim their championship glory in their bid for the NXT Tag Team Titles, the former champs Blake & Murphy fought like champions this week. What’s more, they did it relatively without the help of Alexa Bliss, who they had become increasingly reliant on in the last few months. This match proved that they were still capable of being champions, even if they came up short. There were several instances where I was unsure if there would be a title change. The might have lost this week, but only barely, and they are most certainly in line for a rematch down the line.
1. The Vaudevillians: This was a very important win for the NXT Tag Team Champions this week. Since defeating the former champions Blake & Murphy at Takeover: Brooklyn, Aiden English & Simon Gotch haven’t exactly lit up the tag team scene in NXT. In fact, they lost a very high profile match to Dawson & Wilder in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. With all of this against them, winning in decisive fashion was a big feather in the cap of the champs, and one they desperately needed. They came through when it counted, and it earned them the top spot this week.
Final Thoughts
If I could describe this episode of NXT in one word, I would have to channel the spirit of Imortan Joe from Mad Max: Fury Road and say it was mediocre. It was a solid show but it felt more like a time killer than anything else. The Tag Team Championship match had some weight to it, but it just left me wondering where both teams go from here. In fact, most segments on this show left me with more questions than answers. What was with that bizarre Asuka segment? How much longer can Bull Dempsey continue to lose? When will Apollo Crews have a bad day? While having these questions can cause intrigue, I was left with hope that next week’s episode will be give us a main event to remember, and hopefully some good extras.
