Indy Minute - Your weekly source for independent wrestling news

NXT

  NXT TV opens with a recap of the Ascension attacks on Hideo Itami until he brought in his friend, Finn Balor, to even the odds against the longest reigning NXT tag team champions. I hope these four actually have a match sometime because that could be pretty good.

  Finn Balor opens the show this week. He has a pretty theatric entrance, which will definitely help him get over. The crowd gets behind him chanting “Finn” before he even speaks. But before he can say much, he’s interrupted by Tyson Kidd with Natalya (who is looking amazing).

  Tyson says he was brought into this business as a Hart and one of the first things they are taught is respect, something Balor clearly lacks. Justin Gabriel joins him and echoes his sentiments. He says he sick of every week, a new international talent arrives and thinks he’s “the guy.” Tyson and Gabriel get in the ring and corner Finn but Hideo Itami makes his way to the ring to have Balor’s back. Kidd and Gabriel back off but a ref shows up and it seems like this is going to be a tag match now.

  (It seems like Alex Riley, Rich Brennan and Jason Albert are always on commentary now.)

  Itami and Gabriel in first but he quickly tags in Kidd who goes for an arm ringer. Itami reverses and tags in Balor to a big pop. Kidd tags out quick and Balor nails Gabriel with a dropkick. Goes up top for a stomp and Kidd pulls Gabriel out but Balor hits them both with a tope con hilo.

  Kidd and Gabriel take advantage of Balor after keeping him off balance and tagging in and out quickly. Balor hits a big Pele kick and finally manages to tag Itami, who starts lighting up Kidd with kicks. After hitting double basement dropkicks into the corner, Balor nails Gabriel with a double stomp from the top rope for the win. He got some huge air on that one and really drove it into Gabriel. Balor’s music is pretty badass too and a lot more unique than most WWE themes these days.

  Backstage, Sami Zayn is with Devin Taylor. He says tonight feels different from opportunities he’s had in the past. He feels like this is his destiny.

  Up next, Sasha Banks takes on Alexa Bliss. I think Bliss has new music. No more “Did it all for the bling bling” or whatever that was. Still using the “Glitter blizzard” that Stardust tried to steal, which is good to see.

  Sasha on Bliss quickly with hard shots and lays her across the second turnbuckle and drops the double knees on her midsection followed by the Kyle O’Reilly rebound slap. Then locks Bliss in a bow and arrow which Bliss reverses into a cover.

  Bliss gets some momentum with a rebound headscissors and a yoshi tonic (sunset flip bomb) out of the corner. Bliss gets a bloody nose (which I think she got earlier in the match when Sasha smashed her face in the mat) and the crowd chants “E-C-Dub.” Banks hits a dropkick followed by the Bank Statement for the win. I hope we get to see Bliss more often going forward. Her style in the ring is a lot different from the other female wrestlers and with only four female wrestlers usually in competition on NXT (five if you count Carmella who has had a few short matches), there’s definitely room for more competitors for the Women’s championship.

  Adrian Neville is backstage with Devin. Says He says Sami is a good friend of his and an incredible competitor. But the difference is that Sami can’t win the big one, which will be proven again when Adrian leaves with the title and Sami leaves disappointed. This is like the third or fourth week in a row where Neville reiterates that Zayn can’t win the big one. Not making his mic skills seem very strong.

  The Lucha Dragons are up now to take on Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy (I refuse to call them Team Thick unless anyone besides Renee actually does).

  Murphy and Blake have terrible theme music. Dubstep is the worst. Despite that, I feel like they are going to be big stars in NXT if not WWE. They are solid in the ring and both are really strong. Plus, once the Ascension goes up there is an open spot for another regular tag team.

  Blake and Murphy keeping Kalisto grounded early, using their strength and power moves to keep him on the mat.  Kalisto finally has an opening, using his speed to escape Blake and Murphy and tag Sin Cara. Cara takes it to both Murphy and Blake, displaying some impressive strength with a power bomb before a swanton for the win. Kalisto also hit a ridiculous step up corkscrew plancha to the outside before the win, which like commentary said, I don’t think anyone has ever done in WWE.

  The Vaudevillains backstage with Devin. She asks about how they feel about the Lucha Dragons win. Aiden English and Simon Gotch give them a sarcastic golf clap of congratulations. Gotch says they should keep the gold shined and leather oiled because the belts won’t stay with two children but will go home with two men.

  Sami Zayn is out first for the main even NXT title match. Zayn is ridiculously over. Everyone loves this guy and I’m confident that even if he wasn’t Generico before, people would still love him cause he just has a natural charisma. Dude is gonna be huge. A “Sami’s better” chant breaks out with a faint “No he’s not” response.

  In the early goings, Sami seems to have the advantage, getting the best of every encounter. He knocks Adrian Neville outside and goes for hilo but Adrian moves and he rebounds off ropes and moonsaults to center with a loud “Ole” chant. Sami holds the ropes open for Adrian to get back in but he flips over the top rope instead. Adrian nails a series of kicks and a stiff low drop kick off the ropes.

  Adrian with the clear advantage now, weathering the early offense by Sami and using his speed and strength to keep Sami off balance and on the mat. Sami fights back and clotheslines him over the top and hits a hilo on Adrian on the outside. Sami rolls him back in and goes to the top rope for a cross body but Adrian counters with knees to the chest followed by a quick standing shooting star press but only gets a 2 count.

  Neville sets up for a power bomb but Sami blocks and catches a forearm. Sami reverses out and Adrian springboard to Sami shoulders spins around and wants a rana but Sami hits a p bomb for a 2. Sami hits two German suplexes in a row followed by a half and half (which he did all the time as El Generico but hasn’t pulled it out much in NXT) but only gets a 2 somehow.

  Sami charges into the corner for a Helluva Kick, Adrian gets the boot up and staggers Zayn. Sami tries to go for an exploder but Adrian counters in a victory roll for two. Adrian hits a head kick and looks for a Red Arrow as the crowd chants “NO” and Sami rolls away at the last second. Neville clutches his knee on the mat after the miss as Sami sets up for a Helluva Kick and looks unsure about what he should do. The ref throws up the crossed arm X and Sami looks concerned and checks on Neville. As he does, Neville rolls him up for the three count. Sami looks devastated and Neville drags himself over and pats Sami on the back. A trainer comes out to check on Adrian and Sami is still slumped in the same spot, in disbelief.

  Though I’d like Neville to be a more clearly defined heel in this feud, I like how they are successfully walking the line between Neville “winning cheaply” and “doing what he needs to do to stay champion.” I think in the long run, however, it would be more beneficial if they were to have Neville act more obviously evil in this instance. As amazing of an athlete as he is, Neville doesn’t have much going for him in the charisma department. He lacks whatever trait Sami has that makes him naturally likeable and in this feud he just seems like more of a jerk than an overt heel and in wrestling, playing the middle ground often isn’t as powerful as being naturally likeable and over-the-top evil.

  Finn Balor has been getting praise not only from WWE and NXT fans, but from all around the world. Here he is keeping kayfabe strong on Twitter with New Japan’s Yuji Nagata:

Lucha Underground

  This week’s episode of Lucha Underground showcased several luchadores from Mexico and featured a lot of incredible, high-flying action. In the first match, Mariachi Loco faced minis wrestler Mascarita Sagrada. Loco started the match making fun of Sagrada’s height but ended up losing when Sagrada surprised him with a cradle. Chavo Guerrero then attacked Sagrada after the match.

  In a segment following the match, Konnan told Chavo that Mexico knows what he did to Blue Demon Jr. and it will only be a matter of time before they find out about Sagrada and come after him. Next, Mil Muertes defeated Ricky Mandel and the main event featured three luchadores, Fenix, Drago and Pentagon Jr.

  Next to Puma versus Mundo from week one, this was one of the best matches Lucha Underground has put on so far. Drago was eliminated first after two piledrivers and Fenix pinned Pentagon Jr with a reverse hurricanrana.

  I’m planning on putting up a short article soon about my thoughts on Lucha Underground as a whole so be sure to be on the lookout for that.

  Also, I just saw this on Twitter – apparently The Young Bucks are in negotiations with Lucha Underground. They’d be a perfect fit for LU so let’s keep our fingers crossed:

Ring of Honor

  ROH hosted one of their final live events of the year this past weekend before heading into their biggest show of the year, Final Battle in NYC in December. This past weekend at “Glory by Honor XIII” in San Antonio, TX, fans were treated to some great action as well as setting up a huge match for Final Battle.

Glory By Honor XIII results

Nov 15, 2014

San Antonio, TX

(Attendance was said to be between 700-800)

Jay Diesel defeated Shane Taylor

(Seems like they are using Jay Diesel more often these days. Not sure if he’s a student or just a journeyman wrestler, though. When I saw ROH live in Philly a few months ago, Diesel helped the House of Truth attack Matt Taven so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him join with Truth Martini in the future)

Tommaso Ciampa defeated Romantic Touch with the Sicilian Stretch

(I liked that Ciampa has been involved with Nigel in a sort of “loose cannon” angle but that seems to have died down a bit. Hopefully he can get into the TV or World title scene again.)

Hanson defeated Mark Briscoe, BJ Whitmer, and Moose

(Raymond Rowe was said to be at the show with his arm in a brace and after the match. It seems like Hanson is getting a pretty good push on his own, though I did like War Machine a lot. They seemed to be starting a feud with The Briscoes before Rowe was injured and hopefully that will be revisited when War Machine is back in action)

Frankie Kazarian defeated Roderick Strong

(Undoubtedly a great match between two vets. It seems like they have been pitting The Decade and The Addiction against each other recently which will help both groups. Each team could easily be ROH tag team champions but I don’t see reDRagon losing any time soon)

reDRagon retained the ROH tag team titles against The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett)

(reDRagon has been on a tear lately. I don’t see them losing the ROH belts anytime soon and being the IWGP Junior Heavyweight champions is a huge honor as well. I like the whole Kingdom gimmick but Taven and Bennett isn’t the most exciting team in the world)

Will Ferrera defeated Adam Page

(Seems like there is trouble in The Decade. I read reports that Roderick Strong distracted Page leading to Ferrara getting the win and that after the match, Strong and Ferrara beat up Page and Whitmer. Will definitely have to see how this plays out heading into Final Battle)

Jay Lethal retained the ROH TV Title again RD

(Well, #TheNewStreak is over folks. It was a great ride but all good things must come to an end. Lethal retained after Moose accidentally hit Evans with a spear. I read that the crowd was split for both guys, though, so at least Evans is getting over. He’ll win that belt someday, mark my words)

Adam Cole defeated Christopher Daniels

(Cole defeated Daniels with the Jay Driller, no doubt sending a message to ROH Champion Jay Briscoe. This match was probably awesome as Cole is one of the most talented rising stars in wrestling and Daniels is at the top of his game despite debuting over 20 years ago)

Jay Briscoe retained the ROH World title against ACH

(It’s cool they gave ACH a title shot in his home town though they haven’t exactly been building him up as a main event star lately. I’d love to see his feud continue with Jay Lethal for the TV title. After the match, Briscoe put over ACH as the future of wrestling)

It was also announced that at Final Battle, Adam Cole versus Jay Briscoe for the ROH World Championship will be a fight without honor.

  This weekend, ROH will host “Tag Wars ‘14” in Baltimore, MD, its final show before Final Battle in December. The card so far is:

Adam Cole vs Brian Kendrick

Tommaso Ciampa vs Cedric Alexander in a No DQ grudge match

In the Tag Wars tournament, six qualifying teams face off with the winners entering into a four way elimination match against reDRagon for the ROH Tag Team Championships. The three qualifying matches are:

Matt Sydal and ACH vs The Young Bucks

Jay Lethal and J. Diesel vs The Briscoe Brothers

The Addiction vs The Decade (BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs)

WWNLive in China

  The final WWNLive show on the tour of China at the MasterCard Arena in Beijing drew 10,500 spectators.

  Johnny Gargano defeated Ricochet to win the Open the Freedom Gate championship as well as became the first CITIC Guoan Cup winner. Gargano is also the first two-time Open the Freedom Gate champion. His first reign was 873 days long with 21 successful defenses until losing it to Ricochet on April 4, 2014. His reign was 226 days.

Also, I found this link from LeTV where you can watch then entire final event in Beijing for free:
http://www.letv.com/ptv/vplay/21223675.html

House of Hardcore

  House of Hardcore 7 at the ECW Arena on Saturday was an amazing show. Jigsaw, Davey Richards and EC3 were unable to compete but there were many surprise appearances from wrestlers like Stevie Richards, The Sandman, Spike Dudley, The Dudley Boyz, TNA World Champion Bobby Roode and Alberto Del Rio with Ricardo Rodriguez making his first appearance in America since leaving WWE. Visit DelcoElbowDrop.blogspot.com for full results from the show.

  For my full write up from the show pluspictures and gifs, hit this link.

 

Chikara

  Chikara hosted the final two shows of Season 14 before “Tomorrow Never Dies” which is being held at the ECW Arena.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

November, 15

Haverhill, MA

Jakob Hammermeier, Nokken and Oliver Grimsley defeated 3.0 and Jervis Cottonbelly (3pointcheery0)

Missile Assault Ant defeated Princess Kimber Lee

Worker Ant defeated Prakash Sabar

Spectral Envoy (Frightmare, Hallowicked and UltraMantis Black) and The Batiri (Kodama andObaryian) defeated The Flood (Shard, 17, Jimmy Jacobs, Volgar the Unknown and Ducaleon)

(Frightmare defeated The Shard in this match. It sounds like Deucalion is losing his mind and control over The Flood heading into “Tomorrow Never Dies.” Deucalion tried to kill Frightmare but 17 turned on The Flood and saved him and both escaped. Deucalion threatened Jimmy Jacobs and he threw The Shard under the bus and Shard was killed with a choke breaker.)

Shynron defeated Proletariat Boar of Moldova

Juan Francisco de Coronado defeated “Smooth Sailing” Ashley Remington

Wrecking Crew (Jaka and Oleg the Usurper and Devastation Corporation) defeated Golden Trio (Icarus, Dasher Hatfield and Mark Angelosetti) and the Osirian Portal

For Your Eyes Only

November 16

South Windsor, CT

Four Corner Elimination Tag Team Match (point are in play)

– The Bloc Party (Prakash Sabar and Proletariat Boar of Moldova) eliminated Ashley Remington/Jervis Cottonbelly

– The Batiri (Obariyon and Kodama) eliminated The Bloc Party (Prakash Sabar and Proletariat Boar of Moldova)

– The Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive and Max Smashmaster) eliminated the Batiri and have 3 points

(The Devastation Corporation are on a tear in Chikara lately. Sydney Bakabella’s monsters won the King of Trios tournament and seem to be next in line to hold the Campeonatos de Parejas. It seems like the rudos are gearing up for some big things at “Tomorrow Never Dies.”)

Hallowicked defeated Worker Ant

(Apparently Soldier Ant appeared out of nowhere and attacked Worker Ant)

Nokken defeated Shynron

(Lots of BDK interference in this one. The BDK is undergoing big changes now that Jakob is at the helm. Once he revealed himself to be the Cosby Sweater Dr. Cube with ownership of The Eye of Tyr, he took control of the group and kicked out Ares. And at this show, he kicked out Milo Schnitzler, former owner of Wrestling is Cool. It also seems like Pinkie Sanchez made his return to Chikara and is part of the BDK once again)

(Word is that Jimmy Jacobs showed up with the masks of all the fallen heroes. Icarus interrupted him and called out Deucalion and challenges him to a match at “Tomorrow Never Dies.” Not sure if it’s for the title, though)

The Osirian Portal defeated The Wrecking Crew (Jaka and Oleg the Usurper)

(The Portal have two points now apparently)

Eddie Kingston defeated Snow Troll

Jimmy Jacobs defeated Ultramantis Black

Frightmare defeated Juan Francisco de Coronado

(Coronado hit three German suplexes on Frightmare but Ashley Remington made the save allowing Frightmare to get the roll up win)

Los Campeonatos de Parejas 2/3 Falls match

The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield and Mark Angelosetti) defeated 3.0 (Shane Matthews and Scott Parker)

(The Throwbacks retained the belts in two straight falls. Afterward, Bakabella comes out and tells the champs to keep the titles warm)