Wednesday Wrestling Minutes - Your Weekly Source for NXT, Lucha Underground, Ring of Honor and Independent Wrestling News

NXT, 8/26

Recap of NXT Takeover Brooklyn, since this episode was taped before Takeover. Including the part where Stephanie continues to act like what she’s done is in any way responsible for what the wrestlers in NXT have done.

JEZUS - this episode is an hour and a half long

Enzo Amore and Big Cass without Carmella out first to a massive ovation. Cameras catch a “Full Sail University is SAWFT” sign. Cut a promo in the ring before the match and Enzo’s voice cracks at the most inopportune moment. Crowd absolutely loves Enzo and Cass. Not so much the Hype Bros who are out next. Not even Ryder can get a reaction from the crowd.

They take on Dash and Dawson who are still wearing their Varsity Club jackets. They team with Chad Gable and Jason Jordan who have some decent matching gear.

Hype Bros start despite a big “How you doin” chant. Rawley tags into Ryder and they practically boo. The heels isolate Ryder as the crowd chants “We want Enzo.” Enzo gets in and the crowd goes nuts.

All 8 men get in the ring and everything breaks down. The faces control the ring, sending the heels outside. Cass picks up Enzo and tosses him over the top rope onto Gable, Jordan and Dawson.

During this match they also announce several new programs coming to WWE Network soon including a WWE 24 on NXT (like the one they did for Reigns before WM31) as well as a Madison Square Garden show live only on WWE Network featuring Brock Lesnar.

Coming back from break, everything is different - Enzo is beaten down in the corner and Jordan is getting ready to charge. Jordan tags in Gable and he actually gets cheers coming in, which is surprising. The heels are working well together, keeping Enzo away from his corner. But Enzo starts to fight back and create space between him and Gable.

Enzo finally makes it to Big Cass who cleans house and knocks everyone out of the ring except Gable who he drops an Empire Elbow on but Jordan breaks up the pin. Ryder and Rawley take people out of the ring leaving Cass to put down Gable with a huge swinging side slam and tags in Enzo and rocket launch him onto Gable for the win.

William Regal reminds everyone about the beginning of the Dusty Rhodes tag team classic next week and Neville interrupts and says he wants a spot in the Dusty Classic. Regal says he can make it happen - but who will he tag with? He’s a former 2-time NXT Tag Team Champion (with Oliver Grey and Corey Graves) so he knows what it takes to win tag team matches in NXT.

They catch up with Finn Balor after defeating Kevin Owens in an NXT Title ladder match. He says he proved Tokyo wasn’t a fluke by beating Kevin Owens again and that he is the rightful champion. Balor says Brooklyn saw the new side of Finn Balor and of NXT and that this is only the beginning for NXT.

Next is a video package for Emma, detailing her start as goofy dancing “Emmalution” Emma and transitioning to Evil Emma after her main roster run went...poorly is a nice way to put it.

I guess this means she’s winning the fatal fourway and they’re building her up to be the first challenger for Bayley, since she and Bayley have had issues in the past.

Next, Devin talks to Charlotte and Becky Lynch. Charlotte talks about how Dana Brooke has always wanted her out of NXT and thinks she herself is the dominant female in NXT and says that Emma is her lapdog. I always thought of it as the other way around. Then Becky makes a bad dog pun and I kinda wish that would stay on Twitter. Then they do the pinky swear thing and say let the best member of PCB win.

Now a short video package about Becky Lynch. Geez, overdoing it a little bit with these video packages? Well I guess they have time to fill. She talks about how she’s a submission specialist and how she came to NXT to be the best. She says she’s gunning for the WWE Divas Championship. Also that aligned herself with Paige because she’s known Paige since Paige was 13 and that she wants that Divas gold and will do what she has to do to get it. Sorta teasing a future heel turn on the main roster?

Eva Marie out next to a chorus of boos. She has like a Nature Boy robe on and seems to be handling the boos well. When Carmella’s music hits there’s a slight bit of cheering but not much. She talks as she walks to the ring, her usual princess of Staten Island stuff.

The crowd isn’t into much going on in this match. Lots of booing right away. And “You can’t wrestle” chants. Pretty basic match but nothing terrible really. Eva mocking Carmella and Enzo’s chants while she has an abdominal stretch locked in and it’s not bad.

Carmella hits a rana from the top and the crowd starts to get into it. It seems like Carmella is building up steam with a few big Thesz presses but then Eva turns it around and wins with an OK, half speed Sliced Bread or a Sliced Red or whatever she calls it and the crowd is thankful it’s over.

Recap of the Liger/Breeze match. Breeze had to say afterward that he might’ve won at Takeover but is he really the winner? Because Breeze gets to look like he does. Also mentions that he isn’t done with Liger, which is interesting since I figured it’d be a one-time thing and that he has even bigger idea to bring to Regal which will really put him on the map.

Emma and Dana Brooke (who is wearing a ridiculous amount of makeup) talk to Devin in the locker room. They trash talk Charlotte and Becky and Emma says Becky is about to become the biggest joke in WWE.

After a bunch of commercials and recaps of Takeover, there’s a Dana Brooke video package. But it’s the same one we’ve seen a bunch of times before.

Then a recap of Bayley winning the Women’s title at Takeover and celebrating with the Four Horsewomen. They talk to Bayley after the match and she says her dreams can’t compare to the moment in the ring having won the match and celebrating with the Four Horsewomen. To show everyone what they’re fighting for in NXT and on the main roster. Bayley’s mom is there and talks about the amazing job Bayley does each and every time she’s in the ring and her whole family shows up.

Devin talks to Regal who has news about the opening match of the tournament of the Dusty Classic. But before he can say anything, Baron Corbin interrupts and says he wants in the tournament. Regal says he knows Corbin doesn’t play well with others so he’ll pair him with an old friend - Rhyno. And their opponents will be The Ascension. Corbin says “That’s cool with me” and leaves.

NXT UK tour in December

Dec 10 - Newcastle

Dec 11 - Glasgow

Dec 12 - Sheffield

Dec 13 - Blackpool

Dec 14 - Nottingham

Dec 15 - Cardiff

Dec 16 - London

(I also saw that the show on Triple H’s Twitter that the 16th will be live on WWE Network)

Some poor, misguided cameraman talks to Kevin Owens after he lost the ladder match to Finn Balor and asks him his feelings. Owens says “tomorrow at Summerslam, I’m going to break Cesaro - I’m gonna break him.” and he tries to walk away (well limp away) and the dude asks him ANOTHER question. It’s like, you got lucky that he didn’t kill you the first time. You really want to press your luck?

He asks Owens about his future with NXT. Owens looks at him but walks away through a door and leaves.

Elias Sampson debuting a new gimmick “The Drifter”. Even though his scarf, his cool guy bandana gauntlet and his necklaces make him look more like a male model. He’s got a guitar like he’s Jeff Jarrett or something. Shouldn’t he have a bindle with some beans in it since he’s a drifter? That bandana needs to be carrying his meager few valuables and not wrapped around his forearm. You know, because he’s a drifter.

Bull Dempsey comes out next with a Dr. Death robe on and looks EXACTLY the same as he always has.

I can’t tell if the crowd if chanting “Bull Fit” or “Bullshit” at the start of this match. Bull and Sampson trade holds to start the match. Apparently Bull is from Brooklyn but this crowd doesn’t seem to care. Maybe it’s the only thing keeping them from booing Bull and this match like crazy.

Seems like this whole Bull Fit thing is just to make fat jokes or more accurately, sarcastic jokes aimed at fat people for being fat even if they are trying to work out (talking about Dempsey’s ab and how all these fit people are doing Bull Fit)

Sampson has Bull on the mat for a while but Bull fights out and does a Hulking up spot and does a combo of strikes and knocks down Sampson. Bull heads to the top rope and jumps off onto Sampson’s chester with his ass and pins him for the win.

Talking to Samoa Joe after his win over Baron Corbin. He talks about how the crowd is crazy because they built NXT and they got Joe through the toughest test of his life. And it sends a message that Joe is here in NXT and means absolute business. He came to make a statement but not with his mouth, but with his fists. Tonight he beat one of the biggest and baddest and he’ll continue to do that until he gets the NXT Championship.

Nia Jax vignette. Lady Rock Johnson. Related to The Rock so you know she’s gonna be pushed to the moon.

Catching up with Apollo Crews after his debut win at Takeover. Talks about how incredible it was to win in front of the Brooklyn crowd and to do it on his 28th birthday (I thought he said 20th at first and I was like “No waaaay”)

Talks about how he fed off the crowd’s energy and he doesn’t know what to say. He already dropped Apollo Nation but didn’t explain it or put it in context at all so it was kinda weird. Obviously it’s just a WWE Universe type thing but still - he said it, this new phrase, and didn’t explain it or frame it in any way.

Recap of Vaudevillains beating Blake and Murphy for the tag titles. And how Blue Pants for their backup plan for dealing with Alexa Bliss.

Devin talks to the former champs after the loss. They’re understandably upset and say they were robbed at Takeover. Alexa quiets them down and talks to Devin, asking what business does Blue Pants have costing her boys the belts? And is she even on the roster? Next week, Alexa says she is going to show Blue Pants she isn’t welcome in NXT.

Charlotte video package. I guess that makes one for each of the four ladies in the fatal four way main event.

Emma out first for the main event. She’s followed by Dana Brooke who gets lots of boos (I also somehow missed before that she’s from the “Mistake by the Lake” Cleveland, Ohio). Next Becky Lynch followed finally by Charlotte.

Lynch and Charlotte take out Emma and Brooke then square off for a friendly match but make sure to keep Emma and Brooke at bay. Duelling “Lets go Becky/Lets go Charlotte” and Becky is definitely louder. Becky and Charlotte trade holds for a while as Emma and Brooke regroup on the floor. Soon they are back in, working together to take out Charlotte and Becky. Emma and Dana team up to smash Charlotte on the barricade and she looks dazed.

There’s a break and they announce NXT coming to Texas for the first time in September.

Dana and Emma are working over Becky in the ring with Charlotte still on the floor. Every time Charlotte tries to get back in it, they kick her back to the floor. Emma eventually tells Dana to get out there and finish her off, leaving her in the ring with Becky.

Emma lands a double underhook suplex on Becky and goes for the cover but Dana breaks it up. Emma and Dana are kinda upset with each other and start pushing and shoving. They try to make up but Brooke enzi to Emma and knocks her down then starts posing for the crowd. She doesn’t notice Charlotte get back in the ring and Charlotte starts to go to work on Dana.

Becky on the top rope sizing up the other 3 for a dropkick but Emma and Dana push Charlotte into it. Becky takes Emma and Dana to suplex city and pins Dana but Emma breaks it up. Emma hits two Emma-mite Sandwiches on Charlotte and Becky then pins Becky and gets the 3!

The crowd is kinda shocked and didn’t expect this four way to end there. Does this make her #1 contender? It’s gotta put her up there in contention.

Afterward, Charlotte spears Emma and then hits Natural Selection on her and pins Emma as the crowd counts three, but then Charlotte is attacked by Brooke, who is tossed via tbone suplex by Lynch. Charlotte Figure 8 to Brooke and Lynch with a Disarmer to Brooke and Charlotte drops a knee on Brooke’s face on the way out for good measure. That was a pretty heel thing for the faces to do to the heels.

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn

(Before I get into the show, I just wanted to say I really liked the small changes to the aesthetics of this NXT show in a big arena versus what a big WWE show would look like in a big arena. The entrance was understated but still interesting. The lighting in the arena in general was more subdued and I think that helped make it more focused and made action in the ring seem more important than anything else.)

Triple H opened NXT Takeover, briefly talking in the ring about how the fans made something like NXT a possibility.

The first match of the night, Tyler Breeze faces Jushin “Thunder” Liger.

Several models dressed as representations of NYC (skyscrapers, taxi cab, Statue of Liberty) line the entrance ramp before Breeze makes his entrance.

Liger makes his entrance and gets a great reaction from the NYC crowd. Breeze starts fast but Liger takes control quickly, even mocking Breeze’s pose in the corner and taking a selfie with Breeze’s selfie stick.

But Breeze surprises Liger with a Supermodel Kick and takes over. It’s also during this match that the first big “Full Sail sucks” chant breaks out, sticking it to all those nerds in Florida. This is followed by a New Day style “Full – Sail Sucks” chant. However, Liger hit a big rolling kick and a tilt a whirl back breaker then heads up to the top but Breeze gets his knees up.

Liger goes up top again after hitting a palm strike but Breeze rolls out of the ring. Liger follows and surprises him with a rolling senton then rolls Breeze back in and hits a Liger Bomb for the win.

Was a shorter match and I would’ve liked to have seen Breeze win (or look a little stronger in defeat) but it was still really fun and a great opener.

The Kliq is at Takeover. Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and X-Pac are there, throwing up Bullet Club Too Sweets for the camera because they are a bunch of marks.

There’s a Nia Jax vignette before the next match. Who? Lina Fanene. Again I say, who? Oh, you know, just ANOTHER of Rock’s cousins. So she’ll be on NXT TV soon, probably squashing girls since she’s apparently very big. My guess is she’ll be Karma 2.0.

NXT Tag Team Title match next . The Vaudevillains out first to a great reaction. Followed by Blake, Murphy and Alexa Bliss who get a not so great reaction.

Before the bell, Alexa starts making fun of the Vaudevillains for not being able to find anyone to watch their backs and make sure that she doesn’t get involved. She moves to slap them both but they stop her and introduce their partner – Blue Pants! Hearing Blue Pants’ theme song in an arena like Barclay Center in surreal.

Blake and Simon Gotch start first in the ring, tying up and going to an arm wringer. But more interesting than that, the crowd starts chanting “Blue Pants City.” To think, I saw her wrestle in middle-of-nowhere New Jersey for a Wrestling Is show (in…2013?) in front of maybe 50 people – to having an entire arena of over 15,000 people chant for her is amazing.

The Vaudevillains working well against Blake and Murphy, looking really strong in the early goings of this match. But after Blake trips up English while he was on the apron, the tag champs take over. They do a good job of keeping English in their corner and working him over.

English finally makes the tag to Gotch who comes in like a house of fire taking it to the champs. It seems like another miscue which allows the champs to set up to superplex English, but Gotch surprises them both by powerbombing them on the mat. English hits a swanton but only gets a 2.

It seems like English and Gotch are setting up for the Whirling Dervish when Alexa Bliss get on the apron to distract them and the ref. But Blue Pants pulls her down to the floor and chases her around the ring. Alexa finds herself alone in the ring with English and Gotch and tries to slap them but Blue Pants grabs her arm, slaps Alexa instead and then takes her down to the mat and they roll out of the ring.

Gotch watches them but Murphy rolls him up and he kicks out at 2. They tie up, Gotch rolls through a move and uppercuts Murphy in the back, English running neckbreaker out of nowhere for the Whirling Dervish and the Vaudevillains become the new NXT Tag Team Champions.

Adrian Neville is at the Barclay Center to wish Finn Balor luck before his NXT Title ladder match. This is before Tye Dillinger takes on the debuting Apollo Crews.

Crews looking really good in his first match, though could use some work on charisma and showmanship since his entrance was very bland. He looks as good as ever in the ring, showing up Dillinger’s cart wheel with a back flip of his own.

Dillinger catches Crews with a dropkick on the apron and slows down the pace, keeping Crews on the mat. Dillingers spending a surprising amount of time in control and not the pace I was expecting from Crews.

Crews wins with two-thirds of the Uhaa Combination, gorilla press slam followed by a standing moonsault for the win.

William Regal announces that none of this show or NXT would have been possible without Dusty Rhodes. And to celebrate his memory, Regal announces the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Starting on the Sept 2 episode of NXT and culminate in the finals on an Oct. 7 Takeover.

Rich Brennan mentions Baron Corbin was thrown off his NFL for starting fights. Huh, funny how we never heard about that until now.

Samoa Joe gets a good response from the crowd on his entrance.

Joe gets the better of the exchanges early on. Joe even half locks on the rear naked choke but Corbin dives out of the ring to break it up and takes his time before engaging with Joe again. When they get back in, Corbin throws a few strikes but Joe shakes them off and lands a big enzi in the corner then a dropkick which sends Corbin to the floor. Joe follows up with a dive but Corbin blocks it with a big punch to Joe’s face and takes over in the ring.

But try as he might, Corbin can’t keep Joe down and Joe just keeps coming back to take control of the match up. At one point, Joe transitions from a roll up (that Corbin kicks out of) into a half crab to a cross face when Corbin reaches for the ropes. Corbin reaches for the ropes but Joe bends his arm back like a Rings of Saturn and Corbin has to reach the ropes with his foot to break the hold.

Really back and forth match and neither Joe or Corbin can maintain an advantage. I’m actually very surprised with how well Corbin is carrying himself in this match. I gotta imagine that Joe is calling the match but he’s either making Corbin look really good or Corbin is actually improving. I was worried before about Corbin’s ability to believably work a longer match but this match with Joe is proving that he might actually be capable of delivering competent, if not exciting, longer matches going forward. I doubt the squashes will stop but hopefully they’ll start giving him more interesting things to do.

After a series of high impact strikes are exchanged, Joe tries to set up Corbin for the muscle buster but Corbin is blocking it, on top of the turnbuckle. Corbin knocks him to the mat then hits a big boot. He works over Joe in the corner then brings him to the center for the End of Days, but Joe ducks it and tries to lock in a kokina clutch.  Corbin fights out though and hits choke bomb on Joe but when Joe kicks out, he flips Corbin over and locks in a kokina clutch and makes Corbin pass out.

Really surprised that Joe won this. I was sure Corbin wasn’t going to lose for a while. Maybe this feud continues a little longer?

After this match, they cut to the crowd where Sergeant Slaughter, Ric Flair and….Kana are there?!  What the hell is Kana doing at NXT?!

They wrote her name as Kanna which you could chalk up to a typo – or it’s what WWE will be using as her name once she’s signed. I never heard a report about Kana signing with WWE before this show but after they showed her in the crowd, you better believe there are rumors swirling.

I mean – why else would she be at Takeover? It’s not like she’d be in New York just because NJPW guys are there. And I won’t pretend to know her schedule or where she works to say whether she was in NYC for another reason or not.

All I know is, if WWE really wants to legitimize the Divas, signing a legit badass like Kana is a good move (even though she looks like she’d rather be literally anywhere else in the world when they showed her at Takeover).

Next, Stephanie McMahon comes to the ring to take credit for the “Divas Revolution” that the WWE writing staff has already driven into the ground because of the relentless, soulless marketing machine that is current day WWE.

She puts over the crowd and the fact that they are there, making history, for the biggest NXT event in history. But then goes into the Divas Revolution stuff.

(I wish WWE knew the definition of “subtlety.” They beat people over the head with these buzz words and ideas that would have a lot more impact if they were allowed to flourish organically. But no – they shove “Divas Revolution” in our faces, instead of just booking them better behind the scenes and allow the fans to make up their own mind. Or calling Bayley “the ultimate underdog.” It’s like – yeah, we know that’s what she is. We watch the product. It’s why we’re watching right now. We know she is the underdog and hasn’t been able to win the big one. But instead of letting the fans come to those conclusions on their own, they feel like they need to hold everyone’s hand and tell you what’s happening and that acknowledgement undercuts the impact these stories have.)

Bayley comes out first for her Women’s Championship match against Sasha Banks. Bayley has on new gear – bright white with a golden trim (and, strangely enough, New Day AND Seth Rollins all debuted new gear on Sunday, which was also bright white with gold trim. Not saying – just saying). Bayley also has polkadot headband and gauntlets on in memory of Dusty Rhodes.

Sasha Banks comes out with one of the only unique entrances on the night – riding to the entrance ramp in an Escalade with a cadre of jacked up bodyguard looking dudes.

(While watching Sasha’s entrance I suddenly realized I really want to see her with a constant stable of dude wrestlers around her who act like body guards and are there to protect her championship interests. I like it since it’s a reversal of the usual wrestling trope where a dude has a lady or two as a valet)   

They’re saying this show is “double main event” so even though the ladies are on before the guys, they are still technically in the main event of the biggest NXT show ever.

Sasha starts off trash talking but Bayley quickly scoops her legs and takes her down and starts throwing punches. But Sasha rolls her over and throws a few of her own.

Both rolling out some new moves to try and get any advantage over the other. Sasha doing a lot of trash talking to keep Bayley off balance.

(I think what I like most about Sasha bank’s offense is that it’s very Japanese inspired. But not so much in what specific moves she does, but she her offense is tailored in such a way that her moves all lead to her finisher – the backstabber and crossface combo. Where as John Cena, for example, just does moves until he hits the AA, Sasha will focus on her opponent’s core and back with strikes and holds, softening them up for the Bank Statement. It’s very much like how Tanahashi works his opponents legs with Dragon leg whips for the clover leaf, or so they can’t stand and he can hit the High Fly Flow)

Sasha keeping Bayley on the mat and trashing her in the corner but it only seems to energize and infuriate Bayley. Sasha snaps Bayley’s arm over the rope, the same arm with Bayley’s broken hand. Sasha tears the wrap and tape off Bayley’s hand and slams it on the stairs. She rolls Bayley back in then throws her out again and while the ref is checking on her, Sasha runs and does a somersault tope over the ref and the top rope onto Bayley on the outside! (Bayley didn’t catch all of Sasha so it probably hurt her way more than Bayley but it still looked cool and really popped the crowd)

They both get back in the ring slowly but Sasha seems to get it together first. She gets a wrist clutch on Bayley and runs up the ropes but then Bayley pushes her off the top to the floor! When Sasha gets back in, Bayley hits a big series of elbows and really gets things going in her favor. Bayley hits a shoulder tackle in the corner and a big back elbow then capture overhead suplex Sasha into the corner.

Bayley tries to lift Sasha up again but Sasha turns and pulls Bayley’s arm crashing to the mat then locks in a Bank Statement crossface. But Bayley fights her way to the ropes. Sasha starts stomping and kicking at Bayley’s hand to stop her then rolls backward away from the ropes but as she does, she loses Bayley who locks in a crossface of her own. Sasha reaches the rope with her foot but both ladies are spent and can barely get off the mat.

Bayley gets up and pulls Sasha to her feet. Sasha kips up with the help of the ropes but Bayley catches her and tosses her with the Belly to Bayley – but Sasha kicks out at 2!

Bayley picks up Sasha and brings her to the corner. She puts Sasha on the top rope but Sasha fights her off momentarily. Bayley comes back and tries for a top rope hurricanrana but Sasha hangs on and Bayley lands hard. Sasha comes off the top with a Knees of Meteora on Bayley and locks in a deep cover – but Bayley kicks out at 2!

They fight back to their feet and into the opposite corner. Bayley blocks Sasha and sends Sasha crashing to the mat with a reverse top rope hurricanrana then follows with a Belly to Bayley for the pin to become the new NXT Women’s Champion!

Bayley looks overwhelmed in the ring as commentary talks about replays. Charlotte and Becky Lynch run into the ring to celebrate with Bayley, who looks as happy as she does. Then Sasha comes in and kills kayfabe by hugging Bayley. They raise each other’s hands and do the Four Horsewomen thing (that WWE stole from Ronda Rousey). Who’s getting in trouble for this Curtain Call?

Main event time – Owens vs Balor ladder match for the NXT Title. Kinda fitting that Steen main events the first NXT sell out event in an arena venue (since he’s one of if not the best in WWE right now).

Balor’s entrance is really cool, with different guys dressed like the Demon and rising from the smoke on the entrance way to give the idea that there are many demons manifesting for the match.

Owens shoves Balor to start and go after a ladder early but Balor stops him and they go to work in the ring. Owens uses his size and power to get the early advantage but Balor gets in his own shots, using his speed and high-flying to do whatever he can to slow down Owens.

Love when the crowd starts a huge “Ole” chant and Owens hears it. He completely loses focus on Balor and starts to smile and then pretends his shoulder is hurt as a shot at Sami Zayn.

When they grab the first ladder, Balor tries to take it into the ring, but Owens stops him and rams the ladder into Balor’s rib against the ring several times over. They then first around the ring and into the crowd briefly. Owens tosses Balor over the table then mocks Balor on top of the ladder before grabbing another ladder from under the ring.

Balor sets the ladder up in the ring first but doesn’t get far before Owens pulls him back down. Owens goes to work using the ladders every way he can to hammer on Balor and he looks like he has a really good chance of destroying Balor. He even squashes Balor on a ladder with a standing senton.

Balor weathers the storm and backdrops Owens onto the side of an open ladder to start swinging momentum his way. He dodges a cannonball senton into the corner and then his a Coup de Grace and sets up a ladder in the center of the ring while Owens tries to gather himself on the mat. Balor climbs but Owens stops him and pulls him down off the ladder and into a powerbomb and both men are down.

Owens starts to climb the ladder but Balor lifts it up from the other side and sends Owens tumbling backward off the ladder and hits the turnbuckle hard. Owens pulls him outside again and sets up for an apron bomb but Balor blocks it. Balor misses a double stomp to the floor and when he gets up, Owens hits the apron bomb and it’s not looking good for Balor.

Owens back in the ring and sets up a ladder. He’s climbing the ladder and gets close to the top but Balor pulls himself back in and starts to tip the ladder over. Owens sees this and hops off before he falls and lands a super kick to put down Balor. Owens starts to trash talk Balor on the mat and sets up a ladder from the bottom buckle to the bottom rung of the ladder. He climbs that side and pulls Balor up the other side, looking to superplex him over onto the ladder. Balor fights out though and smashes Owens on the top of the ladder, causing him to lose his grip and crash backwards onto the ladder he set up.

Owens is on the mat, barely moving, but Balor is at the top of the ladder by himself. Only, the ladder isn’t quite centered and Balor can’t reach the belt. Owens tries to grab him but Balor kicks him off. Balor looks at the belt then back down at Owens and leaps off and lands a massive double stomp. It looks like Balor tweaked his ankle on that ladder Coupe de Grace but he still manages to adjust the ladder and climb up it to grab the NXT Title to retain the championship.

Triple H announced on Twitter that the NXT Takeover from the UK will be live on the WWE Network

Interesting mini-documentary about Emma back when she was still Tenille Dashwood. She mentions in it that she’s 22 and being that she’s 26, means this is about 4 years old

ROH DA 8 /26

Bloodbound Warriors out first, Grey Wolf and Red Scorpion. Basically LOD but with a barbarian vibe. I remember the names but I don't remember these dudes. Like, I remember much smaller dudes with those names and being total jobbers. These dudes look like they could cause some damage.

They take on the Briscoes who get a big ovation from the crowd in Baltimore. 
Actually not a squash. Wolf and Scorpion holding their own and cutting off Mark from Jay. But after Jay gets the hot tag, they take control and Jay pins Scorpion after a big lariat.
After the win, Adam Page and the Decade show up. Page says he called out Jay 2 weeks ago but he was nowhere to be found. He goes on to insult him but Jay responds by saying he doesn't even know who Page is. But if he's looking for a fight he found one. Then Whitmer steps in and tells Jay to pump the brakes and says not here, not now. But next week, Jay has the chance to man up in a match with Adam Page and Jay says Page is gonna get his ass whooped.

Next, Roderick Strong vs Donovan Dijack. Dijack in control for much of the match, thanks to the constant distractions of Truth and Diesel.

In 2 weeks, showing Lethal/Strong World title rematch and Bucks/Addiction tag team title match from Philly.

Dijack using his height to his advantage too, keeping Roddy on the mat and blocking any attempt to turn the tide by Roddy. But Roddy gets back in it with his high impact strikes, leading to Roddy hitting a superplex from the very top for a 2 count.

Match is becoming really good for a shortish TV match. Dijack looking really solid against a vet like Strong. He hits a discus big boot for 2, which surprised the hell out of me cause I've never seen anyone but Chris Hero do something like that. Dijack is definitely going to be targeted by WWE in the coming years. He's got height and potential - two things attributes WWE loves.

Roddy avoids Feast Your Eyes and hits a thousand moves in a row (reminds me of that Chuck Taylor reference from PWG commentary ) and pins Dijack with a Sick Kick. After the win, Lethal attacks and the House of Truth gangs up on Roddy. Strong gets free for a second but the numbers game is not in his favor. However, War Machine shows up to run off House of Truth, since Hanson has a TV title shot next week.

(This channel is garbage. Every show I see sounds just the worst. You know the show that's on at 8 instead of ROH? Killing Big Foot! What!? Why would you want to kill him??? Find him, sure but jumping straight to murder? Not even "Catching Bigfoot"? Is he a menace? Is Bigfoot on a some sort of rampage only rednecks know about? This is goddamn insane.)

In the main event, Future Shock comes out to their old music to face The Addiction for the tag titles. And Chris Sabin is with Kaz and Daniels of course. Sabin is on commentary for this one. Kelly asks about his in ring status and Sabin says he will be back. Yes he has a little problem with his neck and yes doctors say he shouldn't wrestle but what do they know? Only Sabin knows his body. So that doesn't sound promising.

Future Shock working over Daniels early on and working well together, like they never broke up at all. And O'Reilly beating down Kaz after they come back from commercials.  But it isn't long before the champs take over, using some dirty tactics to keep Cole isolated and away from Cole - and O'Reilly away from Cole as well.

Despite Addiction double teaming, Future Shock doing very well. That momentum is thwarted by Kaz when he low blows Cole after the ref gets shoved. O'Reilly continues to work on Kaz and puts in an arm bar but The Kingdom shows up and distracts the ref as Kaz taps. Maria and Bennett distract Sinclair while Taven tries to get involved and O'Reilly gets an O'Connor roll on Kaz for a 5 or 6 count. Taven super kick O'Reilly but he kicks out of a Kaz roll up. Maria grabs Kyle's leg and Cole sees and is pissed and goes after her (cause he was down holding his dick after the low blow that whole time and didn't see The Kingdom interfere).

O'Reilly tries to fight both the Addiction but gets put down with Celebrity Rehab since Cole never came back. Sabin, Kaz and Daniels stomp O'Reilly until Bobby Fish runs out followed by the Young Bucks. Then the Kingdom comes back and it's an all out brawl.

ROH Aftershock Tour

TV Tapings, Philadelphia
(I also found this gallery of pictures from the tapings in Philly - http://imgur.com/a/GbCw8)

August 21

Episode 1

-reDRagon def. House of Truth (Dijack and Diesel)

-Cedric Alexander def. Dalton Castle

(Silas Young distracted Castle letting Alexander win via rollup. After, Stokely Hathaway distracted Alexander while Moose ran in through the crowd to spear him)

-War Machine def. The Kingdom

-In between episodes, Cheeseburger came out and asked who wanted a t-shirt. But before he can throw one out to the crowd, Bob Evans and his new protégé attacks Cheeseburger. Then, for some reason, Bushwhacker Luke came out to make the save.

Episode 2 – Championship Edition

-The Addiction retain the ROH tag titles against the Young Bucks

(Maria Kanellis distracted Matt Jackson allowing Kaz to roll him up. However, Nigel McGuinness says that at All Star Extravaganza in San Antonio, The Addiction will now have to defend the titles against The Kingdom and the Young Bucks.)

-Jay Lethal retains the ROH World title against Roderick Strong

(Amazing, amazing match. Told a great story and cements Lethal as top talent in ROH)

Episode 3

-Michael Elgin def. Silas Young

-ACH def. Caprice Coleman

-IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto and The Briscoes def. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and RPG Vice

(Okada got one of the loudest pops of the night but Goto also got a great reception. Really good match by some of the best on the planet)

Episode 4

-Matt Sydal def. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champ Kushida, non-title

(Not as fast-paced as I anticipated but a solid match nonetheless. Since this was a non-title match, it set up Sydal getting a future opportunity at the IWGP Junior title)

-Watanabe def. Adam Page, Moose and Will Ferrara

(The crowd was all over BJ Whitmer, who cut a promo before the match. Watanabe pinned Ferrara after a nasty running STO. Whitmer then got in Corino’s face again afterward. Before the match, I noticed Steve Corino get up to talk to Colby Corino, but Colby just took his chair at the announce table and gave it to Whitmer, which I thought was a good touch and note sure if it will be highlighted on TV)

-Shinsuke Nakamura def. Adam Cole

(Nakamura and Cole were the only ones to get reactions rivaling Okada’s. This was a stellar main event and this literally fantasy match definitely lived up to expectations)

Field of Honor

MCU Park, Brooklyn

August 22

-Adam Cole def. ROH World Tag Champion Christopher Daniels

-War Machine def. Pro Wrestling NOAH GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Killer Elite Squad in a non-title match

-In a Gauntlet Match, Watanabe defeated Cedric Alexander to receive an ROH World Television Title Match September 19 in San Antonio, Texas

-The Young Bucks, #Reborn Matt Sydal and ACH defeated RPG Vice and The Kingdom

-IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto def. “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin in a rematch from the 2015 G1 Climax Tournament match

- The Briscoes def. the Time Splitters (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley)

-IWGP Heavyweight Champion “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada def. Roderick Strong

-ROH World and World Television Champion Jay Lethal and “King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura defeated IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team champs reDRagon

(Lethal pinned Bobby Fish with a Lethal Injection, sending a message since he faces Fish at ASE for the TV title)

Alex Shelley had his two front teeth knocked out at Field of Honor and ROH will be picking up the bill for fixing him up, even though he isn’t contracted to them

ACH and Matt Sydal will face each other in a best of 5 series (hmm…wonder where they got that idea?). Three matches set, though no mention of any prize for the winner

http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/ach-vs-matt-sydal-best-5-match-series

New Japan Pro Wrestling

NJPW reports annual revenue up 27%

http://enuhito.com/eng/?p=135

-Great news for the company that also reported a higher than expected subscriber base for NJPW World. In an earlier tweet by Enuhito, it’s reported that NJPW owner Kidani stated NJPW World should reach 30,000 subscribers very soon.

Also, from Enuhito’s English Twitter feed, Tanahashi will be defending his IWGP Heavyweight Title shot against Bad Luck Fale at Destruction in Kobe on Sept. 27.

 NJPW announced the cards for the Road to Destruction tour as well as the card for Destruction in Kobe (which will be live on NJPW World on Sept 27). Get those cards, on PWInsider, for website.

Also, main event of King of Pro Wrestling on Oct 12 is Okada vs Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight title.

CJP will be on the tour as Juice Robinson. Looks like just the CJP character retired and Juice Robinson will still be around.

Matt Sydal will also be on the tour, as they build toward an IWGP Junior Heavyweight title match that Sydal earned beating him at the ROH TV tapings on Aug 21.

Also, Alex Shelley will be returning to the ring. He hasn't wrestled since being injured early in the Best of Super Juniors tournament.

There were also several NJPW guys at Sunmerslam, just hanging out but I can't for reports about how Okada wants to be signed by WWE. At the show were Okada, Kushida and Liger and most likely others. Samoa Joe posted a picture of him and Okada in a sky box at Summerslam.

PWG

Battle of Los Angeles is this weekend and I can’t wait to see it. I hope it won’t be too long of a wait but since I’m going to try and avoid spoilers (which means no results here) it could be a month or so before I get to talk about it here or on my show.

1st Round Matches (1 point per correct pick) - Bold the winner of each match.

• Ricochet vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• Drew Galloway vs. Mike Bailey
• Drago vs. Pentagon Jr.
• Fenix vs. Matt Sydal
• Angelico vs. Jack Evans
• Chris Hero vs. Timothy Thatcher
• Trent? vs. Trevor Lee
• Brian Cage vs. Aerostar
• Rich Swann vs. Marty Scurll
• Drew Gulak vs. Tommy End
• Andrew Everett vs. Biff Busick
• Mark Andrews vs. Will Ospreay

Final Match: (2 points per correct pick) - Which 3 participants will reach the final match?

Winner: (5 points for correct pick) - Who is gonna win the 2015 PWG Battle of Los Angeles?

Chikara

King of Trios first round announced

-Tournament is Sept. 4-6

bWo vs Devastation Corporation

United Nations vs Team ATTACK!

The Arcane Horde vs Crown and Court

Team Fight Club: PRO vs BDK

Dasher’s Dugout vs Battleborn

Bullet Club vs Battle Hive

Snake Pit vs The Nightmare Warriors

The Gentleman’s Club vs Team AAA

Smash Wrestling

The entire Chris Hero 3 hour Infinity Gauntlet match to benefit ALS Canada. Pretty sure that makes it the longest match in modern wrestling history. (For some reason it starts like 30 minutes in so just be aware of that)