By Nicholas Jason Lopez

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 7/29/15)

Dominance Is Bliss

– NXT seemed to do a decent job in straying from the norm, at least in terms of how the tag team division is presented. Sure – they’ll always have the over teams like Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady to fall back on, but we’re beginning to see an emergence of other teams. This show saw matches and segments dedicated to Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson, Jason Jordan/Chad Gable and then the main event was a Tag team Championship match between The Vaudevillains and the Champions Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy. It’s a slow start, but if they stick by them enough, they can pull out something decent. For Blake and Murphy’s sake, they need some form of competition and they’ve been running strong as Champions for six months now. Has it really been that long now?  As far as the Amore/Cassady-Dawson/Wilder match, it had the look and feel of a Team SAWFT victory from how we got the full SAWFT routine treatment and they worked in their usual spots to the hot tag. Even if they hadn’t won the match, Dash/Dawson worked in a lot of offense and hard strikes to be past what we’d consider a lopsided victory. The fact that they got out of Cassady’s hot tag offense and overpowered Amore to get the win came off like a major upset and a full confirmation that the format was indeed being changed. Got a negative reaction but one nonetheless. You get the feeling there will be a rematch and with Enzo/Cass recently working main roster shows and Main Event tapings, will this be their last big “rivalry”? It’s still baffling that they never had a run with the Tag Titles, but that’s just us.

– The Jordan/Gable backstage promo did a good job of establishing their chemistry as no-nonsensical men, as they ran down other face teams like The Hype Bros. and Enzo/Cass and they did so with a good dash of charisma and personality. Liked that Gable continued to be overenthusiastic about his last name as their catchphrase and Jordan still not “taking the bait.” Things will probably change down the road.

– For all the build the Charlotte/Brooke match got, we at least liked that they showed the TapOut commercial that the whole feud was over in transition to their feud hype video. We can all be thankful it wasn’t a Japanese shampoo commercial they feuded over.

– Another week, another Baron Corbin squash. This time, the victim was Jesse Sorenson of brief TNA X-Division fame, but that’s the keyword: “victim.” What’s next for Corbin? Someone please tell us.

– The buildup to Tyler Breeze’s match at TakeOver: Brooklyn is a good one as the weeks pass. General Manager William Regal is doing a good job with his words, not saying too much, yet letting speculation run wild. “End of the world to get his opponent”? “Be careful what he wished for?” If the plan is to fully go with Justin “Thunder” Liger, this will be a treat to watch.

– The second installment of the Jordan/Gable squash series wasn’t as glitzy as their first one, but they still made quick and convincing work of Elias Sampson and Valazuela Jr. (might want to change his name as that will probably not catch on) and they impressed again with tight offense. Though their opponents seemed to be the heels since they attacked with the referee’s back turned, as Jordan/Gable smiled and played to the crowd, they’re probably more along the line of tweeners. Can’t get enough of their finisher.

– The Brooke/Emma backstage promo gave a good perspective of the bout coming from Brooke: she wanted to send Charlotte an “eviction notice” since she moved to Raw and she was out to prove people wrong like she did when they said she couldn’t do fitness. It was another good promo, and we like the little weekly theme of her patting Devin Taylor on the head after them to be a little bully. Brooke has a good look and charisma, she just needs to up her game in the other attributes.

– Let’s Get Bull-Fit? Really? Oh, this was so lame and flat on so many levels. We can respect what they were going for with the workout montage parody and flashy colors, but this just didn’t hit the mark. Is Dempsey now the failed fitness instructor? Someone call Simon Dean.

– The Charlotte-Brooke match was a tricky spot. Granted, Charlotte was being built up for her match with Bayley, but Brooke could’ve used the win a lot more. Getting decisively defeated in three minutes was no help here to her. Not to mention it seems like Brooke gets more “go-away heat” than genuine heat. The match was ultimately nothing special.

– There was a good amount of hype for the Samoa Joe-Rhyno match with a confident Joe promo and a Rhyno hype video. The two work similar styles so this will be a fun match when it happens.

– If you’re Kevin Owens, you’re probably thankful for NXT as a place to rebound. He hadn’t won a match period since June 16 at that point and he (seemingly) apologized to Regal for attacking him the week prior, defending his actions in a “fight or flight mode.” Regal’s comments once he walked away about wanting to see Owens get beat were par for the course, but he shouldn’t tear Owens down, since it’s a big possibility that Owens will lose again.

– Just because Eva Marie had one decent match does not mean she is anywhere near ready to be calling out the NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks. While the Championship should be everybody’s focus, this is a step that is way too soon for her. Just doesn’t come off as believable. Build her up slowly.

– Owens got back on the winning wagon by squashing Martin Stone with a Pop-Up Powerbomb and taking him to the edge of oblivion with an Apron Powerbomb too. In true Owens fashion, he pointed at the camera and “sent a message” to NXT Champion Finn Balor by dedicating the Powerbomb to him and posed like he does on the top rope. Funny. Also liked the hype that both Owens and Balor will have exclusive sit-down interviews on next week’s show.

– The Vaudevillains are getting constantly better since their recent build to the top and their performance in the main event Championship match against Blake/Murphy cemented that. Aiden English did some impressive maneuvers when he tossed around both Blake/Murphy for a good minute. Like every other team though, they were ultimately built up to lose, as Alexa Bliss was the main factor here for Blake/Murphy to retain. The difference is that this feels like a feud now since Vaudevillains were able to get a little revenge post-match when they attacked Blake/Murphy and had Bliss cornered. Like true gentleman, they were about to let Bliss out of the ring, before she slapped them hard. It left you wanting to see more and we have to wonder if we’ll get another match where Bliss isn’t allowed at ringside.

Quick Results

– Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder def. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady (w/Carmella) via pinfall

– Baron Corbin def. Jesse Sorenson via pinfall

– Chad Gable/Jason Jordan def. Elias Sampson/Levis Venezuelan Jr. via pinfall

– Charlotte def. Dana Brooke (w/Emma) via pinfall

– Kevin Owens def. Martin Stone via pinfall

– NXT Tag Team Championships – Wesley Blake/Buddy Murphy (Champions) (w/Alexa Bliss) def. The Vaudevillains via pinfall to retain