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 7/27/16)

Flipping The Switch 

– The Shinsuke Nakamura-Wesley Blake match was an easy way to keep the undefeated Nakamura just that while we also saw a quarrel between Blake and Buddy Murphy, who were convinced that one could upstage the other. Blake challenged Nakamura, while Murphy claimed he could beat “a favorite to win the CWC.” As for Blake, his new theme music was eh and commentary mentioned a “new look,” but he still looked the same to us. Anyways, this was reminiscent of Nakamura’s squash over Murphy and didn’t give us anything new, but Nakamura’s always a treat to watch. The follow-up was also fun since we saw NXT General Manager William Regal come out and formally announce that Nakamura would face NXT Champion Samoa Joe at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II. Oh, snap.

– The Billie Kay-Santana Garrett match was a random pairing and both ladies were still pretty green for us to put this as anything must-see. At the least, the goal seems to be pushing Kay as this “innocent flower heel” of sorts and her big boot finisher came across well. Besides that, nothing to see here. Garrett also had some flashes of charisma, but still a lot to work on.

– We had another big announcement with the backstage segment between Regal and Bayley, as she finally felt ready to take on her contractual rematch against NXT Women’s Champion Asuka in the same building where she beat WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks to become NXT Women’s Champion last year. It all made sense and was what we suspected, so it does set up what we assume is a future contract signing segment.

– We thought perhaps a Finn Balor hype video aired, as we saw a dark red shadow in the background as a narrator spoke of a “dark force taking over,” but we guess it was something else for NXT in the future. We’ll have to keep an eye on that.

– TM61 continue to be built up as fun threats and a cool addition to the NXT Tag Team Division, as they outlasted Rob Ryzin/Adrian Nails in another squash affair. The upbeat Australians did some crowd pleasing spots and it came across nicely. The Undervalley finisher ended a short, but sweet victory. Also liked that TM61 displayed sportsmanship with their opponents after the bell to further establish them as “nice guys.”

– Hideo Itami was hyped to return for next week, as his international superstar status was discussed.

– A big highlight of the hour was No Way Jose, who continues to grow on us with his infectious upbeat personality contrasted by his vicious side. At first, we dismissed NWJ as another “Only in NXT” character, but this feud with Austin Aries has given him the few needed layers to progress. As commentary discussed the Aries feud, NWJ battled Steve Cutler in another squash. We liked how he went from dancing in his moveset to unleashing the ill angry face on Cutler before he hit his finisher to end it. His post-match promo towards Aries was also strong, as he showed us the fire doesn’t only exist on the dance floor for him. The crowd ate it all up too. The establishment of NWJ as someone who could kick your ass and then smile and dance about it made him come off even more like a badass. Plus, that theme song is bomb.

– The crowd nearly lost their marbles when Kota Ibushi’s music hit, as many probably didn’t expect an appearance from him. The match between him and Murphy was the expected squash, as he unloaded an array of stiff kicks and suplexes galore. A particular head kick/German Suplex combo woo’d the crowd like crazy. Some props to Murphy, as he put in a good enough performance to hang with the CWC favorite, but we all knew how it’d go. Nevertheless, a shining debut for Ibushi in NXT. Didn’t think they’d involve him elsewhere, but alas, we’ve been proven wrong.

– Joe’s backstage promo involved his reaction to learning that Nakamura was his TakeOver: Brooklyn II opponent and he wasn’t pleased. His “I’m out to fix it” line gave us a hint that this would involve the final segment most likely.

– Bobby Roode was also hyped to arrive next week. How glorious.

– The final in-ring segment with Joe, Regal and Nakamura was well-done in many ways. On one hand, it made the Joe-Nakamura match official for TakeOver. Joe was also well-spoken in his frustrations with Regal that tied back to how he had to “jump through endless hoops” just to get an opportunity at the NXT Championship when Nakamura was more or less, given the chance. Joe stood true heel, as he called Nakamura “undeserving” and pulled no punches, as he held the main event of TakeOver hostage. On another hand, maybe Joe had a point since it was revealed that regal didn’t consult with him on it first, as he apparently would do for the NXT Women’s Championship. Regal’s response promo matched Joe’s intensity and expressed that he wouldn’t budge on the decision. We loved the ending in that Joe accepted the bout and threatened to obliterate Nakamura so that he wouldn’t make it to Brooklyn if he saw him and out Nakamura came, which showed his fearlessness. No physicality, but none was needed. Let the next weeks of NXT roll on. Should be fun.

Quick Results

• Shinsuke Nakamura def. Wesley Blake via pinfall
• Billie Kay def. Santana Garrett via pinfall
• TM61 def. Rob Ryzin/Adrian Nails via pinfall
• No Way Jose def. Steve Cutler via pinfall
• Kota Ibushi def. Buddy Murphy via pinfall