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 9/7/16)

Chicken Cutler

– NXT seems to be in a state of developing its own talent in a field with a few established diamonds. That has always been its niche and that seems more true than ever these days. With seemingly everybody notable up on the main roster now, we need new stars more than ever. Luckily, we had a good start with the TM61-Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari opener. The upstart Aussies appear to be second on the babyface tier of the NXT Tag Team Division behind Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa and this match helped propel them further into the scene with credibility. On the other side, we had Nese (who impressed in his Cruiserweight Classic performance) show off more reasons why he might be around to stay for a while, with his versatile style in offense. Daivari already made a good pest heel from what we saw in the CWC, but him and Nese gelled smoothly for a first-time team. We never got the sense that TM61 was the superior team, as it came off more evenly matched, but we could tell TM61 was going over at the end. Nese had some impressive spots and the babyfaces finished off the bout with their Thunder Valley finisher. We have a feeling TM61 will end up with Tag Title shots sooner than later.

– Supreme confidence appeared to be the goal of NXT Women’s Champion Asuka’s exclusive sit-down interview, as she expressed respect towards Bayley and the experience she had at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II in her successful defense. She knew she boasted a defeated list of many main roster women and established her dominance. She was also proud of her country and was sure that she cleared out the competition so far. She did seem like a powerhouse. Just who do you put against her at this point?

– Steve Cutler’s backstage promo hyped the main event match with him and NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura as he claimed Nakamura didn’t sacrifice anything like he did four years of his life. Perhaps that was a military reference? Maybe it was college. Who knows? Either way, it was actually well-delivered. We just wish they didn’t build up Cutler for a whole week to feed him to Nakamura the next.

– The Leah Von-Ember Moon match served as Moon’s Full Sail University debut and she kept the intensity and coolness that got her over in Brooklyn. She rocks a unique look in style and in the ring, more reliant on stiff strikes and keen athleticism. It speaks for itself. In essence, Moon has essentially become the hope of the future for the depleted NXT Women’s Division. Von had a good “mean face,” but that’s about all we could say about her. The corkscrew stunner finish was as flawless as Brooklyn as she finished off Von. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Moon built up for a future encounter with Asuka. That already sounds like a TakeOver match waiting to happen.

– No Way Jose’s backstage promo hyped his match with Bobby Roode for next week, which carried off last week’s interaction when Roode judged Jose for his looks. It sounded like Jose was trying to get “No Way” off the ground as a catchphrase, but it’ll take a while to settle in. On the plus side, this was a unique match so far.

– A hype video aired for NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival, which showcased their in-your-face, old-school southern brawler style. It was hard to argue the fact they dominated the NXT Tag Team Division. This was just a friendly reminder of that.

– We had more to look forward to for next week with the backstage segment with Ciampa, Gargano and the Medical Trainer. It was revealed that with a few more days rest, Ciampa would be cleared to compete, as he suffered injuries from a ruthless beatdown from The Revival last week. Gargano also revealed that the team would battle at the live CWC finale and the goal was set to move one step at a time to getting the tag gold. You know this could end up with the two as Tag Champs or as bitter enemies. Either way, everybody wins.

– The Andrade “Cien” Almas-Austin Aries match was probably the best thing on the show, for better or worse. The wrestling here was actually good, as the two meshed well in the ring. The bout also carried off from last week’s promo segment where Aries ducked the challenge the first time, using a ruptured eardrum sustained at Brooklyn from Hideo Itami’s Go To Sleep as an excuse. Alma’s already had a tough road to climb getting over when judged prematurely by fans with the popular Aries in the ring too. Aries played off the chants for him quite well, but Almas showed some good fire to get some his way as well. There was a nasty bump Almas took where Aries pushed him off the top rope and he leaned over head-first but he seemed to be alright. The flawless finish was designed to show off Aries’ veteran instinct, as he came from being nearly defeated to locking in a win with the powerbomb/Last Chancery combo. They also called it a “bounce back win” for Aries, which he sort of needed anyway.

– Another Sanity hype video aired, which was the same as previous past. Still don’t know much about who or what Sanity will be.

– The Cutler-Nakmaura main event served its purpose as every bit of the Nakamura squash it was designed to be, but the bigger picture at hand was the surprising calm of Samoa Joe, who sat on commentary. He seethed at the sight of Nakamura with his old Championship, but his words showed bittersweet humbleness towards his Brooklyn opponent and simply called him the better man. The crowd was hot for Nakamura the whole time expectedly, as he ended it with the Kinshasa. The post-match interaction was interesting, as Joe briefly stood up and stared down Nakamura, only to head right backstage. No words. This either sets up a face turn for Joe or a reason to come back even more aggressive. We hope it’s the latter, as it makes Joe come off so much more badass.

Quick Results

• TM61 def. Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari via pinfall 
• Ember Moon def. Leah Von via pinfall 
• Austin Aries def. Andrade “Cien” Almas via submission 
• Shinsuke Nakamura def. Steve Cutler via pinfall