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 10/5/16)

When Samoa Joe Attacks

– With the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament now upon us, it was time to let the stories come to us. Thank goodness, with a lot of notable names absent from NXT’s roster, this was an easy way to carry us weekly with natural storytelling. Surely, that’s how the late Dusty would’ve wanted it. We had the announcement in the opening video that there’d be two First Round matches. Let the games begin.

– The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round match between The Bollywood Boyz and The Authors Of Pain was a pure squash if there ever was one. We liked how they had BB come out first to build up energy in the arena, only to have it sucked out once AOP’s sinister riffs filled the air. BB were “culturally confident” to say the least, but we already expected an AOP win. They didn’t hold back there. No words from Paul Ellering this time, but we’ll keep an eye out.

– A hype video for Dan Matha’s big debut aired. Don’t forget that, kids. Even though it’s not his fault, those eyes are kind of creepy. Sort of looks like a cross-eyed Ryback.

– The Rich Swann-Patrick Clark match was a change of pace from the opener as we saw the always-charismatic Swann flaunt his keister to the masses in the name of fun. On the other side, we saw a drastic transformation of Clark from patriotic booty to Prince’s befuddled cousin. It was a lot to take in, as we wondered if they’d go the old-school Goldust route with Clark, but that’ll progress with weeks. Swann was treated as the star here as the people loved him. We got what we don’t get on Raw with him. Anyways, Clark managed a few moments of rest hold glory, but it was short-lived. A showcase bout where Swann ended it with stiff kicks and a standing cartwheel moonsault.

– After Liv Morgan’s unsuccessful attempt to challenge NXT Women’s Champion Asuka, we were left hopeless about the NXT Women’s Division’s overall direction. Luckily, out came Billie Kay/Reyton Royce from the shadows as it appears they’ll begin to be pushed as a duo. Hey, it worked for Sasha Banks/Becky Lynch. The backstage segment with Kay, Royce and Morgan was about the Aussie ladies having a laugh at Morgan’s misfortunes as she grimaced in the training room. Alright then.

– The Royce-Danielle Kamela match was another squash for Royce to get over, though Kamela had her moments to shine too. Commentary also mentioned that Kamela came from the WWE Performance Center, so maybe she’ll appear again down the road. A forgettable match that ended with Royce’s signature spinning heel kick. We’ll see where the Aussie harassers go in the long run. Definitely not Asuka-ready.

– Since they were formed for the Tournament last week, we were intrigued to see how Tye Dillinger/Bobby Roode would get along and we had our answer with their backstage segment. It was clear that Roode was a control freak as he spoke over Dillinger numerous times and stopped to ask if “They smelled and felt it” because they’d be glorious and victorious. Roode was so hilariously delusional to his own greatness, that’s what made this work. We also had some welcome news when we found that their opponents in the Tournament next week would be Sanity. There was also a nice cliffhanger line when Roode again silenced Dillinger when he tried to talk and told him he expected big things from him next week.

– By far, the show’s easiest memory belongs to the in-ring segment with Matha and Samoa Joe, as the former Champ was still bitter that NXT General Manager William Regal had not solved his demands to get either NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura or the NXT Championship handed to him. They went and took what’d look like a traditional squash for the six-foot-eight muscled former professional football player and turned it into an unexpected Joe annihilation. See, we love it when NXT goes for genuine shock value, yet it ties into something that makes sense. We kind of want to see Joe’s threat of “one more week or things escalate” get explored. Will he single-handedly wipe out a Tourney team?

– Not sure if the world’s ready for a Swann/No Way Jose tag team, but thanks to the Tourney, that’s what we’d get. Their backstage promo almost wrote itself, as they explained why they chose each other. It was like they canceled each other out. “Can You Handle This? No Way Jose!” should be a t-shirt tagline.

– Another Sanity hype video aired, as we saw “Next Week” also spray painted on the brick wall. Not like we learned that earlier.

– The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament First Round match between Andrade “Cien” Almas/Cedric Alexander and NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival served its purpose as a solid main event. Great storyline explanation of why Alexander/Almas teamed up, since it based back to their mutual respect after they competed in a match. Their styles would mesh well together, while we had high hopes for The Revival this time around. It could’ve gone either way on paper. As far as real life, we were pleasantly surprised. This wasn’t a bad idea either to use Alexander’s popularity to help get Almas over as a babyface. Some slick spots as Almas hit a double huracanrana on the Champs, which saw them fly through the air. It wasn’t long before Revival stuck to their signature “ring isolationist” style as they worked their way to the hot tag to Alexander. A nice tease towards the end where Alexander almost got a near-fall as the crowd was excited. Clever set-up as Alexander ran his way into the Shatter Machine and sold the hell out of it to get the pinfall loss. The post-match angle was an even cooler shock when we saw Almas turn heel on Alexander, who was the perfect bait for sympathy. He dropped Alexander on the steps for added effect. Boom, we have another feud born out of the Dusty Classic. Good show with the noteworthy moments, but lack of star power has been telling for some parts of the roster.

Quick Results

• Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament – First Round – The Authors Of Pain (w/Paul Ellering) def. The Bollywood Boyz via pinfall to advance 
• Rich Swann def. Patrick Clark via pinfall 
• Peyton Royce (w/Billie Kay) def. Danielle Kamela via pinfall 
• Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament – First Round – The Revival def. Cedric Alexander/Andrade “Cien” Almas via pinfall to advance