Blog Archives
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 1/11/17: Chaos And Pain
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 1/11/17)
Chaos And Pain
– The opening video hyped the big NXT Tag Team Championship rematch between Champions #DIY and The Revival. If their TakeOver: Brooklyn II or TakeOver: Toronto bouts were any indications, this should be close to flawless. Tag wrestling about as good as it gets. No complaints.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 12/28/16: Osaka, Osaka
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 12/28/16)
Osaka, Osaka
– The opening video hyped up the NXT Championship rematch between Champion (at the time) Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura. Yup, they’d show the entire match again in its entirety (this was even before their steel cage match), but the good part was that we’d see the rest of the Osaka event. A two-hour NXT show on a holiday week? What a gift. By the way, to read our review of the Joe/Nakamura match, check it here.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 12/21/16: Glorious Cien 10 Strong
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 12/21/16)
Glorious Cien 10 Strong
– The Billie Kay-Daria Berenato match traced back from when Berenato sought revenge on the Aussie Mean Girls after they abandoned her in tag team action. It was decided that Kay would be the one to take the mixed martial arts/boxer fighter on. The story up to here made sense, so we wondered how they’d fare in the ring. Peyton Royce accompanied Kay to the ring, so that already invited shenanigans. A nice start as Berenato kicked Kay in the spine and made her a makeshift punching bag. Royce began to be a factor as she repeatedly pulled Kay out of the ring and attacked Berenato on the outside, out of the Referee’s view. That led to Kay’s big kick to earn her the win. Didn’t expect Kay to actually go over and we’re concerned about Berenato’s future. She has something interesting there as far as her gimmick and after being set up to lose, now she has lost again, albeit in dirty fashion. They haven’t done much to establish Berenato as an in-ring threat. AMG’s post-match promo was a clear call-out to NXT Women’s Champion Asuka, as they deemed themselves worthy competition. They were met with constant boos that bordered on “go-away heat,” which they should’ve played off of more. The “No one cares” chants had to hurt. That said, the way they’ve built up Kay/Royce is desirable, but how can they take Asuka on when they can’t even beat the likes of Ember Moon, Liv Morgan and Aliyah, two of which are glorified enhancement at this point?
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 12/7/16: Nakamura Comes Home
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 12/7/16)
Nakamura Comes Home
– The opening video hyped the huge rematch in Osaka, Japan for the NXT Championship between Champion Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura. It promised to be a “hard-hitting affair” and why wouldn’t it be?
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 11/30/16: Not Perfect Enough
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 11/30/16)
Not Perfect Enough
– Raw and SmackDown Live went back to the States, but NXT stood North Of The Border, as the action took place in Ottawa for the hour. Anyways, the NXT Women’s Champion Asuka-Nicole Matthews match was another formulaic squash to remind us that nobody can stand up to the Champ. Matthews had some regional notoriety from Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling amongst other places, but flaunted nothing more than a fierce forearm or two. In terms of character, Asuka remained in the grey area, with her gestures pointed towards overconfidence more than crowd-pandering. We got a kick out of the part where she kicked Matthews, who keeled over before a big one could be delivered. An Asuka Lock later and Matthews was history. The overconfidence contemned as she posed directly over Matthews and “kicked the dirt.” Now, that’s hardcore.
WWE NXT TakeOver: Toronto Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
NXT found its way “North Of The Border,” but didn’t lose any luster.
Like we’ve come to expect from the TakeOver specials, we had a solid card with some spectacles ready to deliver, which also included Mickie James’ return and a couple of hot rematches for the NXT Tag Team Championship and NXT Championship.
By night’s end, we wouldn’t call it a “Perfect 10,” but it was close.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 10/26/16: On The Up And Up
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 10/26/16)
On The Up And Up
– The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament First Round match between #DIY (Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa) and Tian Bing/Hoho Lin was a smart way to have #DIY advance while at the same time serve Bing’s in-ring NXT debut. He was the guy who was the first signed superstar from China, so he had a chance to impress and was in the ring with the right guys for it. Lun still is on the lower half of the Cruiserweight Classic talent spectrum, but he wasn’t a prime focus thankfully. Him and Bing worked well enough together to give #DIY a tease at an upset, but when commentary revealed that the winners here would take on NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival in the second round, they might as well have given away the result right there. With #DIY-Revival as past foes, they’d be dumb not to set up another excuse for an encounter and if they beat The Revival there, it could even set up the Tag Title match at NXT TakeOver: Toronto. Maybe we’re thinking too ahead, but they got the first part of the puzzle right, as we saw #DIY win their running knee strike/superkick combo on Lun, which also protected Bing, whom they can build down the road.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 9/28/16: The Glorious 10 Is Born
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 9/28/16)
The Glorious 10 Is Born
– It’s an incredible thing that the Dusty Rhodes Classic Tag Team Tournament was already back in its second edition. We began with a promo from NXT General Manager William Regal in an empty arena as he broke down the news that 16 teams would face off in single elimination rounds and it’d all start next week. Such a great way to enhance the TV episodes and is a smart move all around.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 9/7/16: Chicken Cutler
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.
WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
While that cliche can apply to most things in life, it especially applies to NXT, particularly around SummerSlam weekend.
Again, despite efforts to divert attention to the six-hour spectacle that is SummerSlam itself, it only goes to that of its previous-day predecessor, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.
Last year, 15,000 Brooklynites held witness to one of WWE’s matches between WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and Bayley.
While this year’s bouts didn’t capture that match’s emotional whirlwind, just like every previous TakeOver special, we left each contest with a “talking point” of some sort.
