Blog Archives
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 2/1/17: End Of Graves
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 2/1/17)
End Of Graves
– With NXT TakeOver: San Antonio officially done, it was time for another post-TakeOver edition. Ultimately, these are notorious with backstage reactions from winners and “dark” matches that were taped before the show, even though it’s supposed to be like they’re happening after TakeOver itself. Strange stuff, but in NXT, we’ll just roll with it and ask for more. There you go. The opening video wasn’t without its highlights, showcased in all of its epic slow-motion glory. To sum it up, Roderick Strong bested Andrade “Cien” Almas, Eric Young (and SAniTY) defeated Tye Dillinger, The Authors Of Pain added Championship gold under their perilous penmanship, Asuka remained on top after she defeated three other women and above all else, Bobby Roode was now NXT Champion and things were set to be more “Glorious.”
WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Even though it boasted the same static screen transitions and synth-powered alternative rock theme songs, there was something about this “TakeOver” that didn’t feel like “TakeOver.”
At least headed in.
With what could be considered a lackluster build to a card with throwaway bouts, it’s a testament to NXT and everything it stands for that even with “in-the-middle” shows like this compared to past TakeOvers, they can still spin yards of gold.
We also dug the ambition to continue the tradition of hard-fought contests, excellent teases and above all else, the element of surprise. While on a lesser level, we still got our “TakeOver” money’s worth.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 1/18/17: The Glorious Shiba Inu
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 1/18/17)
The Glorious Shiba Inu
– The opening video hyped the contact signing segment between NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode. It pretty much wrote itself. Hopefully they’d so something to make this feud personal.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 1/4/17: Land Down Under
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 1/4/17)
Land Down Under
– The Revival-Riddick Moss/Tino Sabbatelli match was interesting (yet awkward) for heel-heel interactions alone, but we’ll leave it at that. Being that this was the Melbourne, Australia portion of NXT’s December global tour, this was a house show-esque effort. We guess it makes for filler television when needed, but that’s not always good. The Steel Cage match for the NXT Championship between Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe headlined the episode, though they showed it a few weeks back. Check out our review of that match here. Luckily, anything with Revival written on it will generate fan response and the Australians were eager to chant for them. Moss/Sabbatelli have light momentum charisma-wise, but still need to hone their in-ring skills to get anywhere. A little strange when Commentator Corey Graves actually compared Moss/Sabbatelli to WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro/Sheamus. Not much action besides for Revival’s usual “isolate and destroy” style on display. Moss pulled off a few decent spots, namely where he caught Scott Dawson on a high crossbody attempt and countered with a fallaway slam. Nevertheless, the fans showed no interest for Moss and a “Revival” chant actually broke out. Revival’s classic rule bending also garnered a pop in select moments, where Dawson raked Moss’ eyes and they both worked him over in the corner. The crowd booed Sabbatelli’s hot tag sequence, which only meant the Shatter Machine was imminent. Couldn’t come at a better time. Revival win and keep momentum for their rematch next week on NXT when they face NXT Tag Team Champions #DIY for the belts. Yes.
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 12/14/16: Four To Play
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 12/14/16)
Four To Play
– The opening video recapped last week’s big rematch for the NXT Championship in Osaka, Japan between Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe. “The King Of Strong Style” had a loyal home country following and after a grueling contest, he got back his gold with a Kinshasa for the history books. We saw the hype that went down, as Joe immediately sought his rematch clause, so much so, that five days later in Melbourne, Australia, we’d see them duke it out again for the Title in a Steel Cage match. We assumed this would be the main event.
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 11/16/16: A Shot At Vengeance
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 11/16/16)
A Shot At Vengeance
– The Liv Morgan-Peyton Royce match was the latest installment in the chronicles of the NXT undercard, which you can gladly call its Women’s Division. Forever a “work in progress,” there has been an attempt to build things with the “Aussie Mean Girls” pair of Billie Kay/Royce, coupled with Liv Morgan – a blonde tomboy Jersey Girl – and Ember Moon – a Mortal Kombat-esque athlete who racks up wins. While Moon has been built on her own, we’ve seen Morgan entangled in a feud lately with the AMG. Where we last left off, we saw Morgan cost Kay a match, as Aliyah upset her. The aggressive start made sense given the feud’s context. Royce delivered a nice tarantula-like submission in the ropes, even though we were entirely distracted with her ring attire that screamed “The Riddler.” The memories stopped there until the finish, when we saw Kay physically assault Morgan before she could make Royce submit. The crowd chanted for Aliyah, who came out and it looked like the heels would enjoy another beatdown. This set the stage for Moon to come down and make the ultimate difference, as she single-handedly took down the AMG before her and Morgan hit stereo dropkicks. We like the idea of Moon to physically get her hands dirty with the rest of the division, but we had enjoyed her solo push and wished they kept her separate from this storyline.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 11/9/16: Mighty Penmanship
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 11/9/16)
Mighty Penmanship
– The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament Semifinal match between #DIY and The Authors Of Pain already had a different feel since it came from the Palladium Arena in California. The live event environments certainly help the matches feel more special. That said, this was easily AOP’s best effort to date thanks to the energetic fight brought by #DIY. It wasn’t all the faces though, as there was a cool spot where AOP caught Johnny Gargano on a suicide dive attempt and then bombarded him at Tommaso Ciampa when he tried to do the same. We also saw Paul Ellering get physically involved again as he bashed Gargano’s head into the apron. Another highlight was where Gargano countered a powerslam into a DDT, which led to the hot tag to Ciampa. Easily the best moment was Ciampa’s German Suplex on Razar, a feat in of itself. Razar battled back with a double fallaway slam for a near-fall. The faces had one of their own as they countered the double powerbomb into huracanranas. The finish was key and made sense, since we saw #DIY have the match won only to deal with Ellering on the apron and also set up NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival’s interference to cost them the match directly. AOP kept their undefeated strike alive and advance to the finals.
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.
