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Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 3/23/16: The Empress Strikes Back
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 3/23/16)
The Empress Strikes Back
– Nothing will kill a crowd like “The Drifter” Elias Samson, especially to open the show, albeit against Johnny Gargano. We were severely hoping that Gargano wouldn’t be the latest Samson squash victim. The action didn’t last long and we were actually shocked to see that Gargano would pull out a surprise roll-up pin to win, meaning that Samson’s unspectacular undefeated streak also ended. The post-match angle gave Samson some decent heat before Apollo Crews came to save the day. Who knew the one thing that we needed Samson to do was actually lose? Crews-Samson doesn’t exactly have us jumping out of our seats, but maybe Crews can pull out a good match from him.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 2/24/16: New Personas
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 2/24/16)
New Personas
– American Alpha continue their “onward and upwards” push, this time outlasting the former NXT Tag Team Champions in Blake/Murphy after 10 minutes. AA were their usual dose of suplex and amateur-esque finesse, while Blake/Murphy provided decent foils. The main story (like with most AA matches) was Chad Gable selling hard for the hot tag, having it pulled away from him numerous times before finally getting it, and then Jason Jordan takes over the final minutes, culminating in Grand Amplitude.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 9/23/15: Asuka Arrives
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 9/23/15)
Asuka Arrives
– The Eva Marie-Carmella match was another squash for the red-headed up-and-comer who has been mostly all glam and no slam. The crowd continued to berate her justifiably, considering she forgot to kick out the last time she was out there. They made an effort to take that botch and use it as a way to get promo heat, as she thanked the referee for not “falling victim to the biased crowd.” It’d just be smarter to not acknowledge it, but too late for that. As for the idea of Carmella being her opponent – sigh, again? Carmella is improving herself, but she’s not on the level to carry Eva of all people. Their in-ring chemistry has bettered and Eva wasn’t terrible, but played it way too safe here and the pace suffered. The crowd was obviously amusing themselves with chants like “That’s a kickout!” and “All botch everything!” and it was building to something decent… until the lame countout finish. That did no favors for Eva and then it made Carmella look weak since she couldn’t answer a 10 count when all she did was fall out of the ring.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 9/9/15: The Dusty Wars Continue
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 9/9/15)
The Dusty Wars Continue
– Certainly didn’t expect Carmella to open the show, and the crowd also seemed to be caught off-guard. Her theme music is still a clear ripoff of Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy.” She served as an opponent for the debuting Peyton Royce, who had an elegant look yet flashed off some flashy skills, as commentary put over the fact that she was an Australian newcomer at the Performance Center. This was actually a decent match, believe it or not, Carmella had one of her better performances, aside from the cutesy moonwalking. Royce more than held her own down. Can’t help but feel this got more time than necessary, but that submission finisher made up for it. Carmella actually looked like a threat here.