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Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 3/1/17: Staking The Claim
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 3/1/17)
Staking The Claim
– The opening video hyped a “Championship Lite” night as NXT Women’s Champion Asuka would defend against Peyton Royce and NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors Of Pain would defend against #DIY in the main event. Good stuff.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 2/8/17: A Stand Against SAnitY
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 2/8/17)
A Stand Against SAnitY
– Well, nothing quite says “Welcome Back To Full Sail University” like the darkness and haunting realism of SAnitY’s entrance. Look Mom, Mad Max has some new friends. Once they get in the ring, we’re subjected to some subtle hardcore dancing from Alexander Wolfe as we wonder what the hell this group is out for so soon into the show. The silence was broken by upbeat Indian music, as The Bollywood Boyz came out with a cultured toy to raise some fun or something like that. Nah, they’re gonna get their asses kicked. In case you wondered, Eric Young/Nikki (not NXT Women’s Champion) Cross would sit this one out. As the match begins, it’s rather hard to not notice Killian Dain’s rampant back hair. Just imagine a furry bear and translate that to a human being. You’ve met your match. Funnily enough, at that point, the Full Sail faithful break out a “Shave your back!” chant. See, they’re not all that resentful. The bout goes on and it’s basically Dain having his way with the fun-lovers. He powerbombed one on top of the other and hit a senton on both. Just, ouch. On top of it all, he hits that sweet move that transitions from an electric chair to the Michinoku Driver. Wolfe never even tagged in, which goes to show that they accomplished the goal to make Dain look scary, though his back hair already did that. Post-match, Cross screamed for Champion Asuka, because well, she’s crazy. Young bragged about his victory over Tye Dillinger at TakeOver: San Antonio and again claimed that “The Perfect 10” belonged with them and it wasn’t a choice anymore. Right. This is like the friendliest group ever.
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 1/11/17: 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 11/23/16: The Cool Kids Get Eclipsed
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 11/23/16)
The Cool Kids Get Eclipsed
– The opening video reviewed the glitz of TakeOver: Toronto, when NXT visited the Great White North. Upon the highlights were Paul Ellering in a shark cage, Shane Thorne’s impressive senton off the structure onto The Authors Of Pain, Bobby Roode’s defeat of Tye Dillinger, #DIY’s impeccable win over The Revival to become new NXT Tag Team Champions, Asuka’s successful defense of the NXT Women’s Championship over Mickie James and finally, Samoa Joe’s regain of the NXT Championship over Shinsuke Nakamura.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 10/12/16: Joe Gets What He Wants
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at then bottom of the post.
(Aired 10/12/16)
Joe Gets What He Wants
– Another week of NXT TV was here and the good thing was that we’d finally get Sanity’s long-awaited debut and the first match of “The Glorious 10” pair of Tye Dillinger/Bobby Roode. It’d also happen under the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament First Round. This was a smart way to blend programs. Needless to say, Sanity’s entrance was unique, yet left us unsettled. This was reliant upon flashlights in the dark, smoke, brick walls and heavy metal music as four denim-jacket clad figures stood with masks. Two of them were revealed as Alexander Wolfe/Sawyer Fulton. It had been a while since we seen them, so we were all for this. They were big in stature and powerful, so smart idea. A man and woman remained masked outside for the match. The duo worked over Dillinger extensively as they mauled him to no limit. Roode watched from afar and wanted no part of them, to the point where he teased a step-in, but walked away, as Dillinger reached out for help. It became apparent that Roode had no interest in a team with Dillinger and was only concerned about himself. Then again, at the same time, we wouldn’t to step in against those guys either. Their finisher was like a Magic Killer variation as they turned Dillinger over for a powerslam to get the win. The reveals of Eric Young/Nikki Glenncross as the last two members was well-done, especially on EY’s part. The crowd let loose a “Holy shit!” chant and rightfully so. We’ll see what promos they give us to establish who they are, but so far, this was a hot debut. Their entrance and look almost rivals The Wyatt Family.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 10/5/16: When Samoa Joe Attacks
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.
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 9/21/16: Bringing The Fight
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thought and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 9/21/16)
Bringing The Fight
– The opening video took us back to last week when Samoa Joe swerved everybody as he played the “nice guy” to get NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura to agree to a rematch for the belt before he brutalized him without remorse with help from the steel steps. With some ample time before NXT’s next TakeOver special, this was a smart way to prolong things in a way that kept the focus on Joe’s aggression.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 9/14/16: Glorious Actions
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 9/14/16)
Glorious Actions
– At their first-ever encounter at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, Shinsuke Nakamura beat Samoa Joe to become the new NXT Champion. There had to be some intriguing way to set up a reason to want to see the guaranteed rematch. Boy, did it happen here. A lot of credit for the opening in-ring segment with Joe and Nakamura. Joe did his best to make like he had turned a new leaf and learnt from his mistakes as Champion while he dealt with hecklers and claimed their words were deserved. He called out Nakamura and told him he had respect for him, that he was a worthy Champion. It had ended with the news that as soon as Joe was medically cleared to compete, he wanted his rematch. He called for a handshake before he went to the back as Nakamura posed in the ring. The shocker came the moment Joe ambushed Nakamura on the ramp and let loose his true intentions all along – to sucker the Champ into a sick attack. Now, it wasn’t quite to the level that Mark Henry did in 2013 with his fake retirement speech, but the key was that Joe said and did enough for us to let our guard down, even if we slightly felt an attack coming. They alluded to an attitude change ever since the show after TakeOver and that made the attack all the more buyable. Joe culminated his attack with a Bookend onto the steel steps before medical trainers took over and put the Champ on a stretcher. A cool mini-swerve that came off even better as it was played up like a legitimate injury, as we saw the Referee throw up the “X” and even Corey Graves came down from the commentary booth to check on Nakamura as did NXT General Manager William Regal.
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