NXT [NXT SPOILERS] For AUGUST 17, 2016

[RIPPA]

Per PWI

Quote

Week 4

- Hideo Itami def. Mustafa Ali 

- Carmella, Liv Morgan, and Nikki Glencross def. Alexa Bliss, Daria Berenato, and Mandy Rose

- Samoa Joe def. Mojo Rawley. Joe continues the attack after the bell. Nakamura comes out.. Security holds Joe back. Nakamura taunts him. Nakamura leaves and Joe lays out the security team.

(NOTE: This week is a little hazy. Dasha Fuentes introduced the first two matches, while Greg Hamilton introduced the last match. Nothing on this week is long enough to fill an entire episode, so I don't want to say with 100% certainty that this is exactly how the week will be played out)

Notes

- Conspicuous by their absence: Finn Balor, Austin Aries, Tye Dillinger, and Nia Jax

- Wesley Blake has new ring gear and new theme music.

- All Cruiserweight Classic competitors came out to the tron and music they use on the Cruiserweight Classic.

- Pre show dark match: Oney Lorcan def. Tino Sabbatelli 

Per WON

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- Hideo Itami beat Mustafa Ali after hitting the running kick for the pin and win. Itami looked good here. 

- Carmella, Liv Morgan, and Nikki Glencross beat Mandy Rose, Daria, and Alexa Bliss

Action was all over the place, Carmella was able to get Mandy in the Code Of Silence for the win.

- NXT Champion Samoa Joe beat Mojo Rawley

This was a mean guy match that Joe finished after he locked in the Koji clutch. Post match, Joe continues to rough up Mojo until refs and security got involved. 

Nakamura made his way down and while Joe was being held back, he did the Got Your Nose bit to loud laughs and a pop. We got "Let Them Fight" chants. Shinsuke left Joe fuming. After Shinsuke left, Joe destroyed security and ended the go home show holding the title.

 

[RIPPA]

So it will be a two match show with the rest being Brooklyn preview since Joe/Rawley already happened

[SirSmUgly]

• Mustafa Ali's classic heeling was pretty good. Why more chickenshit heels don't try to call time outs, I don't know. Plus, he hit a solid six out of ten on the "Mark Henry shit-talking scale," which shows promise.
• Itami looks good. I hope they program himwith Roode post-Brooklyn, which I think could be a solid little in-ring feud. 
• I don't know that Bayley/Asuka has been built too effectively. I don't expect to have the same stake in Bayley winning the title as I did last year, of course, but the build didn't really get me super-hyped or anything.
• I do love Asuka yelling "OKAY" during the contract signing in a slightly unhinged way. I half-expected her to pantomime taking her earrings out. 
• I am looking forward to Billie Kay/Ember Moon.
• First time I've seen Berenato, who looks interesting. Glencross, I've seen before, and she is totally likable as the cute, plucky face. Match was fine for what it was.
• Alexa Bliss made me laugh when, after getting beaten up and checked on by her partners, she yelled "I'M FINE!" like a surly six-year-old who accidentally dropped her ice cream cone and pouted at it while her mom came over to check on her. 
• Carmella winning on her way out was the first time anyone has won on their way out of NXT that I can remember. 
• Joe is so good at everything at this point, man. He is the best surly veteran who always feels disrespected since BikerTaker was handing out soupbones and launching young punks like Jeff Hardy the fuck out of his yard. 
• Nakamura's troll face is gold. Had me cracking up. 
• I hope Joe loses at Takeover because he needs to be on Smackdown killing Dean Ambrose dead about fifty times over to be champ over there. 

[Eivion]

I wonder how NJPW & the Inokis feel about Joe claiming ownership of their LA Dojo. That was a nice interview. I just love Nakamura poking the beast. I'm really hoping he wins because I want Joe vs. Cena on Smackdown.

None of the matches were anything special, but it was nice seeing Ali again along with getting a look at the new women in NXT. I quite liked Glencross during her stay in Stardom last year so I'm looking forward to seeing more of her.

[Ace]

6 minutes ago, Eivion said:

I wonder how NJPW & the Inokis feel about Joe claiming ownership of their LA Dojo.

FWIW, Joe was running the dojo. It was originally Kevin Quinn.

 

[sydneybrown]

As sick as I am of the crowd trying to get themselves over, I couldn't help but laugh at the Mortal Kombat "FINISH HIM" guy in the Hideo match.  

I fucking love Tom and Corey.  In the women's match Tom starts to say "We have a pair of...." and then the camera cuts to Alexa's cleavage and he blanks out:  "Um...uh..."

Corey:  "TALENTED WOMEN, TOM!"

 

[turk128]

Bliss working that ponytail, looks like a fighting game character. Actually, her trio is a shoe-in for a KoF team.

Is it me or did Mandy bulk up? Like she straight-up had the most muscle mass of all 6 gals. She would be a fantastic tag partner for Eva.

Daria's got so much upper potential. She should simply steal from Nak's playbook. And Liv found her calling; she's a great face in peril... now we just need to start up the women's tag division. Can't wait for Glencross to settle into a character, she seems like a vet in the ring (Santana Garret-ish).

Grave's blatant bias for any beauty (not from Detroit) is fantastic.

Nak is a grade A instigator.

[The Natural]

 

[Eivion]

12 minutes ago, turk128 said:

Can't wait for Glencross to settle into a character, she seems like a vet in the ring (Santana Garret-ish).

She has been wrestling for 8 years.

[hammerva]

So Mandy Rose is going to be the next Eva Marie for Corey Graves where he is so so excited for everything she does it sounds like his hands are underneath the announce table.  

[NikoBaltimore]

Mandy is a much better Eva Marie than Eva Marie, that's for damn sure.  She's much hotter, looks like she has a soul in her eyes and going off last night won't shit the bed in the ring.  When she improves I'd be happy as a clam to just get rid of Eva and put Mandy in her spot.

EDIT:  In light of Eva Marie's suspension, NOW is the time to bring up Mandy.  The opportunity's right there, man.  You can even have the announcer do his shtick for her and everything.

[Ultimo Necro]

Daria really has a great look and her spear on Nikki was on point. Would like to see that as a first feud for both of them, I suspect it could be pretty decent.

As above, Corey Graves was awesome throughout. "she's got the body of a goddess and the face of Angel Tom"

the Joe v Nak segment was all kinds of great, Joe is the best kind of heel at this point, his argument is kind of valid and we finally have a segment where a wrestler knows what's going on with the rest of the roster when he referenced Asuka / Bayley. Nakamura's "Your dojo?????" was amazing and condescending in such a good way.

cant wait for the match now!

[Peck]

Found it humorous that her Tron graphic had "Glenncross" while her lower-3rd graphic had "Glencross".  Usually don't see WWE make those types of mistakes. Maybe she'll be this generations Hennig/Henning.

[Marty Sugar]

I'm glad Mustafa Ali is around for  more than just one match in the CWC. I thought he was a great heel.

[Goodear]

I'm coming in HOT for a match that is several weeks old because I am 39 now and you only Liv Once (TM) Patent Pending.    Anyway let us speak about this six man tag since it is a fairly nifty bit of business introducing 3 new competitors while elevating a 4th in order to provide some much needed depth to a division that needs it.  And while I don't think any of these folks are ready to pose a threat to Asuka, we do get clear, clean character beats that separate them from being generic women who wrestle.  

Glenncross was in the ring the least and made the least impression on me.  I think she felt rather stilted and inauthentic with her screaming being one of those things that will get more annoying as time goes on.  She needs to find a way to channel her intensity in a more effective manner.   In a way she is reminiscent of Becky Lynch during her 'dancing a jig' phase in that I don't quite buy what she is selling and the character has no real hook.   

Liv getting what appears to be more of a push probably needed Carmella to turn before she left NXT so she didn't come off as much as a mini-me and had more of a chance to separate herself.  She should count her stars that Carmella is gone now and a heel on the main roster so she isn't as redundant.  I think her playing face in peril was effective in putting over the heel team (although I think the Daria body scissors/rear naked choke would have been more useful if it wasn't a control spot and had more peril in it).  

The heels worked much better with Daria being the standout for me with the MMA stuff really working well and I think she would benefit from a Baron Corbin style refinement repackage and push.  I liked the 'taking off the gloves' moment but I think she popped to it too soon.  I liked her offense as a nice, unique set but it will need some steam behind it to make her really go.  She's going to need a push or she won't succeed.

Mandy was okay but needs more of a hook to her character than Corey's latest fascination.  I was pleased to see her involvement in the finish as that was a pretty slick transition to the Cone of Silence.

It was a nice piece of work.

[MapRef41N93W]

Seeing Carmella and Liv Morgan on the same team was sort of strange, because Liv seems like she really is the sort of person that Carmella is only pretending to be. Right down to Liv actually being an Italian from the tri-state.