Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 This tournament has done wonders for Hideo Itami. Two high-profile, standout matches in a row. Now, I know Breeze and Balor are no slouches, but Itami has more than held up his end. I really thought he was heading the way of the original Sin Cara, but he's developed nicely, in the ring, in his presentation (love the vest), and has shown tremendous improvements in his promos, or more specifically, his ability to speak English. Really nice to see developmental working on a wrestler before our eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boytoy Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 This tournament has done wonders for Hideo Itami. Two high-profile, standout matches in a row. Now, I know Breeze and Balor are no slouches, but Itami has more than held up his end. I really thought he was heading the way of the original Sin Cara, but he's developed nicely, in the ring, in his presentation (love the vest), and has shown tremendous improvements in his promos, or more specifically, his ability to speak English. Really nice to see developmental working on a wrestler before our eyes. He still needs to settle on a finisher, as he has used a few but nothing has stuck yet. I am hoping they stop with the GTS tease soon and he starts using it full time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Scott Malbranque Posted February 5, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted February 5, 2015 He will use it full time, and you can bet The 'E' will make no bones about promoting him as the innovator and originator of said move now that they're fucked off with Punky Poos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 The tease of it is working great, as you can imagine that it'll get a great reaction when he finally does hit it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freaky Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 NXT is such an easy watch. I get a good laugh out of watching Enzo, Big Cass and Carmella's gimmick, the women all have defined characters (though Becky Lynch still feels a bit undeveloped and I worry that Charlotte is miscast as a babyface), Itami v Balor was brilliant (plus that Finn dropkick was utter buys) and the hype for Zayn v Owens was sublime. The only thing which I didn't care for was Alex Riley rifling questions at Adrian Neville and him having to find more creative ways to provide diplomatic answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Linus Posted February 5, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted February 5, 2015 Hey, it's WWE NXT! And we're one week from NXT Takeover: Rival! And I will STAY HYPED! The show started with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady coming out to the top of the ramp and delivering their usual, brilliant schpiel. The appearance of the New Age Outlaws on the Royal Rumble PPV proved that a big modern audience will still chant along with this kind of stuff, so I hope they get to take it to the main roster. They introduced Carmella, who the crowd do NOT like, because she's a risk to these guys staying together. She came out and did her schpiel, which is nowhere near their level. As they got in the ring, the crowd chanted for "Blue Pants", who defeated Carmella in an upset a few weeks ago. They're 1-1 now. But Carmella told them that Blue Pants had been put back on the clearance rack. Heh. She said that her opponent tonight, Emma, liked to dance but that it would be Carmella dancing after she'd won. Emma came out and the crowd were into her, but being in limbo on the main roster has cost her a bit of her shine. Damn main roster. So, they had a match, and it was short and not all that good. Carmella is still very green, but improving with every match, but Emma just didn't seem on it. Poor Emma. Carmella won with her whacky head scissors submission thing, and did, indeed, dance afterwards. She also hugged Cass and pie-faced Enzo. Poor Enzo. Hey, it's Adrian Neville! He wore new trunks, which aren't grey and therefore 100% better. He's fighting Baron Corbin, who came down to the ring in his usual slow, enigmatic manner, in a semi-final match in the number one contenders' tournament. Incidentally, if you're on The Twitter, give @MySadBaron a follow and find out why Baron Corin is sad. My favourite is that he is sad because his stomach looks like a face and his face looks like a stomach. Those of us who love the NXT have been a little concerned about this, a Baron Corbin match where he'd have to do more than his usual squash. We needn't have worried. They took it slow and careful, and protected Corbin from anything that might expose his newness at this time. They teased an End of Days but Neville escaped. Corbin, was on top for the first half of the match but Neville dropkicked him to the outside and hit a twisting plancha. Corbin caught him and dumped him on the guardrail, then threw him back inside. Before he could get back in himself, and with the ref checking on Neville, Bull Dempsey appeared out of nowhere and ran Corbin into the steel ringpost. He just made it back in at the 9-count but fell victim to a low dropkick and the Red Arrow for a Neville win. This was better than anyone could have expected it to be. It was slow and not too long, but that's effective for a Baron Corbin match. And, yeah, he shouldn't be losing at this point, but it's a tainted loss which builds the blow-off with Dempsey. They showed an interview with Sami Zayn from earlier this week, where he explained how Owens had manipulated his way into a title match. Zayn promised he would overcome Owens. This was good. The announcers told us that Baron Corbin and Bull Dempsey would fight in a No DQ match at NXT Takeover: Rival. Let that be the end of it, yeah? Hey, it's Bayley! She's fighting Becky Lynch just a week before these two - and Sasha Banks and Charlotte - face off in a Fatal Four Way at Rival. Becky comes out doing her usual hair-twirling and devil fingers, which Corey Graves rags her for, saying she's the kind of girl who wears a band's t-shirt to their concert. Go Corey! Becky worked over Bayley's injured knee early on, before Bayley came back with FIRE~! and attacked Becky's knee, giving her a taste of her own medicine. Sasha Banks came out to give encouragement to her pal, but is instrumental in giving Bayley the win when she rolls Becky back in the ring before she can grab some recovery time, and Bayley hit the Belly-to-Bayley for the pinfall victory. After the match, Sasha and Becky got into a shoving match and Charlotte's music played and she came out to the top of the ramp, as all four women had a staredown... They showed an interview with Kevin Owens from earlier this week. He said he'd gotten what he wanted and he'd win the NXT Championship two months to the day from his debut. The announcers told us that the Lucha Dragons would get a title re-match against the Dubstep Cowboys, Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy, at NXT Takeover: Rival. Aces. Backstage, Tyler Breeze was admiring himself in a selfie when he was interrupted by Devin. She asked him about his elimination from the tournament and where he goes from there, and he called it a dumb question. He said he plans on watching the rest of the tournament and then sent Devin away so he could back to admiring himself. Gold. Hey, it's Hideo Itami! He's fighting Finn Balor - or, as Adrian Neville on commentary called him, Finn Ballaw - for a place in the number one contenders' tournament final, against Neville. So, these two had a great match. They started the match with twenty minutes of TV time remaining and I was fully prepared for it to go that long, but it came in at just over twelve minutes. They could have gone longer, and told an expanded story, but what they did was great. Save something for down the road, after all. The match began with some fast-paced mat wrestling, all holds and reversals, which they did without looking like they were dancing. Balor got the first big move of the match, with a dropkick, but Itami was on top as they went to a break. After they came back, Itami was still on top, and Alex Riley was annoying the hell out of me by interviewing Neville while Rich Brennan was trying to call the match. They went back and forth and actually went to a second commercial break, which NEVER happens in NXT. Balor did some well-appreciated corner chops, and it has to be said the crowd were having a great time during this match. And why not? They're seeing something live that we'd give our eye teeth to see, so if they want to chant, "Marking Out!" or "Better Than RAW", who are we to sit in judgment? Itami came back and went on the attack. He hit a tornado DDT into the ropes, and followed with a flying clothesline for a nearfall. He teased the GTS - crowd went wild - but Balor reversed it into a Bloody Sunday attempt, which Itami escaped from. They traded kicks, and Balor began bleeding from the mouth. Hey, if Roman Reigns can do it... Both men are tired but Itami fires up with kicks, and then the corner dropkick. Balor hit a slingblade and then a HUGE dropkick, sending Itami's head crashing into the turnbuckle. The Coup de Grace double footstomp off the top rope finishes it and Balor advances into the final. After the match, he holds out his hand and Itami shakes it, and the crowd roar their approval. Balor walks to the top of the ramp, has a stare-off with Neville, who also shakes his hand. It's a battle that will wait for next week... And that was your show. Except it wasn't. They showed a hype video for the main event - Zayn versus Owens - of next week's live special, and damn it if it didn't hype me even more than I was already. I can't wait to watch it, and that's a testament to how good NXT is at building these things. Ladies and gentlemen, we are truly blessed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Your Fight Site Posted February 5, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted February 5, 2015 I’m thankful to Adrian Neville for highlighting I’ve been mispronouncing Finn Bálor all this time. Also, that dropdown Finn hit knocking Itami into the turnbuckle looks nasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUM Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I watch NXT on occasion and for some reason when I do tune in it's always a cracking show. Carmello, Enzo, and Cas are great together although I have my doubts about whether the act will work on the big stage. The drop-kick from Finn was brilliant and a great visual. Totally agree the match left you wanting more from the two which can only be a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted February 5, 2015 Awards Moderator Share Posted February 5, 2015 I'd rather have a smark crowd than a bored silent one This. Plus the NXT crowd know their role in the show and don't try to hijack it. They boo the heels and cheer the faces and are extremely supportive in helping wrestlers get their gimmick over. I think that's actually indicative of one of the problems with crowds like that. If you're being cheered/booed because "the fans are helping me get over", you're not actually over, are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted February 5, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) I think that's actually indicative of one of the problems with crowds like that. If you're being cheered/booed because "the fans are helping me get over", you're not actually over, are you? If they're eliciting noise, they're over with that audience. That's what "getting over" IS. There is no such thing as getting over without help from the fans. The fans are your method of measuring whether they're over or not. I'd like to think that the fans are willing to cheer the faces they like and boo the heels they like (because they know thats what the heel wants) but if they didn't think the wrestler was any good, they wouldn't make any noise at all. Edited February 5, 2015 by air_raid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King Of Swing Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Some chants are cringe worthy but at least the NXT fans actually enjoy the show. And so they should because it's ace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCW Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Yeah I don't care for the "marking out" or "Bayley's going to hug you" chants at all. Think Becky Lynch would benefit from slightly slowing down nearly everything she does, her entrance included. Cracking show though, really looking forward to Takeover. Build for Owens/Sami has been perfect, best I can remember on a WWE show in a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 (edited) Nice to hear Corey Graves give Lynch some stick "mis-use of the devil horns". Balor/Itami was really good, but the finish did seem to come quite quick, I'd have like just a couple more minutes to build to it. I wish Balor would drop the Indy-difficult stomp finisher though. Have they ever faced off before? I was always under the impression that KENTA being in NOAH and Devitt working NJPW would mean their paths hadn't crossed. A couple of years back this was probably one of fans' top dream matches Edited February 6, 2015 by WyattSheepMask Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 That line from Graves about Lynch was the highlight. Was she cracked up to be a good wrestler a decade ago? She's fair shite, but the hands have really turned me against her. I agree with whoever said Charlotte's not a great babyface. She's sour as fuck and twice as cocky. Worst part was the crowd. It's like they're determined to prove that NXT is a bullshit niche-within-a-niche product and make everyone who says Raw should imitate it feel like a fool. I feel like this special has had the worst build of them yet. Zayn vs Owens is definitely a big time feud but it doesn't feel like it's reached boiling point yet. I'm not sure why I think that, and perhaps watching the promo video at the end would have convinced me otherwise. Nothing else on the card has much substantial behind it, but is all decent enough. Considering the final two (hell, the final four) of the tournament are babyfaces, looking like Owens will pick up the win at Takeover? And Zayn either starts his climb back to the top, or goes to the main roster. NXT is going to be weird without him and Neville. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Surely they're not taking the belt off Zayn so quickly!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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