Today’s episode of NXT was a little different from prior episodes. Not only because it only consisted of four matches (well one non-match and three matches, but we’ll get into that later), but because the action was not filmed at Full Sail University. Instead, we travelled with the NXT crew on their historic (they said it, not us) tour of California.
The action came to us this week, from San Jose. NXT broadcaster, Charly Caruso, acted as the anchor for the show, as we travelled back and forth from the ring to the brackets in the tournament. This was a nice format breaker, and hey, we got more Charly, so we’re not complaining.
A lot of what happened in today’s show was interesting, although the results were predictable. The third round should be the actual proving ground for the contestants, where there are no makeshift teams, and there’s an element of surprise with regard to the outcome of the matches. We’ve droned on enough.
Let’s travel straight to California, where Austin Aries has appeared in dark glasses.
#5 A kayfabe injury?
As far as we know, Scott Dawson is not really injured. But he has a kayfabe injury to his knees, which made The Revival bow out of the tournament this week, in their much-anticipated match against #DIY. This is a rather puzzling development.
We can only think of one reason for the same: making the champions look dominant, and not having to eat a pin through the course of the tournament. #DIY ascended the ranks by forfeit, and need to take on The Authors of Pain in the next round.
Now, this is a contest that should be very interesting. Can #DIY topple the giants, come the third round? Or will pure power prevail, next week?
#4 The Authors of Pain looked vulnerable
Coming into this tournament, we had assumed that it would be a whitewash for The Authors of Pain, who’ve looked simply unbeatable in their encounters thus far, in the Dusty Classic.
Shockingly, they showed that they too are vulnerable, in this second round encounter, against Rich Swann and No Way Jose; a duo that was incredibly over with the crowd, in San (No Way) Jose, California. There were actual moments during the match, where we thought that the fun-loving duo could pull off an upset, against Paul Ellering’s monsters.
The action became so intense that Ellering himself had to get involved at one point. While The Authors of Pain did win the match, they also proved that they could be beaten. Their next round matchup should be quite interesting.
#3 The INsanitY continues
It’s always a treat to watch Kota Ibushi in action, with his hard-hitting kicks. Heck, it’s also a treat to watch T.J. Perkins when he’s not in backstage skits with Brian Kendrick. The two of them brought their A-Game, in a matchup against the crazed team of SAnitY, specifically, Sawyer Fulton and Alexander Wolfe.
With Eric Young and Nikki Cross at ringside, providing the distraction, this hard-hitting team vanquished the Cruiserweights from the tournament. Now that we have two dominant heel teams in the 3rd Round, we wonder how this tournament is going to shape up.
While it’s only three weeks away, could NXT Takeover: Toronto get here any sooner? The excitement mounts!
#2 Singles match in a Tag Team Tournament
Anyone who’s a wrestling fan, and is active on social media, knows about the horrific injury that Austin Aries suffered at the hands (or rather knees) of Shinsuke Nakamura. In a contest from the very same tour, a stiff kick blackened Aries’ eye and made him look terribly ghastly.
Today, an incredibly popular Austin Aries stepped into the NXT arena and announced that he hadn’t been cleared to wrestle. He tried to goad his opponents TM-61, into leaving the tournament, but William Regal would make this match a singles encounter between Aries’ partner Roderick Strong, and one-half of TM-61: high flying Shane Thorne.
We must say we were quite impressed with the action that transpired in the ring. Both of the men held their own and put on one of the better matches, we’ve seen outside of a Takeover. Thorne would pick up a victory over Aries, and TM-61 would advance in the tournament. A great start for Team Yellow.
#1 The best announcer tag team
As we’ve seen through the course of this tournament, a tag team may comprise the best singles stars; but unless you have chemistry...the overall impact gets diluted manifold. While Corey Graves and Mauro Ranallo, are great in their own right, these two men are a delight to listen to, when they call a match.
Tom Phillips deserves better than backstage skits with Chris Jericho, and Corey Graves does a better play-by-play when compared to Mr Botchfest Michael Cole. Can the two men maybe switch places on Raw? We wouldn’t mind seeing Jericho bury Cole backstage at all, very truthfully.
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