The episode of NXT that traditionally follows an NXT Takeover is both grand and subdued. Grand because it generally features action that transpired inside the sold out arena where Takeover took place, in this case, the Amway Center in Orlando. Subdued because the majority of the episode features a recap of the action from Takeover. We had three matches advertised for the night, none of which really advanced any new storylines per se. Here is our account of this week's show.
The episode began with a recap of all the action from NXT Takeover: Orlando. The announcers discussed the grand Takeover show and spoke about the two advertised matches for later in the night- Heavy Machinery vs. The Bollywood Boyz and Oney Lorcan vs. a mystery opponent.
Peyton Royce vs. Aliyah
We began proceedings with two women who haven't exactly been the featured attractions of the women's division. However, both of them are familiar faces to NXT fans. The two women locked up and Royce knocked Aliyah to the ground, mocking her in the process. Aliyah then took the offence to Royce and scoring two near falls. She even got into a tug of war with Billie Kay who was at ringside.
Aliyah stomped on Kay’s hand but Royce took advantage with a roundhouse kick. Royce then landed some powerful kicks and clubbing blows. Royce locked in a beautiful looking submission move on the ropes but had to break it up as the referee counted down to 5. Aliyah then fought back with some arm drags. Billie Kay tried to get a hold of Aliyah’s foot, but she leapt on Royce’s neck with some innovative offence. Royce countered with a knee to Aliyah’s jaw and a Fisherman Suplex for the win.
Peyton Royce def. Aliyah
We saw a recap of some more action from NXT Takeover: Orlando and went to a backstage interview with the undefeated NXT Women’s Champion Asuka, in which she laughed when asked who's next for Asuka and reminded us that she’s still champion before going into commercial.
We came back from commercial for more action from Takeover and heard Tom Phillips speculate that Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas’ recent string of losses was due to excessive partying.
Heavy Machinery vs. The Bollywood Boyz
Tom Phillips began the match by saying that the combined weight of the Bollywood Boyz was less than half of Heavy Machinery’s weight. Tucker Knight took down Harv Sihra with a shoulder tackle and caught Sihra when he tried to jump off the middle rope, transforming it into a bear hug. Otis Dozovic was tagged in, and Knight flung Sihra at him, straight into another massive bear hug of his own. Sihra tried to fight out, but an overhead belly-to-belly flung Harv across the ring. Gurv Sihra came in and showed some dance moves but was destroyed with a big punch to the face.
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The two members of Heavy Machinery than slammed against Gurv Sihra and 'squashed him like a grape'. The Bollywood Boyz mounted a comeback against Dozovic. An attempt at a double suplex was reversed by Dozovic who slammed both men with a suplex of his own. Tucker Knight was tagged in and he took down the Bollywood Boyz with shoulder tackles, arm drags and even a drop kick. Dozovic grabbed one of the Bollywood Boyz, and in a great looking finisher, the combined weight of both members of Heavy Machinery slammed down on him.
Heavy Machinery def. The Bollywood Boyz
Oney Lorcan was interviewed backstage and he admitted he didn't know who his opponent was but added that it didn’t matter. We went into a commercial, came back and saw more footage from NXT Takeover: Orlando. Paul Ellering said that WWE has been trying to keep down the Authors of Pain, pitting two opponents against them and called the victory at Takeover, their destiny. We saw footage of the Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura match from NXT Takeover, and Roode asked us to come along for a glorious ride, in a backstage interview.
We saw an interview with Drew McIntyre where he confirmed he had signed with NXT and learned that he'll be in action next week on NXT.
Oney Lorcan vs. Mystery Opponent
El Vagabundo was quite noticeably Elias Samson, a man who had been asked to leave NXT after he lost to Kassius Ohno. Vagabundo played a song but was stopped by Lorcan, who said that everyone knew that he was The Drifter. Lorcan asked Vagabundo to drift away, and El Vagabundo replied with a flurry of kicks. Vagabundo body slammed Lorcan and tossed him outside the ring immediately, as the crowd chanted his name. At that point, we went into a break.
We came in from commercial to see Vagabundo deliver a running knee to the side of Lorcan’s face. Vagabundo seized advantage with punches and chops and even slammed against Lorcan in the corner. Vagabundo continued with a suplex and a chin lock. Lorcan evaded Vagabundo’s offence in the corner and delivered 7 running knee/hip shots in the corner. Vagabundo fought back and lifted Lorcan for a body slam, but was unmasked in the process. A rolling blockbuster from Lorcan put away Elias Samson for the three count.
Vagabundo was dragged to the back by a female security guard to end the episode.
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