Jim Ross says he thoroughly enjoyed being at WWE’s NXT Takeover: Dallas this past Friday night. The WWE Hall of Famer and former head of talent relations recently posted a new blog entry where he discusses the event that took place just two nights before WrestleMania 32.
“Thoroughly enjoyed myself at WWE NXT Takeover Dallas on Friday night and it was one of the most enjoyable evenings that I’ve ever spent at a pro wrestling show. Loved the booking and the unfiltered effort from the talents who took the ring,” Ross wrote. “The stage we set by the opening match of the Alpha Males vs Dash & Dawson who showed everyone that they are all potential big time players in WWE. Helluva tag match by both teams that demonstrated fundamental soundness, logic, intensity and effort. Really proud of all four men in the match.”
Good ol’ J.R. also talked about Samoa Joe’s match with Finn Balor, and revealed who on the WWE roster he most wants to see Samoa Joe face off against.
“Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor was a Slobber Knocker for sure and here are two more big stars waiting to take off in a major way in WWE,” Ross said. “I’d love to see Joe vs Lesnar someday. Seems like WWE needs to address the procedure of inadvertent blood as to not have to adversely impact the flow of the bout in progress.”
Samoa Joe is rumored to be moving from NXT to the main WWE roster in the near future.
The following matches are scheduled for tonight’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network. These matches were taped at WrestleMania AXXESS during WrestleMania 32 weekend from Dallas:
Fan-favorites Enzo Amore and Big Cass made their main roster WWE debut on Monday night’s post-WrestleMania 32 edition of RAW in Dallas, Texas.
Following a tables match between The Dudley Boyz and The Usos, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley refused to leave the ringside area. That was, however, until they were backed off by the former NXT tag-team.
Enzo and Cass debuted to a rock star reaction from the rowdy post-WrestleMania crowd and took part in a promo segment. Enzo Amore proceeded to blast both of the Dudley Boyz, mocking D-Von’s lazy eye and Bubba’s receeding hairline between warning them that he and Cass would “drop them like a deuce.”
The Dudley Boyz hit the ring like they were going to do something about all of the trash-talking that the NXT tag-team was delivering, but in true heel fashion, they backed off and retreated up the aisle instead.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass will now join the tag-team ranks on the main WWE roster after a successful run in NXT.
According to PWTorch.com, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano have signed deals with WWE NXT. Their deals were originally reported The Wrestling Observer and PWInsider.com.
For several months, both Ciampa and Gargano have appeared on NXT television sparingly. Neither were close to a championship program, but perhaps now that can change.
As Sean Radican and James Caldwell of PWTorch.com put it, Gargano and Ciampa will be at “Tier 2” status. For example, Tier 2 status means they’ll appear on NXT programming regularly, instead of once per every-other taping.
Originally, they were both at Tier 3 status. That’s comparable to Blue Pants’ earlier deal, or Deonna Purazzo now.
Both wrestlers will begin working what Samoa Joe was initially signed to. He worked Indy dates, but mostly NXT. Now, he is at Tier 1 status and is WWE exclusive. At this point, Ciamba and Gargano are still allowed to work Indy shows.
With Sami Zayn Samoa Joe rumored to leave for the main roster full-time and Shinsuke Nakamura changing the men’s division, Gargano and Ciampa have a rare opportunity to make a statement on WWE NXT every week.
Fresh off of his performance in the main event of NXT TakeOver: Dallas on Friday, where he came up short in his NXT Championship match against Finn Balor, Samoa Joe spoke with Brian Fritz of the Orlando Sentinel and was asked whether or not he lost his passion for pro wrestling before arriving in NXT.
“It’s funny, I was asked this earlier, and it was never about a loss of passion, but I can definitely see that point,” said Joe. “In different places I was kind of stifled and it was more of a symptom of a larger issue. Even though you’re always responsible for what happens once end up inside the ring, sometimes you just can’t storm up the mountain with a mountain made of gravel. That’s kind of what I was faced with.”
Joe was also asked about his interest in being called up to the main WWE roster, something many fans have been waiting for since he first came to WWE via the NXT promotion back in May of 2015.
“Time will tell. Stay tuned,” said Joe. “That’s all I’m going to say, man. Let surprises be surprises, let fun be fun.”
For a detailed recap of the Joe vs. Balor match, including video clips, as well as the rest of Friday’s entire NXT TakeOver: Dallas event, click here.
WWE issued a press release on Friday about NXT’s upcoming tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The U.K. shows will be part of the annual Download music festival. In a conference call with Mirror.co.uk, Triple H commented on the summer tour, saying “It’s going to be a very exciting U.K. tour that I think will continue to showcase what NXT does amazingly well. It’s an exciting time.”
Here’s WWE’s press release:
The hottest brand in sports-entertainment will join up with one of the biggest music festivals in the world to kick off NXT’s tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland this June.
From Friday, June 10 through Sunday, June 12, WWE NXT takes over the Download Festival at Derby’s Donington Park. Alongside some of the biggest names in rock, including Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Rammstein and Korn, Superstars like Finn Bálor, Bayley, Baron Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura will take to the ring to showcase their high-octane brand of competition. Festival-goers will also get the opportunity to meet the Superstars of NXT during autograph signings.
The NXT tour continues to Dublin’s 3Arena Monday, June 13, then travels to the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Tuesday, June 14. The Echo Arena in Liverpool plays host to live NXT action Wednesday, June 15, while the Bournemouth International Center will be treated to an action-packed evening on Thursday, June 16. The tour concludes on Friday, June 17, at Plymouth’s Pavilions Arena.
Tickets for the Download Festival are available now at downloadfestival.co.uk/tickets. Tickets for the rest of NXT’s tour of the U.K. and Ireland are available starting Friday, April 8. Don’t miss your chance to see NXT live and in-person this June!
– There was a change of plans for last night’s main event at NXT Takeover: Dallas. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Samoa Joe was originally written to win the NXT Title from Finn Balor, but WWE officials changed their mind. Joe is set to make his debut on the WWE main roster soon, which may have had something to do with the decision not to give him the NXT Title.
– Dave Meltzer also reports that former NJPW talent Kota Ibushi has agreed to join NXT, but has likely not signed a contract yet. Ibushi was in the crowd at Takeover: Dallas last night. It’s expected that WWE will bring him in for more than just the Global Cruiserweight Series on WWE Network.
As noted, former TNA World Champion Bobby Roode was spotted at ringside for last night’s NXT Takeover: Dallas event. WWE’s official Twitter referred to Roode as a former World Heavyweight Champion. Roode briefly commented on the news on Saturday, cryptically telling fans to “stay tuned.”
As of right now, it’s believed that Roode has not officially signed with the company yet. According to F4WOnline.com, Roode could soon be added to the Global Cruiserweight Series.
– Japanese wrestling star Kota Ibushi was in attendance at the NXT TakeOver: Dallas event on Friday evening. WWE acknowledged Ibushi on camera and even published an article on WWE.com where they speculated why he was at the show. According to the story, Ibushi could soon be announced for WWE’s first-ever “Global Cruiserweight Series” tournament.
– As noted, longtime TNA veteran Bobby Roode was also shown sitting in attendance during the NXT TakeOver: Dallas show on Friday night. Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez speculated on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that Roode might be added to the “Global Cruiserweight Series” as well, or could simply be joining the NXT roster in the near future.
– Triple H tweeted the following photo on Friday evening that features Vince McMahon watching the NXT TakeOver: Dallas show backstage during the Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn match.
– Speaking of Friday night’s NXT TakeOver: Dallas event, WWE actually acknowledged longtime former TNA Wrestling star Bobby Roode during the show. Roode was shown on camera in the crowd during the event. WWE also posted the clip of Roode being shown on camera on the official NXT Twitter page. You can check out the clip below.
WrestleMania 32 weekend officially kicks off on the WWE Network on Friday evening with the first of many big events across the next several days as WWE presents their NXT TakeOver: Dallas live special from the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.
Stay tuned right here throughout the evening for the absolute best NXT TakeOver: Dallas live results coverage on the web!
NXT TakeOver: Dallas Kickoff Show
The NXT TakeOver: Dallas Kickoff Show begins on the WWE Network with Renee Young hosting a panel that features WWE Hall Of Famer Lita and SmackDown announcer Maurro Ranallo.
The three hype up the show in general and then kick it to Cathy Kelley, the newest member of the NXT broadcast team. Kelley hypes up her first-ever interview later, which will be with Sami Zayn.
We go back to the three-person NXT Kickoff Show panel, as Young, Lita and Ranallo start breaking down some of the individual matches scheduled for tonight’s TakeOver: Dallas event. They talk about the NXT Tag-Team Title match and run the video package for the Baron Corbin vs. Austin Aries match.
The panel give their predictions for the Corbin-Aries match and then the video package for the Bayley vs. Asuka NXT Women’s Title match airs. The trio then break down the Bayley-Asuka match and give their predictions.
Next up, the panel looks at the Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn match, including a slick video package.
The panel kicks it back to Cathy Kelley. She is standing by with Sami Zayn. Zayn talks about his match against Nakamura tonight and the Intercontinental title match later this weekend. Zayn talks about the importance of this weekend for him and it starting tonight at NXT TakeOver: Dallas. Zayn says Nakamura won’t make a name for himself by wrestling him.
We look at a video package featuring a look at the unveiling of the Dusty Rhodes statue at WrestleMania Axxess. They show the ceremony in front of the crowd with the Rhodes family in attendance as the statue is unveiled.
Finally, the Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe video package airs. Afterwards, the trio talks about tonight’s NXT Championship match. Ranallo picks Joe to win, as he wants a trilogy between the two. Lita picks Balor.
NXT TakeOver: Dallas Opener
The NXT TakeOver: Dallas Kickoff Show wraps up and now the opening video package for the NXT TakeOver: Dallas special is airing. We shoot live inside the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center and immediately head to the ring for our first match of the evening.
NXT Tag-Team Championships Chad Gable & Jason Jordan vs. Dash & Dawson (c)
After our first glimpse inside the arena in Dallas, the music for Chad Gable and Jason Jordan immediately hits as they make their way down to the ring to a great reaction from the live crowd in attendance. Out next are their opponents for tonight, the reigning NXT Tag-Team Champions, Dash and Dawson — The Revival.
Gable and Dawson kick things off for their respective teams. The fans chant for Gable early on.
The fans chant “Which One’s Dawson? / Which One’s Dash?” loudly and the announcers actually acknowledge it on the broadcast. The fans chant for Gable now as he gets the better of one-half of the NXT tag champs in an offensive series. Things get heated and all four members end up in the ring until the referee restores order.
Jordan tags in and within seconds has the fans chanting for him. The Revival end up bending the rules a bit to get the momentum in the match finally leaning in their favor. The action peaks when all four members hit the ring again and Jordan and Gable hit dueling German suplexes to clear the ring.
Jordan and Gable go out after both Revival members on the floor until Dawson and Gable, the legal men, resume in the ring. Dawson blind-tags Dash in. They take control of the offense after blasting Gable with a clothesline on the floor.
Dawson tags in and goes to work on Gable in the ring as the pace has slowed down considerable now that the tag champs are in complete control. The champs utilize quick tags and keep their opponent in their corner, using classic tag-team wrestling tactics.
Dash pulls off a cool move by crawling under the ring to the other side and crawling out to break up a pin attempt. The fans chant “You F*cked Up!” when Dawson blows a spot in the ring. “Botch-a-mania” chants echo throughout the arena in Dallas now. The announcers couldn’t ackowledge that one!
The crowd finally calms down and gets back into the match now as the action resumes in the ring. This really has been an excellent tag-team match to kick off NXT TakeOver: Dallas.
Gable finally makes the tag to Jordan. Jordan takes the hot tag, comes in the ring and completely cleans house of both of The Revival members. Jordan now with a number of suplexes in a row. He goes for the cover but only gets two.
The fans start chanting “This Is Awesome!” as Jordan hits a huge belly-to-belly throw-suplex before another close near fall. Finally, Gable and Jordan hit their double-team finisher for the 1-2-3. We have new champs!
Winners and NEW NXT Tag-Team Champions — American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan)
We see a number of celebrities in attendance, including Jim Ross and Kota Ibushi. From there, we see the video package for our next match, which will be Baron Corbin vs. Austin Aries.
After the video package we return back inside the arena where Baron Corbin is first introduced. Corbin makes his way to the ring. Out next is Corbin’s opponent for this evening, Austin Aries. The fans in Dallas are way behind Aries tonight.
The bell rings and here we go. Aries goes after Corbin early on. Corbin goes out to try and take a breather on the floor, but Aries bum-rushes him on the floor as well. When they get back in the ring, Corbin cuts Aries off and is now firmly in control of the offense.
The match seems to be all Corbin’s thus far, as he has shut down Aries’ offense in the early goings. Corbin nearly gets a count out victory, but Aries gets back in the ring just in time. Corbin goes back to work on Aries once he’s back in the ring.
Corbin goes for his End Of Days finisher on a beaten down Aries but out of nowhere, Aries reverses it and gets the 1-2-3 completely out of the blue. Austin Aries wins in his NXT TakeOver debut.
The video package for Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura airs. Zayn vs. Nakamura is up next here at NXT TakeOver: Dallas!
We see Scott Hall and Sean Waltman in the crowd and then Sami Zayn’s awesome theme song plays as he makes his way to the ring for one of the most anticipating matches of the evening.
Out next for his official NXT debut is former New Japan Pro Wrestling star, the king of the strong style — Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura has an awesome entrance, as you would expect. The fans sang along with Zayn’s music during his entrance, but also went ballistic for Nakamura during his as well. There is a ton of excitement in the air for Zayn vs. Nakamura here tonight.
The fans chant “Holy Sh*t” and “That Was Awesome!” They then break out into dueling “Nakamura! / Sami-Zayn!” chants as Zayn and Nakamura stare each other down right before going at it. The fans start collectively doing the “Yes!” chant as Zayn and Nakamura finally circle each other. Nakamura, in slick fashion, avoids Zayn’s attempt to lock up. The fans break out into “Ole! Ole!” chants already. They also chant “This Is Awesome!” as they finally lock up.
We get some “This Is Wrestling!” chants as Nakamura and Zayn exchange offensive leads in the match here in the early going.
Nakamura takes control of the match after blasting Zayn with a number of intense kicks. Nakamura controlling Zayn now until Zayn suplexes his way out. Zayn now getting in some offense of his own on the Japanese star.
Zayn controls the action over Nakamura until Nakamura kicks his way back into control again. Nakamura lands some brutal jumping knees to Zayn draped across the apron. Zayn crashes out to the floor. Nakamura and Zayn return the action to the ring where Nakamura blasts Zayn, who was laid across the top rope, with a big running knee to the body.
Nakamura is knocked out to the floor. Zayn hits a running dive onto Nakamura from the ring to the floor. We see some replays of Zayn flying over the ropes and crashing onto Nakamura on the floor. Meanwhile, the action resumes in the ring.
Nakamura starts lighting up Zayn with knees until Zayn fights his way out with a big elbow. Zayn gets Nakamura in a tight submission on the mat and things look bad for Nakamura for a while. The fans chant “Please Don’t Tap!” Finally, Nakamura fights his way out of it and blasts Zayn with a big kick. Zayn starts getting some really close nearfalls on Nakamura. Finally, the fans do a standing applause in the middle of the match. They break out into a wildly loud “NXT! NXT!” chant. This really is a tremendous match. Finally, Nakamura hits his finisher and gets the 1-2-3. The fans in Dallas give him a well deserved standing ovation. Awesome debut for Shinsuke Nakamura. Great match.
The dangerous Asuka makes her way down to the ring for the NXT Women’s Championship match of the evening after the video package for the match airs. Afterwards, NXT Women’s Champion Bayley makes her way out.
The bell rings and here we go. Asuka dominates much of the action early on, however Bayley continues to show signs of life.
Bayley locks Asuka in a dangerous submission hold, but Asuka wisely reverses it into an ankle lock. Bayley escapes the hold but whipping her leg and sending Asuka through the ropes and out to the floor.
Asuka is now once again dominating Bayley, seemingly with ease. Bayley suplexes her way into showing a brief sign of life, but Asuka blasts Bayley with a kick that drops the champ and lays her out on the mat where she is looking helpless yet again. The fans chant “This Is Awesome!”
Bayley goes for something but Asuka reverses it into an armbar. Bayley escapes and covers Asuka, but the challenger manages to kick out before the count of three. Asuka goes for the Asuka-lock but Bayley avoids it and hits a suplex of her own instead.
The NXT champ now has Asuka in an armbar of her own. Bayley screams as she sinches up on the arm of Asuka. Asuka finally escpaes the submission hold. Bayley goes for the Bayley to Belly but Asuka saw it coming and defended it well.
Asuka blasts Bayley with kicks and then hits a suplex of her own. Asuka has the armbar fully locked in now. Corey Graves points out that now that they are back on their feet, Asuka is looking for the Asuka-lock. Bayley is defending it well again. However, Asuka finally gets the Asuka-lock fully locked in on the champ. The announcers sell the danger as Bayley tries to fight it off. She seemingly does, only for Asuka to put her right back in it. Bayley finally passes out. We have a new NXT Women’s Champion.
NXT World Championship Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor (c)
The video package for tonight’s main event between Finn Balor and Samoa Joe airs. Our NXT TakeOver: Dallas main event is up next!
It’s time for the entrances for tonight’s main event participants. Out first is the challenger, Samoa Joe. The fans give Joe a good reaction coming out.
Out next is the NXT Champion, Finn Balor. Balor comes out rev’ing a chainsaw over and over again. He sees the NXT title on the ground and finally gets down and does the Demon crawl towards it. He makes his way to the ring.
The announcer does the formal introductions for this NXT Championship main event. Here we go. Our main event of the evening is now officially underway.
The bell rings to start this one off. Within seconds, Balor nails Joe with something and busts him open. Joe is bleeding already. Balor hits a crazy dive onto Joe on the floor.
Joe is absoluely covered in blood but now he is in control of the action on the floor. Joe has blood pouring all over his face and body. He’s bleeding bad, folks. They hand him a towel to clean himself off with. Joe now hits a big dive of his own onto Balor on the floor.
The blood is so bad from Joe that they actually keep stopping the action to have trainers try and clean him up and close the cut. Joe keeps pushing them away but eventually he is forced to let them clean him up. The fans boo and do negative chants directed at that.
Finally, the action resumes in the ring. The fans chant “Joe is gonna kill you!” as Joe continues his assault on the NXT Champion.
The action is stopped yet again as the trainers work on the cut on Joe. The fans loudly chant “F*ck PG!” It’s echo’ing throughout the arena and on the WWE Network broadcast. Nothing WWE can do about that!
The action resumes again and an enraged Joe goes right back to work on Balor. We’re told on commentary that Joe was busted open by a clash of heads with Balor during the first exchange of the match. After some brief offense, the trainers again stop the action to work on Joe. The fans chant “Let Joe Bleed! Let Joe Bleed!”
Joe locks in a submission on Balor but Balor escapes. Balor hits a desparation double stomp out of nowhere and now both guys are down. The fans chant “This Is Awesome!” as the referee does his double count. The fans do dueling “Let’s Go Balor! / Let’s Go Joe!” chants now as both guys get back to their feet. Balor hits a slingblade and a dropkick on Balor and then climbs to the top rope.
Joe crotches Balor on the top rope. Joe looking for the Muscle Buster now, as Corey Graves points out on commentary. Joe gets Balor up and nails him with the Muscle Buster. 1-2…Balor kicks out before the count of three to the surprise of everyone in Dallas, Texas. We see a close-up shot of Joe with a look of disbelief on his face.
Balor starts Hulking up and now he’s blasting Joe with everything but the kitchen sink. Balor hits a double stomp on Joe off the top rope but seconds later, Joe has Balor in his choke. Balor uses his feet on the ropes to kick his way back, landing right into a pin. 1-2-3. Balor wins!
It looks like Shinsuke Nakamura will just be known as Nakamura to the WWE/NXT universe. The King Of Strong Style is listed by his last name only in the Wrestlemania 32 program being sold at the WWE Superstore and considering Chad Gable, Jason Jordan and Apollo Crews are on the same page with their full names — it seems like the name drop will happen.
It’s interesting to note that Nakamura is listed with NXT talent in the program, leading many to think he will spend more time than most believed on NXT programming. There is not much known about Nakamura’s direction with NXT/WWE, but this could be a good indication. Or it simply could just be they have him in the NXT section because he is debuting with NXT.
Nakamura is set to debut at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in a match against Sami Zayn . It has been one of the most talked about and highly anticipated matches on both NXT and WWE’s weekend events. The event is live on the WWE Network, Friday April 1.
On Friday evening, April 1st, WWE will present their NXT TakeOver: Dallas special live on the WWE Network — and SEScoops.com has you covered!
Join us here this evening for the best NXT TakeOver: Dallas live play-by-play results coverage on the web.
Tonight’s NXT TakeOver: Dallas “Kickoff Show” will feature Renee Young, Mauro Ranallo and Lita on the “expert panel” leading into the big event itself.
The following is the final lineup for tonight’s show:
NXT Championship
– Finn Balor (c) vs. Samoa Joe
NXT Women’s Championship
– Bayley (c) vs. Asuka
NXT Tag Team Championships
– Dash & Dawson (c) vs. Chad Gable & Jason Jordan
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are scheduled to be at this week’s WWE TV tapings, as first reported by PWInsider. They will be backstage at WrestleMania on Sunday and are scheduled to debut on the main roster within the next week.
Karl Anderson was training at the WWE Performance Center earlier this week. NXT head trainer Jason Albert tweeted a photo of Anderson in Orlando, so they’re not keeping it a huge secret.
It remains to be seen if they will be aligned with Finn Balor from the get go. Rumored names for the faction include Balor Club and Bulletproof.
Balor defends the NXT Championship against Samoa Joe tomorrow night at NXT Takeover: Dallas.
– Lucha Underground star King Cuerno was reportedly offered a spot in WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series tournament. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cuerno was all about it, but AAA and Lucha Underground blocked him from accepting. Cuerno is signed to a seven-season deal, but wasn’t at the first round of Season 3 tapings and hasn’t wrestled for AAA since March 4th.
– The next WWE NXT Takeover event after “Takeover: Dallas” this Friday is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8th.
– WWE has moved the Andre Memorial Battle Royal match from the WrestleMaia 32 Kickout Pre-show to the main card for the show. The Kickoff Pre-show still remains at two hours long, with two hours on social media, Youtube and the WWE Network, and one hour programming on the USA Network.
Following this week’s episode of NXT, Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson is now official for Friday’s NXT”Takeover: Dallas special. Here’s the final card for the show:
NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Asuka
NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival vs. American Alpha
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn
Austin Aries vs. Baron Corbin
Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson
NXT Takeover: Dallas airs live this Friday night on the WWE Network. Join us here for Live Coverage of the event.
Former WWE Tough Enough contestant and Breaking Ground star Zamariah “ZZ” Loupe made his NXT in-ring debut at Saturday night’s live event from Orlando, Florida.
ZZ defeated Christopher Girard with a rollup pin. The match was said to be kept relatively short and didn’t feature any real noteworthy offense from ZZ. In fact, there was said to be a lot of rest holds used throughout the match.
Girad doesn’t sound like he was impressed by ZZ’s in-ring prowess:
– On Wednesday, Chris Jericho called out Shinsuke Nakamura on Twitter, telling the Japanese star that he’s nothing in Jericho’s world. It’s now being speculated that Jericho is going after him to build towards a match that will take place this summer when WWE holds two showsfrom Tokyo’s Sumo Hall (July 1st & 2nd).
Shinsuke Nakamura makes his NXT debut against Sami Zayn next Friday night at NXT Takeover: Dallas.
– WWE has announced that next week’s episode of NXT will feature Samoa Joe vs. Bull Dempsey and Alex Riley vs. Apollo Crews. This is the “go-home” show before Takeover: Dallas.
– Finn Balor has renamed his Bloody Sunday finisher. It will be now known as 1916.
'1916' Named after the Irish Rising On Easter Sunday 1916. 100 years ago this week pic.twitter.com/t7oLdrUbAq
A promo aired on this week’s episode of NXT teasing the arrival of No Way Jose. For those wondering, the vignette is setting the stage for the arrival of Levis Valenzuela Jr. He has been with NXT since May 2015 and has been using a dancing gimmick over the past several months.
Valenzuela Jr. is a Dominican wrestler based out of North Carolina who used the name Manny Garcia on the independent wrestling scene prior to signing with WWE. Here’s are a few videos of Valenzuela in action:
– Featured above is the latest episode of WWE’s “Five Things” YouTube show. This week’s episode looks at “5 Never-Before-Seen WrestleMania Matches.”
– It looks like Alberto Del Rio will not be appearing on this week’s SmackDown. There was a segment taped with The League Of Nations and The New Day to promote WrestleMania 32, however Del Rio was not present.
For complete WWE SmackDown spoilers for this week, click here.
– Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, who was backstage at Monday’s WWE RAW show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, recorded a podcast with Chris Jericho this week. The former D-Generation X and nWo member tweeted the following about the show:
Samoa Joe turned 37 years old on Thursday. Joe fought Finn Balor at Thursday night’s live event from Coral Gables, a preview for their upcoming showdown at NXT Takeover: Dallas. Joe didn’t get the win on his birthday – but he did get a St. Patrick’s Day-themed birthday celebration courtesy of the NXT Champion.
Balor led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to the Samoan Submission machine after their match. He then sang a classic Irish song in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
On Monday’s RAW it was advertised that the WWE Network will feature 7 hours of WrestleMania coverage and the Hall of Fame ceremony, but NXT Takeover: Dallas got no mention. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that a lot of people within the company are openly unhappy that the NXT event was not promoted on RAW.
Either someone simply forgot to include NXT Takeover in their WrestleMania week lineup, or someone in WWE felt it wasn’t important enough. One conspiracy theory is that Kevin Dunn may have made the decision to leave Takeover off the promotional video on RAW. NXT is considered to be Triple H’s project, and Dunn has nothing to do with the NXT product.
Meltzer noted that the feeling within WWE is that Dunn will likely be let go when Triple H and Stephanie McMahon eventually take over the company.
NXT Takeover: Dallas will take place on April 1 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, and will feature Shinsuke Nakamura’s debut.
Former TNA World Champion and recent NXT signee Austin Aries says the last mountain for him to climb in his career is in the WWE Universe. In an interview on WWE.com, Aries explained why he’s excited to be in NXT right now and how he came to join the company.
“I became a free agent in the middle of last year. I was seeing what all my options were and had a lot of different opportunities on the table. But from the moment I became a free agent, the WWE opportunity was the one I wanted,” said Aries. “Obviously, there were strong plays made by some other companies, but in the end, when WWE offered me an opportunity, I could not turn it down.
“Frankly, it’s the only thing I haven’t done in my career. I’ve accomplished every goal I’ve set out to. I’ve traveled the world, I’ve competed in just about every promotion there is. The last mountain to climb was the one that resides in the WWE Universe. I’m excited to get that opportunity. The NXT brand is as hot as any brand in wrestling, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
Aries says NXT has a certain energy to it because of their diverse roster. Aries, who is also a two-time ROH World Champion, says he’s happy drop some knowledge on the younger talent just starting their careers.
“There’s a certain energy to NXT, because there’s a mixture of young guys just starting their career who are hungry. Then, you have established guys like Samoa Joe and Finn Bálor,” Arties continued, “who have walked the same paths that I’ve walked, now trying to prove themselves on the biggest stage. I’m someone who’s been very passionate about the business and love to pass on the things that I’ve learned to the guys coming up. I think I’ll have the opportunity to do that.
“I look at is as an opportunity for Austin Aries to grow as a performer, while helping some of the younger NXT guys grow, too.”
NXT Diva Nia Jax recently spoke with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald about her time in NXT thus far, training at the WWE Performance Center and doing plus-size modeling before joining WWE. Here are some highlights of what she said about:
The Rock Helping Her Get Into WWE:
“We talked about it, and I was going to attend Uncle Afa wrestling school [in Minneola, Florida],” Nia said. “[The Rock] got word of what I was doing, and he heard about the Performance Center opening up, and he thought maybe I should tryout there and see if it was exactly what I wanted to do. After the tryout, they said, ‘We’d like to have you come on board.’”
Her Modeling Career:
“Not everybody is made to be a size 0 or a size 4, and I’m not saying there is anything wrong with being a size 0 or a size 4. Being my [plus] size is something I’ve had to deal with my whole life. I’ve always been the big girl. I’ve always had curves, and I never could relate to any of the girls like the Victoria Secret models. Once I realized, when I became a plus-size model, that there were more women like me, my confidence immediately shot through the roof. When I was able to walk out there and show younger girls, who are like me when I was their age — who didn’t see girls who are curvier being put in a beautiful light — it just made me think that I have to be able to show these girls that they are just as beautiful as the girls who are size 0.”
Other topics discussed include training at the WWE Performance Center, her cousin The Rock and growing up in Miami.
