In the past several years it has somewhat become a tradition to call up multiple NXT Superstars to the Main Roster in the weeks following WrestleMania and now it appears the company will be following the same trend after SummerSlam as well.
The groundwork for this was laid this past Saturday night when both Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan attended the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III event in person, apparently ‘scouting talents’ for their respective Brands.
WWE is expected to call up almost half a dozen current NXT Star to the Main Roster. While no timeline has been specified for their call up, they are expected to debut in the upcoming weeks.
The most mentionable name who is expected to be moved from NXT soon is none other than the former NXT Champion Bobby Roode. Roode lost his championship at the Takeover event this past week.
While it’s not known which brand the former Champion is headed to, Dave Meltzer noted on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that the Officials are very high on him and he is expected to be treated as one of the ‘top 5’ superstars in whichever roster he joins.
Other names expected to be called up soon include Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Hideo Itami, No Way Jose and The Authors of Pain, who also lost their NXT Tag Team Championships on the latest Takeover event.
Drew McIntyre recently spoke with Brian Fritz of Sporting News to promote this Saturday’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III special on the WWE Network. McIntyre is scheduled to challenge Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship at the upcoming event. Here are the highlights:
Headlining NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III:
“This is what, pretty much, my entire career has led to,” McIntyre recently told Sporting News. “So, no pressure. The 17 years, the 10 years of being in America, the past three years of building my brand and my return back home. It’s the biggest match of my life and I can say 100 percent I am ready for this. I’m excited to steal the show and have people talking about this match for a long time. I’m ready to bring something special and, as I’ve said before, we have a silent competition with ‘SummerSlam’ the next night and competition is very healthy for everybody. We’re looking to put on a show that will have people talking.”
WWE calling him the “Chosen One” during his first stint with the company:
“He [Vince McMahon] saw something in me when I was younger that I didn’t necessarily see myself and maybe others didn’t see which is a pretty cool feeling,” said McIntyre. “And finally, years later, after all the things I’ve been through and growing up, I think, finally, now it’s starting to materialize and everyone is starting to see what he saw back in the day. He had that kind of faith in me and saw something in me that he was willing to endorse me in that way and perhaps it just took a minute and took a few life experiences to actually bring out what he saw.”
Drew McIntyre is the new #1 contender for NXT Championship
Drew McIntyre faced off against Killian Dain in tonight’s NXT main-event. McIntyre emerged victorious and will no go on to face Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III next month during SummerSlam weekend. In the video below, McIntyre calls out Roode and says that his is no longer Roode’s NXT and that he is coming for his title.
CM Punk and his dog sent him a message via Kenny Omega’s Twitter account. In the video, Punk said “fall down once, get up twice. Fall down seven times, get up eight. See you in the finals next time”. You can check out CM Punk’s message to PG Punk (PunkDaGod) in the video below.
Coming out of Wednesday night’s NXT TV tapings, the card for NXT’s Takeover: Brooklyn III event is taking shape. More matches have been confirmed for the pay-per-view next month.
Takeover: Brooklyn III takes place on August 19th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, the night before WWE SummerSlam. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com.
NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III card
NXT Title Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Roode
NXT Women’s Title Match: Ember Moon vs. Asuka
NXT Tag Team Title Match: SAnitY vs. The Authors of Pain
Kassius Ohno vs. Hideo Itami
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (with Thea Trinidad)
Join us on Saturday, August 19th for live Takeover: Brooklyn III coverage and discussion.
NXT this week was taped from Full Sail University, and featured an NXT championship match between Roderick Strong and Bobby Roode. Additionally, the show featured Kassius Ohno and Hideo Itami teaming up to take on members of Sanity.
At one point it appeared Roderick Strong had become the new NXT champion, but that is not how the night would finish.
1. Kassius Ohno & Hideo Itami vs. Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe (Sanity)
Both Ohno and Itami have been on losing streaks recently. Ohno lost to Aleister Black and Itami lost to Bobby Roode in an NXT championship match.
Things didn’t go well for the pair in their first tag match together either.
Ohno could be heard calling for a tag frequently, but Itami wasn’t able to get to his corner.
Sanity on the other hand, worked as a well-oiled machine.
Dain hit Itami with a running cross-body for the pin. Another loss for both Itami and Ohno.
Winners: Sanity
In the back Ruby Riot told Ember Moon it was her time to get a shot at Asuka’s title.
Drew McIntyre got a video package and was interviewed in the back. He basically just said he’s coming for the NXT title.
They aired a video package on Ciampa and Gargano, and it was announced that Gargano will return from injury next week.
The Iconic Duo were being interviewed when cameras caught Andrade “Cien” Almas arguing with Thea Trinidad in the background.
Highlights of Bianca Blair defeating Aliyah in a Mae Young Classic qualifying match were shown.
2. NXT Championship Match Bobby Roode vs. Roderick Strong
The story of this match was Roderick Strong having his whole family in the front row, watching as he attempts to achieve his dream.
Roode worked Strong’s knee for most of the match.
Strong kicked out of the Glorious DDT!
After battling back, Strong hit the “Strong Breaker” and looked as though he got the pin.
The ref’s hand counted 3 and everyone celebrated as though Strong had won, only Roode had one leg under the bottom rope.
Strong and his wife (Marina “the SuperNova from Moldova” Shafir) hugged and celebrated like he was champ, but the ref finally told him the match was still on.
Roode knocked Strong into the barricade right in front of his family. With Marina calling him a cheater, he gave Strong a DDT on the floor, then another in the ring and pinned him.
Only 2 segments have been announced for NXT tonight, but both play heavily into what will happen at NXT: Takeover Brooklyn III. The next Takeover event takes place August 19th, the night before SummerSlam 2017.
Segments Announced for Tonight
Bobby Roode will defend the NXT championship against Roderick Strong in the main event.
Roode made some slide remarks towards Strong and his new family backstage recently, starting the conflict between the two.
Strong had previously lost a #1 contenders match to Hideo Itami in April.
Since then he’s defeated Eric Young at a Takeover event and teamed up with Kassius Ohno to defeat members of Sanity.
Kassius Ohno and Hideo Itami, who have been having their disagreements ever since Itami lost an NXT title match to Bobby Roode, team up tonight as well.
Ohno and Itami will take on members of Sanity in a tag team match. I’m sure they will get along just fine.
Last week, Itami tried to tell Ohno to brush off his loss to Aleister Black, but Ohno may not have been as receptive as he would like.
Former Impact Wrestling star and current NXT Champion Bobby Roode was recently a guest on former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to discuss his journey throughout the industry of professional wrestling, his run with Impact, and how his deal with WWE came together. Here’s what he had to say:
Hating his job towards the end of his run with Impact Wrestling:
“You want to have great matches, but your timing is off and you don’t feel like you’re at 100%. And then saying that, I got in the business to be in the business. It sounds kind of backwards, but I didn’t want to be home all the time. I wanted to be on the road and I wanted to get those reps in and I wanted to be on all the live events. I wanted to kind of tour around and have that kind of schedule.
“And with TNA, it’s like I felt like I was just spinning my wheels near the end of it. And I started to really not like my job, which was kind of an eyeopener for me because I was never in a position in the last 17 years up until that point that I really hated wrestling and I really started to hate it.”
How his deal with WWE came together:
“I just knew that staying at TNA really wasn’t an option for me, so I ended up finishing the third year of my contract. I had one year left and we kind of just mutually parted ways.” Roode continued, “I became pretty good friends with Samoa Joe over the years at TNA. Joe was already at NXT and we would talk here and there. And, of course, Austin Aries was just getting started with NXT at the time I was ending with TNA, so we all kind of chatted a little bit and stuff like that.
“And, obviously, when I was finishing up with TNA, we came to an agreement that I was going to finish up in March, finish the five or six weeks of TV that was left or whatever I had to do there and then I was done. So the day that I was finished, I got a phone call from Matt Bloom and then, the ball kind of started rolling from there.”
You can listen to Roode’s full interview with Edge and Christian at this link here.
During the recent UK Download Festival, Jamie Welton and Peter Kimber of the Card Subject to Change podcast had a chance to speak with NXT Champion Bobby Roode. As it turns out, this marked the one year anniversary of Roode’s NXT debut at last year’s Download Fest.
Topics discussed include returning to the site of his first NXT match, advice for anyone looking to get into the business, his all-time dream opponent and more. Here are some highlights of what Roode said about:
His “Glorious” Theme Song:
“It was kind of a unique situation. I was waiting for a work visa so that I could debut on TV with NXT. I already had a song picked out for my debut and then I was talking with Triple H about my character and kind of what I perceived it to be and what I wanted to do here. He had the “Glorious” song in the archives and he had me listen to it…I listened to it on headphones and I thought to myself it’s really different. Obviously, it’s very different from anything else that anyone has here or really in all of the business. I thought it could either be really good or it could suck. Fortunately for me, it turned into a glorious thing.”
The Transition from Impact Wrestling to NXT:
“It was easy actually for me. A little nerve racking at first because you hear a lot of negative things, and you hear some positive things. And until you get to experience it for yourself I didn’t try to come in with any sort of expectation. I had a conversation with Triple H. I’m not in my 20s anymore and I’ve been doing this for almost twenty years so I wanted to come in, I wanted to be here, I wanted to get an opportunity, and he was willing to give me that opportunity and it’s been great for myself and I feel great for the brand. I think just with the experience that I’ve gained I was kind of prepared to come in, work hard and do what I’ve done to get me to this point.”
His All-Time Dream Opponent:
“One of the main reasons that I got into the business was I’m a huge fan of Curt Hennig, Mr. Perfect. I have like 12 hours of Curt Hennig footage that I watch all the time. So if there’s probably one guy that I would have loved to have just met it would have been Curt Hennig. And if you’re talking about potential matches that I would love to have, that’d probably be John Cena at Wrestlemania.”
NXT Champion Bobby Roode will defend his title against Roderick Strong on the July 5th episode of NXT. WWE.com posted the following:
NXT Champion Bobby Roode will defend his title in a huge head-to-head showdown against Roderick Strong on the July 5 episode of NXT.
The Glorious One’s rivalry with Strong has intensified rapidly, with tensions reaching their boiling point on June 21 when a photo shoot erupted into a brawl between Roode and Strong.
This came after the titleholder and Strong had a war of words two weeks prior on NXT. Strong bared his soul to the NXT Universe, opening up about his journey into fatherhood and his desire to become NXT Champion, only to be met with ridicule and disrespect from Roode, who verbally tore down Strong’s title aspirations.
Following their backstage photoshoot throw down, the heated foes will now settle their differences inside the squared circle with NXT’s most prized possession on the line. Don’t miss this epic NXT Title contest on Wednesday, July 5, at 8/7 C, on the award-winning WWE Network.
WWE released a video earlier today of Roode and Strong getting into a fight before tonight’s episode of NXT.
Enzo Amore continues to taunt Conor McGregor
Monday on RAW, Big Cass was revealed to be the one that was attacking Enzo Amore backstage. Cass accused Enzo of using his mouth to write checks that his ass cannot cash. That message apparently didn’t get through to Enzo as he continues to take shots at Conor McGregor on social media. Here is the original tweet that Enzo sent out to McGregor on June 16th:
.@TheNotoriousMMA , you talk s*** and Floyd is going to knock it out of you. And if he doesn’t, I will.
WWE NXT Champion Bobby Roode spoke to Team Rock recently and talked about a variety of professional wrestling topics. You can check out what “The Glorious One” had to say in the highlights below:
Comparing the lifestyle of a professional wrestler to that of a rockstar:
“It’s a lifestyle. We’re on the road a lot, 200/300 days a year depending how busy you are, traveling in buses or in cars, flying everywhere – the correlation between the two in that aspect is quite similar. You’re obviously a different person outside of the ring, but when you’re in the ring you’ve got to get into that moment and that character just like a band like Kiss does. I don’t think Gene Simmons walks around his house with face-paint on sticking his tongue out – or maybe he does, I don’t know! [Laughs]”
His entrance music:
“I started out with a different type of music before I made my debut, then a couple of weeks before my debut they gave me the song to listen to. Triple H (NXT creator), Michael Hayes (WWE agent/producer), a lot of important people in WWE liked the song and I had the chance to listen to it. It was completely different to the original song that I had picked out, but it kind of fit with the character I was trying to portray. I thought it could have gone two ways – either it sucked or it was great – and luckily for me it’s been really great. When you have a great entrance song it really helps the process. When you look at other songs in our industry – John Cena obviously has that song, Steve Austin has the glass shattering. When the song hits and you get a big reaction, half of the battle is already won.”
Being mentally strong enough to have lived the professional wrestling lifestyle for as long as he has:
“NXT was always looked at as a developmental territory until the last year or so, but now we’re doing our own events and traveling all over the world, coming to [the] Download [Festival] two years in a row. We’re touring all the time, we get home on Monday then we’re home for a day and a half then we’re back on the road again. It’s a crazy business, I’ve been doing it for almost 20 years, and you learn a lot along the way and a lot of guys don’t make it this long because mentally they can’t handle the stress or travel. I love the business, I have a huge passion for it, I see myself doing this for the rest of my life.”
Roode’s full interview with Team Rock can be read by clicking here.
Renee Young was asked by a fan on Twitter if she would be a part of the cast for season seven of Total Divas. Young responded to the fan and announced that she will not be returning for new season of the show.
@ReneeYoungWWE please tell me your still on Total Divas !! ???? I LOVE YOU AND YOU MAKE IT WORTH WATCHING
YouTube channel 8 Bit Universe has released their version of Bobby Roode’s “Glorious Domination”. 8 Bit Universe has also created 8-bit versions of other popular WWE Superstar’s themes, including Becky Lynch and Shinsuke Nakamura. You can check out their version of Bobby Roode’s theme in the video below.
NXT Superstars Bobby Roode, Nikki Cross and Mark Andrews visited the home of an eight-year-old girl that was injured in the terrorist bombing in Manchester on May 22nd. Lily Harrison attended the Ariana Grande concert with her parents and was injured during the bombing. Lily was discharged from the hospital, but her mother is still there being treated for her injuries.
The NXT Superstars surprised Lily at her home this morning and presented her with a bunch of WWE gifts for her and her family. The gifts included an NXT Title and a signed Progress’ 2017 Super Strong Style 16 tournament bracket.
The next challenger to Bobby Roode’s NXT Championship is none other than Hideo Itami.
At Wednesday night’s NXT tapings from Full Sail University, Roode came to the ring to gloat about his successful title defense at Takeover: Orlando and issued an open challenge to the NXT locker room. Out came Itami, who got in Roode’s face and laid him out with a GTS.
Hideo Itami returned to the ring just a few weeks ago (VIDEO) after being out of action since October with a serious neck injury.
As of this writing, Bobby Roode vs. Hideo Itami has not been officially announced, but it will probably take place at NXT Takeover: Chicago. That show is scheduled for Saturday night, May 20th during WWE Backlash weekend.
Bobby Roode was recently interviewed by Ryan Dilbert of Bleacher Report. Roode was asked about his stint with the WWE in the early 2000’s. His first run with the WWE was unsuccessful, as he was relegated to untelevised matches and matches that aired on Sunday Night Heat or Velocity.
Roode on his first go around with the WWE:
“I was working hard to be noticed and to be seen,” Roode recalled of those days. “For whatever reason, it just wasn’t my time there. Instead of quitting or being discouraged, I went somewhere else and continued to try to live my dream. I was able to do that and make a name for myself in the process.”
Roode has spent the majority of his career in TNA wrestling. For those that watched TNA while he was there, it was obvious that he was star. However, TNA never had the audience that the WWE has and TNA never fully capitalized on his talent.
Roode on his time with TNA Wrestling:
“I got an opportunity there to work with a lot of great guys, to be in the ring with a lot of veterans, to just open my eyes and open my ears to learn from guys like Kurt Angle and Bully Ray and the Hardys,” Roode said. “You get five or 10 minutes or possibly jump in the car with them to ride to the next town for two to three hours and pick their brains. I used that opportunity a lot.”
Bobby Roode is now NXT Champion. He has his sights set on joining the main roster in the near future. Roode is defending his NXT Championship tonight at NXT TakeOver: Orlando against Shinsuke Nakamura. Many in the WWE Universe feel that the NXT events are often better than WWE PPVs. Roode wants to continue that tonight at NXT TakeOver: Orlando.
Roode on tonight’s NXT TakeOver:
“The NXT motto is to go out there and steal the show,” The Glorious One said. “That’s our goal—to go out there and open eyes and challenge the main-roster guys to try to do better than we did the night before. The NXT TakeOver: Orlando card has the opportunity to be the best TakeOver of all time. The challenge is there. Hopefully, we go in there and set the bar pretty high.”
You can check out the entire Bobby Roode interview on Bleacher Report by clicking here.
It’s a big night on NXT tonight. In addition to the scheduled Kassius Ohno vs. Bobby Roode NXT Championship match there are several other big time matches on the show.
Reigning NXT World Champion Bobby Roode recently spoke with Planeta Wrestling about his time with the NXT brand. Here are some highlights of what the ‘glorious’ one said about:
Passing on veteran knowledge to NXT’s roster:
“It’s nice to have experience on my side, and there are guys and girls that ask for my opinion, to watch their matches and help them with certain things, which is kind of mind blowing and really cool at the same time because I never thought I’d be in that position. I love to help others and I really love the business itself and whenever I can lend a hand or help anyone out with something in their matches or characters, I love doing that kind of stuff. Whenever I started I would go to any guy, and like I said earlier, you never stop learning in this business.
I’m still learning, I’m not saying I’m an expert. There’s always things to improve on, there’s always things to learn. It’s king of like a domino affect, there are so many guys I can come up to that have had the experience before me that I can learn from. Of course I can bring like almost 20 years experience to NXT and help some of these younger guys who are like six months, a year, two years into the business and try to get them rolling. It’s a very unique company and fun place to be.”
Comparing the different wrestling crowds he’s worked with across the world:
“They’re very similar but the only thing I can say is that the fans here in North America see us a lot. For instance, we have shows in Cleveland, Columbus, we always have Ohio. We’re in the United States and there are a lot of people that can – in a 300 to 400 mile radius that could drive and see us if they wanted to. When we go to places like the UK, it’s a once a year thing. So the fans are that much louder and excited when we go to these places. And I know the guys and the girls always look forward to going on these tours because they’re a lot of fun. You get to see a lot of the world and get to perform. One of the best things for me was the recent trip to Australia, I live in Canada so in December it was the dead of Winter, flying to Australia I’m wearing shorts in 85 degree weather. So that was the funnest part for me.”
Who he expects to work with after his feud with Shinsuke Nakamura:
“We’ll see what happens, there are guys and everyone gets an opportunity. There’s a lot of talent that are scratching, clawing, and trying to get into the main event. Kassius is a guy that has come back to the company and has one goal in mind and that’s to be the champion, he never got a chance to do that with NXT before so I’m sure he’ll be gunning for me. Guys like Roderick Strong, Hideo Itami, who knows? Tye Dillinger is still there. I think he has some unfinished business with me as well. There’s a lot of guys that can step up and go with me and challenge me at any time so I can’t really narrow it down to one particular guy.”
NXT taped TV episodes for March last night from the University of Central Florida. Below are full spoilers that are set to air in March for the lead-in to TakeOver: Orlando during Wrestlemania 33 weekend.
– Elias Samson came out to sing a song but Kassius Ohno interrupted him. They traded promos and Ohno challenged him to a Loser Leaves NXT match. Samson accepted for later.
– Tye Dillinger vs. Eric Young never happened as the rest of SAnitY came dragging Roderick Strong out to ringside. Dillinger went to check on him as No Way Jose joined them. Officials carried Strong to the back and Jose hit the ring with Tye. SAnitY beat them down and left the ring.
– Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Hoho Lun with the DDT.
– Kassius Ohno defeated Elias Samson in a Loser Leaves NXT match. Ohno destroyed Samson’s guitar after the match as the crowd sang goodbye.
– Ember Moon defeated Billie Kay with the Eclipse. Billie may have injured herself on Ember’s finisher. Trainers came to check on her but she left on her own.
– The Ealy Twins vs. The Revival never happens as NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors Of Pain attack the twins. They go after The Revival next but they get away. They go back to the twins and hit one of them with the Last Chapter.
– Heavy Machinery defeated two local enhancement wrestlers in a squash.
– Nikki Cross defeated Macey Estrella. Tye and Jose attack SAnitY after the match but get beat up.
– Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Oney Lorcan.
– Asuka defeated Priscilla Zuniga. Asuka cut promos before and after the match to send a message to Ember Moon.
– The Ealy Twins call out The Authors of Pain but get squashed in a quick match. After, DIY interrupts and want a fair rematch this time. The Revival interrupts next but NXT GM William Regal comes out and makes The AOP vs. The Revival vs. DIY for the championships at TakeOver.
– Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong and No Way Jose vs. SAnitY ends in a No Contest after a big brawl breaks out. Nikki Cross attacks Dillinger until Heidi Lovelace makes the save, now using the name Ruby Riot. The babyfaces clear the ring and celebrate.
– Dash Wilder defeated Akam and Johnny Gargano in a Triple Threat.
– Bobby Roode defeated Kassius Ohno to retain the NXT Championship.
– Shinsuke Nakamura defeated TJ Perkins.
There was a dark segment after the match where Bobby Roode and Andrade Almas double-teamed Nakamura until Finn Balor made the save. Balor and Nakamura cleared the ring, hitting a Slingblade and a Kinshasa on Roode. Balor cut a promo about how he was coming back for what’s his. He said he’s not cleared to return yet but he will be back soon. He wished Nakamura a happy birthday before ending the show.
– Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn is expected for the 3/5 WWE Fastlane PPV after Joe attacked Sami on RAW this week. Joe vs. Seth Rollins was originally booked for Fastlane until Rollins injured his knee.
– NXT Champion Bobby Roode recently spoke with Philly.com and commented on his 12-year journey to WWE. Roode says he has no regrets on how he made it to WWE as he got to work with some of the best wrestlers around the world. Roode commented:
“I firmly believe not just in business but in life that everything happens for a reason. Not getting hired back in those days fueled the fire a little bit to go out there and get over and go different places and work harder. I have no regrets. I got to work with some great people over the last 12 years.
The experience that I gained and the people that I met and the travels that I did, I wouldn’t change that for the world. I think it’s made me a better worker. It’s made me a better wrestler. It’s made me a better person. I think in sports entertainment timing is everything. It was a learning experience for me back in those days. I obviously wasn’t ready and I got to go to a different spot and for over 12 years kind of work on my brand and become somewhat of a household name and get better and get older.”
– R-Truth is busy working on his hip-hop career during downtime from WWE. He posted the following video from a recent studio session working on his “I Got It” single, and a photo from Monday’s music video shoot for his “Back Against The Wall” single:
– We’ve reported how current WrestleMania 33 plans call for RAW Women’s Champion Charlotte defending against Nia Jax, Bayley and Sasha Banks in a Fatal 4 Way. It is unclear what WWE has planned for the SmackDown women’s division, but a number of former female WWE Superstars have been contacted for the show.
– This week’s NXT will feature a glorious NXT Championship celebration with Bobby Roode.
Speaking of Roode, Triple H called the recent NXT Full Sail tapings the first of the “Bobby Roode Era.” Triple H tweeted this photo with Roode after the tapings:
NXT taped TV episodes for February and early March last night at Full Sail University. Below are full spoilers:
2/8 episode:
– SAnitY’s Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe defeated The Bollywood Boyz. After the match, Eric Young cut a promo on Tye Dillinger while Nikki Cross called Asuka out.
– Liv Morgan beat Billie Kay.
– SAnitY attacks Tye Dillinger backstage after he refuses to join them. They brawl to the ring, and Roderick Strong makes the save for Tye with No Way Jose.
– The Revival beat Heavy Machinery. After the match, Revival challenged The Authors of Pain to a NXT Tag Team Championship match at TakeOver. The AoP come out and Paul Ellering takes the mic but Revival attacks from behind after leaving.
– Bobby Roode has his NXT Championship celebration in the ring. He declares that it’s no longer “#WeAreNXT” but “#MyNXT” as in Bobby Roode’s NXT.
– SAnitY defeated Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose and Roderick Strong.
2/15 episode:
– The Authors of Pain defeated local jobbers.
– Billie Kay and Peyton Royce beat Ember Moon and Liv Morgan.
– DIY is out to address their championship loss at TakeOver last weekend. They start talking about theri rematch when Ellering and The AoP interrupt. The rematch will take place in two weeks. The Revival comes in from the crowd and attacks DIY from behind.
– Tyler Bate beat Trent Seven to retain the WWE United Kingdom Championship.
2/22 episode:
– #1 contenders match: Peyton Royce beat Liv Morgan and Ember Moon in a three-way
– Pete Dunne beat Mark Andrews.
– Bobby Roode beat No Way Jose in a non-title match. Roode attacked after the match but Kassius Ohno ran out for the save, leading to Roode granting Ohno a match. Ohno is taking his jacket off when Roode attacks first. Ohno makes the comeback and clears the ring.
3/1 episode:
– Patrick Clark beat Sean Maluta.
– Kassius Ohno comes out and tells Bobby Roode to get to the ring because it’s not over between them. Roode comes from behind and attacks him.
– Asuka retained the NXT Women’s Championship over Peyton Royce. Peyton & Billie double teamed her after the match until Ember Moon made the save and they cleared the ring. Asuka and Ember had a face off.
– The Authors of Pain retained the NXT Tag Team Championships over DIY by DQ after The Revival interfered
– NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode will sign their contract for TakeOver: San Antonio on next Wednesday’s episode.
– Below are backstage videos from this week’s NXT episode with DIY talking about how they will retain the NXT Tag Team Championships over The Authors of Pain at Takeover and NXT Women’s Champion Asuka going on the hunt for Billie Kay and Peyton Royce after an earlier beatdown from Billie, Peyton and Nikki Cross. Asuka told NXT GM William Regal that she wants all three at TakeOver. The match has not been made official as of this writing.
– Akira Tozawa will be coming to WWE 205 Live soon. He previously competed in the Cruiserweight Classic and has made some NXT appearances.
The Wrestling Observer has revealed which NXT Superstars are in the “Terry Taylor Class” at the WWE Performance Center, which is the class that grooms wrestlers currently being considered for somewhat imminent call-ups to the main roster.
The main class features NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Tag Team Champions DIY, Kassius Ohno, the injured Hideo Itami, TM-61, Tye Dillinger, Elias Samson, Alexander Wolfe and Andrade Almas.
The second group, which aren’t considered for near imminent call-ups but will be moved to the next class when top talents get called up, are Oney Lorcan, Roderick Strong, The Revival, The Authors of Pain, Riddick Moss, Tino Sabbatelli, Wesley Blake, Buddy Murphy, Dan Matha, Aleister Black and Killian Dain.
The Observer notes that Bobby Roode has a different contract and does not train at the WWE PC, which means he would not be in the class. This also likely applies for Samoa Joe, Austin Aries and Eric Young.
NXT taped the following at Full Sail University tonight, the final tapings before TakeOver: San Antonio during Royal Rumble weekend:
1/11:
* They show video of Billie Kay & Peyton Royce attacking Asuka earlier in the day.
* Billie & Peyton defeated Sarah Bridges and Macey Estrella. After, the called out Asuka. She ran to the ring but got double teamed. Nikki Cross made the save to a big pop and cleared the ring. Cross then dropkicked Asuka and stood over her. Cross left and Asuka flipped out.
* Elias Samson defeated Jonathan Cruz in a quick match.
* Andrade Cien Almas defeated Oney Lorcan. Almas cut a heel promo in Spanish after the match when Dasha Fuentes tried interviewing him.
* DIY retained the NXT Tag Team Championships over The Revival. After, The Authors of Pain came from behind and left DIY laying.
1/18:
* Nikki Cross defeated Kennadi Brink, who was working as the local jobber.
* Roderick Strong defeated Steve Cutler. After, Dasha asked Strong about the recent threat from Andrade Almas. Strong doesn’t care about Almas, he’s only focused on the NXT Championship.
* Tye Dillinger came to the ring and was interrupted by Sanity. Eric Young tried to get Tye to join the group but he refused and they started fighting. Big Damo came from the crowd and destroyed Tye. Young gave Damo the Sanity jacket and he accepted it, then posed with the group.
* Ember Moon defeated Liv Morgan.
1/25:
* William Regal brought Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura to the ring for their TakeOver contract signing. It ended with Nakamura mocking Roode’s pose and a face off between the two.
* Aliyah defeated Mandy Rose in what was said to be a sloppy match.
* No Way Jose defeated Kona Reeves. Elias Samson interrupted a post-match interview and the two had words but Jose sent him running with a punch.
* Eric Young defeated Chris Atkins. After, Young cut a promo on Tye Dillinger as they apparently have a match at TakeOver. It ended with Big Damo destroying Atkins.
* TM-61 defeated The Revival in a quick match. The Revival attacks as soon as the match is over. Officials chase The Revival off while Shane Thorne is helped away by trainers.
* Regal and Dasha are in the ring to announce Asuka vs. Billie Kay vs. Peyton Royce vs. Nikki Cross for the Women’s Championship at TakeOver. They’re all brought to the ring but Asuka runs down and chases Billie & Peyton off. Nikki and Asuka face off until Peyton & Billie attack from behind. Asuka and Cross take them out and go to face off again but security runs in. Security gets taken out as well, then Asuka kicks Cross in the head. Asuka is pulled out by security but Cross jumps off the top rope and lands on them all.
* Shinsuke Nakamura and Tajiri defeated Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode. After, Chris Hero’s music hit for his return. Hero came out in a suit and entered the ring, tapping Nakamura’s title on his shoulder before leaving.