– WWE recently added the following video to their official YouTube channel, which features Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens talking about their history together leading into next Wednesday’s NXT TakeOver: Rival live special on the WWE Network.
– Speaking of the upcoming Zayn vs. Owens match, Triple H recently commented on the rivalry, calling the two the “future of the business.” You can read his tweet below.
– To get ready for next Wednesday’s NXT special, you can check out the following video from WWE’s YouTube channel, “NXT TakeOver: R Evolution,” which shows the beginning of their NXT rivalry and recaps the most recent NXT live special in just one minute.
– As noted recently, Randy Orton has been advertised locally to return at several of the past WWE television tapings, but was held back due to creative decisions made by the company. Orton is being advertised for the February 16th edition of RAW in Orlando, which is the Fast Lane “go-home” edition of the show. With Orton scheduled to return in time for a program at WrestleMania 31, one would assume that if he doesn’t return on the 2/16 RAW show, he will be returning either at the pay-per-view itself, or at RAW the following night.
– The following matches were taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida for tonight’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network:
– Emma vs. Carmella
– Adrian Neville vs. Baron Corbin (Semifinals of the No. 1 Contender’s Tournament)
– Bayley vs. Becky Lynch
– Hideo Itami vs. Finn Bálor (Semifinals of the No. 1 Contender Tournament)
– Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville vs. Kevin Owens and Tyson Kidd
Check out the official video promo for tonight’s NXT show below.
– It was announced on this week’s episode of NXT that Sami Zayn’s NXT Championship will be on the line when he battles Kevin Owens at the next live NXT TakeOver special on February 11th. After Kevin Owens refused to sign his contract to fight Zayn because the title was not going to be up for grabs, NXT General Manager William Regal announced that it will be a championship match.
– The NXT #1 Contender’s tournament continued this week, with Baron Corbin defeating Bull Dempsey and Adrian Neville defeating Tyson Kidd to advance. Next week’s episode will feature Neville vs. Corbin and Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami in the semi-finals. The finals will take place at NXT TakeOver.
– Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake are the new NXT Tag Team Championship after defeating The Lucha Dragons on this week’s show. Murphy and Blake were interviewed after the win:
NXT Champion Sami Zayn recently spoke to The National to promote WWE’s upcoming tour of Abu Dhabi.
Below are highlights from the interview.
On becoming NXT Champion: “It was huge for me on so many levels, professionally and personally. I don’t even know how to begin to put it into words, but it was definitely a career highlight for me.
The match was one of my favourites of my career against one of my all-time best opponents in Adrian Neville, who I have known for years and years, so it is a really huge deal for me to be the NXT champion.
In the interests of full disclosure, from a personal perspective, when I came here, there is a lot of doubts on how are you will do, because I came from an independent wrestling background, and you are not sure what kind of deal you are going to get.
So, for me this is a big symbol of having kind of thrived in this kind of environment in WWE on the NXT level and makes me very confident in that next step forward on to the main roster I think I can do just as well as I have down in NXT. It is very important to me and it means a lot.”
On how important crowd reactions are: “That is a very subjective question and different people are going to give you different answers. Personally, to me, the crowd is the show, that is just me. Someone else will tell you something completely different, it all stems from your background and experience or whatever.
But for the me the crowd is the show and it can make or break the show, and any great memories in wrestling in my life, as a fan, that I remember, that I cling on to, that I think moved me or affected my life or decision to want to become a wrestler or anything like that, if I really stop and think about any one of them, it is all about the crowd at any given moment.
The easiest example is the Rock versus Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8. They are not even moving for the first few minutes but the crowd is dancing. You watch something like that have such a profound affect on these people that it moves you.
So to me the crowd is extremely important and in the case of the night I won the NXT championship I think that is definitely a big factor in why it was so amazing.
Even after the match and all the celebrations, it probably went on for 10 minutes, and they were relentless and just loving it. I could probably watch it back over and over again because I don’t think I will ever get tired of knowing not only was I a part of that reaction, but that I was the cause of it, and that is very powerful to me.”
On rumors of a NXT match at WrestleMania 31: “Obviously it goes without saying that it would be a dream come true to perform at WrestleMania. I really don’t know. I’ve heard rumours, but I put very little stock into them.
But a small part of me feels as great as it would be to be on WrestleMania, you know the likelihood if we were featured in that kind of light, would be probably a five-minute showcase and that is not how you envision your WrestleMania debut.
But listen, a WrestleMania debut is a WrestleMania debut, especially if you are defending a championship at WrestleMania. It would be awesome, it goes without saying. But I would hopefully envision a time when I can be at WrestleMania in a bigger role.”
– WWE is considering the idea of having one or two NXT stars participate in Sunday’s 30-man Royal Rumble match.
WWE surveyed fans asking which NXT stars they would most like to see in the Rumble, with the options being — Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Hideo Itami, Finn Balor, Kalisto, Tyler Breeze, Bull Dempsey and Enzo Amore.
– Xavier Woods has been out of action at recent WWE live events due to an injury. The New Day member was wearing a walking boot on Monday’s RAW and noted that his ankle is currently “out of commission.” Regardless, Woods is still advertised to wrestle in the six-man tag-team match against Tyson Kidd, Cesaro and Adam Rose this Sunday night.
It was announced at Thursday night’s NXT tapings at Full Sail University that the next live TakeOver special on the WWE Network will take place on Wednesday, February 11th.
The main event will feature newly crowned NXT Champion Sami Zayn defending against his longtime rival, Kevin Owens. With the incredible matches these men have had during their storied feud and the work we’ve seen from them both in NXT, this has the makings to be the best TakeOver main event yet – and that says a lot.
Also on the show, Finn Bálor will face Adrian Neville in the finals of the #1 Contender’s tournament that will unfold on the next 3 weeks of NXT programming.
Plus, NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte defend in a 4-way match against Sasha Banks, Bayley and Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte for the NXT Women’s Title.
The WWE’s next generation was back in class last night, meaning it’s time to grade their performances. Matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, crowd involvement, and overall impact on the storyline. Important promos will also be graded based on entertainment value, believability, and originality.
Without further ado, here is this week’s NXT Report Card.
Tyson Kidd vs. Finn Balor
This week’s show kicked off in a big way, as two of the most talented athletes in NXT locked up. Balor came out firing, going for the diving double foot stomp just seconds into the match.
Kidd eventually took control and slowed the match to a methodical pace, at one point driving Balor through the barricade into about the third row. Balor eventually turned it around after hitting the move Alex Riley so eloquently described as a “floating, spinning neckbreaker of some kind.”
After delivering a kick to the head and hitting a somersault over the top rope to the floor, Balor dominated the rest of the contest (aside from a minor Kidd offensive), eventually picking up the victory after hitting a diving double foot stomp.
Result: Finn Balor wins via pinfall
Analysis: Most importantly, I think it’s awesome that Tyson’s gimmick is basically a guy who loves cats and Beats headphones. With that said, these two worked very well together. The action was fast paced for the most part, and it was nice to see Balor get the win. He definitely needed the win more, and as much as I love seeing Balor and Itami together, I’m hoping he starts his solo career in the near future.
NXT Champion Sami Zayn returned on this week’s episode for the first time since capturing the gold at TakeOver R: Evolution and the subsequent beatdown he suffered at the hands of Kevin Owens.
NXT General Manager William Regal announced that former NXT champion Adrian Neville will get a rematch on next week’s show, when NXT moves to Wednesday nights at 8pm EST on the WWE Network. Also advertised for next week:
– NXT officials are looking at doing a lengthy singles program between NXT Champion Sami Zayn and new NXT Superstar Kevin Owens. Depending on how long they keep the feud going, Zayn could end up staying in NXT for another year.
– Below is the official music video for the single “Bye Bye” by WWE Diva and Total Divas star Cameron (aka Arianne).
– WWE Diva Rosa Mendes has been named the newest Brand Ambassador of the Sweat Store fitness apparel retailer in Las Vegas, Nevada.
– Several readers pointed out that WWE Hall of Famer Edge wore a Sami Zayn t-shirt on RAW and a Cesaro t-shirt on SmackDown.
– Below is the “WWE Future Endeavors Class of 2014” video, looking at Superstars and Divas who left the promotion in 2014, courtesy of YouTube user mangler989:
As noted recently, WWE is looking at Adrian Neville as the next main roster call-up from NXT, however they are some matches and programs they would like him to do in NXT first.
WWE officials want Neville to work with Hideo Itami and Finn Balor in singles programs, and also a potential triple-threat feud for the NXT Championship with he, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
– The Usos defeated the team of The Miz and Damien Mizdow on this week’s edition of WWE RAW, which was the final episode of the show for 2014.
– For those who didn’t notice it, Edge was showing some support for the NXT Champion during his appearance on RAW, as he wore a Sami Zayn t-shirt throughout the show.
– Former WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase Jr. noted on social media recently that he interviewed WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels for his “Price of Fame” documentary that he has been working on for a couple of years. The documentary focuses on DiBiase Jr. and his relationship with his father, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase Sr.
– NXT Champion Sami Zayn is featured on the latest edition of WWE’s “30 Second Fury,” which you can check out below.
As promised, here are the top pay-per-view events from 2014.
8. NXT Takeover
This event started off sluggish but certainly ended with a string of entertaining matches. In particular, the match between Tyler Breeze and Sami Zayn featured solid in-ring work and highlighted why both of these guys could succeed if given the opportunity.
The real treat during this pay-per-view, however, was the final two matches of the evening. The match between Charlotte and Natalya for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship was probably the most technically sound women’s match I’ve ever seen, and the main event between Neville and Tyson Kidd was the perfect way to end the show. In my opinion, this was the event that made fans realize NXT is more than simply a developmental league for the main roster.
Worst Match: Adam Rose vs. Camacho
Best Match: Charlotte vs. Natalya
7. Payback
There was some worry heading into this one, largely due to the absence of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The event would carry on just fine without the title, however. It started off strong with a bruising contest between Sheamus and Cesaro.
From there, the Last Man Standing match was entertaining, even if it would have been nice to see Wyatt pick up the victory. With that said, this pay-per-view is all about the main event. It was an awesome 30-minute affair that featured memorable spots, brutal action, and a decisive Shield victory. This was also important because it would set up Seth Rollins’ heel turn the next night on Raw.
2014 is coming to a close. Aside from two episodes of Raw that most likely be forgettable, fans have seen everything the WWE has to offer this year. Here is a look back at all 16 pay-per-views (including NXT), with each event ranked and summarized.
16. Battleground
This event took place during July, and boy was it a hot mess. The opening contest between the Usos and Wyatt Family was money, but it was downhill from there, as fans were subjected to one dud contest after another.
The biggest mistakes involved advertising a Rollins/Ambrose match that didn’t take place, and using the same predictable ending sequence during the main event. Overall, this was completely forgettable and easily the worst pay-per-view of the year.
Worst Match: Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
Best Match: The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family
15. TLC
The final pay-per-view of the year was certainly not the best the company has to offer. Overall, this event suffered from a thin roster and overcomplicated booking. Like many pay-per-view events, it started off strong before derailing.
Ziggler and Harper stole the show during the opening contest. However, lame gimmicks (Stairs/Chairs Matches) and cheesy endings (Wyatt/Ambrose, Cena/Rollins) really held this event back and prevented it from being a success.
– Kevin Owens made an appearance at the non-televised NXT live event in Tampa, Florida on Thursday night. He cut a heel promo talking about how he didn’t owe the fans any explanation for his recent attack of Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Afa the Wild Samoan is at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida this week, working with some of the developmental talents.
One week after being attacked by Kevin Owens at the NXT Takeover: R Evolution special, WWE has posted a storyline injury update on NXT Champion Sami Zayn. WWE noted that x-rays of Zayn’s spine came back negative, as did a CT scan of his head.
WWE noted that Zayn was diagnosed with “cervical & thoracic muscle strains and held overnight at the Winter Park Memorial Hospital for observation.” They also noted that Zayn is “currently resting before beginning physical therapy at the WWE Performance Center. WWE said he’s expected back in 3-4 weeks.”
The future of the WWE went to school last night, and I’m here to grade their performance. Matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, crowd involvement, and overall impact on the storyline. Important promos will also be graded based on entertainment value, believability, and originality.
While this is supposed to act as a weekly report and recap for NXT, more importantly, it’s a place for you, the SEScoops readers, to discuss this week’s episode, dole out your own grades, and discuss the future of the product. Without further ado, here is this week’s NXT Report Card.
Adrian Neville/Kevin Owens Opening Promo
This was a pretty good way to start the show and the crowd really seemed to be into it. Neville did his best to make amends with the fans and put over Sami Zayn, saying things like, “We went to war” and “The better man won.”
Neville isn’t the strongest promo man in the game, but he did his best, even if he can be a bit redundant at times. Owens, on the other hand, cut an intense and articulate promo that seemed to have the crowd on the edge of their seats. Overall, it was a good way to start the show and set up the main event between Neville and Owens.
Grade: B+
Bayley vs. Becky Lynch
This one started off a bit sluggish, with most of the early action consisting of Bayley throwing punches and not utilizing many wrestling moves. The action picked up toward the end, however, with the ending sequence being particularly impressive. The counter into Lynch’s finisher was fresh and it worked well with the in-ring psychology due to Bayley’s injured knee.
Sometimes things work out. Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins.
Other times, things don’t. Adam Rose, Bo Dallas, Fandango.
After last week’s NXT Takeover: R Evolution special, which fans are still raving about a week later, it became crystal clear to me that WWE is developing a number of future Superstars that have the potential to lead the company into the next generation.
Today, we are going to look at ten current performers/acts in the NXT system that I feel have the best shot at achieving success on the main WWE roster. With that being said, lets jump right into the list at number ten….
#10. The Lucha Dragons
The Lucha Dragons — Kalisto and Sin Cara, two talents that as individuals could flourish, but as a unit, make up one of the best tag-teams in WWE’s developmental system. Their ring work is solid and entertaining. Crowd pleasing. The gimmick is another story, but unfortunately, with WWE being in the middle of their PG-era, gimmicks and characters such as these two are unavoidable.
With that being said, they are what they are, and that’s a great tag-team combination. They’re the Los Matadores, only better. That’s not a knock against them, despite the fact it could be seen as one. If they remain under their current gimmick, it’s pretty much a given that they’ll never reach past mid-card, comedy-team status, but like I said, we’re going to have that one way or the other. Since that’s the case, it might as well be two guys who are as talented as these two.
I think it’s a given that these two guys will eventually make it to the main roster, and equally as predictable is the way in which they’ll be used. They’ll be two guys in a tag-team division on the main WWE roster that isn’t worth much, but for whatever it is worth, these two guys have the potential to be among the top teams in the company. While that’s not saying much, it’s saying something, and in this day and age, you pretty much have to take what you can get if you’re an aspiring wrestler.
#9. Tyler Breeze
Much like The Lucha Dragons, I feel that Tyler Breeze is an extremely talented worker, but is unfortunately stuck in a lame-duck gimmick. On social media, I’ve read a lot of comments that makes it seem like fans are actually believers of the Tyler Breeze gimmick in the sense that it could actually go somewhere on the main roster.
I am not one of those believers.
I’m of the opinion that if Breeze jumps to the main roster and is used with the same exact character that he has now, it’s one that has a ceiling that comes with it. This type of character can only go so far. Think of talents like Fandango and Adam Rose and how they are positioned on the main roster, and you’ve got my opinion of how Breeze would be used in this type of role.
If they were to change his gimmick, he certainly has the potential to go further than this type of character would allow. He’s got the talent in the ring, he has a unique charisma about him and he’s got a great look. His promo work is decent, nothing to ride home about in my opinion, but he’s got enough tools to work with that if he was given a different type of character, it would be interesting to see how far he could take it. Maybe if they started a character-change in NXT and let it grow a bit, that would be the route to take in terms of preparing him for a call up to the big leagues.
Whether or not that ever happens is another subject entirely.
2014 is quickly coming to an end. With only two weeks left in the year, fans have seen basically everything the WWE has to offer in 2014, for better or worse. In particular, the fourth quarter of 2014 was filled with exciting action, unexpected debuts, and a noticeable lack of WWE World Heavyweight Championship matches.
With all four quarters essentially “in the books” at this point, we want you to familiarize yourself with our picks from all four quarters. Next week, we are going to create a poll where you can vote on your pick for 2014 Match Of The Year.
Newly crowned NXT Champion Sami Zayn was stretchered out of the arena after last night’s NXT TakeOver: R Evolution went off the air. As seen at the conclusion of the show, Zayn was viciously attacked by his old rival Kevin Owens, who had been congratulating him for his title win.
NXT Takeover: R Evolution Results Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida December 11, 2014
– Corey Graves announced that his in-ring career was over and that he was retiring due to concussions. However, it was revealed that he is joining the NXT announcing team. He makes his debut tonight.
– Kevin Owens def. C.J. Parker in the opening match on the show. The fans were heavily into Owens throughout the match. Owens ended up getting busted open pretty badly near the end of the match, likely from a palm strike from Parker. It looked like he may have suffered a broken nose. In the end, Owens picked up the win with a big power bomb for the 1-2-3.
– The Lucha Dragons def. The Vaudevillains to retain the NXT Tag-Team Championships. This was a fun match with a lot of high-spots and high-flying offense. The finish saw Kalisto hit the Salida del Sol on Simon Gotch for the 1-2-3.
– Baron Corbin def. Tye Dillinger in a quick squash. The fans did the routine where they count from the opening bell. The count died down when it got past 30, although the match didn’t last much longer than that. Corbin hit Dillinger with the End Of Days for the pinfall victory. After the match, he and Bull Dempsey, who was in the front row, had a long staredown.
– Finn Balor & Hideo Itami def. The Ascension in an awesome tag-team match. Balor’s entrance alone garnered “this is awesome” and “marking out” chants from the fans at Full Sail University. He had the head gear and the full-body paint, etc. The finish in this one saw Balor and Itami both hit a double-foot-stomp off the top, with Balor scoring the pinfall.
– Charlotte def. Sasha Banks to retain the NXT Women’s Championship. This was an excellent NXT Women’s match that had a lot of positive chants from the fans, such as “this is wrestling!” In the end, Charlotte hit the Natural Selection for the pinfall victory to retain the title.
– Sami Zayn def. Adrian Neville to become the new NXT Champion in the main event of the evening. This match tore down the house, exactly as you would expect. Zayn hit his big running boot to the face in the corner for the pinfall victory after a bunch of teases with ref bumps, which at one point actually led to the fans chanting “this ref sucks.” Lots of cool spots throughout this one and lots of intensity from the fans in attendance. After the match, the entire NXT roster, including Pat Patterson, came out to congratulate Zayn. They put him up on their shoulders and it was a big, giant celebration.
As Zayn was at ringside taking in the moment, Kevin Owens came out to congratulate his friend once again. He then viciously attacked him, reigniting their classic rivalry. Owens power bombed the new NXT champion onto the ring apron and the show closed with Zayn selling the attack.
Overall, an excellent show that showcased NXT’s unbelievably talented top stars.
Following this week’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network, below is the latest official lineup for the NXT Takeover: R Evolution live WWE Network special, which takes place on December 11th:
NXT Championship vs. Career Match
– Adrian Neville (c) vs. Sami Zayn
NXT Tag Team Championship
– Kalisto & Sin Cara (c) vs. Simon Gotch & Aiden English
NXT Women’s Championship
Charlotte (c) vs. Sasha Banks
– Finn Balor and Hideo Itami vs. The Ascension
– Kevin Owens debuts
Make sure to visit the website on December 11th for the best NXT Takeover: R Evolution live results coverage on the web!
NXT General Manager William Regal has officially announced the “NXT Takeover: R Evolution” live special for Thursday, December 11th at 8pm EST. on the WWE Network.
The main event for the show will feature Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship. The stipulation for the match has Zayn promising to quit if he loses.
More “NXT Takeover: R Evolution” matches are expected to be announced in the near future.
– On this week’s edition of WWE Main Event, “The Bunny” was played by NXT star Sami Zayn. The Bunny teamed with Adam Rose to take on Tyson Kidd and Natalya.
– Regarding the rumors that WWE Diva AJ Lee is leaving WWE soon, according to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Lee is not scheduled to leave after the Survivor Series or TLC pay-per-views.
