Written by Tommy Tracy
NXT April 13, 2016
-April 13 marks a huge day for sports fans; the Golden State Warriors chased a twenty year old record set by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Stanley Cup Playoffs began and my childhood hero, Kobe Bryant, played his final NBA game (thank you, sir). And NXT put on a show guaranteed to leave its fans happy.
-Up first we see Angelo Dawkins v. Austin Aries and wow, Dawkins was 100% out-classed here. Dawkins is a good wrestler but Aries is a GREAT wrestler and neither guy looked good here because of the talent gap. Luckily, it ended fast with a Double A (sorry, Arn) win.
–Tessa Blanchard (daughter of wrestling legend, Tully Blanchard) makes her debut against (my soon to be ex-wife) Alexa Bliss. Blanchard looked very good here, getting a nice spurt of offense before Bliss finishes her with the Bliss-aster. I’m not sure if that’s what she calls her finisher but that’s what I’m calling it.
-Sigh. The Vaudevillains are one of NXT’s smartest acts and now they’ve moved up to the main roster, which naturally means they’ll join the ranks of Tyler Breeze, The Ascension, Bo Dallas and Adam Rose, all brilliant gimmicks that Vince McMahon cannot wrap his head around. Hopefully they do great, like they did here, in a losing effort to Johnny Gargano and my new favorite, Tommaso Ciampa.
-Speaking of NXT call-ups, Baron Corbin makes his way to the ring and then leaves. He defeats Tucker Knight in about a minute. I love Corbin but don’t start this squash match crap with him again.
–Bayley v. Liv Morgan is next and wow, what a response for Bayley. NXT may very well be screwed when she gets called up to RAW because this crowd absolutely loves her. Morgan puts up a fight (I feel like I say that a lot) but come on, you aren’t beating Bayley…unless your name is Asuka. Yes, I’m still upset about it, dammit.
–Tye Dillinger is the greatest jobber of all time. Every time he enters a ring, I know he’s going to lose but I can’t be upset about it, especially when his opponent is the King of Strong Style, making his NXT Arena debut. Nakamura looks great here but is it wrong to say I was a little disappointed after an epic match with Sami Zayn? I think not.
-So that’s this weeks NXT folks. Rumors of an American Alpha/Enzo and Cass match were exaggerated (it happened, just hasn’t aired yet). This NXT crowd was probably as spent as I was with all the going-ons around the sports world this week. Solid show (could have been better). I think they need more than an hour.
