Can Ricochet beat Adam Cole, Bay Bay?
NXT Thoughts (2/13/19)
- Dominik Dijakovic is our first wrestler to hit the ring for this show as he takes on Shane Thorne (formerly of TM61/The Mighty). Thorne goes to work on Dijakovic's arm, trying to keep the big man from using the power. He continues to kick and dropkick the arm repeatedly. Dijakovic uses his one good arm to knock the hell out of Thawne. Standing Throw Suplex by Dijakovic. Thorne is able to stop the momentum by going back after the arm. High Angle Back Suplex by Thorne to Dijakovic. Thorne and Dijakovic end up on the corner. Dijakovic does a moonsault and lands on his feet. He superkicks Thorne off the corner down to the floor and hits a Springboard Dive to the floor on Thorne. FEAST YOUR EYES in the ring. Dijakovic wins the match.
(Good opening match here that made both men look good.)
- The Undisputed Era cut a promo somewhere in the backstage area. They talk about hitting speed bumps. They will regain the gold and even go to higher levels. Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly are reforming their tag team while Roderick Strong is going for singles gold. Adam Cole promises to beat up Ricochet tonight.
- A replay of the events of last week's Six Woman Tag Match are shown, including the fact that Io Shirai got the pin over NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler. A promo is shown from after the match last week. She declares that she's going for the title. Bianca Belair comes in and tells her to get in the back of the line. She had Baszler beat, and they can wait their turn. She declares herself still "un-de-fea-ted." (As much as I thought Belair showed some promise against Baszler, I would much rather see Shirai get the opportunity at the next TakeOver event. Plus the whole "un-de-fea-ted" gimmick really doesn't work when the world saw you lose a match. Belair's no Mr. Perfect. Then again, no one is.)
- Next we get the jobb... enchancement worker ring entrance for Humberto Carillo and Stacey Ervin Jr. They will be taking on .... Kassius Ohno comes out. He talks about being in NXT for 2 years and the Full Sail crowd. He tells them that they make him sick. He tells them that he is leaving and going someplace to show everyone just how great he is. Keith Lee shows up and knocks out Kassius Ohno. He mocks Ohno and tells him not to let the door hit him in the butt on the way out. He asks for forgiveness from the crowd and the wrestlers in the ring. He asks for the show to keep going.
So, Carillo and Ervin are taking on The Street Profits. Ford mocks the unconscious Kassius Ohno on the entrance ramp as The Street Profits make their entrance. Ford and Carillo do some nice flips and aerial moves. But The Street Profits decide to stop playing nice and take the fight to Carillo. Carillo continues to be impressive with his style of movement in the ring. Ervin gets the tag, but he gets knocked down hard by Dawkins. Street Profits reassert control. It looks like Dawkins at one point drops Ervin Jr. right on the back of his head during a back suplex, which got a GASP from the crowd. Carillo gets the tag soon after and goes to work on the Profits. Missile Dropkick off the top by Carillo at one point. Tag to Ervin. Big moonsault by Ervin. The Street Profits hit a Super Blockbuster on Ervin Jr. 1-2-3.
(Again, both teams looked really good, especially Ford and Carillo. Ervin's big contribution was taking a beating and continuing to finish the match. And he showed a lot in doing that. That spot in the middle of the match hurt my neck watching it.)
The Profits want a piece of the Tag Team Championship action. They are ready to go at any time. They call out The War Raiders. But instead they get Aichner and Barthel. They declare themselves next in line. Lorcan and Burch come out saying they deserve a shot. Then, the War Raiders come out. Rowe says there's a lot of talk and no fighting. Hanson says if anyone wants the titles, the champs are there. Make a move. The Undisputed Era jump the champions and beat them down. They toss them into the ring with the other teams to get beat down. That lasts maybe 5 seconds as The Raiders overpower all of them, dump most of them out, and throw Lorcan out onto them to complete the sweep.
(Well, NXT's Tag Team Division continues to be the best in the WWE conglomerate. The problem has never been attention on this division but what has happened to the teams once they get to the main roster. Enjoy your time as champions, War Raiders. You'll be doing vignettes with No Way Jose and the silent EC3 in a year or so.)
- We get a recap of Gargano's North American Championship victory at NXT TakeOver along with the Royal Rumble appearance. His match against Velveteen Dream is next week for the title.
- Taynara Conti takes on Aliyah next in a match to build up future prospects in the NXT Women's Division. Aliyah and Taynara continue to fight while Vanessa Borne comes out to watch. This really is a step below what we are used to seeing in either the main roster or the upper tier of the NXT Women's Division. They have some work to do. Borne knocks Conti off the corner, allowing Aliyah to get a Kimura Lock on for the submission. Borne and Aliyah seem to have formed an alliance. Uh-oh. Here comes Shayna Baszler. And she is TICKED! Borne and Aliyah bail, but the other Horsewomen come out and help Baszler beat down all three women involved in the previous match. Baszler cuts a promo telling the roster not to "****" off The Horsewomen.
(I guess this was a means to an end, but this was not a good match. I'm not going to go too hard on the evaluation since NXT is a developmental territory. But the in-ring work was a bit sloppy from both women in the match. I hope they get some time to work some more moves. As for Baszler and The Horsewomen, this was needed after losing last week. Baszler is ready for the main roster, but I have a feeling she's staying put until Duke and Shafir are ready to join her on the main roster. But when Baszler gets called up, I expect big things for her.)
- We get a promo for Velveteen Dream to promote next week's match against Johnny Gargano.
- The main event is the battle of former North American Champions, Ricochet and Adam Cole (Bay Bay!). Early on, Ricochet's unique offense gives him the advantage. And one minute into the match, we get the Suicide Dive already thanks to Ricochet. Back in the ring, both men go up the corner. Cole kicks Ricochet off of it, sending Ricochet falling back. His knee gets "caught up" in the middle turnbuckle. And as expected, Adam Cole goes to work on the knee with kicks and ring post shots. A soccer kick to the leg puts Ricochet back down. More attacks to the left leg by Adam Cole. Really good selling by Ricochet on the leg as he flubs up a couple of his typical moves on purpose to sell the leg. A big lariat by Ricochet gets a break.
Ricochet starts getting some more moves in, but he's still hopping on one leg while doing some of his offense. Standing moonsault gets a 2. Cole gets a kick to the leg of Ricochet. Cole nails a big leaping kick to Ricochet on the corner. Cole hits Ushigaroshe on Ricochet, but he only gets a 2. Ricochet gets a Northern Light Suplex. 2 count. Another Ushigaroshe by Cole gets a 2 count. Last Shot misses. Ricochet gets a roll-up for a 2. Ricochet hits the Reverse Rana. (That looked sick on the replay, as if Cole didn't get a full rotation in the move.)
Ricochet goes up and does a One-Legged Springboard Senton Splash on Cole's leg. 2 count. They trade shots in the middle of the ring. After a few seconds of traded blows, we get a superkick by Cole. 2 count. Cole puts Ricochet on the corner. He climbs up, but Ricochet escapes. Now Ricochet climbs up beside Cole. Cole knocks Ricochet back on the apron. Both men are back on the corner. Snap Frankensteiner By Ricochet. Axe Kick. A ton of suplexes by Ricochet! Vertigo (Michinoku Driver) gets the win for Ricochet. The Undisputed Era run out and beat down on Ricochet. Aleister Black runs out and gets beat up by The Undisputed Era. And they stand strong to end the show.
(So, even though Ricochet won the battle, you can make the argument that The Undisputed Era won the war on this. Cole and Ricochet have had better matches undoubtedly, but this was still a very good match by most standards. Ricochet sold the "injured" leg throughout the match. Meanwhile Adam Cole (Bay Bay) shows that he is a consistent performer in big time matches. You can rely on Adam Cole for quality work. I have to wonder though if Ricochet is long for the NXT world. You have to think that he will be called up to the main roster before too long, especially if several talents end up leaving once their contracts expire this year.)
Overall, NXT once again provided another fun and entertaining hour of wrestling. The best match was obviously the last match while the Conti vs. Aliyah match was obviously the worst match (but again, they are going to develop into better wrestlers with some more time). They did a good job of keeping heat on The Undisputed Era, despite Adam Cole losing his match with Ricochet. They got a few segments to get over. Likewise, The Horsewomen continued to look strong by beating down on random members of the women's division. NXT, just like the WWE main roster, continues to be an embarrassment of riches in terms of the amount of talent that it possesses. You want proof? As good as Cole and Ricochet was, I can't wait for next week's Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano match. (However, let's be clear: NXT clearly knows how to handle its "embarrassment of riches" much better than the creative minds in the main roster do.)
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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The Undisputed Era
YouTube; WWE
NXT (2/13/19); WWE Network
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NXT Thoughts (2/13/19)
- Dominik Dijakovic is our first wrestler to hit the ring for this show as he takes on Shane Thorne (formerly of TM61/The Mighty). Thorne goes to work on Dijakovic's arm, trying to keep the big man from using the power. He continues to kick and dropkick the arm repeatedly. Dijakovic uses his one good arm to knock the hell out of Thawne. Standing Throw Suplex by Dijakovic. Thorne is able to stop the momentum by going back after the arm. High Angle Back Suplex by Thorne to Dijakovic. Thorne and Dijakovic end up on the corner. Dijakovic does a moonsault and lands on his feet. He superkicks Thorne off the corner down to the floor and hits a Springboard Dive to the floor on Thorne. FEAST YOUR EYES in the ring. Dijakovic wins the match.
(Good opening match here that made both men look good.)
- The Undisputed Era cut a promo somewhere in the backstage area. They talk about hitting speed bumps. They will regain the gold and even go to higher levels. Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly are reforming their tag team while Roderick Strong is going for singles gold. Adam Cole promises to beat up Ricochet tonight.
- A replay of the events of last week's Six Woman Tag Match are shown, including the fact that Io Shirai got the pin over NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler. A promo is shown from after the match last week. She declares that she's going for the title. Bianca Belair comes in and tells her to get in the back of the line. She had Baszler beat, and they can wait their turn. She declares herself still "un-de-fea-ted." (As much as I thought Belair showed some promise against Baszler, I would much rather see Shirai get the opportunity at the next TakeOver event. Plus the whole "un-de-fea-ted" gimmick really doesn't work when the world saw you lose a match. Belair's no Mr. Perfect. Then again, no one is.)
- Next we get the jobb... enchancement worker ring entrance for Humberto Carillo and Stacey Ervin Jr. They will be taking on .... Kassius Ohno comes out. He talks about being in NXT for 2 years and the Full Sail crowd. He tells them that they make him sick. He tells them that he is leaving and going someplace to show everyone just how great he is. Keith Lee shows up and knocks out Kassius Ohno. He mocks Ohno and tells him not to let the door hit him in the butt on the way out. He asks for forgiveness from the crowd and the wrestlers in the ring. He asks for the show to keep going.
So, Carillo and Ervin are taking on The Street Profits. Ford mocks the unconscious Kassius Ohno on the entrance ramp as The Street Profits make their entrance. Ford and Carillo do some nice flips and aerial moves. But The Street Profits decide to stop playing nice and take the fight to Carillo. Carillo continues to be impressive with his style of movement in the ring. Ervin gets the tag, but he gets knocked down hard by Dawkins. Street Profits reassert control. It looks like Dawkins at one point drops Ervin Jr. right on the back of his head during a back suplex, which got a GASP from the crowd. Carillo gets the tag soon after and goes to work on the Profits. Missile Dropkick off the top by Carillo at one point. Tag to Ervin. Big moonsault by Ervin. The Street Profits hit a Super Blockbuster on Ervin Jr. 1-2-3.
(Again, both teams looked really good, especially Ford and Carillo. Ervin's big contribution was taking a beating and continuing to finish the match. And he showed a lot in doing that. That spot in the middle of the match hurt my neck watching it.)
The Profits want a piece of the Tag Team Championship action. They are ready to go at any time. They call out The War Raiders. But instead they get Aichner and Barthel. They declare themselves next in line. Lorcan and Burch come out saying they deserve a shot. Then, the War Raiders come out. Rowe says there's a lot of talk and no fighting. Hanson says if anyone wants the titles, the champs are there. Make a move. The Undisputed Era jump the champions and beat them down. They toss them into the ring with the other teams to get beat down. That lasts maybe 5 seconds as The Raiders overpower all of them, dump most of them out, and throw Lorcan out onto them to complete the sweep.
(Well, NXT's Tag Team Division continues to be the best in the WWE conglomerate. The problem has never been attention on this division but what has happened to the teams once they get to the main roster. Enjoy your time as champions, War Raiders. You'll be doing vignettes with No Way Jose and the silent EC3 in a year or so.)
- We get a recap of Gargano's North American Championship victory at NXT TakeOver along with the Royal Rumble appearance. His match against Velveteen Dream is next week for the title.
- Taynara Conti takes on Aliyah next in a match to build up future prospects in the NXT Women's Division. Aliyah and Taynara continue to fight while Vanessa Borne comes out to watch. This really is a step below what we are used to seeing in either the main roster or the upper tier of the NXT Women's Division. They have some work to do. Borne knocks Conti off the corner, allowing Aliyah to get a Kimura Lock on for the submission. Borne and Aliyah seem to have formed an alliance. Uh-oh. Here comes Shayna Baszler. And she is TICKED! Borne and Aliyah bail, but the other Horsewomen come out and help Baszler beat down all three women involved in the previous match. Baszler cuts a promo telling the roster not to "****" off The Horsewomen.
(I guess this was a means to an end, but this was not a good match. I'm not going to go too hard on the evaluation since NXT is a developmental territory. But the in-ring work was a bit sloppy from both women in the match. I hope they get some time to work some more moves. As for Baszler and The Horsewomen, this was needed after losing last week. Baszler is ready for the main roster, but I have a feeling she's staying put until Duke and Shafir are ready to join her on the main roster. But when Baszler gets called up, I expect big things for her.)
- We get a promo for Velveteen Dream to promote next week's match against Johnny Gargano.
- The main event is the battle of former North American Champions, Ricochet and Adam Cole (Bay Bay!). Early on, Ricochet's unique offense gives him the advantage. And one minute into the match, we get the Suicide Dive already thanks to Ricochet. Back in the ring, both men go up the corner. Cole kicks Ricochet off of it, sending Ricochet falling back. His knee gets "caught up" in the middle turnbuckle. And as expected, Adam Cole goes to work on the knee with kicks and ring post shots. A soccer kick to the leg puts Ricochet back down. More attacks to the left leg by Adam Cole. Really good selling by Ricochet on the leg as he flubs up a couple of his typical moves on purpose to sell the leg. A big lariat by Ricochet gets a break.
Ricochet starts getting some more moves in, but he's still hopping on one leg while doing some of his offense. Standing moonsault gets a 2. Cole gets a kick to the leg of Ricochet. Cole nails a big leaping kick to Ricochet on the corner. Cole hits Ushigaroshe on Ricochet, but he only gets a 2. Ricochet gets a Northern Light Suplex. 2 count. Another Ushigaroshe by Cole gets a 2 count. Last Shot misses. Ricochet gets a roll-up for a 2. Ricochet hits the Reverse Rana. (That looked sick on the replay, as if Cole didn't get a full rotation in the move.)
Ricochet goes up and does a One-Legged Springboard Senton Splash on Cole's leg. 2 count. They trade shots in the middle of the ring. After a few seconds of traded blows, we get a superkick by Cole. 2 count. Cole puts Ricochet on the corner. He climbs up, but Ricochet escapes. Now Ricochet climbs up beside Cole. Cole knocks Ricochet back on the apron. Both men are back on the corner. Snap Frankensteiner By Ricochet. Axe Kick. A ton of suplexes by Ricochet! Vertigo (Michinoku Driver) gets the win for Ricochet. The Undisputed Era run out and beat down on Ricochet. Aleister Black runs out and gets beat up by The Undisputed Era. And they stand strong to end the show.
(So, even though Ricochet won the battle, you can make the argument that The Undisputed Era won the war on this. Cole and Ricochet have had better matches undoubtedly, but this was still a very good match by most standards. Ricochet sold the "injured" leg throughout the match. Meanwhile Adam Cole (Bay Bay) shows that he is a consistent performer in big time matches. You can rely on Adam Cole for quality work. I have to wonder though if Ricochet is long for the NXT world. You have to think that he will be called up to the main roster before too long, especially if several talents end up leaving once their contracts expire this year.)
Overall, NXT once again provided another fun and entertaining hour of wrestling. The best match was obviously the last match while the Conti vs. Aliyah match was obviously the worst match (but again, they are going to develop into better wrestlers with some more time). They did a good job of keeping heat on The Undisputed Era, despite Adam Cole losing his match with Ricochet. They got a few segments to get over. Likewise, The Horsewomen continued to look strong by beating down on random members of the women's division. NXT, just like the WWE main roster, continues to be an embarrassment of riches in terms of the amount of talent that it possesses. You want proof? As good as Cole and Ricochet was, I can't wait for next week's Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano match. (However, let's be clear: NXT clearly knows how to handle its "embarrassment of riches" much better than the creative minds in the main roster do.)
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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