This episode might as well have been the Pre-Show for NXT TakeOver.
NXT Thoughts (4/3/19)
- The War Raiders start off the show as they take on two jobb.... enhancement talents. "Let's Go Jobbers" chants from the crowd. Whatever you want to call these two, they were eaten alive by the War Raiders who tossed them all over the ring and beat them in around 45 seconds. The War Raiders get on the mic. They want to deliver a message to their opponents: "You don't have to listen. You just have to watch. Bring out the next team."
Their next opponents are Cezar Bononi and Adrian Jaoude. (At least these guys got an entrance, music, and names for God's sake.) Hanson and Rowe make short work of these guys as well. Rowe hits a Powerbomb/Powerslam combination on his opponents. Fallout connects. 1-2-3. That match lasted a minute, I think.
(Impressive. They beat four guys no one has ever heard of back to back that probably combined weighed about as much as they did. I'm not putting down The War Raiders. I'm putting down the booking here. Next.)
- A video airs to hype up the WWE United Kingdom Championship Match at NXT TakeOver.
- An interview with Candice LaRae while she was heading into the arena. She's asked about her husband fighting for the title. She is watching the NXT Women's Championship match as well. Vanessa Borne and Aliyah interrupt and put her (and her husband) down. LaRae plans on knocking Aliyah on her butt on her way to the NXT Women's Championship match. (A badly performed promo here by all three to be honest. This probably should have been reshot.)
- Next is Oney Lorcan vs. Jaxson Ryker. Ryker dominates for a good portion of the match, hitting a lot of hard-hitting offense. This includes an excellent gutbuster and vicious knee attacks to the midsection of Lorcan. Lorcan makes a bit of a comeback, but he gets slaughtered by Ryker. Ryker drops him with a Polish Hammer and a Sit-Down Spinebuster. 1-2-3.
(Ryker continues to be built up as a monster for this stable. Decent enough match, but I never bought Lorcan as a winner in this match. Then again, I think the point was to build up Ryker. And that did that on the NXT brand.)
- A video hyping up Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano is shown.
- A video is shown for the Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle match.
- We then get a recap of the Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee feud. Keith Lee announces that they will face each other once again in 2 weeks' time. Dijakovic will bask in his glory.
- The Street Profits take on Aichner and Barthel next week along with Candice LaRae vs. Aliyah.
- Bianca Belair vs. Kairi Sane is the main event of this show. Both women take the time to taunt the other early on with Sane going on offense with a flying Kabuki Elbow off the apron on Belair on the floor. Belair gets the advantage back in the ring, beating down on Sane for a few moments. Sane fires back a few moments later with an Octopus Lock. She then starts getting some of her signature spots in, including the elbow strikes. Belair does a Seated Superplex on Sane followed by a Standing Moonsault. Baszler and The Horsewomen come out. Belair gets beaten down for the DQ. Io Shirai comes down to help fight off The Horsewomen. The NXT Women's Locker Room clears out The Horsewomen and Baszler from the ring. Belair presses Lacey Lane out to the rest of the women on the floor. Io dumps out Belair and hits a moonsault on the group on the floor. Io grabs the NXT Women's Championship and poses with it in the ring.
(Baszler's interference is expected since she's been doing it for weeks, but I liked the chaos that resulted when the rest of the women's roster decided that "enough was enough." Io Shirai committed one of the deadly sins of wrestling: holding up a championship without earning it right before a title match. So, that's probably going to effect who I pick for that match. Fun end to the show.)
Overall, this was a pretty forgettable show. If you didn't watch this show, you really didn't miss much other than squash matches, video packages, and more Horsewomen dominance. By this point, TakeOver sells itself. This show didn't kill any momentum and was thus harmless. But it was hardly great.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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