411’s WWE NXT Report 1.14.15

Here we go for the big Wednesday debut of NXT!

Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd

We start with a bang don’t we? Renee Young informs us that her Woman Crush Wednesday is Joey Mercury for some reason but I love it. Finn Balor has the best entrance currently going. He starts with a huge dropkick, climbs to the top and misses the double foot stomp. He still fires away with some big chops. Finn gets Kidd down in the corner and nails a hesitation dropkick, before trying the double stomp again, only for Kidd to roll outside. Finn brings him back in and Kidd goes back outside. Finn tries a baseball slide but Kidd drives him into the guardrail. Kidd now has the advantage while commentary discusses his love for his cats. A neckbreaker is followed by an elbow for two. We head to commercial, but there is no commercial which was strange. He wears down Finn and put shim in the tree of woe before delivering some stomps. There are actually some dueling chants. Kidd misses a punch and FInn connects with the Pele kick. They get up around the same time and Finn hits some big forearms before a neck snap. Kidd goes to the second rope and Finn hits him with an enziguri. Kidd falls outside and Finn follows with a big front flip. It seems like everyone does one of those huh? Sami Zayn, Finn, Kevin Owens. Kidd does a vicious dragon screw on the rope and then kicks Balor right in the face. He springboards in with an elbow for two. Kidd locks in the Sharpshooter and drags him to the middle of the ring, but Balor crawls to the ropes. Kidd misses a guillotine leg drop, so Balor brings him with a reverse underhook DDT. He goes to the top and finally hits the big double foot stomp for the win.

Winner: Finn Balor in 8:19

Really good way to start the show. Finn Balor continues to amaze me and Tyson Kidd never fails to deliver. Loved this opener. ***1/2

We get a video package showing highlights of the excellent Adrian Neville/Sami Zayn match from NXT TakeOver: R Evolution.

Devin Taylor now interviews Bull Dempsey, who faces Baron Corbin tonight. Bull says that Baron isn’t the only undefeated guy in the match and claims it will be a short fight.

Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey

I’m sorry, but only one of these guys seems like he has star power and it’s not Bull Dempsey. Bull clubs away to start but Baron Corbin fires back. This is exactly how it should start. Two brutes just beating the shit out of each other. Bull ducks outside but the fight just continues out there. I smell a double countout. Never mind. They get in at the count of seven. Bull hits a body block that takes down Baron and he climbs up top but misses the diving headbutt. Baron actually hits the End of Days and wins quickly.

Winner: Baron Corbin in 1:34

Bull Dempsey was right about this being quick. This was seriously lackluster. It should have been a straight up fight for at least a few minutes. *1/2

NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte and Natalya vs. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks

Team BAE is still an awkward pairing to me, even though I love both girls. Becky Lynch and Natalya start, making me wish we get a singles match between them down the line. Some chain wrestling gets us started and they trade head scissors and hammerlocks. Nattie gets two with a rollup as Renee Young informs us that nine years ago, Becky and Nattie teamed up in Japan. Becky retreats outside for a breather and while Sasha Banks checks on her, Charlotte and Nattie hit stereo baseball slides. Charlotte gets the tag and they hit a double stalling suplex for a near fall. Nattie gets the quick tag, Charlotte hits a body slam and them slams Nattie on Becky. It was very Lucha Dragons like. Sasha tags in, gets taken down and Nattie runs over her, stepping on her head. Sasha gets Nattie in the corner and drives her knees into Nattie’s midsection for two. Sasha uses Nattie’s own arms to choke her, in a modified version of the Bank Statement. Nattie fights out and makes the tag. Charlotte hits her weak chops. She does her suplex fake out into a neckbreaker but Becky breaks up the pin. They try to double team Charlotte, who gets free with a cartwheel. Nattie pulls Becky out, allowing Sasha to hit Charlotte with a neckbreaker and pin her with a handful of tights.

Winner: Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks in 4:19

Solid women’s match. I wish it got a bit more time, but they did well with the four minutes. Sasha gets the win, hopefully leading to another title shot and win. **3/4

NXT Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Adrian Neville

All of a sudden, Alex Riley believes in Sami Zayn. We get a handshake at the bell. Sami snaps off some quick arm drags before moving to a headlock. Fun fact, these two have wrestled in 14 different countries. Or at least they said that on Talk is Jericho. Adrian Neville hits a big arm drag and they lock up again. Zayn tries a back body drop but Neville lands on his feet and snaps off a hurricanrana. They do a series of leap frogs and counters because they know each other so well until Sami gets two with a dropkick. They stop and face off before trading forearms. Neville hits his hard series of kicks and sends Sami outside. He follows with a twisting dive that takes out Sami as we head to commercial. Returning, Neville hits a huge uppercut in the corner. It was Nigel McGuinness-esque. Sami hits a flying cross body for two. Neville comes back with a gorgeous hurricanrana for a near fall but Sami is clutching his head. He goes for a shot and blocks the Blue Thunder Bomb with some elbows. Neville whiffs on a big roundhouse and eats the Blue Thunder Bomb anyway for two. Sami nails a German suplex, bridging it for a second and his third is a half nelson plex, but Neville lands on his feet. He does a cartwheel and ends up on Sami’s shoulders, before spinning and hitting another hurricanrana for two. Sami seems to be limp as Neville tries to pick him up. The referee is checking on him but he wants to continue. He gets up and locks in the Koji Clutch from out of nowhere, but Neville gets free. He hits the half nelson suplex this time but misses the Helluva Kick as Neville goes outside. Sami goes for his DDT through the ropes but eats a big superkick. Neville climbs up and misses the Red Arrow, but Sami again misses the Helluva kick. Neville rolls him up and damn near gets three. Sami hits the corner exploder and connects with the Helluva Kick this time to win.

Winner and Still NXT Champion: Sami Zayn in 11:52

I’m glad this got a clean finish. It was big in making sure that Sami Zayn’s win at R Evolution wouldn’t be looked at as a fluke. Really good stuff for the time they had. ****

Sami Zayn celebrates with his title as we see a ton of replays. Kevin owens appears and powerbombs Sami once again. He steps on Samis throat and kicks the NXT Title at him. He walks out to close the broadcast.

Overall: 9/10. A great way for NXT to debut on Wednesday nights. The only disappointment was how quick the Corbin/Dempsey match was, but even that just proved that Corbin is going to be the star. The opener was a lot of fun and the divas tag was really good. However, the main event again stole the show as Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville seem to be incapable of having a bad match. NXT always delivers when they need to have a big show and did so once again tonight.