411’s WWE NXT Report 2.4.15

It’s time for the go home show before NXT TakeOver: Rival. Yes, that’s the name that it was officially given earlier this week. The Semi-Finals of the Number One Contender’s Tournament are tonight.

Carmella w/ Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. Emma

Enzo Amore and Big Cass come out first and do their usual entertaining intro. Carmella gets booed once he introduces her and her terribly “Fancy” ripoff theme. Emma takes down Carmella and slams her head on the mat. Carmella does it back and mocks the dance. Emma is choked on the ropes before Emma comes back with a clothesline. DilEMMA is applied on the ropes. Cass’ facial expressions are hilarious. Drop toe hold from Carmella and she puts in her submission before Emma taps.

Winner: Carmella in 1:51

I expected this result once Emma came out dancing. They’re talking about her jump starting her career and I think that will involve a gimmick change. Too short to be fun though. *3/4

An ad airs for TakeOver and it’s well done. Not only does it highlight the talent, but it also shows some excerpts of positive things said by viewers.

#1 Contender’s Tournament Semi-Finals: Adrian Neville vs. Baron Corbin

I’m more than intrigued at how this goes down. The production for Baron Corbin’s entrance is pretty great. A few fans try to countdown the finish but they’re clearly confused at who Adrian Neville is. Like any good wrestler with a size disadvantage, Neville goes after the legs. He fires off some kicks and keeps using his speed to avoid Corbin’s heavy strikes. A big dropkick sends Corbin to the ropes but he bounces off with a SICK clothesline. Corbin now gets in some shots in the corner, while Neville sells everything like it’s killing him. He gets two, which has to be the first time he had a failed pin attempt. Corbin hits a nice suplex slam for another near fall. Impressive. Neville gets in some forearms before a dropkick to the knee takes Corbin down. He strikes with a kick and springboards in with a dropkick that knocks Corbin outside. Neville tries a dive outside but is caught and Corbin drops him chin first on the guardrail. He rolls Neville in before Bull Dempsey appears and tosses Baron into the guardrail. Corbin enters the ring which shocked me as I expected that to be the finish. Dropkick from Neville who goes up top and hits the Red Arrow for the 1-2-3.

Winner: Ardian Neville in 5:26

Consider me impressed by Baron Corbin. He got a chance to have a good match and did well. I expected the countout finish and was pleasantly surprised to see the pinfall. Now Corbin can move on without the tired undefeated stuff. ***

Sami Zayn is interviewed and says that next Wednesday, he’s going to beat the hell out of Kevin Owens. William Regal adds Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey in a No Disqualification match at TakeOver: Rival.

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

Two Divas matches? How did we get so lucky? Bayley starts with an arm drag, so Becky Lynch goes to the injured leg. Gotta love it. Suplex by Becky is followed by her trademark series of leg drops. It gets “Better than Hogan” chants. Becky goes back to the leg with some elbows and torques it. Bayley sends Becky outside but her knee is clearly bothered. Out comes Sasha Banks to yell at Becky to get on the attack. Bayley stages the babyface comeback but misses a shoulder thrust in the corner. Becky kicks the leg and hits a dragon screw. Another attack on the knee leads to an inside cradle for two. Bayley busts out her mean streak and starts to go after Becky’s leg. She locks in a half crab because all NXT girls seem to have submissions in their back pocket and I love it. Becky reaches the ropes. She goes outside for a breather, but Sasha rolls her inside and she eats the Belly to Bayley for the finish.

Winner: Bayley in 4:17

I really enjoyed that. The leg work was cool and I’m glad the half crab didn’t end it because there wasn’t enough work on Becky’s leg. Sasha getting involved made perfect sense for the upcoming match as well. **3/4

Sasha Banks had a smirk at the finish and when she gets int he ring, Team BAE argues and Becky pushes Sasha. Charlotte comes out to stand and watch. And here I thought I’d go a show without seeing her face.

Interview with Kevin Owens is shown. He got what he wanted, which was an NXT Title shot. He says that he will take the NXT Title two months to the date of his debut. We get our weekly Solomon Crowe interruption.

We are told that the Lucha Dragons get their NXT Tag Team Title rematch in a week at TakeOver: Rival. Tyler Breeze gets interviewed by Devin Taylor while discussing how gorgeous he is. Adrian Neville joins the commentary booth which should be interesting.

#1 Contender’s Tournament Semi-Finals: Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami

This is the one we’ve been waiting for. Maybe it’s just me but there’s a big fight feel to this. A “We”re not worthy” chant starts. They size each other up before getting in a small wrestling sequence that the fans appreciate. Now a “Better than Raw” chant is going. They’re not wrong. Finn Balor seems to wins the next sequence but Hideo Itami turns it into a hammerlock. Balor leap frogs over Itami and hits a nice dropkick before going to commercial. Returning, Itami stomps on Balor for two. Neckbreaker from Itami also gets a near fall. He tries more quick covers, which is a lost art that I miss. Itami moves to a chin lock before a stiff kick to the back. Both men trade forearms before Balor rolls through a sunset flip and dropkicks HIdeo for two. Balor applies an interesting abdominal stretch before multiple rollups get him close calls. Itami’s chest is lit up with a chop and his back is lit up with a kick for two. Balor has gone for a ton of pins too, which is much appreciated. Finn goes back to a wear down submission with another abdominal stretch like move. Balor charges but eats a kick, only to kick Itami back. Our second commercial break of the match is now. Back and Balor is nailing more vicious chops. They do some drop downs and Itami hits a dropkick. Clotheslines from Itami lead to a high knee in the corner. Hideo nails the tornado DDT on the top rope and a flying clothesline for what has to be like the 15th near fall. The Go to Sleep is teased again, but Balor slips out. His reverse brainbuster is countered and Hideo nails a kick to the head. Balor falls but hits the Pele Kick first! Both guys are tired but strike each other with forearms. Itami ducks one and fires off some chops and kicks that send Balor into the corner. Hideo comes in with the hesitation dropkick. He misses the running boot, and Balor comes off with the Slingblade. Massive dropkick by Balor sends Hideo bouncing into the turnbuckle. Finn climbs up and connects on the double foot stomp to advance.

Winner: Finn Balor in 11:54

Great main event. I feel like they could have a real classic with more time but this was about as even as possible and both guys looked fantastic. The right guy went over, the match was competitive and the crowd was red hot. Excellent. ****

After the match, the tag team partners embrace and shake hands. As Finn Balor gets to the top of the ramp, he shakes hands with Adrian Neville.

A video package closes the broadcast and it focuses on the rivalry between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. I have no clue who is going to win next week and isn’t that just beautiful?

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

I have to keep saying it but NXT continues to make me. They put on another tremendous outing. The Tournament has produced some great matches, none better than tonight's main event. Baron Corbin got a chance to strut his stuff and impressed. The divas match was really good and everything for TakeOVer was built well. The only thing that wasn't great was the beginning, but that match was kept short so it was fine. I worried there wasn't enough build for Zayn/Owens tonight but then they throw that video package at the end. Great booking, great matches, great storytelling. Everything about NXT clicks masterfully.