411’s WWE NXT Report 3.16.16

Welcome to another NXT report!

The episode opens with a video recap of the fantastic 2 Out of 3 Falls match between Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn last week.

Speaking of Sami Zayn, he comes out to open the show. He talks about going to war with Samoa Joe last week. He says that going to war with a 300 pound Samoan is not fun. Sami is not embarrassed about losing though, since he went toe to toe with Joe for nearly an hour. Despite the loss, Sami still wants to become the first two time NXT Champion. He is disappointed that TakeOver: Dallas is going to be huge and he isn’t currently a part of it. William Regal steps out to the stage and agrees that Sami deserves something special at TakeOver: Dallas. He deserves to face one of the best in the world. Regal announces that Zayn will face NXT’s newest signee. He then plays a video introducing Shinsuke Nakamura. Shinsuke says he will see Sami in Dallas and the crowd collectively orgasms.

The Hype Bros vs. Angelo Dawkins and Kenneth Crawford

Mojo starts and gets “hey we want some Mojo” chants. Mojo shoves away Crawford, who quickly tags to Dawkins. Mojo gets down into a three point stance and clips Dawkins over. HE AINT HYPE! HE AINT HYPE! Tag to Zack Ryder, who slingshots in with a splash. He follows with a second rope dropkick, knocking Dawkins’ headband off. Crawford pulls his partner outside, avoiding the Broski Boot. Ryder takes them out with a baseball slide. Dawkins does get in some stomps but sets too early on a backdrop. Dual tags and Mojo comes in with shouder blocks. Corner splash from Mojo who then hits an elbow. Tag to Ryder and they nail the Hype Ryder.

Winner: The Hype Bros in 3:22

About as good as one could expect considering what it was and who was involved.

Clips are shown from NXT at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio. Bayley seems to have parodied Tye Dillinger’s 10 gimmick.

Dana Brooke and Emma are walking backstage. They stop when they see Deonna, who has been knocked out twice by Asuka. Emma says that she should have taken their advice and tonight, Emma will take her out. She says the Emmalution can’t be stopped, but Deonna says she will do so. This causes Dana and Emma to laugh. Dana pats her on the head before walking off.

Deonna Purrazo vs. Emma w/ Dana Brooke

Emma shoves her at the bell a few times.Emma stands on Deonna’s hair and pulls her up by her hands. She continues to pull the hair and they go through an awkward moment before Emma hits a clothesline. Emma attacks in the corner and sets her up in the tree of woe. She holds her up and kicks Deonna in the back a few times. She charges from the opposite corner with the Emmamite Sandwich. She works a chinlock that Deonna fights out of and nails a jawbreaker. Back elbow from Deonna and some Pollish hammers. She hits a running knee but misses a corner charge. Emma applies the DilEmma to wear her down. She slams Deonna face first into the mat and wins via Emma Lock.

Winner: Emma in 3:50

This worked as a good squash for Emma. She continues to excel in her current role. Deonna didn’t do much but did alright with what she got.

A recap airs of Enzo and Cass coming up just short of dethroning the Revival for the NXT Tag Team Titles at Roadblock.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jesse Sorensen

Ciampa is all business, attacking with multiple strikes and kicks in the corner. More knees. Jesse slips out of a powerbomb but eats a spinning clothesline for two. Ciampa works a chinlock while commentary praises his aggressiveness. More strikes from Ciampa but he runs into a dropkick. Jesse fires away with corner chops and punches. Ciampa slips free and hits a low knee. He starts delivering some vicious elbows to the side of the head, before flipping over into an armbar, making Sorensen tap.

Winner: Tommaso Ciampa in 2:32

Great showcase for Tommaso Ciampa. It accomplished the goal of making him look like a beast.

They recap the aftermath of the Bayley/Carmella NXT Women’s Championship match, where Eva Marie and Nia Jax attacked them. Asuka then made the save, though she tapped the title to show that she’s coming for it.

Asuka and NXT Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Eva Marie and Nia Jax

The heels immediately go after Bayley, thanks to Nia. Eva gets tagged and Bayley does her fun spinning move on Eva’s back. I don’t know the proper name. Asuka gets tagged and Eva hits her to no effect. “Asuka’s gonna kill you” chants. Asuka lights her up with forearms, knees and kicks. Bayley comes in and Eva applies a headlock but eats a shoulder block. There was a blind tag to Nia, who hits Bayley with a Samaoan drop. She throws Bayley into the corner and tags Eva. Eva applies a rest hold to “you can’t wrestle” chants. Bayley gets free and uses a school girl for two. She does another rollup but Eva gets free and slaps Asuka on the apron. Even Corey Graves, a huge Eva fan, thinks that’s a bad move. Bayley hits Eva with a back suplex. Nia tries to break the pin but Bayley moves and Nia lands on Eva. Bayley dropkicks Nia out of the ring. Eva gets up and takes a kick to the head from Asuka. Bayley to Belly ends it.

Winners: Asuka and Bayley in 4:00

Decent fun here. I wish we got to see more of Asuka destroying Eva Marie. I do think it was good to keep Nia and Asuka apart since there is potential in a program down the line if Nia stays as a viable threat. **

William Regal is back out and praises both Asuka and Bayley. He announces that at TakeOver: Dallas, Asuka gets a shot at Bayley’s NXT Women’s Championship. Asuka smiles at Bayley, who certainly looks concerned.

We are taken back to two weeks ago, when Austin Aries made his debut, only to be assaulted by Baron Corbin. This leads into an interview with Austin Aries, who is in some dressing room or something like that. Graves says that we won’t see Aries again until TakeOver. Aries thanks the fans for welcoming him because, of all of his contract offers, NXT is the place he wanted to be. He says that William Regal apologized to him but Aries says that he should be apologizing to Baron. He’s been a champion everywhere he’s gone. Aries claims that Baron is big, bad and insecure. He says that he’s the greatest at what he does and he will teach Baron Corbin why he’s the greatest man that ever lived.

Next Wednesday, it’s a rematch from TakeOver: London as Asuka meets Emma!

Number One Contender’s Match: American Alpha vs. The Vaudevillains

Simon Gotch starts with Chad Gable, who controls the mat. Gable is a wonder on the mat but gets in trouble when Gotch kicks him in the head. Tag to English but he gets taken over by Gable. Tag to Jordan and they roll through a wishbone. They knock Gotch off the apron as well, holding serve heading into a commercial break. Returning, Gotch is holding Gable down. The Vaudevillains hit their DUKES UP combo. They keep Gable from tagging out and tag out themselves rather quickly. Lots of quick tags and strikes from the Vaudevillains. English misses a knee drop but Gotch runs in to cut off Gable’s tag attempt. Gable sunset flips him over into the ropes and makes the tag. English gets tagged too but Jordan fires off with strikes and dropkicks. Head and leg suplex on Gotch and a backdrop suplex on English. THE STRAPS ARE DOWN! Jordan with the running shoulder in the corner. Gotch cuts off their finisher but English misses a senton. Gable gets a waistlock and hits a sick rolling German, but Gotch makes the save. Gable dropkicks Gotch off the apron into Jordan, who nails a belly to belly on the outside. Everyone is down. English catches Gable in a small package for two. He also gets a near fall on a sitout powerbomb. “Let’s go Gable” chants. English doesn’t see the tag, misses a shot in the corner and gets the shoulder thrust from Jordan. American Alpha hit their finish and earn the number one contender spot.

Winners: American Alpha in 7:38

A solid tag team match. American Alpha can pretty much do no wrong at this point. This started a bit slow but picked up down the stretch, leading to a fun finish. **3/4