411’s WWE NXT Report 4.8.15

Tonight’s episode showcases NXT at Axxess.

First thing we see is a video package highlighting WrestleMania’s impact over San Francisco. It’s similar to the video we’ve seen a bunch already, but with more NXT sprinkled in. We also see the brackets for the Tournamen to determine who got into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Finn Balor beat Baron Corbin in the first round, while Tyler Breeze beasted Bull Depsey. Hideo Itami defeated Jason Jordan and Adrian Neville beat Kalisto. Highlights of all four matches are quickly shown. We’ll see the Semi-Finals and Finals tonight. It was announced as a four man tournament from what I remember, but I guess some of the matches from the day before were considered part of it.

Semi-Finals: Adrian Neville vs. Hideo Itami

This should be good. “This is Awesome” chants ring out before the bell even rings. They come face to face and Itami shoves Neville. They have a fun little wrestling exchange with both guys impressing. A fan jaws at Neville and he nearly leaves the ring to shut him up but decides against it. A kitchen sink from Hideo is followed with a kick and clothesline that sends Neville outside. Neville takes a breather out there, which pays off as he gets in the driver’s seat one he returns. He gets two on a running forearm. Snap suplex from Neville doesn’t look as good as I hoped. They go through a series of counters, won by Itami. He gets serious height on a flying clothesline and a near fall. Neville counters a suplex into a rollup for two, so Itami goes to a sleeper hold. Adrian breaks out and the crowd wants a GTS. He gets Neville up for it, but he slips free, only to eat some kicks. Hesitation dropkick is stopped by a sick sounding superkick for two. Neville goes up for the Shooting Star Press but Itami moves. He hits the hesitation dropkick now and the running kick does it.

Winner: Hideo Itami in 11:!3

Really good stuff here. Hideo Itami is getting better with each outing as he seems much more comfortable with the style. I knew the outcome beforehand but I still nearly fell for a few near falls. That’s quality work there. ***1/4

Semi-Finals: Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze

Like the previous match, we start with a good old fashioned wrasslin sequence, that Balor wins with a picture perfect dropkick. He then steals Tyler Breeze’s corner taunt and rolls him up for two. Breeze misses a corner splash and gets hung up, allowing Balor to dish out some kicks. Breeze retaliates with a clothesline. He shouts at the referee “DONT TOUCH ME” before applying a “gorgeous headlock”. Balor fires up with some clothesline before running into a kick. He then enziguris Breeze, knocking him off the top and getting two. Tyler nails a big corner forearm but his next move is countered into slingblade. Big dropkick connects and he goes u p top, hitting the double foot stomp to win.

Winner: Finn Balor in 5:19

I came out disappointed here but not because it was bad. It was really good and competitive, just too short to really stand out. **3/4

We get another Dana Brooke vignette, where she is brash about her looks and body. She debuts next week.

Highlights are shown from the fantastic NXT show in San Jose during WrestleMania weekend. It looked incredible. They use the “Adrenaline Rush” song that reminds me of the dubbed over DVD version of WrestleMania X-Seven and TNA’s PCS.

Next week, Sami Zayn takes on Rhyno for the first time ever.

Finals: Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami

Guess what we open with? That’s right, a wrestling sequence. We even get the fan that shouts “WRESTLING”. Their chemistry allows for the exchange to work smoothly. Finn tries a kick but Itami blocks and sweeps him. Balor hits another sweet dropkick for two. Balor is hit with the kitchen sink knee and a vicious kick for two. My stream gives some issues so I missed some stuff, but when it comes back, Hideo hits a tornado DDT on the ropes and a flying clothesline for two. Another GTS tease comes before Itami fires off strikes. He hits a big kick and Finn strikes with the Pele before they both fall out. They both get to their feet before the count of ten and trade big time shots. The crowd is slightly more behind Finn Balor. FIGHTING SPIRIT! Itami fires up with a combination of kicks, sending Balor into the corner. Stalling dropkick connects but the running kick is countered with a slingblade. Balor hits the big dropkick into the corner and goes up top. Balor crotches him and pulls him out for the GTS but Balor gets free and rolls him up for two. Running kick from Hideo and he wins!

Winner; Hideo Itami in 6:58ish (stopwatch/stream issues)

From what I was able to see, this rounded out the string of really good matches tonight. I’m glad this was televised because it helps Itami in the eyes of the viewer after losing the 2 out of 3 falls match last week. ***1/2

To close out the show, a video montage of Hideo Itami’s journey at WrestleMania airs. It’s a pretty cool video, even though he barely did anything in the actual match. The video even goes back to the night he signed his contract on a house show in Japan. Excellent video package and we even see the GTS from San Jose!

It was a bit strange to see the WrestleMania Axxess Tournament weeks after Mania itself aired, but the episode featured nothing but good wrestling and sweet video packages, making for an entertaining hour of television.