Csonka’s NXT TV Review 9.28.17

Csonka’s NXT TV Review 9.28.17

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Lars Sullivan defeated Oney Lorcan @ 2:55 via pin [**]
– Heavy Machinery defeated Demitrius Bronson & Patrick Scott @ 3:10 via pin [**]
– Liv Morgan defeated Vanessa Borne @ 3:40 via pin [*]
– Kassius Ohno defeated Fabian Aichner @ 4:50 via pin [**¾]
– Adam Cole defeated Eric Young @ 5:35 via pin [**]

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– William Regal announces that a Fatal Four Way will take place at the next Takeover to crown a new NXT Women’s Champion. Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane will have a spot and the other three spots will be filled over the next few shows…

Which three women will join @KairiSaneWWE in a #Fatal4Way for the #WWENXT #WomensChampionship at #NXTTakeOver: Houston?! pic.twitter.com/c2FZfVcGPk

— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) September 28, 2017

– Eric Young and Sanity arrive, Young runs down Cole and the Gang, and claiming that they are the ones that wrote the book on how to make their mark in NXT. He says he will take Cole to the edge of sanity; they meet in tonight’s main event.

Lars Sullivan vs. Oney Lorcan: Lars overpowers Lorcan to begin. Lorcan keeps fighting back, butlers tosses him to the floor. Lorcan fires up with uppercuts, but Lars catches the tope attempt and slams Lorcan off of the apron. Lars no care about tiny flying man. Lorcan tries to fight back with chops and uppercuts; Lorcan then hits slaps and uppercuts. Lars then fucking kills Lorcan with a lariat, and finishes him with the side spinebuster. LARS KILL TINY MAN THAT LOOK LIKE LARS SHRUNK IN DRYER! Lars Sullivan defeated Oney Lorcan @ 2:55 via pin [**] While short, this was very enjoyable. Lars killing dudes, great. Oney stiffing dudes with strikes and slaps, great!

– Lars looks to attack post match, but Danny Burch makes the save for Lorcan.

– Ruby Riot is interviewed about Nikki Cross helping her against the Iconic Duo. The Duo have requested a rematch. Riot is fine with the rematch, even if she’s not sure why Cross helped her. But while Cross helped her, they aren’t friends.

Heavy Machinery vs. Demitrius Bronson & Patrick Scott: Tucker into begin, he tries to rip off Scott’s arm and then hits an overhead toss. Bronson tags in, and immediately runs into double teams. He fights back with dropkicks, but the high cross is caught and Bronson gets tossed across the ring. Otis does a little dance and continues to kick ass. The compactor finishes things. Heavy Machinery defeated Demitrius Bronson & Patrick Scott @ 3:10 via pin [**]

A perfectly solid and funs quash as Heavy Machinery looks to gain momentum and get another shot at the tag titles.

– William Regal was asked about trying to make Takeover: Houston better than Brooklyn. Gargano exits arrives and Regal informs him that he’ll have a rematch with Andrade Almas in two weeks (I’m all in!). Regal also promises something big for Takeover. Hmmmmm…

– Roderick Strong was interviewed about next week’s title match. He’s ready and has prepared for it like it’s his last match. He doesn’t plan to stop until he’s the NXT champion.

Liv Morgan vs. Vanessa Borne: They both cut pre-match promos, and both want to be the next NXT Women’s champion. They work some back and forth, with Borne slapping Liv on the ass. They work standing switches, Liv with the trip and leg drop follows for 2. Borne slams Liv to the corner and hits a snap suplex and covers for 2. She then slams Liv’s face to the mat, and follows with kicks. Liv fights back, gets a roll up for 2. Borne quickly cuts her off with a lariat. Liv trips Borne into the ropes and hits a facebuster and lariat. The enziguri follows, and an ugly corner double stomp follows. Liv hits a bulldog and then a version of the code breaker for the win. Liv Morgan defeated Vanessa Borne @ 3:40 via pin [*] This was a really rough looking developmental match. Liv Morgan continues to simply exist, showing no real sign of improvement despite being with the company since 2014 and working around 170 matches. She’s still young at 23 and could improve, but I’m just not seeing it. Borne is still very inexperienced, only having around 30matches under her belt.

– We get highlights of last week’s Aleister Black meeting with the velveteen Dream. We then see Black training at the performance center, and he then comments on the Velveteen Dream, noting that everyone likes to think they’re special, but he refuses to acknowledge a child who holds his breath to get what he wants. Aleister Black doesn’t have time for today’s youngsters.

– We get a Fabian Archer video package.

Kassius Ohno vs. Fabian Aichner: Archer was in the CWC, and is making his NXT debut here. They lock up, working some clean back and forth. Aichner lays in uppercuts, but Ohno sends him to the floor with a boot. Back in and Aichner cuts off Ohno with a tilt a whirl back breaker, sends Ohno to the floor and hits a springboard high cross. Back in and he follows with uppercuts and a delayed suplex for 2. Aichner follows with clubbing shots, looks for a powerbomb, but Ohno counters into a cradle for 2. Aichner then hits a powerslam, catching Ohno out of the air. Aichner heads to the ropes and misses the double jump moonsault. Ohno lights him up with elbows, kicks and knees. the cravatplex follows and the cyclone kick finishes Aichner. Kassius Ohno defeated Fabian Aichner @ 4:50 via pin [**¾] This was short, but pretty good overall. Putting Aichner in there with Ohno for his NXT debut was smart, as it feels as if Ohno has been taking a player’s coach role judging by who he works with on the road. Aichner looked good and gave Ohno a good fight before finally losing. This was a good debut for Aichner on NXT TV.

– Drew McIntyre outs over Strong ahead of next week’s title defense. He knows Strong is tenanted, but this is his time.

– Adam Cole cuts a pre-match promo, questioning how NXT survived without them. This is a moment of change. They are untouchable, unstoppable and undisputed.

Adam Cole vs. Eric Young: Fish, O’Reilly, Cross, Dain, & Wolfe are all at ringside. They talk some trash, Young attacks and takes the early control. Fish & O’Reilly distract Young, allowing Cole to take control and work him over in the corner. Cole follows with the Irish whip, and then works a chinlock. Young tries to fire up, but gets cut off and sent to the floor. Cole brings him back in and covers for 2. Cole then works a sleeper, but Young hits the belly to back suplex to escape. Young hits an elbow, and then a boot and running forearms and clotheslines. Young heads up top, tosses Cole away but gets distracted and everyone brawls on the floor. Young dive onto the pile on the floor, but back in runs into the running kick, allowing Cole to cover for the win. Adam Cole defeated Eric Young @ 5:35 via pin [**] I found this to be ok at best, and a complete disappointment for Cole’s in ring NXT debut. Part of it was lack of time, and part of it was simply a poor layout. Nothing they did here was designed to make Cole look impressive, he came across as just another guy. They’ve presented him as a star so far, but I can’t imagine booking this match and thinking it would make Cole look good in any way.

– NEXT WEEK…

It's all about the #NXTChampionship when @roderickstrong challenges @DMcIntyreWWE NEXT WEEK on #WWENXT, only on @WWENetwork! pic.twitter.com/ttFdv7zUxw

— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) September 28, 2017

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

I didn’t think tonight’s episode was very good at all. Lars killing guys is always good, and Aichner had a good debut. But other than hyping Gargano vs. Almas and McIntyre vs. Strong, the show felt very skippable. I am also not a fan of the one-hour show format trying to cram in 5-matches, it never ends well; everything feels rushed and nothing has time to settle in.