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My Thoughts on NXT (3/16/16): Arriving in (Strong) Style

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  • We kick off the show with Sami Zayn. He talks about his match with Samoa Joe last week, and says he still wants to be the first two time NXT Champion (not likely, now that he's on the main roster), but he's still upset he's not going to be fighting at Takeover: Dallas. Outcomes William Regal, who says Zayn deserves to fight one of the best in the world at Takeover: Dallas for all he's done for NXT. At Takeover: Dallas, Sami Zaym faces one of NXT's newest signings:
SHINSUKE F*CKING NAKAMURA! HOLY SH*T! THE KING OF STRONG STYLE IS COMING TO NXT! AND HE'S FACING SAMI ZAYN AT TAKEOVER: DALLAS. I'M SO HYPED FOR THIS! NOTHING CAN KILL THIS EXCITEMENT FOR ME!
  • The Hype Bros vs Kenneth Crawford & Angelo Dawkins-The excitement has been killed. Corey Graves says it perfectly that The Hype Bros coming out after the Nakamura announcement is proof that the universe hates him. I feel it, buddy. Rawley and Crawford start off the match, with Graves giving him the "I've seen him around the Performance Center" gimmick, which means he is definitely doing the job. Not that there was any doubt he was doing the job. Rawley over powers Crawford, who tags in Dawkins to get beat up by Rawley. Rawley is shockingly crazy over with the crowd, and he tags in Ryder, who continues to work over Dawkins. Crawford pulls Dawkins out of the ring, but both eat a suicide drop kick from Ryder. Dawkins is able to yank Ryder to hit the ring apron back first. Dawkins gets little offense in before Ryder hits a facebuster and tags in Rawley. Rawley runs wild on Crawford, ending with a Texas Tornado-style discuss punch. The Hype Bros hit the Hype Ryder for the win. Nothing match, nothing special.
  • Backstage, Emma and Dana Brooke walk into Deonna Purrazzo. Emma says she should have listened to them, and that tonight it's going to be worse when she faces her. Deonna says she is going to beat her, and Dana and Emma brush it off.
  • Deonna Purrazzo vs Emma-I'm just going to say it right now, Deonna Purrazzo is the most "Create-A-Diva" looking Diva ever. She's so generic. They start the match with shoving, before Emma starts beating her down. Emma continues to beat down and toy with Deonna, with Deonna finally getting some offense after getting out of a headlock. Deonna runs wild, but gets caught and put in the Dil-Emma before being locked in and tapping out to the Emma Lock. Squash match, nothing more. So much for that storyline.
  • Tommaso Ciampa vs Jesse Sorensen-Match starts with Ciampa taking it to Sorensen, stomping the sh*t out of him and hitting a running knee in the corner. Sorensen reverses a powerbomb, but gets destroyed with a discus clothesline. Ciampa locks in what feels like an endless headlock, holding it until Sorensen almost escapes, but gets a knee to the gut. Sorensen hits a nice dropkick and goes for the ten punches in the corner, but Ciampa reverses it, puts Sorensen's head on the turnbuckle, and hits a big knee into the back of his head. Ciampa delivers a few elbows before locking in his bridging arm bar for the submission win. Fun little match.
  • Nia Jax & Eva Marie vs Asuka & Bayley-Bayley and Nia start the match, with Nia tagging in Eva the second she has control. Bayley takes Eva down with a drop toe hold, and makes the tag to Asuka. Eva tries to escape, but Asuka stops her. Eva smacks Asuka, who gives her the "Your about to die" face, and kills Eva with kicks and a butt bump. Bayley tags in, but Nia makes a blind tag and hits a Samoan Drop on Bayley. Nia tags Eva back in and she works over Bayley. Eva takes time to smack Asuka, which allows Bayley to hit a side suplex. Bayley pins, but moves before Nia can hit a leg drop on her, leaving Eva to eat the leg drop instead. Bayley takes out Nia with a dropkick and Asuka hits Eva with a roundhouse kick behind the referee's back, allowing Bayley to hit the Bayley-to-Belly for the win. Another fun match. Afterwards, Regal comes out to praise Bayley and Asuka, and that they will face off for the Women's Championship at Takeover: Dallas. Another great match to get hyped for.
  • We get an interview with Austin Aries. He thanks everyone for the opportunity. He says Baron Corbin made a mistake ruining his debut. He says he earned his place in NXT, and that he will show Corbin why he is the greatest man that ever lived
  • American Alpha vs The Vaudevillians in a #1 Contenders match for the NXT Tag Team Championships-Gotch and Gable kick off, with Gable taking control with amateur wrestling. Gotch does his own amateur take downs, but gets caught with an arm drag by Gable. Gotch gives Gable a little kick in the head and tags in English, who is immediately arm dragged by Gable. Jordan tags in , and American Alpha runs wild on the Vaudevillians, tossing both men from the ring before the commercial. We come back with Gotch holding Gable in a front facelock. The Vaudevillians continue to work over Gable until Gable dodges a knee drop from English and hits a sunset flip mini power bomb into the ropes before tagging in Jordan.  IT'S JASON JORDAN HOT TAG TIME BITCHES! Jordan kills the Vaudevillians with suplexes but Gotch is able to break up Grand Amplitude. English tries to hit That's A Wrap, but Gable dodges and hits a roll through dead life German suplex that is so beautiful that I have to show you it in a GIF, courtesy of Brandon Stroud's Best and Worst of NXT 
Almost brings a tear to my eye. Gotch breaks up that pin, and Jordan ends up suplexing him on the outside. English almost gets the roll up win, followed by a powerbomb for a two. Jordan makes a sneaky tag, hits a shoulder tackle in the corner, and tags Gable back in to hit Grand Amplitude for the win. Great match, best of the night by far.
And that's about it. Overall, good show. While there were a lot of nothing matches, there was a lot of story progression for Takeover: Dallas, and of course, SHINSUKE F*CKING NAKAMURA! Enough said.
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