Behold, my always-timely NXT recap! Seriously, now that the fall semester's started up, don't expect these things to get anymore regular.
The show opens up with footage of an attack on SAnitY. They've been left laying by a group of figures that we can only see running off into the distance, but who are clearly Cole & Co. Cole & Friends? We need something here, and they don't have any kind of official name yet, but the three of them appear to have formed some kind of...Circle Of Respect...Regarding...Each other? Yes! The CORRE. Solved it.
Anyhoo, we head inside to the ring for Drew McIntyre's title win celebration. Now that he's done with Roode, he can wear sport jackets again. He wants us to know that the title represents his life's work, but he's not done yet. The title has made him a target, so he calls out the CORRE. He gets Roderick Strong instead, and, uh, he's bad on the mic. Real bad, yo. All he had to say was that their last match didn't have a conclusive finish, but he kind of trips over himself to make a bland challenge at Drew. In any event, it turns out Strong is fighting Roode tonight, and I guess the winner gets a title shot? Even though Roode should have a mandatory rematch? Whatevs - we gotta get Roode out of here in a hurry, apparently.
Asuka tweated out a statement on her injury, with a signed X-Ray that calls her broken collarbone a "Victory Bone," and that's just about the coolest thing I've ever seen. We'll get an update on that situation next week.
Our next match is a doozy; Ruby Riot takes on Peyton Royce. They lock up, and Riot pushes into the corner to force a break, then they lock up again, and Royce does the same. Riot lays in a headlock, and Royce counters out with a leg scissors. Riot escapes, and Royce looks for a backslide, but Riot reverses it, but Royce escapes and looks for a clothesline! But Riot dodges it, hits an armdrag, and then a dropkick. She transitions into an armbar, and Royce tries to forearm her way out of it, but it's no dice. Royce eventually gets to the ropes to force the break, and is able to rally with a straight leg stunner. She follows that up with a wicked short-arm knee strike (take note, Seth Rollins!). Now Royce is all over Riot, just laying into her, and eventually sending her outside. When we come back from break, she's got a chin lock applied, but Riot gets loose and hits a pair of forearm shots, followed by a big clothesline and an elbow strike. She hits some more strikes and another dropkick, then maneuvers into the corner to hit Deadly Nightshade. Riot follows that up with kick to the face that gets a two count. She goes up top, but Royce cuts her off. She wants a superplex, but Riot blocks it, so Royce just takes her head off with a roundhouse instead. She hoists Riot up into a fireman's carry, then does a damn cartwheel Death Valley Driver! Holy Shit, it only gets two! Royce keeps it on with a forearm, and tries for another roundhouse, but Riot catches her leg, and hoists her up into a powerbomb! For two! Billie Kay pulls Royce outside to regroup, but they're in the Danger Zone, and you know what that means. Tope suicida to the pair of them! Stunning! Riot looks like she's got this one sewn up, but as she tosses Royce back into the ring, Royce gets the ref's attention, and Kay hits her big boot (now called Shades of Kay). That stuns Riot pretty bad, and when Kay tosses her back in, Royce muscles her up into a particularly nasty fisherman's suplex, and that gets three. Match Rating: Absolutely Dynamite.
The NXT women's division is honestly as good as it's ever been right now, and assuming they get some of that May Young talent, it's only going up from here.
GM Regal is in his office, commenting on the CORRE's continued attacks, but he gets interrupted by Kassius Ohno. Ohno has healed up, and wants Itami. Regal tells him sure, next week, but Ohno very specifically wants a no DQ match. Regal agrees.
A Heavy Machinery package is followed by a Heavy Machinery match against a pair of jobbers. Total squash, but the finish is Heavy Machinery landing the compactor on top of the second jobber, and Otis pinning both guys. Match Rating: Heavy Machinery Is Just Fun.
Regal calls Lars Sullivan into his office to let him know that, as punishment for his actions, he'll be in a three-on-one handicap match next week. Oh no, don't put Lars in a match against three jobbers who he'll definitely beat. That would make him look really strong and super tough, and he'd hate that. Substandard management practice there, Regal.
Anyhoo, our main event is Strong vs. Roode, part the last. Roode opens up the match by calling Strong a failure, then proves himself correct by jumping out to an early advantage over Strong. Strong eventually turns the match around with a dropkick, and starts hitting backbreakers, as is his custom. A regular one is followed by a rope-hang varient, then Strong posts Roode to the floor, and tosses him into the steps, but Roode takes back control with a spinebuster on the floor. Roode hits a couple backbreakers of his own to show off, but Strong decides to go the opposite route, and rallies with a gutbuster. He follows up by hitting a tiger bomb into a Boston crab, which is pretty cool, but Roode comes back with a fireman's carry stunner. Strong looks out of it, so Roode wants Glorious, but Strong surprises him by countering into an Angle Slam, and follows that up with a running knee strike. He goes up top, but Roode cuts him off with a big superplex, and the two of them go into a Strong Style back-and-forth exchange, that ends with Roode hitting Glorious! But he lets Strong get too close to the ropes, and he's able to get a foot up before the ref hits three. Roode's pissed now, so he's talking a lot of trash, but he definitely should have stayed on task, because Strong nails him with a knee while he's running his mouth. That's enough to set up for Strong's backbreaker finisher (the End of Heartache, per Nigel, which far, far too cool of a name for somebody as vanilla as Strong), but it doesn't look like he landed all of it. So he decides to blow Roode a kiss, and up and hits End of Heartache a second time to seal the deal. Strong emerges from this feud victorious. Match Rating: Legitimately The Best Match You're Getting Out Of Bobby Roode. Hey, don't let me undersell it; I skipped some of the more routine stuff in the recap, but this was a solid match with a v. good finish. Afterwards, Drew comes out on the ramp to point at his title, but man, you should know better to watch your back. But of course, the CORRE is out to put a whoopin' on Drew. They also mess up security a little bit, then beat a hasty retreat, as Regal attempts to run them down.
You know, I don't care how old he is, how many surgeries he's had, if Regal was coming after me with that look on his face, I'd run like hell too.
Pretty damn great episode this week. Next week, we get another Ohno/Itami match, which should be pretty fun, but I'm gonna be pretty inconsolable if Itami don't win.
I don't know if Regal has one more match in him, but the highlight of the year for me would him finally threatening to just beat somebody's ass in a match himself.
The womens match was GREAT. Peyton & Billie are two gems that are going to blow up if they let them on the main roster, especially if you keep them together for a while.
Originally posted by andy1278I don't know if Regal has one more match in him, but the highlight of the year for me would him finally threatening to just beat somebody's ass in a match himself.
After that neck surgery a little while back, I seriously doubt it, but man, you ain't wrong. I keep meaning to track down his final feud with Cesaro now that the Network has the really old episodes of NXT up.
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