Depleted Roster? NXT is Glorious – NXT Recap – Sept. 14, 2016
Tonight’s prerecorded NXT episode from Full Sail University kicks off with Samoa Joe continuing his character of humility from last week, when he conceded that at TakeOver Brooklyn II he was defeated by the better performer that night. After saying that he held himself to the highest standard, wanting to be the bar that NXT was judged by because NXT is the best, he calls out Nakamura because he needs to say something to his face.
Nakamura grants him the courtesy and heads to the ring. I kind of like this version of Joe, he basically tells Nakamura that he lost to him fair, but as soon as he’s healthy he wants his rematch. As he’s leaving the ring, Joe turns around and charges back to Nak, putting a hand out to him as a sign of respect. Joe leaves and Nakamura does his show, but at the top of the ramp Joe runs back out and blindsides Shinsuke, driving him back down towards the ring before delivering a side slam onto the bottom half of the steel steps.
You didn’t think the good guy act was going to last long, did you?
And if this injury isn’t real, they just performed the best work I’ve ever seen on faking an injury. Regal came from the backstage area. Corey Graves even ran in from commentary to check on him.
Liv Morgan vs Rachel Fazio
Am I the only one that thinks she looks high here?
This match was incredibly quick, and Morgan gets the tap out after about 2 minutes of ring time. Then she gets a microphone. Time to see if she can carry a promo. The answer, no. At least she’s legitimately from New Jersey, because Carmella was basically from Boston. Then she challenges Asuka, to the chants of “Asuka’s gonna kill you.”
It was a fine little segment, she’ll get there. But does anyone really want to see her get a title shot? Because I want to see Asuka take on Ember Moon and that sweet ass Top Rope Senton Stunner she does.
Drew Gulak vs Hideo Itami
Well, the way they are dressed, you’d think it was Ken vs Ryu, but Gulak was a fan favorite during the CWC. Itami will be in NXT for another while, predominantly because he kicked Austin Aries in the head and now has to feud with one of the stars of the brand, but not for a lack of talent.
Gulak is very technical. I like that there were so many technically savvy performers in the CWC, it’s going to make a lot of matches feel fresh. It forces so many of these guys, such as a Dean Ambrose, that only ever present the same ridiculous move list to have to change it up a good bit and display the fact that there is a lot of the actual sport of wrestling that goes into this fictional presentation of sports entertainment.
They also do some damn cool submission maneuvers. But it wouldn’t be enough as they need to build Itami before the next TakeOver when he’ll meet Austin Aries, and Hideo Itami lands the GTS to pick up the victory.
The Authors of Pain vs The Job Squad
I don’t know if this team is important, but I’ve never seen them before. I was hoping for another match against TM-61 because that match was the first time I’ve been entertained when the AoP was in the ring.
At one point, 1/2 of the jobber team literally jumped off the side and tried to run away. Authors of Pain easily demolish this team.
Tye Dillinger is still the Perfect 10
This wasn’t necessarily a meaningful segment beyond letting Dillinger cut a promo. I like him a lot, he’s super talented and I think he’s exactly where he wants and needs to be. He’s that ever important piece of developmental talent that could go to the main roster but serves an infinitely larger purpose by staying back and helping build the future. I’m a big fan of this guy, and being in a crowd when he performs is a lot of fun.
The Main Event
Bobby Roode might be the biggest douchebag ever, but holy crap if his entrance and theme song aren’t awesome. His timing wasn’t great at TakeOver, but when these guys come in and get these marquee matchups they don’t get a lot of time to prep, emotions are running high, it’s forgivable. And No Way Jose is just tons of fun, so I was excited to sit and watch NXT this evening.
No Way Jose gets out to an early lead and maintains it for a good while, but Bobby Roode quickly displays his gloriousness. I really do appreciate how high the company appears to be on No Way Jose. He’s good in the ring, and he’s entertaining. He’s something different. I’m actually almost certain No Way got the win as Roode was late kicking out, but as could have been inspected, The Glorious One lands the Glorious DDT for the win.
Shinsuke Medical Updates
I still don’t know if this is real or not, so I’m going to keep it up like it is. After being rushed to a medical facility, Shinsuke has regained feeling in his fingers and toes, and you’re instructed to visit WWE.com to get updates on his condition as we’re at the end of the NXT broadcast.
There’s been a lot of talk about the NXT roster being depleted, particularly by the talent draft and the subsequent call up of Bayley with the maybe serious injury of Sasha Banks (which turned out to not be so serious).
Look, the only part of the roster that is remotely depleted is the women’s division, and that’s not even hurting. With college football back in full swing, let me put this in perspective. Triple H is apparently the Nick Saban of professional wrestling. If someone goes down, three are right behind them. If someone is drafted, three are right behind them to step into the exact same place. It was Carmella’s time, here’s Liv Morgan. You lose Finn Balor, you’ve got Shinsuke.
NXT doesn’t miss a beat. In fact, NXT is up 50 with two minutes left in the game and they’re still throwing deep passes. Don’t worry about NXT, Haitch has got this.