Good day all, and as always welcome to this week’s NXT Redux!~
The Fatal-4-B.A.[Y]E stage is still being set as we prepare for TakeOver next week, and tonight we delve into the next chapter by witnessing Bayley go one on one with Becky Lynch.
In addition, as reported last week by my fearless leader, the Sonia Sotomayor of wrestling broadcast journalism, Devin Taylor, Emma will return to the golden roped brand to square off against Carmella in an attempt to rebrand herself.
After the loss Carmella faced the last time we saw her, she, too, wants this victory… but which Diva will attain it?
Let’s find out!
Enzo and Big Cass stand on the stage as Carmella struts out from the back to her fancy theme. Speaking of, I would be doing you all a disservice if I didn’t provide you a link to the incredible exchange that took place early Thursday morning between Carmella and the Ravishing Russian, Lana (who was perhaps live tweeting her NXT viewing experience)
Now back to the video, Carmella snatches the microphone and cuts her intro as the crowd erupts in a “We Want Blue Pants” chant… and trust me, I do too.
Carmella says Blue Pants went back to the clearance rack, before sending Emma a little message. She likes to dance? Well Carmella dances too, and she’s going to dance all night long after she embarrasses her in front of the entire universe. Cass and Enzo then cut the S-A-W-F-T promo, before the music of Emma hits and she comes out dancing.
From there, the bell sounds and the crowd gets behind Emma. She boots Carmella right in the booty, then proceeding to take her down. Carmella now takes the advantage, blasting Emma’s head across the turnbuckle and then choking her out on the ropes. The two battle for a bit, as Emma scores with a few clotheslines and an elbow. Tarantula! She breaks it upon the ref’s count, kicking Carmella in the back and toying with her. Ruhr oh… Carmella then drops Emma and locks the submission in! Emma taps!
JoJo (LET HER WRESTLE GOOD GOD) announces Carmella the victor, as she continues to pay Enzo the ultimate amount of disrespect and the group heads backstage.
There ain’t no stopping us now we celebraaate on the floor!
I love this song so much. Bayley struts out in her tassels and wonderfulness, as we get a verbal replay of the actions between Bayley and Becky over the past few months.
WHOOOAAA OAAAAAAAAAA
It’s Becky Lynch sans Sasha… gasp! Becky looks 100x more comfortable on her own and it continues to further justify why I support the fatal-4-way (possibly… hopefully!) stand on their own and not resort to teams.
The bell sounds as the two circle around and lock up. Bayley takes the early advantage, but Becky flips through and targets Bayley’s knee immediately. Suplex! Lynch hits the legdrops as a “Better Than Hogan” chant erupts (and I love it!). Bayley finally kicks her away, but Becky goes right back to work. Submission locked in and the fans try to rally behind Bayley. She scoots out, but Becky keeps the attack going. Bayley ends up tossing Becky outside, then kicking her away to stall a little and… ooh, out comes Sasha.
Bayley now fires herself up and goes for the comeback. Becky just continues to dismantle Bayley’s knee, nailing a vicious dragon screw and locking in her… small package by Bayley! No. Bayley now goes after Becky’s knee! Vicious Bayley is here and I never want her to leave. Single leg crab! Becky crawls and crawls… finally getting to the rope. She slides outside as Sasha walks over to cheer her on. Sasha throws Becky inside and Bayley hits the Belly to Bayley! Bayley wins! And… what? Sasha is smiling.
Sasha steps in the ring to check on Becky, and they’re fighting. YES! That beautiful accent is back! Becky berates Sasha for costing her the match, but Sasha argues back that she’s done so much for her and this is how she treats The Boss? She shoves Becky! Becky shoves back!
“I’m Becky friggin’ Lynch, that’s who I think I am!”
Oh my God.
Here comes Charlotte?! And the bangin’ straight hair! She eyes both women down as Bayley stands between them. No woman stands on the same ground as any other and this is exactly how it should be.
Thoughts: GO NXT! These few weeks have been magic, and tonight was absolutely no exception.
Kicking off with Emma/Carmella, I enjoyed it for what it was. I don’t know what NXT is doing with Emma, but it’s pretty interesting and I’d like to see where it goes. I’m not sure if turning her heel down here would translate on the main roster since most of the time the main roster can’t even keep Diva dispositions straight on their own shows, but it could be a good way for her to shine like Tyson did. I’ve said my peace last week about Divas returning to NXT with how little slots there are, but I’m starting to reach the point where I feel like they’re never going to debut anyone new and so if this means another Diva to give us fresh matches, I’m here for it.
I also think Carmella seems to be getting a bit more comfortable in the ring. She still seems a bit new in her movement, but that will get better in time (see: Alexa Bliss), and I really hope that after TakeOver, we start seeing her compete in the division.
I still think she works fine with Enzo and Cass, but I do think it’d be best for the group to split. Carmella is a heel and they’re faces so it’s a little difficult for the crowd to decide what to do at times, and I think the job of introducing her has had enough time for it to be believable that she’s capable of wrestling with the actual division. Her submission is killer in terms of being able to lock it on in a second’s notice, so her scoring victories over seasoned Divas shouldn’t be too troublesome in my opinion.
Now to the title feud! I thought tonight was perfect. This is how you properly establish every woman for themselves, and everything came off beautifully.
As far as the match goes, I enjoyed it. Bayley went in needing revenge on Becky, and Becky went in wanting to win and prove she’s more than just the underdog of the quartet. They each had a story and it worked amazingly as Becky continued to target the injured knee for the entire match. Bayley got minor moments of gaining the upper hand, but it wasn’t until Sasha walked out that she truly ended up on top.
The smirk Sasha gave the camera was a dream come true. I’ve said time and time again that I don’t buy Sasha enlisting in any help. She’s not Summer Rae who really did feel like the kind of heel who would want a gang of girls to do her dirty work. Sasha is vicious and menacing (in the best ways) when she gets into the ring, and she’s the type of person who gets things done herself. To see that after the entire existence of B.A.E., she’s still got that knowledge of being here to finally capture the championship she’s dreamed of getting from day one was completely brilliant, and I liked that she tried to continue playing with Becky Friggin Lynch until BFL had had enough and snapped on her.
This fatal four way has been built up perfect, and that’s not just a credit to NXT booking… it’s a credit to the women themselves. Each of these women feels legitimate. Charlotte is the reigning champion who has beaten everyone time and time again, and I’m sure we all know that if she retains here, the chances of her keeping the title for a full year are pretty high. She wants that accolade, and she’s not going to stop until she gets it.
Then you have Becky Lynch, who we know is the underdog. She went from losing almost every match to becoming a major player of the division, and tonight was truly her glory moment. She stood toe to toe with Sasha and she didn’t just continue letting the deceitful Boss tell her what to do. She knows that it’s likely going to come to blows between them next week and she’s ready to take out whoever stands before her to prove that she doesn’t need anyone’s help but her own.
Sasha and Bayley go hand in hand. These two have tried over and over to dethrone Charlotte, but came up just a smidgen too short every time. They know that there probably aren’t many title chances left in their future (storyline wise) considering the opportunities they’ve had thus far, and so this could very well be their last chance to go for the gold if Charlotte retains. With how long their journey to get to this match has been, I can’t imagine any way these two don’t tear the house down.
Next week is going to be a blast, and I hope that no matter who emerges with the title, NXT continues to give us these weeks of storyline progression. The ring work is great, but stories are what can truly take this division to the dreamy levels I want to see it reach. The past few weeks have been proof that they can go there if need be so please NXT, I don’t mind anyone winning (okay I want a new champion just to freshen things up but I still appreciate your greatness Charlotte), I just want whoever wins to be a champion that gets put in feuds with storylines behind them as opposed to someone who just wrestles each week until someone beats another Diva to get a title shot.
Until Takeover(!!!!), that’s all for this week!
