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Heyooo, welcome to this week’s NXT review! We’re less than two weeks away from TakeOver: Brooklyn II and things are really gearing up between Asuka and Bayley. Bayley’s goal is to become the first two time NXT Women’s Champion and last week she promised to do whatever it takes and show a new side of herself we’ve never seen before.
Asuka, on the other hand, dialed her intensity up a notch, decimating Aliyah last week to warn Bayley that Brooklyn isn’t going to be a walk in the park.
Last night we saw a contract signing between the two to seal the deal on an epic showdown. Let’s watch!
General Manager William Regal makes formal introductions for the contract signing. He puts over the importance of Asuka’s reign and her ongoing undefeated streak. After both women make their entrances, Bayley says she’s been fighting three and a half years for the chance to be champion and at Brooklyn last year the underdog became a hero. She says she’s fought the best of the best but where Brooklyn was her dream, Dallas was her nightmare.
Bayley continues to say she wasn’t ready but now she is ready more than ever before. She then signs the contract.
Asuka fires back and tells Bayley she doesn’t have what it takes to beat her. She says she respects Bayley though and goes in for a handshake. Bayley says she respects Asuka too but refuses to shake her hand, telling her to sign the contract and get ready.
Both women get in each others faces, Asuka shouts OK several times before signing the contract. She goes in for another handshake but Bayley slaps it away before leaving the ring. They stare each other down again before Bayley jumps back into the ring and trash talks Asuka before another stare down takes place.
Asuka holds up the title before leaving.
Billie Kay also continued to rise up the ranks of the division as she took on Liv Morgan this week.
Both women enter and tie up in the ring. Billie takes hold of the match right away with a head lock into a shoulder block. She takes Liv down with a mat slam but Liv begins fighting back, going toe to toe with Billie, mimicking her previous movements. After a shoulder block, Liv takes Billie out with a low flying headscissor.
However, Billie comes right back and Liv eats the top turnbuckle before falling to the mat. Billie calls Liv a brat and begins smacking and kicking her. She chokes Liv with her boot in the corner and puts her down with a suplex variation. Billie then begins working Liv’s arm over again but Liv takes her by surprise and flips her over. She catches Billie with a jawbreaker, close lines her and flattens her with a bulldog.
Liv gets up and goes for a monkey flip. Billie lands hard but is up on her feet and puts Liv away with a big boot.
To cap off the night we get another video package hyping up Ember Moon‘s debut. An Ember Moon rises on August 20!
The prophecy of fire that is…@WWEEmberMoon arrives at #NXTTakeOver: Brooklyn! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/HE9iQb9J1O
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 11, 2016
Thoughts: I’m very excited for TakeOver: Brooklyn II, I’ll actually be at the event next week! I feel like at this point anything can happen and everything is fair game. The contract signing made both women look good. Bayley is acting out in ways we haven’t really seen before while Asuka, even though she’s ruthless, was just trying to have good sportsmanship here. Bayley’s being much more defiant and I’m curious what this means for the match next Saturday.
Asuka’s undefeated reign was also hammered home here more than it’s been before. I’m thinking this is a signal for some kind of major upset soon. We’re reaching the climax and pinnacle of this feud quickly. Will Bayley become the first two time women’s champion or will Asuka send her packing to the main roster?
The match between Billie and Liv also made both women look good. Billie continues to look smooth in the ring and Liv continues to impress me with her tenacity to try different things. She’s still figuring out her moveset and adds something new every time she steps into the ring, which I appreciate. That willingness to mix things up will benefit her in the long term and make each match unique. Her gimmick needs a little more oomph though because right now she’s too Carmella-lite but I can see her really, really excelling in the division.
I still feel like the division is lacking in effective story telling for feuds outside the title picture though. This is something I haven’t really shaken since head writer Ryan Ward moved up to SmackDown. Billie is definitely our rising star and I can see her entering a long term feud with someone soon.
I’m enjoying the ongoing video packages for Ember and it seems like someone might be watching Lucha Underground, that’s how different this vignette looks. I’m actually hoping Billie will be Ember’s opponent for TakeOver. Instead of putting a local talent in there, this could build a short term feud between the two and give us another great match on a stacked card. I can’t wait to see what Ember has up her sleeve.
We’re entering a pivotal moment for the division next week. I’m hoping we’ll see more pieces fall into place that will give us a better look at who will lead the next generation and start planting the seeds for more stories in the division.
What did you think of this week’s NXT? What are your predictions for Asuka vs Bayley II? Who will face Ember at TakeOver? Sound off in the comments below.
