Future Classics - NXT and CWC Quarterfinals results and praise

After a sub-par episode last week, NXT was back to being pretty awesome this week, with two great matches and a pair of showcase matches for Ember Moon and Shinsuke Nakamaure. New guy Steve Cutler got a brief chance to shine as well. CWC did its thang, as usual, and delivered two fantastic matches. WWE Network is killing Wednesday nights.

NXT started with a really great tag match between TM-61 and the team of Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari. Nese and Shane Thorn in particular were impressive in terms of mixing power and agility. The upcoming cruiserweight division on Raw is going to give the main event guys something to really compete with. Thorn and Miller picked up the win with their Thunder Valley double powerbomb thing. It's a slick finishing move.

The next match was where I realized how much I really like Ember Moon and should look up her earlier work in Ring of Honor. She seems like an all around good wrestler with a variety of offense; almost half high-flying anf half- power moves.. Moon took down Leah Von in a near-squash match here, but I'd like to see what she can do in a longer match.

Andrade "Cien" Almas took on Austen Aries again. This match was very good and I would have liked it to go on a little longer actually. Aries is one of the best bumpers this side of Dolph Ziggler and he bounced off of Almas's offense nicely. The match shifted in main event mode with the two exchanging blows while staggering. Aries won with a smoothly applied Last Chancery submission. Great match, and I think the crowd may have cooled off on hating Almas.

Steve Cutler got a shot at the NXT champ Shinsuke Nakamura for some reason. Maybe now he can afford to wash that vest. Shinsuke toyed with him for a bit then Cutler got to have the upper hand for a minute. The King of Strong Style turned it around and finished him off with a crunchy inverted exploder suplex and a knee to the dome. Samoa Joe (on commentary) got to watch the champ raise his former title belt at the end. Joe and Nakamura has such an intense main event and I don't know how they'll top it short of turning things into a bloodbath.

Meanwhile, the Cruiserweight Classic chugged along with quarterfinals action between odds-favorite Zack Sabre Jr. and his longtime rival and training partner Noam Dar. This was a well-paced wrestling match between two technically sound and very patient competitors. There is a stigma against the cruiserweight style among some of the "old school" and it centers around an imagined lack of psychology in matches like this. ZSJ and Dar proved them wrong with this encounter, building to a crescendo by having both men pick a limb and work on it in ways that were effective looking and made sense. Daniel Bryan even called it a "chess match" on commentary, and he wasn't wrong. The technical stuff built to some great near-falls and then some desperate submission attempts by ZSJ. When they rolled out of the ring together in a leglock, I marked out. ZSJ finished off Dar with a brutal Rings of Saturn submission and advanced to the semis to face Gran Metalik.

Rich Swann took on T.J. Perkins in the second match of the show. This was more of a trapeze act than the first match, but they settled into a nice story about Swann's leg giving out over the course of the match. It kept him from scoring several potential pinfalls and it made Perkins' win a bit bittersweet. While the display of respect at the end bordered on touching, it didn't have the personal feel of the ZSJ/Dar match. Perkins goes on to face Kota Ibushi next week.

I'm think Ibushi vs. ZSJ in the finals, but as the news of WWE's cruiserweight signings revealed, we haven't seen the last of the others either. Neville seems like the obvious pick for an inaugural Cruiserweight champ, but will the title be awarded to the winner of this first tournament? Whatever they do, I can't wait to see the cruiserweights on Raw and NXT moving forward.

As always, thanks for reading and follow me on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) for more heedless commentary on geeky things.

Prelude to a Takeover

This year, NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II seems to be overshadowed by Summerslam. Maybe it's the recent exodus of talent from NXT to the two main WWE rosters or maybe it's the fact that this year's Summerslam has a pretty loaded card, but something about this latest NXT special feels . . . I don't want to say lackluster, but . . . underwhelming. The two singles title matches have me hyped, but the rest of the show is going to have to really wow me.

(And wow-ing me is really important to the WWE as we're all well aware, heh.)

Let's see what the Florida team has cooked up for us, shall we?

No Way Jose vs. Austen Aries

NWJ has been growing on me as an entertainer, but he needs a broader arsenal of moves before I'd rank him among the other solid workers in NXT. Aries is a ring veteran who is known for pulling great matches out of people, but his run with the 'E has left much to be desired. This feud seemed like a step down for The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, but as the weeks have worn on, I think it's done wonders for his onscreen character. He just wants to be taken seriously sooo bad! I think Aries needs the win here to establish himself a bit, and NWJ doesn't. He's a comedy act for now, and comedic wrestlers don't need wins.

Bobby Roode vs. Andrade "Cien" Almas

There's a high ceiling for Almas, and I get the feeling we've only seen a fraction of what he can do thus far, but his debut and subsequent matches seem to have fallen flat with the crowd. This match is more about introducing us to the GLORIOUS presence of Roode. Roode was a mainstay in TNA/Impact for nearly a decade and whether he was tagging with James Storm or harassing a rookie Eric Young as the second coming of the Million Dollar Man, he was one of their top heels in and out of the ring. They could go two ways with this: Roode could walk in and simply body Almas, or get punked out to set up a more ruthless turn. I'm leaning toward the former, since they need to line up some solid contenders for the champion ASAP. 

The Revival vs. Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano

I feel like The Revival lost some steam somewhere along the way. I think not having American Alpha or Enzo & Cass to play off of has hurt them a bit. I want them to retain, just so they can establish themselves with a long title run and fine-tune that smash-mouth "no flips, just fists" style. Ciampa and Gargano teased a breakup during the Cruiserweight Classic, but cooler heads prevailed and we got a handshake and a hug instead. Could a loss here bring that pot back to a boil? Perhaps.

Asuka vs. Bayley

The buildup to this match hasn't been the greatest thing in the world, but man, I just wanna see these two throw down! I predict Asuka will bring that long-dormant mean streak out in Bayley the way Charlotte did a while back, but will ultimatelt retain. Bayley is on her way to one of the main rosters, mark my words. Maybe the 'E will have a fall draft of some sort? Plus, Asuka needs to have a nice, long title run for the same reasons as The Revival. Let her hold onto that strap for a good long while, so once they move her up to Raw or Smackdown, she'll have a reputation to make up for her promo skills. (And she doesn't need promos anyway, just that crazy smile.)

Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

One thing that irks me about Joe's title reign is the way they tried to retroactively act like her just walked in, stomped on Finn, and grabbed the belt. He battled Finn Balor for months. Aside from that, this match has had a decent build, with things really heating up in the last two weeks. Shinsuke stealing Joe's nose is the .gif of the century and his unusual demeanor makes it hard to compare him to other comedic acts we've seen. He has a goofy persona that masks what a killer he is in the ring. I don't think WWE has had a character quite like him in their roster before. This one is tough to call. I think we'll get more than one match of it, with the eventual loser moving up to one of the main two rosters. I want to think Joe will hand Shinsuke his first loss here, but with so many of the heels going over before this match, I also think they'll want to end on a high note with the good guy winning.

Either way, it's gonna be a slobberknocker, as Good 'ol J.R. likes to say. Thanks for reading! Drop me a line on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) or via e-mail (backissuechris@gmail.com). 

Twink night at the bath house: Cruiserweight Classic recap for the week of 8/17/16

We're well into the second round of matches in the CWC, and if last week was any indication, the matches are only going to get longer and better from here. Sure, these guys have all blown us away in 3-7 minute spot fests, but can they tell a richer story with more time given? Let's find out!

Jack Gallagher takes on Akira Tozawa in our first match of the night. It starts out as a mat wrestling showcase, with Gallagher having a clever counter for every hold Tozawa attempts. I've seen a lot of wrestling in my day and let me tell you, there were some maneuvers in this match I have never seen before. Midway through the match they find time for a few comedy spots, with both men trying to both outdo and embarrass the other. Tozawa scores the win after a snap suplex followed by a dead lift suplex into a pin. Great stuff. Tozawa advances to the next round, where he'll face last week's winner, luchador Gran Metalik.

Scotland's adopted son Noam Dar faces Ho Ho Lun in the second match. This match didn't flow quite as well as the previous one, with a few of the spots looking a little too telegraphed for my taste. I also noticed a lot more strikes in this bout, whereas the last match was more about grappling. Dar picks up the win to advance in what was a disappointingly brief encounter.

THE Brian Kendrick takes on Tony Nese in our last match of the evening. It's good to see Kendrick doing his thing. Announcer Mauro Ranallo even alluded to his "past mistakes" during the talk-up; Kendrick has been busted with pot before, hampering his career. (These guys kick each other in the face for a living, so I think it'd be okay to let 'em imbibe a little herb now and then, but hey.) Daniel Bryan (also on commentary) makes mention of their time together in Shawn Michaels' wrestling school. The little things get me hype, what can I say. The match starts with Nese dominating early on, only to get suckered into a more deliberate pace by Kendrick's craftiness. They go tit for tat for a little bit until Kendrick dodges a 450 Splash by Nese. After that, it's just a matter of wearing the bigger man down, which Kendrick does to score the win.

This sets up Kendrick vs. Ibushi in the next round, which should be a fantastic match.

Haters of the WWE who think they don't care about pure "work rate" need to invest some time in this show. This is the kind of quality stuff you'd expect from ROH or New Japan, and its great to see fantastic in-ring action with 'E level production values.

Thanks for reading! Come back tomorrow where I'll be taking a look at NXT and making my predictions for the Takeover Brooklyn show on Saturday.

Twitter: @ChrisBComics
E-Mail: backissuechris@gmail.com

That purple show and that yellow show

There's a lot more to the WWE than just Raw and Smackdown these days. If I were to travel back in time and tell my younger self about the sheer excitement I get nearly every week from watching NXT or how the Cruiserweight division was not only back, but starring in its own weekly show with a tournament format, I'd swear that I was pulling my own leg.

The Cruiserweight Classic or "CWC" has been quite an entertaining little program for the last few weeks, with each episode featuring a succession of quick matches designed to give us a little insight into the international cruiserweights and a chance for them to display the kind of offense you don't get to see much on the main roster. (Although I will say that is changing thanks to new faces like Sami Zayn and Finn Balor.)

This week, the tournament began its second round of matches and we were treated to two longer matches instead. I hope this is the format going forward, with episode length matches in the next round and a huge payoff at the next NXT special or even on the Raw brand.

Tajiri vs. Gran Metalik was the "WWE style" match of the two, with the usual in-and-out of the ring hijinks that can bog down two less than prepared workers. Fortunately for us, Tajiri is a craft ring veteran and while I'm not terribly familiar with Gran Metalik, he seems to know his way around a squared circle as well. Metalik advanced in the tourney after a Metalik Driver, which looks a lot like Zayn's Blue Thunder Bomb. Hmmm . . .

Kota Ibushi and Cedric Alexander had the ROH/NJPW burn-down-the-house style match that indy fans and "smarks" crave. They even got a "fight forever" chant, which is quickly becoming the new "this is awesome". I've followed both men in other promotions, but personally I'm leaning toward Ibushi to win the CWC, since I think he might be the biggest international signee since Shinsuke Nakamura. Seeing as he came out victorious against Cedric this week, I'd say he has a shot.

Let's move from the purple show to the yellow show for a bit.

NXT has evolved into so much more than just a "third show" or even a talent development program. It's a rival to the WWE itself from within the 'E, and that's pretty incredible. For a hot minute there last year, NXT's big programs were overshadowing the stuff on the main roster, as least as far as I'm concerned. It's become THE pure wrestling show, with its production values eclipsing Ring of Honor and its year-round schedule keeping it in view when Lucha Underground hibernates between seasons.

Currently, Samoa Joe is scheduled to face Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Title at the next Takeover special. Until this week's show, I was lukewarm about the feud itself, even though the match will surely be great. This reminds me of how I felt about the Charlotte/Sasha stuff on Raw. I should feel something more, but I just don't. Nevertheless, this is most likely going to be the first of a series of matches and they'll all be good.

The question is: Who's going to one of the main rosters first? Joe or Shinsuke?

The NXT Women's title feud between Bailey and Asuka picks up the slack for me. Bailey's anguish is palpable, and Asuka's leering has gradually gone from cartoony to threatening and disrespectful. Asuka's inner monster is coming to the surface and it'll be interesting to see the crowd split over these two fan favorites.

That's just the surface of NXT, but I have to save some for tomorrow. What else is there to write about? As always, thanks for reading and follow me on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) if you dare!