NXT TakeOver: Toronto is well in the books now, and the WWE developmental brand now looks forward. TakeOver specials seem to start lining up with WWE’s “Big Four” Pay-Per-Views (SummerSlam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and WrestleMania), and the next one, TakeOver: San Antonio, takes place January 28. With two months until the next big event, tonight’s episode is just a stepping stone in the grand scheme of things, featuring a match between No Way Jose and Eric Young, as well as the in-ring returns of Asuka and Samoa Joe.
Asuka vs. Nicole Matthews
Before NXT TakeOver: Toronto, it was clear that no one on the NXT roster was ready to take on the Women’s Champion. General Manager William Regal had to bring out the big guns by bringing in a former 5-time WWE Women’s Champion, Mickie James. James, in her first WWE match in years, would put up a hell of a fight against the NXT Women’s Champion, but Asuka would be too quick and too impactful to lose the championship.
This appears to be Nicole Matthews’ first match for NXT, and she gives an impressive performance considering who she is up against. She even manages to get a 2-count on the Empress of Tomorrow, but she could not escape the Asuka Lock. Winner: Asuka
Backstage Segment
Samoa Joe is being interviewed, and he is interrupted by Tye Dillinger. Dillinger lost to Bobby Roode at TakeOver: Toronto, and now feels like he has something to prove. Samoa Joe can’t think of one reason why Dillinger belongs in the same ring as him, but Dillinger made one of his own: a slap to the NXT Champion.
This Saturday, NXT will head to Osaka, Japan, where Shinsuke Nakamura will get his contractually obligated rematch for the NXT Championship.
No Way Jose vs. Eric Young (w/Alexander Wolfe, Sawyer Fulton, & Nikki Cross)
Last week, Rich Swann had a match against Kota Reeves (formerly known as Noah Potjes) that would end by SAnitY interfering to attack both men. Rich Swann teamed up with No Way Jose in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, so Jose challenged SAnitY’s leader to a match in an act of revenge.
No Way Jose almost gets the pinfall on Eric Young, but Nikki Cross distracts the referee. Young takes advantage to hit Jose with a wheelbarrow neckbreaker for the victory. Winner: Eric Young
Announcement
It was announced that next week, DIY will return to NXT for… something. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa won the biggest match of their careers at TakeOver: Toronto when they defeated The Revival in a 2 out of 3 Falls match to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions. It seems likely that their return to NXT television will be regarding their eventual rematch against the Revival. However, the Revival could always get called up to Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live to challenge their respective tag team champions.
Samoa Joe vs. Tye Dillinger
Tye Dillinger is almost living out the same story that Dolph Ziggler was just a couple of months ago. Dillinger has been a WWE Superstar for about a decade (as early as being “Stan” in a funny D-Generation X backstage segment). Unlike Ziggler, Dillinger has never won a championship in his tenure, although he has shown that he clearly has enough in-ring talent to do so. Instead of staying low on the card, Dillinger needed to prove himself against a high caliber target, and he found on in Samoa Joe.
While his match against Bobby Roode was arguably his best performance, this match with Tye Dillinger’s hardest fought performance. The Perfect 10 took it to the NXT Champion for about 20 minutes, but could never capitalize with his finishing move, the Tye Breaker. Samoa Joe escaped the final attempt for the Tye Breaker, then executed a combination of submission moves, ending in the Coquina Clutch. Dillinger would not tap out, but pass out, to lose yet another match. Winner (via submission): Samoa Joe
