Like Raw and SmackDown, NXT puts on more shows than what is aired on the WWE Network. House shows bring the Superstars of the respective brand to cities that (mostly) aren’t suited for television tapings. At these shows, Superstars get to try out new things, act differently than normal, and be more interactive with the fans. This past weekend, NXT ended their most recent tour with a show in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Kassius Ohno vs. Cesar Bononi
This match was a great opener to start getting the crowd energized. Bononi isn’t completely unknown; he defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas a couple weeks ago. Kassius Ohno definitely belongs in the main event, but his popularity helped grab the fans’ attention immediately. While the crowd was not too energetic at the start of the match, the pop at the end was noticeably larger.
Bononi got his heel moments in, but the match was all Ohno. Ohno has Bononi set up for the rolling elbow to pick up the win. Winner: Kassius Ohno
Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. Ember Moon & Ruby Riot
The show switched to the women’s division fairly quickly in a fun contest. Sonya Deville (formerly known as Daria Berenato) is returning to NXT television next week, and this was a good sneak peek at what is to come. She leans heavily on her MMA background, and her in-ring work has improved since she was featured in late 2016. It was nice to see Mandy Rose since she had not been on TV in quite some time. Her heel work was solid, and she held her own against the fan favorites.
Ember Moon and Ruby Riot got big pops from the crowd, and they were just as fun in the ring as you would expect. Riot had a surprising array of lucha libre moves in her repertoire, and Ember Moon cleaned house, finishing Rose off with the Eclipse. Since these women are only going to get better, the division is looking strong. Winners: Ember Moon & Ruby Riot
Lars Sullivan vs. Oney Lorcan
It was weird seeing Lars Sullivan in a prominent singles match, but based on his recent actions, it is understandable why no one would want to be his tag team partner. Oney Lorcan has been impressing the fans with his hard-hitting style, and he brought the fight to Sullivan here. Fans in attendance did not seem to be big Lorcan fans (other than myself), and by the end of the match, Sullivan was getting the majority of chants.
Even though it was a house show, the fan favorite didn’t pick up the victory. Lorcan put on a great show, but he was taken out with a devastating powerslam. Winner: Lars Sullivan
Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe vs. Riddick Moss & Tino Sabbatelli
This is where the night got really weird. Before going to the show, it seemed like the WWE Universe was not too keen on SAnitY with how prominent the Wyatt Family has been recently. When Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli cut a pre-match promo insulting the local crowd and wondering how to pronounce “Poughkeepsie,” however, it was clear they were not the team getting cheered. SAnitY entered to a surprisingly loud pop from the crowd, and they played the face role for the entire match.
While it was weird, SAnitY as a face team was more enjoyable than anything they have done on NXT TV, outside of Nikki Cross. Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe double teamed for the victory, but when Dain scored the pinfall victory, the referee did not realize that he was not the legal man. Other than the officiating gaff, the match was fun. Winners: Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe
Velveteen Dream vs. Drew McIntyre
While the previous match felt like living in Bizarro world, this was surprisingly entertaining. Drew McIntyre gave fans what they expected, but the Velveteen Dream worked way better in this environment than on the WWE Network. Dream interacted with fans booing him, and his constant sass gained him more and more chants throughout the match. He also made Drew McIntyre look like a million bucks.
Dream pulled out some great moves including the cartwheel Death Valley Driver he showed off last week, but McIntyre laid him out with a running kick, turning him inside out for the win. Winner: Drew McIntyre
The Authors of Pain (c) vs. Heavy Machinery – NXT Tag Team Championships
After the intermission, NXT kicked things into full gear. In the first of two title matches for the night, Heavy Machinery challenged the Authors of Pain and tried to be the first team to defeat them. AoP was missing Paul Ellering, so they lost the numbers game.
House shows tend to have the champions retain (with a few exceptions), so there wasn’t much hope for Heavy Machinery here. They put on a good match, but the Authors of Pain would end up retaining the gold. Winners, and STILL NXT Tag Team Champions: The Authors of Pain
Asuka (c) vs. Nikki Cross
Like the last match, the result here was essentially given away. On top of the “no title change” rule, Asuka is defending her title against Nikki Cross in a “Last Woman Standing Match” in a couple weeks. However, this was interesting for being the first time I had seen Asuka go one-on-one with Nikki Cross. The NXT Women’s Champion got the biggest pop of the night.
Cross got a lot of near falls, but one swift kick to Cross’ head kept the title in Asuka’s possession. Winner, and STILL NXT Women’s Champion: Asuka
Bobby Roode & Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Aleister Black & Roderick Strong
It makes sense that this was the main event because of it involving the NXT Champion (Bobby Roode), but even though this features some fan favorites, it seemed like the crowd burned out. The fans sang loudly to Roode’s entrance theme and there were some loud “Roddy” chants, but it seemed unusually quiet for a main event. Regardless, it was a fun match that properly featured each wrestler involved.
After Aleister Black hit Roode with the Black Mass kick sending him out of the ring, Roderick Strong finished off Andrade “Cien” Almas with a suplex backbreaker to give his team the victory. Winners: Aleister Black & Roderick Strong
