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NXT in Albany!
My wife (who will now be referred to as XZ) and I attended NXT Takeover in Albany last night – she got into wrestling with the Mae Young Classic while I’ve been watching since the late 70’s; oddly enough, I’m actually from Albany, back in the day when they only played the Glens Falls Civic Center and your upstate hero was Hacksaw Jim Duggan.
The Washington Avenue Armory is as sad a venue as I remember from years of disappointing New Year’s Eve activities, SKA concerts, and Patroons basketball games. What can you say about a place with semi-permanent bleacher style seating and a giant sponsorship banner from the CDTA from the 1970s (that would be the Capital District Transit Authority – note that Albany barely has a bus schedule and no one is anything like an authority on it)? The exterior of the venue is very nice, the restrooms have gone through an update annnnd that’s about it. Likely due to some odd combination of fire codes and CDTA sponsorship there were 272 Police, local Fire Marshalls, Venue Security and off-duty TSA Agents just hanging around – I felt very, very safe. I would estimate the place was ½ full, which is exactly ½ more fans than attend any Patroons game, so it was the most business it has seen in 10 years. If you compare this to, say, the Ryan Center in Kingston, RI, where we last saw NXT, it’s like being in a crappy high school gym. We had floor seats in the backrow on the rail – a great place if you a) like to stand and b) like to yell a lot, which my wife really, really does. Oddly enough, beer was only $5, which is an almost unheard of price for such an event, so points there!
First up was Kassius Ohno versus some German dude…at least that’s what XZ said. I was in the restroom for the intro, watching two young, enthusiastic fans with NXT title belts interview each other for their YouTube Channels…a bit of an odd place for that, right? Anyhow, Ohno, who has one of the most chant-able names, went over in 6 or so minutes.
The card moved along very quickly with very little crowd work from the announcer, whose name I didn’t get, but was awesome. Second was the newly heel Lacy Evans versus the Pirate Princess, Kari Sane. Evans has definitely done some work in the gym since the Mae Young classic and looks to be in great shape. She beat the ever-loving hell out of Kari for a solid 10 minutes. A few scattered ‘USA’ chants as the crowd wasn’t quite ready to embrace Miss NXT as a heel. Finish came when Evans missed a moonsault and Kari did her pirate walk + insane elbow. That elbow is a thing to see, especially when she kicks her legs out right at the end. Kari is lacking anything chant-able, but is super over for her intro and exit and spent a lot of time with the fans. Evans looks to be the next Charlotte, with her athleticism and height, she truly stands head and shoulders above the other women.
They played a little promo between Fish/O’Rielly and TMDK, er, sorry, TM61 (The Mighty Don’t Kneel is way better) setting up a tag match for later. This was the first clue that the local crowd really, REALLY likes Bobby Fish. Like Lance-Storm-in-Canada likes Bobby Fish. Apparently he’s from Colonie, I don’t know how I didn’t know this, but it makes him the best thing to come out of Colonie in at least the last 50 years.
Roddy Strong came out next to face Adam Cole. Roddy is just awesome in the ring and he’s working so hard on his charisma. Adam Cole (BABY!) just knows how to work a crowd. See that (Baby!)? He had the audience in the palm of his hand. Strong threw Cole around for a good ten minutes and looked great doing it – he hits so many off-the-cuff moves everything he does is fun and surprising. Eventually Adam Cole (Baby!) turned it around and got the pin. A lot of Undisputed Era shirts in the crowd; Strong just needs something, anything, that fans can chant for him; sadly, Lars Sullivan will likely tear his head off shortly so, in keeping with the Upstate Theme, perhaps he can become the Headless Horseman.
Fourth were the Street Profits versus AOP. Crowd loves the Street Profits. They have a great, long entrance. Lots of motioning to the crowd and dancing. AOP out next, no Paul Ellering. AOP storm the ring, clip Dawkins and double team Ford. It was really disappointing to have AOP so easily hand the Profits their first loss on NXT a few weeks ago and it looked like this would be a quick squash. Dawkins rallied and got back in the ring to get some of their heat back, at least. 2 on 1 versus Dawkins for a bit when, finally, Ford manages to get on the apron and tag in. Ford is in insane shape, very unique look, he can do moves that I’ve never seen before. XZ makes an interesting comment that everyone in the ring, including the ref, aren’t white, which tells you how far wrestling has come in terms of being inclusive. End comes when AOP just wears the Profits down. AOP leaves first; Profits spend more time with the crowd – people love the Street Profits. I have no idea how Undisputed Era beats AOP in Philly and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, at this point, I’m actually rooting for Undisputed.
Fabian Aichner is out next. I am a HUGE Aichner fan. He’s like Baron Corbin with no hair and better moves. Alister Black came out to face him. The Armory is such an old school venue the wrestlers come out on this makeshift stage and walk down a little ramp to get to the floor – no chance for Black’s cool ‘rise up’ entrance. The crowd is SERIOUSLY into Black. A competitive match followed. The crowd did not want to see a competitive match; they wanted Black to be Undertaker 2.0 and just kill dudes. I still feel Black is holding back some of what he can do; his kicks look great and he can fly but I feel he can do so much more. I may have been the only one cheering for Aichner, who has new “NXT” themed ring gear, so hopefully he’s here to stay. Aichner did his top rope springboard and Black eventually kicked his head off. The Black Mass is over with the crowd. Black spent a lot of exit time with fans.
There was a brief intermission. A few guys with NXT Belts at the rail, talking to the announcer. There were a LOT more women and couples in the crowd than there were years ago – it is estimated that 40% of the WWE audience are women and it’s starting to show at live events which can only be a good thing. XZ made an interesting observation that, aside from the Iconics (and the Bellas?) there aren’t any women’s tag teams. XZ hits the merchandise table where she runs into the same WWE team from NXT Kingston – these are great guys, always up on the product and very, very friendly! Last time she bought an Ember Moon shirt, NXT Shirt, and signed poster. This time was a Gargano Shirt and an NXT towel.
Intermission was over and Ember Moon was out. The crowd loves Ember. It’s nice to see her be able to promo against someone – Asuka’s replies were generally limited to “No one is ready for ASUKA!” which XZ believes is how she orders her coffee in the morning. Shana Bazler is out to take her on. And we *finally* have a family rift – XZ is all in for Ember while Shana won me over when she told Regal “Are we done?” two weeks ago after she smashed poor Dakota Kai. Shana is the female Pete Dunne. She’s done a lot of work since the Mae Young Classic, has new ring gear, and looks fantastic. The crowd is SO into Ember I can barely get a “Shana’s gonna kill you” chant going. They had a very good match. Shana threw hands and kicks, but, interestingly enough, Ember responded with pro-wrestling-based offense (flips, using the ropes, throws) which looked really, really good and differentiated their styles a lot. Finish came when Bazler locked in her submission but Ember made the ropes (taking the ‘coward’s way out, eh, Nigel?’) and Bazler refused to release the hold. I’m guessing this is the finish for Philly, which will lead to a no DQ match or some such and, if so, would be great as we could watch these two have a program together for many months. Bazler left first and Ember sold her way out – crowd really, really wanted more Ember. I am getting the feeling she might be one of those once-in-a-generation-stars that people just love. When she gets called up hopefully they won’t “Bayley” her. Poor Bayley, come back to NXT, where people love you.
TMD…I mean, TM61 was next, facing the Undisputed Era, and here is where things took a turn for the weird. The crowd, apparently from Colonie and likely all related to Bobby Fish, LOVE this guy. Undisputed tried to work heel but the crowd was not having it, on their feet and cheering every time Fish so much as breathed. They made the match FOR the titles, which was a fun thing to see; good crowd tease there! This is what a Bobby Fish family reunion must look like if it were rudely being interrupted by two Australians. Match was fast paced – these two teams work very well together, and TM61 can FLY. Undisputed got the win in the end, TM61 tried to have some face time but everyone just wanted more Bobby Fish. Like. Seriously. This should have been the closer. It was like Oney Lorcan wrestling in Southie, except with less Dropkick Murphy’s shirts. I can’t imagine what would happen if Fish came to Glens Falls. Likely there would be a riot (note that a riot, fires and casual looting could actually improve Glens Falls tremendously).
Last match of the night was Johnny Wrestling against the Velveteen Dream. Gargano has a great chant (Johnny Wrestling!) but there was a counter chant for the Dream (Vel-vet-teen) which is a very good sign for the Dream. Dream has such a unique build, with his long arms and wide stance, and he is getting more polished with every match. This guy can FLY around the ring – inside, outside, turnbuckles, ropes…wow. Johnny Wrestling is way over, but, I’ll tell you, so is the Dream. I mean, not Bobby-Fish-over, but over nonetheless. Great match, PPV caliber. Dream missed a top rope move (he must be, what, 11 feet tall with his arms up? It looks like he could jump across the entire ring) and Johnny (Wrestling!) locked in the Escape for the tap (best comment of the entire show – random fan shouts “I voted for ZZ!”). Dream makes his way to the back, Johnny works with the crowd. Something is up. People start leaving…butttttt (I always tell XZ to wait for the house lights – in Kingston the Undisputed Era was beating up everyone and playing against the crowd until…Oney Lorcan ran out for the save – the words you will only ever see typed in a New England venue) Zelina Vega shows up(!). And she’s wearing flats, which means she’s not screwing around. Zelina gets Johnny’s attention and then, out of nowhere, Andrade jumps up from the crowd in street clothes (some fan on the far side must have freaked out) and pearl harbors (can we still say that, Monsoon?) Gargano from behind. Johnny recovers and runs him off, just like the last NXT, setting him up as a credible threat on Saturday. Johnny spends more time with the crowd as everyone finally begins to filter out. Only way he wins in Phillie is if Candace Laree shows up and takes out Zelina Vega. We head out – after, after the show, apparently, Bobby Fish comes back out to sign autographs and remind everyone that Colonie isn’t just about half-way houses and the Opiod crisis.
Epilogue: Friday NXT is in New Jersey. Albany to Jersey is a terrible, terrible drive. I’d like to see a ‘Ride-Along’ for that, 6 hours of 20 mph traffic and Alister Black paying 14 tolls in Euros.
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