Much like they’ve done with WrestleMania and SummerSlam in the past, WWE turned the three-hour Royal Rumble special into an entire weekend event by holding a huge WWE NXT taping on Friday. A lot of big matches were advertised, while Triple H and WWE.com revealed the much-anticipated debut of Austin Aries . Four episodes were taped to air on the WWE Network in February and early March.
The two big matches that were advertised ahead of time included Bayley defending the NXT Women’s Championship against Carmella, and Sami Zayn facing Samoa Joe to determine the No. 1 contender for Finn Balor’s NXT Championship. On top of that, the up-and-coming Chad Gable and Jason Jordan found themselves in more than one match, and Eva Marie and Nia Jax make their presence felt more than once.
#AnthonyStarsArt – #WWEFanArt – @WWENXT ‘s own Baymella – #Bayley #Carmella – #NationalHugDay #WWEUniverse – #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/MPyYSGNqvV
— Anthony Leonhart (@AnthlionDesigns) January 21, 2016
NOTE: The following includes spoilers for all of the matches taped at the University of Central Florida on Friday, January 22, for WWE NXT on the WWE Network. The episodes will air on Wednesdays from February 10 through March 2.
WWE NXT — February 10
- Baron Corbin pinned Johnny Gargano ( WrestleZone noted that this may end up being a dark match ).
- Hype Bros (Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley) pinned two local enhancement talents
- Alexa Bliss pinned Cameron
- Elias Samson pinned Jesse Sorensen
- NXT Women’s Championship : Bayley (c) pinned Carmella — While sharing a friendly hug after the match, Carmella and Bayley were attacked by Eva Marie and Nia Jax. Asuka came to the ring to chase off the heels and then stared down Women’s Champion Bayley. Reports are that the NXT Universe exploded with “Yes!” chants during the Bayley/Asuka stare-down.
Bayley & Carmella are jumped by Eva Marie & Nia Jax until Asuka makes the save. Stare down between Asuka & Bayley pic.twitter.com/sbM34FdZSZ
— Pulse Wrestling (@pulsewrestling) January 23, 2016
WWE NXT — February 17
- Chad Gable & Jason Jordan and Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady pinned Dash & Dawson and Blake & Murphy
- Asuka pinned Deonna Purrazzo
- Tye Dillinger pinned Alex Riley
- No. 1 Contender’s Match: Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe wrestled to a draw. After Zayn delivered the Helluva Kick, his shoulders were down as he pinned Joe, resulting in a double pin.
WWE NXT — February 24
- Chad Gable & Jason Jordan pinned Blake & Murphy
- Apollo Crews pinned Christopher Girard
- Tommaso Ciampa made Bull Dempsey tap out
- Eva Marie and Nia Jax pinned Bayley and Carmella
women’s tag match: nia jax and eva marie (YASSS QUEENS) vs. BayMella #NXTOrlando https://t.co/oza8L3D1Yo
— Bill Hanstock (@sundownmotel) January 23, 2016
- An announcement is made by NXT’s General Manager, William Regal, that Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn will have a Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match at a later date to determine the No. 1 contender for the NXT Championship. Since that match won’t air until some time in March, you can expect Finn Balor to defend the NXT Championship against that man at NXT TakeOver: Dallas during WrestleMania 32 weekend.
- The Vaudevillains pinned Hugo Knox and Tucker Knight
- Elias Samson pinned Steve Cutler
- Emma made Santana Garrett tap out
- General Manager Regal came to the ring to make one more announcement. Former NWA and TNA World Champion Austin Aries was introduced as the most recent NXT signing. However, before he could get to the ring, he was attacked from behind by Baron Corbin.
- NXT Champion Finn Balor pinned former NXT Champion Neville in a non-title match
BREAKING NEWS: @AustinAries is the newest signee to #WWENXT ! @WWE pic.twitter.com/YIwxSrzDNl
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 23, 2016
These WWE NXT spoilers have been confirmed by Wrestling Inc .
As the Royal Rumble airs tonight, it is worth noting that A.J. Styles didn’t tape anything for NXT, despite the fact that he was in attendance. That may be an indicator that he will go straight to the main roster. If that’s the case, it’s highly possible that he’ll be a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble Match .
New episodes of WWE NXT air on Wednesday evenings at 8/7c on the WWE Network. They are immediately made available to stream on-demand. Episodes can also be streamed the following day with a Hulu Plus subscription.
[Image via WWE]