NXT 3-23-16

We get Asuka vs. Emma II tonight! That alone is better than anything setup for WM. The Drifter comes out to a chorus of boos to face Johnny Gargano. Johnny gets a schoolboy off the flying knee and wins! Drifter attacks him from behind. "YA GOT BEAT DRIFTER, LET IT GO!" Graves is great. He hits the neckbreaker and tosses him to the floor for some ground and pound before tossing him back-first into the post. Crews comes out for the save. AMAZING trailer for Takeover: Dallas that could make stars in a minute on Raw.

Rich Swann comes out to face Finn Balor. Even Finn's basic, everyday intro is artistically beautiful. Rich gets quite a bit of offense, but eats a double forearm blast to the jaw. Apron PK! Shotgun dropkick and the double stomp hit. Bloody Sunday gets the win! Dana says she's been hurt since Takeover: Respect, and it's all due to Asuka! Dana doesn't do the head pat - it's too important...PSYCHE!

Alexa's out to face Crazy Mary Dobson. Dobson hits an awful dropkick. Alexa lands a worse kick and corner stomp. Alexa gives her a wedgie and a bit of a curb stomp. Tons more sloppy offense from Alexa. More sloppy stuff as Dobson gets a kick and then overshoots on a crossbody off the top, clipping her in the face with the knee. Dobson is distracted by Blake and Murphy pulls Alexa out of the way of a...cartwheel something that misses and then she's down and Alexa hits the backflip kneedrop thing and Sparkle Splash. This was dreadful, but fanservicey.

Joe meets with Generic Brunette Man and Joe just leaves. Good for Joe. Joe beats up Danny Birch and Bull Dempsey. He's coming for Balor and he's gonna take HIS CHAMPIONSHIP. American Alpha talks about their rapid ascent. Jordan talks about being unbeaten in college and expecting to win a national title - and failing. Chad talks about losing at the Olympics. They're setting them up PERFECTLY as the guys who will win the gold now. Next week, Riley faces Crews and Joe gets to mangle Bull Dempsey!

Emma-Asuka is up and Graves has a fine theory on why Emma comes out in Aviators and gloves - you never know when you'll need to fly a plane. Corner tie-up almost leads to a corner kick - but Emma evades.  Asuka rolls out the way, pops up and shakes her ass to mock Emma. Lots of excellent matwork here. Fujiwara armbar is blocked, but she gets a small hammerlock. Kneebar into the ankle lock! Emma rolls through and sends her to the floor before tripping Asuka up on the apron. Chinlock into a surfboard by Emma. Tree of woe leads to some kneelifts to the back. Emma pulls the hair for 4, so she distracts the ref so Dana can do it more. Emma sandwich gets 2.

HIP ATTACK BY ASUKA and some kneeling kicks! Great sequence where they exchange strikes, including Emma knocking her down with a big Misawa forearm, but eating a hip attack for 2. ANKLE LOCK GERMAN! Shining Black hits! Asuka lock wins! This was outstanding!

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