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The Spotlight NFL Week 12 NFL Picks Against The Spread

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Almost had to take a bye week here, but have no fear we are in before the kickoffs here.  If you were unable to check out my thanksgiving picks, you can do so right here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp_U76Nifok , that would be our official youtube channel which I’ll be updating again either later today or tomorrow with a video chronicling my trip to the 2015 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  So far this week with the Thanksgiving games I’m 2-1, which brings my year long total to 62-24 against the spread.  Vegas can be a cold hearted  bitch but we are getting through this so let’s get into the rest of the picks.

1) Oakland Raiders (-1) at Tennessee Titans

I’ve been against the Raiders much of the way because I feel like they’ve gotten a ton of hype, despite not beating any one .500 or better (other than the Jets but that was the Geno Smith game).  Well, this week they get to play the 2-8 Titans and so I’m back on the Raiders here.  Look the Titans defense is pretty good (ranked number 6 overall) but they haven’t been able to carry the offense to anything save for that game in New Orleans where they won a stunner in overtime.  Honestly though, I could call my boy Adam Tobey and have him rally up the Benai Brith youth troop and we’d drop 30 on the Saints defense too.  The Raiders have been pretty unlucky the past three weeks but that luck will turn around in Tennessee.  I like the Raiders in a pickem.

2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3) at Indianapolis Colts

If you can make this 3.5 for a little less juice, I’d like it a little more because it reads like a field goal winner either way.  It’s the battle of the oldest quarterback in the league vs. the youngest quarterback in the league.  Despite Matt Hasslebeck being undefeated this season, I’m going to take my chances with youth on the road.  Famous Jameis has arrived folks!  Way sooner than anyone could have predicted, Winston has the Bucs right in the midst of a playoff race.  While Winston has made the play when he’s had to, I can’t give him all the credit.  The Bucs have done it this season lead by a stout defense, lead by Lavonte David and by the number 2 rusher in the NFL, Doug Martin, who has bounced back in a big way this year.  The Bucs really showed me a lot last week when they went into Philly and beat them by four touchdowns, I think their road prowess continues this week.  I like to the Bucs +3

3) Houston Texans (-3) over New Orleans Saints 

Oh boy do I love this pick!  I like it so much it was so close to being my lock of the week.  The Texans are rolling after taking down the undefeated Bengals and my New york Jets and now they get Brian Hoyer back.  While Hoyer likely won’t be battling for a pro bowl slot, he’s the best the Texans have and opposing defenses don’t need Deandre Hopkins to get a better quarterback.  Speaking of defenses, you’ve probably heard all week that the Saints defense will be a lot better because they’ve finally fired Rob Ryan.  Well, they still have the same personnel and the last time I checked, Drew Brees still can’t win on the road.  Don’t expect Brees to get his act together against JJ Watt and that stiff Defense of the Texans.  I lie the Texans by a field goal.

4) Kansas City Chiefs (-4) over the Buffalo Bills 

After going on the road and outscoring their opponents 62-16, the Kansas City Chiefs return home winners of four straight to play host to the Buffalo Bills.  The Bills have a good defense but seem to really be struggling to score on the offensive side of the ball.  You mean to tell me a Rex Ryan led team has trouble with the quarterback position.  As a Jets fan, I’m tired of that narrative.  The defense should keep it close, but I like Kansas City, -4.

5) Pittsburgh Steelers +3.5 at Seattle Seahawks

Big Ben makes his first ever appearance at Seattle today and I’m going to go with the road team in this one.  Go ahead a take a peak at the Seahawks schedule.  They really haven’t beaten anyone all season and have been beatable at home.  On the other side of things, the Steelers are coming off a bye so Ben has had an extra week to rest up and get healthy.  You know I don’t choose underdogs that I don’t think can win.  I like the Steelers +3.5

6) IF YOU”RE DESPERATE: Atlanta Falcons (-1) over Minnesota Viking 

I know I know, the Falcons have been awful as of late and continue to find a way to lose.  Actually I haven’t lost too much this season but when I have it’s mostly been with the Jets and the Falcons.  That said, this is my tenth game that I’m picking before the primetime games even start and so it’s a bit of slim pickings.  The Falcons have been a bit too dependent on Devonta Freeman after his fluky hot start and so now that he’s out I expect a lot of Matt Ryan airing it out.  That’s when the Falcons are at their best.  The Vikings were a bit exposed last week against the Packers and I expect a bit of a hangover here.  Falcons will find a way to get it done.

LOCK OF THE WEEK (10-1): New York Giants (pk) at Washington Redskins

Prior to this season, I have never picked the Giants and when I have it’s blown up in my face.  That said, the Giants have been my Lock of the week 3 times this season and I like em again today.  The Redskins are sneaky good at home (4-1) and have their big weapon back in Desean Jackson which makes Kirk Cousins look like a professional quarterback.  That said, the Giants are coming off of a bye and get Prince Amukamura back.  Couple Prince with the resurgence of JPP and the Giants have something on the defensive side of the ball to go along with Eli, who’s looked great.  The Giants will find a way to get it done and put the NFC East to bed before Decemeber.

 

Yogi Berra, Survivor: Second Chance , Yom Kippur & More- The Daily Spotlight for 9/23/2015

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Hello everyone, it’s been far too long since I’ve given you guys one of these less formal blogs and so I figured I would update today.  My plan is to update these blogs a bit more frequent as the days go by. The idea behind these blogs is so that I can give you all my quick opinions on all of the happenings in my life as well as some of the headlines in the world of sports, entertainment and everything in between.  I welcome all feedback as always either in the comment section of this post, via email at thedailyspotlight2@gmail.com and on twitter @TommyOnTheSpot.  Without any further ado let’s get right into it.

  • I want to take a minute to wish everyone observing the Yom Kippur holiday a safe fast.  I am celebrating myself but wouldn’t call myself overly religious.  I actually consider myself half Jewish and half Catholic as my mother is Jewish and my father the latter so I was raised this way.  My views on religion are basically that one should be able to practice their religion as they choose.  I don’t agree with celebrating or practicing something the right or wrong way, it should be a personal choice.  I feel that if your comfortable with the way you celebrate or observe than kudos to you.  Personally I am at work today and observe the holiday of Yom Kippur by both fasting and not driving for the day.  This meant that in the wee hours of the morning I walked four miles to work this morning and will walk those same four miles later today to the Yizkor service later today.
  • I’d also like to take a minute to acknowledge the passing of one of the best baseball players in the history of the sport, Yogi Berra, who passed away through the night at the age of 90 years old.  Many of you know that I grew up a Yankee fan and growing up,  I always heard stories about Gehrig, DiMaggio, Ruth, Mantle and Berra.  It truly is the end of an era as Yogi was the last living member of that era that was still pretty active even until very recently.  I used to go to Old Timer’s Day at Yankee Stadium every year, and while that franchise has iconic players from every era, there was a different feel whenever Berra was introduced. The legacy of Yogi Berra will be remembered forever through his many catch phrases and his incomparable accomplishments on the field.  He will truly be missed and my thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time.
  • Tonight Survivor: Second Chance premieres on CBS with a 90 minute special at 8PM EST.  I’m really looking forward to the season as it feels like just yesterday we were looking at the different contestants that we wanted to see on the show and tonight the 31st season of Survivor finally kicks off.  My plan is to be here with coverage of each and every episode of Survivor:Second Chance at some point during the week following each episode.  In general this is one of my favorite television nights of the year because CBS debuts the first episode of Survivor, the same night they air the 90 minute live Big Brother season finale.
  • A quick note on the Big Brother 17 season finale, to me the end of Big Brother signals the official end of the summer.  Times flies by right after this, we will blend right into Halloween, then Thanksgiving and before long after that, Christmas.  As for the finale, as much as I wasn’t a fan of Vanessa, I expect that if she wins the final HOH, she will win the season going away.  She has played the best game of the season and has played a role in every single person going home.  There is a small chance that all of the blood Vanessa got on her hands, will rub people the wrong way but honestly, if I’m Steve or Liz and I win HOH, I’m sending Vanessa home.  It’s good to see Big Brother getting an extra 30 minutes for the reunion.  There may not be a show that, if you follow along, takes over your life quite like Big Brother based on it being live and on going with the internet feeds, the twitter feeds, the three broadcasts a week, and the lack of TV competition during the summer. It’s sad to see it go.
  • The Washington Nationals very slim playoff chances continue to take a hit as despite the Mets losing a game they had no business losing last night, the Nationals lost as well.  To make matters worse, Jordan Zimmermann has a stiff neck and has refused to move up his pitching day to Thursday to face the tough Orioles.  That means the Nationals will have Tanner Roark on the mound tonight and the Mets magic number to clinch the division may in fact be down to 4 tonight.  I’ll be rooting hard for my Nats until that magic number is 0 but that may be before long.  Tonight we’re all Braves fans.
  • Lastly, there is a brand new episode of WWE NXT on the WWE Network tonight.  If you haven’t been watching NXt recently you have really been missing out.  I’m not sure if I could remember the last time I enjoyed a tournament as much as I have with the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team tournament.  The teams have been so unique and just a lot of fun to watch each week.  I caught up on last week’s episode and thought Johnny Gargano and Tamasso Ciampa looked great again and would love to see them get deals.  NXT continues to differentiate itself by putting a real focus on some aspects of wrestling we don’t see as much of in WWE, it was first the women and now tag teams.  I also think they’ve done a good job promoting that tournament matches would be taking place on the live shows as it gives fans an added incentive to go check those out.  I was hoping that the semi finals of the tournament would be added to the MSG special on the network but putting the semis and the finals on the Takeover special builds up that show as well.  I for one can’t wait to see Gable and Jordan vs. Dawson and Wilder tonight.

Well, that’s going to do it for me but a really big night for television tonight (even Empire is back),  I may have to break fast with a cold one on the comfort of my couch tonight! In any event, if you haven’t done so please do check out a really fun piece I did on a Dean Ambrose autograph signing that I attended a few weeks ago right here https://thedailyspotlight.com/2015/09/23/the-spotlight-on-dean-ambrose-at-iplay-America/ and stay tuned for more great stuff right here on thedailyspotlight.com.  Tomorrow, I’ll be back with my pick for the Thursday night Football game between the Giants and the Redskins.  I’ll also be back with another edition of the daily spotlight blog for tomorrow and I have a few more fun things that I’ve been working on.  Until then, have a great day!

The Daily Spotlight for 7/27/2015

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Hello Everyone I hope you’re doing well.  It’s been a very busy few weeks for me, which is why I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus.  But I plan on being back on here much more over the next week with a bunch of different things going on.  I hope to provide you guys with a daily spotlight each day and, hopefully, a few more fun pieces throughout the week.  Let’s get into some of the reasons as to why I’ve been away as well as some of the fun pieces you can expect to see in the coming days, this….is the daily spotlight.

About ten days ago I had a bit of health scare in which I felt pretty under the weather.  I’m not sure where it stemmed from but I’m the type of person that generally can keep going with a ton on my plate and with very little sleep for long periods of time.  Once in a while this does catch up to me and it requires me to really then refuel on sleep for a few days.  Well there was a stretch of about three weeks at the end of June/ beginning of July where I was going very hard in that I was squeezing in physical therapy sessions before work (I’m recovering from a back injury after being rear ended and I should point out I have your standard 9-5 job so my sessions were at 7AM) and then I got a few side projects that took up a good amount of my time after work.  I was also doing some reviews for this website (Which I’m not complaining about at all, many businesses have been nothing but accomodating when I explain what we’re doing over here and I couldn’t be more thankful) and my girlfriend and I had plans thrown into my schedule which included babysitting our goddaughter a few nights per week as well.   I just don’t have any idea about what my limits are and I’ve always been a “work now, sleep later” kind of guy.

Well this really caught up to me about three weeks ago.  It came to a head when I was at a work conference for two days in the Bronx.  The meeting room we had was set for about 16 people in a tiny room and the air conditioning broke which made the two days pretty unbearable.  It was so bad in this room, in fact, that one of the invited speakers who traveled from Louisiana decided not to return for the second day.  To make matters worse the food that was served at this ordeal was brutal.  In particular, there was this basket of fruit that was being served that I thought tasted weird.  I noticed one of my co workers trying to get my attention but waved and thought nothing of it.  I continued to eat the fruit, as I was hungry, and the rest of the food was bad anyway.  Well, during our break my co worker came over to me and told me that the fruit was totally spoiled and that’s why he was trying to get my attention.  The rest of the day, I was sick as a dog.  I went home and immediately cancelled a camping trip with my girlfriend and her friends (for me to cancel a summer weekend trip is so rare everyone knew I was absolutely out of it).  Furthermore, I spent the rest of the weekend in bed, thankful that this happened on a Friday so that I’d be able to recover all weekend and not miss any time at work.

I don’t really mind missing time at work, especially not at my job as I’m afforded a good amount of paid time off.  I feel if paid time off is provided by the company, then it should be used however the employee wants to use their time, provided they give proper notice of course.  At my old job there were two banks of time off that I received.  The first bank was for vacation time and the second bank was for sick time.  Thus, having 12 days a year specifically for sick time, I wouldn’t mind taking a day or two if I was feeling under the weather.  Well at my current job, there’s just one pool.  We get a good amount of time off but it can either be used for vacation or for sick/personal days. With as much traveling as I do, I vowed when I started my job not to use any of my time for sick days.  This plan lasted for 18 months before I took my first sick day two weeks ago.  It pained me to do it but I really had no choice, I was just a wreck.  The worse part was that even when I returned to work I was so out of it the whole week.  I felt disoriented and couldn’t wait to go back home so I can sleep. I even ended up cancelling a whole week of physical therapy because I had no energy.  Eventually, I felt better and I’m not even sure what I had.  Part of me thinks it was a mild case of vertigo as I’ve been known to get that but whatever it was, it took it’s toll.

That’s going to do it for me today but I’m glad to be back and feel pretty reenergized after a good two weeks.  I’m planning a big Daniel Bryan inspired weekend here on the Daily Spotlight as I’ve recently finished up his blu ray set entitled “Yes, Yes, Yes” and am working on getting through his new book “Yes-my improbable journey to the main event of Wrestlemania”.  So far it has been a really easy read that I would suggest any fan of WWE or wrestling in general should go out and get it.  Regardless, when I finish that up I will have reviews of both of those, so keep your eyes peeled for that.  Until, then stay locked in for more fun stuff right here on thedailyspotlight.com

The Spotlight On WWE Beast In The East

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 Good Morning and Happy 4th of July to all of my fellow Americans.  I just got finished watching a live WWE Network Special “Beast In The East” which aired live from Tokyo, Japan and I have to say, this show was a lot of fun.  It was really fun to wake up before the sun came out here in New York at 5AM, run out to get bagels and coffee and enjoy a WWE show to start my Independence Day.  I might add that before the show began, I watched the Finn Balor “The Demon Revealed” special that aired on the live feed right before The Beast In The East and it was fantastic.  If you haven’t seen that documentary go out of your way to watch it as it is a perfect prelude to the Beast In The East Special.  However, that’s another discussion for another time, let’s get into some of the highlights of WWE: The Beast In The East.

Highlights:

 The Demon Rises: I’ll be honest, when I heard that NXT Takeover would be in Brooklyn, I wasn’t 100% sure that they would do the title change here but, looking back, it was absolutely the time to do it.  One of the coolest things for me was to see the entrances of both Balor and Owens with the ladies presenting them with the flowers, to flooding the ring with streamers (which is the first time I’ve ever seen this at a WWE show) it just felt like such a big match feel for the NXT championship.  Kevin Owens was immediately established as big time heel by throwing the flowers into the aisle way and doing all he could to win the match by countout.  The crowd was solidly behind Balor from the beginning until they finally got the moment of Balor winning the title which was a feel good crowning moment for Balor.  This was the best match on the card (though Jericho and Neville was close) as there was such a good build throughout the match and so many good false finishes, including Owens kicking out of the coup de gras and Balor kicking out of the top rope senton.  With Balor now the NXT champion, Owens can make the full transition to the main roster and Balor can lead NXT into the future. The title change also added to the importance of the show, especially because the NXT title is changed so infrequently.   It was also a nice tough to see Hideo Itami in the crowd, showing support and having Tatsumi Fujinami coming out to crown the triumphant Balor.

 Brock Lesnar: Brock Lesnar came off like a really big deal on this show as he returned to Japan for the first time, as a WWE Superstar, in 12 years.  The show was build around Lesnar from the name of the show to Brock entering the building being shown as if he was the biggest star in the company to the great video package showcasing Lesnar.  I was actually surprised to see the fans get behind Kofi as much as they did, it really shows me how much traction the New Day is getting. The match itself was complete domination, which I expected that it would be, however, I would have preferred to see Xavier Woods face Lesnar as I feel they’ve done a good job protecting Kofi since the New Day formed.  That said, John Cena and the Undertaker both got destroyed by Brock Lesnar so there is no shame in that whatsoever.

 The Main Event: I was surprised to see that the tag match closed the show here as the show was built around both the NXT title match and Brock’s return but, say what you will about John Cena, he was absolutely adored by the Japanese crowd who reacted as if Cena was the huge star that he is.  I felt that this was a unique tag match in which all four men worked really hard.  It’s cool that WWE continues to have Cena and Ziggler loosely related as they’ve had each others’ backs for a while.  It reminds me somewhat of Tugboat and Hulk Hogan from back in the day.  I also thought it was nice to see Bad News Barrett get a main event spot and look good doing it.  A fun match that sent everyone home happy and ended a strong show the right way.

 44 Years Young: Holy cow did Chris Jericho and Neville tear down the house to kick off this show.  The two went back and forth for over twenty minutes in a great match.  Chris Jericho, in particular at 44 years old, did a great job in keeping up with the younger Neville and there’s still so much that he can contribute to the business, even in a limited capacity.  From doing small things like demanding that the referee “Ask Him!” while performing every wristlock or chinlock to coming up with innovative reversals, Jericho was on fire tonight.  I feel that Chris has taken some criticism lately and I’m not sure why because he does a great job in making the younger stars look great every time that he returns.  I know some will complain that Jericho won but the loss didn’t hurt Neville at all.  If anything, it felt like a star making performance for Neville that he was able to hang with a legend like Jericho in the way that he did.  Making stars doesn’t mean that you have to lose every match you’re in because by doing so it gets to a point where victories don’t mean as much against that guy taking the loss.  Kudos to both of these men and I would love to see the two work a program if and when Jericho makes a return to WWE.

Closing Thoughts:

 In the end, I really enjoyed this show as top to bottom every match was good to great.  There were only five matches on the broadcast, which meant that everything got to get time to develop.  From the divas to the main events, it was clear that everyone worked hard for the respectful Japanese crowd.  It was also nice to see the unique setup from to the different pieces of raw footage from the city of Tokyo showcasing the fans dressed as the Superstars to the different look and feel to the show, it was cool to see.  I have to add that I really enjoyed the commentary on this show, which I assume was recorded live in WWE Headquarters as I didn’t see the announcers at ringside, as both Byron Saxton and Michael Cole worked hard and did a great job. Lastly, the Japanese crowd was also very respectful, they did what you’re supposed to do in a classic sense, being behind the good guys and booing the bad guys, which was actually refreshing to see.  I hope that WWE continues to showcase different live events from unique settings like this in the future.

All Photos courtesy of the WWE Network

The Spotlight On NXT: Takeover- Unstoppable

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“The Champ Is Here”

NXT: Takeover- Unstoppable just finished up a little while ago and I have to tip my cap to the guys and gals in NXT because they delivered once again.  Highlighted by the WWE debut of Samoa Joe, NXT Takeover: Unstoppable ha everything you can think of from surprises, to great matches and everything in between. It seems that with every NXT special they find a way to top themselves.  I’m going to start right at the top and take you all the way through the  NXT: Takeover Unstoppable live special.  Lets get right into the highlights,

Highlights 

1) The Preshow-  I’ve said it before the NXT preshow taking place on campus, while the fans are filing into the arena is great.  It reminds of like an MTV Spring Break Special I used to watch as a kid where everyone seemed so young and cool that I couldn’t wait to get to Cancun, Mexico.  The excitement of the fans in the outdoor beautiful Florida weather does a great job in getting, at least me, ready and excited for the special.  As an aside I should also say that Corey Graves is quickly becoming a modern day Michael Hayes with that suit  In any event, I also like the way they explained the Hideo Itami injury and teased that perhaps Kevin Owens had something to do with it.  Imagine six months from now Itami comes back for revenge against Owens on the main roster?

2) Unstoppable-  The opening for this show may have actually been the best non Wrestlemania open to a pay per view/ live special in years.  They did a great job in showing how fast the brand was growing with footage of fans who’ve attended shows mixed in with legends putting over the brand and then NXT’s presence at Wrestlemania.  Then as they hyped the show, every match seemed important especially being showed over the great Motionless In white track properly titled “Unstoppable”.  Great stuff all around.

3) Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze– These two guys could be up on the main roster as big time stars for WWE right now.  Both entrances were top-notch from the special effects to the attire.  Finn Balor, in particular, continues to add so much to his costume design that I say we’re only a year or two away from a breath-taking entrance from him at Wrestlemania.  As for the match itself, it was such a fun opener and both men left it all out there.  Balor going up for the dive off the top of the set was both insane and awesome.  I was actually glad to see this match start off the show as it kicked off the event with a bang and allowed for the two not to get lost in the shuffle the rest of the night.

4) Divas Tag–  Let me start off by saying that you can tell that Bayley is really a sweetheart.  When she made her entrance she threw something to a fan and continued to walk to the ring but when she saw that it fell on the floor, walked back picked it up and made sure the fan got it.  The match itself was solid and Emma took Charlotte’s finisher right on her head, it was absolutely brutal looking.  Good for her for going back to NXT, trying to reinvent herself and showing a different side to her character.

5) Rhyno vs. Baron Corbin- Good stuff outta the big guys in this one.  I like that NXT offers something for everyone from high flyers to athletic divas to brolic brawlers, to me wrestling has a place for all types of wrestling.  I feel that Corbin continues to improve everytime out and working with a veteran like Rhyno (who hasn’t lost a step) has only helped him.  It makes sense for Corbin to get the win as Rhyno’s role is clearly to be the veteran to help elevate the young guys and make them look good.  He’s been a great addition to the NXT roster and continues to get a ton of crowd support.

6) Tag Title Match–  I can tell you from expeience that Enzo and Cass’ entrance is as fun for the live crowd as it looks.  That said I’m a pretty big fan of Blake & Murphy.  I like that they were given the titles out of nowhere and continue to improve as tag champs.  Their new entrance is way better than the raw dubstep music as well.  The double team powerbomb/backstabber combination was absolutely hideous and I’m a sucker for double team moves from tag teams. Some will say this was the time to pull the trigger and give Enzo and Cass the belts but I disagree.  Enzo and Cass are so over they don’t need the titles whereas I feel that the titles make Blake and Murphy at this stage of their careers.I also like  Colin Cassady has to be a frontrunner for most improved wrestler of the year, he was so great in their comeback.

7) Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks- Holy crap talk about giving Divas a chance.  When was the last time you saw a divas match get not only a hype video package but also the old backstage hype music as the contender and champion enter the arena?  By the time this match started I could not wait to see it…and boy did it deliver.  It’s truly amazing how well the women deliver when they are given the time.  The omen continue to be a highlight of every NXT show and a focal point of the NXT brand.  This, for me was the match of the night and deserved every “this is awesome” and “this is wrestling” chant they got all night.  This was unquestionably the coming out party for Becky Lynch, who was made into a bona-fide star even in a losing effort.  Sasha Banks should be the diva that WWE is planning to build around, she plays her character so well, has great theme music and is great in the ring, she’s the complete package.  The ending was so realistic with Becky having no choice but to tap out to the Bank statement despite wanting it oh so bad.  Then at the end it made sense for Becky to get emotional as it shows how much the NXT Womens title means.  The crowd then singing Becky’s theme song while giving her a standing ovation, really magnified how great of a performance she had.

8) Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens-   This is my early choice for feud of the year, just look how good that video package was.  What a great story they told leading up to this match with Zayn returning home to Montreal to find himself following losing his title, fantastic stuff.  Kevin Owens showing up with the US title “champ is here” John Cena shirt was so good that even Sami had a hard time not cracking up and then Owens throwing the shirt on the ground was even better,  He is a great heel!  I’m not sure if Sami Zayn was hurt but if he was he isn’t human.  These guys absolutely tore the house down!  This was a fun brawl that went all around the NXT arena and was only amplified by a great hot crowd.  The caught pop up powerbomb onto the apron was the spot of the night as I just don’t know how ya take that.  It made sense for the officials to stop the match right then and there.  It’s amazing that Kevin Owens has been right in everything that he’s said he was going to do as a heel.  Owens is quickly transitioning from the guy just trying to do all he can to support his family even if that means turning on his friends to a maniacal villain with zero compassion whatsoever.  To have things get so out of hand that Owens even put his hands on William Regal lead to the perfect time to debut Samoa Joe. Joe looked like an absolute killer that the crowd was genuinely shocked to see. This was also a great way to write Sami Zayn off of NXT, whether he’s getting called up or if he’s going to have to take time off to heal his injuries, and transition to Samoa Joe.  It also made sense not to have Joe and Owens touch as Joe did enough just by showing up.  The only person Kevin Owens has backed down to at all since debuting was Samoa Joe and that automatically made him a big deal.

Closing Thoughts

Well I’ll tell you, I was had!  Triple H did such a great job downplaying any Samoa Joe rumors during his conference call that I didn’t even mention it during my spotlight on the call.  It truly a great debut magnified by the storytelling in which Kevin Owens was built up as a complete remorseless monster and the NXT roster needed a savior, Samoa Joe was that savior.  It’ll be very interesting to see if Samoa Joe is going to keep his name because he was referred to as Samoa Joe several times during his appearance.  To me Joe is the last big name guy, other than AJ Styles, in North America who’s never been in WWE and now finally is.  Overall, I was left feeling really optimistic following this show and can’t wait to see what happens next at NXT.