Let’s Have A Serious Discussion About These NXT Tapings Spoilers

WARNING: We are going to talk openly about NXT tapings spoilers that may also spoil NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on Aug. 22. Please proceed with caution, as we take no responsibility for your broken wrestling hearts.

Okay, all good?

Because seriously, we need to have a serious discussion about these NXT tapings spoilers.

Normally, we stay as far away as possible from NXT spoilers. We’ll spoil Smackdown, sure, because nothing ever happens on Smackdown. Somebody opened the show with a promo, they got interrupted, some other people showed up and everybody got dumped into a tag match. Spoiling Smackdown’s like spoiling Citizen Kane at this point.

NXT, though, that’s a different story. Normally NXT tapes its shows in bunches of four, and times them to air before TakeOver live specials. Usually, TakeOver specials take the place of a regular Wednesday episode, but TakeOver: Brooklyn will air live from the Barclays Center on Saturday, Aug. 22. That left NXT without an episode for next Wednesday, so they taped one on Thursday. They also taped two additional episodes, set to air (by most accounts) the two weeks AFTER TakeOver.

To clarify, some reports say that the second and third hours are non-canon. They’re “rehearsal” or house show material, possibly for use as future in the filler. Others say they padded out the live show as a massive trolling of the internet, taping one hour of TV and using hours two and three to f*ck with spoiler-happy fans. Some say they pulled a TNA and spoiled their biggest show of all time. If you haven’t heard about it and you’ve gotten this far, here are some of the highlights:

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Kevin Owens has the NXT Championship

On what should be episode 3, Kevin Owens faces a returning Neville and carries the NXT Championship to the ring. As you may know, he’s supposed to face current NXT Champion Finn Bálor in a ladder match for the championship in the main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn.

Also, Sasha Banks still has the Women’s Championship

On episode 2, The Boss defeats the debuting Gionna Daddio and carries the Women’s Championship to the ring. She’s set to defend the belt against Bayley in Brooklyn, a week before this would — supposing it’s real, and not WWE lowering our hopes as low as possible for the eventual Bayley victory — air.

Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa debuted (and won)

The tapings saw the debut of two big independent stars: former Chikara, Dragon Gate USA and Everywhere Else star Johnny Gargano, and Ring of Honor’s Tommaso Ciampa. Ciampa was under contract with ROH as recently as March. They worked a tag match against Tyler Breeze and Bull Dempsey, and won clean. On top of that insanity, Bull and Breeze are a team now? This isn’t even a tapings result, it’s me contracting a severe fever and bashing my head on a keyboard as I collapse.

The Ascension is back

In addition to Neville showing up, The Ascension also made their return to Full Sail. Tag championship challengers The Vaudevillains are nowhere to be found and Blake & Murphy only compete on episode 1 (same with Enzo & Cass, for that matter), but here’s these guys. They face the team of Rhyno and Baron Corbin. THIS IS NOT MY BEAUTIFUL HOUSE.

On top of all that crazy stuff, Blue Pants returns, Eva Marie gets another win, Apollo Crews shows up … it’s a lot to take in. For the full breakdown of spoilers, you can check out our friends at Cageside Seats. I’d type the rest, but my hands are furious and trying to throw my computer through a window.

All I can say is that TakeOver will be interesting, as now there’s absolutely no telling what could happen. That’s a good manipulation of the internet and a strangling of our predictions, at least. Let’s all move forward with caution, and hope we haven’t stumbled into some sort of central Florida Mystery Hole.