NXT – February 22, 2011 – Is Anyone Surprised By This Elimination?

NXT
Date: February 22, 2011
Location: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Todd Grisham

This is the last elimination before we get to the finals which I think are next week but I’m not entirely sure.  I’m not sure who goes home tonight but hopefully it’s Curtis.  No idea what to expect on tonight’s show as they’ve had a match where everyone competes so maybe it’ll be more pro vs. rookie matches.  Let’s get to it.

Curtis and Truth open us up and Truth tells us that none of the Pros are going to be there tonight.  They trade clichés about being alone and Curtis says he’s a one man wolf pack tonight, complete with a howl.

Ricardo says some stuff in Spanish to Brodus and then in Spanish says Brodus is on his own tonight.

Nothing from Bateman and Bryan?  Ok then.

Into the arena we go with Striker bringing in the rookies.  Oh sorry I fell asleep when Curtis was on my screen.  I’m back now.  There appears to be a finish line in front of them.  Next week is the final apparently.  You can still earn immunity for tonight though.  At the moment Clay has 5 points and the others have zero.  There are two challenges tonight and the first is the Grace Under Pressure Physical Challenge.

First up they play beer pong, then build a tower according to a picture with blocks, then they have to flip a cup then fourth they have to use chop sticks to put a set of dice in the right order.  Wait did I wake up or not?  Curtis goes first and the booing is insane.  The cup flip thing is you put it on the edge of a table and have to flip it so that it lands upright.  Curtis takes 1:19 flat.  I stopped watching Wrestlemania 22 for this?

Bateman is second and is booed out of the building for sucking at beer pong.  Apparently Bateman used to work at Build-A-Bear Workshop.  When he’s building the tower he asks “What am I doing with my life?”  He messes up the tower and has to keep at it.  Time passes and they let him finish.  The time isn’t shown and does it matter anyway?

Brodus says set it up right because you’re not playing any okeydoke on him.  No clue what that means but ok.  Brodus outsmarts beer pong by throwing like 10 balls at once.  He aces the tower build to a big pop.  However he sucks at flipping cups and of course Curtis wins.  If you care for some reason his time was 1:46.1.  Curtis has 3 points and I really hope this isn’t what I think it’s going to be.

There’s a triple threat match later.

The Mania video helps a bit as we’re 40 days away.

And there’s the Chaperone trailer to further kill my spirit.

Brodus Clay vs. Johnny Curtis vs. Derrick Bateman

Clay’s stomach says WHEE now.  The other two try to jump him which gets Bateman thrown over the top and Curtis pounded down for his effort.  Nice suplex puts Curtis down.  Brodus looks rather uncomfortable with basic offense.  Tongan Death Grip goes on but Bateman pops up with a dropkick to take him down.  The final challenge is also worth three points and Curtis could get immunity.  Well of course he can.  He’s the least interesting so like AJ last Naomi last time he has to make the final right?

They double team Curtis again with chops and kicks.  Again, this completely fails.  Todd says that Brodus is ready for prime time, more or less admitting that the rest of this is pointless.  The two non-Broduses clothesline Clay to the floor and Bateman is tossed out.  Curtis is alone in the ring (drawing dead silence) and dives out with a tope con hilo, landing on his feet.  If he had hit more than their hands it would have looked better but at least he tried.  This takes us to a break.

Back with the two smaller guys hammering on each other.  Bateman breaks Curtis’ momentum and hits a running dropkick on Clay.  Clay wakes up and hammers down both guys.  With Curtis choking him in the corner the camera tilts up at Brodus’ face and it’s a frightening sight indeed.  Clay gets a Fisherman’s Suplex on Curtis as we really need to end this now.  They’ve been out there over ten minutes and it’s clear they’re running out of things to do.

Brodus covers Bateman and Curtis hits the guillotine legdrop to the back of Clay for two.  Cover to Bateman gets two as well.  Clay sets for his T-Bone to Curtis but gets double teamed for about the third time.  A double suplex to Clay actually works and then Curtis suplexes Bateman onto Clay and gets the pin on Bateman at 11:00.  Dang it he’s going to win isn’t he?

Rating: C. This went too fast and I really don’t like Curtis winning but the match was ok.  They gave them some time and while it was maybe a minute or two too long, this was still pretty good for what they were going for.  I have this bad feeling Curtis is going to win it though which is the worst possible outcome but it’s been set in stone since the beginning of the season so I’m not really surprised.

We replay Cena’s promo on Rock last night to kill off about ten minutes.  During this we see Rock’s promo from the week before.  So we’re seeing a flashback to a flashback?  There’s a zen riddle in there somewhere.  The Tooth Fairy line still cracks me up.  I love how there has to be a graphic on the screen telling us this was on Raw last night so we don’t think Cena showed up on NXT.  It says a lot about Cena that he has the crowd in the palm of his hand after coming out to a very mixed reaction.  The line about Rock saying he loves them and Cena being there every week to show it sums up this entire feud.

Talk the Talk is next.

Curtis starts us off and thanks the fans for the pleasure of being here.  Could the flat out say “Vote for Curtis or we’ll murder every puppy in the world” any better?  Bateman says he’s the Sacramento King of the competition.  That’s booed for some reason.  He says he has, eats, sleeps and breathes “it”.  Clay, getting a big pop, gives shoutouts to his friends and family.  You can’t see the mic cube in his hand.  He says the west coast is awesome and all that stuff.  Curtis is booed, Bateman is booed and Clay wins (thank goodness!), making him immune.  This was really short.

Bateman is gone.  Blast it.  Is anyone really surprised by this?  He says it’s particular (yes particular) to be eliminated.  He says he’s proven his worth and he plays it rough except for “Sacramenento”  (yes he said it wrong).  Clay drills Curtis to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Well as unhappy as I am with the ending, this was a pretty mediocre show.  The match was just ok and the challenges ranged from stupid to short.  The Cena promo is easily the best part of it which isn’t saying a lot.  Big drop off from last week but at least Clay is in the finals like he should be.  Thankfully this ends next week.

Results

Johnny Curtis won the Grace Under Pressure Challenge

Johnny Curtis b. Brodus Clay and Derrick Bateman – Curtis pinned Bateman after suplexing him onto Clay

Brodus Clay won the Talk the Talk Challenge

Derrick Bateman was eliminated in third place

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