NXT – June 13, 2012: This Is How The Season Finally Ends
NXT
Date: June 13, 2012
Location: Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal
So I went to WWE.com, sort of dreading this show as usual when I saw it: “On the final episode of NXT before the ALL NEW NXT…”. For the first time in a good many Wednesdays, the sight of NXT brought a smile to my face. After SIXTY SIX WEEKS, it’s finally ending. This is the last episode of this season and I can’t believe it’s really here. Let’s get to it.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but it’s kind of saddening to hear this song for the final time this season.
Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks vs. Derrick Bateman/Percy Watson
Regal says the bright green is apparently a tribute to the Dynamic Dudes. There’s something you’ll never hear again. Hawkins and Bateman gets us going here. Bateman takes it to the mat so Hawkins celebrates his escape. The fans start clapping for Bateman so it’s off to Reks who gets crucifixed down for two. Watson comes in and speeds things up a bit.
Reks gets knocked into the wrong corner by a European Uppercut. Hawkins: “REKS I’M OVER HERE!” Bateman hooks a headlock but charges into a boot in the corner to shift momentum again. Hawkins hooks a chinlock which is quickly broken by a jawbreaker. Watson comes in for some dropkicks and throws Hawkins into Reks to send them out to the floor. Bateman dives on both guys and we take a break.
Back with Watson fighting off both guys but getting dropped on the top turnbuckle for two. Reks hooks a chinlock for a bit followed by a neckbreaker for two. Back to Curt who hits a suplex for two. Off to another chinlock as Regal talks about how a chinlock is supposed to be executed. An other the shoulder bicycle kick gets two on Watson. Josh confirms that next week the New NXT begins.
Back to Reks who kicks Percy in the ribs and hooks chinlock #3. Watson finally comes back and hits an enziguri to Tyler, allowing for the hot tag to Bateman. Reks doesn’t tag out at all and things speed up. Bateman hits a running flip neckbreaker (think Morrison’s flip neckbreaker) for two. After a Hawkins distraction, Reks hits his powerbomb into a spinning DDT for the pin at 11:05.
Rating: C+. This was fine. It was a formula based tag match and the ending was pretty solid. Bateman has gotten a lot better in the last few months and it’s no longer a strain to watch the guy. I don’t see him as anything better than a jobber at the moment but maybe things could change with the proper changes.
During the break we get a clip of the All New NXT. It looks pretty awesome actually.
Kaitlyn vs. Natalya
Natalya immediately takes her down with a heel trip and they trade rollups for two each. Another rollup gets two for Kaitlyn. Natalya sends her to the floor and poses before knocking Kaitlyn off the apron. She sits on Kaitlyn for two and then hooks on a bow and arrow hold. Kaitlyn rolls her up again for two. That seems to be her only offense. Nattie misses a charge in the corner and Kaitlyn shoves her down. A crossbody gets two. Natalya cradles her in the corner with feet on the ropes for two. Her argument with the referee lets Kaitlyn hook ANOTHER rollup for two. A sunset flip out of nowhere gets the pin for Kaitlyn at 5:20.
Rating: D-. This was horrible. Kaitlyn looked terrible out there, both in the ring and in the face. For some reason all she did here were rollups other than just a few shots here or there. The match was terrible with neither girl really doing anything at all other than Natalya posing and Kaitlyn rolling people up. Terrible match.
Natalya throws a fit post match.
We get a quick word from Bo Dallas (Taylor Rotunda) who is ready to fight.
Raw ReBound is about Vince/Ace/Show/Cena.
Usos vs. Michael McGillicutty/Johnny Curtis
They have almost fifteen minutes for this. Before the match starts, Richie Steamboat says he’s looking to fill his own shoes, not his father’s. Michael and Jimmy start things off and McGillicutty takes him down to the mat with ease. Regal talks about how great Samoans are at wrestling as well as rugby. Jimmy takes him down with an armbar and it’s off to Jey. Curtis comes in and rips at Jey’s face.
A legdrop misses and Jey hooks a chinlock. McGillicutty offers a distraction and Curtis drops him onto the top rope in the EXACT same sequence from the first tag match. Curtis drops Jey’s leg onto the top rope to ground him even further and McGillicutty adds some cheating offense of his own to it. Curtis cannonballs down onto the knee as we take a break. Back with McGillicutty with a knee hold on Jey.
Back to Curtis and the knee gets wrapped around the post. We get a full Indian Deathlock but Jey chops his way out of it. When all else fails, hit the other guy I guess. Curtis prevents the tag but McGillicutty’s attempted cannonball onto the leg is countered by having him kicked over the top. Off to Jimmy who cleans house. Jey is almost immediately tagged back in for a double team Samoan Drop. Curtis drops a guillotine legdrop to break up the cover and both guys are down. The McGillicutter is countered and after a superkick from Jey, the Superfly Splash from Jimmy gets the pin on McGillicutty at 11:42.
Rating: B-. Another good match here with the leg work being a good idea, as the Usos are a flying team so slowing them down is the right idea. There’s something appropriate about the Usos winning the last match of this season, and there’s something even more appropriate about it being a meaningless tag match as so many of their matches have been.
Overall Rating: C+. And that’s NXT Season 5. The overall rating of slightly above average is about right for the whole season too: there were some ok moments, but all in all it was just ok. Nothing significant ever happened, no one won, almost everyone wound up on Smackdown, and it was clear that the contest part of the show was worthless by the end of it. The new season will help things a lot as it can be just a regular show instead of a contest, which is something they’ve needed to do for about a year now. Tonight’s show was decent but as usual, it means nothing at all.
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