NXT – July 17, 2013: WOO This Show Is Awesome!

NXT
Date: July 17, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

This should be a big week for NXT as we have the tag title match with Graves/Neville challenging the Wyatt Family along with Ric Flair’s daughter’s in ring debut. We’ll also be getting ready for Emma vs. Paige next week which should be a good match. NXT has been on a roll as of late and hopefully things keep up tonight. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Leo Kruger vs. Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro

The winner gets a title shot against Bo Dallas at some point in the future. Cesaro has the We The People flag. Zayn and Cesaro are ready to go at it before the bell as Kruger watches from the corner. Sami fires off forearms to both of them but gets caught in the corner by Cesaro’s knees. Kruger suplexes Zayn down as Cesaro takes a breather. Antonio pulls Kruger to the floor and Zayn flip dives onto both of them as we take a break.

Back with the fans chanting Ole as Zayn fires off forearms to Antonio’s head. Sami tries a high cross but gets caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Kruger makes the save and the fans chant WE THE PEOPLE. Leo loads up a capture suplex on Zayn but Cesaro German suplexes Zayn at the same time, sending Sami flying across the ring. Cesaro puts Sami in the standing chinlock but Kruger breaks up the Neutralizer. Leo loads up a northern lights suplex on Zayn but Sami blocks it into a DDT on Kruger and a Downward Spiral on Cesaro at the same time.

All three guys are down until Sami fires off right hands to both guys. A rollup gets two on Kruger and a standing hurricanrana gets two on Cesaro. The fans are losing their minds on these near falls. Kruger is sent tot he floor so Cesaro can Neutralize Zayn, only to have Leo throw Cesaro to the floor and steal the pin on Sami at 7:00 shown of 10:30.

Rating: B. Give this five more minutes and it’s one of the better triple threats you’ll ever seen. This was almost nonstop action with the fans being WAY into the entire thing. Zayn is something special and Cesaro has a reputation from his time on the main roster, so Kruger winning was a surprise. Sami will have his day eventually though.

Scott Dawson vs. Bo Dallas

Non-title here. LeFort says Dawson will have gold soon which makes me think Garrett Dylan is gone from the team. Feeling out process to start with Bo hitting some quick dropkicks. Dawson comes back with a forearm to the face and a legdrop to take over. A quick chinlock slows the match down even more as Regal talks about various old school people Dawson reminds him of. Dallas comes back with a knee lift followed by a bulldog and the belly to belly for the pin at 2:38.

Dallas does his pose for the pyro but Kruger hits the ring to lay out the champion. Dallas’ character continues to be oddly booked as the fans do not like him at all (they chant THANK YOU KRUGER after he lays Dallas out) but he’s treated like any regular good guy.

Here’s Ric Flair to introduce his daughter. The fans go insane for his entrance which is always a good sight to see. Flair talks about all the great times he’s had in Orlando and puts over NXT as a great place to learn the craft. He introduces his daughter Charlotte who has a background in gymnastics and is very flexible. She’s also very muscular.

Bayley vs. Charlotte

They trade wristlocks to start with Charlotte getting a freaky looking twisting rollup for two. It started like a regular rollup but she spun around and wound up laying on Bayley’s legs. Bayley comes back with a backslide for two of her own and Flair takes his jacket off. A snap suplex gets two on Charlotte but she flips over the corner ala her dad, only to land on her feet on the apron. Back in and a front flip into a facejam (think Cena’s Throwback but much more elegant) is good for the pin on Bayley at 2:47. Charlotte looked ok but very green at times. The gymnastics stuff looked good though.

Sheamus is in the back and has a match next week against an unknown opponent. The Wyatt Family jumps him and says follow the buzzards. I could get behind Sheamus vs. the Wyatts.

Tyler Breeze (formerly Mike Dalton) is a model and debuting next week. We will experience gorgeous.

The Women’s Title match is next week.

Tag Titles: Wyatt Family vs. Corey Graves/Adrian Neville

After some big match intros (last week all three Wyatts were announced at 501lbs combined. Here Rowan and Harper combine to be 581) we start with Harper vs. Graves. Graves wisely speeds things up to take Harper to the floor with right hands. Neville comes in and is grabbed by the face with Harper pulling him into the corner. Off to Rowan who catches Adrian in a cross body but Graves dropkicks his partner in the back to take Rowan down. Graves comes in and avoids a charge to send Rowan into the corner.

Off to Harper who is taken down by a dragon screw leg whip followed by a springboard missile dropkick to Rowan. Everything breaks down and Harper kicks Graves’ head off for two. We take a break and come back with Rowan cranking on Corey’s neck. Back to Luke for some chops that make me cringe. Harper and Graves slug it out with Harper getting the better of it. Rowan gets the tag and puts Graves in a quickly broken bearhug. Regal threatens to punch Dawson in the jaw if he keeps interrupting him.

Harper comes back in for some elbow drops and a crossface chickenwing. Graves fights out and tries a sunset flip but Luke busts out a dropkick (good one too) to put him back down. Rowan puts on an abdominal stretch with a stomach claw to make this really old school. Graves fights out but walks into a side slam for two from Harper.

Bray is getting nervous that his boys can’t put the challengers away. Graves ducks a charging Harper and FINALLY makes the hot tag to Neville. He sends both Wyatts to the floor and hits a HUGE top rope Asai Moonsault to take both guys down. Back in and a middle rope Phoenix Splash (moonsault into a 450) gets two on Rowan but Bray makes the save. Cue Sheamus to take out Wyatt as Graves takes out Rowan’s leg. Neville hits the Red Arrow for the pin and the titles at 10:45 shown of 14:15.

Rating: B. Really solid tag team formula stuff here with Sheamus evening the odds so the challengers could pull off the upset. The Wyatts had to lose eventually and this was as good of an option as there is at the moment. The crowd totally bought into the hot tag at the end, showing yet again that the old ideas still work like a charm when done right.

Sheamus celebrates with the new champions for a bit before leaving them alone to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. My goodness this show keeps getting better and better. We had two very good matches tonight plus a Flair appearance and storyline development. What more could you possibly ask for from a 45 minute show? I don’t have anything else to say about this other than start watching NXT regularly if you don’t already. It’s so far and away better than any main wrestling show right now that it’s unreal.

Results

Leo Kruger b. Sami Zayn and Antonio Cesaro – Kruger pinned Zayn after a Neutralizer from Cesaro

Bo Dallas b. Scott Dawson – Belly to Belly suplex

Charlotte b. Bayley – Front flip facejam

Adrian Neville/Corey Graves b. Wyatt Family – Red Arrow to Rowan

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