NXT – March 27, 2014: A Departure From Arrival
NXT
Date: March 27, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jason Albert, Tom Phillips, Alex Riley
Tonight is another of those big shows for NXT called Vengeance. The idea here is a bunch of long standing feuds or rematches, such as Neville vs. Dallas II in the main event. Other than that we have Parker vs. Rawley, Natayla vs. Charlotte and Breeze vs. Woods. NXT knows how to put on the big shows like this so hopefully they continue the trend here. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Arrival where Neville won the NXT Title in a ladder match and Bo Dallas challenging for a rematch.
Opening sequence.
CJ Parker vs. Mojo Rawley
Parker is angry at Rawley for polluting the planet, even though there’s no evidence of him doing so. A kick to the head puts Mojo down and Parker hammers away in the corner before shouting a lot. Rawley comes back with right hands but misses a splash, giving CJ a two count. More left hands in the corner have Rawley in trouble but Parker stops to show a peace sign. Mojo chases him across the ring and nails a splash in the other corner and Hyperdrive is good for the pin at 3:22.
Rating: D+. Not much to this one but at least Rawley made a quick comeback and destroyed Parker in relatively short order. Parker isn’t the kind of guy who can be a physical threat to Rawley and thankfully he was treated like nothing in the match here. The heel character is a good idea but Parker just isn’t that good.
Parker freaks out post match.
We look back at Corey Graves attacking Sami Zayn last week and see Sami getting a concussion test.
Tyler Breeze vs. Xavier Woods
Woods looks ticked off coming to the ring. Feeling out process to start until Woods grabs a headlock and takes Breeze down with a headscissors. A catapult sends Breeze into the corner for two but he nails Woods with a forearm for two of his own. Woods gets all fired up but Tyler avoids the Honor Roll. He tries snake eyes on Tyler but Breeze escapes and hits the Beauty Shot for the pin at 3:53.
Rating: D+. This didn’t work for me either as Breeze isn’t much to see in the ring. Woods isn’t much better though as he just doesn’t work all that well in the ring. Yeah he’s a smart guy but that doesn’t make him anything special in the ring. I don’t see much of a future on the main roster for either of these guys but Breeze is entertaining.
Bo Dallas says he’ll get the title back tonight because it’s a wrestling match instead of climbing monkey bars.
Yoshi Tatsu vs. Corey Graves
This is a rematch from a few weeks ago when Graves attacked Tatsu before the bell and got an easy pin. Yoshi hammers away in the corner to start and nails a LOUD chop. A quick cross body gets two on Corey but he goes after Tatsu’s knee to take over. He cranks on a hold before kicking the knee out one more time. Lucky 13 makes Yoshi tap at 3:10.
Rating: D+. This was barely long enough to rate as it was nothing more than a squash. I’m not sure what happened to Tatsu as he wasn’t great but he’s better than being a barely seen jobber on NXT. Graves still doesn’t blow my skirt up. I know he’s very popular but I just don’t get the huge appeal.
Corey tells Sami to stay down.
Natalya vs. Charlotte
Charlotte has Sasha Banks with her but Natalya one ups her with Bret Hart. They hit the mat to start but neither girl can gain control. Natalya grabs an armbar but gets countered into a headscissors. Rene Young isn’t sure how to describe her meeting Bret Hart but Natalya destroys Charlotte with a dropkick to bail her out.
Charlotte is flipped into the corner but clotheslines Natalya down to take over. She goes after Natalya’s knee by kicking it in the corner and crushing it against the mat. Natayla escapes a leg lock and goes for the Sharpshooter but Charlotte is in the ropes. Another attempt works but Sasha comes in for the DQ at 5:04.
Rating: C-. Charlotte is getting better in the ring but this didn’t have the time to go anywhere. That’s been a running trend tonight and I’m not really caring for it. Charlotte isn’t her dad out there but she’s very athletic and can do her gymnastics stuff well enough. That makes me wonder why she’s going for the mat work instead. Hopefully they’re not just going to try and make her like her dad.
Neville says it’s not a ladder match tonight but he has the momentum and the title, so nothing changes tonight.
NXT Title: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville
Neville is defending. Bo tries some fast pins but Neville gets out, sending Dallas running to the corner. Dallas whips Neville across the ring but the champion flips forward and hits a middle rope dropkick. Bo heads outside but Neville takes him down with a BIG dive. Neville loads up another dive but gets shoved to the floor to give Bo an opening. A hard clothesline drops Neville again and Bo takes him inside for some knee drops.
We take a break and come back with Dallas nailing another clothesline for two. Frustration sets in off the kickouts but he’s able to sit down to block a sunset flip. The referee catches Bo holding the ropes though and Neville pulls him down for two. Neville escapes an Impaler DDT and hits a HUGE springboard forearm for two. They trade hard shots to the face and the referee is nearly bumped.
Bo gets two off a rollup but an enziguri from the apron sets up the Red Arrow. The splash hits knees though and both guys are down. Dallas is up first and tries his DDT but has to avoid a hard charge into the corner. The champ gets a kick to Dallas’ head though and a reverse 450 (as in his back was to the ring and he threw his feet into the air before flipping over and landing on Dallas) retains at 12:50.
Rating: C+. Good but not great match here with both guys looking more above average than good. Dallas just doesn’t have the spark anymore after losing the title, but that was bound to happen when his magic was broken. It’s a good match and by far the best of the night but that didn’t save the rest of the show.
Overall Rating: C-. The show wasn’t terrible overall but it really didn’t do much for me. This felt like a show without much effort put into the creative process and they even admitted that it was comprised of mostly rematches. Neville vs. Dallas didn’t feel exciting at all here and while it was ok, it really didn’t make me care to see much more of Adrian. This was one of their worst shows in awhile, but hopefully things pick up next week. Unlike other promotions though, I fully believe NXT can do it.
Results
Mojo Rawley b. CJ Parker – Hyperdrive
Tyler Breeze b. Xavier Woods – Beauty Shot
Corey Graves b. Yoshi Tatsu – Lucky 13
Natalya b. Charlotte via DQ when Sasha Banks interfered
Adrian Neville b. Bo Dallas – Reverse 450
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I know you’ve gone on about how wonderful NXT is, and how you feel like it can come back unlike other promotions.
To someone who still hasn’t seen one episode of NXT(though I’m considering getting the Network, it’s just too good) can you explain why?
It’s an old style promotion. Things are allowed to build up week to week rather than a show at the end of the month. It’s kind of hard to explain.
Basically it exists in its own time and is allowed to go on its own. You’ll see something one week and it’ll go to the next week’s story in a logical transition. In WWE you’ll see feuds start because they have to start so there can be a PPV match in four weeks. Watch a WWE show and see how many times people get into a program with someone else for no apparent reason other than the script says they should. NXT has people that do stuff because it makes sense for them too.
On top of that, the characters are fun and unique. In WWE, how many guys are basically the same thing with one or two minor differences? Look at Miz and Ziggler for example. They’re VERY similar and there’s nothing that really defines them. That’s not the case in NXT. It’s much more over the top and fun. It’s also run by ex-wrestlers rather than writers who don’t know how to book a wrestling show.