NXT
Date: December 25, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Host: Renee Young

It’s Christmas time in NXT and since this is a sane promotion, tonight is a year in review show, plus Cesaro vs. Regal. This should be entertaining as usual given how good NXT has been over the last year. It’s always fun to see where guys on the main roster got started and several guys on the main shows today were in NXT earlier this year. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

The arena is empty and Renee Young is our host.

First up: a look at the opening of the WWE Performance Center.

We get packages on all the people that have gone from NXT to the main rosters: the Wyatts, Shield, Fandango, Xavier Woods, Damien Sandow, Antonio Cesaro and Big E. Langston. Ignore that Cesaro, Fandango and I beliee Sandow were in WWE before they came to NXT.

Langston talks about the previous year has been a whirlwind and he couldn’t have done it without the maniacal five count fans. This is just the beginning.

Cesaro says that William Regal is the only technical wrestler he’s ever respected. Regal’s evilness was an inspiration for Cesaro and he wouldn’t have a job here without William. However, Regal knew this day was coming: the day when one of them had to go. The younger, stronger and better man gets to stay, and that’s Cesaro.

Video on the first NXT Tag Title match with British Ambition beating the Wyatts.

Video on Emma vs. Paige for the first Women’s Title.

Paige, who towers over interviewer Devon Taylor, thinks Emma is just a dancer. However, she now has Paige’s respect because Emma has shown she can move in the ring. Paige insists she’s a wrestler and promises to come for the Divas, including AJ.

Bo Dallas knows we want to hear about his rise to the title but we need to hear how important it is to Bo-Lieve. We get a clip of him beating Langston to prove the power of the Bo-Lievers.

The Wyatts talk about how they stand for a cause. Their crusades began in a place called NXT and whether it’s there or up in WWE, their message is simple: down with the machine.

Here’s a package on the future of NXT: Aiden English, Mojo Rawley, Bayley, Tyler Breeze, Alexander Rusev, Sasha Banks, Corey Graves and of course Sami Zayn.

Video on all of the WWE stars who have made cameos here in NXT.

William Regal has been considering his legacy. He’s a vicious fighter and a unique entertainer but he never became World Heavyweight Champion. That’s his fault though because he has a tendency to get in trouble. He’s always been a world class technical wrestler, and that’s where Antonio Cesaro comes in. Cesaro is ten times the wrestler that Regal has ever been and Cesaro wants to prove it. The only chance Regal has tonight is a miracle and that’s not coming to someone like himself. Regal is going to give this every bit of evil he has and hopes that’s enough. This was an old school wrestling promo and it was awesome.

Young is about to introduce the match of the year but Shield hijacks the signal to talk about how dominant of a year they’ve had. They’ve destroyed everyone from Undertaker to Rock to Undertaker to John Cena, but that was after they built NXT. All those guys that are coming up through NXT need to be worried because Shield is waiting on them in WWE.

Back to Young who introduces the only match that could have been match of the year in NXT: Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro 2/3 falls. Cesaro going into beast mode to get the wind is still amazing and makes me even sadder every time I see him jobbing to Los Matadores.

Sami talks about what an honor it is to be part of the match of the year but now his focus is on becoming NXT Champion. There’s a roadblock in his way named Leo Kruger and this talk about 2/3 falls has gotten him thinking. Next week: Kruger vs. Zayn 2/3 falls. Even on a review show they set up something for next week. Can this show do anything wrong?

Antonio Cesaro vs. William Regal

The Fink is doing entrances, which gives me an answer to the question I just asked. The disgusted yet also terrified look on Regal’s face is perfect. Cesaro cranks on the arm to start and Regal can’t counter. Antonio takes him to the mat but Regal nips up to draw a gasp from the crowd. Cesaro stays on the hold and takes Regal down again but there’s another nip up. “You still got it!”

Regal takes Cesaro down to his knees but still can’t get away from the wrist control as we take a break. Back with Cesaro still on the arm and jumping onto a standing Regal’s shoulders (basically putting himself in a fireman’s carry) to apply even more pressure. Regal flips him down into an armbar but Cesaro nips up just like Regal did earlier. William takes him down by the other arm but Cesaro powers up into a test of strength.

Cesaro easily powers Regal down but the Englishman counters into a cross arm choke. He leans backwards to put Cesaro over his knees while still choking, only to be flipped forward to escape. Back to the test of strength before Regal counters a front facelock into a dragon sleeper. Cesaro flips him forward in a kind of reverse suplex for two but Regal gets him down into the corner and does his “distract the referee while kicking the opponent in the face” spot.

Antonio chop blocks Regal down and rams the bad knee into the apron a few times as we take another break. Back with Cesaro holding a leg lock but Regal keeps fighting back with kicks to the head. Cesaro keeps control by cranking on the knee even more and taking off Regal’s knee brace. The knee is bent around Cesaro’s neck in an old Brock Lock but Regal counters into a rollup and backslide for two each. Cesaro hits a series of ten uppercuts to knock Regal silly, setting up the Cesaro Swing.

After some trash talk Antonio loads up the Neutralizer but Regal backdrops his way out. He drops a knee on Cesaro’s arm to take away the Neutralizer. Regal goes after the arm with everything he’s got and hits an overhead suplex for two. The knee is too damaged for the knee trembler though and Cesaro comes back with a headbutt. Regal is fine with that and headbutts Cesaro right back before loading up a double underhook suplex. Cesaro backdrops Regal but can’t break the grip.

Regal takes him to the mat again and tries the Regal Stretch but Cesaro makes the rope. A forearm from the good arm lays Regal out and a double stomp to the back of the head has the referee checking him. Cesaro looks down at Regal before picking up his limp body. He sets up the Neutralizer but thinks twice about it and lets Regal fall back to the mat. Regal tries to pull himself up so Cesaro puts on the Neutralizer. He looks down at Regal’s unconscious body and looks disgusted after pinning Regal at 16:00 shown of 24:00.

Rating: A. I loved this for a lot of reasons. First of all, the technical stuff at the beginning was excellent with two old school craftsmen doing their jobs as well as anyone can. It’s wrestling in its purest form and when you have guys who can work that style it’s as entertaining as you can get. Then there’s the excellent storytelling with Regal trying every trick he knew but not being able to stop Cesaro’s raw power. The ending with Cesaro not wanting to hurt Regal anymore but giving in to his natural instincts of winning at any cost was great stuff. I loved this match and continue to wait for Cesaro to be taken seriously in WWE.

Regal is taken out by referees but Cesaro goes after him and extends a hand. Regal stares him down and shakes hands as we go off the air.

Overall Rating: A+. An amazing match and clips of all kinds of awesome stuff from the undisputed best wrestling show going today make this the best hour of wrestling I’ve seen in a long time. Even when they’re talking about a match that happened months ago they tie in a match next week to give us a reason to keep watching. This show can do no wrong at this point and somehow keeps getting better.

Results

Antonio Cesaro b. William Regal – Neutralizer

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NXT
Date: December 18, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Tensai

Tonight is the 200^th episode celebration and believe it or not, that’s actually an accurate count for a change, assuming you consider this the same show as the original competition show. The main stories tonight are an appearance by HHH and an NXT Title defense with Bo Dallas defending against Adrian Neville in a lumberjack match. NXT has a good history of making their big shows work so this has good potential tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here’s HHH to open the show instead of Welcome Home. The boss says he loves hearing those NXT chants. We’re here to celebrate the 200^th episode of NXT which has seen people like Damien Sandow, Shield and the Wyatt come through here. The fans chant FIVE and HHH adds Big E. Langston to the list. With the new Performance Center, the next two hundred episodes are going to be even better. HHH tells the fans to give themselves a standing ovation because this is their house. The question now: are we ready?

Welcome Home.

Sami Zayn/Tyson Kidd vs. Leo Kruger/Antonio Cesaro

Leo’s Real American trials continue. The bell rings twice for some reason before Kruger knees Kidd in the ribs to start. Tyson comes right back with an armdrag into an armbar Sami gets the tag and Kruger runs straight to the corner for the tag to Cesaro. The fans immediately chant MATCH OF THE YEAR until Cesaro grabs a top wristlock. Sami shoves him into the corner but the referee pulls him down because he loves AMERICA.

Kidd comes in with a quick rollup for two but Cesaro catches his cross body in mid air and puts Tyson down with a backbreaker. We take a break and come back with Kidd fighting out of the heel corner and getting two off a rollup on Kruger. Leo stops the hot tag with a spinebuster for two of his own though and it’s back to Cesaro. The gutwrench suplex gets two and we hit a quickly broken chinlock. Cesaro kicks Sami off the apron to give Leo a two count and a chinlock of his own.

Back up and Tyson low bridges Kruger to the floor and avoids a charging Cesaro in the corner. Sami finally comes in off the hot tag to clean house and gets two on Leo off a high cross body. The Slice is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two but Cesaro makes the save. Kidd dives on Cesaro and Sami hits a running boot in the corner to pin Kruger at 8:17 shown of 11:47.

Rating: B-. Did you really expect anything other than a good match here? Sami getting a pin on Kruger is a good thing as he’s been losing way too often lately. Kidd and Cesaro could have some awesome matches if given the time, which keeps my head shaking at how Cesaro is used on the main shows.

Emma does her dance in the back and nearly pokes Natalya in the eye. Natalya gets annoyed and Emma accuses her of going Hollywood and forgetting the little people down here in NXT. Natalya says Emma got her title shot through a dance off so she has no room to talk. Emma says wrestling brought her to the dance so Natalya offers to let Emma tango into the Sharpshooter. A #1 contenders match is made and both girls walk off.

We get a clip from the first episode of NXT. Daniel Bryan used to be even smaller than he is today. That match with Jericho he had on the first show was great stuff.

There was a special meet and greet for the first 200 people at the taping. That’s a cool idea.

Sasha Banks vs. Paige

Non-title. Sasha slaps Paige into the corner to start before slamming her face first into the mat. Paige gets stomped in the corner and Banks throws in a mockery of Paige’s scream. Off to a chinlock with a bodyscissors on Paige until the champion fights up and wristdrags Sasha off the top. Summer tries to get involved but Banks accidentally kicks her in the chest, setting up the Paige Turner for the pin on Sasha at 3:38.

Rating: D+. Paige was on defense for most of this match and it didn’t work very well. She’s still miles ahead of most of the girls on Raw or Smackdown though, meaning she isn’t going to see a main show for a long time. After all, she’s not even dating one of the top guys in the company so why would the fans want to see her?

Enzo Amore (YES!) and Colin Cassady are talking lawsuits against a parking lot without handicap accessibility (Enzo is in a wheelchair due to a leg injury) when Aiden English interrupts. Enzo says Colin can out sing Aiden and an argument over the meaning of the word moi. A singing competition is set between English and Big Cass. English: “Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi.” Cass: “Sa-sa-sa-sa-sa-SAWFT!”

Ascension vs. ???

This is the open challenge for a non-title match. The opponents are the American Pitbulls: Derrick Billington (originally John Cahill) and John Cahill (originally Eric Philbin), more famously known as Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards respectively. Thankfully their new names aren’t horrible. The fans are entirely behind the Pitbulls and actually don’t call them the Wolves. Billington grabs a wristlock on Viktor to start before it’s off to Cahill for more arm cranking. Ascension drags him into the corner and brings in Konnor but the Pitbulls take him down with a double Japanese armdrag.

Viktor is sent to the floor but Konnor takes Cahill’s head off. We get a mild Davey Richards chant as Ascension takes turns destroying Billington. Derrick backflips out of a suplex and kicks Viktor in the chest to make the tag to Cahill. A running knee to Victor’s chest gets two as everything breaks down. The champions are sent to the floor for stereo dives by the Pitbulls for a near fall. Billington goes up and howls before hitting a flying headbutt for two. Viktor will have none of that though and blasts Cahill in the head, setting up Fall of Man for the pin at 4:22.

Rating: C+. This could have been a lot worse. First and foremost, this was not a squash. The Pitbulls got in a good amount of offense and got a near fall towards the end. I’m not a fan of Richards at all and Edwards is only tolerable (I’m not big on indy wrestling at all for the most part) but they deserve jobs after this match, or at least more appearances.

Hunico and Camacho come out to talk trash so Ascension beats up Cahill a little more.

Kofi Kingston is rocking a suit and is happy to be here. Lana comes up to speak some Bulgarian before challenging Kofi to a match with Alexander Rusev for next week. One minor note here that makes NXT that much better: Kofi was shown as part of the meet and greet earlier so he has an actual reason for being here tonight instead of just showing up because the script called for him to.

Next week is a year in review special plus Regal vs. Cesaro.

NXT Title: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville

This is a lumberjack match with Dallas defending. As a special treat, THE FINK does the announcing. The fans think Breeze is gorgeous before shifting to a Let’s Go Neville chant. Dallas has some awesomely evil pure white gear this week. Bo is quickly sent to the floor but runs back inside to avoid the lumberjacks. A rollup gets two for Neville but Dallas sends him outside. Breeze gets in Adrian’s face and earns a slap, sending the crowd into a quick freazy.

We take a break (including another NXT moment with Rollins becoming the first NXT Champion) and come back with Neville taking Dallas down for some kicks to the chest. Dallas gets in a shot to the ribs and drops some knees for two. Tyler Breeze is seated next to the barricade and looks livid. A cravate keeps Neville on the mat and a kick to the head gets two. The fans chant DROP THE TITLE as Bo drives elbows into Neville’s head. A hard clothesline flips Neville inside out for two and Dallas is frustrated.

Adrian escapes the bulldog out of the corner and scores with a running forearm. Some kicks get two on Bo and an enziguri sets up a standing shooting star for two. The fans threaten to riot if Bo wins but the champion bails to the floor before the Red Arrow launches. All of the lumberjacks stop him so Adrian dives on EVERYBODY in a great visual. Back in and Adrian loads up the Red Arrow but Breeze pulls Dallas out of the way, giving Bo the pin at 9:50 shown of 11:50.

Rating: C+. I like the story here as it keeps the belt on Dallas and sets up Breeze vs. Adrian down the line. Again, it’s the difference between booking and writing with the former almost always being better. The pop when Dallas finally loses is going to be nothing short of unholy.

Overall Rating: B. Another great show here with everything fitting perfectly and putting together an entertaining hour. As usual, NXT knows how to build to a big show and then actually deliver on the payoff, which is more than you get from any major wrestling show at the moment. Good stuff.

Results

Sami Zayn/Tyson Kidd b. Leo Kruger/Antonio Cesaro – Running big boot to Kruger

Paige b. Sasha Banks – Paige Turner

Ascension b. American Pitbulls – Ascension

Bo Dallas b. Adrian Neville – Pin after a missed Red Arrow

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NXT
Date: December 4, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Renee Young, Alex Riley

Tonight is one of their bigger shows as we have Dallas vs. Neville for the title, Natalya challenging Paige for the Women’s Title and possible Rega vs. Cesaro or at least some development for the feud. NXT has been able to pull off the big shows quite well in the past so hopefully they keep that streak going tonight. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Paige

Paige is defending. This is a result of Natalya being all whiny on Total Divas and Paige accusing her of going Hollywood. We get a rough handshake before Paige takes her down with a headlock. Natalya grabs the leg to counter but Paige reverses into a wristlock. Natalya rolls through into one of her own but Paige breaks it up with a headbutt. They trade rollups for two each before Paige catches Natalya’s kick to the ribs.

Natalya rolls through into a leg lock on the mat as the chain wrestling continues. Off to a headlock on the mat by Natalya but Paige gets to the ropes before the Sharpshooter goes on. Back from a break with Paige stomping away in the corner. Apparently Natalya tried to get in a cheap shot during another handshake during the break which set Paige off.

Paige puts on an abdominal stretch but is reversed into the same hold by Natalya. The blonde enhances it a bit by lifting Paige’s leg up for more pressure. Saxton: “Natalya putting some more twerk on Paige.” Paige fights out but gets leg dragged to the mat. Natalya stomps away but Paige fights up, only to have both girls try cross bodies at the same time to give us a stalemate.

Natalya is all fired up now and gets two off a snap suplex and a hard slam. Now it’s Sharpshooter time but Paige crawls over to the corner and through Natalya’s legs, sending Natalya head first into the buckle. Natalya goes for the legs again but Paige counters into the Paige Turner for the pin at 10:16 shown of 13:46.

Rating: B-. The fact that Paige isn’t on Raw is becoming more and more of a crime every day. The girl is good looking, young and can go in the ring but for some reason (allegedly age, even though JoJo is a year and a half younger than Paige) she’s stuck here while we get True Divas vs. Total Divas. The match was what we’ve come to expect from the Divas and the chain wrestling was a very nice treat.

Cesaro imitates Regal, telling him not to stick his nose into Cesaro’s business. Kruger comes in and says Cesaro took him to a place he hadn’t been in a long time. Cesaro: “A shower?” Kruger thinks he can be a Real American and Cesaro says he’ll talk to Zeb if Kruger does him a favor. It’s something related to Sami Zayn, who faces Kruger tonight.

Aiden English vs. ???

The jobber isn’t named so we get the LET’S GO THIS GUY chant. Renee talks about all the organizations Aiden is a part of, including various mime and opera groups. I love little details like that which enhance a character far better than saying the same stuff over and over again. Imagine that: making stuff up to make a character better. Total squash with English throwing the jobber around and ending him with the Director’s Cut at 1:18.

The fans chant for and receive an encore. The ring is filled with roses after English finishes in a nice touch.

Here’s Cesaro in a suit to apologize to Byron Saxton for what happened last week. We get a clip of Regal saving Saxton last week before Saxton comes up onto the stage to talk to Cesaro. They shake hands and Cesaro invites Byron to do the Real Americans pledge but Saxton isn’t too thrilled. Cesaro grabs him by the neck and slaps Saxton down before fixing his suit. No Regal.

Sami says last week was tough but if anyone is going to take the title from Bo, he’s glad it’s Adrian. Either way, he’ll get it eventually. Leo Kruger jumps him from behind to set up their match.

Tyson Kidd vs. Leo Kruger

Didn’t they say Kruger was facing Zayn tonight? Either way, this was set up when Kruger kicked Kidd’s crutches out back in February. Tyson stomps him down in the corner to start and a belly to back suplex gets two. Renee enjoys looking at Kidd’s toned body as Kruger takes him down into the corner and chokes with his boot before hitting a kind of Stunner onto the recently repaired knee. We take a break and come back with Kruger still on the knee and even putting on the Sharpshooter. Kidd is in trouble but Sami Zayn comes out for a distraction, allowing Kidd to get a rollup for the pin at 4:46 shown of 8:16.

Rating: D+. This needed a break? The match was nothing to see as it was supposed to be about revenge but I need more than a rollup for revenge. To be fair though this was hardly a feud and was really just tying up a loose end from February. It also sets up Zayn vs. Kruger even more so good booking but bad action.

Camacho and Hunico want the tag titles.

NXT Title: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville

Neville quickly takes him down to start for two but Dallas bails to the corner. A cross body out of the corner gets the same and Dallas heads outside for another breather. Back in and Dallas takes off a buckle pad behind the referee’s back before taking Neville’s head off with a forearm for two. We hit the cravate from the champion before a corner clothesline and the bulldog gets two on Adrian.

Dallas drives some knees into the head for two more but misses a middle rope knee drop to give Neville a breather. Some running forearms to Dallas’ head have him in trouble and a big shot sends Dallas out to the floor. A huge Asai Moonsault takes Dallas out but he kicks out at two. Adrian loads up the Red Arrow but Bo bails to the floor before it can launch. Instead it’s a cross body to the outside to crush Dallas again but only Neville beats the count back in for the countout at 7:38.

Rating: C. The match was decent while it lasted but the ending was just a way to extend the feud. To be fair though this match wasn’t built up nearly as well as the Zayn vs. Dallas match so it’s not as much of a drop. This could be leading to Dallas vs. Neville vs. Zayn which could be very entertaining if given a good amount of time. Not a great match here but it did its job.

The announcers talk about Dallas being champion for nearly 200 days to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a middle of the road show for NXT but it was still entertaining. It set up some stuff for the future which continues to be one of NXT’s strong suits, but it didn’t give us anything we really needed to see tonight. The fact that this was a show to get us to the next show and was still entertaining is a really good sign though. The future is bright for these guys.

Results

Paige b. Natalya – Paige Turner

Aiden English b. ??? – Director’s Cut

Tyson Kidd b. Leo Kruger – Rollup

Adrian Neville b. Bo Dallas via countout

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NXT
Date: November 27, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal, Renee Young

The main story coming into tonight is the #1 contenders match between Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville with the winner getting a shot at Bo Dallas next week. Other than that we have our usual drama with the Divas which should be very nice for a change after watching two Total Divas matches from the pay per view and Raw. Let’s get to it.

The opening video recaps last week’s Beat the Clock challenge with Sami and Adrian finishing with the same time, setting up tonight’s match.

Welcome Home.

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Antonio Cesaro

Cesaro gets in ring announcer Byron Saxton’s face over accidentally stepping on the flag, causing Regal to get up from commentary and get Saxton to safety. The distraction allows Tatsu to get a quick rollup for two but Cesaro catches his spinwheel kick in midair and slams Tatsu down. A spinebuster puts Yoshi down and there’s the Cesaro Swing for about 35 seconds. He must be having an off day. The fans tell Cesaro that he’s awesome and it’s off to the standing chinlock. Cesaro holds Tatsu in place and glares at Regal before the Neutralizer (complete with a wave to the announcers’ table) is good for the pin at 3:33.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here but it sets up a match between Regal and Cesaro. If they’re given enough time the showdown could be very entertaining and fortunately NXT is the place where that could happen. Whatever happened to Tatsu? The guy was hanging out with Cena on Raw and now is lucky to job on the minor league show.

Bo Dallas is in the back and says we’re all winners because we get to see two youngsters fight their hearts out for a chance to live their dream. “It’s just like The Voice!’ Of course neither of them have a chance to beat Dallas but it’s nice to see them try. CJ Parker comes up and just stands there, so Dallas calls him Captain Fantastic and asks why he’s here. Parker: “I didn’t realize I was harshing your mellow.” Dallas: “I didn’t realize you were still employed.” A match is made and the Beatles are quoted in a bizarrely entertaining segment.

CJ Parker vs. Bo Dallas

Now that’s quick. Non-title of course. Bo avoids a charge to start and fires off some elbows to the head. A clothesline gets two for the champion and we hit the cravate. Parker rolls out and makes a comeback with some running knees in the corner followed by a falling front DDT (think Christian’s falling reverse DDT but facing the other way) for two. Parker goes up but gets crotched, setting up Dallas’ bulldog out out of the corner for the pin at 3:03.

Rating: C-. I can’t believe I’m saying this but Dallas is on fire right now. He’s absolutely nailing the character right now and the switch to the bulldog from the spear is a huge improvement. I always found it a stretch for someone even Edge’s size to use that move but for Dallas it never worked at all. Parker continues to be worthless as always.

Emma talks about being attacked by the BFF’s in the locker room, resulting in some head injuries. Paige comes in and wants no excuses from Emma when Paige beats her for the title. The champion recaps the incidents between the two of them and a fight is teased but they both back off. God bless reality TV because it’s keeping these two off Raw in exchange for JoJo and Eva Marie.

Speaking of the Total Divas, Natalya comes into Paige’s locker room complaining about something unspecified. Paige talks about Natalya going Hollywood and not caring about the titles at all. A match is set up for the title even though I have no idea what Natalya’s problem was in the first place. She complains about everything on Total Divas anyway so maybe that’s her gimmick now.

Tyler Breeze vs. Kassius Ohno

Alexander Rusev jumps Ohno during his entrance to leave him laying. Ohno says he can fight but gets pinned by the Beauty Shot (spinning heel kick) at 10 seconds. That’s Ohno’s last televised match in WWE.

The BFF’s are in the back but Charlotte leaves just before Bayley comes in. Bayley wants to see Charlotte but a tag match is made for later. The BFF’s point out that Bayley has no friends but Bayley says she has a surprise. Bayley is so adorable it’s unreal.

Neville and Zayn are in the back to talk about the main event tonight. Adrian says they’re friends with a good history but this is about getting to Raw and Smackdown. You can look at Seth Rollins and Big E. Langston and see what the title means. Sami agrees that they’re friends but he’ll do whatever it takes to win. There’s some tension here but it isn’t bad.

Hunico/Camacho vs. Ascension

Non-title. Viktor starts with Camacho and rams his head into the corner to get things going. Camacho comes back with some stomps in the corner and a belly to back suplex for no cover. Off to Hunico with a slingshot hilo for two and a springboard cross body for the same. Viktor pulls him to the corner though and it’s off to Conor for the beating. A spinebuster sets up more stomping from Viktor and the double powerbomb by Ascension. Camacho comes in with a distraction though, allowing Hunico to roll up Viktor for the upset at 3:37.

Rating: C-. Hunico is another guy with very usable talent who hopefully can get another shot on the main shows. This was just a match to set up a title match likely next week and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not sure I’d have had the champions get pinned, but at least it was on a fluke instead of a dominant win by Hunico and Camacho.

We get the same Beat the Clock video that opened the show. I really hope they don’t start this nonsense in NXT as well.

Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn

Winner gets Dallas for the title next week. Bo has replaced Regal on commentary which should be hilarious. They shake hands to start and we’re ready to go. Sami grabs a wristlock but Neville flips out and sweeps Sami’s legs out for two. Some shoulders put Zayn down again but he comes back with some very deep armdrags to put Adrian in the corner. They circle each other a bit until Sami grabs the leg for a hold that goes nowhere.

Back up and Neville sends Sami to the floor, only to have Zayn get back in and send Adrian to the floor, followed by a HUGE flip dive to take both guys down. We take a break and come back with Sami chopping the skin off Adrian’s chest before putting on a chinlock. Back up and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two on Neville as the fans are staying into this. Sami misses his running big boot in the corner and falls out to the floor as Dallas calls Renee very smart for a Canadian.

A kick to Sami’s face sets up a great looking top rope Asai Moonsault, followed by a missile dropkick for two for Neville. Back up and Neville’s cartwheel elbow is caught in a blue thunder bomb for a close two. A Michinoku Driver gets the same for Sami and there’s the running boot in the corner but he can’t follow up. Neville cartwheels into a hurricanrana for two as the fans chant YES. Adrian gets in a shot to the head to set up the Red Arrow but Sami breaks it up. Sami’s superplex is broken up though and the Red Arrow gives Neville the title shot at 11:42 shown of 15:12.

Rating: B. Very solid match here with both guys looking great. That’s another key difference between WWE and NXT. WWE has people lose without getting anything out of it. Here in NXT, Sami has lost every one of his major matches but has been allowed to look competitive which keeps him over. Why is that so complicated so often?

Post match Neville and Zayn almost come to blows but hug it out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As usual, NXT knows how to put on the most entertaining hour of wrestling each week. This set up a lot of stuff but didn’t get boring throughout the time. We have at least five matches set for the future (though Ohno vs. Rusev won’t happen) with most of the payoffs coming next week. That should make for an excellent show and since this is a well run promotion, we should actually get an excellent show as a result.

Results

Antonio Cesaro b. Yoshi Tatsu – Neutralizer

Bo Dallas b. CJ Parker – Bulldog out of the corner

Tyler Breeze b. Kassius Ohno – Beauty Shot

Hunico/Camacho b. Ascension – Small package to Viktor

Adrian Neville b. Sami Zayn – Red Arrow

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NXT
Date: November 20, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, William Regal, Alex Riley

It’s the start of a new taping cycle tonight so we should be in for a much fresher show. The main story tonight is the return of Bo Dallas who has been on an international tour for the last few weeks. The question now is who challenges him for the NXT Title after he’s pretty much done everything he can with Sami Zayn. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home. Appropriate theme for the week.

Here’s Bo to open things up with balloons and streamers falling. Bo is even wearing a party hat and has that goofy grin on his face. He says there’s no place like home and says that everyone who has been reading the Bo Dallas newsletter, they know everyone loves Bo. The fans chant what sounds like Pocahontas before breaking into the standard NO chant.

Bo wishes everyone could be here but he has a slide show for us. The slides show him posing in various places such as Montreal, Cambodia (where he sports entertained in front of a crowd of over 300,000 people), Lichtenstein (where he hugged a diseased man, healing him by 50%), Delaware and Portland. Then he went to Transylvania where they offered him cookies. Since all of the Bo-Lievers here are his friends, everyone here is getting a cookie! There are attendants actually passing them out until JBL interrupts.

The interim GM says the company is proud of Bo for being a wonderful international ambassador. Just like Randy Orton is with WWE, Bo is the face of NXT. This brings out Sami Zayn to a big pop and an Ole chant. Bo: “Hey Sami. Did you come to get a cookie?” Sami says no but he’s glad to see both JBL and Bo here in the same ring. Zayn just wants to be reinstated so he can take the NXT Title, but JBL disagrees with Ricky Bobby.

The fans chant cheeseball at JBL, so he threatens to suspend the entire audience. Sami is reinstated and Bo isn’t pleased. Zayn says he’ll start from the ground up, but next time he’s in the ring with Dallas, he’s taking the title. JBL announces a Beat the Clock challenge with the winner getting the next title shot with Zayn as one of the competitors. For those of you unfamiliar, a Beat the Clock challenge consists of a series of matches and whoever can win their match fastest wins.

Beat the Clock Challenge: Colin Cassady vs. Alexander Rusev

Rusev’s mysterious blonde is apparently his social media ambassador and named Lana. Rusev pounds away in the corner and headbutts Cassady down for a quick two. Some more headbutts get more near falls but Rusev missed a middle rope splash. Cassady comes back with some quick right hands but can’t slam him down. Instead it’s a high knee to the face for two but Cassady misses a charge into the corner and hits his head on the post.

The Accolade goes on but Cassady slips his arms off Rusev’s legs and gets to the ropes. Rusev picks Cassady up and drives knees into his back without moving Cassady, sort of like a standing backbreaker. A headbutt to the back of Cassady’s head sets up the Accolade for the submission to set the time at 5:33.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but Cassady looked good in his first solo outing after Enzo’s injury. Rusev’s monster is great and works very well for him given how he looks. Back in the day he would have been headlining house shows against Hogan already but things have changed a bit, and that’s better for guys like him.

Adrian Neville says that it’s unfortunate Corey Graves has a concussion but that’s the chance you take in the ring. He knows a thing or two about speed and tonight we’ll see if Aiden English can keep up. There’s a new backstage interviewer named Devon Taylor and she’s no Renee Young.

Bayley is depressed about Charlotte turning on her last week. They were like Spongebob and Patrick or Tommy and Chucky. They used to pogo stick and do the robot together. She threatens to beat up Charlotte but apologizes for scaring Devon. Maybe she’d like to do the robot with Bayley?

Beat the Clock Challenge: Tyler Breeze vs. Kassius Ohno

Breeze’s nickname is now Prince Pretty. Tyler quickly stomps him down into the corner but Ohno gets two of his own off a backslide. Kassius hits one of the loudest chops I’ve ever heard but Breeze sends him out to the floor with a hard dropkick to the head. Regal wants to know why Breeze is trying to get him back into the ring when Tyler could easily win by countout here.

Ohno finally gets rolled back inside for two as the fans are split on who they like better. A clothesline gets another near fall for Breeze but Kassius ducks the Beauty Shot spinwheel kick as we’re running out of time. Ohno misses an elbow smash and they trade rollups for two each. Kassius grabs a rollup of of his own for the pin at 4:48, setting the new time.

Rating: C. Much more exciting match which is one of the perks of a Beat the Clock Challenge. On the other hand though, the rest of the matches are going to have a 4:48 time limit at the most which doesn’t give much time to set things up. Still though, Breeze is just nailing this character right now and it’s great.

Hunico/Camacho vs. John J. Hornigan/Chris Rothwell

Camacho hits a quick Samoan drop on I think Rothwell before Hunico pins him with a Swanton at 24 seconds. That’s quite the squash.

Hunico and Camacho are coming for Ascension.

Some older looking male backstage interviewer talks to Ohno who is fired up about his win. Lana comes in and yells at Ohno for screwing up Rusev’s title shot. Ohno calls her Natasha and says tell Boris that Rusev can have the first title shot.

Beat the Clock Challenge: Adrian Neville vs. Aiden English

Aiden sings about the 525,600 matches in WWE and measuring them in headlocks and takedowns. WHY IS THIS GUY NOT ON RAW??? Neville grabs a quick rollup for two and speeds things up with a legsweep for another two. English comes back with a suplex for two of his own before stomping away in the corner. Adrian fights back with some chops but gets taken down and punched in the face a lot.

Neville kicks away at the leg and hits a quick kick to the chest for two. We’ve got a minute left but Aiden rolls away before Neville can launch the Red Arrow. English loads up a superplex but gets shoved down, setting up the Red Arrow for the pin at 4:45, good for the lead by three seconds.

Rating: C-. This was the perfect kind of match for Neville who was flying around as fast as he could out there. It’s a very good sign for him that he can do more than just high spots which means he’s got a lot more potential than various other guys with a high flying finisher. English shouldn’t be losing clean this soon though.

Ascension accepts Hunico and Camacho’s challenge.

Beat the Clock Challenge: Sami Zayn vs. Leo Kruger

Bo comes out to watch from the stage. Sami gets an early two off a cross body and Kruger gets the same off a slam. Zayn pops up to the top for a high cross body for two as the fans are into this already. Leo puts him right back down and elbows Sami for two as the OLE chants begin. A cravate slows Sami down a bit longer but he fights up with some clotheslines and a dropkick another near fall. Kruger catches him in a spinebuster as we have 45 seconds left. Leo wastes a lot of time waiting for Sami to get up but takes his head off with the Slice for two but Sami counters a cover into a rollup for the pin as time expires.

Rating: C. Another fast paced match here with a very interesting ending. Sami’s eventual push to the title continues, though at this point I’m not sure if he’s going to actually get the belt or not. Kruger is looking more and more like a jobber to the stars around here as of late, which isn’t a good sign for him at all.

Post match here’s JBL to say there will not be controversy. Therefore, next week it’s Zayn vs. Neville since their times were identical. The winner gets a title shot the following week.

Overall Rating: B-. This is what I’m talking about by week to week booking. Notice how there’s a natural flow from one week to another and you’re given a reason to watch the next episode. On the main shows it’s just “tune in next week to see whatever happens next.” That’s very vague and not a reason to watch. Here on the other hand you’re given stories and multiple reasons to check out the next show. If you don’t like the #1 contenders match, there’s also the Divas and the tag title picture. That’s a really good way of running a show and keeps people coming back over and over. Good show this week.

Results

Alexander Rusev b. Colin Cassady – Accolade

Kassius Ohno b. Tyler Breeze – Rollup

Hunico/Camacho b. John J. Hornigan/Chris Rothwell – Swanton Bomb to Rothwell

Adrian Neville b. Aiden English – Red Arrow

Sami Zayn b. Leo Kruger – Rollup

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NXT
Date: October 16, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal, Renee Young

Tonight is a very big show for NXT as we FINALLY get the showdown between Sami Zayn and Bo Dallas. This is a match that’s been built up for months now and tonight is the blowoff. Imagine that: setting up match and building up to it for months as the fans want to see it more and more. Why is that so complicated? Let’s get to it.

The opening video sets up the title match tonight with Zayn wearing a mask and pinning Dallas a few weeks back.

Welcome Home.

Tag Titles: Ascension vs. Adrian Neville/Corey Graves

Ascension is defending and won the belts from Neville and Graves two weeks back. Corey sends Victor into the corner to start as the announcers talk about how much more aggressive Graves has been since losing the titles. Victor is knocked into the corner before putting on a headscissors choke over the ropes before bringing in Adrian. The Brit loads up a quick Red Arrow but has to kick O’Brien away, only to hurt his leg in the process.

Back from a break with Victor slamming the back of Graves’ head into the mat for two before it’s off to Conor again. Adrian quickly gets over to the corner and dives to Corey for the tag. Graves goes for Conor’s leg and puts on Lucky 13 but Victor makes the save. Adrian is still hurt but Graves tags him back in anyway. O’Brien throws Adrian shoulder first into the post but Neville comes back with a kick to Victor’s face. He goes for the tag but Victor kicks Adrian into Corey which isn’t a tag for some reason. Ascension hits the Fall of Man on Neville to retain the belts at 5:52 shown of 9:22.

Rating: C. This was all about finishing off the Graves/Neville team for good which was the right move. They never felt like anything more than transitional champions and in both matches they’ve looked outclassed by Ascension. It was a glorified squash and there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

Post match Graves yells at Neville for losing their shot before destroying him, turning heel in the process. It takes a little bit before the fans really get onto him but the YOU SUCK chant gets going after a bit.

Cena is coming back in case you didn’t know.

Post break the announcers are stunned at what they just saw.

Tyler Breeze vs. CJ Parker

As usual, the fans are entirely behind Breeze and can’t stand Parker. Renee Young continues to be awesome on commentary by saying she and Breeze get along so well because they both have blonde ponytails, shop at the same stores and are about the same size. Fans: “BREEZE IS GORGEOUS!” Parker hits a hard chop to the chest to start as the announcers debate which kind of cell phone would be the best weapon.

Breeze misses an elbow drop and gets rolled up for two, protecting his face in the process. Parker misses a dropkick and gets kicked in the face but Breeze has to go take a picture in the corner. Breeze pounds away and freaks out when CJ loads up a right hand to the face. Fans: “NOT IN THE FACE!” Breeze uses the distraction to poke Parker in the eye and hit a spinwheel kick for the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C-. If there is a more fun character out there than Tyler Breeze, I have no idea who it is. The match was nothing special but the thing that stood out the most here was Renee Young. She is so perfect as the laid back commentator and actually makes the matches a lot easier to listen to. She’s funny, she adds stuff to the match, she sounds natural and above all else, she isn’t corny at all. In short, she sounds like a normal, bright person talking about what she’s seeing and offering some intelligent thoughts to it. That’s the polar opposite from how forced most commentary is and it’s very refreshing.

Regal praises Tyler for his tactics. Breeze goes to take a picture but Parker hits him in the face and steals the phone to take pictures of himself. Regal has the right idea: “CALL THE POLICE!”

Breast cancer is bad.

Paige/Emma vs. Sasha Banks/Summer Rae

Paige insists that she gets to start and erupts on Summer to start. It’s quickly off to Emma who sends Summer running off to Banks. Emma avoids a charge in the corner and gets a quick sunset flip for two. Sasha takes her into the heel corner and brings in Summer as Renee takes jabs at Tony for calling her the foremost authority on Divas.

Summer hits a faceplant for two on Emma before pulling on Emma’s arms. Emma backflips over into a rollup for two and there’s the hot tag to Paige. The champ cleans house and fires off some knees to Summer’s ribs before getting two off a PerfectPlex. Everything breaks down and Summer hits a quick standing legdrop for the pin on Paige at 5:50.

Rating: C-. The looks of the girls made this a lot easier to get through but it still wasn’t much of a match. Much like earlier, this was there to do little more than stet up a future match, presumably with Summer finally taking the title from Paige. Still though, good stuff here as the Divas of NXT continue to be the best in the business today.

NXT Title: Sami Zayn vs. Bo Dallas

They have a ton of time for this. Bo is defending if you’re new around here. Feeling out process to start with Sami sending Bo into the ropes. Sami gets a pair of rollups for two, sending Bo into the corner. Back up and the champion grabs a headlock to take Zayn down and drops some knees for two. Dallas hooks a cravate for a few moments before Sami comes back with clotheslines and a backdrop. The running boot in the corner…..WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP AT 4:35?????

The fans are so shocked they forget to cheer but before I can even type Rating:, here’s JBL to say it doesn’t count because Bo’s foot was on the rope, which was clearly before the bell. JBL tells the referee to not make him learn his name so restart the match. Bo elbows Sami out to the floor and we take a quick break.

Back with Sami fighting out of a cravate but getting clotheslined down for another two. Sami fights up again and low bridging Dallas out to the floor. There’s the big flip dive from Zayn followed by a high cross body for two. Dallas blocks the running boot in the corner but gets caught in a spinning blue thunder bomb for two. Bo hits a boot to the side of the head and a bulldog out of the corner for a close near fall.

A reverse DDT gets the same but Sami avoids a powerslam and spears Dallas down for two. Dallas blocks a climbing the turnbuckle armdrag and spears Sami down for two. The fans are losing their minds on the kickouts. Dallas puts Zayn on the top rope for a superplex but gets countered into a great looking sunset bomb for an even closer two. Sami rolls some German suplexes but Bo rips off the turnbuckle pad and sends Zayn face first into the steel to block the last German, allowing Bo to roll him up to retain at 14:26 shown of 17:16.

Rating: B+. Really fun match here where you genuinely didn’t know who was going to win until the end. At this point Zayn shouldn’t be in NXT for awhile as this was his big moment and he came up short. He’s more than ready for the main roster so there’s no need to keep him around in developmental anymore. Dallas’ best match ever by a few thousand miles.

Overall Rating: A. My goodness NXT is amazing. This felt like their biggest show ever and it delivered in spades. We have angle advancement in the tag title match, a challenger for Paige, a fun match with Breeze and a great match with a false finish for the title. This is by far the highlight of my wrestling week and somehow it keeps getting better. Excellent show this week and great stuff all around.

Results

Ascension b. Adrian Neville/Corey Graves – Fall of Man to Neville

Tyler Breeze b. CJ Parker – Spinwheel Kick

Summer Rae/Sasha Banks b. Paige/Emma – Standing legdrop to Paige

Bo Dallas b. Sami Zayn – Rollup

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NXT
Date: October 2, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Alex Riley, Tony Dawson, Renee Young

It’s a big show tonight with both the Bo Dallas open challenge and the Ascension challenging Graves and Neville for the tag titles. The main question in the open challenge isn’t will Sami Zayn get involved but how will he get involved. The big showdown is coming and the blowoff match is going to be awesome. Let’s get to it.

Fandango is here tonight for a mixed tag with Summer Rae against Emma and whomever she can find for a partner.

Welcome Home.

Fandango/Summer Rae vs. Emma/???

The partner is…..Santino, meaning he now gets to waste our time on NXT too. The guys start with Santino almost falling off the buckles while posing. The fans insist that he try it again but they have to settle for the middle rope. Wait we’re still not ready as the guys have to dance a bit. The fans tell Fandango that he got served so he tries a kick to the ribs. Both guys catch kicks at the same time until Santino shoves him away. A right hand drops Marella as we’re finally going a bit.

Santino teases the Cobra, sending Fandango to the floor. Renee teaches the Cobra to dance and we take a break. Back with Fandango not being sure what to do so here are the girls for a change of pace. Summer wants nothing to do with Emma so it’s back to the guys again. Phillips: “Doing the do-see-do instead of the Fandango.” They change over and over until Fandango gets annoyed and punches Santino in the jaw. Apparently Fandango has been hitting on Renee but she doesn’t seem to mind that much.

An uppercut sends Santino into the corner and Summer gets in a hard slap, drawing Emma out to the floor. Santino makes a dive to the empty corner for the tag in a cute spot. Santino can’t nip up so Fandango goes up for the legdrop but Santino rolls across the ring before Fandango jumps. This is so funny that they do it three times in a row until Marella rolls him up for two.

Now the nip-up works and it’s off to the girls for their first contact. Summer misses a charge and gets caught in the Dilemma followed by the cross body in the corner for two. Santino gives Emma the sock but it’s time for a catfight instead. Summer is whipped into Fandango which catapults him in and also counts as a tag. Everything breaks down and our heroes do stereo Santino spots until Santino hits the Cobra for the pin on Fandango at 10:15 shown of 13:45.

Rating: C. The comedy in this match was stupid, but at the same time, what else was this match supposed to be? Emma is so adorable that it’s almost impossible to dislike her and Santino is what he is. The interesting part here was Renee who came off as funny, witty and charming on commentary without trying too hard. That’s a nice surprise.

Ascension says what they did to Cassady and Amore is nothing compared to what they’ll do to win the tag titles.

Kassius Ohno vs. Luke Harper

Renee is off commentary. Ohno is looking in a bit better shape. Harper comes out on his own and looks more confused than usual. Ohno is quickly sent out to the floor but comes back with a one foot dropkick to stagger Harper. Not that it matters as a clothesline puts Ohno down and Harper rains down punches. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Kassius fights up and connects with some strikes. Harper rolls to the floor but even a baseball slide can’t knock him down. Back in and it’s the big boot and a discus lariat to end Ohno at 2:57. This was a squash.

Amore and Cassady want another shot at Rusev and Dawson. Cassady says he wouldn’t even let Dawson fix his car. The only thing Rusev is breaking is his mother’s heart by not wearing shoes. Enzo says Dawson and Rusev have been eating tacos. SAWFT tacos! Cassady: “I worry about you sometimes.”

Mojo Rawley is going to hype us next week. I’ve heard a lot about him but I’ve never actually seen him.

Tag Titles: Ascension vs. Corey Graves/Adrian Neville

Ascension is challenging. Neville and Victor get us going with the champion flipping around and kicking Victor down for two. Victor gets kicked in the head but shrugs it off to bring in O’Brien. Neville escapes a suplex and makes the tag off to Graves who still has injured ribs, which are made worse by a flapjack from O’Brien for two. Victor comes back in and goes right after the ribs before giving it back to Conor.

Back from a break with Graves hitting a cross body on Victor but injuring his ribs in the process. O’Brien hooks a body scissors to keep Graves in trouble before it’s back to Victor for more right hands to the head. We hit another chinlock until Graves fights up and avoids a charge in the corner, sending Rick’s shoulder into the post.

Off to Neville for the rapid fire kicks and a pair of dropkicks to lay out Ascension. Both guys are knocked to the floor for a BIG dive to take out both challengers. Victor is sent back in and caught with a springboard missile dropkick for two. A high kick to the head looks to set up Red Arrow but Rick moves at the last second, giving Victor two. Graves pulls Neville to the corner for the tag but walks into a running knee to the head. Fall of Man (Total Elimination) is enough for the pin and the titles for O’Brien at 10:40 shown of 13:00.

Rating: C. This is exactly what this match should have been. Graves and Neville never felt like anything but transitional champions while Ascension has looked like the future of the tag division from the day the show debuted. This is the kind of match it needed to be: the champions fighting for all they were worth but just being out matched at the end of the day.

RVD is here next week.

Bo Dallas Invitational

The idea is that anyone can come out to challenge Dallas and if anyone can pin him, they get a title shot in two weeks. The first guy up is named Chance Champion which I found online. He doesn’t get an entrance, so the fans chant “Let’s go this guy!” because they’re actually paying attention to the show instead of saying random things to entertain themselves. Champion (the person, not the champion) gets a quick rollup for two but Bo pounds him in the corner and spears him down for the pin at 1:12.

Next up is Leo Kruger and Bo seems ready. Actually wait as here’s Antonio Cesaro instead to take the shot. The fans want a triple threat but the challengers fight instead until Kruger is sent to the floor. Cesaro brags too much though and gets dumped by Dallas, which I guess is an elimination?

Next in is El Local who avoids a quick and hits a running boot to the face in the corner for the pin in 30 seconds. The fans chant OLE and SI before it’s revealed to be Sami Zayn. Somewhere Dean Malenko is smiling.

Overall Rating: A. We had a genuinely entertaining comedy match, good looking women dancing, a squash, new champions and the revisiting of a classic angle to give the fans what they want. Also there was the LET’S GO THIS GUY chant which was actually clever. This show just works for a variety of reasons, but there’s one I haven’t touched on yet: the lack of pay per views.

In WWE you have four weeks at most for the majority of pay per views so you have to speed things up in order to have a new card in that short amount of time. Here the stories can grow and build as they’re supposed to and the shows are far easier to sit through as a result. If you’re sick of Raw and love wrestling like it used to be, check this show out.

Results

Santino Marella/Emma b. Fandango/Summer Rae – Cobra to Fandango

Luke Harper b. Kassius Ohno – Discus lariat

Ascension b. Adrian Neville/Corey Graves – Fall of Man to Graves

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NXT
Date: September 25, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal

It’s finally the start of a new set of tapings meaning things will start changing around here again. The main story tonight is a major announcement to be made by HHH. Let’s get to it. They’ve got a long way to go to top how fun last week’s show but maybe they can go in a different direction this time around. Let’s get to it.

Tyler Breeze came in to see Brad Maddox earlier but CJ Parker interrupted them both. Apparently there’s going to be a a tag team turmoil match tonight for a future title shot. Naturally Parker and Breeze get teamed together.

Welcome Home.

Tag Team Turmoil

You know the drill here I’m sure: two teams start and the winning team advances to face whomever the third team is, last team standing wins. We start with Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore vs. Breeze/Parker. Enzo insists that every other team in this match is S-A-W-F-T, or as the crowd says, SAWFT! The fans think Breeze is gorgeous.

Regal says that Amore and Cassady have been banned from all Disney parks and Walt Disney is spinning in his fridge over it. Parker and Amore get things going with CJ busting out an airplane spin. CJ hits a pair of knees in the corner but stops to look at Breeze, allowing Cassady to come in for the spinning sitout Rock Bottom for the elimination at 1:20. Well that was quick.

Sylvester LeFort introduces Scott Dawson and Alexander Rusev as the next team. Dawson has a bad limp and the team is apparently called the Fighting Legionaries. Cassady starts with Dawson and the size difference is remarkable. Dawson gets taken down to the mat in a surprise move but it’s off to Rusev for the power battle. A quick Samoan drop puts the legal Amore in and it’s back to Dawson who sends Enzo into the corner. Dawson hits a big spinebuster to crush Amore but Enzo grabs a small package for the pin at 4:17 total.

Rusev destroys Amore and heeeeeeeeere’s Ascension. O’Brian cranks on Cassady’s neck after the break before it’s off to Victor to pound away. Rick pounds away in multiple corners but charges into an elbow to the jaw to give Cassady a breather. Not that it matters as O’Brian comes back in for a bunch of shoulder blocks. Cassady gets a big boot for two and it’s hot tag to Amore, only to have him walk into the flapjack and whatever Ascension calls Total Elimination for the final pin at 8:13 shown of 11:43.

Rating: C. Lack of Tyler Breeze aside, this wasn’t too bad. The fans are completely behind Amore and Cassady as a face act but Ascension running them over at the end is the perfect call. There isn’t much of a division at this point, but with just an hour a week what more can you ask for?

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

Renee Young is on commentary as her takeover of WWE television continues. Summer Rae and those legs of hers are with Sasha here. Bayley takes Sasha into the corner and hits a chop to her delight. Sasha comes back with rapid fire chops to almost scare Bayley out of her boots. Bayley gets dropped face first out of the corner for two as it’s all Banks so far. We hit the chinlock as Regal hits on Renee.

A snap suplex gets two on Bayley but she comes back with forearms in the corner. Sasha comes back with a HARD overhand chop followed by an armdrag out of the corner. Bayley sends her into the corner and grabs the Hugplex (I didn’t name it that) for two. Not that it matters as Sasha hooks a double arm neckbreaker (think Sandow’s Terminus) for the pin at 4:00.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here but the fans are totally into Bayley’s starstruck stuff. Sasha is just another evil Diva but she has a nice presence in the ring to make up for it. The match was more about character development for Banks but Bayley helped get things to work as well as they did.

Renee thinks Sasha is evil for breaking Bayley’s headband because you don’t mess with another girl’s hair products. Summer says Fandango will be here next week. She and Sasha run things around here since Paige and Emma have been run off. Cue Emma to chase both girls off.

Aiden English sings about walking to the ring (“And all the while you get to hear me sing”) as the brilliance of such a simple idea continues.

Aiden English vs. Bull Dempsey

English grabs a quick headlock (“THE DAY IS MINE!”) and kicks Dempsey in the head for two. A legdrop sets up the Side Effect, which may be called Take a Bow, for the pin at 1:40.

The fans get the encore they demand.

Summer Rae challenges Emma to find a partner to meet herself and Fandango in a mixed tag.

El Local vs. Sami Zayn

The place pops BIG for Zayn. Local is of course Ricardo Rodriguez under a mask. The Ole chants begin at the bell as they trade wristlocks. Zayn comes back with some armdrags and Local is in trouble. A nice hurricanrana gets two on Local but he comes back with a clothesline into a backbreaker (as in Sami’s back landed on Local’s knee on the way down from the clothesline) for two of his own. Local hooks a chinlock but Sami comes back with the leg lariat and the running boot to the face for the pin at 2:58. Squash for Zayn.

Post match here’s Bo Dallas to say that he’s finally healed after Zayn injured him at Summerslam Axxess. He’s ready to put the title on the line in the Bo Dallas Invitational with anyone being welcome to enter. If anyone can pin him, they’ll get a title shot in three weeks. Wait is the invitational for the title or a title shot a few weeks later? Zayn says he’ll be the first to sign up and they can do it right now. Dallas says hold on a second because Sami isn’t eligible to enter.

Kassius Ohno comes in to see Brad Maddox and wants to know why he isn’t on NXT. Maddox says Kassius is a D+/C- talent, so Kassius suggests that he interrupt every match from now on. Brad blames it on “them”, but is threatened into a match with a member of the Wyatt Family next week.

Here’s HHH for the big announcement. He talks about how awesome people like Leo Kruger, Sami Zayn, Bo Dallas, Adrian Neville and Corey Graves are because they’re the future of WWE. However, there have been some issues lately with the Rhodes family, primarily with Dusty Rhodes.

See, Dusty is the GM of NXT and that might not be what’s best for business anymore. Therefore, Dusty has been given some time off and we have a new interim GM: John Bradshaw Layfield. JBL comes out in full on EVIL rich guy mode, telling the fans that this isn’t sing-a-long with the wrestling god so shut your mouths. He welcomes us to his era to end the show.

Rating: B. Another solid show from the boys in Florida here. The JBL as GM idea is perfect as Bradshaw is about as perfect as you can get for a villain when he’s in full heel mode. That’s a good change for the show and JBL could still be a good adversary for a number of people in NXT. Good show this week as NXT keeps rolling along.

Results

Ascension won tag team turmoil last eliminating Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore

Sasha Banks b. Bayley – Neckbreaker

Aiden English b. Bull Dempsey – Side Effect

Sami Zayn b. El Local – Running boot to the face

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NXT
Date: September 11, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Tony Dawson

The main story at the moment is Sami Zayn vs. Bo Dallas after Bo cost Sami a match against Jack Swagger last week. Sami is one of the most over guys in NXT and is more than ready for the main roster. Other than that we have the continuing adventures of Mason Ryan vs. LeFort and company which are at least getting Rusev over. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Alexander Rusev/Scott Dawson

Enzo goes on a rant about how Dawson and Rusev are SAWFT and the fans eat it up. Dawson is now called Captain Roughneck in a nod to Dick Murdoch. Enzo starts with Dawson with Amore hitting a quick let hand and running off to Cassady. The 7’0 Cassady takes over on the 5’9 Dawson and pounds him down before bringing Enzo back in.

Dawson wastes no time in spinning Amore inside out with a clothesline. Off to Rusev to destroy Enzo with pure power. There’s something awesome about a monster destroying a small man. Back to Dawson who knocks Colin off the apron and plays Neidhart to Rusev’s Bret in a Hart Attack (with a spinwheel kick instead of a clothesline), but that’s a DQ on Rusev and Dawson at 3:35 for being in the ring too long.

Rating: D. Nothing to see here but Rusev continues to look good. I still don’t get the appeal of Dawson but he’s much better as a singles guy than he was in the tag team with Dylan. Amore is one of those guys who needs to stay out of the ring as he’s so much better on the mic than he is at wrestling.

Here’s Bo Dallas with something to say. The white pants and black vest with the long hair already make me want to punch him. He thanks all of the Bo-lievers for all of their well wishes have made him believe he can fly. Last week he was just down there to cheer Zayn on because Sami needs a mentor. Bo says he’s medically cleared to wrestle Sami but not for the title because he’s not completely healed up. When in doubt, don’t stop Bo-lieving.

CJ Parker talks about Tyler Breeze hording sticks like a beaver while Parker wants to spread the sticks everywhere. Breeze jumps him and takes a photo. Parker still doesn’t do it for me.

Sasha Banks vs. Paige

Banks is being corrupted by the dark side of the Divas in the form of Summer Rae. I thought this was for the title but it wasn’t announced as such. The fans chant Happy Birthday to Paige in a nice gesture. Paige sends her throat first into the ropes a few times before blocking an attempt at the same thing from Sasha. Nice touch. Sasha comes back with a victory roll for two and a reverse waistlock. Paige drives her into the corner for some back elbows to the face ala Matt Morgan. Banks sends her face first into the buckle as we take a break.

Back with Paige in a reverse chinlock followed by a rear naked choke. Paige fights up but gets caught by a back elbow to the jaw for two. We go back to the chinlock with a bodyscissors from Sasha for a very long time until Paige fights up into a rollup for two. Back to the chinlock which has probably been half of the match so far. Paige gets out again and comes back with a release fisherman’s suplex to put Banks down. Ten knees to the chest put Banks down but Paige misses a dropkick, only to roll through a cross body to pin Sasha at 7:42 shown of 11:12.

Rating: C. This was nothing great but Sasha isn’t the best in the ring. The long stretches of chinlockery here didn’t help much either as the match dragged on way too long as a result. The girls here are still much more interesting than the WWE girls but the division could use some fresh faces.

Post match Paige offers a handshake but Sasha beats her down instead.

In the back, Sasha tells Summer how great that felt.

Xavier Woods vs. Leo Kruger

Woods chases Kruger out to the floor but Leo snaps Xavier’s throat over the middle rope to take over. Back in and Leo hooks an armbar to take over and set up the GC3 later on. Woods finally escapes but and takes Leo down with a headscissors. Kruger bails to the floor, only to miss a dive as we take a break. Back with Kruger stomping away and dropping elbows for two.

Leo pulls at Xavier’s face for a bit before it’s back to the armbar, this time with hair pulling. It’s off to a hammerlock instead now but Woods counters with a Stunner. Back up and Woods hits a dropkick to put Leo down but Kruger comes back with a backbreaker for two. A Jackhammer gets two more for Leo but Woods comes back with some forearms and dropkicks to get a breather.

The Honor Roll rolling clothesline is countered into a nice spinebuster for two. Kruger’s Slice misses and Woods hits an enziguri and Lost in the Woods (running Downward Spiral here, though it used to be the name of Gail Kim’s Eat Defeat) for two. The second Honor Roll connects and Eat Defeat is good for the pin on Kruger at 10:40 shown of 12:40.

Rating: C. This picked up at the end but it wasn’t worth sitting through all that time to get there. The arm work from Kruger didn’t go anywhere and Woods’ arm seemed fine for the Honor Roll. The match was nothing special though and there’s no reason for these guys to be fighting that I can think of. That’s fine if the match is really good but it needs more if a match is just ok.

Overall Rating: C-. I know I asked for a weaker show for a change but I’m kind of regretting it now that I’ve gotten it. Nothing on here was very good, the main event felt like it was thrown together and Sasha is just a placeholder until Summer vs. Paige starts up again. Thankfully this is the last show in a taping cycle so next week should feel fresh. This was their weakest offering in awhile.

Results

Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore b. Alexander Rusev/Scott Dawson via DQ when Rusev and Dawson wouldn’t get out of the ring

Paige b. Sasha Banks – Reversed cross body

Xavier Woods b. Leo Kruger – Lost in the Woods

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NXT
Date: August 28, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal

After last week’s great match between Zayn and Cesaro we’re needing a new #1 contender. We’ve seen a showdown teased between Sami and Dallas for awhile now so that might be the best possible option. Either way NXT is capable of coming up with some good programs out of nowhere and odds are they can do it again here. Let’s get to it.

We open with Corey Graves in the back when Rick Victor of the Ascension comes up. Victor talks about how Ascension will rise when Conor O’Brian jumps Graves and crushes his ribs with a piece of the metal set. It’s about time Ascension went after the tag belts.

Welcome Home.

Tyler Breeze vs. CJ Parker

Breeze stands in the corner tonight while CJ Parker dances at him. The fans chant that Breeze is gorgeous and there’s no contact in the first minute. Parker goes after Tyler’s phone, drawing Breeze in to attack him. Tyler dives to the floor to avoid a kick to the gorgeous face and draws in Parker for some shots to the back.

A knee drop gets one for Tyler and it’s time for a picture. Parker picks him up in an airplane spin of all things and a backsplash keeps Tyler in trouble. Two running knees in the chest stagger Breeze but he drops to the mat to avoid another punch. While down there he gets the phone to knock out Parker for the pin at 3:19.

Rating: D. Nothing match as nearly a third was spent in the opening standoff. Breeze continues to amuse me but I don’t care for Parker at all. He’s not a bad idea but he’s done nothing to interest me in the few appearances he’s made so far. Also I wanted to see Breeze’s spin kick again.

Emma says her guaranteed title shot is going to have to wait because she wants to beat up Summer Rae. Then she’s going to blow some bubbles and play some Dance Dance Emmalution. Renee Young: “That’s not a thing.” Emma: “Sure it is you silly rabbit.” Emma is rapidly reaching the too cute for words level.

Tyler Breeze has LEFT the building.

Summer Rae vs. Emma

Emma brings the bubble juice to the ring with her because she’s awesome like that. Emma takes her down by the leg to start but Summer rolls her to the ground and rams Emma’s head into the mat. Emma slips out and slams Summer down for some dancing and a two count. Summer’s face is rammed into the mat a few times but she kicks away from the Dilemma (Tarantula) and takes over.

Rae gets in a kick to Emma’s shoulder and splashes the arm for two. Summer puts on a full nelson with her legs (cool move) but Emma leans back into a near fall for two. Back up and Emma avoids a charge in the corner and puts on the Dilemma (minor ECW chant) followed by a low running cross body for two. Summer is catapulted out of the corner as we go back to the 80s, setting up the Emma Lock (Bridging Indian Deathlock) for the tap out at 4:26.

Rating: C+. I really liked this with a lot of the interesting spots such as the leg nelson and of course the Tarantula always looks cool. The other aspect I like here is how simplistic these characters are yet how well they work. WWE Divas have years on TV and many of them have no defined characters at all. It’s amazing how easy it is to make characters that work yet it’s nearly impossible on WWE TV.

Post match Summer jumps Emma and pours the bubble juice in her eyes for a good old fashioned blinding angle.

Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady get in an argument with Scott Dawson and Sylvester LeFort over who is going to get revenge on Mason Ryan. Dawson asks LeFort when he gets paid again. LeFort: “When you win a match.” Dawson: “…..oh.” Anyway it looks like we’re getting Dawson against Enzo later.

Sasha Banks gets on Summer for what she just did but Summer does her stuck up thing, saying Summerslam was named after her and that she’s a Raw and Smackdown Diva. Sasha can’t even get on NXT so she should be following Summer. Rae brags about how awesome it is to be in the WWE and laughs at Sasha for being stuck down here. Sasha needs to get it together before her match with Paige in two weeks. This sounded like Summer was leaving and a tease of a heel turn for Banks.

Enzo Amore vs. Scott Dawson

Enzo continues his awesome over the top heel schtick by saying he and Cassady got a dime every time they were beaten up as kids, meaning they have ZERO dimes. And they are NOT S-A-W-F-T! The fans of course eat it up with a spoon. Enzo grabs a quick headlock to start but a LeFort distraction allows Dawson to take him down by the hair. Scott drapes him over the top rope and drops a knee for two. Enzo escapes a slam and headscissors Dawson down as Alexander Rusev comes down to jump Cassady. Dawson uses the distraction to hit a quick belly to back suplex (almost an Angle Slam) for the pin at 3:11.

Rating: D. Not much here but Amore continues to be entertaining. For the first time I’m liking the idea of LeFort as a heel manager as a group of clients could work better than similar guys like Dylan and Dawson. I like Rusev too as they don’t veer from the big foreign monster motif with him.

Recap of Zayn vs. Cesaro from last week.

Here’s Sami with something to say. He thanks the fans for chanting Match of the Year but Sami is conflicted about the match because it was great but he lost. The fans want one more match but Renee wants to know what’s next for Zayn. Sami flirts with Renee a bit before saying he wants to be NXT Champion. Cue Bo Dallas who says that a few fans on the internet liking a match doesn’t mean he’s title worthy.

Zayn says he’ll take it from here and wants to know why Bo is out here. Dallas says Sami injured him at Summerslam Axxess because Sami is just so green. Sami calls Bo delusional but Dallas says everyone loves him. Zayn: “They’re booing you out of the building.” Bo: “They’re chanting Bo!” Now the fans chant Boo and Sami accuses Bo of being scared. This brings out Colter, who accuses Zayn of being a border jumper. Swagger runs in from the other side of the arena and beats Sami down. I love Zayn’s presence out there and you can easily tell the difference between rookies and people who know how to handle themselves.

We get a video on the NXT guys at Summerslam Axxess. John Cena praises Adrian Neville.

Adrian Neville vs. Conor O’Brian

Neville is in the match due to the attack on Graves earlier tonight. O’Brian shoves him into the corner to start so Adrian tries to speed things up a bit, hitting a spinning cross body out of the corner for two. Conor slugs him down with ease and Neville is in trouble as we take a break. Back with Conor missing a charge into the corner, allowing Neville to get in some strikes to stagger him. Neville clotheslines him on the top rope but his cross body is caught in a slam for two. O’Brian misses another charge in the corner and Adrian gets two off a belly to back. Neville goes up and hits a 450 for the completely clean pin at 5:25.

Rating: D+. O’Brian went to a draw against Big E. Langston but gets pinned clean in five and a half minutes by Neville? If nothing else Neville gets a good rub here and continues to show he’s more than just a spot monkey. The match wasn’t much but power vs. speed is almost always worth a look.

Post match Victor comes in for the beatdown until Graves comes out with taped ribs, only to be beaten down as well. Ascension stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. As always, this is an hour of really entertaining wrestling. One of the good things on this show is each story has a clear idea. Nothing feels like it’s tacked on to fill in time which is a nice change of pace from the filler matches we get on Raw or Smackdown. Fun show here with NXT looking strong going forward.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. CJ Parker – Pin after a phone shot to the head

Emma b. Summer Rae – Emma Lock

Scott Dawson b. Enzo Amore – Belly to back suplex

Adrian Neville b. Conor O’Brian – 450 Splash

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